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The highly contagious nature and 100% fatality rate contribute to the ongoing and expanding impact of the African swine fever virus (ASFV), causing significant economic losses worldwide. Herein, we developed a cascaded colorimetric detection using the combination of a CRISPR/Cas14a system, G-quadruplex DNAzyme, and microfluidic paper-based analytical device. This CRISPR/Cas14a-G4 biosensor could detect ASFV as low as 5 copies/μL and differentiate the wild-type and mutated ASFV DNA with 2-nt difference. Moreover, this approach was employed to detect ASFV in porcine plasma. A broad linear detection range was observed, and the limit of detection in spiked porcine plasma was calculated to be as low as 42-85 copies/μL. Our results indicate that the developed paper platform exhibits the advantages of high sensitivity, excellent specificity, and low cost, making it promising for clinical applications in the field of DNA disease detection and suitable for popularization in low-resourced areas.

Necropsy, the examination of animal carcasses to determine the cause of death, is an essential skill for many professionals. Traditional training methods, however, are costly and time-consuming. The article suggests that Web-based Augmented Reality (WebAR) can offer an immersive and cost-effective training experience for laboratory animal necropsy. It describes using photogrammetry techniques to create a virtual necropsy environment consisting of 10 necropsy steps. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the usability, educational value, and drawbacks of the designed application by students who tested it. The paper outlines best practices for developing WebAR simulations, including high-fidelity 3D models and interactive elements. Additionally, it presents methods for creating new WebAR applications using specific programs or scripts. This paper highlights the potential benefits of WebAR for laboratory animal necropsy training, emphasizing its accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and scalability.

This paper considers the topic of student wellbeing using the lens of a different type of support mechanism -- 'dog borrowing' -- which builds on prior research about emotion work and human-animal interactions but in the context of student transitions and pastoral care in higher education. This novel study was about the experiences of students settling into their university life and how, through a facilitated opportunity for students to connect to a dog and community partners, universities can meet mental health standards for wellbeing support. The findings outlined in this paper provide new insight into; how the university ethos and environment can be viewed as more personalised and emotionally supportive, how different kinds of relationships can support emotion state regulation conducive to wellbeing and effective learning and the ways that a human-animal bond can enhance connection with the community and provide social support for university students who have moved away from home.

Background: This study reports on new contexts in which formulaic language has been used in the years since 2013 when the last synthesis was carried out. The background presents an old but still useful definition and lists themes under which research was arranged in 2013 and which continue to be used. Aims: This study has a particular emphasis on the relevance of formulaic language to people living with dementia. Methods: Section 3, identifying new directions, reviews new 'third waves' of research priorities in several fields in which formulaic sequences play a major role, including sociolinguistic variation, corpus-based and corpus-driven analyses, pragmatics, human-computer interaction, and psycholinguistics, all of which are relevant to speech-language therapists. Section 4, outreach and expansions, illustrates new contributions from cognitively impaired person-to-person exchanges in online environments, recent examinations of infant- and pet-directed speech incorporating formulaic language, and online graphic explorations such as emojis. Section 5 focuses on growth of research in theoretical and clinical applications by Van Lancker Sidtis, as illustrated by references to her recent work. Main Contribution: The paper's main contribution is to summarize the work on formulaic language over the last 10 years, to indicate its continued importance and relevance in ordinary conversation, and especially in allowing people living with dementia to continue to interact with others. Conclusion: The paper concludes by suggesting that more focus be placed on the analysis of formulaic language with an emphasis on its relevance for speech-language therapists and other clinicians.

An understanding of how sensemaking unfolds when elementary students engage in engineering design tasks is crucial to advancing engineering teaching and learning at K-12 levels. Sensemaking has been widely studied in the context of science as a discipline. In this paper, we seek to contribute to the more nascent efforts to build theory about the characteristics of sensemaking in elementary school engineering. We report on an interpretive case study of a 3rd grade student team who worked with minimal adult intervention to design a solution to an engineering challenge. Considering the entire trajectory of their design process, from the given problem to the solution, we observed that they navigated through multiple epistemic conflicts while making decisions that informed their final solution. We found that these conflicts served as "opportunities for sensemaking" and that exploring how the students resolved conflicts shed light on their sensemaking processes. Analysis of the team's navigation through epistemic conflicts to come to a design decision helped identify two distinct kinds of engineering sensemaking: student engagement in functional reasoning as they suggested design ideas, and student engagement in mechanistic reasoning as they interpreted test results. Both processes facilitated knowledge building, which in turn supported students' engineering design decisions.

This paper explores children's understandings of Acknowledgement to Country practices and Aboriginal knowledges. Guided by the relational lenses of respect, responsibility and reciprocity, we conducted focus groups with children across five Australian early education centres. We found that Acknowledgement practices were evident through recitation of their Acknowledgement to Country, engaging with artefacts, and/or discussion of artworks. Secondly, children demonstrated emerging understandings about place names, the symbolic use of flags for places and people, and Australian plants and animals. Thirdly, Aboriginal cultures as living cultures were evident in temporal discussions about people and culture. Finally, imaginative play implied efforts to make sense of Aboriginal concepts and language. Across the study, children were active in experimenting with ideas in their own meaning making. Acknowledgement to Country was not a moment in the day; rather, it was embedded throughout the day through routines, storytelling, play and creative activities, all designed to foster learning.

