showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Kinetic of the Sewage Treatment: The Consumption of Organic Carbon of The Microalga Chlorella sp
2023
As well known, microalgae are eukaryotic or procaryotic microorganisms able to photosynthesize, namely transforming inorganic substrates and sun light into organic compounds and chemical energy. They result very promising in treating civil wastewaters thanks to their ability to employ nitrates and phosphates as nutrients (Lima et al., 2019). Autotrophic microalgae are, anyway, not useful in decreasing the organic carbon content of wastewaters, and for this reason, they cooperate with heterotrophic bacteria. The usefulness of microalgaebacteria consortia in treating wastewaters and the ratio of their inoculum was investigated in a previous work (Lima, 2022a). Contrarily to autotrophic microa…
CT and MR Imaging of Retroperitoneal Sarcomas: A Practical Guide for the Radiologist
2023
Primary retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) represent around 10–16% of all sarcomas, with liposarcomas and leiomyosarcomas being the most common subtypes. RPS have some peculiar characteristics, imaging appearances, worse prognosis, and complications compared to other locations of sarcoma. Commonly, RPS primarily present as large masses, progressively encasing adjacent structures, causing mass effect, and complications. RPS diagnosis is often challenging, and these tumors may be overlooked; however, failure to recognize RPS characteristics leads to a worse prognosis for the patients. Surgery is the only recognized curative treatment, but the anatomical constraints of the retroperitoneum limit th…
boriskaus/MagmaThermoKinematics.jl: Version used in ZASSY paper
2023
This is the version used for benchmarking described in the following paper: Schmitt, A.K., Sliwinski, J., Caricchi, L., Bachmann, O., Riel, N., Kaus, B.J.P., Cisneros de Léon, A., Cornet, J., Friedrichs, B., Lovera, O., Sheldrake, T., and Weber, G., Zircon age spectra to quantify magma evolution: Geosphere, v. 19, no. X, p. 1–26, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02563.1.
Miten edustuksellinen demokratiamme on muuttumassa? Digitaalisen käsitehistorian näkökulma
2023
Recent concerns about representative democracy being in crisis should be related to longer-term histories of ‘representation’ and ‘democracy’. Conceptual history analyses diachronic change and synchronic contestability of such key terms. Digital history can help understand evolvement in tensions over popular representation and representatives' changing perceptions on their parliamentary role. N-gram analyses and visualizations of relative word frequencies reveal long-term patterns and justify selections for qualitative analysis. Contextualising close reading shows how representative democracy has been increasingly complemented with participatory and direct democracy in the UK parliament, fo…
Spunti di riflessione in materia di reati di gestione e traffico di rifiuti: le necessità di un ripensamento normativo
2023
Il presente contributo intende ravvivare la riflessione penalistica in merito al delitto di attività organizzate per il traffico illecito di rifiuti, attualmente disciplinato dall’art. 452 quaterdecies c.p. Nel far ciò, l’A. parte dall’analisi della struttura della fattispecie, mettendo in dubbio la sua natura di reato abituale, al momento dominante in dottrina e giurisprudenza, in favore di una lettura incentrata sul requisito organizzativo, individuato quale vero baricentro del disvalore del reato in commento. La centralità dell’elemento organizzativo è carattere ricorrente nella normativa antitraffico domestica, e la si riscontra, infatti, anche nel caso oggetto di interesse. Essa reca c…
Longitudinal physical activity patterns and the development of cardiometabolic risk factors during adolescence
2023
Purpose To examine the associations between longitudinal physical activity (PA) patterns and the development of cardiometabolic risk factors from adolescence to young adulthood. Methods This cohort study encompassed 250 participants recruited from sports clubs and schools, and examined at mean age 15 and 19. Device-measured moderate-to-vigorous PA was grouped into five patterns (via a data-driven method, using inactivity maintainers as a reference). The outcomes were: glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and body mass index (BMI). Linear growth curve models were applied wit…
Recovery and genotyping ancient Sicilian monumental olive trees
2023
The long-lived and evergreen olive tree dominates the Mediterranean landscape, representing an agroecological and cultural symbol and a genetic heritage of inestimable value. Sicily, for historical, geographical, and cultural reasons, has a very rich and distinctive olive germplasm. In this work, a large survey was conducted to discover, collect, and characterize the genetic diversity of centennial monumental olive trees from historical sites, such as the Greek Temple Valley (Agrigento), ancient gardens, or farmland present in the western part of the island. Trees were chosen based on their height, trunk, stump size, and presumed age; particularly, only olive trees with an age estimated at …
A Novel Na(I) Coordination Complex with s-Triazine Pincer Ligand: Synthesis, X-ray Structure, Hirshfeld Analysis, and Antimicrobial Activity
2023
