Does the provision of live black soldier fly and yellow mealworm larvae improve Muscovy duck welfare?

Background The provision of environmental enrichments to Muscovy ducks could reduce the expression of the aggressive behaviors.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of black soldier fly(BSF)and yellow mealworm(YM)live larva provision on Muscovy duck performance,excreta corticosterone metabolites(ECM),behavior,and blood parameters.Methods A total of 1263-day-old female Muscovy ducklings were allotted to 18 pens(6 replicates/treatment,7 birds/pen)and assigned to 3 experimental treatments:a control group fed commercial feed,and two experimental treatments fed commercial feed plus the 5%(based on the expected daily feed intake,as fed basis)of BSF and YM live larvae(BSF and YM groups,respectively).A two-phase feeding program was applied:starter(from 3 to 31 days of age)and grower-finisher(from 32 to 55 days of age).The live weight,average daily gain,average daily feed intake,and feed conversion ratio were calculated.Larva consumption times were collected,and video recordings were performed during 3 periods(P)each day:the hour before(P1),during(P2),and after(P3)the larva administration.ECM were evaluated at 3,31,and 55-day-old.Finally,the total red and white blood cell counts,serum proteins,lipids,and liver and renal function serum enzymes were evaluated on 12 birds/treatment.Results The experimental treatment did not affect the growth performance of the birds(P>0.05).Larva consumption times were always similar between the two insect species,except at 14–18 days of age,were BSF larvae were consumed faster than YM larvae(P<0.001).The birds showed less walking activity during P2,and preening behavior increased in YM birds during P3.The C birds increased the attack behavior over the weeks(P<0.05).During weeks 1–3 the YM group reduced the attack frequency(P1>P3;P<0.05).Finally,the provision of live BSF and YM larvae significantly reduced the ECM at 55 days of age and the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio(P<0.05).Conclusions Live BSF and YM larva supplementation in Muscovy duck improves duck welfare,without impairing birds'growth performance.

Biomarkers of Stress and Inflammation in Assessing the Quality of Welfare of Conditioned Vaquejada Horses

In recent decades, the intensity of training and equestrian competitions has significantly increased, thus the assessment of the well-being of the equine athlete has become essential in all equestrian modalities. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether equine athletes submitted to a vaquejada simulation test (VqST), comprised of three races, presented changes in blood biomarkers related to stress and health status. Fourteen healthy Quarter Horses, used as pull horses in this equestrian modality, were evaluated. Ten animals were submitted to the VqST and the remaining four were used as a control group. Blood samples were collected pre-test (during fast), immediately after, and at 1, 4 and 24 hours of recovery. The assessed blood biomarkers included cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, iron, urea, creatinine, and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) concentrations and results were analyzed using One Way ANOVA (time) with the SigmaStat 13.0 software. No differences between sample times were detected in both groups (p > 0.05) and no differences were found between groups (p > 0.05). The results suggest that all horses were well conditioned for the level of effort imposed by the three vaquejada races. The adaptation to physical exercise may enable the regulation of the acute response to stress in the tissues involved in the exercises, with no differences being observed in stress and health biomarkers, such as IL-6, IL-1β and cortisol. In conclusion, well-conditioned vaquejada horses exhibit a balanced regulation of biological processes, which contributes an increased athletic longevity and better quality of athletic life.

Optimal social welfare:A many-to-many data transaction mechanism based on double auctions

With the development of Big Data and the Internet of Things(IoT),the data value is more significant in both academia and industry.Trading can achieve maximal data value and prepare data for smart city services.Due to data's unique characteristics,such as dispersion,heterogeneity and distributed storage,an unbiased platform is necessary for the data trading market with rational trading entities.Meanwhile,there are multiple buyers and sellers in a practical data trading market,and this makes it challenging to maximize social welfare.To solve these problems,this paper proposes a Social-Welfare-Oriented Many-to-Many Trading Mechanism(SOMTM),which integrates three entities,a trading process and an algorithm named Many-to-Many Trading Algorithm(MMTA).Based on the market scale,market dominated-side and market fixed-side,simulations verify the convergency,economic properties and efficiency of SOMTM.

