Journal of Hunan University Natural Sciences

Oxidative stress contributes to pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and mitochondrial dysregulation in diabetes. Although controlled ozone exposure may activate endogenous antioxidant responses, its relationship with the pancreatic SIRT1–Ucp2 axis remains unclear. This exploratory study investigated whether ozone therapy induces redox adaptation associated with SIRT1 restoration and Ucp2 suppression in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced experimental diabetes. Male Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 28) were randomly assigned to four groups: healthy control (CT), STZ-induced diabetes (45 mg/kg) (STZ), STZ plus oxygen (STZ + O₂), and STZ plus ozone (150 μg/kg/day, intraperitoneally for 7 days) (STZ + O₃). Fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR were measured. Pancreatic SIRT1 levels were quantified by ELISA, Ucp2 expression was assessed by RT-qPCR, SOD and GPx activities were measured using activity assays, and MDA levels were determined by the TBARS assay. Ozone therapy significantly increased pancreatic SIRT1 levels and suppressed Ucp2 upregulation compared with untreated diabetic rats. These molecular changes were accompanied by increased SOD and GPx activities and reduced MDA levels. However, fasting glucose remained elevated, and HOMA-IR did not significantly improve compared with untreated diabetic rats. These findings suggest that short-term ozone therapy induces pancreatic redox adaptation and modulates the SIRT1–Ucp2 axis in STZ-induced experimental diabetes. Further studies are needed to determine whether longer treatment periods and models with preserved β-cell function can translate these molecular effects into systemic metabolic improvement.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; insulin resistance; mitochondrial function; oxidative stress; ozone therapy; redox signaling; SIRT1; uncoupling protein 2.

DOI https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.53.6.6

This study examines the effects of incentive and reward systems and job satisfaction on employee performance, with work motivation as a mediating variable and demographic characteristics as a moderating variable, in the East Kolaka Regency Government. An explanatory quantitative research design was employed. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to 367 members of the Indonesian State Civil Apparatus (ASN), selected using proportional random sampling from a population of 4,260 employees. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that incentive and reward systems and job satisfaction positively influence work motivation, which, in turn, significantly enhances employee performance. Work motivation also mediates the relationships between incentive and reward systems and employee performance, as well as between job satisfaction and employee performance. However, demographic characteristics do not significantly moderate the examined relationships. These findings contribute to the literature on public-sector human resource management by highlighting the central role of work motivation in translating organizational rewards and job satisfaction into improved employee performance. The results also provide practical implications for developing fair, transparent, and performance-oriented HR policies in local government institutions.

Keywords: incentive and reward systems; job satisfaction; work motivation; employee performance; demographic characteristics; public-sector human resource management; local government.

DOI https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.53.6.5

Accurate prediction of fish production is essential for supporting food security, science-based policymaking, and catch quota regulation in Indonesia. However, reliable forecasting remains challenging due to inconsistencies in fisheries logbook data and the difficulty of capturing complex temporal patterns in production records. This study proposes a deep learning-based predictive framework for total fish production forecasting to provide timely scientific evidence for sustainable fisheries resource management. The proposed model employs a Trapezoid Long Short-Term Memory Linear Attention (LLA) network enhanced with a linear attention mechanism to capture temporal dependencies and assign adaptive weights to relevant feature-specific inputs. The annual total production variable was normalized using a global maximum value to ensure stable model training and comparable prediction outputs. Experimental evaluation showed promising predictive performance, with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.00465 and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.00244 on the normalized scale. The model was trained by minimizing the mean squared error (MSE) loss function. The results indicate that the proposed framework can effectively approximate observed production trends and may serve as a precautionary decision-support tool for monitoring stock abundance indicators, improving catch quota planning, and promoting rational fisheries development in line with the sustainability of fishery resources.

Keywords: fish production prediction; deep learning; LSTM linear attention; sustainable fisheries management; food security; Indonesia; catch quota policy.

DOI https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.53.6.4

This study examines how international university brand image communicated through transnational social media influences Chinese students’ enrollment intention. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework and self-congruity theory, the study investigates the mediating role of brand attitude and the moderating role of self-congruity. A quantitative survey was conducted using snowball sampling, yielding 522 valid responses from Chinese respondents. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that brand attitude significantly mediates the positive relationship between international university brand image and enrollment intention. In addition, self-congruity positively moderates the relationship between brand attitude and enrollment intention, suggesting that favorable brand attitudes are more likely to translate into enrollment intention when students perceive a strong fit between the university brand and their self-image. This study contributes to the literature on international university branding by extending understanding of how transnational social media brand image affects enrollment decisions in the Chinese social media context. The findings also provide practical implications for international universities seeking to develop localized digital branding strategies to enhance student recruitment outcomes.

Keywords: international university brand image; source country image; transnational social media; brand attitude; self-congruity; enrollment intention; PLS-SEM.

DOI https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.53.6.3

Smallholder farmers in Southwest Nigeria face increasing production risks due to climate change, as their farming systems are largely rain-fed and most farms are smaller than three hectares. Although previous studies have documented farmers’ perceptions and coping responses, limited attention has been given to the combined use of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) as scalable resilience strategies. This paper addresses this gap by drawing on original survey data from 500 smallholder households across the six states of Southwest Nigeria, supplemented by a structured literature review of regional evidence. The determinants of adoption and the resilience outcomes of high-impact SAP combinations were examined using logistic and multiple regression models. The results show that integrated SAP bundles, particularly cover cropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, and organic soil amendments, generate greater resilience gains than single practices. Farms adopting four or more SAPs remained productive during periods of moderate climate stress, with yield stability exceeding 80%. Institutional access to extension services emerged as the strongest institutional predictor of increased SAP integration. Based on these findings, the study proposes a four-pillar framework focused on context-specific practice selection, capacity building, institutional support, and knowledge systems. The results provide policymakers, development programmes, and extension agencies with practical policy implications for enhancing climate resilience in Southwest Nigeria and comparable agro-ecological systems.

Keywords: sustainable agriculture; smallholder farming; climate change adaptation; Southwest Nigeria; climate-smart agriculture; agroforestry; food security.

DOI https://doi.org/10.55463/issn.1674-2974.53.6.2