White Cross Research Articles

Perancangan Video Profile Yayasan Sosial Kristen Salib Putih Salatiga

The Salatiga White Cross Christian Social Foundation is a social institution that focuses on social and humanitarian services, apart from that, this foundation also develops human resources through several programs. The foundation is a continuation of the services of the Witte Kruis Kolonie which was founded on 14 May 1902. The social services provided by this foundation include nursing homes, orphanages, work centers, work training centers, and medical centers. The large operational costs are one of the obstacles experienced by foundations in carrying out their services. Helping hands from donors are needed, but the use of media is currently not effective for donors or the public who want to know about the social services carried out by the White Cross Candidate Foundation. Based on the existing problems, information media is needed that can describe the vision, mission, and objectives of the foundation and provide a clear and detailed picture of what service areas are managed by the management of the White Cross Foundation. By using qualitative research methods and applying a linear strategy as a creative stage, it is hoped that we will be able to produce profile videos that can present foundation profile information in more detail and interest to potential donors or the general public who have an interest in social services. Keywords: Social Services, Salatiga Video Profile, Christian Cross Social Foundation

Bispecific VEGF-A and Angiopoietin-2 Antagonist RO-101 Preclinical Efficacy in Model of Neovascular Eye Disease

ObjectiveTo investigate preclinical data regarding efficacy and biocompatibility of a bispecific protein, RO-101, with effects on Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A (VEGF-A) and Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) for use in retinal diseases. Study DesignExperimental study. SubjectsBrown Norway rats, New Zealand White Cross rabbits. MethodsPreclinical study data of RO-101 in terms of target-specific ELISA binding affinity to VEGF-A and Ang-2, vitreous half-life, inhibition of target-receptor interaction, laser Choroidal Neovascular Membrane (CNVM) animal model, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell (HUVEC) migration, and biocompatibility was obtained. Where applicable, study data was compared to other anti-VEGF agents. Main Outcome MeasuresBinding affinity, half-life, biocompatibility, and efficacy of RO-101. Neovascularization prevention by RO-101. ResultsRO-101 demonstrated a strong binding affinity for VEGF-A and Ang-2 and in vitro was able to inhibit binding to the receptor with higher affinity than faricimab. The half-life of RO-101 is comparable or longer than current VEGF inhibitors used in retinal disease. RO-101 was found to be biocompatible with retinal tissue in Brown Norway rats. RO-101 was as effective or more effective than current anti-VEGF therapeutics in causing regression of neovascular growth in vivo. ConclusionRO-101 is a promising candidate for use in retinal diseases. In preclinical models, RO-101 demonstrated similar or higher regression of neovascular growth to current anti-VEGF therapeutics with comparable or longer half-life. It also demonstrates strong binding affinity for VEGF-A and Ang-2. It also was shown to be biocompatible with retinal tissue in animal studies, indicating potential compatibility for use in humans.

Morphological and biochemical parameters of blood and quality of meat obtained from pigs with different stress resistance

