Search results for: biological differences

Authors: Joshua Bradley, Matthew Buns

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This study aimed to identify the effect of concurrent nutritional supplementation on soccer performance as players ingested either carbohydrate CHO (52 g of Cytocarb Maltodextrin) or a combined carbohydrate and protein PRO (Muscle Milk Pro Series 17g CHO + 50 g PRO liquid) supplement. Twelve male, junior college soccer players (age: 18 ± 6 years, wt. 73.3 ± 8.6 kg) completed three trials wearing global positioning systems (GPS) to measure total running distance and sprinting distance during soccer simulation games. The first match simulation was a baseline match with no supplementation. One hour prior to the second match, simulation players were randomly assigned to one of two supplemental groups CHO or CHO + PRO. A repeated measures ANOVA with a Greenhouse-Geisser correction revealed a statistically significant increase in the total distance run for the CHO supplementation group in comparison to the CHO + PRO group (10.19 ± .200 km vs. 9.77± .194km, p = .035). Although the total running distance was meaningfully influenced by the supplementation, the pattern of response for total sprinting distance was not influenced by supplementation. There was a decline in sprinting distance and total running distance from first half to second half, both for the control (M = -0.01 km, SD = 0.17) and CHO supplementation group (-0.04 km, SD = .19), although these differences were not statistically meaningful. There was a positive correlation between sprinting distance and total distance, which was statistically significant (r = -.514, n = 36, p = .01) In conclusion, supplementation influenced the pattern of activity and demonstrated between-trial differences.

Keywords: GPS, nutrition, simulation, supplementation

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Authors: Janne Engblom, Elias Oikarinen

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The understanding of housing price dynamics is of importance to a great number of agents: to portfolio investors, banks, real estate brokers and construction companies as well as to policy makers and households. A panel dataset is one that follows a given sample of individuals over time, and thus provides multiple observations on each individual in the sample. Panel data models include a variety of fixed and random effects models which form a wide range of linear models. A special case of panel data models is dynamic in nature. A complication regarding a dynamic panel data model that includes the lagged dependent variable is endogeneity bias of estimates. Several approaches have been developed to account for this problem. In this paper, the panel models were estimated using the Common Correlated Effects estimator (CCE) of dynamic panel data which also accounts for cross-sectional dependence which is caused by common structures of the economy. In presence of cross-sectional dependence standard OLS gives biased estimates. In this study, U.S housing price dynamics were examined empirically using the dynamic CCE estimator with first-difference of housing price as the dependent and first-differences of per capita income, interest rate, housing stock and lagged price together with deviation of housing prices from their long-run equilibrium level as independents. These deviations were also estimated from the data. The aim of the analysis was to provide estimates with comparisons of estimates between 1980-1999 and 2000-2012. Based on data of 50 U.S cities over 1980-2012 differences of short-run housing price dynamics estimates were mostly significant when two time periods were compared. Significance tests of differences were provided by the model containing interaction terms of independents and time dummy variable. Residual analysis showed very low cross-sectional correlation of the model residuals compared with the standard OLS approach. This means a good fit of CCE estimator model. Estimates of the dynamic panel data model were in line with the theory of housing price dynamics. Results also suggest that dynamics of a housing market is evolving over time.

Keywords: dynamic model, panel data, cross-sectional dependence, interaction model

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Authors: Carolina N. França, Jônatas B. do Amaral, Maria C.O. Izar, Ighor L. Teixeira, Francisco A. Fonseca

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Introduction: Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease, characterized by lipid and fibrotic element deposition in large-caliber arteries. Conditions related to the development of atherosclerosis, as dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking are associated with endothelial dysfunction. There is a frequent recurrence of cardiovascular outcomes after acute myocardial infarction and, at this sense, cycles of mobilization of monocyte subtypes (classical, intermediate and nonclassical) secondary to myocardial infarction may determine the colonization of atherosclerotic plaques in different stages of the development, contributing to early recurrence of ischemic events. The recruitment of different monocyte subsets during inflammatory process requires the expression of chemokine receptors CCR2, CCR5, and CX3CR1, to promote the migration of monocytes to the inflammatory site. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of lipid-lowering treatment by six months in the monocyte phenotype and chemokine receptor levels of patients after Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). Methods: This is a PROBE (prospective, randomized, open-label trial with blinded endpoints) study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02428374). Adult patients (n=147) of both genders, ageing 18-75 years, were randomized in a 2x2 factorial design for treatment with rosuvastatin 20 mg/day or simvastatin 40 mg/day plus ezetimibe 10 mg/day as well as ticagrelor 90 mg 2x/day and clopidogrel 75 mg, in addition to conventional AMI therapy. Blood samples were collected at baseline, after one month and six months of treatment. Monocyte subtypes (classical - inflammatory, intermediate - phagocytic and nonclassical – anti-inflammatory) were identified, quantified and characterized by flow cytometry, as well as the expressions of the chemokine receptors (CCR2, CCR5 and CX3CR1) were also evaluated in the mononuclear cells. Results: After six months of treatment, there was an increase in the percentage of classical monocytes and reduction in the nonclassical monocytes (p=0.038 and p < 0.0001 Friedman Test), without differences for intermediate monocytes. Besides, classical monocytes had higher expressions of CCR5 and CX3CR1 after treatment, without differences related to CCR2 (p < 0.0001 for CCR5 and CX3CR1; p=0.175 for CCR2). Intermediate monocytes had higher expressions of CCR5 and CX3CR1 and lower expression of CCR2 (p = 0.003; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.011, respectively). Nonclassical monocytes had lower expressions of CCR2 and CCR5, without differences for CX3CR1 (p < 0.0001; p = 0.009 and p = 0.138, respectively). There were no differences after the comparison between the four treatment arms. Conclusion: The data suggest a time-dependent modulation of classical and nonclassical monocytes and chemokine receptor levels. The higher percentage of classical monocytes (inflammatory cells) suggest a residual inflammatory risk, even under preconized treatments to AMI. Indeed, these changes do not seem to be affected by choice of the lipid-lowering strategy.

