Hasil untuk "Information resources (General)"

Moon-Hwan Chang, D. Das, P. Varde et al.

G. Gudmundsdottir, O. Hatlevik

Ludmylla Cunha, A. Grenha

In the last decades, the discovery of metabolites from marine resources showing biological activity has increased significantly. Among marine resources, seaweed is a valuable source of structurally diverse bioactive compounds. The cell walls of marine algae are rich in sulfated polysaccharides, including carrageenan in red algae, ulvan in green algae and fucoidan in brown algae. Sulfated polysaccharides have been increasingly studied over the years in the pharmaceutical field, given their potential usefulness in applications such as the design of drug delivery systems. The purpose of this review is to discuss potential applications of these polymers in drug delivery systems, with a focus on carrageenan, ulvan and fucoidan. General information regarding structure, extraction process and physicochemical properties is presented, along with a brief reference to reported biological activities. For each material, specific applications under the scope of drug delivery are described, addressing in privileged manner particulate carriers, as well as hydrogels and beads. A final section approaches the application of sulfated polysaccharides in targeted drug delivery, focusing with particular interest the capacity for macrophage targeting.

D. Ariely

Ben Gras, Kaveh Razavi, H. Bos et al.

Mohamed Rowaizak, Ahmad Farhat, Reem Khalil

Neuroscience education must convey 3D structure with clarity and accuracy. Traditional 2D renderings are limited as they lose depth information and hinder spatial understanding. High-resolution resources now exist, yet many are difficult to use in the class. Therefore, we developed an educational brain video that moves from gross to microanatomy using MRI-based models and the published literature. The pipeline used Fiji for preprocessing, MeshLab for mesh cleanup, Rhino 6 for target fixes, Houdini FX for materials, lighting, and renders, and Cinema4D for final refinement of the video. We had our brain models validated by two neuroscientists for educational fidelity. We tested the video in a class with 96 undergraduates randomized to video and lecture or lecture only. Students completed the same pretest and posttest questions. Student feedback revealed that comprehension and motivation to learn increased significantly in the group that watched the video, suggesting its potential as a useful supplement to traditional lectures. A short, well-produced 3D video can supplement lectures and improve learning in this setting. We share software versions and key parameters to support reuse.

Claire Anderson, Lydia Niemi, Naoko Arakawa et al.

Objectives This qualitative study explored public and prescriber awareness of pharmaceutical pollution in the water environment and eco-directed sustainable prescribing (EDSP) as a mitigation strategy to reduce the environmental impact of prescribing in Scotland.Design Focus groups explored prescriber and public perceptions of the topic. Common questions were asked through semistructured facilitation. Focus groups were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim using an artificial intelligence system, then anonymised and thematically analysed using NVivo software. Data were iteratively analysed using the one sheet of paper technique.Setting Public focus groups were held in-person (Inverness, Scotland, April 2023), and prescriber focus groups were held virtually (MS Teams, August 2023).Participants Nine public representatives and 17 NHS Scotland prescribers participated in one of four focus groups. Purposive and opportunistic sampling approaches were used to recruit participants through social media and other channels (ie, community groups, professional emails, general practitioner and hospital flyers). Prescriber representatives registered interest through an online survey to gather information about their professional background. Responses were reviewed to ensure representation of a mixture of medical backgrounds, experience, sectors and health boards.Results There is growing awareness among the public and healthcare professionals of pharmaceutical pollution in the environment, but further education is required on the drivers, potential effects and possible interventions. Suggestions for more sustainable healthcare included public health awareness campaigns, better provision for pharmacy take-back schemes, clear medicine/packaging labelling, regular medicines reviews and more considered patient-centred care. From the prescriber perspective, EDSP resonated well with current sustainability initiatives (eg, Realistic Medicine, switching to dry-powder inhalers), but barriers to EDSP included lack of knowledge, confidence, time and resources to implement changes. Although the public representatives were generally open to the concept of EDSP, this decision required weighing pros/cons considering personal health choices, information accessibility and transparency, and trust in and time with prescribers.Conclusions This study identified new insights from prescribers and the public related to the concept of, and barriers to, EDSP in Scotland, as well as perspectives regarding knowledge support tools and information communication. Cross-sector and transdisciplinary collaborative approaches are needed to address the challenges identified here. Nonetheless, EDSP merits further exploration in developing more sustainable, appropriate and effective healthcare which contributes to improved public and planetary health.

