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1102. Structural and compositional indicators of the conservation status of forest habitats : a case study of ravine forests – EU priority habitat type Tilio-AcerionLado Kutnar, Janez Kermavnar, Anže Martin Pintar, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Maintaining the conservation status of habitat types such as the ravine forests (Tilio-Acerion) assessed in this study is a priority of the European Natura 2000 network. Ravine forests often occur in smaller, fragmented areas, but are widely distributed throughout European forests. Reliable indicators of the conservation status of Natura 2000 habitats, which support monitoring and reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, are often not available. Therefore, we tested a set of 161 structural and compositional variables as potential indicators of the conservation status of close-to-nature managed ravine forests in a Natura 2000 site in eastern Slovenia. The studied forests ranged from Acer pseudoplatanus-dominated stands to those dominated by Fraxinus excelsior or Tilia species. Most forests were classified as having either a favourable or inadequate conservation status. The main pressures included game browsing and mortality of the key tree species, primarily caused by invasive alien fungi. Favourable conservation status was associated with less intensively managed Tilia-dominated stands on rocky ridges and steep slopes. It was also linked to higher tree layer cover, particularly of Acer pseudoplatanus, in well-preserved forest stands. Conversely, indicators of bad conservation status were associated with Fraxinus excelsior-dominated stands that had been severely affected by invasive alien fungi, resulting in increased volumes of standing and lying deadwood. The resulting tree mortality created more open stand canopies with increased light availability at the forest floor, as indicated by the higher number of plant species in the herb and shrub layer. The conservation status of ravine forests is likely to be increasingly threatened by the adverse effects of climate change, including pests and disease outbreaks and other disturbances. To ensure the continued favourable conservation status of ravine forests, it is essential to monitor key indicators and apply appropriate forest management measures.
Keywords: forest habitats, vegetation, pressures, conservation, indicators, Eastern Slovenia, forest stands
Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2025; Views: 347; Downloads: 148
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1103. Physical activity and screen time in preschool children in CroatiaVesna Brumnić, Sanja Šalaj, Rado Pišot, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: This research investigates how disparities in physical activity and screen time among preschoolers can be influenced by parental education and involvement, as well as the involvement of the extended family in child-rearing. The study involved 231 parents who provided information about their children from the three (out of four) re-gions in Croatia. The analysis revealed statistically significant differences in children’s screen time based on the parents’ educational level (p<0.000) and involvement in joint physical activity (p<0.000). No differences were found in the children’s screen time or physical activity depending on the involvement of extended family members (grandpar-ents). Less screen time does not automatically mean higher levels of physical activity in preschool children. It is essential to determine the factors that influence physical activ-ity in preschool children and the time they spend in front of screens
Keywords: preschool children, family, screen time
Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2025; Views: 328; Downloads: 160
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1104. Menstrual symptoms in division I female athletes : a prospective observational studyJennifer Bunn, Gabrielle Marchelli, Hannah Humphries, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Purpose: To quantify the frequency of menstrual cycle (MC) symptoms experienced by Division I female lacrosse athletes and to discover if the symptoms were different among those who were taking a hormone contraceptive (HC) compared to those who were not (non-HC). Methods: As part of a daily wellness survey, athletes (non-HC = 10, HC = 11) were asked if they were menstruating. If they were, they were asked to identify any symptoms they were experiencing. The symptoms were recorded for each day of menstruation during their four-month competitive season. Reported symptoms were categorized as frequently, sometimes, rarely, or never. The frequencies of symptoms were tabulated in total and per cycle for each group. Results: The most frequently reported symptom was cramps with 90.4% of athletes reporting experiencing it at least once. Headaches (66%), back pain, and skin problems (57% each) were also frequently reported. HC users (0.7 ± 1.4 times/cycle) reported mood swings more frequently than non-HC users (0.03 ± 0.08, p = 0.029), but there were no other group differences for symptoms. Conclusions: Tracking symptoms associated with MC can help athletes and coach-es be aware of patterns and incorporate methods for mitigating or alleviating the symp-toms. Symptom tracking can also help athletes mentally prepare for the effects of their C on training and performance. More research is needed before recommending HC use as a management strategy for menstrual symptoms.
