The participation of students in the educational process is a key to success for higher education. The implementation of activities in which students’ voice is heard via different practices and ...actors on mega, macro, meso and micro levels brings unexpectedly impressive results in learning. The article investigates the role of students’ voice in two public educational institutions in Latvia (University of Latvia) and Italy (University of Padua). The comparison is made in two categories, actors and practices, to respond to the research question of whether the Italian and Latvian systems support students’ participation/engagement in higher education. The comparative methodology of the study determined the differences and the similarities between the students’ voice practices of the two higher education institutions and proved that Italian and Latvian systems support students’ participation/engagement in higher education; although some improvements are still needed, they are on the right track to implementing it on all levels and in all dimensions.
The European Green Deal strategy targets accelerated sustainability transitions, yet the pathways and processes thereto differ markedly across EU member-states, particularly in the energy sector. ...Politics and institutional contexts largely determine the transition dynamics. However, the sustainability transitions scholarship lacks concrete tools to identify such political barriers to transitions. This paper, therefore, asks: How do political barriers to sustainability transitions emerge and endure, driving differences in transition dynamics across countries? By integrating concepts from institutional economics with the sustainability transitions scholarship (the multi-level perspective), this paper introduces a theoretical framework to assess political barriers to sustainability transitions in their institutional contexts. Additionally, the paper provides empirical evidence from a new region for sustainability transition research: the electricity sectors in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. The comparative case study relies on 25 semi-structured interviews with senior energy policy stakeholders from the Baltic region, triangulated with content analysis of policy documents. The paper concludes that, first, political barriers to transitions emerge in their institutional contexts as they define the policy objectives (or lack thereof) that reinforce (or reduce) transition processes. Second, political barriers to sustainability transitions endure as lacking incentives, alongside misaligned rules and norms, hinder niche development across countries. This analysis suggests policy changes for policymakers and points to future research avenues.
•Political factors drive differences in sustainability transitions across countries.•The Baltic states' electricity sectors offer novel insights for transition research.•Existing institutional contexts define policy objectives and niche impacts.•Political barriers endure due to lacking incentives, misaligned rules and norms.
In an era of rapidly growing consumer demand and the subsequent development of production, light materials and structures with a wide range of applications are becoming increasingly important in the ...field of construction and mechanical engineering, including aerospace engineering. At the same time, one of the trends is the use of perforated metal materials (PMMs). They are used as finishing, decorative and structural building materials. The main feature of PMMs is the presence of through holes of a given shape and size, which makes it possible to have low specific gravity; however, their tensile strength and rigidity can vary widely depending on the source material. In addition, PMMs have several properties that cannot be achieved with solid materials; for example, they can provide considerable noise reduction and partial light absorption, significantly reducing the weight of structures. They are also used for damping dynamic forces, filtering liquids and gases and shielding electromagnetic fields. For the perforation of strips and sheets, cold stamping methods are usually used, carried out on stamping presses, particularly using wide-tape production lines. Other methods of manufacturing PMMs are rapidly developing, for example, using liquid and laser cutting. An urgent but relatively new and little-studied problem is the recycling and further efficient use of PMMs, primarily such materials as stainless and high-strength steels, titanium, and aluminum alloys. The life cycle of PMMs can be prolonged because they can be repurposed for various applications such as constructing new buildings, designing elements, and producing additional products, making them more environmentally friendly. This work aimed to overview sustainable ways of PMM recycling, use or reuse, proposing different ecological methods and applications considering the types and properties of PMM technological waste. Moreover, the review is accompanied by graphical illustrations of real examples. PMM waste recycling methods that can prolong their lifecycle include construction technologies, powder metallurgy, permeable structures, etc. Several new technologies have been proposed and described for the sustainable application of products and structures based on perforated steel strips and profiles obtained from waste products during stamping. With more developers aiming for sustainability and buildings achieving higher levels of environmental performance, PMM provides significant environmental and aesthetic advantages.