José Manuel Porras, Juan Alfonso Lara, Cristóbal Romero et al.

Predicting student dropout is a crucial task in online education. Traditionally, each educational entity (institution, university, faculty, department, etc.) creates and uses its own prediction model starting from its own data. However, that approach is not always feasible or advisable and may depend on the availability of data, local infrastructure, and resources. In those cases, there are various machine learning approaches for sharing data and/or models between educational entities, using a classical centralized machine learning approach or other more advanced approaches such as transfer learning or federated learning. In this paper, we used data from three different LMS Moodle servers representing homogeneous different-sized educational entities. We tested the performance of the different machine learning approaches for the problem of predicting student dropout with multiple educational entities involved. We used a deep learning algorithm as a predictive classifier method. Our preliminary findings provide useful information on the benefits and drawbacks of each approach, as well as suggestions for enhancing performance when there are multiple institutions. In our case, repurposed transfer learning, stacked transfer learning, and centralized approaches produced similar or better results than the locally trained models for most of the entities.

N. Welton, H. Thom

Edith Sáenz-Flores, Rubén Alfonso Saucedo-Terán, Carlos Raúl Morales-Nieto et al.

Una de las principales limitantes para la resiembra de pastizales en zonas áridas y semiáridas es la baja disponibilidad de semilla de zacates forrajeros. Además, existe poca información sobre la producción de semilla de zacates en México. El objetivo fue evaluar el efecto de la fertilización sobre la producción y calidad de semilla de cinco zacates forrajeros. La investigación se realizó en el Sitio Experimental La Campana del INIFAP, ubicado en el km 33.3 carretera Chihuahua-Ojinaga. Las especies evaluadas fueron: zacate navajita (Bouteloua gracilis), banderita (Bouteloua curtipendula), gigante (Leptochloa dubia), buffel (Pennisetum ciliare) y garrapata (Eragrostis superba). Los tratamientos incluyeron la fertilización química con 120-60-00, 60-30-00, 60- 30-00 + micorriza, fertilizante de liberación lenta, fertilizante orgánico y el testigo. Las unidades experimentales fueron parcelas de campo de 12 m2 distribuidas bajo un diseño de bloques al azar con tres repeticiones. Se estimó la producción de semilla, germinación de semilla y producción de forraje. En general, la mayor (P 0.05) producción de semilla en las cinco especies se obtuvo con los tratamientos 120-60-00 y 60-30-00 + micorriza, con valores desde 289 kg ha-1 en zacate navajita con la dosis 120-60-00 hasta 1,619 kg ha-1 en zacate garrapata con el tratamiento 60-30-00 + micorriza. El fertilizante de liberación lenta y la dosis 60-30-00 mostraron los porcentajes más altos (P 0.05) de germinación de semilla, con 14.5% en zacate navajita hasta 96.5% en gigante, ambos con fertilizante de liberación lenta. Algunos fertilizantes incrementaron el rendimiento y germinación de semilla y la producción de forraje. Abstract One of the main limiting factors for grassland seeding programs in arid and semiarid regions is the low seed availability of forage grasses. Furthermore, there exists little information on seed production of grasses species in Mexico. The objective was to evaluate the effect of fertilization on seed production and germination of five forage grass species. Research was conducted at INIFAP-La Campana Experimental station, located in Aldama, Chihuahua, km 33.3 Chihuahua-Ojinaga highway. Species studied were: blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), green sprangletop (Leptochloa dubia), buffel grass (Pennisetum ciliare), and wilman lovegrass (Eragrostis superba). Treatments were chemical fertilization at 120-60-00, 60-30-00, 60-30-00 + mycorrhiza, slow release fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and control. Experimental units were field plots of 12 m2 which were distributed according to a randomized block design with three replications. Seed production and germination, and forage production were estimated. In general, highest (P 0.05) seed production for all grass species was shown by 120-60-00 and 60-30-00 + mycorrhiza, where values ranged from 289 kg ha-1 in blue grama under 120-60-00 to 1,619 kg ha-1 in wilman lovegrass under 60-30-00 + mycorrhiza. Slow release fertilizer and 60-30-00 fertilizer rate showed higher seed germination percentages (P0.05) at 14.5% in blue grama, and 96.5% in green sprangletop both under slow release fertilizer. Some fertilizers increased seed yield and germination, and forage production. Keywords: seed yield, seed germination, chemical fertilizers, slow release fertilizers, organic fertilizer.