Keywords: acute myocardial infarction, chemokine receptors, lipid-lowering treatment, monocyte subtypes

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Authors: Larissa Pliska, Isabel Neitzel, Michael Buschermöhle, Olga Kunina-Habenicht, Ute Ritterfeld

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Visual preferences, which can be assessed using eye tracking technologies, are considered one of the defining hallmarks of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Specifically, children with ASD show a decreased preference for social images rather than geometric images compared to typically developed (TD) children. Such differences are already prevalent at a very early age and indicate the severity of the disorder: toddlers with ASD who preferred geometric images when confronted with social and geometric images showed higher ASD symptom severity than toddlers with ASD who showed higher social attention. Furthermore, the complexity of social pictures (one child playing vs. two children playing together) as well as the mode of stimulus presentation (video or image), are not decisive for the marker. The average age of diagnosis for ASD in Germany is 6.5 years, and visual preference data on this age group is missing. In the present study, we therefore investigated whether visual preferences persist into school age. We examined the visual preferences of 16 boys aged 6 to 11 with ASD and unimpaired cognition as well as TD children (1:1 matching based on children's age and the parent's level of education) within an experimental setting. Different stimulus presentation formats (images vs. videos) and different levels of stimulus complexity were included. Children with and without ASD received pairs of social and non-social images and video stimuli on a screen while eye movements (i.e., eye position and gaze direction) were recorded. For this specific use case, KIZMO GmbH developed a customized, native iOS app (KIZMO Face-Analyzer) for use on iPads. Neither the format of stimulus presentation nor the complexity of the social images had a significant effect on the visual preference of children with and without ASD in this study. Despite the tendency for a difference between the groups for the video stimuli, there were no significant differences. Overall, no statistical differences in visual preference occurred between boys with and without ASD, suggesting that gaze preference in these groups is similar at primary school age. One limitation is that the children with ASD were already receiving Autism-specific intervention. The potential of a visual preference task as an indicator of ASD can be emphasized. The article discusses the clinical relevance of this marker in elementary school children.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, eye tracking, hallmark, visual preference

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Authors: Young-Ran Song, Byeong-Uk Lim, Sang-Ho Baik

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This study was initiated in order to develop a method for soy sauce fermentation at low salt concentrations without decreasing quality. Soy sauce was fermented with the fermentation starter (meju) and different salt contents (8-14%, w/v) by inoculating two strains or not, in which Torulaspora delbrueckii and Pichia guilliermondii strains having different abilities to induce sterilizing effects or enhance flavor production were used. As the results, there were microbial and biochemical differences among prepared soy sauce. First, Staphylococcus and Enterococcus spp. in addition to Bacillus genus that is the most important bacteria in Korean fermented soy product were detected by salt reduction. However, application of yeast starters can inhibit the undesirable bacterial growth. Moreover, PCA bi-plots of major principal components on various biochemical parameters (final pH, total acidity, soluble sugar, reducing sugar, ethanol and 32 volatile flavor compounds) were drawn to demonstrate the physicochemical differences and similarities among the samples. It was confirmed that the soy sauce samples produced with different salt concentrations were clearly different since salt reduction induced low contents of acids, alcohols and esters with higher acidity. However despite low salt concentration, combining two different yeasts appeared to have similar characteristics to the high salt-fermented soy sauce with elevated concentrations of ethanol, some alcohols, and most ketones, hence resulted in a balance of more complex and richer flavors with a flavor profile pattern identical to that of high-salt.

Keywords: Soy sauce, low salt, fermentation, yeast.

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Authors: Said Abdullah Al Saifi

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The goal of this research is to examine the impact of trust, motivation, and national culture on knowledge sharing within the context of electronic mail. This study is quantitative and survey based. In order to conduct the research, 200 students from a leading university in New Zealand were chosen randomly to participate in a questionnaire survey. Motivation and trust were found to be significantly and positively related to knowledge sharing. The research findings illustrated that face saving, face gaining, and individualism positively moderates the relationship between motivation and knowledge sharing. In addition, collectivism culture negatively moderates the relationship between motivation and knowledge sharing. Moreover, the research findings reveal that face saving, individualism, and collectivism culture positively moderate the relationship between trust and knowledge sharing. In addition, face gaining culture negatively moderates the relationship between trust and knowledge sharing. This study sets out several implications for researchers and practitioners. The study produces an integrative model that shows how attributes of national culture impact knowledge sharing through the use of emails. A better understanding of the relationship between knowledge sharing and trust, motivation, and national culture differences will increase individuals’ ability to make wise choices when sharing knowledge with those from different cultures.

Keywords: knowledge sharing, motivation, national culture, trust

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Authors: Klára Gajdošíková

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The aim of this study was to examine the quiet eye method and its components using the mobile eye tracking device. Quiet eye training was proven to be beneficial for different sports, including golf. The main idea of this method is to prolong your fixations on a specific place in order to improve your performance. The shot examined in this study is called putt. Its importance is based on its role on a golf course because, many times, it is the last putt that decides whether you win or lose. Quiet eye training helps players be more focused under pressure, control their attention and overall improve their putting success. Six highly skilled golfers with a handicap ranging from - 4 to + 4, aged 23 to 26, participated in a pilot study with the usage of an eye-tracking device. The study took place in an indoor training area at the golf club Hostivař. Crosstabs showed significant differences between individuals' laterality and their gaze into AOI - areas of interest (middle part of the ball, top of the ball, bottom of the ball, back side of the ball). Statistically significant differences were also discovered between the mean fixation duration of participants with AOI on the middle part of the ball and all other AOIs. The results of this study helped us understand the examined phenomena and showed us the next aim in future quiet eye research. Future research should focus on examining a quiet eye on the golf course. Applying a quiet eye and therefore changing the way we concentrate might be beneficial for coaches and players themselves.

