Search results for: Reader response theory

Authors: Javad Jozaei, Rob G. Bell, Paula Blackett, Scott A. Stephens

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In the last few decades, Social Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) has been a favoured means in evaluating the susceptibility of social systems to drivers of change, including climate change and natural disasters. However, the application of SVA to inform responsive and practical strategies to deal with uncertain climate change impacts has always been challenging, and typically agencies resort back to conventional risk/vulnerability assessment. These challenges include complex nature of social vulnerability concepts which influence its applicability, complications in identifying and measuring social vulnerability determinants, the transitory social dynamics in a changing environment, and unpredictability of the scenarios of change that impacts the regime of vulnerability (including contention of when these impacts might emerge). Research suggests that the conventional quantitative approaches in SVA could not appropriately address these problems; hence, the outcomes could potentially be misleading and not fit for addressing the ongoing uncertain rise in risk. The second phase of New Zealand’s Resilience to Nature’s Challenges (RNC2) is developing a forward-looking vulnerability assessment framework and methodology that informs the decision-making and policy development in dealing with the changing coastal systems and accounts for complex dynamics of New Zealand’s coastal systems (including socio-economic, environmental and cultural). Also, RNC2 requires the new methodology to consider plausible drivers of incremental and unknowable changes, create mechanisms to enhance social and community resilience; and fits the New Zealand’s multi-layer governance system. This paper aims to analyse the conventional approaches and methodologies in SVA and offer recommendations for more responsive approaches that inform adaptive decision-making and policy development in practice. The research adopts a qualitative research design to examine different aspects of the conventional SVA processes, and the methods to achieve the research objectives include a systematic review of the literature and case study methods. We found that the conventional quantitative, reductionist and deterministic mindset in the SVA processes -with a focus the impacts of rapid stressors (i.e. tsunamis, floods)- show some deficiencies to account for complex dynamics of social-ecological systems (SES), and the uncertain, long-term impacts of incremental drivers. The paper will focus on addressing the links between resilience and vulnerability; and suggests how resilience theory and its underpinning notions such as the adaptive cycle, panarchy, and system transformability could address these issues, therefore, influence the perception of vulnerability regime and its assessment processes. In this regard, it will be argued that how a shift of paradigm from ‘specific resilience’, which focuses on adaptive capacity associated with the notion of ‘bouncing back’, to ‘general resilience’, which accounts for system transformability, regime shift, ‘bouncing forward’, can deliver more effective strategies in an era characterised by ongoing change and deep uncertainty.

Keywords: complexity, social vulnerability, resilience, transformation, uncertain risks

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Authors: Leander Van Neste, Kirk Wojno

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The innate immune system reacts to foreign insult in several unique ways, one of which is phagocytosis of perceived threats such as cancer, bacteria, and viruses. The goal of this study was to look for evidence of phagocytosed RNA from tumor cells in circulating monocytes. While all monocytes possess phagocytic capabilities, the non-classical CD14+/FCGR3A+ monocytes and the intermediate CD14++/FCGR3A+ monocytes most actively remove threatening ‘external’ cellular materials. Purified CD14-positive monocyte samples from fourteen patients recently diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer (PCa) were investigated by single-cell RNA sequencing using the 10X Genomics protocol followed by paired-end sequencing on Illumina’s NovaSeq. Similarly, samples were processed and used as controls, i.e., one patient underwent biopsy but was found not to harbor prostate cancer (benign), three young, healthy men, and three men previously diagnosed with prostate cancer that recently underwent (curative) radical prostatectomy (post-RP). Sequencing data were mapped using 10X Genomics’ CellRanger software and viable cells were subsequently identified using CellBender, removing technical artifacts such as doublets and non-cellular RNA. Next, data analysis was performed in R, using the Seurat package. Because the main goal was to identify differences between PCa patients and ‘control’ patients, rather than exploring differences between individual subjects, the individual Seurat objects of all 21 patients were merged into one Seurat object per Seurat’s recommendation. Finally, the single-cell dataset was normalized as a whole prior to further analysis. Cell identity was assessed using the SingleR and cell dex packages. The Monaco Immune Data was selected as the reference dataset, consisting of bulk RNA-seq data of sorted human immune cells. The Monaco classification was supplemented with normalized PCa data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), which consists of bulk RNA sequencing data from 499 prostate tumor tissues (including 1 metastatic) and 52 (adjacent) normal prostate tissues. SingleR was subsequently run on the combined immune cell and PCa datasets. As expected, the vast majority of cells were labeled as having a monocytic origin (~90%), with the most noticeable difference being the larger number of intermediate monocytes in the PCa patients (13.6% versus 7.1%; p<.001). In men harboring PCa, 0.60% of all purified monocytes were classified as harboring PCa signals when the TCGA data were included. This was 3-fold, 7.5-fold, and 4-fold higher compared to post-RP, benign, and young men, respectively (all p<.001). In addition, with 7.91%, the number of unclassified cells, i.e., cells with pruned labels due to high uncertainty of the assigned label, was also highest in men with PCa, compared to 3.51%, 2.67%, and 5.51% of cells in post-RP, benign, and young men, respectively (all p<.001). It can be postulated that actively phagocytosing cells are hardest to classify due to their dual immune cell and foreign cell nature. Hence, the higher number of unclassified cells and intermediate monocytes in PCa patients might reflect higher phagocytic activity due to tumor burden. This also illustrates that small numbers (~1%) of circulating peripheral blood monocytes that have interacted with tumor cells might still possess detectable phagocytosed tumor RNA.

Keywords: circulating monocytes, phagocytic cells, prostate cancer, tumor immune response

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Authors: komal verma, V. S. Moholkar

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In this current study, the challenge of effectively treating and mineralizing industrial wastewater prior to its discharge into natural water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, is being addressed. Particularly, the focus is on the wastewater produced by chemical process industries, including refineries, petrochemicals, fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and dyestuff industries. These wastewaters often contain stubborn organic pollutants that conventional techniques, such as microbial processes cannot efficiently degrade. To tackle this issue, a ternary hybrid technique comprising of adsorption, heterogeneous Fenton process, and sonication has been employed. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach for treating and mineralizing wastewater from a fertilizer industry located in Northeast India. The study comprises several key components, starting with the synthesis of the Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite using the co-precipitation method. The nanocomposite is then subjected to comprehensive characterization through various standard techniques, including FTIR, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, BET surface area analysis, XRD, and magnetic property determination using VSM. Next, the process parameters of wastewater treatment are statistically optimized, focusing on achieving a high level of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) removal as the response variable. The Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite's adsorption characteristics and kinetics are also assessed in detail. The remarkable outcome of this study is the successful application of the ternary hybrid technique, combining adsorption, Fenton process, and sonication. This approach proves highly effective, leading to nearly complete mineralization (or TOC removal) of the fertilizer industry wastewater. The results highlight the potential of the Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite and the ternary hybrid technique as a promising solution for tackling challenging wastewater pollutants from various chemical process industries. This paper reports investigations in the mineralization of industrial wastewater (COD = 3246 mg/L, TOC = 2500 mg/L) using a ternary (ultrasound + Fenton + adsorption) hybrid advanced oxidation process. Fe3O4 decorated activated charcoal (Fe3O4@AC) nanocomposites (surface area = 538.88 m2/g; adsorption capacity = 294.31 mg/g) were synthesized using co-precipitation. The wastewater treatment process was optimized using central composite statistical design. At optimum conditions, viz. pH = 4.2, H2O2 loading = 0.71 M, adsorbent dose = 0.34 g/L, reduction in COD and TOC of wastewater were 94.75% and 89%, respectively. This result results from synergistic interactions among the adsorption of pollutants onto activated charcoal and surface Fenton reactions induced due to the leaching of Fe2+/Fe3+ ions from the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Micro-convection generated due to sonication assisted faster mass transport (adsorption/desorption) of pollutants between Fe3O4@AC nanocomposite and the solution. The net result of this synergism was high interactions and reactions among and radicals and pollutants that resulted in the effective mineralization of wastewater. The Fe3O4@AC showed excellent recovery (> 90 wt%) and reusability (> 90% COD removal) in 5 successive cycles of treatment. LC-MS analysis revealed effective (> 50%) degradation of more than 25 significant contaminants (in the form of herbicides and pesticides) after the treatment with ternary hybrid AOP. Similarly, the toxicity analysis test using the seed germination technique revealed ~ 60% reduction in the toxicity of the wastewater after treatment.

Keywords: chemical oxygen demand (cod), fe3o4@ac nanocomposite, kinetics, lc-ms, rsm, toxicity

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Authors: O. Squillace, R. L. Thompson

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Migration of small molecules to, and across the surface of polymer matrices is a little-studied problem with important industrial applications. Tackifiers in adhesives, flavors in foods and binding agents in paints all present situations where the function of a product depends on the ability of small molecules to migrate through a polymer matrix to achieve the desired properties such as softness, dispersion of fillers, and to deliver an effect that is felt (or tasted) on a surface. It’s been shown that the chemical and molecular structure, surface free energies, phase behavior, close environment and compatibility of the system, influence the migrants’ motion. When differences in behavior, such as occurrence of segregation to the surface or not, are observed it is then of crucial importance to identify and get a better understanding of the driving forces involved in the process of molecular migration. In this aim, experience is meant to be allied with theory in order to deliver a validated theoretical and computational toolkit to describe and predict these phenomena. The systems that have been chosen for this study aim to address the effect of polarity mismatch between the migrants and the polymer matrix and that of a second migrant over the first one. As a non-polar resin polymer, polyvinyl acetate is used as the material to which more or less polar migrants (sorbitol, carvone, octanoic acid (OA), triacetin) are to be added. Through contact angle measurement a surface excess is seen for sorbitol (polar) mixed with PVAc as the surface energy is lowered compare to the one of pure PVAc. This effect is increased upon the addition of carvon or triacetin (non-polars). Surface micro-structures are also evidenced by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Ion beam analysis (Nuclear Reaction Analysis), supplemented by neutron reflectometry can accurately characterize the self-organization of surfactants, oligomers, aromatic molecules in polymer films in order to relate the macroscopic behavior to the length scales that are amenable to simulation. The nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) data for deuterated OA 20% shows the evidence of a surface excess which is enhanced after annealing. The addition of 10% triacetin, as a second migrant, results in the formation of an underlying layer enriched in triacetin below the surface excess of OA. The results show that molecules in polarity mismatch with the matrix tend to segregate to the surface, and this is favored by the addition of a second migrant of the same polarity than the matrix. As studies have been restricted to materials that are model supported films under static conditions in a first step, it is also wished to address the more challenging conditions of materials under controlled stress or strain. To achieve this, a simple rig and PDMS cell have been designed to stretch the material to a defined strain and to probe these mechanical effects by ion beam analysis and atomic force microscopy. This will make a significant step towards exploring the influence of extensional strain on surface segregation, flavor release in cross-linked rubbers.

