1. Tracking pyrethroid resistance in arbovirus mosquito vectors : mutations I1532T and F1534C in Aedes albopictus across EuropeVerena Pichler, Vera Valadas, Mustafa M. Akiner, Georgios Balatsos, Carlos Barceló, Maria-Louise Borg, Jeremy Bouyer, Daniel Bravo-Barriga, Ruben Bueno, Beniamino Caputo, Katja Adam, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Background With the worldwide spread of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, the number of autochtho‑ nous cases of exotic arboviral diseases, such as dengue or chikungunya, is increasing in temperate regions. In Europe, pyrethroids are the only insecticides allowed for the abatement of adult mosquitoes and are thus crucial for limiting ongoing arbovirus transmission. Despite this and the report of resistance rising in vector populations worldwide, information on the pyrethroid resistance status of vector populations and knowledge on resistance mechanisms is widely lacking. Genotyping of knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations situated within the target site of pyrethroids, i.e., the voltage‑gated sodium channel (VGSC), and associated with pyrethroid resistance, is a cost‑effective approach to investigate the spread of resistance in a population. Herein, we describe the European‑wide distribution of two kdr mutations, i.e., I1532T and F1534C, in Ae. albopictus and evaluate their co‑occurrence with another well‑characterized kdr mutation, V1016G. Methods Genotyping of the kdr mutation F1534C was performed by allele‑specific PCR for 1732 Ae. albopictus specimens sampled in 19 European countries; for a subset of 419 specimens mutation I1532T was also genotyped by sequencing. For all samples, information on mutation V1016G was available, allowing evaluation of the co‑occur‑ rence of kdr alleles. Results Mutation 1534C was detected in nine sites from six countries at an overall frequency close to 5%. High‑ est frequencies per site were detected in Cyprus (84%) and Greece (45%). Allele 1532 T was identified in 11 sites from 7 countries at frequencies ranging from 4% to 25% per site. Co‑occurrence of different kdr alleles (1534C, 1532 T and 1016G) was observed in nine sampling sites from seven countries. Conclusions The present study offers the first map of the occurrence of the major Ae. albopictus kdr alleles across Europe and highlights a differential distribution of the two alleles most strongly associated with pyrethroid resistance, 1016G and 1534C. Our findings also point to the need for enhancing resistance monitoring in the East‑ ern Mediterranean region, where the two mutations are shown to exist in geographically close areas, with the risk of emergence of highly resistant double mutants.
Keywords: mosquito, Aedes albopictus, insecticide resistance, Kdr, arbovirus vector, vector control, Europe
Published in RUP: 05.01.2026; Views: 200; Downloads: 3
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2. Postural sway in multiple sclerosis patients : interaction of vision, surface, and fatigue effectsŽiga Kozinc, Eva Žura, Gregor Brecl Jakob, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Introduction: Postural control impairments are common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), resulting in postural instability and increased fall risk. Sensory inputs are crucial to maintain balance adequately. Additionally, fatigue is one of the common and most disabling symptoms of MS, possibly contributing to postural deficits. Previous studies have examined the effects of fatigue and altered sensory conditions on postural control in patients with MS. The present study aimed to extend this knowledge by jointly assessing these factors within the same experimental framework, providing additional insight into how fatigue modulates sensory contributions to balance. Methods: A total of 21 patients with MS (age = 41.1 ± 10.1 years; EDSS = 1.9 ± 1.0; disease duration = 6.8 ± 4.9 years) completed balance assessments on firm and compliant surfaces with both eyes open and eyes closed, before and after a 6-min walk test used to induce fatigue. Postural sway was quantified using sway velocity and root mean square (RMS). Results: There was a significant effect of surface on sway velocity (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.60), with a greater sway on the compliant surface compared to the firm surface. Fatigue significantly increased sway RMS (p = 0.023, η2 = 0.23) but did not affect sway velocity (p > 0.05). The absence of visual input (eyes closed) also significantly increased sway RMS (p = 0.001, η2 = 0.46). There was a significant interaction between surface and vision for sway RMS (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.54), with a larger effect of surface instability in the eyes-closed condition. Discussion: Patients with MS face increased challenges in maintaining postural control under conditions of fatigue, surface instability, and lack of visual input. Sway RMS may be more sensitive to these effects than sway velocity.
Keywords: balance control, sensory integration, proprioception, motor impairments, fall prevention, neurological disorders, physical fatigue
Published in RUP: 27.10.2025; Views: 383; Downloads: 7
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3. An experimental problem-based approach in mathematics teaching and mathematical problem-solving performance in grade 3 primary school pupilsDaniel Doz, Mara Cotič, Nastja Cotič, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Problem-solving is a key aspect of mathematics instruction. Although it is part of several national curricula, its implementation is still being vastly explored. The present research, which is part of a larger project, aimed to investigate the effect of using problem-oriented in struction in grade 3 of primary school on students’ mathematical abilities of solving problems in arithmetic, geometry, and logic. The study used a pedagogical experiment, with a sample of 240 pupils in Grade 3 from four randomly selected Slovenian primary schools. Students were divided into two groups: 100 in the experimental group and 140 in the control group. Two tests of mathematical knowledge, constructed by the authors, were used to assess potential differences between the groups before and after the experiment took place. The results showed that the use of an experimental model of problem-based learning had a statistically significant effect on pupils’ mathematics problem-solving achievement in all the domains of mathematics (i.e., arithmetic, geometry, logic & set theory). The study suggests that modern school reforms should focus on problem-based mathematics instruction as a means of achieving meaningful and lasting knowledge in students. Additional research is needed to replicate the results due to the limited number of participants in the present research.
Keywords: achievements, control group, elementary, experiential group, problems
Published in RUP: 11.08.2025; Views: 640; Downloads: 6
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4. Qualitative control learning can be much faster than reinforcement learningDomen Šoberl, Ivan Bratko, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Reinforcement learning has emerged as a prominent method for controlling dynamic systems in the absence of a precise mathematical model. However, its reliance on extensive interactions with the environment often leads to prolonged training periods. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach to learning control policies that focuses on learning qualitative models and uses symbolic planning to derive a qualitative plan for the control task, which is executed by an adaptive reactive controller. We conduct experiments utilizing our approach on the cart-pole problem, a standard benchmark in dynamic system control. We additionally extend this problem domain to include uneven terrains, such as driving over craters or hills, to assess the robustness of learned controllers. Our results indicate that qualitative learning offers significant advantages over reinforcement learning in terms of sample efficiency, transferability, and interpretability. We demonstrate that our proposed approach is at least two orders of magnitude more sample efficient in the cart-pole domain than the usual variants of reinforcement learning.
Keywords: qualitative modeling, qualitative reasoning, qualitative control, transfer learning
Published in RUP: 07.08.2025; Views: 563; Downloads: 11
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7. Decentralized data management privacy-aware framework for positive energy districtsSidra Aslam, Viktor Bukovszki, Michael Nicolas Mrissa, 2021, original scientific article Keywords: positive energy districts, access control, security, energy transition, decentralized framework, blockchain, security, privacy
Published in RUP: 29.10.2021; Views: 3265; Downloads: 46
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8. Oriented investigations on the application of NIR spectroscopy for the evaluation of the bonding quality of glued laminated timber from hardwoodPeter Niemz, Jakub Michal Sandak, Juana Mai, Andreas Hänsel, 2021, published scientific conference contribution abstract Keywords: wood gluing, ash wood, delamination, NIR spectroscopy, Micro-NIR, hyperspectral imaging, quality control
Published in RUP: 16.07.2021; Views: 3137; Downloads: 78
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