Search results for: national human development initiative in Morocco (INDH)

Authors: Karen Bell

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While there is broad agreement among governments and civil society globally about the need to develop more sustainable societies, the best way to achieve this is still contested. In particular, there are differences regarding whether to continue to implement market-based approaches or to move to alternative redistributive-based approaches. In this paper, ‘Green Economy’ and ‘Living Well’ strategies are compared as examples of these two different strategies for achieving social, ecological and economic sustainability. The paper is based on a 3-year ESRC funded project on transitions to sustainability which examines the implementation of the ‘Green Economy’ paradigm in South Korea and the 'Living Well' paradigm in Bolivia. As well as outlining and analysing secondary data, the paper also draws on over 100 interviews with a range of local stakeholders in these countries carried out by the author between and including 2016 and 2018. The work indicates that the Living Well paradigm seems to better integrate social, ecological and economic concerns and may better deliver sustainability in the time frame necessary than the dominant Green Economy paradigm. This seems to be primarily because Living Well emphasises redistribution to reduce inequality and ensure human needs are met; living in harmony with nature, taking into account natural limits and cycles; respecting traditional values and practices where these support sustainability and human well-being; sovereignty and local control of natural resources; and participative decision-making, based on grassroots community organising. It is, therefore, argued that to achieve inclusive, just and effective transitions to sustainability we should aim to foster equality, respect planetary limits, build on local traditions, bring resources into public ownership and enhance participatory democracy. This will require a radically different approach to that offered within the market-based agenda currently dominating global sustainability debates and activities.

Keywords: environmental transition, green economy, inclusive sustainability, living well, sustainable transition

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Authors: Stephen Wheat

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Institutional mobile application governance and distribution processes are essential to mobile app innovation. The absence of effective processes poses a significant barrier to the development and adoption of mobile apps for use within a research enterprise and also impedes the translational science of applying research apps in clinical and engineering settings. To accelerate mobile app innovation and adoption, Emory University and Emory Healthcare implemented a three-pronged strategy including. I) Mobile app review and distribution policies and processes. II) Mobile app management infrastructure and mobile app foundation components. III) A strategic sourcing strategy based on preferred mobile app development firms. The results have been an increase from five to 56 mobile apps in the pipeline over three years; increased engagement from technology transfer, legal counsel, compliance, and information security; articulation of a coordinated mobile app strategy; and allocation of more institutional resources toward specific mobile technology and mobile application goals.

Keywords: mobile app management, governance, distribution, information security

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Authors: Daan F. Oostveen

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‘Religion’ as a term is not native to the Global East. The concept ‘religion’ is both understood in its meaning of ‘religious traditions’, commonly referring to the ‘World Religions’ and in its adjective meaning ‘the religious’ or ‘religiosity’ as a separate domain of human culture, commonly contrasted to the secular. Though neither of these understandings are native to the historical worldviews of East Asia, their development in modern Western scholarship has had an enormous impact on the self-understanding of cultural diversity in the Global East as well. One example is the identification and therefore elevation to the status of World Religion of ‘Buddhism’ which connected formerly dispersed religious practices throughout the Global East and subsumed them under this powerful label. On the other hand, we see how popular religiosity, shamanism and hybrid cultural expressions have become excluded from genuine religion; this had an immense impact on the sense of legitimacy of these practices, which became sometimes labeled as superstition are rejected as magic. Our theoretical frameworks on religion in the Global East do not always consider the complex power dynamics between religious actors, both elites and lay expressions of religion in everyday life, governments and religious studies scholars. In order to get a clear image of how religiosity functions in the context of the Global East, we have to take into account these power dynamics. What is important in particular is the issue of religious identity or absence of religious identity. The self-understanding of religious actors in the Global East is often very different from what scholars of religion observe. Religious practice, from an etic perspective, is often unrelated to religious identification from an emic perspective. But we also witness the rise of Christian churches in the Global East, in which religious identity and belonging does play a pivotal role. Finally, religion in the Global East has since the beginning of the 20th Century been conceptualized as the ‘other’ or republicanism or Marxist-Maoist ideology. It is important not to deny the key role of colonial thinking in the process of religion formation in the Global East. In this paper, it is argued that religious realities constituted emerging as a result from our theory of religion, and that these religious realities in turn inform our theory. Therefore, the relationship between phenomenology of religion and theory of religion can never be disentangled. In fact, we have to acknowledge that our conceptualizations of religious diversity are always already influenced by our valuation of those cultural expressions that we have come to call ‘religious’.

Keywords: global east, religion, religious belonging, secularity

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Authors: Sisaye Tamrat Ayalew

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In Ethiopia, the relationships between different communities have been characterized by mistrust, prejudice, and conflict, resulting in mass killings, displacement, and human rights violations. These relationships are mainly based on ethnic, religious, and linguistic lines, leading to a polarized society. The aim of this study is to appraise the nature of two major community relationships, namely the I-Thou relationship, characterized by genuine dialogue and mutual understanding, and the I-It relationship, characterized by a monologue and mutual suspicion. The study also aims to analyze how these two types of relationships contribute to either resolving or aggravating conflicts and building or deteriorating peace in Ethiopia. The study adopts a qualitative approach, specifically hermeneutics, to explore the nature of the I-Thou and I-It relationships in the Ethiopian context. It also examines how political elites shape these relationships within the community. The study finds that the dominant relationship in Ethiopian society is the I-It relationship, which is manifested as "com-animation." This relationship is characterized by mutual mistrust, prejudice, hostility, and misunderstanding. As a result, conflicts have arisen, leading to violence, displacement, and human rights violations. The study concludes that there is a need to shift from the I-It (com-animation) relationship to the I-Thou (communication) relationship in Ethiopian society. This shift would involve rethinking and readjusting societal relationships, especially among political elites, to foster genuine dialogue, mutual understanding, and lasting peace. It is imperative to overcome mutual mistrust, prejudice, and misunderstanding in order to resolve conflicts and build a harmonious society in Ethiopia. The study's findings and recommendations contribute to raising awareness among both Ethiopians and the international community on the potential for conflict resolution and peacebuilding through a shift in community relationships.