The pincer ligand 2,4-bis(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-6-methoxy-1,3,5-triazine (bpmt) was used to synthesize the novel [Na(bpmt)2][AuCl4] complex through the self-assembly method. In this complex, the Na(I) ion is hexa-coordinated with two tridentate N-pincer ligands (bpmt). The two bpmt ligand units are meridionally coordinated to Na(I) via one short Na-N(s-triazine) and two slightly longer Na-N(pyrazole) bonds, resulting in a distorted octahedral geometry around the Na(I) ion. In the coordinated bpmt ligand, the s-triazine core is not found to be coplanar with the two pyrazole moieties. Additionally, the two bpmt units are strongly twisted from one another by 64.94°. Based on Hirshf…
Data from an international multi-centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Datas…
2023
This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments’ psychometric properties across differ…
Reducing Visuospatial Pseudoneglect in Healthy Subjects by Active Video Gaming
2023
Pseudoneglect phenomenon refers to a condition in which healthy subjects tend to perceive the left side of exactly bisected lines as being slightly longer than the right one. However, behavioural data showed that athletes practising an open-skill sport display less pseudoneglect than the general population. Given the fact that so-called exergames (also known as active video games) are platforms designed to fully mimic sport activity, this work intends to investigate whether and how a one-week training period of exergame open-skill sport can determine a similar decrease in pseudoneglect. Fifteen healthy participants (non-athletes) responded to a visuospatial attention task and a control memo…
AVOCADO PEELS AND SEEDS FROM HASS VARIETIES: FROM INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCTS TO CIRCULAR REUSE
2023
From a sustainable progress perspective, the circular economy model is widely used today. One of the main purposes of last years is to valorize wastes of agri-food industries, as new sources of bioactive components, from the approach of a circular and biorefinery economy both for environmental and economic reasons. Avocado (Persea americana cv Hass) seeds and peels are an example of promising bio-sustainability raw materials with a high nutritional value that can be obtained from industrial byproducts. The objective of this work was to study also chemical qualities of avocado peels and seeds. Avocado peel and seeds samples from fruit collected in Sicily were dried in a convective hot-air dr…
Oral microbiota modulation by fermented food; impact of salivary proteome
2023
International audience
Työn merkityksellisyyden johtaminen: Työn merkitysten ja täyttymysten kyselyn mahdollisuudet ja haasteet
2023
Leadership and meaningful work: The possibilities and challenges of the Vocational Meaning and Fulfillment Survey In this study we examined how leaders perceive meaningful work and if the new Vocational Meaning and Fulfillment Survey (VMFS) could be used as a leadership tool in organizations. The data were collected through 22 semistructured thematic interviews and analyzed with a phenomenographic approach. Three categories of perspectives on meaningful work were found: individual, organizational and holistic. The VMFS was perceived as a useful and practical tool by most of the leaders. It could be used at individual, team, and organizational levels to measure the experience of meaningfulwo…
Air Pollution: Role of Extracellular Vesicles-Derived Non-Coding RNAs in Environmental Stress Response
2023
Air pollution has increased over the years, causing a negative impact on society due to the many health-related problems it can contribute to. Although the type and extent of air pollutants are known, the molecular mechanisms underlying the induction of negative effects on the human body remain unclear. Emerging evidence suggests the crucial involvement of different molecular mediators in inflammation and oxidative stress in air pollution-induced disorders. Among these, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) carried by extracellular vesicles (EVs) may play an essential role in gene regulation of the cell stress response in pollutant-induced multiorgan disorders. This review highlights EV-transported ncRN…
Organizational Learning from Cybersecurity Performance: Effects on Cybersecurity Investment Decisions
2023
AbstractIS literature has identified various economic, performance, and environmental factors affecting cybersecurity investment decisions. However, economic modeling approaches dominate, and research on cybersecurity performance as an antecedent to investments has taken a backseat. Neglecting the role of performance indicators ignores real-world concerns driving actual cybersecurity investment decision-making. We investigate two critical aspects of cybersecurity performance: breach costs and breach identification source, as antecedents to cybersecurity investment decisions. We use organizational learning to theorize how performance feedback from these two aspects of cybersecurity breaches …
The Use of Intravenous Fosfomycin in Clinical Practice: A 5-Year Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Italy
2023
Fosfomycin in intravenous (IV) formulation has re-emerged as a valuable tool in the treatment of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) infections because of its broad spectrum of antibacterial action and pharmacokinetic characteristics. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate how fosfomycin was used in patients admitted to the Polyclinic of Palermo between January 2017 and July 2022. Clinical indications, therapeutic associations, clinical outcomes, and any side effects were analyzed. Intravenous fosfomycin was used in 343 patients, 63% male, with a mean age of 68 years (range 15–95). Urinary tract infections (UTIs) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) were the…
SARS-CoV-2 Immunity in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Cell Therapy Recipients : What Do We Know, and What Remains to Be Determined?