Reading to Dogs (RTD) in schools, a form of animal-assisted education (AAE), is growing in popularity and prevalence. RTD involves children reading to a registered dog with benefits to well-being and reading outcomes thought to arise because of the unconditional positive regard and non-critical listening bestowed on the child by the dog. Yet RTD research is underdeveloped, and the practice lacks a substantial evidence base, casting dubiety over RTD's suitability for adoption in schools. This paper examines the research to date, exploring methodological factors and the potential efficacy of RTD for improving children's reading outcomes. Building on Hall et al.'s (2016) systematic review of RTD, related reviews, in addition to individual studies of relevance, are explored, followed by a brief discussion of further pertinent issues in RTD research. Cautious optimism about RTD as an impactful intervention to support reading outcomes is suggested, providing impetus for further research of increased quality.

Animals are frequently utilized as a teaching-learning tool in multiple educational settings. It is, therefore, important to understand what students think about this topic, in particular medical and veterinary students as "life caregivers" and competent people for a dynamic and responsible social intervention. In this context, this research aims to characterize and disseminate a set of issues related to animal welfare/wellbeing in higher education in the North of Portugal, particularly as regards the teaching of students of the Integrated Master in Medicine (MIM) and Veterinary Medicine (MIMV). After ethical approval, a survey was delivered on paper to 180 undergraduate MIM (n = 100) and MIMV (n = 80) students. After collecting 139 questionnaires partially or fully completed, with varying response rates for each question, it was concluded that most of the students consider that animal experimentation is ethically acceptable when the benefits balance the harms and assuming that refinement of animal procedures is warranted; they also agree to the establishment, maintenance and performance of animal procedures solely for educational purposes as a way of ensuring optimal acquisition of theoretical knowledge, attitudes and behaviors and technical skills. Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of teachers to explore and implement pedagogical methodologies thar are equally effective but more humane and compassionate towards sentient living beings.

The topic of keeping livestock is very well suited to addressing the ecological, social, and economic aspects of the sustainable production of our food in school lessons. However, the production of animal-based foods is mainly outside the personal experience of children and young people. To derive relevant implications for teaching, this paper explores the following research question: 'What conceptions do elementary school students have about keeping fattening pigs and dairy cows on farms?' In more detail, this study examines students' conceptions of stock sizes, husbandry practices, and feeding of fattening pigs and dairy cows and how these differ between urban and farm students. For this purpose, six elementary school students (M[subscript Age] = 8.8 years, SD = 0.4 ; 83% female) from Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia were interviewed. Three of the subjects were growing up on a conventional farm with fattening pigs. The study is informed by the Model of Educational Reconstruction. To elicit students' conceptions, we used semi-structured guided interviews, during which students made a drawing of a farm that they described in detail. The data were evaluated with the help of qualitative content analysis. The study results show a wide range of conceptions, ranging from naive and unbiased conceptions to clear conceptions of modern, conventional livestock farming.

Posthumanist orientations have underlined the need to foster non-hierarchical relations with other-than-human beings to adequately attend to planetary crises and help life to survive and flourish. Since a posthumanist critique towards natural sciences has mostly leaned on questioning the premise of human subjects making sense of objectified nature, little effort has been made to explore if and how scientific research and posthumanist approaches might intersect and co-exist without abandoning their respective aims. In this paper, we analyse a case of ecological citizen science inquiry on urban rats to explore theoretical and practical opportunities for environmental education that arise from bridging the posthumanist call for attentiveness towards multispecies worlds with ecological research endeavor. We reconceptualize ecological inquiry as sharing "atmospheres" with other animals as well as through its "material aspects" to articulate conceptual tools to disrupt the subject-object division of knowledge creation between humans and other animals.

In the past decade, social media has served as a vehicle for sharing information and coordinating actions during sudden crises. However, much of the research has focused on local communities directly affected by crisis and the human recipients of aid. This paper explores a case where handicraft makers across the globe collaborated on social media--namely Facebook--to help Australian wildlife during the 2019-20 bushfire crisis. Based on 12 semi-structured interviews, we report how animal-centered visual content spread through a broader hybrid media system, arousing emotions that played a crucial role in increasing awareness of the crisis and catalyzing action. The findings highlight how participants actively sought possibilities for utilizing their knowledge and expertise within the project and experienced receiving immaterial rewards and benefits as compensation for their efforts. The findings also show how participants had various roles in the collaborative initiative--alternating between online and offline environments. However, the ongoing crisis coupled with the related pressure and stress, the rapidly increasing number of helpers, communication ambiguities, and technological challenges, led to chaos, heightened emotions, and fueled dissension within the group. These factors posed challenges to collaboration, further highlighting the negative and toxic communication cultures of social media. This paper enriches our understanding of how social media can enable, but also challenge, bottom-up community-driven, animal-oriented solidarity actions and long-distance crisis collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neoplatonic notion of "emanation" implies a required progression through hierarchical stages, originating from the highest principle (the One or God) and cascading down through a series of principles. While this process is deemed necessary, it is also inherently good, even "choiceworthy", aligning with the identification of the first principle with the Good. Plotinus, a prominent Neoplatonist, emphasizes the beauty and goodness of the sensible world, governed by divine providence. This perspective, transmitted through Arabic adaptations of Plotinus, influences Islamic philosophers too. This paper delves into the thought of the Ismāʿīlī philosopher Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sijistānī (d. after. 