Keywords: dialogue, I-Thou relationship, I-It relationship, conflict resolution, building peace

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Authors: Muhammad Usman Sardar, Muhammad Haroon Nadeem, Shahbaz Ahmad, Ashiq Hussain

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The marketing of solar photovoltaic energy systems has one of the monetary settlements to address the higher rate to pay in advance with the purchase of two decades worth of electricity services. To deploy solar photovoltaic technologies and energy setups in areas, it’s important to create a system of credit that can ensure the availability of subsidized capital and commercial conditions for the society. Meanings of energy in developing countries like Pakistan were strongly prompted by marketable interests and industrialization trend influences within their culture. It’s going to be essential to prepare the concerned proceeding models of energy development strategies. This paper discuss the impact and share of environmental friendly solar photo-voltaic energy, researching to find the most appropriate alternate solutions for balance the energy demand and supply and current progressive position in different countries regarding to development and deployment. Based on the literature reviews, its presence found that most beneficial and concerning policies have implemented in several countries around the globe.

Keywords: photovoltaic marketing and pricing, renewable energy technology, solar photovoltaic, SPV

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Authors: Kimberly Joyce A. Roguis, Mica Lorraine L. Fernando, Alan Vito B. Macadangdang, Jennina Mari C. Mijares, Maria Carinnes A. Gonzalez

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The paper showcases the vulnerability of the tourism industry especially the inevitable occurrence of natural disasters, implicating the necessity for post-disaster analysis on tourist attractions. This study discusses the aftermath of the super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ incident in the locality of Coron Island, Palawan, assessing its general effect on the community and its tourism livelihood through the analysis of responses from key role-players in the tourism industry of the area gathered through semi-structured interviews and direct observation. The local government’s instigation of recovery programs to their locality has been a pivotal factor in reviving the vitality of their tourism industry and the involvement of the community has been the determining condition that shifted the industry towards revival a year after the incidence. The study illuminates the disaster mitigation processes in the local tourism livelihood perspective, predominantly the diving industry. It did not suffer physical damage to a great extent but was affected because of the public imagery the disaster brought upon. Collaboration between the local government and the community is the highlight of the research for they maneuvered recovery revealing that cooperation between these two parties bridged the correlation of recovery to tourism development. The disaster paved way to a stance towards promoting progressive tourism outlooks, raising awareness among the public and private sectors and re-assessment of the tourism vitality in their locality. The mayhem and destruction proved to be a liberating creative process to give way to progression and was deemed to be of high significance in the over-all tourism system process despite its impediments in the case of the tourism industry in Coron, Palawan.

Keywords: disaster recovery, tourism development, diving, Palawan

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Authors: Mehraveh Taghizadeh

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Iran is home to a diverse range of ethnic groups such as Baloch, Kurds, Persians, Lors, Arabs, and Turks. The Persian ethnicity is the largest group, while Baloch people are considered a minority residing on the southeastern border of the country with different language and religion. As a consequence, Political discussions have often prioritized national identity and national security over Baloch ethnic identity. However, to improve intercultural understanding and reduce cultural schemas, it's crucial to decrease ethnocentrism and increase intercultural communication. In the meantime, Kerman, a multicultural province that borders Sistan and Baluchistan, has become a destination for Baloch immigrants. By recognizing the current status of intercultural competence, we can develop effective policies for expanding intercultural communication and creating a more inclusive and peaceful society. As a result, this research aims to study the domain of intercultural sensitivity between Persians and Baloch in Kerman. Therefore, the question is how do Persians and Baloch ethnicities perceive each other? This study represents the first exploration of communication dynamics between Persians and Baloch individuals. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this study employs thematic analysis in conjunction with Bennett's intercultural sensitivities model. The model comprises two components: ethnocentrism, which spans from denial and defense to minimization, and ethno-relativism, which ranges from acceptance and adaptation to integration. To attain this objective, 30 individuals from Persian and Baloch ethnicities were interviewed using a semi-structured format. it analysis suggests that the Baluch and Persians exhibit a range of intercultural sensitivities characterized by defensive and minimizing attitudes in the ethnocentrism domain, and accepting attitudes in the ethno-relativism domain. The concept of minimization involves recognizing the shared humanity and positive schemas of both groups. Furthermore, in the adaptation domain, Persians' efforts to assimilate into Baloch culture at an acceptance level are primarily focused on the civilizational dimension, including using traditional Balochi clothing designs on their clothes. The Persians hold intercultural schemas about the Baloch people, including notions of religious fanaticism, tribalism, poverty, smuggling, and a nomadic way of life. Conversely, the Baloch people have intercultural schemas about Persians including religious fanaticism, disdain towards the Baloch, and ethnocentrism. Both groups tend to tie ethnicity to religion and judge each other accordingly. Also, the origin of these schemas is in the representation of the media and the encounter without interaction between the two ethnic groups. These findings indicate that they have not received adaptation and integration levels in ethno-relativism. Furthermore, the results indicate that developing personal communication in multicultural environments reduces intercultural sensitivity, and increases positive interactions and civilizational dialogues. People can understand each other better and perform better in their daily lives.

Keywords: intercultural communication, intercultural sensitivity, interethnic communication, Iran, Baloch, Persians

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Authors: Leila Zarei

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The primary objective of the 2014 Survey of The Capacity Assessment of Kish Island in Visa Exchange and its Effect of Tourism Development was to obtain more comprehensive statistical information relating to foreign tourists who aimed to renew their visa in Kish Island. Kish Island the pearl of Persian Gulf is well known as a destination for visa exchange to many alien who work and live in the country located around Persian Gulf. Foreign visitors fly to Kish with aim of visa exchange and after passing through official procedures they return back to their country of resident. The present thesis studied the subject of capacity and potential of Kish Island in visa exchange. In accordance with it a survey had been conducted in English written form of a questionnaire which was researcher's made composed of 120 questions which covers diverse aspects of the field of this study (airport, public transportation, accommodate and medical centers and travel agencies). The data collected were obtained at the airport, hotels and other places from the international tourists and covered the following items: a) the profile of the tourists (sex, age, occupation, purpose of visit, etc.) b) The Rating of services and Prices. The target population was all international tourists who master English and non Iranian. Main findings: 56% of tourists interviewed were males and 44% were females. The age of arrived tourist was 30 – 39 years with the highest percentage of 47%. The highest percentage frequencies of income belong to the 1000- 2500 Dhrs. (26%). In addition, that 50 percentage of the population was married and rest was single. Concerning the religion, 26 percent of the travelers were Muslim and 65% Christian and the rest from the other branches which all these populations reach Kish via air. The majority (56%) of visa exchangers hold diploma.

