• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.184-192
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• 2024

Objective: This study aims to investigate the genetic structure and characteristics of the Angus cattle population in Hungary. The survey was performed with the assistance of the Hungarian Hereford, Angus, Galloway Association (HHAGA). Methods: Genetic parameters of 1,369 animals from 16 Angus herds were analyzed using the genotyping results of 12 microsatellite markers with the aid of PowerMarker, Genalex, GDA-NT2021, and STRUCTURE software. Genotyping of DNA was performed using an automated genetic analyzer. Based on pairwise identity by state values of animals, the Python networkx 2.3 library was used for network analysis of the breed and to identify the central animals. Results: The observed numbers of alleles on the 12 loci under investigation ranged from 11 to 18. The average effective number of alleles was 3.201. The overall expected heterozygosity was 0.659 and the observed heterozygosity was 0.710. Four groups were detected among the 16 Angus herds. The breeders' information validated the grouping results and facilitated the comparison of birth weight, age at first calving, number of calves born and productive lifespan data between the four groups, revealing significant differences. We identified the central animals/herd of the Angus population in Hungary. The match of our group descriptions with the phenotypic data provided by the breeders further underscores the value of cooperation between breeders and researchers. Conclusion: The observation that significant differences in the measured traits occurred among the identified groups paves the way to further enhancement of breeding efficiency. Our findings have the potential to aid the development of new breeding strategies and help breeders keep the Angus populations in Hungary under genetic supervision. Based on our results the efficient use of an upcoming genomic selection can, in some cases, significantly improve birth weight, age at first calving, number of calves born and the productive lifespan of animals.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.509-527
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• 2024

Bonding carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates have been extensively employed in the restoration of steel constructions. In addition to the mechanical properties of the CFRP, the bond strength (P_U) between the CFRP and steel is often important in the eventual strengthened performance. Nonetheless, the bond behavior of the CFRP-steel (CS) interface is exceedingly complicated, with multiple failure causes, giving the P_U challenging to forecast, and the CFRP-enhanced steel structure is unsteady. In just this case, appropriate methods were established by hybridized Random Forests (RF) and support vector regression (SVR) approaches on assembled CS single-shear experiment data to foresee the P_U of CS, in which a recently established optimization algorithm named Aquila optimizer (AO) was used to tune the RF and SVR hyperparameters. In summary, the practical novelty of the article lies in its development of a reliable and efficient method for predicting bond strength at the CS interface, which has significant implications for structural rehabilitation, design optimization, risk mitigation, cost savings, and decision support in engineering practice. Moreover, the Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test was performed to depict each parameter's impact on the target. The order of parameter importance was t_c> L_c > E_A > t_A > E_c > b_c > f_c > f_A from largest to smallest by 0.9345 > 0.8562 > 0.79354 > 0.7289 > 0.6531 > 0.5718 > 0.4307 > 0.3657. In three training, testing, and all data phases, the superiority of AO - RF with respect to AO - SVR and MARS was obvious. In the training stage, the values of R² and VAF were slightly similar with a tiny superiority of AO - RF compared to AO - SVR with R² equal to 0.9977 and VAF equal to 99.772, but large differences with results of MARS.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.217-229
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• 2024

This paper presents results of visual analysis of cracks formation and propagation of concretes made of quaternary binders (QBC). A composition of the two most commonly used mineral additives, i.e. fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF) in combination with nanosilica (nS), has been proposed as a partial replacement of the cement. The principal objective of the present study is to achieve information about the effect of simultaneous incorporation of three pozzolans as partial replacement to the OPC on the fracture processes in concretes made from quaternary binders (QBC). The modern and precise non-contact measurement method (NCMM) via digital image correlation (DIC) technique was used, during the studies. In the course of experiments it was established that the substitution of OPC with three pozzolans including the nanoadditive in FA+SF+nS FA+SF+nS combination causes a clear change of brittleness and behavior during fractures in QBCs. It was found that the shape of cracks in unmodified concrete was quasi-linear. Substitution of the binder by SCMs resulted in a slight heterogeneity of the structure of the QBC, including only SF and nS, and clear heterogeneity for concretes with the FA additive. In addition, as content of FA rises throughout each of QBC series, material becomes more ductile and shows less brittle failure. It means that an increase in the FA content in the concrete mix causes a significant change in fracture process in this composite in comparison to concrete with the addition of silica modifiers only.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.1
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• pp.31-56
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• 2024

