Search results for "VIA"

Advanced fluorescence technologies help to resolve long-standing questions about microbial vitality

2012

International audience; Advances in fundamental physical and optical principles applied to novel fluorescence methods are currently resulting in rapid progress in cell biology and physiology. Instrumentation devised in pioneering laboratories is becoming commercially available, and study findings are now becoming accessible. The first results have concerned mainly higher eukaryotic cells but many more developments can be expected, especially in microbiology. Until now, some important problems of cell physiology have been difficult to investigate due to interactions between probes and cells, excretion of probes from cells and the inability to make in situ observations deep within the cell, w…

2015

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the 7th most common cancer worldwide. Despite the development of new therapeutic agents such as monoclonal antibodies, prognosis did not change for the last decades. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) presents the most promising new technology in cancer treatment. In this study the efficacy of a surface micro discharging (SMD) plasma device against two head and neck cancer cell lines was proved. Effects on the cell viability, DNA fragmentation and apoptosis induction were evaluated with the MTT assay, alkaline microgel electrophoresis (comet assay) and Annexin-V/PI staining. MTT assay revealed that the CAP treatment markedly decreases the cell viabil…

Antiproliferative activity of green, black tea and olive leaves polyphenols subjected to biosorption and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion in Caco-…

2020

Olive (Olea europaea L.) leaves and tea (Camellia sinensis) are rich sources of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols. Our previous studies have evidenced the potential use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a natural delivery system for these antioxidants and a means to improve their bioaccessibility in the human gut. In the present work, the antiproliferative effect of green tea (GT), black tea (BT) and olive leaves (OL) infusions and suspensions of S. cerevisiae were evaluated, for the first time, in human colon cancer cells (Caco-2) after biosorption and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. The bioaccessible fractions (BF) were not overtly cytotoxic, not affecting cell viability. ROS …

Double validation of translated questionnaires in international studies

2018

Background Study questionnaires developed in one country can be translated and used for similar studies in other countries. The main problem of this process is that people speaking different languages can understand the meaning of some questions differently due to disparate mentalities and backgrounds. To avoid a misunderstanding, to perform correct conclusions in accordance to the mentality of each country, and to permit the comparison of results in different countries, the intellectual validation of questionnaires is widely used. The main problem of such a validation is its qualitative nature that can be biased by the subjective approach of the investigator. Therefore, there is a necessit…

INTEREST OF LATVIAN AND LITHUANIAN STUDENTS IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

2018

Interest is one of the most important components for a successful teaching/learning process; unfortunately, nowadays students’ interest in science and mathematics is decreasing. The aim of the research is to explore the cognitive interest of 15-year- old students in science and mathematics. Students in Latvia and Lithuania participated in the survey; the data show that students’ cognitive interest in this area in both countries is mediocre. The factor analysis was used to single out four main dimensions of the cognitive interest – interest in the context, interest in mathematics, inquiry interest and enthusiasm. Students’ interest is higher in issues connected with practical life, the solut…

“Minding the gap” in the research on human trafficking for sexual purposes

2017

Since the signature of the United Nations Trafficking Protocol in December 2000 that human trafficking has been labelled as a transnational, complex criminal phenomenon. However, despite the implementation of international soft law instruments to tackle the phenomenon, human trafficking is constantly evolving by the frequent changes of strategies, routes, types of exploitation and methodologies applied by the criminal networks. This flexibility of the phenomenon does not only difficult the implementation of effective tackling measures, but it also demonstrates to be an obstacle to produce accurate information on the subject (Cusick et al, 2009). Furthermore, due to the hidden nature of the …

Return Migration Process in Policy and Practice

2019

AbstractThis chapter focuses on return migration processes in Latvia, integrating analysis of return migration policy and the experiences of return migrants. The analysis considers the extent to which return policy activities correspond to the needs and expectations of the target group, and addresses the role of this policy in the process of making the decision to return. The data used for the analysis are policy planning documents, The Emigrant Communities of Latvia survey and in-depth interviews. The main empirical evidence of the return experiences of migrants in the chapter comes from 18 in-depth interviews with Latvian returnees from various age and social status groups, who left Latvi…

Material Deprivation: a Case of Latvia

2021

Material deprivation has recently gained prominence as a topic of debate as its proliferation is raising throughout Europe in particular in the countries hit hardest by financial and economic turbulences what leads to the gap in material deprivation levels throughout Europe. The aim of the study is to analyze material deprivation in the regions of Latvia. Research methods used in preparation of the paper: scientific publication and previous conducted research results analysis, analysis of anonimised data of EU-SILC survey results and European Central Bank conducted survey on Household income and expenses survey results, results are compared with the results of other EU countries. Survey ano…

Impacts of Educational Technologies on Learning Engagement – A Case of Latvian and Thai's Learners

2019

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have changed the traditional approach to the teaching process in higher education, so it is important to observe how learning takes place in that technology-rich environment. Cognitive, social, and emotional engagement as part of the MOOCs learning context is a basic principle that prescribes the relationships and interactions between the teacher, student, and learning setting. Each of these components has multiple features and is related to the complex nature of learning and teaching. The qualitative exploratory research design as a case study was conducted with educators and students from two countries – Latvia and Thailand. They were involved in learni…

Primer on the Contribution of Crime Scene Behavior to the Forensic Assessment of Sexual Offenders

2018

Abstract. Over the last decades several attempts in developing incrementally valid risk indicators above and beyond standard actuarial and dynamic risk assessment instruments have been undertaken without much success. The current review will summarize current developments regarding the validity of detailed crime scene analysis for forensic assessments of sexual offenders. To this end, this overview will focus on two issues: First, we will discuss the issue of sexual offender risk assessment based on crime scene information. Second, we will outline how crime scene behavior contributes to the assessment of sexual interest in children. In each section we will introduce the reader to new appro…