349/971), exploring the interplay of necessity and goodness in his cosmology, with a focus on non-human animals. Sijistānī's Persian Uncovering the Veiled provides a unique perspective on animals, presenting them as both necessary unfoldings of the universal intellect and inherently good beings with intrinsic value. The paper concludes with an appendix featuring an improved edition and English translation of relevant passages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Developing sustainable livestock management requires knowledge and monitoring of which habitats within an enclosure the livestock prefers to stay in and in what way they utilise the available habitats. The technology of virtual fencing provides the ability to both monitor and adapt enclosures, thus adding value to the expense related to fencing for farmers and livestock managers. To this end, the possibilities this new technology offers need to be explored and methods developed. In this paper, we explore the monitoring capabilities of virtual fencing technology on a herd of cattle in a coastal dune landscape. We explore to what extent a herd of cattle prefers some habitats over others, and in what way they utilise each of the available habitats. We find clear differences in the amount of time the herd spends in each habitat and in the ways they utilise each habitat. The herd spend a disproportionately large amount of time in salt meadow, and likely spend most of their time there resting and ruminating. We conclude that the method for monitoring of cattle applied in this study, using existing virtual fencing technology, is a relatively precise method useful in year-round monitoring, with room for improvement. There has been an increased focus on new technologies to monitor habitat use and behaviour of cattle to develop a more sustainable livestock grazing system without compromising animal welfare. One of the currently used methods for monitoring cattle behaviour is tri-axial accelerometer data from systems such as virtual fencing technology or bespoke monitoring technology. Collection and transmission of high-frequency accelerometer and GNSS data is a major energy cost, and quickly drains the battery in contemporary virtual fencing systems, making it unsuitable for long-term monitoring. In this paper, we explore the possibility of determining habitat preference and habitat utilisation patterns in cattle using low-frequency activity and location data. We achieve this by (1) calculating habitat selection ratios, (2) determining daily activity patterns, and (3) based on those, inferring grazing and resting sites in a group of cattle wearing virtual fencing collars in a coastal setting with grey, wooded, and decalcified dunes, humid dune slacks, and salt meadows. We found that GNSS data, and a measure of activity, combined with accurate mapping of habitats can be an effective tool in assessing habitat preference. The animals preferred salt meadows over the other habitats, with wooded dunes and humid dune slacks being the least preferred. We were able to identify daily patterns in activity. By comparing general trends in activity levels to the existing literature, and using a Gaussian mixture model, it was possible to infer resting and grazing behaviour in the different habitats. According to our inference of behaviour the herd predominantly used the salt meadows for resting and ruminating. The approach used in this study allowed us to use GNSS location data and activity data and combine it with accurate habitat mapping to assess habitat preference and habitat utilisation patterns, which can be an important tool for guiding management decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In much of Western society, animals such as chickens are considered commodities. As such, they are bred and raised to produce eggs, meat, and entertainment. Farmed animal sanctuaries challenge this status quo by rescuing, rehabilitating, and caring for these animals. In so doing, sanctuaries implicitly and often explicitly challenge chickens' and other farmed animals' status as commodities. What does decommodification entail? How do we get from capitalist lively commodities to other interactions with living beings? Drawing on mixed methods ethnographic fieldwork, this paper theorizes the decommodification process, elaborating the more-than-capitalist political economy of chicken rescue and sanctuary. I make the case that the political economic work of sanctuaries begins, though occasionally tragically ends, with processes akin to hoarding. In turn, I suggest that we think of hoarding less stigmatically and more in terms of political economy, as deviant accumulation. Building on Marx's understanding of hoarding as a process of accumulating without exchanging, deviant accumulation is accumulation that challenges capitalocentric norms. As such, by taking animals out of a system of exchange value, all sanctuaries practice deviant accumulation. Deviant accumulation thus becomes a practice that is potentially radically anti-capitalist: a practice from which different and non-anthropocentric values can emerge. I explicate the concept of deviant accumulation, how sanctuaries practice it, and to what ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite much attention to physical aspects of climate change, the relationship between climate change and culture has thus far received little attention in research. Cultures develop over time and are shaped by place-specific factors such as history, landscape, weather, flora and fauna. Climate change affects these contextual factors, and as such will have consequences for the cultures shaped by them. In addressing the intersection of culture and climate change, the paper draws on a qualitative study on Fanø, a low-lying Danish island in the Wadden Sea. We illustrate how the cultural heritage of Fanø's seafaring past plays an important role in the everyday culture of the present. The cultural heritage and the nature of Fanø are at the core of the island's identity. As climate change will affect the community's ability to maintain their cultural heritage and will change the island's natural values, it will affect what it means to be Fanniker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a widespread view, people often anthropomorphize machines such as certain robots and computer and AI systems by erroneously attributing mental states to them. On this view, people almost irresistibly believe, even if only subconsciously, that machines with certain human-like features really have phenomenal or subjective experiences like sadness, happiness, desire, pain, joy, and distress, even though they lack such feelings. This paper questions this view by critiquing common arguments used to support it and by suggesting an alternative explanation. Even if people’s behavior and language regarding human-like machines suggests they believe those machines really have mental states, it is possible that they do not believe that at all. The paper also briefly discusses potential implications of regarding such anthropomorphism as a popular myth. The exercise illuminates the difficult concept of anthropomorphism, helping to clarify possible human relations with or toward machines that increasingly resemble humans and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines the perspectives of animal studies and reception theory to trace the audience shift of narratives foregrounding interactions between adolescent boys and animals published in the US in the first half of the twentieth century. More precisely, it argues that a text's focus on human–animal bonds can result in its "kiddification," a term explained by Beverly Lyon Clark as trivialization that leads to dismissal. We argue that the reasons for this shift include the solidification of the boy-and-his-dog convention in the 1940s as an example of formula fiction for juveniles, combined with the simultaneous proliferation of animal movies geared towards a family audience. The case under scrutiny is Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's novel The Yearling and its film adaptation from 1946. Despite the book's initial success among general audiences (awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1939), with time Kinnan Rawlings's novel became "kiddified" and then passed into oblivion, rarely discussed by critics who deem it undeserving of attention and unread by contemporary juveniles, who perhaps find the book difficult, long and tedious (Groff, Harper's, https://harpers.org/archive/2014/01/the-lost-yearling/, 2014). Consequently, the foregrounding of affective human–animal bonds in the book resulted in its later association with children's literature, which was amplified by the film adaptation as well as the publisher's marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philosophical theorizing on democracy typically assumes away the existence of nonhuman animals – even though animals are systematically affected by democratic decisions in morally relevant ways. This paper inspects under which circumstances, if at all, this omission can be justified. First, I distinguish between two possible explanations of this neglect: (i) that animals are neglected by democratic theorists due to speciesist biases, according to a debunking account, or (ii) that animals are deliberately idealized away, on a reconstructive approach. Largely, this paper is devoted to assessing when assuming away animals can function as a theoretically productive or practically helpful idealization when theorizing about democracy. In particular, I identify three different aims that may be served by idealizing animals away in democratic theory: (i) to understand what makes democracy valuable, legitimate, or authoritative, (ii) to assess how the pitfalls of really existing democracies might be fixed and (iii) to isolate what robust agents owe each other in democratic societies. I then argue that, whereas the third goal might be usefully advanced by idealizing animals away, the first two goals can only be suitably tackled if we take into account how democracies affect animals’ interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethical questions normally arise in sport because its participants are human moral agents and because its practice community entails the observance of rules and responsibilities that humans generally owe one another in a social practice of voluntary competition. Since nature sports are not defined by this kind of inter-agential activity, it would appear that there are no comparable ethical constraints on their pursuit. This paper considers conflicts of preference versus right between humans, how these are resolved, and whether these rights are relevant in assessment of nature sport activity vis-à-vis nonhuman creatures. Relying on a goods perspective instead of a rights framework, via Korsgaard, I argue against an assumption that human preference is sufficient to override consideration of nonhuman animals' functional goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper criticises contemporary posthumanist theories of anthropocentrism by reading an early essay by Bertrand Russell alongside work by Rosi Braidotti and Jane Bennett. It argues that, despite appearances, scientism and posthumanism share key commitments in common, such that clarifying the problems with which Russell struggles regarding nature and significance can illuminate symmetrical problems in posthumanism. Against these alternatives, the paper draws on insights from Bernard Williams, contemporary Hegelian philosophy, and J. J. Gibson's work on animal agency to sketch a picture of what it means to take a human perspective. It is the perspective of one species among others, with a particular evolutionary history; it is also the perspective of a species that, because of certain developments in that history, knows itself as such. That opens us to forms of answerability to the world that do not touch the lives of unselfconscious animals. Some critics of the theoretical discourse on anthropocentrism have argued that taking a human perspective is morally unobjectionable. This paper goes further: it is necessary for grasping our relation to the rest of nature and so our responsibilities for it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Virtual fencing is an alternative to the ubiquitously used physical fences. It uses GPS to determine the location of livestock relative to a virtual line. The system deters livestock from leaving the enclosure by using an auditory warning followed by an electric impulse during approach and crossing of the fence line. This paper assessed the social effects on learning between cattle with and without prior experience with virtual fencing through three case studies: one with a gradual and two with an instant introduction method. These were applied to assess if improvements in associative learning could be made. Due to the non-standardised experiments, it was not possible to analyse the effect across the case studies and therefore to conclude whether the number of experienced cattle or the different introduction methods influenced the inexperienced cattle. Agricultural industries rely on physical fences to manage livestock. However, these present practical, financial, and ecological challenges, which may be solved using virtual fencing. This study aimed to identify how experienced cattle through social facilitation and the introduction method influence inexperienced cattle. Based on three stocks held in Fanø, Denmark, containing 12, 17 and 13 Angus (Bos taurus), we examined the virtual fence learning in three case studies using one gradual introduction with zero experienced cattle (A) and two different instant introductions with one (B) and ten (C) experienced cattle. Gradual introduction had the virtual fence moved 20 m every other day for eleven days, and in the two instant introductions, the physical fence was removed in one day. Warnings and impulses were recorded during an 11-day learning period and a 26-day post-learning period, using the impulses per warning to quantify if the cattle adapted. Case studies A and B showed a significant reduction in the warnings and impulses, but only A showed a significant reduction in the impulses per warning when comparing the learning period to the post-learning period. Due to the non-standardised experiments, it was not possible to conclude if the number of experienced cattle or the introduction method had an effect on the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent feminist research, women and children are not seen collectively as one marginalized group, but children and animals have been given their own research focus and categories. Judith 8:1 states an impressive list of forebears of Judith that defines her character and role, but scholars say nothing about the fact that she prefers to terminate this lineage by not having children or offspring, no legacy. In Judith, children are absent in the victory section, their crying out to YHWH during the period of mourning is not recognised and forgotten. Children and animals form a vulnerable group, especially in biblical narratives. In Judith 4:8- 15 and Jonah 3:6-9 at the time of a national disaster, a period of communal mourning is called by the leaders. Children and animals are given the agency to petition YHWH to intervene and not allow the crises to happen. This agency of children and animals contradicts their vulnerability as they are not involved in decision-making concerning their participation in events and overall well-being. In this paper, the agency of children and animals in Judith 4:8- 15 and Jonah 3:6-10 is critically assessed to determine if they are given a real agency to petition YHWH or if their vulnerability is exploited for communal purposes and interests. Although Judith’s role inspires feminists to focus on her independence and perseverance in saving Israel, as well as to undermine motherhood as an essential woman attribute, what has the story to say about the future and agency of children and animals, the most vulnerable in society?