Environmental Enrichment and Its Effect on the Welfare of Two Asian Elephants in Africam Safari Wildlife Conservation Park (Puebla, Mexico)

Animal welfare is important in zoos to maintain the physical well-being and psychological health of individuals. An animal is considered to have welfare if it has good nutrition and also expresses its innate behavior, including sensations and feelings experienced as a result of physical health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of environmental enrichment on the behaviors of two Asian elephants in a wildlife conservation park. The behavior of two Asian elephants, a 46-year-old male and a 59-year-old female, was observed. Behavior was measured by quantifying the frequency, latency, and duration of behavioral actions. Measurements were done with ad libitum sampling during 5 days of testing, then observations were recorded with focal sampling for 25 days with environmental enrichment and 25 days without enrichment. Data were analyzed with the Chi-square statistical test using the statistical program SPSS 20, observing significant differences (P the application of environmental enrichment. The frequency of maintenance behaviors was higher when environmental enrichment was provided, and the frequency of social conducts (affiliative and agonistic) decreased. In fact, the behaviors most frequently presented by elephants with and without environmental enrichment were definitely maintenance behaviors. The environmental enrichment program helped to reduce the duration of abnormal behaviors and increase the frequency of typical behaviors of the species. It also increased independent movements within the exhibition area and helped to know each of the elephants individually in order to apply each enrichment combination according to their needs.

Ophthalmic exam and ophthalmology residents’ subspecialty preference

AIM:To evaluate residents’perceptions and attitudes toward the various aspects of a comprehensive ophthalmic examination,and to determine if these factors correlate with their choices for fellowship and future career plans.METHODS:This is a cross-sectional study.A questionnaire on the perception of the ophthalmic exam was sent via SurveyMonkey to ophthalmology residents throughout Israel.Eighty of them(one-half of all ophthalmology residents in 2019)completed it.The first part related to how they perceived each component of the ophthalmic evaluation.The second part related to their future fellowship plans.The Chi-squared test was used to compare categorical variables and Student’s t-test and One-way ANOVA were used to compare continuous variables.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied as needed to detect interactions between variables and to exclude confounder effects.RESULTS:Slit-lamp examination of the anterior and posterior segments ranked as the most likeable aspects,whereas gonioscopy,ocular motility examination and visual acuity assessment were least likeable.Anterior segment and retina subspecialties were the ones most sought after.Forty-nine respondents(61.3%)noted a direct correlation between their preferred parts of comprehensive ophthalmic evaluations and their choice of subspecialty.Perceptions of selected components of those evaluations were significantly associated with responders’intentions to pursue anterior segment,retina,or oculoplastic fellowships(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Perspectives of residents toward the ophthalmic examination,and most specifically its individual components,play an important role in their choice of subspecialty training.

Disparities across the CREOG Districts —Variations of Wellness and Inclusivity Efforts in Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Websites between Two Consecutive Years

Background: Few studies have focused on the geographic and chronologic assessment of inclusivity and wellness in Obstetrics and Gynecology residency websites across the US. Objective: To identify variations in wellness and inclusivity website depictions across CREOG districts over the past two years. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the websites of ACGME-accredited OB/GYN residency programs across the United States between April 2022 and April 2023. The assessment was based on a compilation of 22 attributes devised and piloted by 49 medical students. A racially, geographically, and gender-diverse cohort of 11 students performed data collection. Results: A total of 560 websites were analyzed over two years. Wellness efforts remained unchanged in both years (website content, dedicated support personnel, and group activities). In 2023, a reduction in referencing of wellness (22%) and inclusivity (30%) occurred in leadership messaging. However, a 7% increase in the use of inclusive pronouns was noted. A reduction in gender diversity was identified (9% in faculty, 5% in residents), with programs favoring female-only teams. Similarly, a 7% reduction in the number of underrepresented in medicine faculty and residents was noted. A 15% reduction was noted in curricula referencing inclusivity in their mission statement and inclusivity focused research. Conclusions: This study suggests the variations across websites relative to inclusivity and wellness over the past two years. Updated websites may provide an accurate reflection of the offerings of programs and their investment in wellness and inclusivity across the nation.

