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The article discusses several topics which includes development of a monograph, issues of knowledge management and role of virtualization and globalization. It discusses definition of knowledge management as a set of disciplines comprising knowledge engineering tools, problems of financing a generation, the transfer and application of knowledge with public funds as well as generating, transferring and applying knowledge in business organizations and administration.

Previously, it has been observed that dexamethasone or adrenaline-induced hyperlipaemia in blood of chicken was significantly reduced after administration of reverse triiodothyronine (rT3). The present experiment was performed on chicken to determine the altered circulating non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) induced by physiologically enhanced endogenous corticosterone and catecholamines may also be influenced by rT3. Rise of both hormones were induced by insulin administration. Changes in circulating glucose, corticosterone and catecholamines were additionally measured. Following insulin injection blood glucose fell on the average by 32.7% below control at 2 h of the experiment. Additional treatment with rT3 (rT3 + insulin group) gradually attenuated this decrease and at 4 and 6 h of the experiment it was 17.1% and 12.9% below control, respectively, suggesting on slight inhibition by rT3 of insulin-stimulated glucose utilization. Exposure to insulin significantly increased NEFA levels to about 670% above control group. Additional treatment with rT3 reduced this increase to 309% of control, suggesting inhibition of lipolysis by rT3. Similar alterations were observed in plasma corticosterone levels. Insulin treatment peaked the corticosterone levels maximally by 507.6% above control. Additional treatment with rT3 abolished this rise in the averages to 194.2% above control, possibly by interaction of rT3 with hypothalamo-adrenal axis. Insulin injection increased plasma catecholamines on the average by 21.5% and 53.4% for adrenaline and noradrenaline respectively. Supplementary treatment with rT3 intensified this rise by 55.6% and 71.6% respectively. The obtained results suggest on inhibitory effect of rT3 on hypoglycaemia, hyperlipaemia and plasma corticosterone concentrations in chickens treated with insulin. Contrary to this, rT3 enhanced the rise of plasma catecholamines due to insulin treatment. The obtained data favour the assumption that hypometabolic properties of rT3 depends mainly upon reduced supply of NEFA as a result of restricted lipolysis and to a lesser extent upon the supply of glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat stress is accompanied by a decrease in basal metabolic rate and plasma thyroid hormones. Unlike 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), 3,3′,5′-triiodothyronine (rT3) displays hypometabolic properties and antagonizes the hypermetabolic effect of T3. This study analyses the role of rT3 in heat (38-39 °C) stressed immature chickens. Two experiments which differed in frequency of rT3 injections (one or two times a day), duration of heat stress (72 or 48 h) and blood sampling were performed. The dose was 14 μg rT3/100 g b.wt./injection (s.c.). It has been shown that rT3 treatment aggravates heat stress symptoms (enhances circulating corticosterone, catecholamines and free fatty acids) and increases mortality. The critical survival time of the rT3 treated and heated birds was at first 24 h of stress. No more chickens died during the next days of the experiment despite the continuation of rT3 injection, suggesting that rT3 might disturb the adaptation to heat. Reverse T3 in heat stressed chickens led to the highest reduction in food consumption (69.9 %) and body weight gain (14.0 % compared to initial weight). The opposite effect in water consumption (216.9 %) was observed. In a neutral environment, rT3 significantly suppressed body temperature 6 h after injection (40.4; control: 41.1 °C), confirming its hypometabolic properties. However, at the same time rT3 significantly enhanced body temperature in heat stress (43.03 versus heated control 42.56 °C). In addition, in rT3 treated birds decreased plasma triglycerides (TG; 24.3 %) and increased plasma free fatty acids (FFA; neutral temperature: 26.4 %; heat stress: 57 %) were demonstrated. A correlation between corticosterone and FFA (r = 0.52) shows that some of the FFA may originate from lipolysis since hormones of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis accelerate lipolysis. The remaining part of the increased FFA appears to be due to suppressed utilization of FFA as a consequence of hypometabolic properties of rT3. Low and negative relation between TG and FFA (r = −0.26; P < 0.05) may support such an assumption. The two times higher peak of corticosterone in the rT3 and the overheated group, as compared to the heated control, occurred at 6 h of heat stress and indicates that rT3 increases the unfavourable effect of high temperature. This was also confirmed