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between outdoor sports and the age of empire on the American frontier using the lens of gender performance. Focused on the years from the mid to the late nineteenth century, it provides an exploration of hunting as a vector of imperial masculine journey and a physical and imaginative pursuit where hunters stalked and shot the iconic animals of the western states on behalf of settler colonialism. In the first part of the paper, contemporary testimonies are used to plot the ways in which hunting desires to own the animal body fuelled a powerful homosocial culture grounded in ideas of primal pageantry. Sport and game in this context represented essential elements of a performative leisure economy in which pursuit and capture dictated the terms of human-animal engagement and refracted broader impositions of colonial political authority. From here, it turns to dynamics of community on the game trail where the primacy of the sporting hero was confirmed and recalibrated along racial, class and gender lines, before travelling indoors to examine how the afterlife of the hunt (expressed in taxidermy) allowed the authority of the victorious hunter to be performed in the 'great indoors' and for colonial claims over space to be materially and symbolically affirmed. Today, the stories of the imperial hunter elite and their taxidermy trophies represent traumatic historical artefacts. However, they also denote important remnants of empire whose complicated provenance helps to explain how mutually supportive mechanisms of masculinity and colonialism operated to sanction the killing and (later) the conservation of game species. Offering a closer look at 'the bison in the room' and its embodied story of pursuit and capture, this paper provides valuable insights into the dynamics of sport in colonial space and the value of performance as a useful category for contextualising human-environmental relations in the age of empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loss of wildlife species due to habitat deterioration and pollution represents a major threat to biodiversity conservation. This is compounded by the rapid development of infrastructure i.e., expansion of roads, railways, harbours, construction of industries, human settlements and agricultural infrastructure. A few studies have explored the significant effects of emerging infrastructure development on wildlife species and habitats particularly in developing countries like Tanzania. We reviewed 58 research articles and reports, to highlight the significant impacts of emerging infrastructure on both aquatic and terrestrial species and habitats in Tanzania. We show that despite the role it plays in the development, the infrastructure contributes significantly to the loss of wildlife species. For instance, habitat loss, edge effects, population isolation, road mortality, and increased human access are among the effects of highways across the Serengeti, Mikumi, and Katavi National Parks in Tanzania. Effects on the health of aquatic species, pollution and loss of habitat have been pointed out as impacts due to the construction of hotels and industries upstream and along the coasts, expansion of harbours and agricultural activities. Environment effects i.e., reduction of forest, ecosystem services, and riverine habitat, and loss of species are anticipated due to the construction of Stiegler's Gorge Hydroelectric Dam, across the Rufiji River in eastern Tanzania. Though infrastructure development undoubtedly offers opportunities to boost economic growth and reduce poverty in developing nations, it should be planned to have the least possible negative effects on biodiversity. Well-planned infrastructure development could lessen human pressure on wildlife species and habitats. This paper would be useful to policymakers and politicians in developing nations to avoid the implementation of infrastructure development in biodiversity-rich or protected areas as their decision may jeopardize the integrity of wildlife species and future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic represented a huge obstacle for public health and demonstrated weaknesses in surveillance and health promotion systems around the world. Its etiological agent, SARS-CoV-2, of zoonotic origin, has been the target of several studies related to the control and prevention of outbreaks and epidemics of COVID-19 not only for humans but also for animals. Domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, have extensive contact with humans and can acquire the infection both naturally and directly from humans. The objective of this article was to summarize the seroprevalence findings of SARS-CoV-2 in dogs and cats and correlate them with the strength of infection risk between each of them. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis following the recommendations of PRISMA 2020. The search and selection of papers was carried out using in vivo experimental works with animals using the descriptors (MeSH/DeCS) "Animal", "Public Health", "SARS-CoV-2" and "Pandemic" (together with AND) in English, Portuguese or Spanish for Science Direct, PUBMED, LILACS and SciELO databases. The ARRIVE checklist was used for methodological evaluation and the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis v2.2 software with the Difference Risk (RD) test to evaluate statistical inferences (with subgroups by continent). Cats showed greater susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 compared to dogs both in a joint analysis of studies (RD = 0.017; 95% CI = 0.008–0.025; p < 0.0001) and in the American subgroup (RD = 0.053; 95% CI = 0.032–0.073; p < 0.0001), unlike the lack of significant difference on the European continent (RD = 0.009; 95% CI = −0.001–0.018; p = 0.066). Therefore, it was observed that cats have a greater interest in health surveillance due to the set of biological and ecological aspects of these animals, but also that there are a set of factors that can influence the spread and possible spillover events of the virus thanks to the anthropozoonotic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interspecies interactions between farmers and livestock have provided an important conceptual and empirical focus in expanding our understanding of animal geographies, with a burgeoning literature exploring the intricate material and discursive (re)positioning of animals across different socio-spatial contexts. This paper offers a new direction for understanding these human-animal encounters by exploring the ways in which farmer and animal identities are mediated by social media. By drawing on a qualitative analysis of UK farmers’ tweets about their livestock and semi-structured interviews about farmers’ use of social media, this paper examines how social media allows a reworking of the spatiotemporalities of animal-human relations and offers farmers the opportunity to co-construct their identities with their livestock and farming practices. The paper identifies three ways in which farmer–livestock relations are mediated by social media. Firstly, that animals are made visible as actors within farming cultures to those beyond the farm gate. Secondly, that the role of farm animals as subjects and objects is