Aspects Of Behavior Research Articles

Pesticide-Induced Alterations in Locomotor Activity, Anxiety, and Depression-like Behavior Are Mediated through Oxidative Stress-Related Autophagy: A Persistent Developmental Study in Mice.

Chlorpyrifos (CPF), dichlorvos (DDV), and cypermethrin (CP), as commonly used pesticides, have been implicated in inducing neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression-like behaviors, and locomotor activity impairment. However, the exact molecular mechanisms of these adverse effects, particularly in both sexes and their next-generation effects, remain unclear. In this study, we conducted behavioral analysis, along with cellular assays (monodansylcadaverine staining) and molecular investigations (qRT-PCR and western blotting of mTOR, P62, and Beclin-1) to clear the potential role of autophagy in pesticide-induced behavioral alterations. For this purpose, 42 adult female and 21 male inbred ICR mice (F0) were distributed into seven groups. Maternal mice (F0) and 112 F1 offspring were exposed to 0.5 and 1 ppm of CPF, DDV, and CP through drinking water. F1 male and female animals were studied to assess the sex-specific effects of pesticides on brain tissue. Our findings revealed pronounced anxiogenic effects and impaired locomotor activity in mice. F1 males exposed to CPF (1 ppm) exhibited significantly elevated depression-like behaviors compared to other groups. Moreover, pesticide exposure reduced mTOR and P62 levels, while enhancing the Beclin-1 gene and protein expression. These changes in autophagy signaling pathways, coupled with oxidative and neurogenic damage in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, potentially contribute to heightened locomotor activity, anxiety, and depression-like behaviors following pesticide exposure. This study underscores the substantial impact of pesticides on both physiological and behavioral aspects, emphasizing the necessity for comprehensive assessments and regulatory considerations for pesticide use. Additionally, the identification of sex-specific responses presents a crucial dimension for pharmaceutical sciences, highlighting the need for tailored therapeutic interventions and further research in this field.

Experiencing the body as play: Cultivating older adults’ exergame experiences using embodied metaphors and multimodal feedback

Physical activity (PA) is promising in increasing active life for older adults, but its repetitive and fatigue-inducing nature greatly harms older adults’ motivation to participate. Recently, there has been a growing interest in applying exergames to improve older adults’ PA adherence and engagement. To better support body-based interactions, embodied metaphors and multimodal feedback are suggested to ensure effective and meaningful mapping between elderly players’ input actions and exergame responses, but their effectiveness have not been fully investigated. After developing a list of embodied and ontological metaphors based a series of user-centered approaches, two experiments were conducted to investigate how embodied metaphors and multimodal feedback impact older adults'’ playing experience of PA exergames, among fifty-nine and twenty-five older adults, respectively. Regarding the embodied metaphor design, the results indicated that a higher embodiment level significantly and positively influenced the participants’ acceptance behavior in terms of their attitudes toward the exergame, and a higher information richness level demonstrated significantly positive effects on familiarity perception and all aspects of acceptance behavior. For the multimodal feedback design, the results indicated that 3D visual feedback better facilitated the participants’ sense of embodiment and immersion, as well as their acceptance behavior, compared to 2D visual feedback. Furthermore, constant tactile feedback in a continuous-only or continuous-and-augmented way significantly improved the participants’ PA movement performance and sense of embodiment, rather than instant feedback. Accordingly, a list of design guidelines for PA exergame development is proposed, with the possible contributions and limitations of this research addressed.

E-HRM as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Work Competence and Work Motivation on Employee Performance

Employee performance has a very important role in determining the success of a company. When employee performance is at an optimal level, it can increase overall productivity, operational efficiency, and also the quality of goods and services offered by the company. This research aims to determine the role of e-HRM as a mediator in the relationship between competence and work motivation on employee performance in the garment industry in Central Java. The method applied in this research adopts a quantitative method with a qualitative approach to understand the behavioral and psychological aspects that influence employee performance. This research is cross-sectional. Data is collected through surveys via questionnaires which will be distributed to employees and literature studies. Samples were taken using the Accidental Sampling technique to obtain 50 samples. The data that has been collected is then analyzed using a regression test. The research results show that in the garment industry in Central Java, competency and work motivation have a positive and significant effect on employee performance. E-HRM is able to encourage employee performance through work competency and work motivation. E-HRM can help companies improve employee work competency by providing training and development that is relevant to job needs. E-HRM can also help companies increase employee motivation by providing programs that can meet employee needs.