by elevated plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline in rT3-injected and heated chickens (55.5 and 120%, respectively). However, a single and two times higher peak of adrenaline at 24 h of heat stress was observed in saline treated birds, but not in rT3 supplemented animals, suggesting that this difference might explain one of the factors responsible for high mortality. In conclusion, the results obtained demonstrate that physiological doses of rT3, a hypometabolic hormone, enhance the unfavourable effect of heat stress in chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exogenous rT3 decreases O2 consumption in mammals and birds. Until now a correlation coefficient and a regression equation have not been presented. Statistical evaluation seems to be requisite for verifying the answer to the question of whether endogenous rT3 may be able to reduce O2 consumption in birds where the normal level of plasma rT3 is 10 times less than the corresponding level of T3. Food deprived chickens (for 48 h) were used in this study because fasting enhances plasma rT3. The results revealed a reciprocal relation of T3 and rT3 in the circulation. Reverse T3 began to increase when T3 decreased to a plateau at 53.9% of initial level. As expected a reciprocal relationship was obtained (r = −0.749; n = 36) between plasma rT3 and O2 consumption. The regression line was calculated according to the equation: Ŷ = −0.388X + 0.856. This relation differs from the linear relationship between T3 and O2 consumption (r = 0.796; Ŷ = 0.107X + 0.449). The regression line lies in the range of 0.122-0.778 nmol rT3/l, which is found in some physiological conditions in birds where elevated plasma rT3 occurs. This suggests that endogenous rT3 may participate in modifying O2 consumption in birds. Using the rT3: T3 ratio the correlation coefficient was somewhat higher (r = −0.831; Ŷ = −0.673X + 0.831) suggesting common involvement of both triiodothyronines in the reduction of O2 consumption during food deprivation. The drop in O2 consumption after 48 h of food deprivation was 28.4%; decreased T3 and increased rT3 may participate in 15.4% and 13.0% of this fall, respectively. The hypometabolic effectiveness of rT3 seems to be greater than the hypermetabolic effectiveness of T3, since a smaller increase of plasma rT3 was needed to reduce O2 consumption compared to the amount of T3 necessary to enhance it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food deprivation for 27 and 75h in cocks decreased serum levels of T3 maximally by 61.1% and increased the level of rT3 by 51.4% and that of T4 by 22.4%. Injection of a single dose of TRH (10 μg/kg b.w.) increased serum levels of all 3 iodothyronines in both fed and food-deprived animals. In fasted, TRH-treated birds the peak of serum rT3 was 80.5 and 73.3% above control levels in 27-and 75-hr food-deprived cocks, respectively (fed birds: 14.6 and 9.7%); the relevant data for T3 were: 78.3 and 40.4% (fed birds: 95.7 and 127.5%); for T4: 30.0 and 27.0% (fed birds: 9.2 and 6.1%). The greater relative increment of serum rT3 than T3 in food-deprived and TRH-treated cocks was supported by a fall of the serum T3/rT3 ratio to 78.7 and 27.9% in fed cocks and 27- and 75-hr fasted animals, respectively. We conclude, that food deprivation modifies the response of the hypophysis-thyroid axis to exogenous TRH in the sense that during fasting the production of rT3 is enhanced relative to T3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine whether sheep can adapt to emotional stress evoked by individual isolation from the flock. The experiments were performed on 12 sheep divided into 2 groups; the control (kept in the sheepfold) and the experimental group in which sheep were isolated 3 times for 5 h at 3-day intervals. The plasma concentration of Cortisol and glucose served as indicators of stress. It was found that during 3 consecutive isolations the Cortisol level rose on average 3-fold above the initial value during the first to third hours of isolation. The calculated mean integrated response (∫ Cortisol) showed a gradual increase in its level in 3 consecutive isolations (122.3 ± 30.6, 189.4 ± 18.9 and 277.9 ± 39.2 nmol/1/5 h). The concentration of glucose increased at 3 and 5 h after starting the experiment on average by 1.0 to 1.8 mmol/l. However, the mean integrated response of glucose was almost the same in all 3 isolations. The results show that in sheep no adaptation occurred to repeated isolation stress and, in contrast to glucose level, the plasma Cortisol concentration seems to be a valuable index of adaptation to emotional stress. Zusammenfassung Fehlende Adaptation an wiederholten durch Isolation von der Herde hervorgerufenen emotionalen Streß beim Schaf: Ziel der Untersuchungen war es zu prüfen, ob sich Schafe an einen durch wiederholte Isolation von der Herde hervorgerufenen emotionalen Streß zu adaptieren vermögen. Die Versuche wurden an 12 in 2 Gruppen eingeteilten Schafen durchgeführt, nämlich der in einem Pferch gehaltenen Kontrollgruppe und der Versuchsgruppe, bei der