showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
From virtual to real healing: a critical overview of the therapeutic use of virtual reality to cope with mourning
2021
In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has been effectively employed in several settings, ranging from health care needs to leisure and gaming activities. A new application of virtual stimuli appeared in social media: in the documentary 'I met you' from the South-Korean Munhwa Broadcasting, a mother made the experience of interacting with the avatar of the seven-year-old daughter, who died four years before. We think that this new application of virtual stimuli should open a debate on its possible implications: it represents contents related to grief, a dramatic and yet natural experience, that can have deep psychological impacts on fragile subjects put in virtual environments. In the presen…
Orientacja rynkowa jako determinanta kształtowania i rozwoju koncepcji logistyki
2021
Przedsiębiorstwa stale poszukują sposobów tworzenia i utrzymywania przewagi konkurencyjnej. W budowaniu tej przewagi istotną rolę odgrywa koncepcja logistyki. Kształtowanie i rozwój koncepcji logistyki pozostają pod wpływem różnych czynników, wśród których ważne miejsce zajmuje orientacja rynkowa. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie uwarunkowań oraz najważniejszych kierunków oddziaływania orientacji rynkowej na kształtowanie i rozwój koncepcji logistyki. W artykule przedstawiono w szczególności: (1) istotę i podstawowe wyznaczniki orientacji rynkowej, (2) podstawowe determinanty orientacji rynkowej, (3) orientację rynkową przedsiębiorstwa na tle innych koncepcji biznesowych wyrażających pode…
Investigation of the Impact of Neutron Irradiation on SiC Power MOSFETs Lifetime by Reliability Tests
2021
High temperature reverse-bias (HTRB), High temperature gate-bias (HTGB) tests and electrical DC characterization were performed on planar-SiC power MOSFETs which survived to accelerated neutron irradiation tests carried out at ChipIr-ISIS (Didcot, UK) facility, with terrestrial neutrons. The neutron test campaigns on the SiC power MOSFETs (manufactered by ST) were conducted on the same wafer lot devices by STMicroelectronics and Airbus, with different neutron tester systems. HTGB and HTRB tests, which characterise gate-oxide integrity and junction robustness, show no difference between the non irradiated devices and those which survived to the neutron irradiation tests, with neutron fluence…
A Combination of Celecoxib and Glucosamine Sulfate Has Anti-Inflammatory and Chondroprotective Effects: Results from an In Vitro Study on Human Osteo…
2021
This study investigated the possible anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective effects of a combination of celecoxib and prescription-grade glucosamine sulfate (GS) in human osteoarthritic (OA) chondrocytes and their possible mechanism of action. Chondrocytes were treated with celecoxib (1.85 µM) and GS (9 µM), alone or in combination with IL-1β (10 ng/mL) and a specific nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitor (BAY-11-7082, 1 µM). Gene expression and release of some pro-inflammatory mediators, metalloproteinases (MMPs), and type II collagen (Col2a1) were evaluated by qRT-PCR and ELISA
Tuberculous aortitis in an human immunodeficiency virus-positive Ivorian migrant: A case report.
2021
We report an unusual case of a 35-year-old Ivorian migrant with an abdominal mass and medical history relevant for human immunodeficiency virus-2 positivity with a CD4/CD8 ratio of 0.63; Mantoux and lymphocyte stimulation tests (QuantiFERON) were positive. 3D-CT images revealed a voluminous non-homogeneous retroperitoneal mass in the right abdominal region presenting no significant contrast impregnation. Thoraco-abdominal aorta presented diffuse-altered morphology with multiple ectasias throughout its course and an aneurysm at the level of the subrenal tract. The patient underwent vascular surgery. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was detected by polymerase chain reaction performed on in…
Conspicuous Consumption in Emerging Markets: The Case of Starbucks in Colombia as a Global and Sustainable Brand.