The results of the experiments were used to evaluate the morphological and protein composition of blood, as well as the quality of meat from pigs of different stress resistance. The studies were carried out under the conditions of PJSC ‘Stepovyi’ in Zaporizhzhia Region on Large White (LW) pigs and Large White/Charcoal Landrace (LWCL) crossbreeds. During the study period, the hygienic conditions of keeping, feeding and watering of the animals, their growth and development, clinical condition and morbidity were evaluated. After reaching a live weight of 100 kg, the pork meat quality (pH, moisture content, oxyproline, tryptophan) of slaughtered animals was studied. It was found that the LW genotypes were superior to the local LWCL by the number of leukocytes in passively resistant (PR) animals — by 2.7%, in stress resistant (SR) animals — by 3.15%, and in stress sensitive (SS) animals they were inferior by this indicator by 7.7%. There was no significant difference in erythrocyte content between SR and SS, but erythrocyte content was 8.53% lower in PR. The concentration of hemoglobin was higher in PR animals of the Large White cross. The latter were superior to LW in terms of total protein: PR — by 2.26%, SR — by 1.9%, in terms of albumin — PR had an advantage of 16.6%, SR — by 7.69% (p < 0.05). Gamma globulin content was 6.44% lower in SS animals. They were superior to LW in terms of live weight: PR — by 14% at one month of age; by 4.2% at four months of age, SR — by 6.2%, but the difference between SR and SS was not significant. PR animals of the Large White breed were superior in terms of hemoglobin content. The level of total protein in blood serum was higher in crossbred genotypes: in PR — by 2.26%, in SR — by 1.9%. The concentration of albumin was higher in the crossbred animals than in the LW: PR — by 16.6%, SR — by 7.69%, and the level of gamma globulins was 6.51% lower in the SS. In terms of live weight, crossbred genotypes outperformed LW: passive resistant genotypes — by 14% at one month of age, stress resistant genotypes — by 6.2% and 4.2% at four months of age. The crossbred genotypes reached 100 kg live weight: PR — at 180 days, SR — at 183 days, SS — at 191 days, which is 4, 5, and 12 days earlier than LW, respectively. In crossbred pigs, the positive correlation for thoracic girth was 0.6942 and 0.8310, and for withers height — 0.6643 and 0.6811. In terms of body length, animals of the crossbred genotype were superior to LW: PR by 4.2%, SR by 1.46%, while the difference in chest girth and body length in SS individuals was not significant. Lung weight was 0.84% higher in PR and 3.7% higher in SR, and kidney weight was 9.8% higher in PR, 6.56% higher in SR, and 1.37% lower in SS. LW animals were superior in heart weight. Behavioral responses (fighting, skirmishing) were more pronounced in the crossed genotypes, especially in SR and SS animals. A higher level of tryptophan was found in the meat of SR crossbred animals, oxyproline — in PR and SR, pH of meat — in Large White PR and SR ranged from 5.61 to 5.72 units, in crossbred animals this indicator did not exceed the values of 5.03–5.21 units. Defects in meat with PSE (pale, soft, exudative) signs of LW were found: in PR — 0.4%, SR — 0.63%, SS — 3.7%, and in LWCL respectively — 2.3%, SR — 2.1%, SS — 4.21%, in local — defects in meat with DFD (dark, firm, dry) signs were manifested in 3.1%, 2.15%, and 5.1%

Development of a new method for evaluating embryos in a bird egg before incubation

The requirements to the methods of embryo sex determination in an egg have been formulated and substantiated in accordance with the tightening of the previously accepted norms of cockerel culling during incubation. New methods under development for identifying and culling of egg embryos within 7 days of incubation have been analyzed, and their advantages and disadvantages have been described. Two non-invasive techniques have been identified that have some potential for commercialization in the poultry industry (infrared spectroscopy and computer vision). The purpose of the study is to determine the possibilities of a non-invasive method for determining the sex of an embryo in an egg prior to incubation based on intelligent analysis of the proposed morphometric features of poultry eggs. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time a method of determining sexual dimorphism based on the analysis of egg asymmetry parameters by three spatial coordinates determined by computer vision methods with the use of machine learning has been developed. An experimental unit for viability assessment and establishment of the necessary conditions for incubation and hatching of chicks has been developed to validate the implementation of the proposed method. It includes a smart incubator "Smart Nest", a brooder, a thermal imaging micro-camera TE-Q1, an oil-filled radiator POLARIS model PRE T 0915, an air humidifier Ergopower ER 604, a bactericidal air irradiator-recirculator DEFENDER 2-15C, a thermohygrometer RGK TH-30 and a laptop. For image acquisition, the setup utilized a Canon EOS 2000D EF-S 18-55 III Kit digital camera with a state-of-the-art CMOS sensor (22.3 × 14.9 mm) and a powerful processor. The geometric spatial digital model of each egg was artificially divided into a set of elements by software, by which the asymmetry of the egg shape was determined. In doing so, their shape indices, area, volume and perimeter were determined from the measured linear dimensions of each element. Incubation of 72 fertilized eggs of Dekalb White cross hen was carried out. Following the incubation, it was possible to reliably determine the sex of 38 chicks. Applying machine learning methods in solving binary classification problems for a small sample (38) with high dimensionality of the initial feature set yielded three final models with accuracy metrics AUC = 73–72% and F1 = 69–72%: Random Forest classifier with 4 evaluators and maximum depth of 3; Random Forest classifier with 10 evaluators and maximum depth of 5 and AdaBoost classifier with 4 decision tree evaluators and maximum depth of 3. Experimental confirmation of the relationship between the egg shape asymmetry and its sexual dimorphism will make it possible to approach the solution of the world scientific problem of reliable determination of the egg sex before incubation.