Keywords: eye tracking, golf, laterality, quiet eye

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Authors: Nicole Bandow, Peter Emmermacher, Oliver Wienert, Steffen Masik, Kerstin Witte

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Karate-kumite is a fast sport where a good perception and anticipation of movements is needed in order to respond appropriately. Perception and anticipation are therefore essential for an efficient and precise movement control and a limiting factor in karate kumite. Previous studies only used 2D video technologies combined with the occlusion technique to study anticipation in sports. These studies showed limitations in the usage of 2D video footage in regards to realism and the presentation of depth information. To overcome these issues a virtual 3D environment was developed to create a similar to real life environment. The aim of this study was to compare the differences in responses of intermediate and expert karate athletes towards temporally and spatially occluded virtual karate attacks from two attackers. Five male expert and five intermediate karate athletes responded physically to nine (3 temporal combined with 3 spatial) occluded attacks of the Gyaku-Zuki of each attacker in the 3D virtual environment. The responses were evaluated in regards to correct point of time and appropriate response technique. Significant differences between the expertises’ responses for the attackers were found. Experts respond more often correct to early information of attacks than novices.

Keywords: anticipation, karate, occlusion, virtual reality

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Authors: Duaa Al Maani, Andrew Roberts

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Students in higher education are expected to learn actively and independently. Whilst quite work has been done to understand the perceptions of students’ learning transition regarding independent learning, to author’s best knowledge, it seems relatively few published research on independent learning in studio-based subjects such as architecture. Another major issue in independent learning research concerned the inconsistency in terminology; there appears to be a paucity of research on its definition, challenges, and tools within the UK university sector. It is not always clear how independent learning works in practice, or what are the challenges that face students toward being independent learners. Accordingly, this paper seeks to highlight these problems by analyzing previous and current literature of independent learning, in addition, to measure students’ independence at the very begging of their first academic year and compare it with their level of learning independence at the end of the same year. Eighty-seven student enrolled in 2017/2018 at Cardiff University completed the Autonomous Learning Questionnaire in order to measure their level of learning independence. Students’ initial responses were very positive and showed high level of learning independence. Interestingly, these responses significantly decreased at the end of the year. Time management was the most obvious challenge facing students transition into higher education, and contrary to expectations, we found no effect of student maturity on their level of independence. Moreover, we found no significant differences among students’ gender, but we did find differences among nationalities.

Keywords: autonomous learning, first year, learning independence, transition

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Authors: Anna Hadamus, Patryk Wasowski, Anna Mosiolek, Zbigniew Wronski, Sebastian Wojtowicz, Dariusz Bialoszewski

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Introduction: Kinesiology Taping is a very popular physiotherapy method, often used for healthy people, especially athletes, in order to stimulate the muscles and improve their performance. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the muscle application of Kinesiology Taping on the joint position sense in active motion. Material and Methods: The study involved 50 healthy people - 30 men and 20 women, mean age was 23.2 years (range 18-30 years). The exclusion criteria were injuries and operations of the knee, which could affect the test results. The participants were divided randomly into two equal groups. The first group consisted of individuals with the applied Kinesiology Taping muscle application (KT group), whereas in the rest of the individuals placebo application from red adhesive tape was used (placebo group). Both applications were to enhance the effects of quadriceps muscle activity. Joint position sense (JPS) was evaluated in this study. Error of Active Reproduction of the Joint Position (EARJP) of the knee was measured in 45° flexion. The test was performed prior to applying the patch, with the applied application, then 24 hours after wearing, and after removing the tape. The interval between trials was not less than 30 minutes. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 12.0. We calculated distribution characteristics, Wilcoxon test, Friedman‘s ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U test. Results. In the KT group and the placebo group average test score of JPS before applying application KT were 3.48° and 5.16° respectively, after its application it was 4.84° and 4.88°, then after 24 hours of experiment JPS was 5.12° and 4.96°, and after application removal we measured 3.84° and 5.12° respectively. Differences over time in any of the groups were not statistically significant. There were also no significant differences between the groups. Conclusions: 1. Applying Kinesiology Taping to quadriceps muscle had no significant effect on the knee joint proprioception. Its use in order to improve sensorimitor skills seems therefore to be unreasonable. 2. No differences between applications of KT and placebo indicates that the clinical effect of stretch tape is minimal or absent. 3. The results are the basis for the continuation of prospective, randomized trials of numerous study groups.

Keywords: joint position sense, kinesiology taping, kinesiotaping, knee

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Authors: Mike T. Wei, Douglas N. Mintz, Lisa A. Mandl, Arielle W. Fein, Jayme C. Burket, Yuo-Yu Lee, Wei-Ti Huang, Vivian P. Bykerk, Mark P. Figgie, Edward F. Di Carlo, Bruce N. Cronstein, Susan M. Goodman