Mohammed Mustafa H.H, Ali Abdul Fattah Alshaher

The world and its various fields witnessing many changes resulting from economic, political, social and technological developments. Where the societies are racing to have as much as possible information because primary is the raw material in its success and facing to these developments. In addition to use of information technology with high intensity these communities as known as the information society. Educational institutions must be at the forefront of organizations that rely on information and information technology- for their activities.Hence, the intellectual dilemma of research which is the diagnosis of the availability of the ingredients for building an information society in the College of Administration and Economics to be considered among these communities' societies? The research focuses on achieving a fundamental goal which is to measure the availability of the components of the information society in order to be adopted in building of this society. The researchers adopted questionnaire as a tool to collect field data and then prepared for this purpose. As the form questionnaire included 34 questions. And the selected of a sample of (86) my teaching was chosen from the faculty members of the college of management and economics /the university of mosul, as for the case study method was used. The researchers reached a number amount to a number of conclusions, the most important of which is a weakness in the orientation towards the authoring and publish of scientific books by university professors. As for the most important proposals that were presented in the research are the importance of caring for providing the provision of information technology in all colleges of the University of Mosul because it is one a basic of the requirement in contemporary university education.

Amos Shibambu, Mpho Ngoepe

Background: Many scholars lament of poor infrastructure for the management and preservation of digital records in the public sector in South Africa. For example, in South Africa, the national archives repository and its subsidiary provincial archives do not have infrastructure to ingest digital records into archival custody. As a result, digital records are left to the creating agencies to manage and preserve. The problem is compounded by the fact that very few public sector organisations in South Africa have procured systems to manage digital records. Objective: This study investigated whether government departments in South Africa entrust their records to cloud storage. The study asked the questions: How are digital records managed and stored in these organisations? Do government departments entrust their records to the cloud as an alternative storage? Method: Qualitative data were collected through interviews with purposively chosen chief information officers, records managers and IT managers from public entities that implemented e-government services, as well as officials from the National Archives and Services of South Africa, which is charged with the statutory regulatory role of records management in governmental bodies and the State Information Technology Agency, a public sector Information Communication Technology (ICT) company established in 1999 to consolidate and coordinate the state’s information technology resources. Results: The key findings suggest that although public servants informally and unconsciously save some records in the cloud, government departments in South Africa are sceptical to entrust their records in the cloud because of a number of reasons such as lack of trust in the cloud storage, jurisdiction, legal implications, privacy and security risks related to Minimum Information Security Standards, as well as lack of policy and legislative framework, specifically regarding cloud storage. Conclusion: Because of lack of infrastructure for management and preservation of digital records, for the purpose of increased storage and access, this study recommends that government departments should cautiously consider exploring the possibility of storing their records in a trusted digital repository cloud as an interim solution whilst observing legal obligations. As cloud storage is not very prevalent amongst government departments in South Africa, given the present challenges in managing digital records, it would be advantageous to have cloud storage tested rigorously before embarking on the exercise.