Keywords: Kish Island, tourism development, visa exchange, Iran

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Authors: Cindy Sithole, Didier Nyembwe, Peter Olubambi

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The sand casting process involves pattern making, mould making, metal pouring and shake out. Every step in the sand moulding process is very critical for production of good quality castings. However, waste generated during the sand moulding operation and lack of quality are matters that influences performance inefficiencies and lack of competitiveness in South African foundries. Defects produced from the sand moulding process are only visible in the final product (casting) which results in increased number of scrap, reduced sales and increases cost in the foundry. The purpose of this Research is to propose six sigma technique (DMAIC, Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) intervention in sand moulding foundries and to reduce variation caused by deficiencies in the sand moulding process in South African foundries. Its objective is to create sustainability and enhance productivity in the South African foundry industry. Six sigma is a data driven method to process improvement that aims to eliminate variation in business processes using statistical control methods .Six sigma focuses on business performance improvement through quality initiative using the seven basic tools of quality by Ishikawa. The objectives of six sigma are to eliminate features that affects productivity, profit and meeting customers’ demands. Six sigma has become one of the most important tools/techniques for attaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage for sand casting foundries in South Africa means improved plant maintenance processes, improved product quality and proper utilization of resources especially scarce resources. Defects such as sand inclusion, Flashes and sand burn on were some of the defects that were identified as resulting from the sand moulding process inefficiencies using six sigma technique. The courses were we found to be wrong design of the mould due to the pattern used and poor ramming of the moulding sand in a foundry. Six sigma tools such as the voice of customer, the Fishbone, the voice of the process and process mapping were used to define the problem in the foundry and to outline the critical to quality elements. The SIPOC (Supplier Input Process Output Customer) Diagram was also employed to ensure that the material and process parameters were achieved to ensure quality improvement in a foundry. The process capability of the sand moulding process was measured to understand the current performance to enable improvement. The Expected results of this research are; reduced sand moulding process variation, increased productivity and competitive advantage.

Keywords: defects, foundries, quality improvement, sand moulding, six sigma (DMAIC)

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Authors: Islam Abou El-Magd, Elham Ali, Moahmed Zakzouk, Nesreen Khairy, Naglaa Zanaty

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Maine environment and coastal zone are wealthy with natural resources that contribute to the local economy of Egypt. The Gulf of Suez and Red Sea area accommodates diverse human activities that contribute to the local economy, including oil exploration and production, touristic activities, export and import harbors, etc, however, it is always under the threat of pollution due to human interaction and activities. This research aimed at integrating in-situ measurements and remotely sensed data with hydrodynamic model to map and simulate the oil pollution. High-resolution satellite sensors including Sentinel 2 and Plantlab were functioned to trace the oil pollution. Spectral band ratio of band 4 (infrared) over band 3 (red) underpinned the mapping of the point source pollution from the oil industrial estates. This ratio is supporting the absorption windows detected in the hyperspectral profiles. ASD in-situ hyperspectral device was used to measure experimentally the oil pollution in the marine environment. The experiment used to measure water behavior in three cases a) clear water without oil, b) water covered with raw oil, and c) water after a while from throwing the raw oil. The spectral curve is clearly identified absorption windows for oil pollution, particularly at 600-700nm. MIKE 21 model was applied to simulate the dispersion of the oil contamination and create scenarios for crises management. The model requires precise data preparation of the bathymetry, tides, waves, atmospheric parameters, which partially obtained from online modeled data and other from historical in-situ stations. The simulation enabled to project the movement of the oil spill and could create a warning system for mitigation. Details of the research results will be described in the paper.

Keywords: oil pollution, remote sensing, modelling, Red Sea, Egypt

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Authors: Sandra Carrillo Hoyos

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Mining activities in South America have significantly grown during the last decades, given the abundance of natural resources, the implemented governmental policies to incentivize foreign investment as well as the boom in international prices for metals and oil between 2002 and 2008. While this context allowed the region to occupy a leading position between the top producers of minerals around the world, it has also meant an increase in socio-environmental conflicts which have generated costs and negative impacts not only for the companies but especially for the governments and local communities.During the latest decade, the mining sector in Peru has faced with the social resistance of a large number of communities, which began organizing actions against the implementation of high investing projects. The dissatisfaction has derived in the prevalence of socio-environmental conflicts associated with mining activities, some of them never solved into an agreement. In order to prevent those socio-environmental conflicts and obtain the social license from local communities, most of the mining companies have developed diverse initiatives within the framework of policies and practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper has assessed the mining sector’s contribution toward the local development management along the last decade, as part of CSR strategies as well as the policies promoted by the Peruvian State. This assessment found that, in the beginning, these initiatives have been based on a philanthropic approach and were reacting to pressures from local stakeholders to maintain the consent to operate from the surrounding communities as well as to create, as a result, a harmonious atmosphere for operations. Due to the weak State presence, such practices have increased the expectations of communities related to the participation of mining companies in solving structural development problems, especially those related to primary needs, infrastructure, education, health, among others. In other words, this paper was focused on analyze in what extent these initiatives have promoted local empowerment for development planning and integrated management of natural resources from a territorial approach. From this perspective, the analysis demonstrates that, while the design and planning of social investment initiatives have improved due to the sector´s sustainability approach, many companies have developed actions beyond their competence during this process. In some cases, the referenced actions have generated dependency with communities, even though this relationship has not exempted the companies of conflict situations with unfortunate consequences. Furthermore, the social programs developed have not necessarily generated a significant impact in improving the quality of life of affected populations. In fact, it is possible to identify that those regions with high mining resources and investment are facing with a situation of poverty and high dependency on mining production. In spite of the revenues derived from mining industry, local governments have not been able to translate the royalties into sustainable development opportunities. For this reason, the proposed paper suggests some challenges for the mining sector contribution to local development based on the best practices and lessons learnt from a benchmarking for the leading mining companies.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, local development, mining, socio-environmental conflict

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Authors: Inna Kornienko, Svetlana Guryeva, Natalia Danilova, Elena Petersen