2023
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) results in profound immunosuppression for the first few months after the procedure, requiring patients to be revaccinated against childhood vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Patients who undergo allo-HSCT are at high risk of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections, with infectious complications responsible for at least one third of deaths. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, respiratory virus infections were known to be more severe in HSCT recipients. The pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of HSCT recipients, who experience an increased risk of morbidity and mortality after COVID-19 compared with healthy populations due to their s…
Value Co-Destruction: A Conceptual Review and Future Research Agenda
2023
The service-dominant (S-D) logic lens for understanding value co-creation and customers’ interactive roles in the service exchange has emerged as a focal theme of interest among service academics and practitioners. While recent investigations have also focused on the process of value co-destruction—that is, how potential negative outcomes occur—the concept and its distinction from value co-creation remain unclear. This conceptual review synthesizes the concept of value co-destruction and proposes a framework consisting of two interrelated dimensions—actor–actor interaction and individual actor —and their components at three temporal points of the service encounter. We distinguish value co-…
Domain-specific transfer learning in the automated scoring of tumor-stroma ratio from histopathological images of colorectal cancer
2023
Tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) is a prognostic factor for many types of solid tumors. In this study, we propose a method for automated estimation of TSR from histopathological images of colorectal cancer. The method is based on convolutional neural networks which were trained to classify colorectal cancer tissue in hematoxylin-eosin stained samples into three classes: stroma, tumor and other. The models were trained using a data set that consists of 1343 whole slide images. Three different training setups were applied with a transfer learning approach using domain-specific data i.e. an external colorectal cancer histopathological data set. The three most accurate models were chosen as a classifie…
Association of country income level with the characteristics and outcomes of critically ill patients hospitalized with acute kidney injury and COVID-…
2023
Introduction Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been identified as one of the most common and significant problems in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. However, studies examining the relationship between COVID-19 and AKI in low- and low-middle income countries (LLMIC) are lacking. Given that AKI is known to carry a higher mortality rate in these countries, it is important to understand differences in this population. Methods This prospective, observational study examines the AKI incidence and characteristics of 32,210 patients with COVID-19 from 49 countries across all income levels who were admitted to an intensive care unit during their hospital stay. Results Among patients with COVID-19 ad…
Brain-Related Research as a Support Mechanism to Help Learners to Acquire Full Literacy
2023
Possibly some of the most important skills that one can have are those needed to become fully literate. We all wish our children to reach such a goal. Unfortunately, the focus of attention in reading research has been on acquiring readiness to sound out written language, i.e., the basic reading skills. Full literacy is the readiness to learn knowledge by reading. Thus, one has to be able to take two steps to reach full literacy. Indications related to both of these steps can be observe in the brain. This may be easiest when we observe the brain activity of a learner who faces difficulties in taking these steps. In fact, the serious difficulty of taking the first step can be observed soon af…
Barotrauma during Noninvasive Respiratory Support in COVID-19 Pneumonia Outside ICU: The Ancillary COVIMIX-2 Study
2023
Background: Noninvasive respiratory support (NIRS) has been extensively used during the COVID-19 surge for patients with acute respiratory failure. However, little data are available about barotrauma during NIRS in patients treated outside the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Methods: COVIMIX-2 was an ancillary analysis of the previous COVIMIX study, a large multicenter observational work investigating the frequencies of barotrauma (i.e., pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum) in adult patients with COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia. Only patients treated with NIRS outside the ICU were considered. Baseline characteristics, clinical and radiological disease severity, type of ventilatory support…