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Background/Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have excellent total hip arthroplasty (THA) survival, and methotrexate (MTX), an anti-inflammatory disease modifying drug which may affect bone reabsorption, may play a role. The purpose of this study is to determine the diagnosis leading to revision THA (rTHA) in RA patients and to assess the association of radiographic lucency with MTX use. Methods: All patients with validated diagnosis of RA in the institution’s THA registry undergoing rTHA from May 2007 - February 2011 were eligible. Diagnosis leading to rTHA and medication use was determined by chart review. Osteolysis was evaluated on available radiographs by measuring maximum lucency in each Gruen zone. Differences within RA patients with/without MTX in osteolysis, demographics, and medications were assessed with chi-squared, Fisher's exact tests or Mann-Whitney U tests as appropriate. The error rate for multiple comparisons of lucency in the different Gruen zones was corrected via false discovery rate methods. A secondary analysis was performed to determine differences in diagnoses leading to revision between RA and matched OA controls (2:1 match by sex age +/- 5 years). OA exclusion criteria included presence of rheumatic diseases, use of MTX, and lack of records. Results: 51 RA rTHA were identified and compared with 103 OA. Mean age for RA was 57.7 v 59.4 years for OA (p = 0.240). 82.4% RA were female v 83.5% OA (p = 0.859). RA had lower BMI than OA (25.5 v 28.2; p = 0.166). There was no difference in diagnosis leading to rTHA, including infection (RA 3.9 v OA 6.8%; p = 0.719) or dislocation (RA 23.5 v OA 23.3%; p = 0.975). There was no significant difference in the length of time the implant was in before revision: RA 11.0 v OA 8.8 years (p = 0.060). Among RA with/without MTX, there was no difference in use of biologics (30.0 v 43.3%, p = 0.283), steroids (47.6 v 50.0%, p = 0.867) or bisphosphonates (23.8 v 33.3%, p = 0.543). There was no difference in rTHA diagnosis with/without MTX, including loosening (52.4 v 56.7%, p = 0.762). There was no significant difference in lucencies with MTX use in any Gruen zone. Patients with MTX had femoral stem subsidence of 3.7mm v no subsidence without MTX (p = 0.006). Conclusion: There was no difference in the diagnosis leading to rTHR in RA and OA, although RA trended longer prior to rTHA. In this small retrospective study, there were no significant differences associated with MTX exposure or radiographic lucency among RA patients. The significance of subsidence is not clear. Further study of arthroplasty survival in RA patients is warranted.

Keywords: hip arthroplasty, methotrexate, revision arthroplasty, rheumatoid arthritis

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Authors: Zuzana Fišerová, Marie Paseková

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Debt relief (also labelled personal bankruptcy) is a bankruptcy settlement method which was implemented into Czech legislation by the Insolvency Act (Act No. 182/2006 Coll. on Insolvency and its Resolution) on 1 January 2008. The need to implement the institute of personal bankruptcy arose from the excessive over-indebtedness of many inhabitants of the Czech Republic after the crisis that arose around 2008 and 2009. The contribution analyses the development in the manner in which households approach personal bankruptcy and assesses and surveys the differences between indebtedness among men and women. The first section analyses the development in numbers of filed personal bankruptcy petitions and the successfulness thereof; it likewise analyses the impact of other economic influences (regional differences, unemployment etc.). The differences between debtors in dependency to gender are also surveyed. A survey of insolvency proceedings for 664 persons whose insolvency proceedings were commenced in 2008 was conducted, whilst the data were acquired from the publicly accessible insolvency register. The hypothesis on the equality of the average debt level of men and women was tested when comparing indebtedness in dependency to debtor gender. At a significance level of 0.05, the test confirmed that the mean value of debt level for women is lower than the mean value of debt level for men. Through analysis of further results, it was found that the average level of debt among women was CZK 537 thousand, while the average level of creditor satisfaction reached 46.2%. Men in the monitored sample had an average level of reported receivables of CZK 652 thousand, satisfaction of their creditors reached 58.8%. The main changes in the institute of personal bankruptcy are then evaluated in the closing discussion, and the impacts of these changes for households are assessed. The development of legislation in the Czech Republic and practice are shifting towards broader usage of personal bankruptcy, especially insofar as it can now also be used by entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the amendment of the Insolvency Act has enabled married couples to apply for joint debt relief, which has improved the position of the marriage partner with lower income and who would not get permission for debt relief on his/her own (mostly women are at issue). In current practice, the condition of adequate income is also solved by the fact that another person (usually a family member) undertakes to donate a certain monthly sum throughout the duration of the debt relief. Personal bankruptcy can thus be completed also by individuals to whom it would previously have been denied by the court.

Keywords: debtor, households, insolvency act, over-indebtedness, personal bankruptcy

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Authors: Yemane Tadesse Gebreslassie, Fisseha Guesh Gebremeskel

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Nanotechnology has made remarkable advancements in recent years, revolutionizing various scientific fields, industries, and research institutions through the utilization of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. Among these nanoparticles, copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) have garnered significant attention due to their versatile properties and wide-range applications, particularly, as effective antimicrobial and anticancer agents. CuO NPs can be synthesized using different methods, including physical, chemical, and biological approaches. However, conventional chemical and physical approaches are expensive, resource-intensive, and involve the use of hazardous chemicals, which can pose risks to human health and the environment. In contrast, biological synthesis provides a sustainable and cost-effective alternative by eliminating chemical pollutants and allowing for the production of CuO NPs of tailored sizes and shapes. This comprehensive review focused on the green synthesis of CuO NPs using various biological resources, such as plants, microorganisms, and other biological derivatives. Current knowledge and recent trends in green synthesis methods for CuO NPs are discussed, with a specific emphasis on their biomedical applications, particularly in combating cancer and microbial infections. This review highlights the significant potential of CuO NPs in addressing these diseases. By capitalizing on the advantages of biological synthesis, such as environmental safety and the ability to customize nanoparticle characteristics, CuO NPs have emerged as promising therapeutic agents for a wide range of conditions. This review presents compelling findings, demonstrating the remarkable achievements of biologically synthesized CuO NPs as therapeutic agents. Their unique properties and mechanisms enable effective combating against cancer cells and various harmful microbial infections. CuO NPs exhibit potent anticancer activity through diverse mechanisms, including induction of apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis, and modulation of signaling pathways. Additionally, their antimicrobial activity manifests through various mechanisms, such as disrupting microbial membranes, generating reactive oxygen species, and interfering with microbial enzymes. This review offers valuable insights into the substantial potential of biologically synthesized CuO NPs as an alternative approach for future therapeutic interventions against cancer and microbial infections.