Keywords: polymers, surface segregation, thin films, molecular migration

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Authors: Miroslaw Wendeker, Piotr Kacejko, Mariusz Duk, Pawel Karpinski

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The research in the field of aircraft internal combustion engines is currently driven by the needs of decreasing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, while fulfilling the level of safety. Currently, reciprocating aircraft engines are found in sports, emergency, agricultural and recreation aviation. Technically, they are most at a pre-war knowledge of the theory of operation, design and manufacturing technology, especially if compared to that high level of development of automotive engines. Typically, these engines are driven by carburetors of a quite primitive construction. At present, due to environmental requirements and dealing with a climate change, it is beneficial to develop aircraft piston engines and adopt the achievements of automotive engineering such as computer-controlled low-pressure injection, electronic ignition control and biofuels. The paper describes simulation research of the innovative power and control systems for the aircraft radial engine of high power. Installing an electronic ignition system in the radial aircraft engine is a fundamental innovative idea of this solution. Consequently, the required level of safety and better functionality as compared to the today’s plug system can be guaranteed. In this framework, this research work focuses on describing a methodology for optimizing the electronically controlled ignition system. This attempt can reduce emissions of toxic compounds as a result of lowered fuel consumption, optimized combustion and engine capability of efficient combustion of ecological fuels. New, redundant elements of the control system can improve the safety of aircraft. Consequently, the required level of safety and better functionality as compared to the today’s plug system can be guaranteed. The simulation research aimed to determine the vulnerability of the values measured (they were planned as the quantities measured by the measurement systems) to determining the optimal ignition angle (the angle of maximum torque at a given operating point). The described results covered: a) research in steady states; b) velocity ranging from 1500 to 2200 rpm (every 100 rpm); c) loading ranging from propeller power to maximum power; d) altitude ranging according to the International Standard Atmosphere from 0 to 8000 m (every 1000 m); e) fuel: automotive gasoline ES95. The three models of different types of ignition coil (different energy discharge) were studied. The analysis aimed at the optimization of the design of the innovative ignition system for an aircraft engine. The optimization involved: a) the optimization of the measurement systems; b) the optimization of actuator systems. The studies enabled the research on the vulnerability of the signals to the control of the ignition timing. Accordingly, the number and type of sensors were determined for the ignition system to achieve its optimal performance. The results confirmed the limited benefits, in terms of fuel consumption. Thus, including spark management in the optimization is mandatory to significantly decrease the fuel consumption. This work has been financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development, INNOLOT, under Grant Agreement No. INNOLOT/I/1/NCBR/2013.

Keywords: piston engine, radial engine, ignition system, CFD model, engine optimization

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Authors: Naomi Grigoryan, Alexandros Loutsioli Daskalakis, Anna Elisse Uy, Yihe Huang, Aude Laurent (Webanck)

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In response to the building and construction sectors accounting for a third of all energy demand and emissions, the European Union has placed new laws and regulations in the construction sector that emphasize material circularity, energy efficiency, biodiversity, and social impact. Existing design tools assess sustainability in early-stage design for products or buildings; however, there is no standardized methodology for measuring the circularity performance of building components. Existing assessment methods for building components focus primarily on carbon footprint but lack the comprehensive analysis required to design for circularity. The research conducted in this paper covers the parameters needed to assess sustainability in the design process of architectural products such as doors, windows, and facades. It maps a framework for a tool that assists designers with real-time sustainability metrics. Considering the life cycle of building components such as façades, windows, and doors involves the life cycle stages applied to product design and many of the methods used in the life cycle analysis of buildings. The current industry standards of sustainability assessment for metal building components follow cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA), track Global Warming Potential (GWP), and document the parameters used for an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Developed by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) is a methodology utilizing the data from LCA and EPDs to rate circularity, with a "value between 0 and 1 where higher values indicate a higher circularity+". Expanding on the MCI with additional indicators such as the Water Circularity Index (WCI), the Energy Circularity Index (ECI), the Social Circularity Index (SCI), Life Cycle Economic Value (EV), and calculating biodiversity risk and uncertainty, the assessment methodology of an architectural product's impact can be targeted more specifically based on product requirements, performance, and lifespan. Broadening the scope of LCA calculation for products to incorporate aspects of building design allows product designers to account for the disassembly of architectural components. For example, the Material Circularity Indicator for architectural products such as windows and facades is typically low due to the impact of glass, as 70% of glass ends up in landfills due to damage in the disassembly process. The low MCI can be combatted by expanding beyond cradle-to-grave assessment and focusing the design process on disassembly, recycling, and repurposing with the help of real-time assessment tools. Design for Disassembly and Urban Mining has been integrated within the construction field on small scales as project-based exercises, not addressing the entire supply chain of architectural products. By adopting more comprehensive sustainability metrics and incorporating uncertainty calculations, the sustainability assessment of building components can be more accurately assessed with decarbonization and disassembly in mind, addressing the large-scale commercial markets within construction, some of the most significant contributors to climate change.

Keywords: architectural products, early-stage design, life cycle assessment, material circularity indicator

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Authors: Paola Clerici Maestosi

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Positive Energy District (PED) is a rather recent concept whose aim is to contribute to the main objectives of the Energy Union strategy. It is based on an integrated multi-sectoral approach in response to Europe's most complex challenges. PED integrates energy efficiency, renewable energy production, and energy flexibility in an integrated, multi-sectoral approach at the city level. The core idea behind Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) is to establish an urban area that can generate more energy than it consumes. Additionally, it should be flexible enough to adapt to changes in the energy market. This is crucial because a PED's goal is not just to achieve an annual surplus of net energy but also to help reduce the impact on the interconnected centralized energy networks. It achieves this by providing options to increase on-site load matching and self-consumption, employing technologies for short- and long-term energy storage, and offering energy flexibility through smart control. Thus, it seems that PEDs can encompass all types of buildings in the city environment. Given this which is the added value of having green buildings being constitutive part of PEDS? The paper will present a systematic literature review identifying the role of green building in Positive Energy District to provide answer to following questions: (RQ1) the state of the art of PEDs implementation; (RQ2) penetration of green building in Positive Energy District selected case studies. Methodological approach is based on a broad holistic study of bibliographic sources according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) further data will be analysed, mapped and text mining through VOSviewer. Main contribution of research is a cognitive framework on Positive Energy District in Europe and a selection of case studies where green building supported the transition to PED. The inclusion of green buildings within Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) adds significant value for several reasons. Firstly, green buildings are designed and constructed with a focus on environmental sustainability, incorporating energy-efficient technologies, materials, and design principles. As integral components of PEDs, these structures contribute directly to the district's overall ability to generate more energy than it consumes. Secondly, green buildings typically incorporate renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, further boosting the district's capacity for energy generation. This aligns with the PED objective of achieving a surplus of net energy. Moreover, green buildings often feature advanced systems for on-site energy management, load-matching, and self-consumption. This enhances the PED's capability to respond to variations in the energy market, making the district more agile and flexible in optimizing energy use. Additionally, the environmental considerations embedded in green buildings align with the broader sustainability goals of PEDs. By reducing the ecological footprint of individual structures, PEDs with green buildings contribute to minimizing the overall impact on centralized energy networks and promote a more sustainable urban environment. In summary, the incorporation of green buildings within PEDs not only aligns with the district's energy objectives but also enhances environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and the overall resilience of the urban environment.

Keywords: positive energy district, renewables energy production, energy flexibility, energy efficiency

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Authors: Ankita Jadon, Sidi Souvi, Nathalie Girault, Denis Petitprez

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Safety requirements for Generation IV nuclear reactor designs, especially the new generation sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR) require a risk-informed approach to model severe accidents (SA) and their consequences in case of outside release. In SFRs, aerosols are produced during a core disruptive accident when primary system sodium is ejected into the containment and burn in contact with the air; producing sodium aerosols. One of the key aspects of safety evaluation is the in-containment sodium aerosol behavior and their interaction with fission products. The study of the effects of sodium fires is essential for safety evaluation as the fire can both thermally damage the containment vessel and cause an overpressurization risk. Besides, during the fire, airborne fission product first dissolved in the primary sodium can be aerosolized or, as it can be the case for fission products, released under the gaseous form. The objective of this work is to study the interactions between sodium aerosols and fission products (Iodine, toxic and volatile, being the primary concern). Sodium fires resulting from an SA would produce aerosols consisting of sodium peroxides, hydroxides, carbonates, and bicarbonates. In addition to being toxic (in oxide form), this aerosol will then become radioactive. If such aerosols are leaked into the environment, they can pose a danger to the ecosystem. Depending on the chemical affinity of these chemical forms with fission products, the radiological consequences of an SA leading to containment leak tightness loss will also be affected. This work is split into two phases. Firstly, a method to theoretically understand the kinetics and thermodynamics of the heterogeneous reaction between sodium aerosols and fission products: I2 and HI are proposed. Ab-initio, density functional theory (DFT) calculations using Vienna ab-initio simulation package are carried out to develop an understanding of the surfaces of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) aerosols and hence provide insight on its affinity towards iodine species. A comprehensive study of I2 and HI adsorption, as well as bicarbonate formation on the calculated lowest energy surface of Na2CO3, was performed which provided adsorption energies and description of the optimized configuration of adsorbate on the stable surface. Secondly, the heterogeneous reaction between (I2)g and Na2CO3 aerosols were investigated experimentally. To study this, (I2)g was generated by heating a permeation tube containing solid I2, and, passing it through a reaction chamber containing Na2CO3 aerosol deposit. The concentration of iodine was then measured at the exit of the reaction chamber. Preliminary observations indicate that there is an effective uptake of (I2)g on Na2CO3 surface, as suggested by our theoretical chemistry calculations. This work is the first step in addressing the gaps in knowledge of in-containment and atmospheric source term which are essential aspects of safety evaluation of SFR SA. In particular, this study is aimed to determine and characterize the radiological and chemical source term. These results will then provide useful insights for the developments of new models to be implemented in integrated computer simulation tool to analyze and evaluate SFR safety designs.

