The most important component of national human capital reproduction is the higher education system, which has undergone radical reorganization over the past twenty years. The most acute issues have been highlighted, and the current trends in the higher education system development in modern conditions have been outlined. It has been suggested that the quality of human capital of scientific and pedagogical workers determines the labor resources quality of a country. The purpose of the study is an attempt to formulate a concept of a comprehensive approach to forming and developing human capital in higher education professors based on the analysis of existing theoretical and methodological approaches, scientific publications, comparative analysis of diverse information, as well as the current state of human resources potential of higher education institutions. Based on the formulated goal, the research tasks have been solved, including the study of theoretical and methodological basis, identificating key features of forming and developing human capital in higher education institutions, creating a mechanism of its formation and development, and determining indicators and indicators of the effectiveness of the current system. The authors’ mechanism of forming and developing human capital in higher education institutions has been proposed. Attention has been emphasized on the importance of ecosystem interaction for intellectual core development. The factors that increase or decrease human capital productivity have been highlighted.
Fetal mummification is a rare and challenging condition in cats that requires immediate intervention to mitigate potential risks to the mother and future pregnancies. This case study presents the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of Pawpaw, a cat diagnosed with fetal mummification. Ovariohysterectomy was performed as an alternative treatment method to address the critical condition of the cat. The diagnosis was established based on various factors, including indications, anamnesis, clinical symptoms, clinical examination, clinical findings, and investigative results. Diagnostic confirmation was achieved through blood haematology tests and ultrasound examinations. The therapeutic approach consisted of administering a combination of normal saline fluid therapy, glycerin, ondansetron, ceftriaxone, intramox, doxycycline, acetylcysteine, sakatonic liver, vitamins, ventolin, Tripura, meloxicam, impacting, and furosemide. Anesthesia during the ovariohysterectomy procedure involved the use of atropine sulfate, xylazine, and ketamine. Despite the extensive medical intervention, the cat, Bimbim, succumbed to its critical condition during the surgery. This case study highlights the importance of early diagnosis and prompt intervention in cases of feline fetal mummification. Ovariohysterectomy proved to be a viable alternative treatment option, although the critical condition of the cat posed significant challenges to its successful outcome. Further research and enhanced understanding of fetal mummification in cats are essential to improve the management and prognosis of this condition.
Lucas Martins Lopes, Lêda Rita D’Antonino Faroni, Gutierres Nelson Silva
et al.
Essential oils have emerged as promising alternatives for pest insect control. However, sublethal effects on insect reproduction and development are rarely explored, despite their relevance to integrated pest management (IPM). This study evaluated the sublethal effects of <i>Piper hispidivervum</i> C. DC. essential oil (EOPH) on the development and population growth of four populations of <i>Sitophilus zeamais</i> Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), as well as the persistence of safrole residue in treated corn grains. Population development rates were determined using emergence curves and total emerged adults, while population growth was assessed by counting live insects in the feeding substrate at different storage intervals. Safrole residue persistence was analyzed using solid-phase microextraction in headspace mode (SPME-HS). Sublethal exposure to EOPH significantly reduced the development rate, total emergence, and growth in three of the four populations. The population from Crixás, GO, showed no significant reduction, with a population curve overlapping the control. The lethal dose was reduced by 98.20%, indicating low persistence and potential food safety. The EOPH exhibited sublethal effects on <i>S. zeamais</i> populations, reducing both development rates and population growth. This reduction varied among the populations studied. Further research is encouraged to explore its effects on different insect populations and under broader environmental conditions.
Loukaiya Zorobouragui, Loukaiya Zorobouragui, Isidore Houaga
et al.