Fish is a significant source of essential nutrients, as well as toxic elements in the human diet. Concentration of 17 elements was determined in muscles of eels (
Anguilla anguilla
) collected from ...five fishing lakes in the territory of Latvia. The concentration of main elements determined in muscle tissues varied within the following ranges: for Pb, 0.019–0.047; Cd, 0.0051–0.011; Hg, 0.13–0.36; Cu, 0.76–0.92; Zn, 28–42; and As, 0.13–0.23 mg kg
−1
wet weight. A positive correlation was revealed between the concentration of Hg in muscles and fish length in inland lakes. Concentration of metals in muscle tissues of eels from brackish coastal and inland lakes was without statistically significant difference. This research demonstrated that the elemental content of Cd and Pb in muscles of the examined fish was lower than the maximum allowed threshold set by the European Union legislation. Mercury content was over the threshold limit for all the analyzed eels if to compare with the Water Framework Directive Environmental Quality Standards. On other side, only 7 % of analyzed fish have indicated values that are over threshold limits for mercury established by the European Union food legislation. The current study contributes to the implementation of Water Framework Directive in Latvia by collection of information necessary for the further protection measures of waters. To our knowledge, this study provides the first data on multielemental bioaccumulation in muscle tissues of European eels collected from fishing lakes of Latvia.
Background: Pressure among young athletes to meet body composition goals may lead to poor nutrition and affect growth Aims: To examine the proportion of body fat (%BF), measured by bioimpedance ...analysis, among Latvian children and adolescents participating in organized sports. Methods: Our study had a nationally representative sample of 6048 young athletes, aged 10-17 years. Their %BF was measured using a multifrequency, 8-pole, bioelectrical impedance leg-to-hand analyzer. Results: About 19.2% (CI 14.4-20.0) of boys and 15.1% (CI 14.0-16.3) of girls had a %BF value below the recommended levels. The %BF in young female athletes participating in aesthetic sports was lower than among their peers participating in other sports. Young male athletes participating in aesthetic sports had lower %BF levels at 10 and 12 years of age, compared with participants in weight-class sports; and lower levels of %BF from age 10-14 years, compared with participants in non-weight-sensitive sports. Conclusions: Almost every fifth child and adolescent participating in organized sports displayed critically low body fat levels. Body fat needs to be assessed regularly in young athletes, to prevent negative consequences on health.
The aim of the paper is to assess heterogeneity of the innovation process. Using exploratory factor analysis on micro data from the third Community Innovation Survey in 13 countries, we identify four ...patterns that can be interpreted as research, user, external, and production ingredients of innovation. All too often it is assumed that how firm innovate can be represented by differences across sectors and/or countries. To put this proposition under scrutiny, we partition variability of the factors scores into components identified by these higher levels. Sectors and countries matter to a certain extent, but far more of the variance is given by heterogeneity among firms within both of them. However, groups of firms produced by cluster analysis account for much higher share of the variance, which indicates that the most relevant stratification of the data cuts across the established sectoral and national boundaries. We discuss implications of these findings for understanding of selection in evolutionary economics and for the literature on innovation systems. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
According to the ‘good genes’ hypothesis, females choose males based on traits that indicate the male's genetic quality in terms of disease resistance. The ‘immunocompetence handicap hypothesis’ ...proposed that secondary sexual traits serve as indicators of male genetic quality, because they indicate that males can contend with the immunosuppressive effects of testosterone. Masculinity is commonly assumed to serve as such a secondary sexual trait. Yet, women do not consistently prefer masculine looking men, nor is masculinity consistently related to health across studies. Here, we show that adiposity, but not masculinity, significantly mediates the relationship between a direct measure of immune response (hepatitis B antibody response) and attractiveness for both body and facial measurements. In addition, we show that circulating testosterone is more closely associated with adiposity than masculinity. These findings indicate that adiposity, compared with masculinity, serves as a more important cue to immunocompetence in female mate choice.