Keywords: copper oxide nanoparticles, green synthesis, nanotechnology, microbial infection

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Authors: Swathi M. Vanniarajan

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Reading research suggests that online contextual vocabulary comprehension while reading is an interactive and integrative process. One’s success in it depends on a variety of factors including the amount and the nature of available linguistic and nonlinguistic cues, his/her analytical and integrative skills, schema memory (content familiarity), and processing speed characterized along the continuum of controlled to automatic processing. The experiment reported here, conducted with 30 native speakers as one group and 30 nonnative speakers as another group (all graduate students), hypothesized that while working on (24) tasks which required them to comprehend an unfamiliar word in real time without backtracking, due to the differences in the nature of their respective reading processes, the nonnative subjects would be less able to construct the meanings of the unknown words by integrating the multiple but sufficient contextual cues provided in the text but the native subjects would be able to. The results indicated that there were significant inter-group as well as intra-group differences in terms of the quality of definitions given. However, when given additional time, while the nonnative speakers could significantly improve the quality of their definitions, the native speakers in general would not, suggesting that all things being equal, time is a significant factor for success in nonnative vocabulary and reading comprehension processes and that accuracy precedes automaticity in the development of nonnative reading processes also.

Keywords: reading, second language processing, vocabulary comprehension

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Authors: Abed Al-Bial, S. Alazazie, A. Shami

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The data were collected from 1992 to 2009 of White Boni sheep maintained at the Regional Research Station in the Central Highlands of Yemen. Data were analyzed to study the growth related traits and their genetic control. The least square means for body weights were 2.26±0.67, 11.14±0.46 and 19.21±1.25 kg for birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), six-month weight (WM6), respectively. The pre- and post-weaning average daily weight gains (ADG1 and ADG2) were 106.04±4.98g and 46.21±8.36 g/ day. Significant differences associated with the year of lambing were observed in body weight and weight gain at different stages of growth. Males were heavier and had a higher weight gain than females at almost all stages of growth and differences tended to increase with age. Single-born lambs had a distinct advantage over those born in twin births at all stages of growth. The lambs in the dam’s second to fourth parities were generally of heavier weight and higher daily weight gain than those in other parities. The heritabilities of all body weights, weight gains at different stages of growth were moderate (0.11-0.43). The phenotypic and genetic correlation among the different body weights were positive and high. The genetic correlations of the pre- and post-weaning average daily gains with body weights were hight to moderate, except BW with ADG2.

Keywords: breed, genetics, growth traits, heritability, sheep

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Authors: Huda Alyami

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The present study aims to measure the effectiveness of an "Interactive eBook" in order to develop skills of designing and employing webquests for female intern teachers. The study uses descriptive analytical methodology as well as quasi-experimental methodology. The sample of the study consists of (30) female intern teachers from the Department of Special Education (in the tracks of Gifted Education and Learning Difficulties), during the first semester of the academic year 2015, at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah city. The sample is divided into (15) female intern teachers for the experimental group, and (15) female intern teachers for the control group. A set of qualitative and quantitative tools have been prepared and verified for the study, embodied in: a list of the designing webquests' skills, a list of the employing webquests' skills, a webquests' knowledge achievement test, a product rating card, an observation card, and an interactive ebook. The study concludes the following results: 1. After pre-control, there are statistically significant differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05), between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups in the post measurement of the webquests' knowledge achievement test, in favor of the experimental group. 2. There are statistically significant differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05), between the mean scores of experimental and control groups in the post measurement of the product rating card in favor of the experimental group. 3. There are statistically significant differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05), between the mean scores of experimental and control groups in the post measurement of the observation card for the experimental group. In the light of the previous findings, the study recommends the following: taking advantage of interactive ebooks when teaching all educational courses for various disciplines at the university level, creating educational participative platforms to share educational interactive ebooks for various disciplines at the local and regional levels. The study suggests conducting further qualitative studies on the effectiveness of interactive ebooks, in addition to conducting studies on the use of (Web 2.0) in webquests.

Keywords: interactive eBook, webquest, design, employing, develop skills

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Authors: Erizal Lugman

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An increasing number of students from Indonesia study in universities in the UK. Because of the substantial cultural differences between the Western and Indonesian cultures, this study investigates the issues in academic and social life experienced by Indonesian postgraduate students, with a sample of 11 Indonesian postgraduate students (8 male, 3 female) studying in London during the cultural adjustment stage. This research made use of a semi-structured interview and was analyzed qualitatively using thematic content analysis to reveal key areas of concern in the academic setting, social life, and language-related issues. The findings confirm that the most challenging aspects experienced by the participants are the use of academic English in academic situations and the students’ lack of critical thinking. Nine out of 11 students agreed that they had problems with writing essays during the cultural adjustment stage. Because of the collectivist culture in Indonesia, making friends with locals was the most concerning issue in the participants’ sociocultural adjustment, followed by difficulty in finding places to pray, looking for Halal food and using the Western toilet system The findings suggest recommendations that the students must be more aware of the cultural differences between Indonesian and Western cultures, including in the academic setting and social life. Also, the lecturers should pay more attention to their speech in the British accent which is sometimes difficult to understand.

Keywords: academic adjustment, cultural adjustment, indonesian culture, intercultural communication

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Authors: Helena Dvořáčková, Mikajlo Irina, Záhora Jaroslav, Elbl Jakub

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Biochar can be produced from the waste matter and its application has been associated with returning of carbon in large amounts into the soil. The impacts of this material on physical and chemical properties of soil have been described. The biggest part of the research work is dedicated to the hypothesis of this material’s toxic effects on the soil life regarding its effect on the soil biological component. At present, it has been worked on methods which could eliminate these undesirable properties of biochar. One of the possibilities is to mix biochar with organic material, such as compost, or focusing on the natural processes acceleration in the soil. In the experiment has been used as the addition of compost as well as the elimination of toxic substances by promoting microbial activity in aerated water environment. Biochar was aerated for 7 days in a container with a volume of 20 l. This way modified biochar had six times higher biomass production and reduce mineral nitrogen leaching. Better results have been achieved by mixing biochar with compost.