Pig farming, a vital industry, necessitates proactive measures for early disease detection and crush symptom monitoring to ensure optimum pig health and safety. This review explores advanced thermal sensing technologies and computer vision-based thermal imaging techniques employed for pig disease and piglet crush symptom monitoring on pig farms. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive and efficient technology for measuring pig body temperature, providing advantages such as non-destructive, long-distance, and high-sensitivity measurements. Unlike traditional methods, IRT offers a quick and labor-saving approach to acquiring physiological data impacted by environmental temperature, crucial for understanding pig body physiology and metabolism. IRT aids in early disease detection, respiratory health monitoring, and evaluating vaccination effectiveness. Challenges include body surface emissivity variations affecting measurement accuracy. Thermal imaging and deep learning algorithms are used for pig behavior recognition, with the dorsal plane effective for stress detection. Remote health monitoring through thermal imaging, deep learning, and wearable devices facilitates non-invasive assessment of pig health, minimizing medication use. Integration of advanced sensors, thermal imaging, and deep learning shows potential for disease detection and improvement in pig farming, but challenges and ethical considerations must be addressed for successful implementation. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art technologies used in the pig farming industry, including computer vision algorithms such as object detection, image segmentation, and deep learning techniques. It also discusses the benefits and limitations of IRT technology, providing an overview of the current research field. This study provides valuable insights for researchers and farmers regarding IRT application in pig production, highlighting notable approaches and the latest research findings in this field.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.368-374
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• 2023

Background: Recognizing that access to safe and healthy working conditions is a human right, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for specific occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for health workers (HWs). The WHO health systems' building blocks, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of information as part of effective systems. This study examined how OSH stakeholders access, use, and value an occupational health information system (OHIS). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of OSH stakeholders was conducted as part of a larger quasi experimental study in four teaching hospitals. The study hospitals and participants were purposefully selected and data collected using a modified questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis was conducted and themes identified for qualitative analysis. Ethics approval was provided by the University of Pretoria and University of British Columbia. Results: There were 71 participants comprised of hospital managers, health and safety representatives, trade unions representatives and OSH professionals. At least 42% reported poor accessibility and poor timeliness of OHIS for decision-making. Only 50% had access to computers and 27% reported poor computer skills. When existing, OHIS was poorly organized and needed upgrades, with 85% reporting the need for significant reforms. Only 45% reported use of OHIS for decision-making in their OSH role. Conclusion: Given the gap in access and utilization of information needed to protect worker's rights to a safe and healthy workplace, more attention is warranted to OHIS development and use as well as education and training in South Africa and beyond.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.30.1-30.16
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• 2024

Background: Biofilms, such as those from Staphylococcus epidermidis, are generally insensitive to traditional antimicrobial agents, making it difficult to inhibit their formation. Although quercetin has excellent antibiofilm effects, its clinical applications are limited by the lack of sustained and targeted release at the site of S. epidermidis infection. Objectives: Polyethylene glycol-quercetin nanoparticles (PQ-NPs)-loaded gelatin-N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (N,O-CMCS) composite nanogels were prepared and assessed for the on-demand release potential for reducing S. epidermidis biofilm formation. Methods: The formation mechanism, physicochemical characterization, and antibiofilm activity of PQ-nanogels against S. epidermidis were studied. Results: Physicochemical characterization confirmed that PQ-nanogels had been prepared by the electrostatic interactions between gelatin and N,O-CMCS with sodium tripolyphosphate. The PQ-nanogels exhibited obvious pH and gelatinase-responsive to achieve on-demand release in the micro-environment (pH 5.5 and gelatinase) of S. epidermidis. In addition, PQ-nanogels had excellent antibiofilm activity, and the potential antibiofilm mechanism may enhance its antibiofilm activity by reducing its relative biofilm formation, surface hydrophobicity, exopolysaccharides production, and eDNA production. Conclusions: This study will guide the development of the dual responsiveness (pH and gelatinase) of nanogels to achieve on-demand release for reducing S. epidermidis biofilm formation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.87 no.3
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• pp.398-408
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• 2024

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most dangerous cancers and tuberculosis is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. Many studies have confirmed the connection between lung cancer and tuberculosis, and also the microRNAs (miRNAs) that play a major role in the development of these two diseases. This study aims to use different databases to find effective miRNAs and their role in different genes in lung and tuberculosis diseases. It also aims to determine the role of miR-34a and miR-182 in lung cancer and tuberculosis. Methods: Using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, the influential miRNA databases were studied in the two diseases. Finally, considering bioinformatics results and literature studies, two miR-34a and miR-182 were selected. The role of these miRNAs and their target genes was carefully evaluated using bioinformatics. The expression of miRNAs in the plasma of patients with lung cancer and tuberculosis and healthy individuals was investigated. Results: According to the GEO database, miR-34a and miR-182 are miRNAs that affect tuberculosis and lung cancer. By checking the miRBase, miRcode, DIANA, miRDB, galaxy, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases, the role of these miRNAs on genes and different molecular pathways and their effect on these miRNAs were mentioned. The results of the present study showed that the expression of miR-34a and miR-182 was lower than that of healthy people. The p-value for miR-182 was <0.0001 and for miR-34a was 0.3380. Conclusion: Reducing the expression pattern of these miRNAs indicates their role in lung cancer and tuberculosis occurrence. Therefore, these miRNAs can be used as a biomarker for prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment methods.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2024