The use of international nonproprietary names (INNs) has been mandatory for prescriptions of state-reimbursed drugs in Latvia since 1 April 2020. In a retrospective analysis, we aimed to examine the ...impact of the new regulation on changes in the prescribing and dispensing practice of antihypertensive agents with an example of bisoprolol or/and perindopril and their combinations. All state-reimbursed bisoprolol and/or perindopril prescriptions for arterial hypertension were evaluated in two time periods: 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 and 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The proportion of INN prescriptions increased from 2.1% to 92.3% (p < 0.001, φ = 0.903). The rate of fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) increased from 60.8% to 66.5% (p < 0.001, φ = 0.059). The rate of medication errors was 0.6%. The most common (80.6%) error was that the dispensed medicine dose was larger or smaller than indicated on the prescription. In addition, prescribing an FDC medicine increased the chance of making an error by 2.5 times on average. Regulatory changes dramatically affected the medicine-prescribing habits of INNs. The increase in FDC prescription rates may align with the recommendations of the 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines. The proportion of total errors is estimated as low, but control mechanisms are needed to prevent them.
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In this concise review the current research in plant bioactive compound studies in Latvia is described. The paper summarizes recent studies on substances from edible plants (e.g., ...cereals and apples) or their synthetic analogues, such as peptide lunasin, as well as substances isolated from inedible plants (e.g., birch and conifer), such as pentacyclic triterpenes (e.g., betulin, betulinic acid, and lupeol) and polyprenols. Latvian researchers have been first to demonstrate the presence of lunasin in triticale and oats. Additionally, the impact of genotype on the levels of lunasin in cereals was shown. Pharmacological studies have revealed effects of lunasin and synthetic triterpenes on the central nervous system in rodents. We were first to show that synthetic lunasin causes a marked neuroleptic/cataleptic effect and that betulin antagonizes bicuculline-induced seizures (a GABA A receptor antagonist). Studies on the mechanisms of action showed that lunasin binds to dopamine D1 receptors and betulin binds to melanocortin and gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptors therefore we suggest that these receptors play an essential role in lunasin’s and betulin’s central effects. Recent studies on conifer polyprenols demonstrated the ability of polyprenols to prevent statin-induced muscle weakness in a rat model. Another study on plant compounds has demonstrated the anti-hyperglycemic activity of phlorizin-containing unripe apple pomace in healthy volunteers.
In summary, research into plant-derived compounds in Latvia has been focused on fractionating, isolating and characterizing of lunasin, triterpenes, polyprenols and phlorizin using in vitro, and in vivo assays, and human observational studies.
In the article presented, the authors carry out the analysis of export — import operations of Latvia with Asian countries. Based on the UN Resolution on Sustainable Development 2030 adopted in 2015, ...the concept of developing the world until 2030 is presented for seventeen goals and 169 goals. The convergence of Europe and Asia based on the trade cooperation will certainly lead to a deepening of economic relations between the regions. Using the trading strategies of P. Krugman, C. Lancaster and I. B. Krevis, the authors analyze export-import operations between the countries of Southeast Asia and Latvia. The authors, particularly focus on the main partners of Southeast Asia: the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The authors carried out the analysis of the calculated volume of exports to countries for the period from 2015 to 2017, as well as carried out the analysis of the goods exported by Latvia, identified the leaders of export operations from the countries of Southeast Asia. Based on the statistical date of Latvia, the authors pay special attention to the calculation and classification of exported goods to the countries of Southeast Asia. As a result of the analysis, the authors revealed that the main export goods to Southeast Asia are machinery, mechanisms and electrical equipment, mineral products. The analysis allowed ranking the countries of Southeast Asia by the volume of exported goods.
Given the trade volumes of Latvia and the countries studied, it is proposed to strengthen the role of SMEs in trade between regions. The analysis of the number of small and medium enterprises of Latvia from 2015-2017 is carried out, as well as the inclusion of SMEs in the trade relations of Latvia and the countries of Southeast Asia is justified.
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