Keywords: leaching of nitrogen, soil, biochar, compost

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Authors: Hui-mei Huang, Huei-Jiun Cheng

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Introduction Many patients are aware of the health benefits associated with an active lifestyle, but they are often hindered from engaging in physical activity due to the presence of pain. The majority of patients experience pain, which can fluctuate over time and is influenced by various factors, including gender. Gender differences in clinical pain and pain-related conditions are widely recognized. Existing literature strongly supports the notion that men and women exhibit distinct responses to pain. Previous studies conducted in Taiwan have highlighted gender differences in pain assessment, but only a limited number of studies have investigated the gender-related factors that influence pain during daily activities. The objective of this study was to examine gender differences in pain assessment among inpatients in Taiwan and investigate whether gender and surgical procedures are factors that impact the daily activities of pain. Method In this study, a prospective and structured questionnaire survey method was utilized, employing intentional sampling to gather data from inpatients admitted to a medical center in central Taiwan. The research period covered in this study is from October 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. In this study, participants who were hospitalized within 48 hours were requested to self-assess their pain using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and indicate the impact of pain on their activities. The data were analyzed to explore the potential influence of gender and surgical procedures on daily activities affected by pain. Result A total of 722 cases were included in the study, with the mean age of the subjects is 54.38 years old (SD=16.3), and the range varied from 18 to 93 years old. Among the subjects, 48.23% (n=348) were male, and 62.3% (n=450) of them had received more than 12 years of education., and 56.9% (n=411) underwent surgery. The results indicated that regardless of whether the participants underwent surgery or not, females experienced higher perceived severe pain intensity than males (t=2.248, P < .05). However, in surgical patients, there was no significant difference in gender (t=1.75, P > .05). Regarding the impact of pain on daily activities when pain intensity reached 7 , male subjects experienced a 5-point effect on their daily activities (AUC=0.84, 95% CI 0.79-0.89, P <0.01), while female subjects experienced a 7-point effect (AUC=0.88, 95% CI 0.80-0.87, P <0.01). Discussion Some studies suggest that women experience painful stimuli as more intense than men, this difference has been observed in various types of experimental pain, including mechanical and thermal stimuli. Our study reached the same conclusion, female patients exhibited greater intensity of pain. According to the research findings, The research findings highlight the significant impact of gender on individuals' response to intense pain (NRS>7) during their daily activities, with men showing a higher pain tolerance. The higher pain tolerance often observed in men may be attributed to societal conditioning, which encourages them to conceal outward expressions of pain. Further research in this area could help provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic in Taiwan.

Keywords: pain assessment, gender, surgery, activities of daily living

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Authors: Iman A. Saad, Loay E. George

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Iris pattern is an important biological feature of human body; it becomes very hot topic in both research and practical applications. In this paper, an algorithm is proposed for iris recognition and a simple, efficient and fast method is introduced to extract a set of discriminatory features using first order gradient operator applied on grayscale images. The gradient based features are robust, up to certain extents, against the variations may occur in contrast or brightness of iris image samples; the variations are mostly occur due lightening differences and camera changes. At first, the iris region is located, after that it is remapped to a rectangular area of size 360x60 pixels. Also, a new method is proposed for detecting eyelash and eyelid points; it depends on making image statistical analysis, to mark the eyelash and eyelid as a noise points. In order to cover the features localization (variation), the rectangular iris image is partitioned into N overlapped sub-images (blocks); then from each block a set of different average directional gradient densities values is calculated to be used as texture features vector. The applied gradient operators are taken along the horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions. The low order norms of gradient components were used to establish the feature vector. Euclidean distance based classifier was used as a matching metric for determining the degree of similarity between the features vector extracted from the tested iris image and template features vectors stored in the database. Experimental tests were performed using 2639 iris images from CASIA V4-Interival database, the attained recognition accuracy has reached up to 99.92%.

Keywords: iris recognition, contrast stretching, gradient features, texture features, Euclidean metric

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Authors: Temesgen Geremew

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Functionalized nanoparticles have emerged as a revolutionary class of materials with immense potential in various biomedical applications. These engineered nanoparticles possess unique properties tailored to interact with biological systems, offering unprecedented opportunities in drug delivery, imaging, diagnostics, and therapy. This research delves into the design, synthesis, and characterization of functionalized nanoparticles for targeted biomedical applications. The primary focus lies on developing nanoparticles with precisely controlled size, surface chemistry, and biocompatibility for specific medical purposes. The research will also explore the crucial interaction of these nanoparticles with biological systems, encompassing cellular uptake, biodistribution, and potential toxicity evaluation. The successful development of functionalized nanoparticles holds the promise to revolutionize various aspects of healthcare. This research aspires to contribute significantly to this advancement by providing valuable insights into the design and application of these versatile materials within the ever-evolving field of biomedicine.