Performance of Some New White Maize Crosses under Water Stress Condition

Performance of Some New White Maize Crosses under Water Stress Condition

Growth, survival rate of New Zealand White, Dutch Rabbit and their crosses

Abstract. The aim of the study was to assess survival rate of crossbred New Zealand White and Dutch rabbit breed. A total of 16 mature rabbits of seven to nine months old, New Zealand White and Dutch were used for the study. Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance ANOVA using SAS. The reproductive traits studied were litter size, litter birth weight, mean kit weight. The growth traits were: body weight, body length, ear length, chest circumference, hind limbs, thigh length, nose to shoulder and thigh circumference. The reproductive traits were significantly (P<0.05) affected by genetic group Pure and crosses. New Zealand White observed high litter size and litter birth weight at first, seventh, 14th and 21st day. Purebred Dutch had significant (P<0.05) high values for growth traits. The body weight 478.73±18.10, body length 33.12±0.42, ear length 9.10±0.09, chest circumference 18.24±0.45 and hind limbs 19.51±0.33 were significantly (P<0.05) high in crosses of Dutch x New Zealand White. Pre-weaning mortality and survival rate at weaning were 22.22% and 77.77% high in New Zealand White; 14.28% and 85.71% in Dutch and DUC x NZW; and 9.09% and 90.90% in NZW x DUC. In conclusion, New Zealand White x Dutch crosses demonstrated high survival rate and low pre-weaning mortality.

New finds of crosses from the churchyard of the Church of the Savior in Tobolsk

The subject of the study in the presented article is two crosses from the graves of the Spassky cemetery of Tobolsk. They were discovered during the rescue archaeological excavations in 2022. The range of analogies of the considered finds, as well as their territorial distribution, is considered. A number of issues related to their dating based on typologically identical finds, as well as the chronology of the existence of the churchyard at this church, are touched upon. One of the illustrative specimens in the collection was a rare type of white bronze alloy cross with a crucifixion of Christ on the obverse and an image of an angel on the reverse, originating from burial No. 4. On this cross, the attributes of the Passion Cycle are considered. The analysis showed that such a find, although it has analogies, is still not completely identical to them. It is concluded that the studied type of cross has iconographic origins in the works of European masters. Baroque secular art also had a great influence on the further development of the forms and content of such crosses. The author findings are based on typologies developed by E.P. Vinokurova and V.I. Molodin. The finds were compared with a circle of typologically similar crosses from the territory of Russia and Ukraine, and their chronology was clarified. Identification and comparative analysis of the attributes of the Passion Cycle have been carried out. On the basis of a set of features, their common and distinctive features are revealed. Over the past decades of archaeological research in Tobolsk, a number of archaeologists have collected a representative database of objects of personal piety. For a number of reasons, these findings are not always promptly and fully published, which creates gaps in the source database. The scientific novelty of the presented article is the contribution to the stavrographic collection from the excavations of the churchyard of the Church of the Savior in 2022. Of particular interest is the well-preserved cross No. 4 with a crucifixion, which had not previously been found during excavations in Tobolsk and its surroundings. It is concluded that the studied crosses have iconographic origins in the works of European masters. The further development of the forms and content of such crosses was also greatly influenced by Baroque secular art.

139 Genomic-Based Genetic Parameters of Behavioral Ethogram Traits in Lactating Sows Under Heat Stress Conditions and Their Relationship with Direct Indicators of Heat Tolerance