Understanding farmers’ breeding systems and preferred traits is crucial for establishing effective genetic improvement programs. This study investigated Gudali cattle breed selection, breeding objectives, and selection criteria in North-east Benin (Malanville and Tchaourou). We surveyed 120 Gudali cattle farmers using a structured questionnaire and conducted hierarchical clustering using R software. We identified the distribution of farmers based on herd composition and production systems. Farmers were grouped into four classes: Sedentary Purebreds (16.67%), Transhumant Purebreds (33.33%), Sedentary Mixed Breeds (34.17%), and Transhumant Mixed Breeds (15.83%), with average Gudali herd sizes ranging from 23.68 to 90.11 heads depending on the system. The overall average herd size was 42.67 ± 6.00 heads. The majority of farmers owned different breeds, including Borgou (26.67%), Yakana (26.67%), and Azawak (7.5%), with only 32.5% having Gudali only herds. Farmers chose Gudali cattle for their milk production, good growth and market value, with 96.67% prioritizing milk production. The main selection criterion was coat color in all breeding systems with respective indices of 0.59; 0.57; 0.54 and 0.47 respectively for sedentary purebred; sedentary mixed breed; transhumant purebred and transhumant mixed breed systems. Most mixed breed farmers (55.84%) cross Gudali with local breeds for better dairy performance. While only 3.33% of farmers were aware of community-based breeding programs (CBBP), there was strong interest (95%) in participating. Potential challenges such as access to feed and disease management were reported. The proposed mitigation strategies include establishing pasture areas and strengthening collaboration among stakeholders. Implementing CBBP programs by incorporating farmers’ preferences and practices, could sustainably improve Gudali cattle productivity and resilience in Benin.
Pedro I. Pesantes-Grados, Emma Cambillo-Moyano, Erasmo H. Colona-Vallejos
et al.
In this study, we develop and analyze an extended SEIR-type compartmental model that incorporates vaccination and treatment to describe the dynamics of acute respiratory infection transmission. The model subdivides the infectious population into several symptomatic stages and an asymptomatic class, which allows the evaluation of control strategies across different levels of infection severity. The basic reproduction number <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi mathvariant="script">R</mi><mn>0</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> is analytically derived, and its sensitivity to vaccination and treatment rates is examined to assess the impact of public health interventions on epidemic control. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the joint implementation of vaccination and treatment can markedly reduce disease prevalence and lead to infection elimination when <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi mathvariant="script">R</mi><mn>0</mn></msub><mo><</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. The results emphasize the critical role of parameter interactions in determining disease persistence and show that combining both interventions produces stronger epidemiological effects than either one alone. Machine learning techniques, specifically Support Vector Machines (SVMs), are employed to classify epidemiological outcomes and support parameter estimation. The biological markers evaluated were not effective discriminants of infection status, underscoring the importance of integrating mechanistic modeling with data-driven approaches. This combined framework enhances the understanding of epidemic dynamics and improves the predictive capacity for decision-making in public health.
Toufique Ahmed, Jatin Ganhotra, Avraham Shinnar
et al.
A software engineering issue (SWE issue) is easier to resolve when accompanied by a reproduction test. Unfortunately, most issues do not come with functioning reproduction tests, so this paper explores how to generate them automatically. The primary challenge in this setting is that the code to be tested is either missing or wrong, as evidenced by the existence of the issue in the first place. This has held back test generation for this setting: without the correct code to execute, it is difficult to leverage execution feedback to generate good tests. This paper introduces novel techniques for leveraging execution feedback to get around this problem, implemented in a new reproduction test generator called e-Otter++. Experiments show that e-Otter++ represents a leap ahead in the state-of-the-art for this problem, generating tests with an average fail-to-pass rate of 63% on the TDD-Bench Verified benchmark.
The evolution of large language models (LLMs) toward artificial superhuman intelligence (ASI) hinges on data reproduction, a cyclical process in which models generate, curate and retrain on novel data to refine capabilities. Current methods, however, risk getting stuck in a data reproduction trap: optimizing outputs within fixed human-generated distributions in a closed loop leads to stagnation, as models merely recombine existing knowledge rather than explore new frontiers. In this paper, we propose language games as a pathway to expanded data reproduction, breaking this cycle through three mechanisms: (1) \textit{role fluidity}, which enhances data diversity and coverage by enabling multi-agent systems to dynamically shift roles across tasks; (2) \textit{reward variety}, embedding multiple feedback criteria that can drive complex intelligent behaviors; and (3) \textit{rule plasticity}, iteratively evolving interaction constraints to foster learnability, thereby injecting continual novelty. By scaling language games into global sociotechnical ecosystems, human-AI co-evolution generates unbounded data streams that drive open-ended exploration. This framework redefines data reproduction not as a closed loop but as an engine for superhuman intelligence.