Enhanced cognitive flexibility and phasic striatal dopamine dynamics in a mouse model of low striatal tonic dopamine.

The catecholamine neuromodulators dopamine and norepinephrine are implicated in motor function, motivation, and cognition. Although roles for striatal dopamine in these aspects of behavior are well established, the specific roles for cortical catecholamines in regulating striatal dopamine dynamics and behavior are less clear. We recently showed that elevating cortical dopamine but not norepinephrine suppresses hyperactivity in dopamine transporter knockout (DAT-KO) mice, which have elevated striatal dopamine levels. In contrast, norepinephrine transporter knockout (NET-KO) mice have a phenotype distinct from DAT-KO mice, as they show elevated extracellular cortical catecholamines but reduced baseline striatal dopamine levels. Here we evaluated the consequences of altered catecholamine levels in NET-KO mice on cognitive flexibility and striatal dopamine dynamics. In a probabilistic reversal learning task, NET-KO mice showed enhanced reversal learning, which was consistent with larger phasic dopamine transients (dLight) in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) during reward delivery and reward omission, compared to WT controls. Selective depletion of dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) norepinephrine in WT mice did not alter performance on the reversal learning task but reduced nestlet shredding. Surprisingly, NET-KO mice did not show altered breakpoints in a progressive ratio task, suggesting intact food motivation. Collectively, these studies show novel roles of cortical catecholamines in the regulation of tonic and phasic striatal dopamine dynamics and cognitive flexibility, updating our current views on dopamine regulation and informing future therapeutic strategies to counter multiple psychiatric disorders.

THE INFLUENCE OF CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE LOYALTY PROGRAMS’ FEATURES ON CUSTOMERS’ ATTITUDINAL, CONATIVE, AND BEHAVIOURAL LOYALTY

Companies allocate significant resources in loyalty programs with the primary goal of enhancing customer loyalty. However, the effectiveness of these programs is now a subject of academic debate. Scholars highlight concerns such as the creation of spurious loyalty, the need for perceived value, and evolving consumer expectations. To succeed in this changing landscape, companies must embrace creativity and innovation in their loyalty program design. As creativity and innovations in loyalty programs are new and little-studied phenomenon, a comprehensive assessment of potential creative and innovative features in loyalty programs is essential for a deeper understanding of their influence on customer loyalty. The aim of this study was to measure the influence of creative and innovative loyalty programs’ features on customers’ attitudinal, conative, and behavioural loyalty. 203 respondents took part in the research. Ordered logistic regression analysis was used to reach the aim of the study. The research findings indicate that engagement-, gamification-, personalization-, and experience-based loyalty programs have an influence on customer loyalty. All four types of features of creative and innovative loyalty programs influence attitudinal and behaviour loyalty, and three types of features of loyalty programs, i.e., engagement-, gamification-, and experience-based, influence conative loyalty. The study findings underscore the importance of designing new features of loyalty programs that align with specific loyalty dimensions, as they can have differential effects on attitudinal, conative, and behavioural aspects of customer loyalty. Such insights are valuable for companies seeking to enhance customer loyalty through creative and innovative loyalty program design and implementation.