Mohammadreza Pourahmadi, Somayeh Delavari, Sajad Delavari

Md Arman Hossain, Eero Sormunen

Abstract The main purpose of this study is to assess self-estimated overall and task-specific Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills of Library and Information Science (LIS) students in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that students’ self-estimated overall computer and internet skills are good. The students perceive that they are good in general computer and internet tasks, but at an average level in advanced computer and internet tasks, and evaluation of internet resources. Moreover, their perceived skills in professional software are below the average level. The male students outperform the female students in almost all types of ICT tasks. The study suggests the LIS schools adopt effective pedagogical methods to improve the higher-level ICT skills of their students.

L. Masanes, J. Oppenheim

The most accepted version of the third law of thermodynamics, the unattainability principle, states that any process cannot reach absolute zero temperature in a finite number of steps and within a finite time. Here, we provide a derivation of the principle that applies to arbitrary cooling processes, even those exploiting the laws of quantum mechanics or involving an infinite-dimensional reservoir. We quantify the resources needed to cool a system to any temperature, and translate these resources into the minimal time or number of steps, by considering the notion of a thermal machine that obeys similar restrictions to universal computers. We generally find that the obtainable temperature can scale as an inverse power of the cooling time. Our results also clarify the connection between two versions of the third law (the unattainability principle and the heat theorem), and place ultimate bounds on the speed at which information can be erased. The third law of thermodynamics, first formulated in 1912, states that any process cannot reach absolute zero temperature in finite time. Here, the authors derive the third law in the quantum regime as a bound on the resources necessary to cool a system to any temperature.

I. Klerings, A. Weinhandl, K. Thaler

Ayşegül Engin, R. Vetschera

K. Yuen, S. Kuok

Vincenzo Bonnici, Giorgio De Caro, Giorgio Constantino et al.

Abstract Background High throughput technologies have provided the scientific community an unprecedented opportunity for large-scale analysis of genomes. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), for a long time believed to be non-functional, are emerging as one of the most important and large family of gene regulators and key elements for genome maintenance. Functional studies have been able to assign to ncRNAs a wide spectrum of functions in primary biological processes, and for this reason they are assuming a growing importance as a potential new family of cancer therapeutic targets. Nevertheless, the number of functionally characterized ncRNAs is still too poor if compared to the number of new discovered ncRNAs. Thus platforms able to merge information from available resources addressing data integration issues are necessary and still insufficient to elucidate ncRNAs biological roles. Results In this paper, we describe a platform called Arena-Idb for the retrieval of comprehensive and non-redundant annotated ncRNAs interactions. Arena-Idb provides a framework for network reconstruction of ncRNA heterogeneous interactions (i.e., with other type of molecules) and relationships with human diseases which guide the integration of data, extracted from different sources, via mapping of entities and minimization of ambiguity. Conclusions Arena-Idb provides a schema and a visualization system to integrate ncRNA interactions that assists in discovering ncRNA functions through the extraction of heterogeneous interaction networks. The Arena-Idb is available at http://arenaidb.ba.itb.cnr.it

M. Tomamichel, M. Berta, J. Renes

The quantum capacity of a memoryless channel determines the maximal rate at which we can communicate reliably over asymptotically many uses of the channel. Here we illustrate that this asymptotic characterization is insufficient in practical scenarios where decoherence severely limits our ability to manipulate large quantum systems in the encoder and decoder. In practical settings, we should instead focus on the optimal trade-off between three parameters: the rate of the code, the size of the quantum devices at the encoder and decoder, and the fidelity of the transmission. We find approximate and exact characterizations of this trade-off for various channels of interest, including dephasing, depolarizing and erasure channels. In each case, the trade-off is parameterized by the capacity and a second channel parameter, the quantum channel dispersion. In the process, we develop several bounds that are valid for general quantum channels and can be computed for small instances. The maximal rate at which quantum information can be reliably communicated through many uses of a memoryless quantum channel is determined by its quantum channel capacity. Here, the authors demonstrate that such an asymptotic characterization is insufficient in practical scenarios.