An age structured mathematical model with time dependent parameters is developed to investigate the dynamics of dengue transmission. Its properties are thoroughly analyzed in the first part of this work, as for example its disease free steady state, the corresponding effective reproduction numbers, its basic reproduction number (obtained via the Euler and Lotka equation and the next generation matrix approach). We also provide formulas for the time-varying effective reproduction number, and draw relations with the instantaneous growth rate. In the second part, we apply this model to Brazil and use weekly time series data from this country. Various medical parameters are firstly evaluated from these data, and an extensive numerical simulations for the period 2021 to 2024 is then carried out. Estimation of the transmission rates are derived both from epidemiological data and from environmental data such as temperature and humidity. The time-varying effective reproduction numbers are then estimated on these data, following the theoretical investigations performed in the first part. The sensitive parameters that significantly affect the model dynamics are presented graphically. Model predictions for following year by using different transmission rates are finally presented. Our findings show the importance of population age distribution, vector population dynamics, and climate, contributing to a deeper understanding of dengue transmission dynamics in Brazil.
Crime remains one of the significant problems that countries are grappling with globally. With shrinking economies and increasing poverty, crime has been on the rise in many countries. In this paper, we propose a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations to model crime dynamics in the presence of imitation. The model consists of four independent compartments: individuals who are not at risk of committing a crime, individuals at risk of committing a crime, individuals committing a crime, and individuals convicted and jailed for a crime. The model is analyzed using the basic reproduction number. The analysis shows the system has a locally asymptotically stable crime-free equilibrium when the basic reproduction number is less than unity. The model exhibits a backward bifurcation in which two endemic equilibria coexist with the crime-free equilibrium. When the basic reproduction number exceeds unity, the system has a locally asymptotically stable endemic equilibrium, and the crime-free becomes unstable. Numerical simulations are carried out to verify the analytical results. The sensitivity analysis shows that the relapse rate highly influences the basic reproduction number of our model. This indicates that the proportion of individuals leaving prisons and becoming criminals should be minimized to minimize crime.
Joshua Ludolf, Yesmin Reyna-Hernandez, Matthew Trevino
In the current landscape of big data, the reliability and performance of storage systems are essential to the success of various applications and services. as data volumes continue to grow exponentially, the complexity and scale of the storage infrastructures needed to manage this data also increase. a significant challenge faced by data centers and storage systems is the detection and management of fail-slow disks that experience a gradual decline in performance before ultimately failing. Unlike outright disk failures, fail-slow conditions can go undetected for prolonged periods, leading to considerable impacts on system performance and user experience.
Alexander F. Siegenfeld, Asier Piñeiro Orioli, Robin Na
et al.
Although pandemics are often studied as if populations are well-mixed, disease transmission networks exhibit a multi-scale structure stretching from the individual all the way up to the entire globe. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an intense debate about whether interventions should prioritize public health or the economy, leading to a surge of studies analyzing the health and economic costs of various response strategies. Here we show that describing disease transmission in a self-similar (fractal) manner across multiple geographic scales allows for the design of multi-scale containment measures that substantially reduce both these costs. We characterize response strategies using multi-scale reproduction numbers -- a generalization of the basic reproduction number $R_0$ -- that describe pandemic spread at multiple levels of scale and provide robust upper bounds on disease transmission. Stable elimination is guaranteed if there exists a scale such that the reproduction number among regions of that scale is less than $1$, even if the basic reproduction number $R_0$ is greater than $1$. We support our theoretical results using simulations of a heterogeneous SIS model for disease spread in the United States constructed using county-level commuting, air travel, and population data.