Keywords: iodine adsorption, sodium aerosols, sodium cooled reactor, DFT calculations, sodium carbonate

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Authors: Pedro A. Marques, Francisco Monteiro, Alessandra Zumbo, Alessia Simonini, Miguel A. Mendez

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Cryogenic fuels such as Liquid Hydrogen (LH₂) must be transported and stored at extremely low temperatures. Without expensive active cooling solutions, preventing fuel boil-off over time is impossible. Hence, one must resort to venting systems at the cost of significant energy and fuel mass loss. These losses increase significantly in propellant tanks installed on vehicles, as the presence of external accelerations induces sloshing. Sloshing increases heat and mass transfer rates and leads to significant pressure oscillations, which might further trigger propellant venting. To make LH₂ economically viable, it is essential to minimize these factors by using advanced control techniques. However, these require accurate modelling and a full understanding of the tank's thermodynamics. The present research aims to implement a simple thermodynamic model capable of predicting the state of a cryogenic fuel tank under different operating conditions (i.e., filling, pressurization, fuel extraction, long-term storage, and sloshing). Since this model relies on a set of closure parameters to drive the system's transient response, it must be calibrated using experimental or numerical data. This work focuses on the former approach, wherein the model is calibrated through an experimental campaign carried out on a reduced-scale model of a cryogenic tank. The thermodynamic model of the system is composed of three control volumes: the ullage, the liquid, and the insulating walls. Under this lumped formulation, the governing equations are derived from energy and mass balances in each region, with mass-averaged properties assigned to each of them. The gas-liquid interface is treated as an infinitesimally thin region across which both phases can exchange mass and heat. This results in a coupled system of ordinary differential equations, which must be closed with heat and mass transfer coefficients between each control volume. These parameters are linked to the system evolution via empirical relations derived from different operating regimes of the tank. The derivation of these relations is carried out using an inverse method to find the optimal relations that allow the model to reproduce the available data. This approach extends classic system identification methods beyond linear dynamical systems via a nonlinear optimization step. Thanks to the data-driven assimilation of the closure problem, the resulting model accurately predicts the evolution of the tank's thermodynamics at a negligible computational cost. The lumped model can thus be easily integrated with other submodels to perform complete system simulations in real time. Moreover, by setting the model in a dimensionless form, a scaling analysis allowed us to relate the tested configurations to a representative full-size tank for naval applications. It was thus possible to compare the relative importance of different transport phenomena between the laboratory model and the full-size prototype among the different operating regimes.

Keywords: destratification, hydrogen, modeling, pressure-drop, pressurization, sloshing, thermodynamics

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Authors: Cristina Maria Mendoza Sanchez, Maria Angeles Navarro Perán

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Introduction: Nursing as a profession, from its initial formation and after its development in practice, has been built and identified mainly from its technical competence and professionalization within the positivist approach of the XIX century that provides a conception of the disease built on the basis of to the biomedical paradigm, where the care provided is more focused on the physiological processes and the disease than on the suffering person understood as a whole. The main issue that is in need of study here is a review of the nursing profession's history to get to know how the nursing profession was before the XIX century. It is unclear if there were organizations or people with knowledge about looking after others or if many people survived by chance. The holistic care, in which the appearance of the disease directly affects all its dimensions: physical, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual. It is not a concept from the 21st century. It is common practice, most probably since established life in this world, with the final purpose of covering all these perspectives through quality care. Objective: In this paper, we describe and analyze the history of education in nursing learning in terms of reviewing and analysing theoretical foundations of clinical teaching and learning in nursing, with the final purpose of determining and describing the development of the nursing profession along the history. Method: We have done a descriptive systematic review study, doing a systematically searched of manuscripts and articles in the following health science databases: Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Temperamentvm and CINAHL. The selection of articles has been made according to PRISMA criteria, doing a critical reading of the full text using the CASPe method. A compliment to this, we have read a range of historical and contemporary sources to support the review, such as manuals of Florence Nightingale and John of God as primary manuscripts to establish the origin of modern nursing and her professionalization. We have considered and applied ethical considerations of data processing. Results: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria in our search, in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Temperamentvm and CINAHL, we have obtained 51 research articles. We have analyzed them in such a way that we have distinguished them by year of publication and the type of study. With the articles obtained, we can see the importance of our background as a profession before modern times in public health and as a review of our past to face challenges in the near future. Discussion: The important influence of key figures other than Nightingale has been overlooked and it emerges that nursing management and development of the professional body has a longer and more complex history than is generally accepted. Conclusions: There is a paucity of studies on the subject of the review to be able to extract very precise evidence and recommendations about nursing before modern times. But even so, as more representative data, an increase in research about nursing history has been observed. In light of the aspects analyzed, the need for new research in the history of nursing emerges from this perspective; in order to germinate studies of the historical construction of care before the XIX century and theories created then. We can assure that pieces of knowledge and ways of care were taught before the XIX century, but they were not called theories, as these concepts were created in modern times.

Keywords: nursing history, nursing theory, Saint John of God, Florence Nightingale, learning, nursing education

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Authors: Jonas De Kerf, Rein De Cooman, Sara De Gieter

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For many decades, scholars have aimed to understand how work can become more meaningful by maximizing both potential and enhancing feelings of satisfaction. One of the largest contributions towards such positive psychology was made with the introduction of the concept of ‘flow,’ which refers to a condition in which people feel intense engagement and effortless action. Since then, valuable research on work-related flow has indicated that this state of mind is related to positive outcomes for both organizations (e.g., social, supportive climates) and workers (e.g., job satisfaction). Yet, scholars still do not fully comprehend how such deep involvement at work is obtained, given the notion that flow is considered a short-term, complex, and dynamic experience. Most research neglects that people who experience flow ought to be optimally challenged so that intense concentration is required. Because attention is at the core of this enjoyable state of mind, this study aims to comprehend how elements that affect workers’ cognitive functioning impact flow at work. Research on cognitive performance suggests that working on mentally demanding tasks (e.g., information processing tasks) requires workers to concentrate deeply, as a result leading to flow experiences. Based on social facilitation theory, working on such tasks in an isolated environment eases concentration. Prior research has indicated that working at home (instead of working at the office) or in a closed office (rather than in an open-plan office) impacts employees’ overall functioning in terms of concentration and productivity. Consequently, we advance such knowledge and propose an interaction by combining cognitive task characteristics and work environments among part-time teleworkers. Hence, we not only aim to shed light on the relation between cognitive tasks and flow but also provide empirical evidence that workers performing such tasks achieve the highest states of flow while working either at home or in closed offices. In July 2022, an experience-sampling study will be conducted that uses a semi-random signal schedule to understand how task and environment predictors together impact part-time teleworkers’ flow. More precisely, about 150 knowledge workers will fill in multiple surveys a day for two consecutive workweeks to report their flow experiences, cognitive tasks, and work environments. Preliminary results from a pilot study indicate that on a between level, tasks high in information processing go along with high self-reported fluent productivity (i.e., making progress). As expected, evidence was found for higher fluency in productivity for workers performing information processing tasks both at home and in a closed office, compared to those performing the same tasks at the office or in open-plan offices. This study expands the current knowledge on work-related flow by looking at a task and environmental predictors that enable workers to obtain such a peak state. While doing so, our findings suggest that practitioners should strive for ideal alignments between tasks and work locations to work with both deep involvement and gratification.

Keywords: cognitive work, office lay-out, work location, work-related flow

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Authors: Dario Milani, Guido Morgenthal

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Fluid dynamic computation of wind caused forces on bluff bodies e.g light flexible civil structures or high incidence of ground approaching airplane wings, is one of the major criteria governing their design. For such structures a significant dynamic response may result, requiring the usage of small scale devices as guide-vanes in bridge design to control these effects. The focus of this paper is on the numerical simulation of the bluff body problem involving multiscale phenomena induced by small scale devices. One of the solution methods for the CFD simulation that is relatively successful in this class of applications is the Vortex Particle Method (VPM). The method is based on a grid free Lagrangian formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations, where the velocity field is modeled by particles representing local vorticity. These vortices are being convected due to the free stream velocity as well as diffused. This representation yields the main advantages of low numerical diffusion, compact discretization as the vorticity is strongly localized, implicitly accounting for the free-space boundary conditions typical for this class of FSI problems, and a natural representation of the vortex creation process inherent in bluff body flows. When the particle resolution reaches the Kolmogorov dissipation length, the method becomes a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS). However, it is crucial to note that any solution method aims at balancing the computational cost against the accuracy achievable. In the classical VPM method, if the fluid domain is discretized by Np particles, the computational cost is O(Np2). For the coupled FSI problem of interest, for example large structures such as long-span bridges, the aerodynamic behavior may be influenced or even dominated by small structural details such as barriers, handrails or fairings. For such geometrically complex and dimensionally large structures, resolving the complete domain with the conventional VPM particle discretization might become prohibitively expensive to compute even for moderate numbers of particles. It is possible to reduce this cost either by reducing the number of particles or by controlling its local distribution. It is also possible to increase the accuracy of the solution without increasing substantially the global computational cost by computing a correction of the particle-particle interaction in some regions of interest. In this paper different strategies are presented in order to extend the conventional VPM method to reduce the computational cost whilst resolving the required details of the flow. The methods include temporal sub stepping to increase the accuracy of the particles convection in certain regions as well as dynamically re-discretizing the particle map to locally control the global and the local amount of particles. Finally, these methods will be applied on a test case and the improvements in the efficiency as well as the accuracy of the proposed extension to the method are presented. The important benefits in terms of accuracy and computational cost of the combination of these methods will be thus presented as long as their relevant applications.