Potential and limitations of quantum extreme learning machines
2023
Quantum reservoir computers (QRC) and quantum extreme learning machines (QELM) aim to efficiently post-process the outcome of fixed -- generally uncalibrated -- quantum devices to solve tasks such as the estimation of the properties of quantum states. The characterisation of their potential and limitations, which is currently lacking, will enable the full deployment of such approaches to problems of system identification, device performance optimization, and state or process reconstruction. We present a framework to model QRCs and QELMs, showing that they can be concisely described via single effective measurements, and provide an explicit characterisation of the information exactly retriev…
A scalable school‐based intervention to increase early adolescents' motor competence and health‐related fitness
2023
Schools are key settings for the promotion of students' physical activity, fitness, and motor competence. The purpose of our study was to investigate the efficacy of a 5-month-long intervention program that aimed to increase students' motor competence and health-related fitness during school days. We conducted a quasi-experimental study with 325 Finnish Grade 5 (Mage = 11.26, SD = 0.33) students from five schools. Two schools were allocated to the intervention group and three schools to the control group. The intervention consisted of three components: (a) weekly 20 min session during regular PE lessons, (b) weekly 20 min session during recess, and (c) daily 5-minute-long classroom activity…
Family SMEs and managerial approaches to sustainability in the blue economy
2023
Abstract This study investigates the managerial approaches family SMEs adopt to address sustainability in the context of the Blue Economy. Using a qualitative methodology, we conduct nine case studies of family firms operating in Sicily's COSVAP Fishing District area. The data are collected via semi-structured interviews with the founders/managers and analyzed using the Gioia method. The results reveal that family SMEs approach sustainability by adopting three managerial approaches. In the first approach, SME managers conceive sustainability as a threat to the economic sustainability of their firms. The second approach implies that sustainability must undergo specific compromises. The third…
Spatial and Temporal Gait Characteristics in Patients Admitted to a Neuro-Rehabilitation Department with Age-Related White Matter Changes: A Gait Ana…
2023
Background: Patients with age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) frequently present a gait disorder, depression and cognitive impairment. Our aims are to define which alterations in the gait parameters are associated with motor or neuro-psychological impairment and to assess the role of motor, mood or cognitive dysfunction in explaining the variance of the gait parameters. Methods: Patients with gait disorders admitted to a Neuro-rehabilitation Department, affected by vascular leukoencephalopathy who had ARWMC confirmed by a brain MRI, were consecutively enrolled, classified by a neuroradiological scale (Fazekas 1987) and compared to healthy controls. We excluded subjects unable to walk i…
Assessing Chinese Textile and Apparel Industry Business Sustainability: The Role of Organization Green Culture, Green Dynamic Capabilities, and Green…
2023
The current study aims to evaluate the role of environmental orientation (EO) on green dynamic capabilities (GDCs), organization green culture (OGC), and green innovation (GIN) toward business sustainability (BUS) in the context of Chinese textile and apparel manufacturing firms. Natural resources-based view (NRBV) and dynamic capabilities view (DCV) were used as the theoretical lenses of the research. This study is quantitative, and a purposive sampling technique was employed to collect data from the managers working in textile and apparel manufacturing firms in China. The sample size consisted of 339 managers. Partial least-square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to ana…
Introduction : Civil Society Responses to Changing Civic Spaces
2023
AbstractThis introductory chapter contextualizes how the volume resonates to current global trends and research debates concerning democracy, civil society, and civic space. The chapter shows how the debates on the decline of democracy, civil society actors, and changing civil spaces underpin the book’s agenda of exploring civil society responses to civic space. The chapter argues in favour of contextual and relational analyses of how civil society actors and civic space are negotiated, in the context of historically formed governance systems. It also provides an overview of the chapters of the book underlying their original contributions to ongoing debates.