A scoping review of the use of bioacoustics to assess various components of farm animal welfare

Recording and analyzing animal sounds, including vocal and non-vocal cues, is a relevant tool to access and monitor different aspects of animal physiology, behaviour and general welfare in a remote, non-invasive and continuous fashion. This field, known as bioacoustics, is considerably growing, notably due to the development of machine learning techniques. Yet, applications of these methods in animal husbandry remain limited, and their potential may not be fully acknowledged. This review aims to present the potential of bioacoustic tools to monitor various aspects of the welfare of farm animals, and focuses on studies published since 2010. The first section of the review introduces the concept of bioacoustics, describes the different parameters that can be extracted from the sounds of animals, and explains how they can be analysed. The potential of these measures to inform about the physical characteristics, individuality, health, physiology, behaviour, and affective states of different species of farm animals are then presented, through a contemporary overview of the research field. Although this analysis identifies a variety of applications of bioacoustics tools in relation to the assessment and monitoring of farm animal welfare, it also points out the current scarcity of methods implemented in practice and available to farm management. Barriers to the development of bioacoustics measures in conventional farming are also discussed, and future directions for this field of research are suggested.

Behavioral and pharmacological characterization of planarian nociception.

Pain mostly arises because specialized cells called nociceptors detect harmful or potentially harmful stimuli. In lower animals with less convoluted nervous system, these responses are believed to be purely nociceptive. Amongst invertebrate animal models, planarians are becoming popular in a wide range of pharmacological and behavioral studies beyond the field of regeneration. Recent publications led the way on pain studies by focusing on nociceptive behaviors such as the 'scrunching' gait displayed under various noxious stimuli, as opposed to the 'gliding' gait planarians usually adopt in normal conditions. In this study, we adapted commonly used nociceptive tests to further explore nociception in planarians of the species Girardia dorotocephala. By using behavioral analysis in open fields and place preferences, we managed to set up chemical, thermal and mechanical nociceptive tests. We also adapted RNA interference protocols and explored the effects of knocking down TRPA1 ion channels, one of the main effectors of chemically and thermally-induced nociceptive responses in vertebrates. Consequently, we demonstrated the reliability of the scrunching gait in this planarian species, which they displayed in a dose-dependent manner when exposed to the irritant AITC. We also showed that suppressing the expression of TRPA1 ion channels completely suppressed the scrunching gait, demonstrating the involvement of TRPA1 nociceptors in this nociceptive reaction. Besides, we also explored the effects of two common analgesics that both displayed strong antinociceptive properties. First, morphine reduced the chemically-induced nociceptive scrunching gaits by more than 20% and shifted the of the dose-response curve by approximately 10 μM. Secondly, the NSAID meloxicam drastically reduced chemically-induced scrunching by up to 60% and reduced heat avoidance in place preference tests. Thus, we managed to characterize both behavioral and pharmacological aspects of G. dorotocephala's nociception, further developing the use of planarians as a replacement model in pain studies and more globally the study of invertebrate nociception.

Mapping the neural mechanism that distinguishes between holistic thinking and analytic thinking

Holistic and analytic thinking are two distinct modes of thinking used to interpret the world with relative preferences varying across cultures. While most research on these thinking styles has focused on behavioral and cognitive aspects, a few studies have utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the correlations between brain metrics and self-reported scale scores. Other fMRI studies used single holistic and analytic thinking tasks. As a single task may involve processing in spurious low-level regions, we used two different holistic and analytic thinking tasks, namely the frame-line task and the triad task, to seek convergent brain regions to distinguish holistic and analytic thinking using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA). Results showed that brain regions fundamental to distinguish holistic and analytic thinking include the bilateral frontal lobes, bilateral parietal lobes, bilateral precentral and postcentral gyrus, bilateral supplementary motor areas, bilateral fusiform, bilateral insula, bilateral angular gyrus, left cuneus, and precuneus, left olfactory cortex, cingulate gyrus, right caudate and putamen. Our study maps brain regions that distinguish between holistic and analytic thinking and provides a new approach to explore the neural representation of cultural constructs. We provide initial evidence connecting culture-related brain regions with language function to explain the origins of cultural differences in cognitive styles.