Keywords: adaptation, fluid dynamic, remeshing, substepping, vortex particle method

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Authors: Jessica J. Gillies

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Awareness of the tragedy that is human trafficking has increased exponentially over the past two decades. The four pillars widely recognised as global solutions to the problem are prevention, prosecution, protection, and partnership between government and non-government organisations. While ‘sex-trafficking’ initially received major attention, this focus has shifted to other industries that conceal broader experiences of exploitation. However, within the regions of focus for this study, namely Australia and Thailand, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation remains the commonly uncovered narrative of criminal justice investigations. In these regions anti-trafficking action is characterised by government-led prevention and prosecution efforts; whereas protection and reintegration practices have received criticism. Typically, non-government organisations straddle the critical chasm between policy and practice; therefore, they are perfectly positioned to contribute valuable experiential knowledge toward understanding how both sectors can support survivors in the post-trafficking experience. The aim of this research is to inform improved partnerships throughout government and non-government post-trafficking services by illuminating gaps in protection and reintegration initiatives. This research will explore government and non-government responses to human trafficking in Thailand and Australia, in order to understand how meaning is constructed in this context and how the construction of meaning effects survivors in the post-trafficking experience. A qualitative, three-stage methodology was adopted for this study. The initial stage of enquiry consisted of a discursive analysis, in order to deconstruct the broader discourses surrounding human trafficking. The data included empirical papers, grey literature such as publicly available government and non-government reports, and anti-trafficking policy documents. The second and third stages of enquiry will attempt to further explore the findings of the discourse analysis and will focus more specifically on protection and reintegration in Australia and Thailand. Stages two and three will incorporate process observations in government and non-government survivor support services, and semi-structured interviews with employees and volunteers within these settings. Two key findings emerged from the discursive analysis. The first exposed conflicting feminist arguments embedded throughout anti-trafficking discourse. Informed by conflicting feminist discourses on sex-work, a discursive relationship has been constructed between sex-industry policy and anti-trafficking policy. In response to this finding, data emerging from the process observations and semi-structured interviews will be interpreted using a feminist theoretical framework. The second finding progresses from the construction in the first. The discursive construction of sex-trafficking appears to have had influence over perceptions of the legitimacy of survivors, and therefore the support they receive in the post-trafficking experience. For example; women who willingly migrate for employment in the sex-industry, and on arrival are faced with exploitative conditions, are not perceived to be deserving of the same support as a woman who is not coerced, but rather physically forced, into such circumstances, yet both meet the criteria for a victim of human trafficking. The forthcoming study is intended to contribute toward building knowledge and understanding around the implications of the construction of legitimacy; and contextualise this in reference to government led protection and reintegration support services for survivors in the post-trafficking experience.

Keywords: Australia, government, human trafficking, non-government, reintegration, Thailand

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Authors: Prabhjot Kaur, B.K. Kang, Balwinder Singh

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The tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an agricultural important pest species. S. litura has a wide host range of approximately recorded 150 plant species worldwide. In Punjab, this pest attains sporadic status primarily on cauliflower, Brassica oleracea (L.). This pest destroys vegetable crop and particularly prefers the cruciferae family. However, it is also observed feeding on other crops such as arbi, Colocasia esculenta (L.), mung bean, Vigna radiata (L.), sunflower, Helianthus annuus (L.), cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), castor, Ricinus communis (L.), etc. Larvae of this pest completely devour the leaves of infested plant resulting in huge crop losses which ranges from 50 to 70 per cent. Indiscriminate and continuous use of insecticides has contributed in development of insecticide resistance in insects and caused the environmental degradation as well. Moreover, a base line data regarding the toxicity of the newer insecticides would help in understanding the level of resistance developed in this pest and any possible cross-resistance there in, which could be assessed in advance. Therefore, present studies on development of resistance in S. litura against four new chemistry insecticides (emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb and spinosad) were carried out in the Toxicology laboratory, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India during the year 2011-12. Various stages of S. litura (eggs, larvae) were collected from four different locations (Malerkotla, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Samrala) of Punjab. Resistance is developed in third instars of lepidopterous pests. Therefore, larval bioassays were conducted to estimate the response of field populations of thirty third-instar larvae of S. litura under laboratory conditions at 25±2°C and 65±5 per cent relative humidity. Leaf dip bioassay technique with diluted insecticide formulations recommended by Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) was performed in the laboratory with seven to ten treatments depending on the insecticide class, respectively. LC50 values were estimated by probit analysis after correction to record control mortality data which was used to calculate the resistance ratios (RR). The LC50 values worked out for emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb, spinosad are 0.081, 0.088, 0.380, 4.00 parts per million (ppm) against pest populations collected from Malerkotla; 0.051, 0.060, 0.250, 3.00 (ppm) of Amritsar; 0.002, 0.001, 0.0076, 0.10 ppm for Samrala and 0.000014, 0.00001, 0.00056, 0.003 ppm against pest population of Hoshiarpur, respectively. The LC50 values for populations collected from these four locations were in the order Malerkotla>Amritsar>Samrala>Hoshiarpur for the insecticides (emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb and spinosad) tested. Based on LC50 values obtained, emamectin benzoate (0.000014 ppm) was found to be the most toxic among all the tested populations, followed by chlorantraniliprole (0.00001 ppm), indoxacarb (0.00056 ppm) and spinosad (0.003 ppm), respectively. The pairwise correlation coefficients of LC50 values indicated that there was lack of cross resistance for emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, spinosad, indoxacarb in populations of S. litura from Punjab. These insecticides may prove to be promising substitutes for the effective control of insecticide resistant populations of S. litura in Punjab state, India.

Keywords: Spodoptera litura, insecticides, toxicity, resistance

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Authors: Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Imran Ghani, Haiyan Ding, Zhihui Cheng, Muhammad Iqbal

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Background and Aims: In recent years, protected cultivation trend, especially in the northern parts of China, spread dynamically where production area, structure, and crops diversity have expanded gradually under plastic greenhouse vegetable cropping (PGVC) system. Under this growing system, continuous monoculture with excessive synthetic fertilizers inputs are common cultivation practices frequently adopted by commercial producers. Such long-term cumulative wild exercise year after year sponsor the continuous cropping obstacles in PGVC soil, which have greatly threatened the regional soil eco-sustainability and further impose the continuous assault on soil ecological diversity leading to the exhaustion of agriculture productivity. The aim of this study was to develop new allelopathic insights by exploiting available biological resources in the favor of sustainable PGVC to illuminate the continuous obstacle factors in plastic greenhouse. Method: A greenhouse study was executed under plastic tunnel located at the Horticulture Experimental Station of the College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, one of the prominent regions for intensive commercial PGVC in China. Post-harvest garlic residues (stalk, leaves) mechanically smashed, homogenized into powder size and incorporated at the ratio of 1:100; 3:100; 5:100 as a soil amendment in a replanted soil that have been used for continuous cucumber monoculture for 7 years (annually double cropping system in a greenhouse). Results: Incorporated C-rich garlic stalk significantly influenced the soil condition through various ways; organic matter decomposition and mineralization, moderately adjusted the soil pH, enhanced the soil nutrient availability, increased enzymatic activities, and promoted 20% more cucumber yield in short-time. Using Illumina MiSeq sequencing analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal 18S rDNA genes, the current study revealed that addition of garlic stalk/residue could also improve the microbial abundance and community composition in extensively exploited soil, and contributed in soil functionality, caused prosper changes in soil characteristics, reinforced to good crop yield. Conclusion: Our study provided evidence that addition of garlic stalk as soil fertility amendment is a feasible, cost-effective and efficient resource utilization way for renovation of degraded soil health, ameliorate soil quality components and improve ecological environment in short duration. Our study may provide a better scientific understanding for efficient crop residue management typically from allelopathic source.

Keywords: garlic stalk, microbial community dynamics, plant growth, soil amendment, soil-plant system

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Authors: Heitor Oliveira, Gabriele De-Waal, Juergen Schmenger, Lynsey Godfrey, Tibor Kovacs

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Rheolaser MASTER™ makes use of multiple scattering of light, caused by scattering objects in a continuous medium (such as droplets and particles in colloids), to characterize the viscoelasticity of soft materials. It offers an alternative to conventional rheometers to characterize viscoelasticity of products such as hair cosmetics. Up to six simultaneous measurements at controlled temperature can be carried out simultaneously (10-15 min), and the method requires only minor sample preparation work. Conversely to conventional rheometer based methods, no mechanical stress is applied to the material during the measurements. Therefore, the properties of the exact same sample can be monitored over time, like in aging and stability studies. We determined the elastic index (EI) of water/emulsion mixtures (1 ≤ fat alcohols (FA) ≤ 5 wt%) and emulsion/gel-network mixtures (8 ≤ FA ≤ 17 wt%) and compared with the elastic/sorage mudulus (G’) for the respective samples using a TA conventional rheometer with flat plates geometry. As expected, it was found that log(EI) vs log(G’) presents a linear behavior. Moreover, log(EI) increased in a linear fashion with solids level in the entire range of compositions (1 ≤ FA ≤ 17 wt%), while rheometer measurements were limited to samples down to 4 wt% solids level. Alternatively, a concentric cilinder geometry would be required for more diluted samples (FA > 4 wt%) and rheometer results from different sample holder geometries are not comparable. The plot of the rheolaser output parameters solid-liquid balance (SLB) vs EI were suitable to monitor product aging processes. These data could quantitatively describe some observations such as formation of lumps over aging time. Moreover, this method allowed to identify that the different specifications of a key raw material (RM < 0.4 wt%) in the respective gel-network (GN) product has minor impact on product viscoelastic properties and it is not consumer perceivable after a short aging time. Broadening of a RM spec range typically has a positive impact on cost savings. Last but not least, the photon path length (λ*)—proportional to droplet size and inversely proportional to volume fraction of scattering objects, accordingly to the Mie theory—and the EI were suitable to characterize product destabilization processes (e.g., coalescence and creaming) and to predict product stability about eight times faster than our standard methods. Using these parameters we could successfully identify formulation and process parameters that resulted in unstable products. In conclusion, Rheolaser allows quick and reliable characterization of viscoelastic properties of hair cosmetics that are related to their performance and stability. It operates in a broad range of product compositions and has applications spanning from the formulation of our hair cosmetics to fast release criteria in our production sites. Last but not least, this powerful tool has positive impact on R&D development time—faster delivery of new products to the market—and consequently on cost savings.

