Search results for "article"

Silence and Resistance as Experiences and Presentations of Pupil Agency in Finnish Elementary School English Lessons

2014

This paper explores the multitude of ways in which Finnish fifth and sixth grade elementary school pupils experience and present their agency in English lessons, with a special focus on pupils' silence and resistance. Pupil agency is often seen as observable action that is oriented towards institutionally accepted goals and norms. In communicative and constructivist understandings of foreign language learning, learner agency is related to the idea of learning by participating. Participation in the classroom is not only individually but also socially constrained. This article is based on a larger, ecologically oriented ethnographic study on fifth and sixth graders' language learner identitie…

Aerosolization Performance of Jet Nebulizers and Biopharmaceutical Aspects

2019

In this work, 13 jet nebulizers, some of which in different configurations, were investigated in order to identify the biopharmaceutical constraints related to the quality attributes of the medicinal products, which affect their safety, efficiency, compliance, and effectiveness. The aerosolization parameters, including the aerosol output, aerosol output rate, mass median aerodynamic diameter, and fine particle fraction, were determined according to the European Standard EN 13544-1, using sodium fluoride as a reference formulation. A comparison between the aerosol output nebulization time and the fine particle fraction displayed a correlation between the aerosol quality and the nebulization …

Optimization of Spray-Drying Process of

2019

Jerusalem artichoke is an important natural matrix for inulin production. In this experiment, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the spray-drying parameters in order to determine the maximal inulin yield. For this study, three independent variables (heating temperature (Tª, 110–120 °C), creep speed (V, 18–22 rpm) and pressure (P, 0.02–0.04 MPa)) were used in the experimental design. Using the Box–Behnken design, the optimal parameters obtained were: drying temperature 114.6 °C, creep speed 20.02 rpm, and pressure: 0.03 MPa. The inulin yield, water content and particle size of inulin obtained by spray-drying and freeze-drying were compared. In this regard, the spray-…

Dexamethasone Dipropionate Loaded Nanoparticles Of -Elastin-G-Plga For Potential Treatment Of Restenosis

2013

Antifouling Mortars for Underwater Restoration

2022

This research has focused on the assessment of the compositional features and mechanical and antifouling performances of two different mortars formulated for an underwater setting, and which contain Mg(OH)2 as an antifouling agent. Regarding the mechanical characterization, the uniaxial compressive strength and flexural strength were measured. The composition of the materials was explored by differential thermal/thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TG), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRPD), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) coupled with EDS microanalysis. The assessment of the biological colonization was evaluated with colorimetric analysis and image analysis. The results suggest that both m…

A Systematic Literature Review and Analysis of Mobile Retailing Adoption

2019

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive updated review and analysis of mobile retailing adoption. Although research on mobile channel utilization has increased significantly in recent years and many new studies on this topic have been published, research has not yet provided a clear structure regarding how consumers’ expectations have advanced in relation to mobile retailing adoption. Thus, this study synthetizes the mobile retail adoption literature and develops a framework for it. Our systematic literature review analyzed 94 scientific articles that were published between 2010 and 2018 to determine customers’ different expectations and demands during different mobile chann…

Regulation of the HTRA2 Protease Activity by an Inhibitory Antibody-Derived Peptide Ligand and the Influence on HTRA2-Specific Protein Interaction Ne…

2021

The mitochondrial serine protease HTRA2 has many versatile biological functions ranging from being an important regulator of apoptosis to being an essential component for neuronal cell survival and mitochondrial homeostasis. Loss of HTRA2 protease function is known to cause neurodegeneration, whereas overactivation of its proteolytic function is associated with cell death and inflammation. In accordance with this, our group verified in a recent study that the synthetic peptide ASGYTFTNYGLSWVR, encoding the hypervariable sequence part of an antibody, showed a high affinity for the target protein HTRA2 and triggered neuroprotection in an in vitro organ culture model for glaucoma. To unravel t…

Macular Structure–Function Relationships of All Retinal Layers in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Assessed by Microperimetry and 8 × 8 Posterior Pole Ana…

2021

Purpose: The aim of this study is too correlate the sensitivity and thickness values of intraretinal layers at macula in healthy eyes and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) eyes. Methods: The thickness of different intraretinal segmentations was estimated by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) Spectralis (Heidelberg, Engineering, Inc., Heidelberg, Germany) with the posterior pole analysis program 8 × 8 in 91 eyes from 91 patients (60 with glaucoma and 31 healthy patients). Macular sensitivity was also measured with an MP-1 microperimeter (Nidek Instruments, Inc Padova, Italy) with a customized, 36-stimulus pattern adjusted to an anatomical correspondence with the OCT grid. Correlati…

Is Saffron Able to Prevent the Dysregulation of Retinal Cytokines Induced by Ocular Hypertension in Mice?

2021

Cytokine- and chemokine-mediated signalling is involved in the neuroinflammatory process that leads to retinal ganglion cell (RGC) damage in glaucoma. Substances with anti-inflammatory properties could decrease these cytokines and chemokines and thus prevent RGC death. The authors of this study analysed the anti-inflammatory effect of a hydrophilic saffron extract standardized to 3% crocin content, focusing on the regulation of cytokine and chemokine production, in a mouse model of unilateral laser-induced ocular hypertension (OHT). We demonstrated that following saffron treatment, most of the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17), anti-inflammatory cyt…

Physicochemical investigation of surfactant-coated gold nanoparticles synthesized in the confined space of dry reversed micelles

2006

Abstract Gold nanoparticle/surfactant composites have been synthesized by a novel reduction reaction in the confined space of dry sodium bis(2- ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) or lecithin reversed micelles dispersed in n-heptane and cyclohexane, respectively. The reaction was carried out by adding an opportune amount of anhydrous hydrazine/tetrahydrofuran solution to a suspension of HAuCl4-containing dry reversed micelles dispersed in organic solvent. UV–vis investigation ascertained the formation of stable metal gold nanoparticles and the analysis of FT-IR spectra highlighted the formation of an oriented surfactant monolayer at the nanoparticle surface. Simple evaporation under vacuum of t…