Abstract Increased global temperatures pose challenges to livestock agriculture. Domestic swine are particularly sensitive to hotter environments due to their inability to sweat, litter bearing nature, difficulty in expressing natural cooling behaviors, and intense genetic selection for production traits. Since animal welfare is central to livestock production as a matter vital to efficiency as much as ethics, developing novel traits that may be genetically related to heat tolerance may assist in improving and sustaining animal welfare. The objective of this study was to develop novel traits of behavior using an ethogram designed for efficiency in production settings, estimate the variance components, and correlate these traits with indicators of heat tolerance and maternal ability. This study considered 1,312 individual Landrace-Large White cross production sows between 6 and 19 days of lactation. Animals were housed in farrowing crates in a commercial setting in southern North Carolina in June and July of 2021, an environment susceptible to potential heat stress. These sows were subjected to a standardized procedure involving a person removing hair from both hips using an electric clipper while an observer was positioned in front of the sow to record behaviors. Scores were later applied to the variations in behavior both for changes in positions and types of vocalizations displayed by the animals during handling. Genotypes were obtained from hair follicles and captured by a 50K porcine SNP panel. Variance components for novel behavior traits were obtained using the BLUPF90+ programs and genomic relationship matrix to estimate genetic correlations of behavior with several indicators of heat tolerance and maternal ability. Heritabilities for behavior traits ranged from 0.131 for vocalization score to 0.072 for shaving time, while heritabilities for heat tolerance and maternal ability ranged from 0.15 to 0.03 for vaginal temperature and respiration efficiency, respectively. The maternal ability traits were based on the single current litter and had the lowest heritabilities ranging from 0.101 to 0.04 for number born alive and number of mummies, respectively. High and positive genetic correlations indicate a potential for coupled selection for both fewer mummified piglets and a greater number of liveborn using the behavior trait of vocalization score. These correlations between favorable maternal traits and behavior traits suggest the potential that one or more complex biological pathways exist that share relevancy between these traits. However, genetic correlations between the behavior traits and heat tolerance indicators were low to negligible, most with a magnitude falling below 0.10, revealing the need for other traits to be used as selection parameters for heat tolerance. Further studies may be able to capture additional environmental effects to improve models of behavior and create indirect measures more obtainable than direct measures of heat tolerance.

Duodenal-ileal ratio of digestive enzymes when using different protein supplements in the diet of laying hens

Creation of domestic poultry crosses and development of optimal diets for them is an urgent problem, since in vivo studies using fistula technologies are currently few. The present work presents data on determination of duodenal and ileal activity of digestive enzymes when protein additives of vegetable (soybean meal and cake) and animal origin (fish meal and meat and bone meal) are used in the diet of laying hens. Experiments were performed on laying hens (Gallus gallus L.) of Hisex White cross (n=24, K.A. Timiryazev Russian State Agricultural Academy, 2022,2023) with chronic duodenal and ileal fistula. All chickens were divided by random sampling method into 4 groups: 1) 1 control group - received OR (Table 1); 2) 2 experimental group - 1.5% soybean cake was added to the diet instead of soybean meal; 3) 3 experimental group - 1.5% meat and bone meal was added to the diet instead of soybean meal; 4) 4 experimental group - 1.0% fish meal was added to the OR instead of soybean meal. It was found that protein additives are differently hydrolyzed in the intestine of birds and assimilated by the organism. Thus, the breakdown of soy protein is more intensive in cake than in meal due to the increase of trypsin activity in duodenum by 43.6%, and when fish meal is added, the activity of the enzyme increases by 11.8% against meat and bone meal and 101.5% against soy meal. At the same time, protein digestion increased, accompanied by an increase in trypsin activity in blood when soybean cake was used and in urine when fish meal was added to the diet of chickens. With feces the least loss of trypsin is observed in the group that received meat and bone meal supplementation (9.6% of trypsin activity is excreted), then fish meal - 16.8% and soy cake - 21.7% of activity in duodenum, which indicates the efficiency of exo- and endogenous protein utilization by poultry organism.

Conservative Ideas as the Source of Activity of the Polish White Cross in the United States of America