The Impact of the Digital Economy on Rural Residents’Working Hours:Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence

The rapid development of the digital economy has provided a new impetus for rural residents to extend their working hours.Based on the data collected by the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey(CLDS)in 2014,2016,and 2018,this paper measured the development level of the digital economy in China from the perspectives of internet development and digital financial inclusion,and tested the mechanisms of how the digital economy affected rural residents’working hours.The results showed that the digital economy extended rural residents’working hours by expanding information channels and enhancing human capital,and this mechanism was affected by heterogeneity in rural residents’educational background,age,and social capital.Building on these findings,this paper holds that to increase rural residents’income by extending their working hours and achieving common prosperity for all,it is necessary to expand the opportunities for rural residents to participate in skills training and promote their accumulation of human capital.

The Prediction for the Consumer Price Index of Residents in Perspective of Time Series Method in Case of Chongqing

The consumer price index (CPI) measures the relative number of changes in the price level of consumer goods and services over time, reflecting the trend and degree of changes in the price level of goods and services purchased by residents. This article uses the ARMA model to analyze the fluctuation trend of the CPI (taking Chongqing as an example) and make short-term predictions. To test the predictive performance of the model, the observation values from January to December 2023 were retained as the reference object for evaluating the predictive accuracy of the model. Finally, through trial predictions of the data from May to August 2023, it was found that the constructed model had good fitting performance.

Spatial Morphology Evolution Characteristics Analysis of the Resident Population Distribution in Henan, China

The population spatial distribution pattern and its evolving pattern play an important role in regional allocation of social resources and production factors, formulation of regional development plans, construction of a better life society, and promotion of regional economic development. Based on the resident population statistics data of Henan province from 2006 to 2021, with county as the basic study unit, the paper studies the spatial morphology characteristics and its evolution patterns of resident population distribution, by using spatial analysis methods such as population distribution center, standard deviation ellipse, and spatial auto correlation analysis. The results show that: the resident population spatial distribution shows unbalanced state, the population agglomeration areas mainly distribute in the northeast part and north part, where the resident population growth rate is significantly higher than other regions, over time, this trend is gradually becoming significant. The resident population distribution has a trend of centripetal concentration, with the degree and trend of centripetal gradually strengthening. The resident population distribution has obvious directional characteristics, but the significance is not high, the weighted resident population average center is approximately located at (4.13740˚N, 113.8935˚E), and the azimuth of the distribution axis is approximately 11.19˚. The population distribution has obvious agglomeration characteristics, with the built-up areas of Zhengzhou and Luoyang as their centers, where have a significant siphon effect on the surrounding population. The southern and southwestern regions in the province form a relatively stable belt area of Low-Low agglomeration areas.

Associations between residence and cognitive function among Chinese older adults: the mediating role of leisure activity