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Drug toxicity often goes undetected until clinical trials, the most expensive and dangerous phase of drug development. Both human cell culture and animal studies have limitations that cannot be overcome by improvements in drug testing protocols. Tissue engineering is an emerging alternative approach to creating models of human malignant tumors for experimental oncology, personalized medicine, and drug discovery studies. This new generation of bioengineered tumors provides an opportunity to control and explore the role of every component of the model system including cell populations, supportive scaffolds, and signaling molecules. An area that could greatly benefit from these models is cancer research. Recent advances in tissue engineering demonstrated that decellularized tissue is an excellent scaffold for tissue engineering. Decellularization of donor organs such as heart, liver, and lung can provide an acellular, naturally occurring three-dimensional biologic scaffold material that can then be seeded with selected cell populations. Preliminary studies in animal models have provided encouraging results for the proof of concept. Decellularized Organs preserve organ microenvironment, which is critical for cancer metastasis. Utilizing 3D tumor models results greater proximity of cell culture morphological characteristics in a model to its in vivo counterpart, allows more accurate simulation of the processes within a functioning tumor and its pathogenesis. 3D models allow study of migration processes and cell proliferation with higher reliability as well. Moreover, cancer cells in a 3D model bear closer resemblance to living conditions in terms of gene expression, cell surface receptor expression, and signaling. 2D cell monolayers do not provide the geometrical and mechanical cues of tissues in vivo and are, therefore, not suitable to accurately predict the responses of living organisms. 3D models can provide several levels of complexity from simple monocultures of cancer cell lines in liquid environment comprised of oxygen and nutrient gradients and cell-cell interaction to more advanced models, which include co-culturing with other cell types, such as endothelial and immune cells. Following this reasoning, spheroids cultivated from one or multiple patient-derived cell lines can be utilized to seed the matrix rather than monolayer cells. This approach furthers the progress towards personalized medicine. As an initial step to create a new ex vivo tissue engineered model of a cancer tumor, optimized protocols have been designed to obtain organ-specific acellular matrices and evaluate their potential as tissue engineered scaffolds for cultures of normal and tumor cells. Decellularized biomatrix was prepared from animals’ kidneys, urethra, lungs, heart, and liver by two decellularization methods: perfusion in a bioreactor system and immersion-agitation on an orbital shaker with the use of various detergents (SDS, Triton X-100) in different concentrations and freezing. Acellular scaffolds and tissue engineered constructs have been characterized and compared using morphological methods. Models using decellularized matrix have certain advantages, such as maintaining native extracellular matrix properties and biomimetic microenvironment for cancer cells; compatibility with multiple cell types for cell culture and drug screening; utilization to culture patient-derived cells in vitro to evaluate different anticancer therapeutics for developing personalized medicines.

Keywords: 3D models, decellularization, drug discovery, drug toxicity, scaffolds, spheroids, tissue engineering

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Authors: Rafał Szmajser, Katarzyna Świetla, Mariusz Andrzejewski

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Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology of repeatable business processes performed using computer programs, robots that simulate the work of a human being. This approach assumes replacing an existing employee with the use of dedicated software (software robots) to support activities, primarily repeated and uncomplicated, characterized by a low number of exceptions. RPA application is widespread in modern business services, particularly in the areas of Finance, Accounting and Human Resources Management. By utilizing this technology, the effectiveness of operations increases while reducing workload, minimizing possible errors in the process, and as a result, bringing measurable decrease in the cost of providing services. Regardless of how the use of modern information technology is assessed, there are also some doubts as to whether we should replace human activities in the implementation of the automation in business processes. After the initial awe for the new technological concept, a reflection arises: to what extent does the implementation of RPA increase the efficiency of operations or is there a Business Case for implementing it? If the business case is beneficial, in which business processes is the greatest potential for RPA? A closer look at these issues was provided by in this research during which the respondents’ view of the perceived advantages resulting from the use of robotization and automation in financial and accounting processes was verified. As a result of an online survey addressed to over 500 respondents from international companies, 162 complete answers were returned from the most important types of organizations in the modern business services industry, i.e. Business or IT Process Outsourcing (BPO/ITO), Shared Service Centers (SSC), Consulting/Advisory and their customers. Answers were provided by representatives of the positions in their organizations: Members of the Board, Directors, Managers and Experts/Specialists. The structure of the survey allowed the respondents to supplement the survey with additional comments and observations. The results formed the basis for the creation of a business case calculating tangible benefits associated with the implementation of automation in the selected financial processes. The results of the statistical analyses carried out with regard to revenue growth confirmed the correctness of the hypothesis that there is a correlation between job position and the perception of the impact of RPA implementation on individual benefits. Second hypothesis (H2) that: There is a relationship between the kind of company in the business services industry and the reception of the impact of RPA on individual benefits was thus not confirmed. Based results of survey authors performed simulation of business case for implementation of RPA in selected Finance and Accounting Processes. Calculated payback period was diametrically different ranging from 2 months for the Account Payables process with 75% savings and in the extreme case for the process Taxes implementation and maintenance costs exceed the savings resulting from the use of the robot.

Keywords: automation, outsourcing, business process automation, process automation, robotic process automation, RPA, RPA business case, RPA benefits

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Authors: Adela Diepoltova, Klara Konecna, Ondrej Jandourek, Petr Nachtigal

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A loss of control over antibiotic-resistant pathogens has become a global issue due to severe and often untreatable infections. This state is reflected in complicated treatment, health costs, and higher mortality. All these factors emphasize the urgent need for the discovery and development of new anti-infectives. One of the most common pathogens mentioned in the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance are bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus. These bacterial agents have developed several mechanisms against the effect of antibiotics. One of them is biofilm formation. In staphylococci, biofilms are associated with infections such as endocarditis, osteomyelitis, catheter-related bloodstream infections, etc. To author's best knowledge, no validated and standardized methodology evaluating candidate compound activity against staphylococcal biofilms exists. However, a variety of protocols for in vitro drug activity testing has been suggested, yet there are often fundamental differences. Based on our experience, a key methodological step that leads to credible results is to form a robust biofilm with appropriate attributes such as firm adherence to the substrate, a complex arrangement in layers, and the presence of extracellular polysaccharide matrix. At first, for the purpose of drug antibiofilm activity evaluation, the focus was put on various conditions (supplementation of cultivation media by human plasma/fetal bovine serum, shaking mode, the density of initial inoculum) that should lead to reproducible and robust in vitro staphylococcal biofilm formation in microtiter plate model. Three model staphylococcal reference strains were included in the study: Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 43300), and Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 35983). The total biofilm biomass was quantified using the Christensen method with crystal violet, and results obtained from at least three independent experiments were statistically processed. Attention was also paid to the viability of the biofilm-forming staphylococcal cells and the presence of extracellular polysaccharide matrix. The conditions that led to robust biofilm biomass formation with attributes for biofilms mentioned above were then applied by introducing an alternative method analogous to the commercially available test system, the Calgary Biofilm Device. In this test system, biofilms are formed on pegs that are incorporated into the lid of the microtiter plate. This system provides several advantages (in situ detection and quantification of biofilm microbial cells that have retained their viability after drug exposure). Based on our preliminary studies, it was found that the attention to the peg surface and substrate on which the bacterial biofilms are formed should also be paid to. Therefore, further steps leading to the optimization were introduced. The surface of pegs was coated by human plasma, fetal bovine serum, and L-polylysine. Subsequently, the willingness of bacteria to adhere and form biofilm was monitored. In conclusion, suitable conditions were revealed, leading to the formation of reproducible, robust staphylococcal biofilms in vitro for the microtiter model and the system analogous to the Calgary biofilm device, as well. The robustness and typical slime texture could be detected visually. Likewise, an analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed a complex three-dimensional arrangement of biofilm forming organisms surrounded by an extracellular polysaccharide matrix.