The purpose of this article is to analyze the conservative ideas that are the source of the work of the Polish White Cross in the United States of America. Consideration of this issue is desirable for several reasons. First, today’s resurgent radicalisms are causing the world that we have known for the past quarter of a century to cease to exist right before our eyes. At the same time, the European status quo has been challenged by the war steered by Putin. In this context, a question arises: Does Europe, which is in the process of “change”, still need a conservative voice? To answer this, it is worth recalling not only non-ideological ideas attempting to define the reality of the future, but also practical ones, including those from the early 20th century initiated in the U.S., which played a historical role in the building of Polish statehood, and are now a testimony to joint-Polish-American initiatives that support democratic changes in the world. The reference to these examples is all the more justified because they are based on American conservative thought, which was the source of American human rights policy in the early 20th century. Representatives of the so-called idealist trend (also called Wilsonism), proclaimed that the United States could effectively exercise its function as a world leader if its policies promoted the traditional values of protecting individual rights and freedoms. Of breakthrough importance for the Polish cause was President Thomas Woodrow Wilson’s speech of January 18, 1918, in which, defining America’s war aims, he declared that an independent Polish state must be established as a result of the war. President Wilson also authorized the recruitment of volunteers for the Polish army and their training. Since every national army has its own humanitarian unit called the Red Cross, it was felt that the Polish Army should also have one. Unfortunately, as Poland was non-existent on the map of Europe at the time, it did not participate in the founding deliberations of the international Red Cross association established in 1864 in Switzerland, and therefore did not have the right to establish its own organization under this name. For this reason, Ignacy Jan Paderewski suggested the idea of establishing the Polish White Cross (PBK), which was grounded in conservative ideas. In addition, the tradition of the Polish White Cross is worth discussing because of some opinions that volunteering in Poland was less common than in other Western countries and that Poland has no tradition of it. Meanwhile, the work of White Cross is a spectacular undertaking, unprecedented in the history of Poland, based on the principles of volunteerism, and is comparable to Poland’s current provision of relief action to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian migrants due to Russia’s ruthless invasion. This, therefore, is another reason to recall the work of the White Cross. Unfortunately, despite the fact that almost every soldier in the Second Republic and in the Polish Armed Forces in the West came into contact with the Polish White Cross, the awareness of its existence and commitment to the cause is still limited. This is probably due to the fact that the so-called People’s Polish Army grew out of other ideological aspirations detached from the traditions of the military formations of the interwar period and organizations cooperating with it. The authorities of People’s Poland supported only socio-political associations associated with “real socialism”.

Assessing the emotional states of dairy cows housed with or without their calves

There is growing interest in keeping dairy cows with their calves. Cow-calf contact or lack thereof is expected to affect emotional states, but this requires empirical testing. Different types of cow-calf contact may also affect the emotional states of cows. The primary objective of this study was to assess the emotional state of dairy cows with full-time (23 h/d), part-time (10 h/d), or no contact with their calves (separated 48 h after birth), using a visual judgement bias test (JBT) about one month after calving; JBT is the current gold-standard method to assess emotional state in animals by evaluating optimism or pessimism (illustrated by the proverbial half-full or half-empty water glass). The secondary objective was to compare outcomes of color- versus shape-based visual JBT. Fifty dairy cows were trained to approach a positive image on a screen (rewarded with food) and to avoid a negative image (else punished with waving bag). Once learned (>80% correct over 2 consecutive days), cows were presented with 3 ambiguous images (each presented once per day among 4 positive and 3 negative images, repeated over 4 d), and their approach responses recorded. For the color method (10 full-time, 9 part-time and 11 no-contact cows), positive and negative images were a solid red or white background; ambiguous images were shades of pink. For the shape method (8 full-time, 6 part-time and 6 no-contact cows), positive and negative images were a white circle or cross on a black background; ambiguous images were overlaid circle and cross in varying shades of gray. Cows learned to discriminate colors quicker than shapes (7.3 d, CL: 6.6 - 8.2 d; vs. 9.3 d, CL: 8.1 - 10.6 d; P = 0.01). Approaches to ambiguous colors followed a generalization curve (81.0, 33.1 and 5.0 ± 3.7% for near-positive, middle and near-negative images, respectively), but not approaches to ambiguous shapes (31.9, 25.7 and 21.9 ± 4.8%, respectively), indicating colors over shapes should be used in visual JBT for cattle. Part-time cows approached fewer ambiguous color images than full-time cows (23.5%, CL: 13.4 - 34.4%; vs. 44.8%, CL; 32.8 - 57.1%; P = 0.02) while no-contact cows were intermediate, but not different from full-time or part-time cows (37.8%, CL; 26.8 - 49.5%; P > 0.08). The color JBT results show a pessimistic bias (indicating a negative emotional state) in cows with part-time calf contact, possibly due to repeated daily separation from her young calf, relative to cows with full-time calf contact. Thus, cow-calf contact systems appear to influence the emotional state of cows depending on the practice. Cows without calf contact showed no difference in judgement bias between cows with full- or part-time calf contact, suggesting these cows probably do not experience a pervasive negative emotional state (relative to those with calf contact) approximately 30 d after calf separation. However, individual variability in judgement bias was evident for all treatments. The visual judgement bias test is a useful methodology for assessing emotional states of dairy cows; future research should prioritize understanding the emotional states of dairy cows in alternative management systems.

Morphology and morphometry of the spinal cord and meninges in Egyptian Baladi goat (Capra hircus): Stereomicroscopy of blue-stained gray matter.