Keywords: menstrual cycle, team sport, hormone contraceptive
Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2025; Views: 222; Downloads: 105
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1106. N-Beats architecture for explainable forecasting of multi-dimensional poultry dataBaljinder Kaur, Manik Rakhra, Nonita Sharma, Deepak Prashar, Leo Mršić, Arfat Ahmad Khan, Seifedine Kadry, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: The agricultural economy heavily relies on poultry production, making accurate forecasting of poultry data crucial for optimizing revenue, streamlining resource utilization, and maximizing productivity. This research introduces a novel application of the N-BEATS architecture for multi-dimensional poultry data forecasting with enhanced interpretability through an integrated Explainable AI (XAI) framework. Leveraging its advanced capabilities in time series modeling, N-BEATS is applied to predict multiple facets of poultry disease diagnostics using a multivariate dataset comprising key environmental parameters. The methodology empowers decision-making in poultry farm management by providing transparent and interpretable forecasts. Experimental results demonstrate that N-BEATS outperforms conventional deep learning models, including LSTM, GRU, RNN, and CNN, across various error metrics, achieving MAE of 0.172, RMSE of 0.313, MSLE of 0.042, R-squared of 0.034, and RMSLE of 0.204. The positive R-squared value indicates the model’s robustness against underfitting and overfitting, surpassing the performance of other models with negative R-squared values. This study establishes N-BEATS as a superior and interpretable solution for complex, multi-dimensional forecasting challenges in poultry production, with significant implications for enhancing predictive analytics in agriculture.
Keywords: poultry, livestock, forecasting, epidemiology, humidity, veterinary diseases, polynomials
Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2025; Views: 296; Downloads: 121
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1109. Graph Convolutional Networks for Predicting Cancer Outcomes and Stage : a focus on cGAS-STING pathway activationMateo Sokač, Borna Skračić, Danijel Kučak, Leo Mršić, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: The study presented in this paper evaluated gene expression profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). To reduce complexity, we focused on genes in the cGAS–STING pathway, crucial for cytosolic DNA detection and immune response. The study analyzes three clinical variables: disease-specific survival (DSS), overall survival (OS), and tumor stage. To effectively utilize the high-dimensional gene expression data, we needed to find a way to project these data meaningfully. Since gene pathways can be represented as graphs, a novel method of presenting genomics data using graph data structure was employed, rather than the conventional tabular format. To leverage the gene expression data represented as graphs, we utilized a graph convolutional network (GCN) machine learning model in conjunction with the genetic algorithm optimization technique. This allowed for obtaining an optimal graph representation topology and capturing important activations within the pathway for each use case, enabling a more insightful analysis of the cGAS–STING pathway and its activations across different cancer types and clinical variables. To tackle the problem of unexplainable AI, graph visualization alongside the integrated gradients method was employed to explain the GCN model’s decision-making process, identifying key nodes (genes) in the cGAS–STING pathway. This approach revealed distinct molecular mechanisms, enhancing interpretability. This study demonstrates the potential of GCNs combined with explainable AI to analyze gene expression, providing insights into cancer progression. Further research with more data is needed to validate these findings.
Keywords: cGAS–STING, graph-convolutional-network, graphs, cancer, pan-cancer, machine learning, NGS
Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2025; Views: 309; Downloads: 151
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1110. Structural and interfacial characterization of a photocatalytic titanium MOF-phosphate glass compositeCelia Castillo-Blas, Montaña J. García, Ashleigh M. Chester, Matjaž Mazaj, Shaoliang Guan, Georgina P. Robertson, Ayano Kono, James M. A. Steele, Luis León-Alcaide, Bruno Poletto Rodrigues, Andraž Krajnc, 2025, original scientific article Published in DiRROS: 09.09.2025; Views: 306; Downloads: 123
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