Hatchability rates in broilers pose a significant challenge in the poultry industry. Despite advancements in breeding and incubation technology, hatch rates remain suboptimal due to factors like genetics, egg management, environmental stress, nutrition, and breeder age. Understanding the mechanisms behind compromised hatchability is crucial for improving broiler production. Since the embryonic phase accounts for ∼40% of a broiler's lifespan, poor embryonic development significantly contributes to malformations and mortality, adversely affecting both hatching and post-hatching performance. The foundations for proper embryogenesis are established within the first days of incubation during the formation of the three-germ layers and onset of organogenesis. These early days are critical, as malformations acquired during this period may severely affect growth and development of both the embryo and the hatchling chick. However, understanding of the types and prevalence of early embryonic malformations in broiler eggs remains incomplete. Here we present a novel tool for categorizing abnormalities in 3-day-old broiler embryos through a standardized classification system. Systematic mapping of malformation types and severities was conducted using light microscopy combined with High-Resolution Episcopic Microscopy (HREM), resulting in a new 'malformation atlas.' This detailed atlas identified various abnormalities, including lethal defects, axis duplications, neural tube and cardiovascular malformations, growth retardation, and head malposition, many of which are difficult to detect in young stages with traditional methods. To validate this classification tool, we next analyzed the impact of various egg management practices, such as storage and incubation conditions, on malformation types and prevalence in embryos from young and old breeding flocks. The atlas revealed significant variations in the types and occurrences of malformations, influenced by flock age and egg managements. Our findings highlight the value of implementing a novel malformation categorization tool for systematic understanding of poultry embryology. This knowledge could help reduce malformations, enhancing hatchability and improving broiler production efficiency.
December 2024: Zuzana Fonioková is Assistant Professor in the Department of Czech Literature, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Her research interests include narrative theory, life writing, autofiction, and autobiographical comics. She is author of Kazuo Ishiguro and Max Frisch: Bending Facts in Unreliable and Unnatural Narration (2015) and Od autobiografie k autofikci: Narativní strategie vyprávění o vlastním životě (From autobiography to autofiction: Narrative strategies of life narratives, 2024). She is co-editor of Narrative Inquiry special issue “Life Storytelling across Media and Contexts” (2025).
Of the various chrono-stratigraphic entities of the Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant, the Middle Chalcolithic period (ca. 5300–4700 BCE) is the most poorly defined, with most of the relevant data coming from Tel Tsaf. While excavations at Tel Tsaf in the last two decades provide valuable information concerning the site’s upper occupational levels, the earlier strata and their material culture are still unknown. Past excavations focused on the later stage of the site’s occupation, leaving unanswered questions concerning the transition from the Early to the Middle Chalcolithic period. In order to shed new light on this topic, the current paper presents the results of the renewed research project, which focuses on the earliest occupational levels at Tel Tsaf, coinciding with the onset of the Middle Chalcolithic period. To start defining the characteristics of this episode, we present the archaeological layers, features, and finds uncovered just above the Lisan bedrock. We discuss the results’ implications and their contribution to an improved understanding of the Chalcolithic period’s broader temporal framework in the southern Levant.
Multicarrier states in quantum dots are confined to small volumes, resulting in increased nonradiative Auger recombination rates with implications for different optoelectronic applications. Recently, the fusion of two core–shell quantum dots into a dimer has provided a new physical landscape for multiexciton states, since the excitons may share a core (intradot, localized) or occupy different cores (interdot, segregated). Here we employ transient absorption spectroscopy to investigate the multiexciton dynamics in coupled quantum dot dimers. We observe that multiexciton populations in the dimers live significantly longer in comparison to the parent monomers, in contrast to the single exciton regime. A kinetic model that accounts for the statistical differences between monomers and dimers reveals that, while intradot multiexcitons show Auger rates similar to the monomers, interdot states have reduced Auger rates. These results pave the way for the rational design of new quantum dot molecules with tailored multiexciton properties.
This paper explores the application of Chavruta from Jewish education to Korean education. It examines, in particular, the discussion culture under King Sejong the Great in the Chosun Dynasty. It begins by describing Jewish education and Chavruta which stemmed from the multiple Jewish identity, assessing the impact of Chavruta and its reception in Korea. The discussion shifts to the present status of Korean education and traces back to its past influences from the Japanese colonial era through the U.S. military government period to the Korean War. Then, it focuses on the educational context conducted by King Sejong in the Chosun Dynasty, which is closely associated with the essence of Chavruta. Finally, it proposes to set the vision to practice of Korean Chavruta, emphasizing the potential to foster the integration of it into Korean education.
This paper explores the application of Chavruta from Jewish education to Korean education. It examines, in particular, the discussion culture under King Sejong the Great in the Chosun Dynasty. It begins by describing Jewish education and Chavruta which stemmed from the multiple Jewish identity, assessing the impact of Chavruta and its reception in Korea. The discussion shifts to the present status of Korean education and traces back to its past influences from the Japanese colonial era through the U.S. military government period to the Korean War. Then, it focuses on the educational context conducted by King Sejong in the Chosun Dynasty, which is closely associated with the essence of Chavruta. Finally, it proposes to set the vision to practice of Korean Chavruta, emphasizing the potential to foster the integration of it into Korean education.
An especially critical task is to raise awareness of the effects of war on children, in general, and with reference to specific children whose circumstances might enhance their vulnerability. Starting points, from which we begin our discussion, are the abduction and separation of 3-year-old identical twins during the Hamas attacks on the South of Israel, on October 7, 2023. Emphasis is given to these twins’ circumstances and to all children’s heightened vulnerability to the detrimental effects of war-related trauma, including mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Specific attention is given to the profound bond between identical twins and the devastating consequences of separation on their immediate and long-term emotional well-being. Drawing on research findings surrounding children at war and on historical evidence for the effects of twin separation on individuals exposed to war, our commentary underscores the urgent need for awareness and condemnation of the direct targeting of children. We advocate the preservation of family ties as essential for fostering children’s resilience and emotional support. We also call upon professional organizations and the international community to prioritize the reunification of children with their families as a moral imperative in safeguarding the well-being and future of innocent children exposed to terrorism and conflict in war-torn regions.