The study objective is to obtain normal morphology and morphometric data from Baladi goat spinal cord segments. Using Tompsett's technique for staining gray matter with a blue stain allowed us to calculate the quantity or area of gray and white matter and thus the total area of each segment. The spinal cord of the goat started at the extent of the middle-third of the occipital condyles, and the tapered end of the spinal cord terminated at the center of the first sacral vertebra. The total length of the spinal cord was 73.3 ± 2.5 cm on average. C3 was the longest spinal segment, measuring 3.95 cm. The gray matter area had a high value at the cervical and lumbar enlargements, with C8 having the highest value of gray matter cross sectional area at 12 mm2 and C7 having the highest value of white matter cross sectional area at 42 mm2 . The area of white matter of the cervical region was higher than that of the other spinal regions. At C7, the total cross section area reached its maximum of 53 mm2 . The cervical enlargement included segments from C6 to T1, while the lumbar enlargement included L5 to S1. The dura mater is connected cranially to the dens of the axis and caudally to the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. The epidural space height between lumbar vertebrae was 2 mm in all lumbar spaces and 3 mm in the lumbosacral space. The normal morphology and morphometric data of the goat spinal cord segments may be useful in pathological conditions of the spinal cord and during epidural anaesthesia technique.

What lies beneath: White matter microstructure in pediatric myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome using diffusion MRI.

Recent studies in adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) suggest that changes in brain white matter microstructural organization may correlate with core ME/CFS symptoms, and represent a potential biomarker of disease. However, this has yet to be investigated in the pediatric ME/CFS population. We examined group differences in macrostructural and microstructural white matter properties, and their relationship with clinical measures, between adolescents recently diagnosed with ME/CFS and healthy controls. Forty-eight adolescents (25 ME/CFS, 23 controls, mean age 16 years) underwent brain diffusion MRI, and a robust multi-analytic approach was used to evaluate white and gray matter volume, regional brain volume, cortical thickness, fractional anisotropy, mean/axial/radial diffusivity, neurite dispersion and density, fiber density, and fiber cross section. From a clinical perspective, adolescents with ME/CFS showed greater fatigue and pain, poorer sleep quality, and poorer performance on cognitive measures of processing speed and sustained attention compared with controls. However, no significant group differences in white matter properties were observed, with the exception of greater white matter fiber cross section of the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus in the ME/CFS group compared with controls, which did not survive correction for intracranial volume. Overall, our findings suggest that white matter abnormalities may not be predominant in pediatric ME/CFS in the early stages following diagnosis. The discrepancy between our null findings and white matter abnormalities identified in the adult ME/CFS literature could suggest that older age and/or longer illness duration influence changes in brain structure and brain-behavior relationships that are not yet established in adolescence.

Comforf Food pada Lansia di Panti Werdha Salatiga

Background: Comforf food is a food that is directly selected by the elderly on the basis that the food is delicious, pleasant texture, like crispy and the aroma of food is more sweet or salty than sour and bitter. One way to increase appetite and enjoyment when consuming food, through a comforf food approach. Research Objective: Describe comforf food for the elderly in Salatiga Nursing Home. Research Method: This study uses descriptive qualitative research methods, the criteria for participants are elderly women over the age of 60 years who live in nursing homes and are still able to communicate. The number of study participants was 12 elderly people at Merbabu Nursing Home, White Cross Nursing Home and Maria Martha Elderly House. Results: Based on the results of this study, it was found that the elderly living in Maria Martha Nursing Home, Merbabu Nursing Home and White Cross Nursing Home, had impaired nutritional status or Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) which was at risk of malnutrition (six people).

Hidalgo’s golden age in sound: Hispanic songs on recordings since 1966

We carry tunes and performances with us—each new experience teaches us how to listen anew. A mesmerizing recital of lute songs by Robert White (tenor) and Lucy Cross (lute) might be the first expressly ‘early music’ performance I recall, though I sang early music in choirs and madrigal groups without thinking of it as such. A few years before the founding of Early Music, the pathbreaking Music of the Spanish theater in the Golden Age by the New York Pro Musica (MCA 2518, issued 1969; hereafter NYPM) offered three tracks still threaded through my mind’s ear. ‘Ay, del amor’, by the little-known Miguel Martí ‘Valenciano’, sung with commitment by bass-baritone Arthur Burrows (with Mary Springfels, bass viol), vividly relights the fire (‘incendio’) that consumes a suffering lover. Juan Hidalgo’s ‘Quedito, pasito’ for Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s mythological play Ni amor se libra de amor lured me towards the archives, along with Francisco Guerrero’s villanesca ‘Virgen Sancta’, sung by mezzo-soprano Joan Fuerstman in a delicate arrangement with viol, recorder, flute and organetto. Fuerstman’s unaccompanied entreaty for the hope of the world is remarkably meaningful. Effective without bombast, these early NYPM performances ring with sheer honest musicianship.