Background:Cognitive function is a current research hotspot,residence may be related to differences in cognitive function,and the mediating role of leisure activities are limited in Chinese research.This study used leisure activities as a mediating variable to investigate the mediating role of leisure activity between place of residence(city-town-rural)and cognitive function among Chinese older,this is where the innovation of the article comes in.Methods:Using cross-sectional data from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey,Pearson correlation analyses were employed to examine the relationships among various indicators.Mediation analyses were conducted using the SPSS PROCESS macro program,version 3.5,written by Hayes,to explore the mediating effects of leisure activity between place of residence and cognitive function in older adults.Results:A total of 10955 older adults were included in this study,with a mean age of(84.23±11.57)years.Among them,2739(24.8%)lived in the city,3627(33.1%)in town,and 4615(42.1%)in rural areas;their leisure activity score was(5.34±3.77),and their cognitive function score was(24.69±6.65).Place of residence,leisure activities,and cognitive function were significantly correlated(P<0.01).Using city as a reference,place of residence is negatively associated with cognitive function,and place of residence not only had a direct effect on cognitive function in older adults:town-cognitive function(effect=–0.399;95%confidence interval(CI)=(–0.685,–0.113));rural-cognitive function(effect=–0.42;95%CI=(–0.698,–0.141)).There were also indirect effects on cognitive function through the pathway of leisure activity:town-leisure activity-cognitive function(effect=–0.17;95%CI=(–0.246,–0.1)),rural-leisure activity-cognitive function(effect=–0.199;95%CI=(–0.272,–0.13)).Conclusion:Leisure activities play a partially mediating role between the impact of place of residence and cognitive function in Chinese older adults,and it is vital to pay attention to the impact of place of residence on the cognitive function of older adults in various aspects,and to increase the participation rate of older adults in leisure activities,which is beneficial to the prevention of cognitive decline and the protection of older adult’s physical and mental health.

Exploration of the Integration of Curriculum Ideology and Politics into the Educational Pathway of Standardized Training for General Practice Residents

In recent years,the national higher education reform has proposed the concept of curriculum ideological and political education as a major element.This integration into the standardized training of general practice residents(commonly referred to as general resident training)is an unavoidable trend in the teaching field.Based on the actual situation of our unit at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Medical University,this paper emphasizes the necessity of incorporating ideological and political education into the general resident training curriculum,despite the absence of pertinent practical experience in how to effectively incorporate such courses into comprehensive residential training.In our hospital,we must assess the ideological and political education in the curriculum of general resident training,proposing a scientific,reasonable ideological and political education concept system for general practice courses,integrating ideological and political education with general practice resident training,and strengthening the team of ideological and political education physicians to teach them to carry out such education,this would foster enthusiasm and initiative.Strengthening admission education and training for general practice resident training,as well as regularly hosting symposiums to share ideas and understand the mission of doctors can provide effective experience for ideological and political education in general resident training courses.

Effects of relative humidity on animal health and welfare

Farm animals are sources of meat, milk and eggs for the humans, and animal health ensures the quality and security of these agricultural and sideline products. The animal raising conditions in livestock stations and poultry houses play vital roles in both animal health and production. One of the major factors affecting raising conditions, relative humidity, has not received much attention even though it is important for animal husbandry. In this review, we summarize the impacts of relative humidity on animal health and welfare to draw attention for its importance in the improvement of animal raising conditions in the future.

Review of human-animal interactions and their impact on animal productivity and welfare

Humans and animals are in regular and at times close contact in modern intensive farming systems.The quality of human-animal interactions can have a profound impact on the productivity and welfare of farm animals.Interactions by humans may be neutral,positive or negative in nature.Regular pleasant contact with humans may result in desirable alterations in the physiology,behaviour,health and productivity of farm animals.On the contrary,animals that were subjected to aversive human contact were highly fearful of humans and their growth and reproductive performance could be compromised.Farm animals are particularly sensitive to human stimulation that occurs early in life,while many systems of the animals are still developing.This may have long-lasting impact and could possibly modify their genetic potential.The question as to how human contact can have a positive impact on responses to stressors,and productivity is not well understood.Recent work in our laboratory suggested that pleasant human contact may alter ability to tolerate various stressors through enhanced heat shock protein（hsp） 70 expression.The induction of hsp is often associated with increased tolerance to environmental stressors and disease resistance in animals.The attitude and consequent behaviour of stockpeople affect the animals＇ fear of human which eventually influence animals＇ productivity and welfare.Other than attitude and behaviour,technical skills,knowledge,job motivation,commitment and job satisfaction are prerequisites for high job performance.