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has been a remarkable advancement. However, the efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of these vaccines in individuals with liver cirrhosis require careful evaluation due to their compromised immune status and potential interactions with underlying liver disease. The present study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in liver cirrhosis patients. In the present study, we searched international databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. The search strategy was carried out by using keywords and MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms. STATA ver. 15.0 (Stata Corp., USA) was used to analyze the data statistically. The analysis was performed using the randomeffects model. We also used the chi-square test and I² index to calculate heterogeneity among studies. For evaluating publication bias, Begg's funnel plots and Egger's tests were used. A total of 4,831 liver cirrhosis patients with COVID-19 were examined from 11 studies. The rate of hospitalization in the patients with liver cirrhosis was 17.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9%-44%). The rate of fever in the patients with liver cirrhosis was 4.5% (95% CI, 0.9%-8.1%). The rate of positive neutralizing antibodies in the patients with liver cirrhosis was 82.5% (95% CI, 69.8%-95.1%). Also, the rates of seroconversion after the second vaccination in patients with liver cirrhosis and the control group were 96.6% (95% CI, 92.0%-99.0%), and 99.7% (95% CI, 99.0%-100.0%), respectively. COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated promising efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety profiles in individuals with liver cirrhosis, providing crucial protection against COVID-19-related complications.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.229-238
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• 2022

Cell migration is an essential process in embryonic development, wound healing, and pathological conditions. Our knowledge of cell migration is often based on the two dimentional evaluation of cell movement, which usually differs from what occurred in vivo. In this study, we investigated cellular migration from blastema tissue toward bovine decellularized mesentery tissue. In this regard, fibronectin (FN) was assessed to confirm cell migration. Therefore, we established a cell migration model using blastema cells migration toward the extracellular matrix derived from bovine mesenteric tissue. A physiochemical decellularization method was utilized based on freeze-thaw cycles and agitation in sodium dodecyl sulfate and Triton X-100 to remove cells from the extracellular matrix (ECM) of bovine mesenteric tissue. These types of matrices were assembled by the rings of blastema tissues originated from the of New Zealand rabbits pinna and cultured in a medium containing FN in different days in vitro, and then they are histologically evaluated, and the expression of the Tenascin C gene is analyzed. By means of tissue staining and after confirmation of the cell removal from mesenteric tissue, polarity, and migration of blastema cells was observed in the interaction site with this matrix. Also, the expression of the Tenascin C gene was assessed on days 15 and 21 following the cell culture process. The results showed that the three dimentional model of cellular migration of blastema cells along with the ECM could be a suitable model for investigating cell behaviors, such as polarity and cell migration in vitro.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.12-29
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• 2022

Purpose: In the present study, whole diphtheria toxin (dt) and fragment B (dtb) genes from Corynebacterium diphtheriae Park William were cloned into Escherichia coli, the purified expressed proteins were evaluated for ultimately using as a candidate vaccine. Materials and Methods: The dt and dtb genes were isolated from bacterial strain ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) no. 13812. Plasmid pET29a+ was extracted by DNA-spin TM plasmid purification kit where genes were inserted using BamHI and HindIII-HF. Cloned pET29a+dt and pET29a+dtb plasmids were transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3)PlysS as expression host. The identity of the sequences was validated by blasting the sequence (BLASTn) against all the reported nucleotide sequences in the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) GenBank. Production of proteins in high yield by different types and parameters of fermentation to determine optimal conditions. Lastly, the purified concentrated rdtx and rdtb were injected to BALB/c mice and antibody titers were detected. Results: The genetic transformation of E. coli DH5α and E. coli BL21 with the pET-29a(+) carrying the dt and dtb genes was confirmed by colony polymerase chain reaction assay and were positive to grow on Luria-Bertani/kanamycin medium. The open reading frame of dt and dtb sequences consisted of 1,600 bp and 1,000 bp, were found to be 100% identical to dt and dtb sequence of C. diphtheriae (accession number KX702999.1 and KX702993.1) respectively. The optimal condition for high cell density is fed-batch fermentation production to express the rdtx and rdtb at 280 and 240 Lf/mL, dissolved oxygen was about 24% and 22% and the dry cell weight of bacteria was 2.41 g/L and 2.18 g/L, respectively. Conclusion: This study concluded with success in preparing genetically modified two strains for the production of a diphtheria vaccine, and to reach ideal production conditions to achieve the highest productivity.