Modeling and Simulation of Unmanned Swarm System Based on Dynamic Structure DEVS

As a complex system with collaborative cooperation and capability emergence, the unmanned swarm system plays an important role in military, agriculture, aerospace and other fields. With the increasing complexity of unmanned swarm systems, traditional modeling methods cannot effectively describe the dynamics of swarm systems. In order to effectively design, use and evaluate unmanned swarm systems, this article conducts modeling and simulation of unmanned swarm systems based on DSDEVS(Dynamic Structure Discrete Event System Specification). Describe the unmanned swarm system from both behavioral and structural aspects. Based on component modeling, the microscopic behaviors of the unmanned platforms that constitute the unmanned swarm are described, and coupling relationships are established to describe the collaborative structure between unmanned platforms. According to the state transfer and event interaction characteristics of the unmanned swarm system, a synchronization mechanism is added to support changes in the swarm structure. This enables the unmanned swarm system to make adaptive structural adjustments according to environmental changes and its own goals during simulation operation, so as to achieve a state of enhanced capabilities and structural stability to complete the task. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of this method were verified through a simulation experiment of joint reconnaissance by a UAV swarm.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLY (DfMA) – WHAT AFFECTS ITS ADOPTION IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS?

There is a consensus among industry leaders and scholars that the construction sector will lose its competitive advantages if its lethargy to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies continues. As a response, the construction industry has been advocating the more extensive use of the Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) in projects. Research studies on this topic mainly reported technological advancement but rarely addressed the factors that lead to the development of positive organizational behavior towards the implementation of DfMA. A systematic literature review will be adopted to achieve the research aims. A total number of 18 behavioral traits were identified through the method, including client's interest, stakeholders support, availability of DfMA related resources, companies' capability, early involvement of all parties in design, development of DfMA-friendly procurement approach, the use of digital technology, government involvement, etc. The findings will shed light on DfMA adoption on behavioral aspects for global DfMA adoption in the construction industry.

Interest subvention for crop loans in India: Win-win or win-lose ?

Interest subsidies on crop loans are a common feature of rural credit markets in developing countries. The objective behind giving interest subsidies is two-fold – increasing access to credit and improving loan repayment rates, and is therefore regarded as a win-win for the borrower and the lender. This study focusses on a policy intervention that provides interest subsidy for crop loans availed under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme - India's flagship program to provide short-term agricultural credit for farmers. Using a unique dataset from a large public sector bank in India, we evaluate the causal impact of this intervention on both credit access and loan repayment behavior. We also capture the heterogeneous impact of the policy on new and existing borrowers. The results of econometric analysis - a combination of matching and difference-in-difference techniques - show a substantial increase (35%) in new loans, in addition to 20% decrease in the overall loan amount, indicating increased breadth and depth of access. However, contrary to standard economic theories, we observe a reduction in odds of repayment. Further, we find that the interest rate subsidy worsens the repayment rates of existing borrowers too. Our findings underscore the importance of various operational and behavioral aspects of the agricultural lending ecosystem to design win-win credit policies.

Evaluation of Individuals' Mouthwash Buying and Using Habits

Purpose: Mouthwash use includes processes such as recognizing the problem, collecting information, and evaluating alternatives, and it has been associated with a variety of factors including sociodemographic traits, health, and behavioral aspects. In light of this information, our study aims to evaluate patients' purchase and use habits of mouthwashes. Materials & Methods: 500 patients who applied to Ankara University Faculty of Dentistry Department of Periodontology were included in our study. The patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire consisting of 24 questions about mouthwash usage habits. Data were evaluated with PASW version 20 software. To assess the association between variables, the Chi-square test was performed. Results: 59% of the participants are women, 29.8% consist of individuals between the ages of 18-24, 15.2% of individuals between the ages of 25-34, and 18.3% of individuals between the ages of 35-44. 54.2% of the participants have been using mouthwash for the last 2 years, and 34.5% prefer it because it kills bacteria. This was followed by the answers to prevent gingival diseases, prevent bad breath, and whiten teeth, respectively. The dentist's recommendation is the most important factor affecting the participants when buying mouthwash, but 72% of the participants go to the dentist when needed. Conclusion: Mouthwash usage is related to factors such as the frequency of dental visits and tooth brushing, so all individuals in the community should be educated about mouthwash. Keywords: Oral health, Mouthwash, Preventive dentistry

Viscoelastic modelling and analysis of two-dimensional woven CNT-based multiscale fibre reinforced composite material system