Keywords: nanoparticles, biomedicals, cancer, biocompatibility

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Authors: Rachel Falconer

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Background: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the duties placed on signatory nations to take measures to protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment. The systems for ensuring this protection vary globally, shaped by national welfare policies. In England and Finland, past research has highlighted differences in how child protection issues are framed and how state agencies respond. However, less is known about how such differences impact processes of social work judgment and decision making in practice. Method: Data was collected as part of a wider PhD project in three stages. First, social workers in sites across England and Finland were asked to complete a short questionnaire. Participants were then asked to comment on two constructed case vignettes, and were interviewed about their experiences of child protection decision making at the point of referral. Interviews were analyzed using NVivo to draw out key themes. Findings: There were similarities in how the English and Finnish social workers responded to the case vignettes; for example, participants in both countries expressed concerns about similar risk factors and all felt further assessment was needed. Differences were observed, in particular, in regard to the sources of support and guidance participants referred to, with the English social workers appearing to rely more upon managerial input for their decisions than the Finnish social workers. These findings suggest evidence for two distinct decision making approaches: ‘supervised’ and ‘supported’ judgement. Implications for practice: The findings have relevance to the conference theme of research and evaluation of social work practice, and support the findings of previous studies that have emphasized the significance of organizational factors in child protection decision making. The comparative methodology has also helped to demonstrate how organizational factors can influence practice in different child protection system ‘orientations’. The presentation will discuss the potential practice implications of ‘supervised’, manager-led approaches to decision making as contrasted with ‘supported’, team-led approaches, inviting discussion about the relevance of these findings for social work in other countries.

Keywords: child protection, comparative research, decision making, social work, vignettes

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Authors: Nail Nazarov, Alexandra Vyshtakalyuk, Vyacheslav Semenov, Irina Galyametdinova, Vladimir Zobov, Vladimir Reznik

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Among hepatic pyrimidine used as a means of stimulating protein synthesis and recovery of liver cells in her damaged toxic and infectious etiology. When an experimental toxic hepatitis hepatoprotective activity detected some pyrimidine derivatives. There are literature data on oksimetiluratcila hepatoprotective effect. For analogs of pyrimidine nucleobases - drugs Methyluracilum pentoxy and hepatoprotective effect of weakly expressed. According to the American scientists broad spectrum of biological activity, including hepatoprotective properties, have a 2,4-dioxo-5-arilidenimino uracils. Influenced Xymedon medicinal preparation (1- (beta-hydroxyethyl) -4,6-dimethyl-1,2-dihydro-2-oksopirimidin) developed as a means of stimulating the regeneration of tissue revealed increased activity of microsomal oxidases human liver. In studies on the model of toxic liver damage in rats have shown hepatoprotective effect xymedon and stimulating its impact on the recovery of the liver tissue. Hepatoprotective properties of the new compound in the series of pyrimidine derivatives L-ascorbate 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4,6-dimethyl-1,2-dihydropirimidine-2-one synthesized on the basis Xymedon preparation were firstly investigated on rats under the carbon tetrachloride action. It was shown the differences of biochemical parameters from the reference value and severity of structural-morphological liver violations decreased in comparison with control group under the influence of the compound injected before exposure carbon tetrachloride. Hepatoprotective properties of the investigated compound were more pronounced in comparison with Xymedon.

Keywords: hepatoprotectors, pyrimidine derivatives, toxic liver damage, xymedon

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Authors: Radwa R. El-Saadany , Medhat Abu Zeid, Tarek Omar, Marwa S. Maqsoud

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Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by attention deficit, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Neurofeedback (NF) is one of the neurotherapy treatments that cause brain wave changes. Method: The current pseudo-experimental study with a pre–post-test design was conducted on a population of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The sample size comprised of (30) children selected by random sampling method and assigned to two therapeutic groups: First therapeutic group received a neurofeedback program. Based on QEEG, it reached (10) children. The second therapeutic group received an organization skills training program, it reached (10) and the control group that did not receive programs, it reached (10) children. Results: There are significant differences between pre- and post-assessments among therapeutic groups in reducing the three core symptoms of ADHD in favor of post measurement. There are no significant differences between post-assessment and follow up measurement of the therapeutic groups.

Keywords: QEEG-based neurofeedback therapy program, organizational skills training program, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

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Authors: Viktor Soprunyuk, Wilfried Schranz, Patrick Huber

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In the present work, we show that Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) with a measurement frequency range f= 0.2 - 100 Hz is a rather powerful technique for the study of phase transitions (freezing and melting) and glass transitions of water in geometrical confinement. Inserting water into nanoporous host matrices, like e.g. Gelsil (size of pores 2.6 nm and 5 nm) or Vycor (size of pores 10 nm) allows one to study size effects occurring at the nanoscale conveniently in macroscopic bulk samples. One obtains valuable insight concerning confinement induced changes of the dynamics by measuring the temperature and frequency dependencies of the complex Young's modulus Y* for various pore sizes. Solid-liquid transitions or glass-liquid transitions show up in a softening or the real part Y' of the complex Young's modulus, yet with completely different frequency dependencies. Analysing the frequency dependent imaginary part of the Young´s modulus in the glass transition regions for different pore sizes we find a clear-cut 1/d-dependence of the calculated glass transition temperatures which extrapolates to Tg(1/d=0)=136 K, in agreement with the traditional value of water. The results indicate that the main role of the pore diameter is the relative amount of water molecules that are near an interface within a length scale of the order of the dynamic correlation length x. Thus we argue that the observed strong pore size dependence of Tg is an interfacial effect, rather than a finite size effect. We obtained similar signatures of Y* near glass transitions in different biological objects (fruits, vegetables, and bread). The values of the activation energies for these biological materials in the region of glass transition are quite similar to the values of the activation energies of supercooled water in the nanoporous confinement in this region. The present work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, project Nr. P 28672 – N36).

Keywords: biological systems, liquids, glasses, amorphous systems, nanoporous materials, phase transition

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Authors: David Barney, Francis Pleban, Muna Muday

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The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences of former physical education students related to reflective experiences of competition in physical education learning environment. In the school environment, students are positioned in competitive situations, including in the physical education context. Therefore it is important to prepare future physical educators to address the role of competition in physical education. Participants for this study were 304 college-aged students and young adults (M = 1.53, SD = .500), from a private university and local community located in the western United States. When comparing gender, significant differences (p < .05) were reported for four (questions 5, 7, 12, and 14) of the nine scaling questions. Follow-up quantitative findings reported that males (41%) more than females (27%) witnessed fights in physical education environment during competitive games. Qualitative findings reported fighting were along the lines of verbal confrontation. Female participants tended to experience being excluded from games, when compared to male participants. Both male and female participants (total population; 95%, males; 98%; and females 92%) were in favor of including competition in physical education for students. Findings suggest that physical education teachers and physical education teacher education programs have a responsibility to develop gender neutral learning experiences that help students better appreciate the role competition plays, both in and out of the physical education classroom.