2021
Conspicuous consumption symbolizes ostentatious and material consumption through the purchase of products and services with a higher economic value and that allows their consumers to excel socially. However, conspicuous consumption often does not represent social and environmental values, because their products are often not characterized by being made through sustainable processes. United Nations, through its sustainable development agenda, invited companies to be aware of the social and environmental problems of the world and to be able to generate strategies that can be sustainable over time and allow the growth of both the company and society in general. This study analyses the case of …
Direct Measurement of the Branching Fractions B(ψ(3686)→J/ψX) and B(ψ(3770)→J/ψX) , and Observation of the State R(3760) in e+e−→J/ψX
2021
We report a measurement of the observed cross sections of e + e - → J / ψ X based on 3.21 fb - 1 of data accumulated at energies from 3.645 to 3.891 GeV with the BESIII detector operated at the BEPCII collider. In analysis of the cross sections, we measured the decay branching fractions of B ( ψ ( 3686 ) → J / ψ X ) = ( 64.4 ± 0.6 ± 1.6 ) % and B ( ψ ( 3770 ) → J / ψ X ) = ( 0.5 ± 0.2 ± 0.1 ) % for the first time. The energy-dependent line shape of these cross sections cannot be well described by two Breit-Wigner (BW) amplitudes of the expected decays ψ ( 3686 ) → J / ψ X and ψ ( 3770 ) → J / ψ X . Instead, it can be better described with one more BW amplitude of the decay R ( 3760 ) → J / …
Can Primordial Black Holes as all Dark Matter explain Fast Radio Bursts?
2021
Primordial black holes (PBHs) are one of the most interesting nonparticle dark matter (DM) candidates. They may explain all the DM content in the Universe in the mass regime from about $10^{-14}M_{\odot}$ to $10^{-11}M_{\odot}$. We study PBHs as the source of fast radio bursts (FRBs) via magnetic reconnection in the event of collisions between them and neutron stars (NSs) in galaxies. We investigate the energy loss of PBHs during PBH-NS encounters to model their capture by NSs. To an order-of-magnitude estimation, we conclude that the parameter space of PBHs being all DM is accidentally consistent with that to produce FRBs with a rate which is the order of the observed FRB rate.
Trait empathy modulates music-related functional connectivity
2021
It has been well established through behavioural studies that empathy significantly influences music perception. Such individual differences typically manifest as variability in whole brain functional connectivity patterns. To date, nobody has examined the modulatory effect of empathy on functional connectivity patterns during continuous music listening. In the present study, we seek to investigate the global and local connectivity patterns of 36 participants whose fMRI scanning was done by employing the naturalistic paradigm wherein they listened to a continuous piece of music. We used graph-based measures of functional connectivity to identify how cognitive and affective components of emp…
Media crisis and disinformation: the participation of digital newspapers in the dissemination of a denialist hoax
2021
Disinformation is a communicative phenomenon that frequently feeds on political or electoral topics, as well as other aspects of our reality. This research takes as a case study the coverage given by the Spanish digital media to a hoax broadcast during the Filomena storm in 2021 that insisted that the snow was plastic. The purpose of this work is to analyze the instrumentalization of fake information as an expression of the information media crisis in the current context of disinformation. We set out four specific objectives: (SO1) to study the spread of the hoax through the media, (SO2) to analyze the construction of headlines in the news pieces, (SO3) to investigate the treatment of the h…
Are Public Subsidies to Encourage Young Farmers Effective? Case Study of a First-Time Farm Set Up by a Young Female Farmer in the Valencian Region of…
2021
Generational renewal and the incorporation of women into the rural world are fundamental for the sustainability and modernisation of the agricultural sector. Hence the special government protection granted to the sector, which appears in both European legislation on rural issues and in the global strategy of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Rural Development Goals involving a commitment to measures aimed at helping young farmers to set up agricultural holdings and especially at encouraging women to engage in farm management. In the case of Spain, this is nothing new, given that Law 35/2011 on the Shared Ownership of Agricultural Holdings became a veritable revolution in terms of gender i…
Globalization in Pediatric Surgical Training: The Benefit of an International Fellowship in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country Academic Hospital.