Carbon nanotube (CNT) has fostered research as a promising nanomaterial for a variety of applications due to its exceptional mechanical, optical, and electrical characteristics. The present article proposes a novel and comprehensive micromechanical framework to assess the viscoelastic properties of a multiscale CNT-reinforced two-dimensional (2D) woven hybrid composite. It also focuses on demonstrating the utilisation of the proposed micromechanics in the dynamic analysis of shell structure. First, the detailed constructional attributes of the proposed trans-scale composite material system are described in detail. Then, according to the nature of the constructional feature, mathematical modelling of each constituent phase or building block’s material properties is established to evaluate the homogenised viscoelastic properties of the proposed composite material system. To highlight the novelty of this study, the viscoelastic characteristics of the modified matrix are developed using the micromechanics method of Mori–Tanaka (MT) in combination with the weak viscoelastic interphase (WI) theory. In the entire micromechanical framework, the CNTs are considered to be randomly oriented. The strength of the material (SOM) approach is used to establish mathematical frameworks for the viscoelastic characteristics of yarns, whereas the unit cell method (UCM) is used to determine the viscoelastic properties of the representative unit cell (RUC). Different numerical results have been obtained by varying the CNT composition, interface conditions, agglomeration, carbon fibre volume percentage, excitation frequency, and temperature. The influences of geometrical parameters like yarn thickness, width, and the gap length to yarn width ratio on the viscoelasticity of such composite material systems are also explored. The current study also addresses the issue of resultant anisotropic viscoelastic properties due to the use of dissimilar yarn thickness. The results of this micromechanical analysis provide valuable insights into the viscoelastic properties of the proposed composite material system and suggest its potential applications in vibration damping. To demonstrate the application of developed novel micromechanics in vibration analysis, as one of the main contributions, comprehensive numerical experiments are conducted on a shell panel. The results show a significant reduction in vibration amplitudes compared to traditional composite materials in the frequency response and transient response analyses. To focus on the aspect of micromechanical behaviour on dynamic response and for the purpose of brevity, only linear strain displacement relationships are considered for dynamic analysis. These insights could inform future research and development in the field of composite materials.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pharmacy students: A comprehensive survey

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused numerous changes in all aspects of human life and behavior, especially in the education system. Because of these reasons, our study aimed to evaluate the approaches and attitudes of pharmacy faculty students to the COVID-19 pandemic as a survey study. This study is an analytical cross-sectional study. It was conducted with the online questionnaire technique. The questionnaire form consists of 5 different sections, and the participants were asked questions aiming to determine the level of knowledge, behavioral patterns, and approaches to online education of pharmacy faculty students against the COVID-19 pandemic, along with socio-demographic questions. 151 pharmacy students, 99 (65.6%) female and 52 (34.4%) male, participated in our study. When the participants with COVID-19 infection were asked about their post-infection approach, 31 (50%) of the participants stated that "no change in the ways of protection", 20 (32.3%) felt the need for more protection, and 11 (17.7%) also announced that he had loosened the protection measures. It has been shown that there is an increase in students’ anxiety during the pandemic. In addition, it was determined that a high rate of vaccination and vaccines were relied upon. Our data show that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about some changes in the attitudes and behaviors of pharmacy students. Time will tell the long-term results of this study, in which we showed how these changes caused by the pandemic affect pharmacy students in the short term.

Explainable artificial intelligence in transport Logistics: Risk analysis for road accidents