Keywords: colloids, hair cosmetics, light scattering, performance and stability, soft materials, viscoelastic properties

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Authors: Aleksandra Bylinska, Samantha Slight-Webb, Kevin Thomas, Miles Smith, Susan Macwana, Nicolas Dominguez, Eliza Chakravarty, Joan T. Merrill, Judith A. James, Joel M. Guthridge

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Background: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an interferon-related autoimmune disease characterized by B cell dysfunction. One of the main hallmarks is a loss of tolerance to self-antigens leading to increased levels of autoantibodies against nuclear components (ANAs). However, up to 20% of healthy ANA+ individuals will not develop clinical illness. SLE is more prevalent among women and minority populations (African, Asian American and Hispanics). Moreover, African Americans have a stronger interferon (IFN) signature and develop more severe symptoms. The exact mechanisms involved in ethnicity-dependent B cell dysregulation and the progression of autoimmune disease from ANA+ healthy individuals to clinical disease remains unclear. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from African (AA) and European American (EA) ANA- (n=12), ANA+ (n=12) and SLE (n=12) individuals were assessed by multimodal scRNA-Seq/CITE-Seq methods to examine differential gene signatures in specific B cell subsets. Library preparation was done with a 10X Genomics Chromium according to established protocols and sequenced on Illumina NextSeq. The data were further analyzed for distinct cluster identification and differential gene signatures in the Seurat package in R and pathways analysis was performed using Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA). Results: Comparing all subjects, 14 distinct B cell clusters were identified using a community detection algorithm and visualized with Uniform Manifold Approximation Projection (UMAP). The proportion of each of those clusters varied by disease status and ethnicity. Transitional B cells trended higher in ANA+ healthy individuals, especially in AA. Ribonucleoprotein high population (HNRNPH1 elevated, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein, RNP-Hi) of proliferating Naïve B cells were more prevalent in SLE patients, specifically in EA. Interferon-induced protein high population (IFIT-Hi) of Naive B cells are increased in EA ANA- individuals. The proportion of memory B cells and plasma cells clusters tend to be expanded in SLE patients. As anticipated, we observed a higher signature of cytokine-related pathways, especially interferon, in SLE individuals. Pathway analysis among AA individuals revealed an NRF2-mediated Oxidative Stress response signature in the transitional B cell cluster, not seen in EA individuals. TNFR1/2 and Sirtuin Signaling pathway genes were higher in AA IFIT-Hi Naive B cells, whereas they were not detected in EA individuals. Interferon signaling was observed in B cells in both ethnicities. Oxidative phosphorylation was found in age-related B cells (ABCs) for both ethnicities, whereas Death Receptor Signaling was found only in EA patients in these cells. Interferon-related transcription factors were elevated in ABCs and IFIT-Hi Naive B cells in SLE subjects of both ethnicities. Conclusions: ANA+ healthy individuals have altered gene expression pathways in B cells that might drive apoptosis and subsequent clinical autoimmune pathogenesis. Increases in certain regulatory pathways may delay progression to SLE. Further, AA individuals have more elevated activation pathways that may make them more susceptible to SLE.

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Authors: A. Augustyn, M. Florek, M. Herezniak

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Since the public authorities are constantly pressured by the public opinion to showcase the tangible and measurable results of their efforts, the evaluation of place brand-related activities becomes a necessity. Given the political and social character of place branding process, the legitimization of the branding efforts requires the compliance of the objectives set out in the city brand strategy with the actual needs, expectations, and aspirations of various internal stakeholders. To deliver on the diverse promises, city authorities and brand managers need to translate them into the measurable indicators against which the brand strategy effectiveness will be evaluated. In concert with these observations are the findings from branding and marketing literature with a widespread consensus that places should adopt a more systematic and holistic approach in order to ensure the performance of their brands. However, the measurement of the effectiveness of place branding remains insufficiently explored in theory, even though it is considered a significant step in the process of place brand management. Therefore, the aim of the research presented in the current paper was to collect insights on the nature of effectiveness measurement of city brand strategies and to juxtapose these findings with the theoretical assumptions formed on the basis of the state-of-the-art literature review. To this end, 15 international academic experts (out of 18 initially selected) with affiliation from ten countries (five continents), were individually interviewed. The standardized set of 19 open-ended questions was used for all the interviewees, who had been selected based on their expertise and reputation in the fields of place branding/marketing. Findings were categorized into four modules: (i) conceptualizations of city brand effectiveness, (ii) methodological issues of city brand effectiveness measurement, (iii) the nature of measurement process, (iv) articulation of key performance indicators (KPIs). Within each module, the interviewees offered diverse insights into the subject based on their academic expertise and professional activity as consultants. They proposed that there should be a twofold understanding of effectiveness. The narrow one when it is conceived as the aptitude to achieve specific goals, and the broad one in which city brand effectiveness is seen as an increase in social and economic reality of a place, which in turn poses diverse challenges for the measurement concepts and processes. Moreover, the respondents offered a variety of insights into the methodological issues, particularly about the need for customization and flexibility of the measurement systems, for the employment of interdisciplinary approach to measurement and implications resulting therefrom. Considerable emphasis was put on the inward approach to measurement, namely the necessity to monitor the resident’s evaluation of brand related activities instead of benchmarking cities against the competitive set. Other findings encompass the issues of developing appropriate KPIs for the city brand, managing the measurement process and the inclusion of diverse stakeholders to produce a sound measurement system. Furthermore, the interviewees enumerated the most frequently made mistakes in measurement mainly resulting from the misunderstanding of the nature of city brands. This research was financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, research project no. 2015/19/B/HS4/00380 Towards the categorization of place brand strategy effectiveness indicators – findings from strategic documents of Polish district cities – theoretical and empirical approach.

Keywords: city branding, effectiveness, experts’ insights, measurement

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Authors: Mohamed Emran, Giovanni Pardini, Maria Gispert, Mohamed Rashad

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Land use and abandonment in semi-arid degraded ecosystems may cause regressive dynamics in vegetation cover affecting organic matter contents, soil nutrients and structural stability, thus reducing soil resistance to erosion. Mediterranean areas are generally subjected to climatic fluctuations, which modify soil conditions and hydrological processes, such as runoff and water infiltration within the upper soil horizons. Low erosion rates occur in very fragile and shallow soils with minor clay content progressively decrease organic carbon C and nitrogen N pools in the upper soil horizons. Seven soils were selected representing variant context of land use and abandonment at the Cap de Creus Peninsula, Catalonia, NE Spain, from recent cultivated vines and olive groves, mid abandoned forests standing under cork and pine trees, pasture to late abandoned Cistus and Erica scrubs. The aim of this work was to study the effect of changes in land use and abandonment on the depletion of soil organic carbon and nitrogen transported by runoff water in shallow soils after natural rainfall events during two years with different rainfall patterns (1st year with low rainfall and 2nd year with high rainfall) by i) monitoring the most significant soil erosion parameters at recorded rainfall events, ii) studying the most relevant soil physical and chemical characteristics on seasonal basis and iii) analysing the seasonal trends of depleted carbon and nitrogen and their interaction with soil surface compaction parameters. Significant seasonal variability was observed in the relevant soil physical and chemical parameters and soil erosion parameters in all soils to establish their evolution under land use and abandonment during two years of different rainfall patterns (214 and 487 mm per year), giving important indications on soil response to rainfall impacts. Erosion rates decreased significantly with the increasing of soil C and N under low and high rainfall. In cultivated soils, C and N depletion increased by 144% and 115%, respectively by 13% increase in erosion rates during the 1st year with respect to the 2nd year. Depleted C and N were proportionally higher in soils under vines and olive with vulnerable soil structure and low soil resilience leading to degradation, altering nutrients cycles and causing adverse impact on environmental quality. Statistical analysis underlined that, during the 1st year, soil surface was less effective in preserving stocks of organic resources leading to higher susceptibility to erosion with consequent C and N depletion. During the 2nd year, higher organic reserve and water storage occurred despite the increasing of C and N loss with an effective contribution from soil surface compaction parameters. The overall estimation during the two years indicated clear differences among soils under vines, olive, cork and pines, suggesting on the one hand, that current cultivation practices are inappropriate and that reforestation with pines may delay the achievement of better soil conditions. On the other hand, the natural succession of vegetation under Cistus, pasture and Erica suggests the recovery of good soil conditions.