2021
Abstract Objective A relative oversupply of pediatric surgeons led to increasing difficulties in surgical training in high-income countries (HIC), popularizing international fellowships in low-to-middle–income countries (LMIC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of an international fellowship in an LMIC for the training of pediatric surgery trainees from HICs. Methods We retrospectively reviewed and compared the prospectively maintained surgical logbooks of international pediatric surgical trainees who completed a fellowship at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in the last 10 years. We analyzed the number of surgeries, type of involvement, and level of supervision in t…
A Task Execution Scheme for Dew Computing with State-of-the-Art Smartphones
2021
The computing resources of today’s smartphones are underutilized most of the time. Using these resources could be highly beneficial in edge computing and fog computing contexts, for example, to support urban services for citizens. However, new challenges, especially regarding job scheduling, arise. Smartphones may form ad hoc networks, but individual devices highly differ in computational capabilities and (tolerable) energy usage. We take into account these particularities to validate a task execution scheme that relies on the computing power that clusters of mobile devices could provide. In this paper, we expand the study of several practical heuristics for job scheduling including executi…
Assessing the effectiveness of a game‐based phonics intervention for first and second grade English language learners in India: A randomized controll…
2021
Background In 2018, it was found that only a quarter of Grade 3 children in India were reading at grade level. A growing demand for English education has further limited children's literacy achievement. Despite a strong evidence base in favour of using systematic phonics for building English literacy skills, many teachers in India continue to use rote-methods of literacy instruction. Objectives We aimed to examine the efficacy of GraphoLearn (GL) English Rime, a computer-assisted reading intervention, in improving the foundational literacy skills of 1st and 2nd grade students who were attending an English medium school in India. Methods A total of 136 students across 6 classrooms were rando…
The Hydrogen‐Storage Challenge: Nanoparticles for Metal‐Catalyzed Ammonia Borane Dehydrogenation
2021
International audience; Dihydrogen is one of the sustainable energy vectors envisioned for the future. However, the rapidly reversible and secure storage of large quantities of hydrogen is still a technological and scientific challenge. In this context, this review proposes a recent state-of-the-art on H 2 production capacities from the dehydrogenation reaction of ammonia borane (and selected related amine-boranes) as a safer solid-source of H 2 by hydrolysis (or solvolysis), according to the different developed nanoparticle-based catalysts. The review groups the results according to the transition metals constituting the catalyst according a special view to current cost/availability consid…
“Now I Feel That I Can Achieve Something”: Young Tanzanian Women’s Experiences of Empowerment by Participating in Health Promotion Campaigns
2021
The United Nations (UN) emphasizes that health promotion, education, and empowerment of women are all goals that will help to end poverty. In eastern rural Tanzania, young women who dropped out of school now take an active part in health promotion campaigns in schools and villages through the youth program “Innovative and Productive Youth”, which is administered by the nongovernmental organization Hatua na Maendeleo (HAMA). The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how some of these young Tanzanian women experience participating in health promotion campaigns. A hermeneutic phenomenology design with focus group interviews was used. The study’s participants were nine young women betwee…
Persistent software transactional memory in Haskell
2021
Emerging persistent memory in commodity hardware allows byte-granular accesses to persistent state at memory speeds. However, to prevent inconsistent state in persistent memory due to unexpected system failures, different write-semantics are required compared to volatile memory. Transaction-based library solutions for persistent memory facilitate the atomic modification of persistent data in languages where memory is explicitly managed by the programmer, such as C/C++. For languages that provide extended capabilities like automatic memory management, a more native integration into the language is needed to maintain the high level of memory abstraction. It is shown in this paper how persiste…
Extraction of Antioxidant Compounds and Pigments from Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) Assisted by Pulsed Electric Fields and the Binary Mixture of …
2021
The application of pulsed electric fields (PEF) is an innovative extraction technology promoting cell membrane electroporation, thus allowing for an efficient recovery, from an energy point of view, of antioxidant compounds (chlorophylls, carotenoids, total phenolic compounds, etc.) from microalgae. Due to its selectivity and high extraction yield, the effects of PEF pre-treatment (3 kV/cm, 100 kJ/kg) combined with supplementary extraction at different times (5–180 min) and with different solvents (ethanol (EtOH)/H2O, 50:50, v/v
“Beyond Weather Regimes”: Descriptors Monitoring Atmospheric Centers of Action. A case study for Aotearoa New Zealand
2021
AbstractThis paper introduces a set of descriptors applied to weather regimes, that allow for a detailed monitoring of the location and intensity of their atmospheric centers of action (e.g. troughs and ridges) and the gradients between them, when applicable. Descriptors are designed to document the effect of climate variability and change in modulating the character of daily weather regimes, rather than merely their occurrence statistics.As a case study, the methodology is applied to Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ), using ERA5 ensemble reanalysis data for the period 1979-2019. Here, we analyze teleconnections between the regimes and their descriptors, and large-scale climate variability. Result…
Laboratory evidence for proton energization by collisionless shock surfing
2021
Charged particles can be accelerated to high energies by collisionless shock waves in astrophysical environments, such as supernova remnants. By interacting with the magnetized ambient medium, these shocks can transfer energy to particles. Despite increasing efforts in the characterization of these shocks from satellite measurements at Earth’s bow shock as well as powerful numerical simulations, the underlying acceleration mechanism or a combination thereof is still widely debated. Here we show that astrophysically relevant super-critical quasi-perpendicular magnetized collisionless shocks can be produced and characterized in the laboratory. We observe the characteristics of super-criticali…
Otolith chemical composition suggests local populations of Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarctica (Boulenger, 1902) around Antarctica are expos…
2021
The Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarctica is a key species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem, and it is potentially threatened by the climate change affecting Antarctic ecosystems. Assessing the possible exposure to similar or different environmental conditions at early life stages and gathering information about connectivity or segregation between local populations of P. antarctica can be key for planning sound management strategies for this species. By using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, we characterized the otolith chemical composition of 163 adult Antarctic silverfish collected from three areas located thousands of kilometers apart from each other: Ca…
CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY PREDICTION MODEL
2021
In any competitive economy, the risk of bankruptcy is pervasive. The research aims to contribute in improving the predictive power of bankruptcy and insolvency risk among companies by introducing new methods of processing and validation. This paper investigates the extensive application of the Z score model for predicting the economic-financial stability of Romanian companies in the manufacturing and extractive industries. A list of 37 financial indicators determined on the basis of the balance sheet data of 80 companies for the period 2015–2018 was used. Stepwise Least Squares Estimation through the Forward method allowed the identification of the most relevant ones. Canonical discriminant…
Chiral pair density wave states generated by spin supercurrents
2021
We report that spin supercurrents in magnetic superconductors and superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator bilayers can induce the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction which strength is proportional to the superconducting order parameter amplitude. This effect leads to the existence of inhomogeneous parity-breaking ground states combining the chiral magnetic helix and the pair density wave orders. The formation of such states takes place via the penetration of chiral domain walls at the threshold temperature below the superconducting transition. We find regimes with both the single and the re-entrant transitions into the inhomogeneous states with decreasing temperature. The predicted hybrid chir…
Co-Designing Urban Carbon Sink Parks: Case Carbon Lane in Helsinki
2021
In order to achieve the goals of carbon (C) neutrality within next 20 year, municipalities worldwide need to increasingly apply negative emission technologies. We focus on the main principles of urban demonstration areas using biochars for C sequestration and explore the lessons learned from a co-creation process of one such park, Hyväntoivonpuisto in Helsinki, Finland. Demonstration sites of urban C sinks in public parks must be safe, visible and scientifically sound for reliable and cost-effective verification of carbon sequestration. We find that different interests can be arbitrated and that synergy that emerges from co-creation of urban C sink parks between stakeholders (scientists, ci…
Tributyltin(Iv) butyrate: A novel epigenetic modifier with er stress-and apoptosis-inducing properties in colon cancer cells
2021
Organotin(IV) compounds are a class of non-platinum metallo-conjugates exhibiting antitumor activity. The effects of different organotin types has been related to several mechanisms, including their ability to modify acetylation protein status and to promote apoptosis. Here, we focus on triorganotin(IV) complexes of butyric acid, a well-known HDAC inhibitor with antitumor properties. The conjugated compounds were synthesized and characterised by FTIR spectroscopy, multi-nuclear (1H, 13C and 119Sn) NMR, and mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). In the triorganotin(IV) complexes, an anionic monodentate butyrate ligand was observed, which coordinated the tin atom on a tetra-coordinated, monomeric enviro…
false
2021
Several techniques are under development for image-guidance in particle therapy. Positron (β+) emission tomography (PET) is in use since many years, because accelerated ions generate positron-emitting isotopes by nuclear fragmentation in the human body. In heavy ion therapy, a major part of the PET signals is produced by β+-emitters generated via projectile fragmentation. A much higher intensity for the PET signal can be obtained using β+-radioactive beams directly for treatment. This idea has always been hampered by the low intensity of the secondary beams, produced by fragmentation of the primary, stable beams. With the intensity upgrade of the SIS-18 synchrotron and the isotopic separati…
Enhancement of the Diversity of Pollinators and Beneficial Insects in Intensively Managed Vineyards
2021
Simple Summary The continuous intensification of agricultural production has resulted in higher yields and more yield security. However, these achievements went along with the substitution of heterogeneous agricultural landscapes by homogeneous ones with poor crop diversity, short crop rotations, and thanks to the high efficacy of modern herbicides and also to minimum in-crop diversity. A severe increase in plot size led to the elimination of ecologically valuable structural elements that had provided floral resources and nesting sites. Over the few last decades, several studies have been conducted to try to find solutions against insect decline and to preserve biodiversity. In the present …
Deep Learning for Classifying Physical Activities from Accelerometer Data
2021
Physical inactivity increases the risk of many adverse health conditions, including the world’s major non-communicable diseases, such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancers, shortening life expectancy. There are minimal medical care and personal trainers’ methods to monitor a patient’s actual physical activity types. To improve activity monitoring, we propose an artificial-intelligence-based approach to classify the physical movement activity patterns. In more detail, we employ two deep learning (DL) methods, namely a deep feed-forward neural network (DNN) and a deep recurrent neural network (RNN) for this purpose. We evaluate the proposed models on two phy…
Unveiling the Relationship Between Sea Surface Hydrographic Patterns and Tuna Larval Distribution in the Central Mediterranean Sea
2021
Thunnus thynnus (Atlantic bluefin tuna, ABT) and other tuna species reproduce in the Mediterranean Sea during the summer period. Despite the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Sicily in particular, being a key spawning site for many tuna species, little is known on the effects of oceanographic variability on their larval distribution in this area. The abundance and presence-absence of larval specimens for three tuna species (ABT, bullet tuna and albacore) were modeled in order to examine their relationships with environmental factors, by analysing historical in situ information collected during seven annual surveys (2010–2016). The results revealed that most tuna larvae for the three …
Area-minimizing cones in the Heisenberg group H
2021
We present a characterization of minimal cones of class \(C^2\) and \(C^1\) in the first Heisenberg group \(\mathbf{H}\), with an additional set of examples of minimal cones that are not of class \(C^1\).