The mediating role of behavioural automaticity and intention on past to future bootcamp attendance
2023
Objective The aim of the current study was to test whether behavioural automaticity and intention mediated the effects of past behaviour on a particular type of vigorous physical exercise: bootcamp attendance. Methods A community sample (N = 69) who had previously attended a bootcamp class was recruited from Queensland, Australia. Participants were asked to complete measures of their previous bootcamp attendance, behavioural automaticity, and intention to attend bootcamps (Time 1). One month later (Time 2), participants were asked to report their bootcamp attendance and behavioural automaticity in the previous month. Data were fitted to a Partial Least Squares-SEM model. Results Past behavi…
PROPOSAL FOR A LANDSCAPE EVALUATION SYSTEM
2023
Abstract. This paper describes a system, currently being designed, for both perceptual analysis and aesthetic evaluation of a landscape. The choice of this topic is motivated by the fact that systems related to landscape visibility (e.g. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for visual impact assessment) are not fully satisfactory when it comes to assessing the aesthetic appearance. They mainly analyse geometric aspects, such as the width of visual basins or the interference of visual trajectories, which can be expressed by objective and comparable parameters. Instead, for effective landscape knowledge and protection, it is important to consider other factors that cannot be easily measured…
Conclusions: Spaces of Hope and Despair?
2023
AbstractThis concluding chapter summarizes the key findings of the individual chapters. It recaps the diverse conceptualizations of civic space used, as well as the restrictions and civil society responses identified. The chapter concludes with reflections on other perspectives not elaborated in this particular volume and on potential agendas for future research.
Doctoral: A smartphone-based decision support tool for the early detection of oral potentially malignant disorders
2023
Oral potentially malignant disorders can be defined as mucosal lesions and conditions with an increased risk of malignant transformation. Oral potentially malignant disorders are a significant health burden, and they are often diagnosed late due to scant attention to routine dental practice and the low number of specialized oral medicine centres. This report summarizes the DoctOral experience, a research initiative, providing a free smartphone-based decision support tool for the general medical/dental practitioner; the tool is based on the clinical appearance of oral lesions. Captured, oral pictures can be immediately examined via interactive decision trees and constructed on the smartphon…
VR in RE and moral education: report from a conference symposium at the NCRE 2022
2023
This paper reports from a symposium exploring the application of Virtual Reality (VR) in RE. The contributors presented empirical casestudies of interventions and instructional designs that had been tested in classroom settings ranging from primary to teacher education. The presentations illustrate the ways in which VR can be understood as a rapidly developing family of technologies that, as teaching and learning material, offers a new form of mobility and the shifting of grounds in the RE classroom: It can bring learners to places of worship across the globe or provide immersive experiences of being at the receiving end of bullying as a starting point for ethical reflection. VR and 360-ima…
A replication study on the intuitiveness of programming language syntax
2023
AbstractIn this article, we present a replication of an empirical experiment that evaluates intuitiveness and comprehensibility of keywords relating to different concepts in programming languages, originally conducted by Stefik and Gellenbeck. Novice programmers face many barriers when learning programming. One of these barriers is syntax, which for many languages is not designed based on empirical evidence. The purpose of the experiment was to provide more empirical evidence on the subject, to find out if the results of the original experiment can be replicated and if conducting the experiment in an environment where English is not the native language affects the results. The results of ou…
Supporting bereaved people: a qualitative study on the experience of informal support providers, before and during the pandemic scenario
2023
The COVID-19 outbreak has further highlighted the need to strengthen support networks tosustain grieving people. However, we know very little about the experience of those who,because of their emotional connection with the bereaved person or of their social function,find themselves supporting people in grief. The current study aimed to analyze the experi-ence of grievers’informal support providers (relatives and friends, teachers, religious leaders,funeral providers, pharmacists, volunteers, and social service workers). 162 in-depth inter-views were collected (meanage¼42.3,SD¼14.9; women¼63.6%). Findings highlight twodifferent ways of talking about one’s experience and two different ways of…
Effects of Flavonoids on Cancer, Cardiovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Role of NF-κB Signaling Pathway
2023
Flavonoids are polyphenolic phytochemical compounds found in many plants, fruits, vegetables, and leaves. They have a multitude of medicinal applications due to their anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiviral, and anticarcinogenic properties. Furthermore, they also have neuroprotective and cardioprotective effects. Their biological properties depend on the chemical structure of flavonoids, their mechanism of action, and their bioavailability. The beneficial effects of flavonoids have been proven for a variety of diseases. In the last few years, it is demonstrated that the effects of flavonoids are mediated by inhibiting the NF-κB (Nuclear Factor-κB) pathway. In this review, we have summar…