Keywords: anti-biofilm drug activity screening, in vitro biofilm formation, microtiter plate model, the Calgary biofilm device, staphylococcal infections, substrate modification, surface coating

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Authors: Moulay Driss Mellaoui, Khadija Zaki, Khalid Abbiche, Abdallah Imjjad, Rachid Boutiddar, Abdelouahid Sbai, Aaziz Jmiai, Souad El Issami, Al Mokhtar Lamsabhi, Hanane Zejli

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This study presents a comprehensive analysis of six isoxazolidine and isoxazoline derivatives, leveraging a multifaceted approach that combines Density Functional Theory (DFT), AdmetSAR analysis, and molecular docking simulations to explore their electronic, pharmacokinetic, and anticancer properties. Through DFT analysis, using the B3LYP-D3BJ functional and the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set, we optimized molecular geometries, analyzed vibrational frequencies, and mapped Molecular Electrostatic Potentials (MEP), identifying key sites for electrophilic attacks and hydrogen bonding. Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) analysis and Density of States (DOS) plots revealed varying stability levels among the compounds, with 1b, 2b, and 3b showing slightly higher stability. Chemical potential assessments indicated differences in binding affinities, suggesting stronger potential interactions for compounds 1b and 2b. AdmetSAR analysis predicted favorable human intestinal absorption (HIA) rates for all compounds, highlighting compound 3b superior oral effectiveness. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted on isoxazolidine and 4-isoxazoline derivatives targeting the EGFR receptor (PDB: 1JU6). Molecular docking simulations confirmed the high affinity of these compounds towards the target protein 1JU6, particularly compound 3b, among the isoxazolidine derivatives, compound 3b exhibited the most favorable binding energy, with a g score of -8.50 kcal/mol. Molecular dynamics simulations over 100 nanoseconds demonstrated the stability and potential of compound 3b as a superior candidate for anticancer applications, further supported by structural analyses including RMSD, RMSF, Rg, and SASA values. This study underscores the promising role of compound 3b in anticancer treatments, providing a solid foundation for future drug development and optimization efforts.

Keywords: isoxazolines, DFT, molecular docking, molecular dynamic, ADMET, drugs.

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Authors: Rajaramamohanarao Chennu, S. Sudhakara Reddy, Gurudev T, Maroti

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With the invent of recent available technology and cost optimization, the switchgear assemblies are becoming more compact and designed to operate at critical levels of thermal and dielectric stress. At the same time, the switchgear assemblies shall be designed for protection of persons, met in the event of internal arc for specified installation conditions, according to the latest available national/international standards. These standards are revising regularly for better product design and personal safety. The switchgear assemblies design shall be modified in accordance with the change in requirements in the latest edition of the standards. This paper presents the signifying changes brought in the latest edition of 62271-200:2021 and effect of these changes and the necessitated design improvements for meeting internal arc test requirements is presented by carrying out the internal arc testing experiments on the switchgear assemblies at High Power Laboratory, Central Power Research Institute, Bangalore, India.

Keywords: internal arc, switchgear assembly, high speed videography, IEC 62271-200

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Authors: Yang Liu

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The work team has been being adopted by the CCP for special missions in a limited time. Since the 18th National Congress of CCP, the unprecedented practice of the work team has had impacts beyond the original goal of poverty alleviation, their functions in village governance have still not been well studied. As the state agents that come from the outside of the village community, this article argues that the work team is a group that represents the coexistence of political, economic, and cultural capital, which contributes to effectively empower the state, and the village cadres and the peasants. For the state, more accurate bottom-up information could be collected by the work team, and policies could be made scientifically and implemented without distortion. For the village cadres, they can learn leadership skills and share more resources owned or mobilized by the work team. For the peasants, they have more access to participate the public affairs of their village and express their claims. The multiple empowerments have greatly improved the relationship among the state, the peasants, and the village cadres since a series of reforms from 1980s to 2000s that alienated the relationship among them.

Keywords: state, village cadre, empowerment, work team, peasants

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Authors: Carlos Tapia Cortez, Serkan Saydam, Jeff Coulton, Claude Sammut

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Strategic mineral commodities (SMC) both energetic and metals have long been fundamental for human beings. There is a strong and long-run relation between the mineral resources industry and society's evolution, with the provision of primary raw materials, becoming one of the most significant drivers of economic growth. Due to mineral resources’ relevance for the entire economy and society, an understanding of the SMC market behaviour to simulate price fluctuations has become crucial for governments and firms. For any human activity, SMC price fluctuations are affected by economic, geopolitical, environmental, technological and psychological issues, where cognition has a major role. Cognition is defined as the capacity to store information in memory, processing and decision making for problem-solving or human adaptation. Thus, it has a significant role in those systems that exhibit dynamic equilibrium through time, such as economic growth. Cognition allows not only understanding past behaviours and trends in SCM markets but also supports future expectations of demand/supply levels and prices, although speculations are unavoidable. Technological developments may also be defined as a cognitive system. Since the Industrial Revolution, technological developments have had a significant influence on SMC production costs and prices, likewise allowing co-integration between commodities and market locations. It suggests a close relation between structural breaks, technology and prices evolution. SCM prices forecasting have been commonly addressed by econometrics and Gaussian-probabilistic models. Econometrics models may incorporate the relationship between variables; however, they are statics that leads to an incomplete approach of prices evolution through time. Gaussian-probabilistic models may evolve through time; however, price fluctuations are addressed by the assumption of random behaviour and normal distribution which seems to be far from the real behaviour of both market and prices. Random fluctuation ignores the evolution of market events and the technical and temporal relation between variables, giving the illusion of controlled future events. Normal distribution underestimates price fluctuations by using restricted ranges, curtailing decisions making into a pre-established space. A proper understanding of SMC's price dynamics taking into account the historical-cognitive relation between economic, technological and psychological factors over time is fundamental in attempting to simulate prices. The aim of this paper is to discuss the SMC market cognition hypothesis and empirically demonstrate its dynamic-cognitive capacity. Three of the largest and traded SMC's: oil, copper and gold, will be assessed to examine the economic, technological and psychological cognition respectively.