Keywords: competition, physical education, physical education teacher education, gender

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Authors: X. L. Nguyen, T. Y. Chou, F. Y. Min, F. C. Lin, T. V. Hoang, Y. M. Huang

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In Vietnam, land use planning is utilized as an efficient tool for the local government to adjust land use. However, planned locations are facing disapproval from people who live near these planned sites because of environmental problems. The selection of these locations is normally based on the subjective opinion of decision-makers and is not supported by any scientific methods. Many researchers have applied Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) methods in which Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is the most popular techniques in combination with Fuzzy set theory for the subject of rationality assessment of land use planning locations. In this research, the Fuzzy set theory and Analytic Network Process (ANP) multi-criteria-based technique were used for the assessment process. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process was also utilized, and the output results from two methods were compared to extract the differences. The 20 planned landfills in Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province, Vietnam was selected as a case study. The comparison results indicate that there are different between weights computed by AHP and ANP methods and the assessment outputs produced from these two methods also slight differences. After evaluation of existing planned sites, some potential locations were suggested to the local government for possibility of land use planning adjusts.

Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process, Analytic Network Process, Fuzzy set theory, land use planning

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Authors: Monika Paleczna, Małgorzata Holda

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Choosing an avatar's gender in a computer game is one of the key elements in the process of creating an online identity. The selection of a male or female avatar can define the entirety of subsequent decisions regarding both appearance and behavior. However, when the most popular games available for the Nintendo console in 1998 were analyzed, it turned out that 41% of computer games did not have female characters. Nowadays, players create their avatars based mainly on binary gender classification, with male and female characters to choose from. The main aim of the poster is to explore gender differences in adolescent avatars. 130 adolescents aged 15-17 participated in the study. They created their avatars and then played a computer game. The creation of the avatar was based on the choice of gender, then physical and mental characteristics. Data on gender consistency (consistency between participant’s sex and gender selected for the avatar) and masculinity-femininity of avatar nicknames and appearance will be presented. The masculinity-femininity of avatar nicknames and appearance was assessed by expert raters on a very masculine to very feminine scale. Additionally, data on the relationships of the perceived levels of masculinity-femininity with hostility-friendliness and the intelligence of avatars will be shown. The dimensions of hostility-friendliness and intelligence were also assessed by expert raters on scales ranging from very hostile to very friendly and from very low intelligence to very high intelligence.

Keywords: gender, avatar, adolescence, computer games

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Authors: Sharon Ost Mor, Yuval Palgi, Ddikla Segel-Karpas

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Solitude and positive solitude (PS) are used in literature interchangeably, yet they have different attributes and effects. While solitude might have devastating outcomes such as depression or health deterioration, PS has beneficial outcomes. Yet, both solitude and PS have no clear unanimous definition. Most researches focus on solitude, while the phenomenon of PS is somewhat neglected. Most research deals with young people and adults, while the current research is interested in PS concepts especially in old age. A qualitative study, with 124 participants was performed in order to understand the essence of PS in different age groups. The findings revealed seven categories related to PS, including: Quietness, religious and spiritual experience, escapism, experience in nature or abroad, controlling stress or thoughts, facilitation achievements and recreation-hobbies-routines. Moreover, three meta-themes emerged: PS is a matter of choice, it is meaningful and enjoyable. One stand alone category was found: PS preconditions. Differences between younger and older adults were found in several categories and in PS preconditions, while the meta-themes were equally mentioned by all participants. Based on the participant's reflections and descriptions a new PS paradigm was built and will be presented as well as a new definition of PS. PS was renamed as 'Soulitude' in order to emphasize its' positive nature. Conclusions: PS serves well most people, yet it has different attributes in different ages. By giving PS a unanimous definition and by understanding its' contribution for the elderly, PS might be addressed as a legitimate, stand alone phenomenon. The paradigm might serve theory as well as clinicians for further PS research.

Keywords: old-old, positive solitude, solitude, soulitude

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Authors: A. Kamel Abd Elaziz Mohamed, B. Sameh Kamal el Maraghi

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Introduction: Adaptive support ventilation (ASV) is an improved closed-loop ventilation mode that provides both pressure-controlled ventilation and PSV according to the patient’s needs. Aim of the work: To compare the short-term effects of Adaptive support ventilation (ASV), with conventional Pressure support ventilation (PSV) in weaning of intubated COPD patients. Patients and methods: Fifty patients admitted in the intensive care with acute exacerbation of COPD and needing intubation were included in the study. All patients were initially ventilated with control/assist control mode, in a stepwise manner and were receiving standard medical therapy. Patients were randomized into two groups to receive either ASV or PSV. Results: Out of fifty patients included in the study forty one patients in both studied groups were weaned successfully according to their ABG data and weaning indices. APACHE II score showed no significant difference in both groups. There were statistically significant differences between the groups in term of, duration of mechanical ventilation, weaning hours and length of ICU stay being shorter in (group 1) weaned by ASV. Re-intubation and mortality rate were higher in (group 11) weaned by conventional PSV, however the differences were not significant. Conclusion: ASV can provide automated weaning and achieve shorter weaning time for COPD patients hence leading to reduction in the total duration of MV, length of stay, and hospital costs.

Keywords: COPD patients, ASV, PSV, mechanical ventilation (MV)

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