Keywords: land abandonment, land use, nutrient's depletion, soil erosion

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Authors: Sree Bash Chandra Debnath, Didier Tonneau, Carole Fauquet, Agnes Tallet, Julien Darreon

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Purpose: Inorganic scintillating dosimetry is the most recent promising technique to solve several dosimetric issues and provide quality assurance in radiation therapy. Despite several advantages, the major issue of using scintillating detectors is the Cerenkov effect, typically induced in the visible emission range. In this context, the purpose of this research work is to evaluate the performance of a novel infrared inorganic scintillator detector (IR-ISD) in the radiation therapy treatment to ensure Cerenkov free signal and the best matches between the delivered and prescribed doses during treatment. Methods: A simple and small-scale infrared inorganic scintillating detector of 100 µm diameter with a sensitive scintillating volume of 2x10-6 mm3 was developed. A prototype of the dose verification system has been introduced based on PTIR1470/F (provided by Phosphor Technology®) material used in the proposed novel IR-ISD. The detector was tested on an Elekta LINAC system tuned at 6 MV/15MV and a brachytherapy source (Ir-192) used in the patient treatment protocol. The associated dose rate was measured in count rate (photons/s) using a highly sensitive photon counter (sensitivity ~20ph/s). Overall measurements were performed in IBATM water tank phantoms by following international Technical Reports series recommendations (TRS 381) for radiotherapy and TG43U1 recommendations for brachytherapy. The performance of the detector was tested through several dosimetric parameters such as PDD, beam profiling, Cerenkov measurement, dose linearity, dose rate linearity repeatability, and scintillator stability. Finally, a comparative study is also shown using a reference microdiamond dosimeter, Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation, and data from recent literature. Results: This study is highlighting the complete removal of the Cerenkov effect especially for small field radiation beam characterization. The detector provides an entire linear response with the dose in the 4cGy to 800 cGy range, independently of the field size selected from 5 x 5 cm² down to 0.5 x 0.5 cm². A perfect repeatability (0.2 % variation from average) with day-to-day reproducibility (0.3% variation) was observed. Measurements demonstrated that ISD has superlinear behavior with dose rate (R2=1) varying from 50 cGy/s to 1000 cGy/s. PDD profiles obtained in water present identical behavior with a build-up maximum depth dose at 15 mm for different small fields irradiation. A low dimension of 0.5 x 0.5 cm² field profiles have been characterized, and the field cross profile presents a Gaussian-like shape. The standard deviation (1σ) of the scintillating signal remains within 0.02% while having a very low convolution effect, thanks to lower sensitive volume. Finally, during brachytherapy, a comparison with MC simulations shows that considering energy dependency, measurement agrees within 0.8% till 0.2 cm source to detector distance. Conclusion: The proposed scintillating detector in this study shows no- Cerenkov radiation and efficient performance for several radiation therapy measurement parameters. Therefore, it is anticipated that the IR-ISD system can be promoted to validate with direct clinical investigations, such as appropriate dose verification and quality control in the Treatment Planning System (TPS).

Keywords: IR-Scintillating detector, dose measurement, micro-scintillators, Cerenkov effect

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Authors: Jae Won Lee, Kyung Hyun Min, Hong Jae Lee, Sang Cheon Lee

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To date, imaging techniques have attracted much attention in medicine because the detection of diseases at an early stage provides greater opportunities for successful treatment. Consequently, over the past few decades, diverse imaging modalities including magnetic resonance (MR), positron emission tomography, computed tomography, and ultrasound (US) have been developed and applied widely in the field of clinical diagnosis. However, each of the above-mentioned imaging modalities possesses unique strengths and intrinsic weaknesses, which limit their abilities to provide accurate information. Therefore, multimodal imaging systems may be a solution that can provide improved diagnostic performance. Among the current medical imaging modalities, US is a widely available real-time imaging modality. It has many advantages including safety, low cost and easy access for patients. However, its low spatial resolution precludes accurate discrimination of diseased region such as cancer sites. In contrast, MR has no tissue-penetrating limit and can provide images possessing exquisite soft tissue contrast and high spatial resolution. However, it cannot offer real-time images and needs a comparatively long imaging time. The characteristics of these imaging modalities may be considered complementary, and the modalities have been frequently combined for the clinical diagnostic process. Biominerals such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and calcium phosphate (CaP) exhibit pH-dependent dissolution behavior. They demonstrate pH-controlled drug release due to the dissolution of minerals in acidic pH conditions. In particular, the application of this mineralization technique to a US contrast agent has been reported recently. The CaCO3 mineral reacts with acids and decomposes to generate calcium dioxide (CO2) gas in an acidic environment. These gas-generating mineralized nanoparticles generated CO2 bubbles in the acidic environment of the tumor, thereby allowing for strong echogenic US imaging of tumor tissues. On the basis of this previous work, it was hypothesized that the loading of MR contrast agents into the CaCO3 mineralized nanoparticles may be a novel strategy in designing a contrast agent for dual imaging. Herein, CaCO3 mineralized nanoparticles that were capable of generating CO2 bubbles to trigger the release of entrapped MR contrast agents in response to tumoral acidic pH were developed for the purposes of US and MR dual-modality imaging of tumors. Gd2O3 nanoparticles were selected as an MR contrast agent. A key strategy employed in this study was to prepare Gd2O3 nanoparticle-loaded mineralized nanoparticles (Gd2O3-MNPs) using block copolymer-templated CaCO3 mineralization in the presence of calcium cations (Ca2+), carbonate anions (CO32-) and positively charged Gd2O3 nanoparticles. The CaCO3 core was considered suitable because it may effectively shield Gd2O3 nanoparticles from water molecules in the blood (pH 7.4) before decomposing to generate CO2 gas, triggering the release of Gd2O3 nanoparticles in tumor tissues (pH 6.4~7.4). The kinetics of CaCO3 dissolution and CO2 generation from the Gd2O3-MNPs were examined as a function of pH and pH-dependent in vitro magnetic relaxation; additionally, the echogenic properties were estimated to demonstrate the potential of the particles for the tumor-specific US and MR imaging.

Keywords: calcium carbonate, mineralization, ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging

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Authors: Rijnbout-St.James Willem, Lindner Volkhard, Scholand Mary Beth, Ashton M. Tillett, Di Gennaro Michael Jude, Smith Silvia Enrica

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Introduction: Fibrosing lung diseases are characterized by changes in the lung interstitium and are classified based on etiology: 1) environmental/exposure-related, 2) autoimmune-related, 3) sarcoidosis, 4) interstitial pneumonia, and 4) idiopathic. Among interstitial lung diseases (ILD) idiopathic forms, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most severe. Pathogenesis of IPF is characterized by an increased presence of proinflammatory mediators, resulting in alveolar injury, where injury to alveolar epithelium precipitates an increase in collagen deposition, subsequently thickening the alveolar septum and decreasing gas exchange. Identifying biomarkers implicated in the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis is key to developing new therapies and improving the efficacy of existing therapies. The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-B1), a mediator of tissue repair associated with WNT5A signaling, is partially responsible for fibroblast proliferation in ILD and is the target of Pirfenidone, one of the antifibrotic therapies used for patients with IPF. Canonical TGF-B signaling is mediated by the proteins SMAD 2/3, which are, in turn, indirectly regulated by Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing 1 (CTHRC1). In this study, we tested the following hypotheses: 1) CTHRC1 is more elevated in the ILD cohort compared to unaffected controls, and 2) CTHRC1 is differently expressed among ILD types. Material and Methods: CTHRC1 levels were measured by ELISA in 171 plasma samples from the deidentified University of Utah ILD cohort. Data represent a cohort of 131 ILD-affected participants and 40 unaffected controls. CTHRC1 samples were categorized by a pulmonologist based on affectation status and disease subtypes: IPF (n = 45), sarcoidosis (4), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (16), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (n = 7), interstitial pneumonia (n=13), autoimmune (n = 15), other ILD - a category that includes undifferentiated ILD diagnoses (n = 31), and unaffected controls (n = 40). We conducted a single-factor ANOVA of plasma CTHRC1 levels to test whether CTHRC1 variance among affected and non-affected participants is statistically significantly different. In-silico analysis was performed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis® to characterize the role of CTHRC1 in the pathway of lung fibrosis. Results: Statistical analyses of CTHRC1 in plasma samples indicate that the average CTHRC1 level is significantly higher in ILD-affected participants than controls, with the autoimmune ILD being higher than other ILD types, thus supporting our hypotheses. In-silico analyses show that CTHRC1 indirectly activates and phosphorylates SMAD3, which in turn cross-regulates TGF-B1. CTHRC1 also may regulate the expression and transcription of TGFB-1 via WNT5A and its regulatory relationship with CTNNB1. Conclusion: In-silico pathway analyses demonstrate that CTHRC1 may be an important biomarker in ILD. Analysis of plasma samples indicates that CTHRC1 expression is positively associated with ILD affectation, with autoimmune ILD having the highest average CTHRC1 values. While characterizing CTHRC1 levels in plasma can help to differentiate among ILD types and predict response to Pirfenidone, the extent to which plasma CTHRC1 level is a function of ILD severity or chronicity is unknown.