Keywords: commodity price simulation, commodity price uncertainties, dynamic-cognition, dynamic systems

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Authors: Xuelian Qin

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Urban "organic renewal" based on the development of existing resources in high-density urban areas has become the mainstream of urban development in the new era. As an important stock resource of public space in high-density urban areas, promoting its value remodeling is an effective way to alleviate the shortage of public space resources. However, due to the lack of evaluation links in the process of underpass space renewal, a large number of underpass space resources have been left idle, facing the problems of low space conversion efficiency, lack of accuracy in development decision-making, and low adaptability of functional positioning to citizens' needs. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to construct the evaluation system of under-bridge space renewal potential and explore the renewal mode. In this paper, some of the under-bridge spaces in the main urban area of Chongqing are selected as the research object. Through the questionnaire interviews with the users of the built excellent space under the bridge, three types of six levels and twenty-two potential evaluation indexes of "objective demand factor, construction feasibility factor and construction suitability factor" are selected, including six levels of land resources, infrastructure, accessibility, safety, space quality and ecological environment. The analytical hierarchy process and expert scoring method are used to determine the index weight, construct the potential evaluation system of the space under the bridge in high-density urban areas of Chongqing, and explore the direction of renewal and utilization of its suitability. To provide feasible theoretical basis and scientific decision support for the use of under bridge space in the future.

Keywords: high density urban area, potential evaluation, space under bridge, updated using

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Authors: Neyzielle Ronnicque Cadiz

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The Philippine is a hotbed of disasters and is a locus of natural hazards. With an average of 20 typhoons entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) each year, seven to eight (7-8) of which makes landfall. The country rather inevitably suffers from climate-related calamities. With this vulnerability to natural hazards, the relevant hazard-related issues that come along with the potential threat and occurrence of a disaster oftentimes garners lesser media attention than when a disaster actually occurred. Post-disaster news and events flood the content of news networks primarily focusing on, but not limited to, the efforts of the national government in resolving post-disaster displacement, and all the more on the community leaders’ incompetence in disaster mitigation-- even though the University of the Philippines’ NOAH Center work hand in hand with different stakeholders for disaster mitigation communication efforts. Disaster risk communication is actually a perennial dilemma. There are so many efforts to reach the grassroots level but emergency and disaster preparedness messages inevitably fall short.. The Philippines is very vulnerable to hazards risk and disasters but social media posts and communication efforts mostly go unnoticed, if not argued upon. This study illustrates the outcomes of a research focusing on the print, broadcast, and social media’s role on disaster communication involving the natural catastrophic events that took place in the Philippines from 2009 to present. Considering the country’s state of development, this study looks on the rapid and reliable communication between the government, and the relief/rescue workers in the affected regions; and how the media portrays these efforts effectively. Learning from the disasters that have occurred in the Philippines over the past decade, effective communication can ensure that any efforts to prepare and respond to disasters can make a significant difference. It can potentially either break or save lives. Recognizing the role of communications is not only in improving the coordination of vital services for post disaster; organizations gave priority in reexamining disaster preparedness mechanisms through the Communication with Communities (CwC) programs. This study, however, looks at the CwC efforts of the Philippine media platforms. CwC, if properly utilized by the media, is an essential tool in ensuring accountability and transparency which require effective exchange of information between disasters and survivors and responders. However, in this study, it shows that the perennial dilemma of the Philippine media is that the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) efforts of the country lie in the clouded judgment of political aims. This kind of habit is a multiplier of the country’s risk and insecurity. Sometimes the efforts in urging the public to take action seem useless because the challenge lies on how to achieve social, economic, and political unity using the tri-media platform.

Keywords: Philippines at risk, pre/post disaster communication, tri-media platform, UP NOAH

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Authors: A. A. Akharayi, B. E. Anjola

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The economic development of a country depends greatly on internally built revenue. Small and Medium-scale Enterprise (SMEs) contributes to the economic buoyancy as it provides employment for the teeming population, encourages job creation by youths who believes in themselves and also by others who have gathered finance enough to invest in growable investment. SMEs is faced with several challenges. The study investigates the role and challenges of SMEs Somolu Local Government Area. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select entrepreneurs (SMEs owners and managers). One hundred and fifty (150) registered SMEs were selected across the LGA data collection with the use of well-structured questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The result of the analysis indicated that marketing, finance, social facilities and indiscriminate taxes among other high level of fund available significantly (p <0 .05) increase firm capacity while marketing showed a significant (p < 0.05) relationship with profit level.

Keywords: challenge, development, economic, small and medium scale enterprise

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Authors: Amina Salem Attia

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This east project consists in studying The child's mental health is the medium through which he expresses his thoughts, so pay attention to it because it is an essential building block in the process of building the child's future personality, where it gives him a balance between feelings and mental thoughts, and since the family is the child's first guardian, it greatly affects his personality and psychological development. As the disturbed environment contributes to behavioral deviations and mental disorders, unlike the stable environment, which plays a major role in developing the child's abilities and forming his psychologically sound attitudes, this should not be forgotten about the role of the school, it is also the second social institution after the family and has a major impact on the child's mental health as it contributes It is important in forming the child's personality and developing his skills and achieving his healthy psychological development, by providing him with psychological care and helping him to solve his problems by using models that are valid for the behavior that is taught to him or that the teachers present in their daily behavior with him.

Keywords: psychological, behavioral problems, children, school education

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Authors: Norfiza Ibrahim, Norshuhada Shiratuddin, Siti Mahfuzah Sarif

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Decision-making system is used to facilitate people in making the right choice for their important daily activities. For the youth, proper guidance in making important decisions is needed. Their skills in decision-making aid decisions will indirectly affect their future. For that reason, this study focuses on the intelligent aspects in the development of intelligent decision support application. The aid apparently integrates Personality Traits (PT) and Multiple Intelligence (MI) data in development of a computerized personal decision aid for youth named as Youth Personal Decision Aid (Youth PDA). This study is concerned with the aid’s helpfulness based on the hybrid intelligent process. There are four main items involved which are reliability, decision making effort, confidence, as well as decision process awareness. Survey method was applied to the actual user of this system, namely the school and the Institute of Higher Education (IPT)’s students. An establish instrument was used to evaluate the study. The results of the analysis and findings in the assessment indicates a high mean value of the four dimensions in helping Youth PDA to be accepted as a useful tool for the youth in decision-making.