Empirical analysis of carbon tariff's effect on the export structure of China's manufacturing industry and social welfare based on the GTAP model

In recent years,carbon emissions have gradually evolved from an environment issue into a political and economic one.Carbon tariff has brought about new trade barriers of developed countries,and in order to enhance the industrial competitiveness of developed countries,it will produce unfavorable impact on developing countries.Concentrated on the manufacturing industry,which is the most intensive high-carbon industry in China's export structure,this article studies the relationship between carbon tariff policy and industry structure of export trade and builds up a relation between climate change and international trade.First,by means of establishing a partial equilibrium model,it applies geometric analysis and mathematical analysis to compute the impact on China's manufacturing export trade and the consequences of the introduction of the US carbon tariff to China's manufacturing industry that has already imposed a domestic shipping carbon tax.Furthermore,with the application of the GTAP model,it estimates the overall economic and welfare effects on China's manufacturing industry if the US and Europe introduce carbon tariff by means of four ways,and then analyzes the influence on China's manufacturing industry export structure and social welfare as well.The result shows that the introduction of the US carbon import tariff lowers China's export price and export volume,and the implementation of a domestic carbon tax justifies a higher export price and a lower export volume for China.However,the degree of export reduction is smaller than that under the effect of the US carbon tariff.In the case of developed countries imposing carbon tariff on China's energy-intensive industries,such as chemical rubber products,oil and coal-processing industry and paper industry,whose export would be reduced,the negative impact on the paper industry is the severest,which will decrease the paper industry's export ranging from 1.79%to 6.05%,whereas the other industries' export will increase.Anyhow,it will promote China's manufacturing industry to adjust the export structure to a certain extent.In addition,it will lead to a decrease in China's welfare,with a decrease between $2,134 billion and $8,347 billion.Finally,this paper provides information on international coordination,export structure adjustment and green manufacturing adjustment as a reference for the development of China's manufacturing industry.

Welfare and Market Impacts of Food Safety Measures in China: Results from Urban Consumers' Valuation of Product Attributes

This study provides an economics assessment of various food safety measures in China. A choice experiment approach is used to elicit Chinese consumer preferences for various food safety attributes using data from a 2008 urban consumer survey. An alternative welfare calculation is used to model aggregate market impacts of select food safety measures. Our results show that the largest welfare gains are found in the current government-run certiifcation program. The implementation of a third-party certiifcation system, a traceability network and a product label would generate signiifcant value and would help reduce current system inefifciencies in China. This study builds on previous research and provides an alternative approach for calculating consumer valuation of safety and quality attributes that can be used to estimate aggregate economic and welfare impacts.

Welfare effects of rural-urban land conversion on different aged land-lost farmers:exemplified in Wuhan city

Rural-urban land conversion is a universal phenomenon in the rapid process of economic development and urban growth.The welfare of farmers who lost their farmland attracted a widespread concern within the society and academia.However,further research about differentiated policies according to the characteristics of different farmer groups is still need to be conducted.This article divides the land-lost farmers into three age groups:younger than 45,45-65,and more than 65.It proposes a welfare index system including eight functional areas based on different age groups of affected farmers,taking four districts of Wuhan City as case study area.Fuzzy mathematics method is used to derive the aggregated welfare effect index.Our analysis show that the overall welfare levels of land-lost farmers of all age groups declined,but with a varying degree,with the level of welfare in those farmers who are 45-65 years old,younger than 45 years old,and older than 65 years old decreased by 18.7%,16.6%,and 12.7%,respectively.The direction and degree of effects on the functional activity index varies among different groups.Economic conditions,living environment,health,and social participation of all age groups decrease while social security and housing conditions increase.On the other hand,development opportunities,social communication,and leisure have different changing directions in different age stages.These results call for differentiated and tailor-made compensation policies for land-lost farmers,towards improving the welfare levels of all farmers and reduce the disparity among them.