Keywords: interstitial lung disease, CTHRC1, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pathway analyses

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Authors: Fabio Rodriguez Sanchez, Josef Bruers, Iciar Arteagoitia, Carlos Rodriguez Andres

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Background: Oral implants are a routine treatment to replace lost teeth. Although they have a high rate of success, implant failures do occur. Perioperative antibiotics have been suggested to prevent postoperative infections and dental implant failures, but they remain a controversial treatment among healthy patients. The objective of this study was to determine whether antibiotic prophylaxis is a common treatment in the Netherlands among general dentists, maxillofacial-surgeons, periodontists and implantologists in conjunction with oral implant surgery among healthy patients and to assess the nature of antibiotics prescriptions in order to evaluate whether any consensus has been reached and the current recommendations are being followed. Methodology: Observational cross-sectional study based on a web-survey reported according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. A validated questionnaire, developed by Deeb et al. (2015), was translated and slightly adjusted to circumstances in the Netherlands. It was used with the explicit permission of the authors. This questionnaire contained both close-ended and some open-ended questions in relation to the following topics: demographics, qualification, antibiotic type, prescription-duration and dosage. An email was sent February 2018 to a sample of 600 general dentists and all 302 oral implantologists, periodontists and maxillofacial surgeons who were recognized by the Dutch Association of Oral Implantology (NVOI) as oral health care providers placing oral implants. The email included a brief introduction about the study objectives and a link to the web questionnaire, which could be filled in anonymously. Overall, 902 questionnaires were sent. However, 29 questionnaires were not correctly received due to an incorrect email address. So a total number of 873 professionals were reached. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS (IBM Corp., released 2012, Armonk, NY). Results: The questionnaire was sent back by a total number of 218 participants (response rate=24.2%), 45 female (20.8%) and 171 male (79.2%). Two respondents were excluded from the study group because they were not currently working as oral health providers. Overall 151 (69.9%) placed oral implants on regular basis. Approximately 79 (52.7%) of these participants prescribed antibiotics only in determined situations, 66 (44.0%) prescribed antibiotics always and 5 dentists (3.3%) did not prescribe antibiotics at all when placing oral implants. Overall, 83 participants who prescribed antibiotics, did so both pre- and postoperatively (58.5%), 12 exclusively postoperative (8.5%), and 47 followed an exclusive preoperative regime (33.1%). A single dose of 2,000 mg amoxicillin orally 1-hour prior treatment was the most prescribed preoperative regimen. The most frequent prescribed postoperative regimen was 500 mg amoxicillin three times daily for 7 days after surgery. On average, oral health professionals prescribed 6,923 mg antibiotics in conjunction with oral implant surgery, varying from 500 to 14,600 mg. Conclusions: Antibiotic prophylaxis in conjunction with oral implant surgery is prescribed in the Netherlands on a rather large scale. Dutch professionals might prescribe antibiotics more cautiously than in other countries and there seems to be a lower range on the different antibiotic types and regimens being prescribed. Anyway, recommendations based on last-published evidence are frequently not being followed.

Keywords: clinical decision making, infection control, antibiotic prophylaxis, dental implants

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Authors: Birgit A. A. Solem, Kristin Bentsen

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Scholarly attention in entrepreneurship is currently directed towards understanding entrepreneurial venture creation as a process -the journey of new economic activities from nonexistence to existence often studied through flow- or network models. To complement existing research on entrepreneurial venture creation with more interactivity-based research of organized activities, this study examines two pop-up stores as anchor events involving on-site activities of fifteen participating entrepreneurs launching their new ventures. The pop-up stores were arranged in two middle-sized Norwegian cities and contained different brand stores that brought together actors of sub-networks and communities executing venture creation activities. The pop-up stores became on-site arenas for the entrepreneurs to create, maintain, and rejuvenate their networks, at the same time as becoming venues for temporal coordination of activities involving existing and potential customers in their venture creation. In this work, we apply a conceptual framework based on frequently addressed dilemmas within entrepreneurship theory (discovery/creation, causation/effectuation) to further shed light on the broad aspect of on-site anchor event activities and their venture creation outcomes. The dilemma-based concepts are applied as an analytic toolkit to pursue answers regarding the nature of anchor event activities typically found within entrepreneurial venture creation and how these anchor event activities affect entrepreneurial venture creation outcomes. Our study combines researcher participation with 200 hours of observation and twenty in-depth interviews. Data analysis followed established guidelines for hermeneutic analysis and was intimately intertwined with ongoing data collection. Data was coded and categorized in NVivo 12 software, and iterated several times as patterns were steadily developing. Our findings suggest that core anchor event activities typically found within entrepreneurial venture creation are; a concept- and product experimentation with visitors, arrangements to socialize (evening specials, auctions, and exhibitions), store-in-store concepts, arranged meeting places for peers and close connection with municipality and property owners. Further, this work points to four main entrepreneurial venture creation outcomes derived from the core anchor event activities; (1) venture attention, (2) venture idea-realization, (3) venture collaboration, and (4) venture extension. Our findings show that, depending on which anchor event activities are applied, the outcomes vary. Theoretically, this study offers two main implications. First, anchor event activities are both discovered and created, following the logic of causation, at the same time as being experimental, based on “learning by doing” principles of effectuation during the execution. Second, our research enriches prior studies on venture creation as a process. In this work, entrepreneurial venture creation activities and outcomes are understood through pop-up stores as on-site anchor event arenas, particularly suitable for interactivity-based research requested by the entrepreneurship field. This study also reveals important managerial implications, such as that entrepreneurs should allow themselves to find creative physical venture creation arenas (e.g., pop-up stores, showrooms), as well as collaborate with partners when discovering and creating concepts and activities based on new ideas. In this way, they allow themselves to both strategically plan for- and continually experiment with their venture.

Keywords: anchor event, interactivity-based research, pop-up store, entrepreneurial venture creation

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Authors: Suikinai Nobre Santos, Ranko Gacesa, Paul F. Long, Itamar Soares de Melo

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Extremophilic microorganism are adapted to biotopes combining several stress factors (temperature, pressure, radiation, salinity and pH), which indicate the richness valuable resource for the exploitation of novel biotechnological processes and constitute unique models for investigations their biomolecules (1, 2). The above information encourages us investigate bioprospecting synthesized compounds by a noval actinomycete, designated thermotolerant Streptomyces caatingaensis CMAA 1322, isolated from sample soil tropical dry forest (Caatinga) in the Brazilian semiarid region (3-17°S and 35-45°W). This set of constrating physical and climatic factores provide the unique conditions and a diversity of well adapted species, interesting site for biotechnological purposes. Preliminary studies have shown the great potential in the production of cytotoxic, pesticidal and antimicrobial molecules (3). Thus, to extend knowledge of the genes clusters responsible for producing biosynthetic pathways of natural products in strain CMAA1322, whole-genome shotgun (WGS) DNA sequencing was performed using paired-end long sequencing with PacBio RS (Pacific Biosciences). Genomic DNA was extracted from a pure culture grown overnight on LB medium using the PureLink genomic DNA kit (Life Technologies). An approximately 3- to 20-kb-insert PacBio library was constructed and sequenced on an 8 single-molecule real-time (SMRT) cell, yielding 116,269 reads (average length, 7,446 bp), which were allocated into 18 contigs, with 142.11x coverage and N50 value of 20.548 bp (BioProject number PRJNA288757). The assembled data were analyzed by Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology (RAST) (4) the genome size was found to be 7.055.077 bp, comprising 6167 open reading frames (ORFs) and 413 subsystems. The G+C content was estimated to be 72 mol%. The closest-neighbors tool, available in RAST through functional comparison of the genome, revealed that strain CMAA1322 is more closely related to Streptomyces hygroscopicus ATCC 53653 (similarity score value, 537), S. violaceusniger Tu 4113 (score value, 483), S. avermitilis MA-4680 (score value, 475), S. albus J1074 (score value, 447). The Streptomyces sp. CMAA1322 genome contains 98 tRNA genes and 135 genes copies related to stress response, mainly osmotic stress (14), heat shock (16), oxidative stress (49). Functional annotation by antiSMASH version 3.0 (5) identified 41 clusters for secondary metabolites (including two clusters for lanthipeptides, ten clusters for nonribosomal peptide synthetases [NRPS], three clusters for siderophores, fourteen for polyketide synthetase [PKS], six clusters encoding a terpene, two clusters encoding a bacteriocin, and one cluster encoding a phenazine). Our work provide in comparative analyse of genome and extract produced (data no published) by lineage CMAA1322, revealing the potential of microorganisms accessed from extreme environments as Caatinga” to produce a wide range of biotechnological relevant compounds.

Keywords: caatinga, streptomyces, environmental stresses, biosynthetic pathways

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Authors: Natalie Riley, Anita Quigley, Robert M. I. Kapsa, George W. Greene

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As the fields of medicine and bionics grow rapidly in technological advancement, the future and success of it depends on the ability to effectively interface between the artificial and the biological worlds. The biggest obstacle when it comes to implantable, electronic medical devices, is maintaining a ‘clean’, low noise electrical connection that allows for efficient sharing of electrical information between the artificial and biological systems. Implant fouling occurs with the adhesion and accumulation of proteins and various cell types as a result of the immune response to protect itself from the foreign object, essentially forming an electrical insulation barrier that often leads to implant failure over time. Lubricin (LUB) functions as a major boundary lubricant in articular joints, a unique glycoprotein with impressive anti-adhesive properties that self-assembles to virtually any substrate to form a highly ordered, ‘telechelic’ polymer brush. LUB does not passivate electroactive surfaces which makes it ideal, along with its innate biocompatibility, as a coating for implantable bionic electrodes. It is the aim of the study to investigate LUB’s anti-fouling properties and its potential as a safe, bioinspired material for coating applications to enhance the performance and longevity of implantable medical devices as well as reducing the frequency of implant replacement surgeries. Native, bovine-derived LUB (N-LUB) and recombinant LUB (R-LUB) were applied to gold-coated mylar surfaces. Fibroblast, chondrocyte and neural cell types were cultured and grown on the coatings under both passive and electrically stimulated conditions to test the stability and anti-adhesive property of the LUB coating in the presence of an electric field. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays were conducted as a directly proportional cell population count on each surface along with immunofluorescent microscopy to visualize cells. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey’s test was used to test for statistical significance. Under both passive and electrically stimulated conditions, LUB significantly reduced cell attachment compared to bare gold. Comparing the two coating types, R-LUB reduced cell attachment significantly compared to its native counterpart. Immunofluorescent micrographs visually confirmed LUB’s antiadhesive property, R-LUB consistently demonstrating significantly less attached cells for both fibroblasts and chondrocytes. Preliminary results investigating neural cells have so far demonstrated that R-LUB has little effect on reducing neural cell attachment; the study is ongoing. Recombinant LUB coatings demonstrated impressive anti-adhesive properties, reducing cell attachment in fibroblasts and chondrocytes. These findings and the availability of recombinant LUB brings into question the results of previous experiments conducted using native-derived LUB, its potential not adequately represented nor realized due to unknown factors and impurities that warrant further study. R-LUB is stable and maintains its anti-fouling property under electrical stimulation, making it suitable for electroactive surfaces.