Keywords: decision support, multiple intelligent, personality traits, youth personal decision aid

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Authors: Alexis D'Agostino, Amanda Pomeroy

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Background: Resource availability is essential to effective implementation of national nutrition policies. To this end, the SPRING Project has collected and analyzed budget data from government ministries in Uganda, international donors, and other nutrition implementers to provide data for the first time on what funding is actually allocated to implement nutrition activities named in the national nutrition plan. Methodology: USAID’s SPRING Project used the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) as the starting point for budget analysis. Thorough desk reviews of public budgets from government, donors, and NGOs were mapped to activities named in the UNAP and validated by key informants (KIs) across the stakeholder groups. By relying on nationally-recognized and locally-created documents, SPRING provided a familiar basis for discussions to increase credibility and local ownership of findings. Among other things, the KIs validated the amount, source, and type (specific or sensitive) of funding. When only high-level budget data were available, KIs provided rough estimates of the percentage of allocations that were actually nutrition-relevant, allowing creation of confidence intervals around some funding estimates. Results: After validating data and narrowing in on estimates of funding to nutrition-relevant programming, researchers applied a formula to estimate overall nutrition allocations. In line with guidance by the SUN Movement and its three-step process, nutrition-specific funding was counted at 100% of its allocation amount, while nutrition sensitive funding was counted at 25%. The vast majority of nutrition funding in Uganda is off-budget, with over 90 percent of all nutrition funding is provided outside of the government system. Overall allocations are split nearly evenly between nutrition-specific and –sensitive activities. In FY 2013/14, the two-year study’s baseline year, on- and off-budget funding for nutrition was estimated to be around 60 million USD. While the 60 million USD allocations compare favorably to the 66 million USD estimate of the cost of the UNAP, not all activities are sufficiently funded. Those activities with a focus on behavior change were the most underfunded. In addition, accompanying qualitative research suggested that donor funding for nutrition activities may shift government funding into other areas of work, making it difficult to estimate the sustainability of current nutrition investments.Conclusions: Beyond providing figures, these estimates can be used together with the qualitative results of the study to explain how and why these amounts were allocated for particular activities and not others, examine the negotiation process that occurred, and suggest options for improving the flow of finances to UNAP activities for the remainder of the policy tenure. By the end of the PBN study, several years of nutrition budget estimates will be available to compare changes in funding over time. Halfway through SPRING’s work, there is evidence that country stakeholders have begun to feel ownership over the ultimate findings and some ministries are requesting increased technical assistance in nutrition budgeting. Ultimately, these data can be used within organization to advocate for more and improved nutrition funding and to improve targeting of nutrition allocations.

Keywords: budget, nutrition, financing, scale-up

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Authors: Max Neu

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A large variety of studies on the utilization of games in classroom settings promote positive effects on students motivation for learning. Still, most of those studies rarely can give any specifics about the factors that might lead to changes in students motivation. The undertaken study has been conducted in tandem with the development of a highly classroom-optimized serious game, with the intent of providing a subjectively positive initial contact with the subject of political participation and to enable the development of personal motivation towards further engagement with the topic. The goal of this explorative study was to Identify the factors that influence students motivation towards the subject when serious games are being used in classroom education. Therefor, students that have been exposed to a set of classes in which a classroom optimized serious game has been used. Afterwards, a selection of those have been questioned in guided interviews that have been evaluated through Qualitative Content Analysis. The study indicates that at least 23 factors in the categories, mechanics, content and context potentially influence students motivation to engage with the classes subject. The conclusions are of great value for the further production of classroom games as well as curricula involving digital games in general.

Keywords: formal education, games in classroom, motivation, political education

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Authors: Lorico D. S. Lapitan Jr., Yihan Xu, Yuan Guo, Dejian Zhou

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The ability of ultrasensitive detection of specific genes and discrimination of single nucleotide polymorphisms is important for clinical diagnosis and biomedical research. Herein, we report the development of a new ultrasensitive approach for label-free DNA detection using magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) assisted rapid target capture/separation in combination with signal amplification using poly-enzyme tagged polymer nanobead. The sensor uses an MNP linked capture DNA and a biotin modified signal DNA to sandwich bind the target followed by ligation to provide high single-nucleotide polymorphism discrimination. Only the presence of a perfect match target DNA yields a covalent linkage between the capture and signal DNAs for subsequent conjugation of a neutravidin-modified horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme through the strong biotin-nuetravidin interaction. This converts each captured DNA target into an HRP which can convert millions of copies of a non-fluorescent substrate (amplex red) to a highly fluorescent product (resorufin), for great signal amplification. The use of polymer nanobead each tagged with thousands of copies of HRPs as the signal amplifier greatly improves the signal amplification power, leading to greatly improved sensitivity. We show our biosensing approach can specifically detect an unlabeled DNA target down to 10 aM with a wide dynamic range of 5 orders of magnitude (from 0.001 fM to 100.0 fM). Furthermore, our approach has a high discrimination between a perfectly matched gene and its cancer-related single-base mismatch targets (SNPs): It can positively detect the perfect match DNA target even in the presence of 100 fold excess of co-existing SNPs. This sensing approach also works robustly in clinical relevant media (e.g. 10% human serum) and gives almost the same SNP discrimination ratio as that in clean buffers. Therefore, this ultrasensitive SNP biosensor appears to be well-suited for potential diagnostic applications of genetic diseases.

Keywords: DNA detection, polymer beads, signal amplification, single nucleotide polymorphisms

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Authors: Lip Vui Tshin

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Sabah, one of the thirteen Malaysian states, is located in the northern part of Malaysian Borneo. It is a melting pot of many different cultures and traditions, being home to about 2.9 million people with more than 30 ethic groups. It is also known as one of the twelve mega-diversity sites in the world with its rich living heritage; ethnic makes it ideal for the ecotourism industry. Sabah enjoys a steady flow of eco tourists from domestic and international markets with a gradual increase in the number of visitor arrival each year. Sabah’s ecotourism is categorized by its natural attraction, wildlife and wilderness habitats. This paper sets out to interpret and develop the indicators for success ecotourism sites in Sabah and measures its development stage. The long-term viability of tourism can be assured only when the limitations and favorable opportunities of the overall environment for tourism development are understood and ways to measure changes induced by tourism are identified and applied. This is a literature review of ecotourism site success indicators, and the outcome of this review is the identification of existing clusters and categorization of indicators and charting the way forward to develop a better understanding in ecotourism site success.