We present aMUSEd, an open-source, lightweight masked image model (MIM) for text-to-image generation based on MUSE. With 10 percent of MUSE's parameters, aMUSEd is focused on fast image generation. We believe MIM is under-explored compared to latent diffusion, the prevailing approach for text-to-image generation. Compared to latent diffusion, MIM requires fewer inference steps and is more interpretable. Additionally, MIM can be fine-tuned to learn additional styles with only a single image. We hope to encourage further exploration of MIM by demonstrating its effectiveness on large-scale text-to-image generation and releasing reproducible training code. We also release checkpoints for two models which directly produce images at 256x256 and 512x512 resolutions.
Invasion of C. fulvum causes the most serious diseases affecting the reproduction of tomatoes. Cf-10-gene-carrying line showed remarkable resistance to Cladosporium fulvum. To exploit its defense response mechanism, we performed a multiple-omics profiling of Cf-10-gene-carrying line and a susceptible line without carrying any resistance genes at non-inoculation and 3 days post-inoculation (dpi) of C. fulvum. We detected 54 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) between the non-inoculation and 3 dpi in the Cf-10-gene-carrying line, which potentially regulated plant-pathogen interaction pathways and hormone signaling pathways. We also revealed 3,016 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the non-inoculated and 3 dpi in the Cf-10-gene-carrying line whose functions enriched in pathways that were potentially regulated by the DE-miRNAs. Integrating DE-miRNAs, gene expression and plant-hormone metabolites indicated a regulation network where the downregulation of miRNAs at 3 dpi activated crucial resistance genes to trigger host hypersensitive cell death, improved hormone levels and upregulated the receptors/critical responsive transcription factors (TFs) of plant hormones, to shape immunity to the pathogen. Notably, our transcriptome, miRNA and hormone metabolites profiling and qPCR analysis suggested that that the downregulation of miR9472 potentially upregulated the expression of SAR Deficient 1 (SARD1), a key regulator for ICS1 (Isochorismate Synthase 1) induction and salicylic acid (SA) synthesis, to improve the level of SA in the Cf-10-gene-carrying line. Our results exploited potential regulatory network and new pathways underlying the resistance to C. fulvum in Cf-10-gene-carrying line, providing a more comprehensive genetic circuit and valuable gene targets for modulating resistance to the virus.
Caragana korshinskii is a deciduous shrub with large eco-economic value and strong tolerance to abiotic stresses. However, the shortage of reliable genetic transformation technology severely hinders its research on stress tolerance mechanisms and stress-resistant gene mining and application. In this study, the embryonic tip of the C. korshinskii seedling was used as the initiating explant to get regenerated plant through the direct organogenesis pathway, which significantly shortened the culture cycle and set the foundation for investigation of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. Our results suggest that the embryonic tip possesses robust meristem capacity and is an efficient method for transgenic breeding. This research provides a technical basis for asexual reproduction, molecular breeding, and gene function investigation in C. korshinskii by establishing, for the first time, an effective in vitro regeneration system and an Agrobacterium-mediated stable genetic transformation system utilizing the embryonic tip of C. korshinskii as explants.
Changbin Zhao, Changbin Zhao, Changbin Zhao
et al.
Growth hormone receptor (GHR) can activate several signaling pathways after binding to growth hormone (GH) to regulate cell growth and development. Sex-linked dwarf (SLD) chickens, normal protein functions are prevented because of exon mutations in the GHR gene, have more severe fat deposition. However, the specific molecular mechanisms responsible for this phenotype remains unclear. We therefore investigated the effect of the GHR gene on adipogenic differentiation of chicken bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). We found that bone marrow fat deposition was more severe in SLD chickens compared to normal chickens, and the expression of genes related to adipogenic differentiation was enhanced in SLD chicken BMSCs. We also detected enhanced mitochondrial function of BMSCs in SLD chickens. In vitro, overexpression of GHR in chicken BMSCs increased mitochondrial membrane potential but decreased reactive oxygen and ATP contents, oxidative phosphorylation complex enzyme activity, and mitochondrial number. Expression of genes associated with mitochondrial biogenesis and function was repressed during adipogenic differentiation in chicken BMSCs, the adipogenic differentiation capacity of chicken BMSCs was also repressed. With knockdown of GHR, opposite results were observed. We concluded that GHR inhibited adipogenic differentiation of chicken BMSCs by suppressing mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial function.