Keywords: anti-fouling, bioinspired, cell attachment, lubricin

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Authors: Juliane Toce, Steven Holochwost

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A substantial and growing literature has demonstrated that arts education benefits young children’s socioemotional and cognitive development. Less is known about the capacity of arts-integrated instruction to yield benefits to similar domains, particularly among demographically and socioeconomically diverse groups of young children. However, the small literature on this topic suggests that arts-integrated instruction may foster young children’s socioemotional and cognitive development by presenting opportunities to 1) engage in instructional content in diverse ways, 2) experience and regulate strong emotions, 3) experience growth-oriented feedback, and 4) engage in collaborative work with peers. Start with the Art is a new program of arts-integrated instruction currently being implemented in four schools in a school district that serves students from a diverse range of backgrounds. The program employs a co-teaching model in which teaching artists and classroom teachers engage in collaborative lesson planning and instruction over the course of the academic year and is currently the focus of an impact study featuring a randomized-control design, as well as an implementation study, both of which are funded through an Educational Innovation and Research grant from the United States Department of Education. The paper will present the early results from the Start with the Art implementation study. These results will provide an overview of the extent to which the program was implemented in accordance with design, with a particular emphasis on the degree to which the four opportunities enumerated above (e.g., opportunities to engage in instructional content in diverse ways) were presented to students. There will be a review key factors that may influence the fidelity of implementation, including classroom teachers’ reception of the program and the extent to which extant conditions in the classroom (e.g., the overall level of classroom organization) may have impacted implementation fidelity. With the explicit purpose of creating a program that values and meets the needs of the teachers and students, Start with the Art incorporates the feedback from individuals participating in the intervention. Tracing its trajectory from inception to ongoing development and examining the adaptive changes made in response to teachers' transformative experiences in the post-pandemic classroom, Start with the Art continues to solicit input from experts in integrating artistic content into core curricula within educational settings catering to students from under-represented backgrounds in the arts. Leveraging the input from this rich consortium of experts has allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of the program’s implementation. The early findings derived from the implementation study emphasize the potential of arts-integrated instruction to incorporate restorative practices. Such practices serve as a crucial support system for both students and educators, providing avenues for children to express themselves, heal emotionally, and foster social development, while empowering teachers to create more empathetic, inclusive, and supportive learning environments. This all-encompassing analysis spotlights Start with the Art’s adaptability to any learning environment through the program’s effectiveness, resilience, and its capacity to transform - through art - the classroom experience within the ever-evolving landscape of education.

Keywords: arts-integration, social emotional learning, diverse learners, co-teaching, teaching artists, post-pandemic teaching

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Authors: Stéphanie Looser, Walter Wehrmeyer

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Given the limited research on Small and Mediumsized Enterprises’ (SMEs) contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and even scarcer research on Swiss SMEs, this paper helps to fill these gaps by enabling the identification of supranational SME parameters and to make a contribution to the evolving field of these topics. Thus, the paper investigates the current state of SME practices in Switzerland and across 15 other countries. Combining the degree to which SMEs demonstrate an explicit (or business case) approach or see CSR as an implicit moral activity with the assessment of their attributes for “variety of capitalism” defines the framework of this comparative analysis. According to previous studies, liberal market economies, e.g. in the United States (US) or United Kingdom (UK), are aligned with extrinsic CSR, while coordinated market systems (in Central European or Asian countries) evolve implicit CSR agendas. To outline Swiss small business CSR patterns in particular, 40 SME owner-managers were interviewed. The transcribed interviews were coded utilising MAXQDA for qualitative content analysis. A secondary data analysis of results from different countries (i.e., Australia, Austria, Chile, Cameroon, Catalonia (notably a part of Spain that seeks autonomy), China, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong (a special administrative region of China), Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, UK, US) lays groundwork for this comparative study on small business CSR. Applying the same coding categories (in MAXQDA) for the interview analysis as well as for the secondary data research while following grounded theory rules to refine and keep track of ideas generated testable hypotheses and comparative power on implicit (and the lower likelihood of explicit) CSR in SMEs retrospectively. The paper identifies Swiss small business CSR as deep, profound, “soul”, and an implicit part of the day-to-day business. Similar to most Central European, Mediterranean, Nordic, and Asian countries, explicit CSR is still very rare in Swiss SMEs. Astonishingly, also UK and US SMEs follow this pattern in spite of their strong and distinct liberal market economies. Though other findings show that nationality matters this research concludes that SME culture and its informal CSR agenda are strongly formative and superseding even forces of market economies, nationally cultural patterns, and language. In a world of “big business”, explicit “business case” CSR, and the mantra that “CSR must pay”, this study points to a distinctly implicit small business CSR model built on trust, physical closeness, and virtues that is largely detached from the bottom line. This pattern holds for different cultural contexts and it is concluded that SME culture is stronger than nationality leading to a supra-national, monolithic SME CSR approach. Hence, classifications of countries by their market system or capitalism, as found in the comparative capitalism literature, do not match the CSR practices in SMEs as they do not mirror the peculiarities of their business. This raises questions on the universality and generalisability of management concepts.

Keywords: CSR, comparative study, cultures of capitalism, small, medium-sized enterprises

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Authors: Tracey Woods

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In the ever-evolving landscape of academia, the traditional role of the librarian has undergone a remarkable transformation. Once considered as custodians of books and gatekeepers of information, librarians have the potential to take on the vital role of facilitators of cross and inter-disciplinary projects. This shift is driven by the growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex research questions in pursuit of novel solutions to real-world problems. This paper shall explore the potential of the academic librarian’s role in facilitating innovative, multi-disciplinary projects, both recognising and validating the vital role that the librarian plays in a somewhat underplayed profession. Academic libraries support teaching, the strengthening of knowledge discourse, and, potentially, the development of innovative practices. As the role of the library gradually morphs from a quiet repository of books to a community-based information hub, a potential opportunity arises. The academic librarian’s role is to build knowledge across a wide span of topics, from the advancement of AI to subject-specific information, and, whilst librarians are generally not offered the research opportunities and funding that the traditional academic disciplines enjoy, they are often invited to help build research in support of the academic. This identifies that one of the primary skills of any 21st-century librarian must be the ability to collaborate and facilitate multi-disciplinary projects. In universities seeking to develop research diversity and academic performance, there is an increasing awareness of the need for collaboration between faculties to enable novel directions and advancements. This idea has been documented and discussed by several researchers; however, there is not a great deal of literature available from recent studies. Having a team based in the library that is adept at creating effective collaborative partnerships is valuable for any academic institution. This paper outlines the development of such a project, initiated within and around an identified library-specific need: the replication of fragile special collections for object-based learning. The research was developed as a multi-disciplinary project involving the faculties of engineering (digital twins lab), architecture, design, and education. Centred around methods for developing a fragile archive into a series of tactile objects furthers knowledge and understanding in both the role of the library as a facilitator of projects, chairing and supporting, alongside contributing to the research process and innovating ideas through the bank of knowledge found amongst the staff and their liaising capabilities. This paper shall present the method of project development from the initiation of ideas to the development of prototypes and dissemination of the objects to teaching departments for analysis. The exact replication of artefacts is also balanced with the adaptation and evolutionary speculations initiated by the design team when adapted as a teaching studio method. The dynamic response required from the library to generate and facilitate these multi-disciplinary projects highlights the information expertise and liaison skills that the librarian possesses. As academia embraces this evolution, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions across disciplines becomes increasingly attainable.

Keywords: Liaison librarian, multi-disciplinary collaborations, library innovations, librarian stakeholders

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Authors: Ishita Singh

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Social-dimension of Climate Change is no longer peripheral to Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). Indeed, STI is being mobilized to address small farmers’ vulnerability and adaptation to Climate Change. The experiences from the cold desert of Leh (Ladakh) in North-West Himalaya illustrate the potential of STI to address the challenges of Climate Change and the needs of small farmers through the use of Artificial Glacier Techniques. Small farmers have a unique technique of water harvesting to augment irrigation, called “Artificial Glaciers” - an intricate network of water channels and dams along the upper slope of a valley that are located closer to villages and at lower altitudes than natural glaciers. It starts to melt much earlier and supplements additional irrigation to small farmers’ improving their livelihoods. Therefore, the issue of vulnerability, adaptive capacity and adaptation strategy needs to be analyzed in a local context and the communities as well as regions where people live. Leh (Ladakh) in North-West Himalaya provides a Case Study for exploring the ways in which adaptation to Climate Change is taking place at a community scale using Artificial Glacier Technology. With the above backdrop, an attempt has been made to analyze the rural poor households' vulnerability and adaptation practices to Climate Change using this technology, thereby drawing lessons on vulnerability-livelihood interactions in the cold desert of Leh (Ladakh) in North-West Himalaya, India. The study is based on primary data and information collected from 675 households confined to 27 villages of Leh (Ladakh) in North-West Himalaya, India. It reveals that 61.18% of the population is driving livelihoods from agriculture and allied activities. With increased irrigation potential due to the use of Artificial Glaciers, food security has been assured to 77.56% of households and health vulnerability has been reduced in 31% of households. Seasonal migration as a livelihood diversification mechanism has declined in nearly two-thirds of households, thereby improving livelihood strategies. Use of tactical adaptations by small farmers in response to persistent droughts, such as selling livestock, expanding agriculture lands, and use of relief cash and foods, have declined to 20.44%, 24.74% and 63% of households. However, these measures are unsustainable on a long-term basis. The role of policymakers and societal stakeholders becomes important in this context. To address livelihood challenges, the role of technology is critical in a multidisciplinary approach involving multilateral collaboration among different stakeholders. The presence of social entrepreneurs and new actors on the adaptation scene is necessary to bring forth adaptation measures. Better linkage between Science and Technology policies, together with other policies, should be encouraged. Better health care, access to safe drinking water, better sanitary conditions, and improved standards of education and infrastructure are effective measures to enhance a community’s adaptive capacity. However, social transfers for supporting climate adaptive capacity require significant amounts of additional investment. Developing institutional mechanisms for specific adaptation interventions can be one of the most effective ways of implementing a plan to enhance adaptation and build resilience.

Keywords: climate change, adaptation, livelihood, stakeholders

Procedia PDF Downloads 70