Przegląd metod śródoperacyjnej oceny marginesów w chirurgicznym leczeniu oszczędzającym gruczoł piersiowy
2021
Breast conserving therapy is the primary treatment modality in early-stage breast cancer patients. Despite the development of methods for the intraoperative assessment of tumor margins, 20–30% of patients still require re-resection due to postoperative tumor infiltration at the surgery margins. In recent years, many methods have been developed to reduce the number of re-resections due to margin infiltration. Here we review the current methods together with several more techniques under investigation.
Influences of Chemical Functionalities on Crystal Structures and Electrochemical Properties of Dihydro-benzoxazine Dimer Derivatives
2021
Dihydro-1,3,2H-benzoxazine dimer derivatives or dihydro-benzoxazine dimers are a class of compounds typically prepared by ring-opening reactions between dihydro-benzoxazines and phenols. Dihydro-benzoxazine dimers act as chelating agents for several transition and rare-earth cations. To better understand the chelating properties, it is necessary to examine their structural features and electrochemical characteristics thoroughly. However, the electrochemical properties of dihydro-benzoxazine dimers have not been tremendously examined. Herein, eight derivatives of dihydro-benzoxazine dimers possessing different substituents on the benzene ring and the tertiary-amine nitrogen were synthesized …
Domain-specific intensifying constructions and/in weather-related proverbs. A case study based on Dutch dialects in Flanders.
2021
International audience; [Introduction] There are few things so rigorously present in human consciousness and communication as the subject of the weather. Nevertheless, both in formal (weather forecasts) and informal contexts (daily conversations), this “weather discourse” remains understudied within linguistics (Liégeois 2019). This kind of discourse (Koch & Oesterreicher 1985), however, appears very interesting to different constructionist approaches (Gautier 2018), such as frame semantics and (cognitive) construction grammar. [Research question] In this context, this proposal looks from a constructionist perspective into what could be called “weather sayings” in the dialects of Flanders; …
Do Consumers Really Care about Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility When Developing Attitudes toward a Brand?
2021
The present study assesses the relationship between the dimensions of perceived corporate social responsibility (PCSR) and consumer perceptions about a brand. The approach taken herein for PCSR is ...
Mechanochemical Syntheses of N-Containing Heterocycles with TosMIC
2021
A mechanochemical van Leusen pyrrole synthesis with a base leads to 3,4-disubstitued pyrroles in moderate to excellent yields. The developed protocol is compatible with a range of electron-withdrawing groups and can also be applied to the synthesis of oxazoles. Attempts to mechanochemically convert the resulting pyrroles into porphyrins proved to be difficult.
Seismic Performance of Earthquake-Resilient RC Frames Made with HSTC Beams and Friction Damper Devices
2021
Seismic behavior of RC frames with hybrid steel-trussed concrete beams is affected by panel zone damage due to a large amount of longitudinal reinforcement. Here the seismic efficiency of innovative frames characterized by friction damper devices (FDDs) at beam-to-column connections is compared against traditional frame. Three configurations are investigated: FDDs alone; FDDs with column-to-foundation connections having preloaded threaded bars and disk springs; FDDs with self-centering friction devices. Non-linear analyses show that FDDs alone prevent plastic hinge formation at beam ends and beam–column joint damage. FDDs with self-centering friction devices effectively limit both peak and …