die Schafe 3mal im Abstand von 3 Tagen für 5 h isoliert wurden. Die Plasmakonzentrationen von Cortisol und Glucose dienten als Streß-Indikatoren. Im Verlauf der 3 aufeinander folgenden Isolationsperioden wurde während der ersten bis dritten Stunde der Isolation im Mittel ein gegenüber dem Ausgangswert dreifacher Anstieg des Plasma-Cortisol-Spiegels gefunden. Das Integral des Cortisol-Anstiegs (∫ Cortisol) nahm während der 3 aufeinander folgenden Isolationsperioden zu (122,3 ± 30,6; 189,4 ± 18,9 und 277,9 ± 39,2 nmol/1/5 h). Die Plasma-Glucose-Konzentration nahm 3 und 5 h nach Beginn des Versuchs im Mittel um 1,0 und 1,8 mmol/1 zu. Das Integral des Plasma-Glucose-Anstiegs war jedoch während der 3 Isolationsperioden fast identisch. Die Ergebnisse zeigen somit, daß beim Schaf keine Adaptation an wiederholten Isolationsstreß erfolgt und daß im Gegensatz zum Plasma-Glucose-Spiegel die Plasma-Cortisol-Konzentration ein brauchbarer Indikator zur Beurteilung von emotionalem Streß zu sein scheint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the changes in the level of circulating iodothyronines T4, T3 and rT3, during emotional stress developed after individual isolation of sheep from the rest of the flock. Cortisol, glucose and thiocyanate levels served as indicators of stress. The animals were isolated twice for 5 h with a week long break. In the first isolation, the control animals had no audio contact with the isolated animals, whereas such contact was maintained in the second experiment. A sharp increase in plasma Cortisol level may indicate that this isolation is an emotional stress. The maximal concentration of Cortisol, glucose and T3 level was usually attained at 1 to 2 h of isolation. During the second isolation the rise of these compounds was lower. The peak of T3 appeared 3-4 h earlier than rT3 suggesting a shift from 5′- to 5-monodeiodination of T4. The blood SCN level decreased in isolated animals. Cortisol and glucose concentrations rose again on the following day, after ending the first isolation, showing that repeated contact with the same people at the time when isolation began on the previous day was associated by the animals with renewing the isolation and developing anxiety. Audio contact of the control sheep with the noise-making isolated animals was manifested only by a tendency for the SCN level in plasma to decrease. Zusammenfassung Veränderungen der Konzentrationen von Iodothyroninen, Cortisol und endogenem Thiocyanat im Blut von Schafen während eines durch Isolation der Tiere von der Herde hervorgerufenen emotionalen Stresses Gegenstand der Untersuchung waren die Konzemrationsveränderungen der Iodothyronine T4, T3 und rT3 im Blut während eines durch Isolierung von Schafen vom Rest der Herde ausgelösten emotionalen Stresses. Die Cortisol-, Glucose- und Thiocyanatspiegel dienten als Streß-Indikatoren. Die Tiere wurden zweimal 5 h im Abstand einer Woche isoliert. Während der ersten Isolierung hatten die Kontrolltiere keinen akustischen Kontakt. Demgegenüber war ein derartiger Kontakt während der zweiten Isolierung gegeben. Ein steiler Anstieg des Plasma-Cortisol-Spiegels deutete darauf hin, daß die Isolierung der Tiere einen emotionalen Streß darstellt. Die maximale Konzentration von Cortisol, Glucose und T3 wurde gewöhnlich nach 2- bis 3stündiger Isolierung erreicht. Während der zweiten Isolierung war der Konzentrationsanstieg dieser Verbindungen geringer. Der T3-Peak mamfestierte sich 3-4 h früher als der rT3-Peak. Dies deutet auf eine Verschiebung von der 5′- zur 5-Monodejodierung des T4 hin. Der Blut-SCN-Spiegel nahm bei den isolierten Tieren ab. Die Cortisol- und Glucosespiegel stiegen auch am Tag nach der ersten Isolierung zur entsprechenden Zeit wieder an, was auf eine Konditionierung der Tiere hindeutet. Der akustische Kontakt der Kontroll-Schafe mit den laut blökenden isolierten Tieren ließ nur den Plasma-SCN-Spiegel bei den ersteren geringfügig absinken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generic emotion prediction models based on physiological data developed in the field of affective computing apparently are not robust enough. To improve their effectiveness, one needs to personalize them to specific individuals and incorporate broader contextual information. To address the lack of relevant datasets, we propose the 2nd Study in Bio-Reactions and Faces for Emotion-based Personalization for AI Systems (BIRAFFE2) dataset. In addition to the classical procedure in the stimulus-appraisal paradigm, it also contains data from an affective gaming session in which a range of contextual data was collected from the game environment. This is complemented by accelerometer, ECG and EDA signals, participants' facial expression data, together with personality and game engagement questionnaires. The dataset was collected on 102 participants. Its potential usefulness is presented by validating the correctness of the contextual data and indicating the relationships between personality and participants' emotions and between personality and physiological signals., (© 2022. The Author(s).)