Individuals’ emotional well-being is determined by several factors, including the ability to cope with daily stress and the ability to cope with various daily challenges. Ability of the management to provide favourable psychoemotional and psychosocial conditions within their team is particularly important. However, managers do not always have the knowledge and skills to lead their teams. For the development of the methodology, a study of the scientific literature on topical issue like healthy workplace was performed. The empirical part of the study is based on the results of the survey conducted Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Sweden within the Nordplus project ‘Dealing with anxiety during a pandemic to enhance adult well-being’ on the impact of COVID-19, as well as the training that would be necessary for the managers of companies or organizations to promote emotional wellbeing in the workplace. The comparative study was conducted from the perspective of both employees and managers. The results show that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workplace and the well-being of employees was not strong for the respondents, depending mainly on the job position, the size of the organization and country. Managers and employees consider various psychological trainings essential.

The phenomenon of global climate change holds utmost importance in its impact on forest ecosystems. To mitigate the effects of this phenomenon, several European countries have introduced non-native tree species into their forests. However, comprehensive ecological analysis is needed to assess the suitability of these non-native species. Pinus strobus is often considered a potential substitute for native species. Tree-ring analysis is a useful methodology for evaluating the relationship between tree growth and meteorological conditions, given the significant impact of these conditions on tree development. In this study, 25 core samples were collected from an experimental plantation of Pinus strobus located in the western part of Latvia for analysis. The plasticity of the tree-ring width of Pinus strobus was evaluated using a multiple additive regression model. The analysis revealed that the previous summer precipitation was a significant factor, indicating the drought sensitivity of the increment. Additionally, the temperature in the previous July and August was also found to be a significant meteorological parameter, suggesting some tradeoffs between growth and the formation of nutrient reserves. The estimated growth responses suggest that the radial increment of Pinus strobus growing outside its native range is highly weather-sensitive, implying uncertainty in its growth with anticipated climatic changes. These findings emphasize the need for further ecological analysis to determine the suitability of non-native tree species and their ability to withstand the climatic changes.

Mortality rates and co-morbidities are high in people with psychiatric disorders. These patients have unhealthy dietary habits, which include increased consumption of fast food, snacks, sweets, saturated fats, and reduced consumption of protein, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, which contributes to the risk of developing chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Unhealthy and monotonous eating habits lead to a significant lack of nutrients such as protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B-group vitamins, and fibre. The aim of the literature review is to investigate the main diet problems of patients with psychiatric disorders and, based on the studies on the nutritional value of legumes, to evaluate their suitability for the development of new products for patients with psychiatric disorders. Studies show the beneficial effects of legumes on the regulation of rapid fluctuations in cholesterol, blood pressure, excess body weight, and glucose levels, which in general delay the formation of inflammation and reduce the risk of psychiatric disorders. The benefits of legumes are due to their high protein and fibre content, low fat content, and content of iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, and B-group vitamins. In addition, legumes contain bioactive compounds that contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases.

Two recombinant influenza A virus vectors expressing the ESAT 6 and TB10.4 mycobacterial proteins from the non-structural (NS) gene were constructed via reverse genetics technique to develop a specific means of prophylaxis for bovine tuberculosis. We experimented to determine optimal conditions for growing recombinant vectors in Vero cell culture and chick embryos. This study established that the maximum amount of virus builds up in a Vero cell culture with the Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM) serum-free medium. However, using cell culture to produce vector vaccines is labour-intensive and inefficient. An alternative way, a traditional, time-tested technique, is provided by growing samples in chick embryos. One of the advantages of this technique is its affordability and availability, enabling easy scale-up of vaccine production. In the optimization experiments, the FLU-ΔNS_ESAT 6 and FLU-ΔNS_ТВ10.4 viruses constructed were inoculated into 10-day-old chick embryos. It was determined that the optimal incubation temperature that led to the highest virus build-up was 37 ± 0.5 °С. And the infectious activity level of the FLU-ΔNS_ESAT 6 recombinant vector was at 8.95 ± 0.07 log10EID50 0.2 cmE−3, while that of the FLU-ΔNS_ТВ10.4 was at 9.20 ± 0.07 log10EID50 0.2 cmE−3, what was provided by infectious doses of 1000–10000 EID50 , which makes it possible to create a virus-containing material with a hemagglutination activity level of 1:64. The size of recombinant vector amplicons expressing proteins ТВ10.4 and ESAT 6 was 1170 bp and 1175 bp, respectively. Electron microscopy images confirm that the developed virions are morphologically similar to the avian influenza virus.

The Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) Phase II for the Limpopo Basin Development Challenge (LBDC) project aims to develop methods, processes, and technologies to help resource- constrained smallholder farmers mitigate poverty and food insecurity through improved agricultural water management (AWM) strategies. The purposes of this paper are to: 1) Identify areas in the Limpopo River Basin with high levels of rural poverty and food insecurity; 2) Identify areas where AWM interventions are taking place; and 3) Check whether current activities of the CPWF in the Limpopo Basin are located in areas of need as per poverty profiles and geographical location of smallholder farms. The generated poverty and food insecurity maps were based on food security surveys and estimates of consumption or income-based welfare outcomes at the district level from 2003–2013. Based on existing district level poverty and other relevant data in the basin, the study shows that the LBDC study sites are located in poor areas in the Limpopo Basin, and poverty reduction efforts should prioritize vulnerable female and child-headed households as they are the most negatively impacted by poverty and food insecurity in the four countries. Hence, with the overall aim of CPWF under LBDC to reduce poverty and food insecurity, and improve livelihoods, poverty indices should rank highly as one of the factors for project site selection. Poverty and food insecurity mapping plays an important role in identifying areas lagging behind in social and economic development, and also in facilitating targeted developmental programs such as education, health, access to credit, agricultural production support and food aid. However, it should be recognized that using district-level information often masks the existence of poverty pockets in otherwise relatively well-off districts, which could lead to poorly targeted AWM schemes. In addition, the poverty index is limited by the subjective nature of community-level and household-level factors that influence it, and this is reflected by the responses from research participants. Whereas a common poverty line for a particular time frame enables poverty comparisons across countries, local level poverty assessments, however, usually require more in-depth and diverse information that can be used in designing cost-effective and efficient anti-poverty programs and livelihoods enhancement opportunities. In order to achieve the research project’s goals of poverty and food insecurity reduction, and livelihood enhancement of smallholder farmers in the Limpopo Basin, it is of greater significance to understand trends in poverty rates rather than 1-year values at CPWF-LBDC study sites. Poverty maps that highlight areas marginalized by resource constraints help in setting priorities for developing technologies and in deploying resources where they are most needed and likely to alleviate poverty and food insecurity. This work provides background information on the Limpopo Basin.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) implemented A4NH-informed nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches in 11 provinces in Viet Nam as part of their Zero Hunger initiative. The food systems framework, developed by A4NH researchers, was included in the training materials for provincial staff. In addition, A4NH-informed training materials were approved by MARD as key resources for implementation. These contributions were possible because the A4NH Country Coordinator is an invited member of the Zero Hunger technical group and approval committees.

The CCAFS Climate Information Services in West Africa project, in collaboration with meteorological services, radio stations, and mobile phone companies, was instrumental to the development of a component dedicated to the use and dissemination of climate information for VALPAPE program in Burkina Faso. A study tour to was organised to the Climate-Smart Villages of Tibtenga (Burkina) and Cinzana (Mali), made up of a group of 20 people from local communities, agricultural services, farmers' associations, national extension services and agricultural research.

Chapter 2 (Stoian et al.) draws attention to the link between VCD and smallholder livelihood strategies that comprise a complex mix of subsistence and market-oriented activities and that are diversified to meet multiple livelihood goals and mitigate risks; and the authors address the related implications for the design and assessment of value-chain interventions. They question some of the underlying assumptions of NGOs, government agencies, and private-sector agents seeking to link smallholders to higher-value markets