Impact of Amplitude and Phase of fMRI time series for Functional Connectivity Analysis

PurposeSeveral studies in the field of fMRI have reported the synchrony between the brain regions using instantaneous phase (IP) representation (derived from analytic representation of BOLD time series). We hypothesized that instantaneous amplitude (IA) representation from different brain regions might give additional information to the functional brain networks. To validate this, we explored this representation of resting state BOLD fMRI signal for deriving resting state networks (RSNs) and compared it with the IP representation based RSNs. MethodResting state fMRI data of 100 healthy adults (age=20–35 years, 54 females) from the population of 500 Subjects of HCP dataset were studied. Data was acquired using a 3T scanner in four runs (15-min each) with the phase encoding directions: Left to Right (LR), Right to Left (RL). These four runs were acquired in two sessions, and subjects were asked to keep their eyes open with a fixation on a white cross. The IA and IP representations were derived from a narrow-band filtered BOLD time series using Hilbert transforms and a seed-based approach is used to compute the RSNs in the brain. ResultsThe experimental results demonstrate that within the frequency range 0.01–0.1 Hz, IA representation based RSNs have the highest similarity score between the two sessions for the motor network. Whereas for fronto-parietal network, IP based activation maps have the highest similarity score for all the frequency bands. For higher frequency band (0.198–0.25 Hz) consistency of the obtained RSNs across two sessions reduced for both IA and IP representations. Fusion of IA and IP representations based RSNs in comparison to those of IP based representation, leads to 3–10% improvement in the similarity scores between the default mode network obtained for the two sessions. In addition, the same comparison demonstrates 15–20% improvement for the motor network in the frequency bands: 0.01–0.04 Hz, 0.04–0.07 Hz, slow5 (0.01–0.027 Hz) and slow-4 (0.027–0.073 Hz). It is also observed that the similarity score between two sessions using instantaneous frequency (IF) (derivative of unwrapped IP) representation in exploring functional connectivity (FC) networks is comparable with those obtained using IP representation. ConclusionOur findings suggest that IA-representation based measures can estimate RSNs with the reproducibility between the sessions comparable to that of the IP representation-based methods. This study demonstrates that IA and IP representations contain the complementary information of BOLD signal, and their fusion improves the results of FC.

Flowering biology and fruiting phenology study in white cross-berry (Grewia tenax (Forssk.)) Fiori.

Current emphasis on food supply, market value, and therapeutic use of underutilised crops makes Grewia tenax suitable for commercial production. Therefore, flowering biology and fruiting phenology study were carried out on field-established G. tenax plants in Kachchh, Gujarat, from February - March 2018. Flowers are scented and cream-white with yellow stamens and composed of 5 petals and sepals, an ovary and a style, 2 anther lobes and many anthers (66.33 ± 7.51). Bud initiation started in the last week of February and anthesis was observed after 6.40 ± 0.18 days of bud initiation. Flower anthesis start at 1130 h and is completed at 1330 h, with peak anthesis during 1215-1230 h in February. On an average, 15.55±0.98 and 19.55±0.98 days are required for fruit maturity and ripening. The study revealed that the fruit traits of the white cross berries, including fruit length and diameter, varied within the ranges of 4.93-6.69 mm and 4.06-5.91 mm, respectively. As there is limited information available on this species, these findings provide a foundation for further genetic research on white cross berries. This study can serve as a valuable resource for future investigations aiming to enhance our understanding of the genetic makeup of this species and potentially improve its fruit traits through breeding programs.