negotiated throughout temporal moments online and thirdly that representations on social media of interactions with animals plays a role in the (re)construction of farmers’ identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Too often when we think about agency, we think only about human actors. Increasingly, studies of animal-human relationships have explored the agency of animals who live alongside humans. This paper explores the agency of animals during interviews with trans young people and their families. A focus on the agency of animals is important in this context, given the unique meanings often attributed to animals by trans young people, who often experience the denial of their own agency. The data analysed in this paper constitute a subset of a larger sample of interviews with 17 trans young people and their families. The thematic analysis reported in this paper focuses on when animals were considered to show agency during video recordings, and what humans were saying during these portions of the recordings. Three forms of agency were identified: agency as affection, resistance, and proximity. The paper concludes by considering what it means to think about animal agency, what this means for trans young people, and more broadly what this means for research that seeks to involve animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temptation narrative in Mark's gospel contains an unusual detail absent from the counterpart traditions in Matthew and Luke. In Mk 1.13, Jesus is described as being 'with the wild animals'. Several Hebrew Bible texts and typologies have been suggested to explain this unique Markan feature; however, none has gained widespread support. This article takes a different approach and investigates this enigmatic Markan phrase by focusing on the description of Nebuchadnezzar in the Greek editions of Dan. 4. While a connection between these biblical texts has been suggested before, this paper will expand upon such observations through a more detailed comparison of several key features of these texts. It will be shown that, due to these connections, it is probable that Mark's reference to wild animals is a comment on the behaviors exhibited by Jesus by living in the wilderness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury (MIRI) is widespread in the treatment of ischemic heart disease, and its treatment options are currently limited. Adiponectin (APN) is an adipocytokine with cardioprotective properties; however, the mechanisms of APN in MIRI are unclear. Therefore, based on preclinical (animal model) evidence, the cardioprotective effects of APN and the underlying mechanisms were explored. Methods: The literature was searched for the protective effect of APN on MIRI in six databases until 16 November 2023, and data were extracted according to selection criteria. The outcomes were the size of the myocardial necrosis area and hemodynamics. Markers of oxidation, apoptosis, and inflammation were secondary outcome indicators. The quality evaluation was performed using the animal study evaluation scale recommended by the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation statement. Stata/MP 14.0 software was used for the summary analysis. Results: In total, 20 papers with 426 animals were included in this study. The pooled analysis revealed that APN significantly reduced myocardial infarct size [weighted mean difference (WMD) = 16.67 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 13.18 to 20.16, P < 0.001)] and improved hemodynamics compared to the MIRI group [Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure: WMD = 5.96 (95% CI = 4.23 to 7.70, P < 0.001); + dP/dtmax: WMD = 1393.59 (95% CI = 972.57 to 1814.60, P < 0.001); -dP/dtmax: WMD = 850.06 (95% CI = 541.22 to 1158.90, P < 0.001); Left ventricular ejection fraction: WMD = 9.96 (95% CI = 7.29 to 12.63, P < 0.001)]. Apoptosis indicators [caspase-3: standardized mean difference (SMD) = 3.86 (95% CI = 2.97 to 4.76, P < 0.001); TUNEL-positive cells: WMD = 13.10 (95% CI = 8.15 to 18.05, P < 0.001)], inflammatory factor levels [TNF-α: SMD = 4.23 (95% CI = 2.48 to 5.98, P < 0.001)], oxidative stress indicators [Superoxide production: SMD = 4.53 (95% CI = 2.39 to 6.67, P < 0.001)], and lactate dehydrogenase levels [SMD = 2.82 (95% CI = 1.60 to 4.04, P < 0.001)] were significantly reduced. However, the superoxide dismutase content was significantly increased [SMD = 1.91 (95% CI = 1.17 to 2.65, P < 0.001)]. Conclusion: APN protects against MIRI via anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antioxidant effects, and this effect is achieved by activating different signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) or local ecological knowledge (LEK) has only recently gained traction as "legitimate" science in Western academic discourse. Such approaches to inclusivity continue to face institutional, sociocultural, and equity barriers to being fully accepted in academic discourse in comparison to Western-based frameworks. Postcolonial studies have attempted to rectify this Western-domination in characterizing diverse forms of bird--human relationships. However, the integration of multiple cosmologies (worldviews) and ontologies (realities) in research or management creates challenges that we discuss. We elucidate commonalities and antithetical positions between Western-derived bird knowledge and management with that of TEK or LEK in both local and global contexts. We combine ecological/ornithological studies with key terms, theories, and methods from the social sciences to integrate the approaches and facilitate understanding. For example, we follow a "theory synthesis" approach in this conceptual paper to question epistemological and ontological assumptions of bird knowledge and how we acquire it to question, "how do we move from a decolonial approach (discussions and acknowledgement) to decolonization (action)?" This paper is a product of ongoing discourse among global researchers of an academic ethno-ornithology research lab based in the United Kingdom, who partner with global collaborators. The 3 case studies draw from ongoing research in Southeast Asia, South America, and decolonializing policy efforts in New Zealand. We analyzed these case studies using a postcolonial theoretical lens to provide insights into how Western scientists can embrace TEK and LEK and actively work to decolonize ethno-ornithology and ornithology in theory and practice. Further, we discuss perceived core tenets to equity and inclusion in community-based TEK and LEK conservation projects from the Global South. Diversity, equity, inclusivity, and justice in bird--human relations and knowledge were identified as targets for systemic change within the academic institutions of Western scientists. By recognizing, discussing, and embracing non-Western cosmologies and ontologies, non-Indigenous scientists can help influence the decolonization of ethno-ornithology, ornithology, and bird--human relations through respectful, participatory, equitable, culturally considerate, and "non-extractive" community-based initiatives in partnership with local groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of the method of using sonography during surgery in animals with polycystic kidney disease is an urgent task since firstly, sonography is a safe and non-invasive method of examination, which allows determining the structural features of the kidneys before, during, and after surgery. Secondly, from the standpoint of improving the results of surgery, sonography helps to clarify the localisation of cysts and determine their size. Thirdly, an important factor in the use of sonography is the reduction