Automobile traffic accidents represent a significant threat to global public safety, resulting in numerous injuries and fatalities annually. This paper introduces a comprehensive, explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) artifact design, integrating accident data for utilization by diverse stakeholders and decision-makers. It proposes responsible, explanatory, and interpretable models with a systems-level taxonomy categorizing aspects of driver-related behaviors associated with varying injury severity levels, thereby contributing theoretically to explainable analytics. In the initial phase, we employed various advanced techniques such as data missing at random (MAR) with Bayesian dynamic conditional imputation for addressing missing records, synthetic minority oversampling technique for data imbalance issues, and categorical boosting (CatBoost) combined with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) for determining and analyzing the importance and dependence of risk factors on injury severity. Additionally, exploratory feature analysis was conducted to uncover hidden spatiotemporal elements influencing traffic accidents and injury severity levels. We developed several predictive models in the second phase, including eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), random forest (RF), deep neural networks (DNN), and fine-tuned parameters. Using the SHAP approach, we employed model-agnostic interpretation techniques to separate explanations from models. In the final phase, we provided an analysis and summary of the system-level taxonomy across feature categories. This involved classifying crash data into high-level causal factors using aggregate SHAP scores, illustrating how each risk factor contributes to different injury severity levels.

The Effect of Everyday-Life Social Contact on Pain.

Pain is a biopsychosocial phenomenon, resulting from the interplay between physiological and psychological processes and social factors. Given that humans constantly interact with others, the effect of social factors is particularly relevant. Documenting the significance of the social modulation of pain, an increasing number of studies have investigated the effect of social contact on subjective pain intensity and pain-related physiological changes. While evidence suggests that social contact can alleviate pain, contradictory findings indicate an increase in pain intensity and a deterioration of pain coping strategies. This evidence primarily stems from studies examining the effect of social contact on pain within highly controlled laboratory conditions. Moreover, pain assessments often rely on one-time subjective reports of average pain intensity across a predefined period. Ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) can circumvent these problems, as they can capture diverse aspects of behavior and experiences multiple times a day, in real time, with high resolution, and within naturalistic and ecologically valid settings. These multiple measures allow for the examination of fluctuations of pain symptoms throughout the day in relation to affective, cognitive, behavioral, and social factors. In this opinion paper, we review the current state and future relevance of EMA-based social pain research in daily life. Specifically, we examine whether everyday-life social support reduces or enhances pain. The first part of the paper provides a comprehensive overview of the use of EMA in pain research and summarizes the main findings. The review of the relatively limited number of existing EMA studies shows that the association between pain and social contact in everyday life depends on numerous factors, including pain syndromes, temporal dynamics, the nature of social interactions, and characteristics of the interaction partners. In line with laboratory research, there is evidence that everyday-life social contact can alleviate, but also intensify pain, depending on the type of social support. Everyday-life emotional support seems to reduce pain, while extensive solicitous support was found to have opposite effects. Moreover, positive short-term effects of social support can be overshadowed by other symptoms such as fatigue. Overall, gathering and integrating experiences from a patient's social environment can offer valuable insights. These insights can help interpret dynamics in pain intensity and accompanying symptoms such as depression or fatigue. We conclude that factors determining the reducing versus enhancing effects of social contact on pain need to be investigated more thoroughly. We advocate EMA as the assessment method of the future and highlight open questions that should be addressed in future EMA studies on pain and the potential of ecological momentary interventions for pain treatment.

Spiritual Health Status and Related Factors Among Medical Students in Kermanshah

Background: Spirituality constitutes an integral aspect of health, encompassing religiosity and spirituality, and is deemed essential alongside physical, mental, and social well-being, contributing to individual and societal health development. Objectives: This study aims to assess the level of spiritual health and its associated factors among medical students at Kermanshah Medical School. Methods: This research employed a cross-sectional descriptive design. The study population comprised 258 medical students in Kermanshah, selected through random and available sampling methods. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire for evaluating spiritual health in Iranian society, developed by the Academy of Medical Sciences. The questionnaire consists of 48 items, measuring behavioral, attitudinal, and perceptual dimensions. Its reliability and validity have been established by Amiri et al. using Cronbach's alpha method. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-23 software. Results: The mean age of participants was 21.59 years, with 50.4% females and 94.6% single individuals. A majority (59.3%) were enrolled in basic science, and 73.4% lived with their parents. The average spiritual health score among students was 205.03. Female and single students scored higher than male and married counterparts, respectively. Additionally, students residing in dormitories or private homes scored higher than those living with their parents. There was a significant difference between genders and academic disciplines, particularly in the dimensions of attitude and overall spiritual health. Moreover, students' living arrangements significantly influenced their scores in terms of attitude and overall spiritual health. Conclusions: The overall spiritual health score among medical students was relatively low, with higher scores observed in the areas of attitude and perception compared to behavioral aspects.