Physiological state of chickens cross dekalb white depending on the conditions of detention

The functional state of the heart, liver and kidneys of Dekalb White cross chickens kept for 13 weeks under different light conditions was assessed. The study was carried out in the Department of Аnimal Husbandry and Poultry Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution Far East Zone Research Veterinary Institute and Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology FSBEI HE Amur SMA MOH Russia, Blagoveshchensk, Amur region, Russia. In the conditions of the Belogorskaya poultry farm of the Amur region, chickens were kept in cell batteries from the age of 3 weeks at standard (6-10 lux) and brighter (40-50 lux) illumination. During the experiment, laboratory diagnostics of the blood of birds aged 4, 9, 12 and 16 weeks was carried out. 60 young laying hens aged 16 weeks were taken for anatomical examination, macro- and micromorphological examination of the heart, liver and kidneys was performed. It was revealed that at a low level of illumination (6-10 lux), the amount of hemoglobin in the blood of chickens decreased by 5,5-12,5% and erythrocytes by 4,2-15,5%, from 9 weeks of age, the amount of glucose decreased by 29,7% compared to the norm with an increase in the level of gamma globulins by 17,4-48,2%, bilirubin by 2,9 times, aspartate aminotransferase by 2,5 times, alanine aminotransferase by 2,2 times, creatinine by 63,7% higher than normal, at 16 weeks of age, an increase in absolute weight right ventricle of the heart by 4,5%, interventricular septum by 22,2%, epicardial fat by 11,0% and abdominal fat by 17,4%. In chickens with illumination of 40-50 lux, the established deviations were less significant, microscopy showed an increase in the area of the lumen of the arterial vessels by 27,1% in the myocardium and 5,7% in the hepatic lobules, a decrease in the area of the juxtamedullary glomeruli by 5,9%, the area of the lumen of the proximal and distal tubules of nephrons by 8,6-33,7%, indicating an improvement in the functional state of the heart, liver and kidneys.

Effects of Supplementation with Bee Pollen and Propolis on Growth Performance and Serum Metabolites of Rabbits: A Meta-Analysis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of bee pollen (BP) and propolis (PRO) supplementation on rabbits' productive performance and serum metabolites through a meta-analysis. Sixteen peer-reviewed publications were included in the data set. The rabbit strains used in the studies included in the data set were New Zealand White, V-line, Rex, and V-line crosses. Weighted mean differences (WMD) between treatments supplemented with BP or PRO and control treatments were used to assess the magnitude of the effect. BP supplementation decreased (p < 0.001) daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR); however, increased (p < 0.001) average daily gain (ADG) and hot carcass yield (HCY). PRO supplementation reduced DFI (p = 0.041) and FCR (p < 0.001), and increased ADG (p < 0.001) and HCY (p = 0.005). In blood serum, BP supplementation increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC; p = 0.002) and decreased serum creatinine concentration (p = 0.049). Likewise, decreased serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected in response to BP supplementation (p < 0.05). PRO supplementation increased the TAC in blood serum (p = 0.018); however, decreased serum concentrations of AST, ALT, and MDA were observed (p < 0.05). In conclusion, BP or PRO supplementation can be used as a natural growth promoter in rabbits, and both can also improve rabbits' antioxidant status. However, BP or PRO supplementation does not affect rabbits' renal or hepatic health status.

GRAIN YIELD STABILITY AND BIOCHEMICAL NUTRIENT CONTENT IN WHITE CORN EXPERIMENTAL CROSSES

In Mexico, about half of white corn production is used for human consumption. In a breeding program, in addition to increasing the yield and genotypes stability, the aim is to improve grain quality. Assuming that there is genetic variation among the elite genotypes evaluated in this research, at least one genotype was considered to be outstanding for its high productive potential and desirable characteristics for grain quality. The objective of this work was to determine the genetic variation present in experimental hybrids in terms of yield potential and grain quality, as well as to identify the most outstanding genotypes. In 2016, twenty white corn experimental crosses were evaluated under a randomized block design with three replications in two locations of the ecological area of the High Valleys of Mexico and one location in a transitional area. Yield stability was determined using the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model. Grain quality was evaluated through starch, protein and oil content. Most of the crosses had higher yield and stability than the controls (commercial hybrids). Likewise, nutrient content varied among them for each biochemical compound; oil concentration ranged from 3.5 to 6.4 g 100 g-1 dry matter (ms); protein, from 5.5 to 9.8 g 100 g-1 ms; and starch, from 72.6 to 96.6 g 100 g-1 ms. Based on their phenotypic stability, yield and grain quality, we observed that crosses 1213, 1217, 1218, 1314, 1418, and 1812 were outstanding, which can be used to produce grain with promising starch and oil content. In general, we infer that the crosses showed potential for starch utilization and tortilla production.