Case Study of Low-carbon Rural Residences and Building Materials

Driven by the policy of "balancing urban and rural development", urbanization in China has been accelerated and agricultural population transferred to urban areas, which guarantees the improvement of life quality and living environment of rural and agricultural population. The urbanization has always been accompanied by national economic development and social progress, relocation and development of rural areas have become a social issue for a certain time. Therefore, it is imperative to explore a series of concrete, well-timed and practical measures for settling rural population, figure out proper modes, materials and methods for rural residence planning and construction under the new conditions, and provide relevant operation and theoretical support. Problems in mountainous rural areas of China were proposed as great population but limited land resources, backward construction techniques, and residences not valuing low carbon or environment protection. In view of these problems, construction techniques suitable for actual conditions of rural areas were explored, energy-saving building materials combined, the style of "dragon sucking water" for mountainous rural areas was proposed, design advantages and details of this architectural model were analyzed.

Rural Migrant Workers' Welfare and Labor Protection in China under the Labor Contract Law

This paper employs difference-in-differences(DID) approach to evaluate the effects of China's Labor Contract Law's implementation on rural migrant workers' welfare.Our findings suggest that the Labor Contract Law has reduced rural migrant workers' working hours by 23%, and increased their social insurance coverage by 10% to 26%. This conclusion holds true after removal of sample selection bias and policy expectation factor.Further analysis reveals that Labor Contract Law's welfare improvement effect was more significant for migrant workers in regions where workers had poor bargaining power. Other economic factors during the same period of time did not affect the law's labor protection effect. Our findings give a clear answer to controversies over whether the Labor Contract Law can improve labor rights for underprivileged groups, and are of reference value for developing labor protection systems.

Proposal of ZigBee Systems for the Provision of Location Information and Transmission of Sensor Data in Medical Welfare

This paper proposes a scheme to obtain location and vital health information using ZigBee system. ZigBee systems are wireless communication systems defined by IEEE 802.154. In the proposed scheme, location information is obtained using the Link Quality Indication (LQI) function of a ZigBee system, which represents the received signal strength. And, the vital health information are collected from the electrocardiogram monitor, the pulse and blood pressure device, attached to the patient’s body. This information is then transmitted to an outside network by ZigBee systems. In this way, vital health information can be transmitted as ZigBee sensor data while patients with the ZigBee terminal are moving. In the experiments using actual ZigBee devices, the proposed scheme could obtain accurate location and vital health information from the sensor data. Moreover, to achieve high reliability in the actual service, the collected amount of sensor data was confirmed by the theoretic calculation, when a ZigBee terminal passed through ZigBee routers. These results indicate that the proposed scheme can be used to detect the accurate location of the ZigBee terminal. And over 99% of the sensor data on vital health information was obtained when the ZigBee terminal passed through approximately four ZigBee routers.

Recent advances in immunocastration in sheep and goat and its animal welfare benefits:A review

Castration of male animals is a common practice in the meat industry aimed at reducing aggressive behavior, preventing unpleasant flavor, and controlling undesirable breeding. For many years, mechanical castration and surgical castration have been practiced to sterilize the animals. However, these castration methods are not humane because of the associated risk of death, pain, and stress. Recently, immunocastration targeting the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis(HPG) axis has been reported as an animal-friendly approach that circumvents many of the concerns with conventional castration, and suggested by researches as an alternative to surgical castration. However, there is no compilation of updated information on the use of immunocastration in sheep and goats. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the developmental process from traditional surgical castration to immunocastration and to screen the process of immune targets. It also compares the respective advantages and disadvantages of traditional castration technologies and immunocastration, in particular including analyses in the characteristics, features application and welfare benefits of immunocastration in sheep and goats were also analyzed.