Behavioral Aspects of Operational Cost Control to Increase Profits in "X"

In running a business owned by an individual, it can be said to be successful if after a certain period of time the business experiences an increase in capital, profits or management in controlling costs. This research aims to find out whether controlling operational costs can increase profits at Tegoeh Djaja Konveksi Screen Printing. This research is a type of qualitative descriptive research, primary data obtained through interviews and literature review. The research method used in this research is a qualitative method, namely describing or describing the research results according to the conditions that occurred at the Tegoeh Djaja Konveksi Screen Printing. The research results obtained show that controlling operational costs cannot efficiently increase profits at Tegoeh Djaja Konveksi Screen Printing.

Information security policy effectiveness: a managerial perspective of the financial industry in Vietnam

Purpose Information security (InfoSec) policy violations are of great concern to all organisations worldwide, especially in the financial industry. Although the importance of InfoSec policy has been highlighted for many decades, InfoSec breaches still occur due to a low level of employee compliance and a lack of engagement and competence in high-level management. However, previous studies have primarily investigated the behavioural aspects of InfoSec policy compliance at the individual level rather than the managerial factors involved in constructing InfoSec policy and developing its effectiveness. Thus, drawing on neo-institutional theory and a transformational leadership framework, this research investigated the influence of external mechanisms and transformational leadership on InfoSec policy effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach The research model was implemented using field survey data from professional managers in the financial sector. Findings The results reported that neo-institutional mechanisms and transformational leadership shape InfoSec policy effectiveness in an organisation. Originality/value This study broadens current InfoSec policy research from an individual level to a managerial perspective and enhances the existing literature on neo-institutional and transformational leadership in the context of InfoSec. It highlights the need to evaluate InfoSec policy based on external factors and to support transformational leadership styles that promote InfoSec policy enforcement and effectiveness.

Effects of Acetaminophen and Vitamin C Combination on Clinical Vital Signs and Behavioral Traits of Heat-Stressed Dairy Buffalo

Background: Heat stress (HS) presents significant challenges to water buffalo breeding, particularly in harsh environments like southern Iraq. HS adversely impacts physiological and behavioral aspects in dairy buffaloes, leading to economic losses in productivity and welfare. Interventions such as acetaminophen and vitamin C supplementation have been suggested to alleviate HS impacts due to their anti-stress and anti-inflammatory characteristics.Methods: This study was conducted in Al-Chibayish Marshes southern Iraq and aimed to evaluate the effects of acetaminophen and vitamin C combination (AVC) on heat-stressed dairy buffalo. Sixteen lactating buffaloes were divided into four treatments. One treatment received regular water (control), while other treatments were given water mixed with AVC at a dose of 500g/1000 liters for 3, 5, and 7 consecutive days per week, respectively, over 30 days. Environmental (temperature, humidity, and THI) and physiological data (body temperature, respiration rate, and pulse rate) were recorded daily, while feed and water consumption were recorded weekly.Results: Buffaloes experienced significant HS, with temperatures reaching up to 53.2°C and corresponding THI values ranging from 88.05 to 99.31. AVC administration for 5 consecutive days led to increased feed intake by 1.15 kg daily per treatment and decreased water consumption by 16.43 liters daily per treatment compared to the control. Additionally, rectal temperature, respiration rate, and heart rate showed progressive improvement during the second and third weeks, with the most notable improvement observed in the fourth week of the study. These improvements in vital signs and behavioral traits indicate the ability of AVC to improve thermoregulation and reduce heat stress impact.Conclusion: The investigation highlights the potential of AVC supplementation showing a promise in alleviating HS effects on dairy buffaloes by positively influencing physiological and behavioral parameters. Further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and optimize supplementation strategies for enhancing buffalo welfare and productivity under heat stress.Keywords: Acetaminophen; Vitamin C; Physiological; Behavioral; Heat stress; Buffalo