Keywords: ecotourism, ecotourism indicators, ecotourism success, Sabah

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Authors: Ayten Tahirli

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Settlements and grave monuments discovered by archeological excavations conducted in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic have a special place in studying the Ancient history of Azerbaijan between the 4th century B.C. and the 3rd century A.C. From this point of view, the archeological excavations and investigations conducted at Oglankala, Goshatapa, Babatapa, Pusyan, Agvantapa, Meydantapa and other monuments in Nakhchivan have a specific place. From this point of view, the conclusions of archeological research conducted at the Oglankala settlement enable studying of Nakhchivan history, economic life and trade relationships broadly. Oglankala, which is located on Garatapa Mountain with a space of 50 ha, was the largest fortress in Nakhchivan and one of the largest fortresses in the South Caucasus during the Middle Iron Age. The territory where the monument is located is very important in terms of keeping Sharur Lowland, which has great importance for agriculture and is the most productive territory in Nakhchivan, where Arpachay passes starting from the Lesser Caucasus. During the excavations between 1988 and 1989 at Oglankala, covering the fortress's history belonging to the Early and Middle Iron Ages, indisputable proofs showing that the territory was an important political center were discovered at that territory. Oglankala was the capital city of an independent government during the Middle Iron Age. It maintained economic and cultural relationships with the neighboring Urartu Government and was the capital city of a city government covered by a strong protection system in the centuries after the collapse of the Achaemenid Empire. It is need say that broader archeological excavations at Oglankala City were first started by Vali Bakhshaliyev, the Department Head of the Institute of History, Ethnography and Archeology of ANAS Nakhchivan Branch. Between 1988 and 1989, V.B. Bakhshaliyev conducted an excavation within an area of 320 square meters at Oglankala. Since 2006, Oglankala has become a research object for the International Azerbaijan-USA archeological expedition. In 2006, Lauren Ristvet from Pennsylvania State University, Veli Bakhshaliyev from the Nakhchivan Branch of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and Safar Ashurov from Baku Office of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, together with their other colleagues and students, started to study the ancient history of that magic area. During the archeological research conducted by an international expedition between 2008 and 2011 under the supervision of Vali Bakhshaliyev, the remnants of a palace and the protective walls of a citadel constructed between late 9th century B.C. and early 8th century A.C. were discovered in that residential area. It was found out that Oglankala was the capital city of a small government established at Sharur Lowland during the Middle Iron Age and struggled against the Urartu by establishing a union with the local tribes. That government had a specific cuneiform script. Between the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C., Oglankala and the territory it covered was one of the major political centers of the Atropathena Government.

Keywords: Nakhchivan, Oglankala, settlement, ceramic, archaeological excavation

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Authors: Michael T. Miller, G. David Gearhart

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Shared governance is an important element in higher education decision making. Through the joint decision making process, faculty members are provided an opportunity to help shape the future of an institution while increasing support for decisions that are made. Presidents, those leaders who are legally bound to guide their institutions, must find ways to collaborate effectively with faculty members in making decisions, and the first step in this process is understanding when and how presidents and faculty leaders interact. In the current study, a national sample of college presidents reported their preparation for the presidency, their perceptions of the functions of a faculty senate, and ultimately, the locations for important interactions between presidents and faculty senates. Results indicated that presidents, regardless of their preparation, found official functions to be the most important for communicating, although, those presidents with academic backgrounds were more likely to perceive faculty senates as having a role in all aspects of an institutions management.

Keywords: college faculty, college president, faculty senate, leadership

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Authors: C. Miranda, S. Cunha, R. Soares, M. Maia, G. Igrejas, F. Silva, P. Poeta

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The worldwide inappropriate use of antibiotics has increased the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms isolated from animals, humans, food, and the environment. To combat this complex and multifaceted problem is essential to know the prevalence in livestock animals and possible ways of transmission among animals and between these and humans. Enterococci species, in particular E. faecalis and E. faecium, are the most common nosocomial bacteria, causing infections in animals and humans. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize resistance and virulence factors genes among two enterococci species isolated from calf colostrums in Portuguese dairy farms. The 55 enterococci isolates (44 E. faecalis and 11 E. faecium) were tested for the presence of the resistance genes for the following antibiotics: erythromicyn (ermA, ermB, and ermC), tetracycline (tetL, tetM, tetK, and tetO), quinupristin/dalfopristin (vatD and vatE) and vancomycin (vanB). Of which, 25 isolates (15 E. faecalis and 10 E. faecium) were tested until now for 8 virulence factors genes (esp, ace, gelE, agg, cpd, cylA, cylB, and cylLL). The resistance and virulence genes were performed by PCR, using specific primers and conditions. Negative and positive controls were used in all PCR assays. All enterococci isolates showed resistance to erythromicyn and tetracycline through the presence of the genes: ermB (n=29, 53%), ermC (n=10, 18%), tetL (n=49, 89%), tetM (n=39, 71%) and tetK (n=33, 60%). Only two (4%) E. faecalis isolates showed the presence of tetO gene. No resistance genes for vancomycin were found. The virulence genes detected in both species were cpd (n=17, 68%), agg (n=16, 64%), ace (n=15, 60%), esp (n=13, 52%), gelE (n=13, 52%) and cylLL (n=8, 32%). In general, each isolate showed at least three virulence genes. In three E. faecalis isolates was not found virulence genes and only E. faecalis isolates showed virulence genes for cylA (n=4, 16%) and cylB (n=6, 24%). In conclusion, these colostrum samples that were consumed by calves demonstrated the presence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci harbored virulence genes. This genotypic characterization is crucial to control the antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the implementation of restricts measures safeguarding public health. Acknowledgements: This work was funded by the R&D Project CAREBIO2 (Comparative assessment of antimicrobial resistance in environmental biofilms through proteomics - towards innovative theragnostic biomarkers), with reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-030101 and PTDC/SAU-INF/30101/2017, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020).

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, calf, colostrums, enterococci

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