of pain and the risk of postoperative complications. In addition, due to this method of kidney examination, it is possible to more accurately determine the optimal route of access to cysts, which helps to reduce tissue injury and ensures rapid recovery of the animal after surgery. The purpose of the study is to analyse in detail and describe the method of using sonography during surgery in animals with polycystic kidney disease. The study focuses on the need to determine how sonography affects reducing the duration of surgery, improving the quality of cyst removal, and reducing the risk of complications during abdominal surgery. The approach in this study is based on the analysis of scientific papers on this subject, in particular on the experience of veterinarians who have already used sonography during abdominal operations in animals with polycystic kidney disease. Thus, special techniques of sonography and surgical treatment of kidney cysts include dopplerography, colour dopplerography, 3D and 4D sonography, elastography, introperative sonography, intraperitoneal sonography, and duplex scanning of renal arteries and veins. Surgical methods of treatment include extraction of individual cysts, drainage of cysts, resection, and nephrectomy. The use of sonography at different stages of surgical intervention helps to optimise the operation process, reduce the risk of complications, and contribute to the introduction of new approaches in the treatment of animals with polycystic kidney disease, which will substantially improve their quality of life [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper was to evaluate factors affecting tannin dietary inclusion on enteric methane emission (CH4) and performance in dairy cows. Dairy production contributes to the greenhouse effect as it naturally emits enteric CH4. Therefore, this has sparked a need to control enteric methane emissions using anti-methane natural compounds such as tannins. Even at moderate dietary inclusions, tannin use in animal diets can occasionally reduce dairy performance and enteric CH4. This is due to the fact that most studies employ tannins to reduce enteric CH4 in dairy cows excluding other influential factors by focusing on the tannin inclusion effect alone. Therefore, there is a need to study different factors that influence the effect of tannins on enteric CH4 and dairy performance regardless of dietary tannin inclusion to improve the control of enteric CH4 at no expense to dairy performance. Hence, there is a need to identify factors that affect dietary tannin inclusion, such as tannin source, diet and animal factors that need consideration to prevent the control of enteric CH4 by tannins at the expense of animal performance. This approach would inform future studies relevant to the use of tannins in dairy diets to improve the effect of this treatment through in vivo and in vitro studies to ensure dairy production is harmless to the environment while meeting production targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate and evaluate the available research on animal abuse recidivism. Design/methodology/approach: A narrative review of the animal abuse literature was conducted. Articles were included if they provided data/estimates of the rates of recidivism, findings regarding the static, dynamic and/or protective factors associated with animal abuse recidivism and available risk assessment tools, specifically for use with individuals who have a history of animal abuse. Findings: The literature review highlighted high rates of reoffending amongst those who have harmed animals. Many risk and protective factors associated with animal abuse were common to the wider offending behaviour literature (e.g. antisocial attitudes, relationship issues), but more robust research is needed to highlight any distinct characteristics. Lastly, the review reports two risk assessment tools designed specifically for this offending group. Practical implications: Clinicians and criminal justice personnel base their sentencing, detention and treatment decisions, at least in part, on the recidivism literature. This review provides a consolidation of the evidence base as an aide memoire for practitioners. Originality/value: History of animal abuse is a risk factor for future animal harm specifically, and interpersonal violence more broadly. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first literature review that presents the key research evidence on risk/protective factors and relevant risk assessment tools that can inform intervention planning to reduce risk of reoffending towards animals and humans alike when practitioners encounter clients who have a history of harming animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of stress and behavioral disorders are growing significantly in the contemporary word in humans and animals alike. Various drugs are used to modify affected behavior, including psychotropic, anticonvulsant, antihistamines, hormones, analgesics, and neuroleptics. Psychotropic drugs are prescribed for animals with behavioral disorders, signs of anxiety or hypersensitivity. Improving the methods of diagnosing and treating behavioral disorders in animals can enhance animal welfare and optimize animal husbandry technology. Future research should be aimed at improving and optimizing the use of psychotropic drugs for behavioral disorders of various animal species. The main indication for the use of anxiolytic drugs is behavioral disorders associated with anxiety in wild and domestic animals. When anxiolytic drugs are used in mammals their pharmacological properties, the dependence of their action on the route of administration, age and species of the animal, and the ability to selectively affect the central nervous system should be taken into account. The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of behavioral disorders in animals are fluoxetine, amitriptyline, escitalopram, haloperidol, zuclopentixol and azaperone. Fluoxetine is an effective drug for the treatment of dogs with behavioral disorders associated with psychological changes. An important component of escitalopram's pharmacological effect is the psychomotor influence, when the animal's behavior changes are due to improved motor activity. Zuclopentixol has a wide range of anxiolytic, sedative and analgesic effects when used in wild cloven-hoofed animals. Amitriptyline along with antidepressant properties, has a local analgesic impact. Azaperone has a pronounced anxiolytic and sedative effect on animals. It is widely used as an antistress agent to overcome anxiety caused by weaning, regrouping or veterinary manipulations. Azaperone is often used to control aggressive behavior in group housing, especially in the pig industry. The psychotropic drugs surveyed in this paper, along with direct anxiolytic action, are able to manifest additional physiological effects, which should be taken into account when developing treatment protocols for animals with behavioral problems. Further targeted studies are required to assess the pharmacological effects of anxiolytic drugs in animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Scientiarum: Human & Social Sciences is the property of Universidade Estadual de Maringa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Representations of wounded animals and humans in European Upper Palaeolithic art have traditionally been conceived as figures related to the hunting activities of hunter-gatherer societies. In this paper, we propose an analysis of Franco-Cantabrian figurative representations showing signs of violence between 35,000 and 13,000 cal. bp to qualify the interpretations of hunting