We examined the sharing behaviour of children (aged 6-12) when presented with a generous vs. a selfish norm of sharing, or after having a choice of whether or not to request the (same) social-norm information. We found that with age children shared more overall and were more influenced by the generous norm in their recommendations to others. Moreover, the results show a significant effect of information-seeking on children's behaviour: children who were presented with the choice to request social-norm information and actively chose to request it were significantly more influenced by the information in their own sharing decisions and in their recommendation to others, compared with children who were presented with the same social-norm information without asking for it. The findings highlight the importance of an active search for information, rather than the information content per se, as a key factor in understanding the effect of social-norm information on children's sharing behaviour.
Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease afflict millions of individuals globally and are significant sources of disease mortality. While the molecular mechanisms underlying such diseases are unclear, environmental and social factors, such as cigarette smoke and obesity, increase the risk of disease development. Yet, not all smokers or obese individuals will develop chronic respiratory diseases. The mitogen-activated protein kinase p38α is abnormally active in such maladies, but its contribution, if any, to disease etiology is unknown. To assess whether p38α activation per se in the lung could impose disease symptoms, we generated a transgenic mouse model allowing controllable expression of an intrinsically active variant, p38α(D176A+F327S), specifically in lung alveolar type 2 pneumocytes. Sustained expression of p38α(D176A+F327S) did not appear to induce obvious pathological outcomes or to exacerbate inflammatory outcomes in mice challenged with common respiratory disease triggers. However, mice expressing p38α(D176A+F327S) in alveolar type 2 cells and fed with a high-fat diet exhibited increased numbers of airway eosinophils and lymphocytes, upregulated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines including interleukin-1β and eotaxin, as well as a reduction in levels of leptin and adiponectin within the lung. Neither high-fat diet nor p38α(D176A+F327S) alone induced such outcomes. Perhaps in obese individuals with associated respiratory diseases, elevated p38α activity which happens to occur is the factor that promotes their development.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and specifically large language models demonstrate remarkable social–emotional abilities, which may improve human–AI interactions and AI’s emotional support capabilities. However, it remains unclear whether empathy, encompassing understanding, ‘feeling with’ and caring, is perceived differently when attributed to AI versus humans. We conducted nine studies (n = 6,282) where AI-generated empathic responses to participants’ emotional situations were labelled as provided by either humans or AI. Human-attributed responses were rated as more empathic and supportive, and elicited more positive and fewer negative emotions, than AI-attributed ones. Moreover, participants’ own uninstructed belief that AI had aided the human-attributed responses reduced perceived empathy and support. These effects were replicated across varying response lengths, delays, iterations and large language models and were primarily driven by responses emphasizing emotional sharing and care. Additionally, people consistently chose human interaction over AI when seeking emotional engagement. These findings advance our general understanding of empathy, and specifically human–AI empathic interactions.
Changes and variation in the shape of architectural remains have often been tied to changes in social structure and organization, demography, hierarchy, subsistence, mobility and more. While there is an immeasurable amount of architectural data collection, there are no agreed upon standards for documentation and analysis. Here we present for the first time an objective and repeatable method for quantifying and comparing structure forms, in an attempt to shed new light on questions of architectural dynamics. Our case study is the Neolithization process in the Near East, traditionally regarded as a change from rounded to rectangular forms. We digitize building outlines from published plan drawings and objectively quantify their two-dimensional morphology via the directionality of the normal vectors and minimum angles. This pilot study includes a sample of 118 structures deriving from 23 sites in the Mediterranean region and Jordan Valley of the southern Levant. Our results show that there is considerably more variability than can be subsumed in the traditional ‘round to rectangular’ scheme of architectural development. We identify construction of right angles as early as the Natufian and show that early architecture throughout the Natufian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A is less restricted by formal conventions. On the other hand, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, variability is more constrained, potentially suggesting a codification of architectural norms.
Printed electronics is based on the application of 2D and 3D printing technologies to fabricate electronic devices. To fabricate the printed electronic 2D and 3D devices with the required performance, it is necessary to properly select and tailor the conductive inks, which are often composed of nanomaterials, The main nanomaterials in conductive inks for 2D and 3D printed electronics contain conductive nanomaterials such as metal nanoparticles (NPs) and nanowires and carbon based nanomaterials: carbon black, graphene sheets, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). All these materials were successfully applied for the fabrication of various electronic devices such as electrical circuits, transparent electrodes, flexible thin film transistors, RFID antennas, photovoltaic devices, and flexible touch panels. In this paper, we focus on the basic properties of these nanomaterials, in view of their application in conductive inks, on obtaining conductive patterns by 2D and 3D printing, and on various methods of post-printing treatment. In the last section, a perspective on future needs and applications will be presented, including emerging technologies.
Why do some subnational governments consent to the centralization of fiscal authority? This article’s explanatory framework is built on the cases of Argentina and Australia. It adopts an inverse perspective to explain why subnational entities in these two cases assented to revenue centralization during moments of sudden economic change. In the case of Argentina, subnational abdication of revenue powers has unexpectedly resulted in a more predictable and formalized fiscal co-responsibility. By contrast, in Australia, the abdication of borrowing powers and the permanent loss of income tax revenue following a temporary delegation have unexpectedly caused a large vertical fiscal accountability gap.