and death in Palaeolithic art. To this end, both multivariate statistical analyses and hypothesis tests have been used to highlight the formal, thematic, chronological and regional similarities and differences in these types of artistic representations. The results show that wounded graphic units are mythograms coded by different variables that do not seem to reflect the actual hunting of the animal, but rather a more complex meaning. It was also discovered that, in early times, the artist preferred to wound secondary or less frequent animals, like deer. This changed in more recent times, when the main animals, such as bison, are wounded under greater normativity and homogeneity in the Pyrenees or the Cantabrian region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salvianolic acid B (SalB), among the most abundant bioactive polyphenolic compounds found in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., exerts therapeutic and protective effects against various diseases. Although some summaries of the activities of SalB exist, there is lack of a scientometric and in-depth review regarding disease therapy. In this review, scientometrics was employed to analyze the number of articles, publication trends, countries, institutions, keywords, and highly cited papers pertaining to SalB research. The scientometric findings showed that SalB exerts excellent protective effects on the heart, lungs, liver, bones, and brain, along with significant therapeutic effects against atherosclerosis (AS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), liver fibrosis, diabetes, heart/brain ischemia, and osteoporosis, by regulating signaling pathways and acting on specific molecular targets. Moreover, this review delves into in-depth insights and perspectives, such as the utilization of SalB in combination with other drugs, the validation of molecular mechanisms and targets, and the research and development of novel drug carriers and dosage forms. In conclusion, this review aimed to offer a comprehensive scientometric analysis and in-depth appraisal of SalB research, encompassing both present achievements and future prospects, thereby providing a valuable resource for the clinical application and therapeutic exploitation of SalB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erving Goffman's concept of framing is one of his most enduring contributions to social science. Despite the canonical status of Frame Analysis (1974) in multiple fields, few acknowledge its intellectual engagement with animal studies. It was Gregory Bateson, in an analysis of animal play, who first posited the idea of frames as metacommunicative propositions that signal the meaning of behavior. In this paper, we show that Goffman did not just opportunistically borrow the idea of framing from Bateson, but also advanced Bateson's thesis that nonhuman animals are capable of (re)framing the meaning of behavior. He emphasized that animals and humans could meta‐communicate with each other as well. Goffman polemicized against human exceptionalist theories of cognition and communication—not only in Frame Analysis, but also in unpublished remarks he delivered at a controversial conference on animal communication, and he suggested that the ability to meta‐communicate is a more appropriate index of mind than language. Although new research indicates that many species use “significant symbols” and have a “theory of mind,” most interactionists have not reckoned with the sociological implications of animals as “minded” social actors capable of metacommunication with each other—and with people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of English animal-related terms used figuratively with reference to types of parenting. To be more precise, we make an attempt to investigate the scope of the conceptual metaphor PARENTS ARE ANIMALS. What ignited our interest was the ubiquity of linguistic metaphors featuring animal terms employed with reference to types of parenting present in everyday language, thus we have decided to delve into what types of animals are typical source domains in metaphors of this type. The methodology adopted is the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, originally proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and further developed in numerous subsequent publications, especially those by Kövecses (2003, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017a, 2017b). Our results are supported by evidence from the online Corpus of Contemporary American English and News on the Web Corpus, which may be said to corroborate not only the conceptual nature of metaphors as such, but also their impact on social cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My aim in this paper is to show that the natural idea that humiliation is harmful calls explanation and to argue that the most straightforward ways of responding to this explanatory demand fall short in important ways. I end by considering a line of response which I take to be promising, which appeals to our need, as social animals, for interpersonal connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a selection of foxhunting stories to explore the way in which anthropomorphized foxes were used to communicate pro-hunting messages to their mostly young readers. These justifications also appeared in nonfictional foxhunting sporting literature. Indeed, this literature included some of the same incredible anecdotes that also appeared in the work of nature writers at the turn of the twentieth century such as Charles G.D. Roberts and Ernest Thompson Seton working in a new sympathetic genre called the “animal story.” These writers found themselves under attack because naturalists like John Burroughs, and hunters, including President Theodore Roosevelt, found their stories to be inaccurate and anthropocentric. Roosevelt dubbed them the “nature fakers.” Foxhunting “histories” employed imaginative material and much anthropomorphism but were not attacked for doing so. This tends to indicate that anthropomorphisms were more acceptable when they were facilitating animal exploitation than when they were used to promote the perspective of nonhuman animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking its cue from the Islamic Ecological Paradigm, deeply rooted in Islamic religious traditions, which emerged more than 1400 years ago, this paper reimagines the human-nonhuman relationship against the backdrop of the arguably assumed superiority of mankind in (Islamic) theological discourses. Using Qurʾānic narratives as a key point of divergence in the natural superiority of man within the idea of vicegerency, we argue that the Qurʾān's egalitarian ethos presents animals as 'intentional political agents' (Pepper 2021: 30) independent of human intercession. This agency enables them to be key players in deciding the outcomes of political conundrums; in so doing, it also rebuts and destabilises arrogant anthropocentric presuppositions associated with the idea of vicegerency. We particularly read, in 'signs themed' Qurʾānic narratives, a dynamic relationship between humans and animals through the animal's role as Allah's warriors and agents against human oppressors and transgressors. Drawing on the Islamic Ecological Paradigm, Angie Pepper's idea of intentional political agency and Sarra Tlili's de-anthropocentric reading of the Qurʾān, we suggest that the Qurʾān robustly invites humans to reflect on the animal world by foregrounding animals as political agents while epitomising human accountability and responsibility towards them instead of establishing a relationship of dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]