Science communication has been increasingly viewed as a necessity and obligation of scientists in recent years. The rise of Web 2.0 technologies, such as social media, has made communication of ...science to the public more accessible as a whole. While one of the primary goals of science communication is to increase public engagement, there is very little research to show the type of communication that fosters the highest levels of engagement. Here we evaluate two social medial platforms, Instagram and TikTok, and assess the type of educational science content (ESC) that promotes user awareness and overall engagement. Specifically, we measured the level of engagement between static and dynamic posts on Instagram, and lecture-style and experimental videos on TikTok. User engagement is measured through the analysis of relative number of likes, comments, shares, saves, and views of each post in the various categories. We found that users interact with ESC significantly more (p<0.05) when the content is presented in dynamic ways with a component of experimentation. Together, we took the findings of this study and provided a series of suggestions for conducting science communication on social media, and the type of ESC that should be used to promote better user outcomes.
Testing exponentiality has long been an interesting issue in statistical inferences. In this article, we introduce a new measure of distance between two distributions that is similar Kullback-Leibler ...divergence, but using the distribution function rather than the density function. This new measure is based on the cumulative residual entropy. Based on this new measure, a consistent test statistic for testing the hypothesis of exponentiality against some alternatives is developed. Critical values for various sample sizes determined by means of Monte Carlo simulations are presented for the test statistics. Also, by means of Monte Carlo simulations, the power of the proposed test under various alternative is compared with that of other tests. Finally, we found that the power differences between the proposed test and other tests are not remarkable. The use of the proposed test is shown in an illustrative example.
Consumption is one of the basic indicators of human’s life. The level of human satisfaction is always influenced by the level of economic and social change in the culture of a region. According to ...Kotler, religion is part of a culture that can shape people's behavior. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of contextual factors and religiosity on food consumption patterns in Bandar Lampung, as well as to investigate the religiosity variables as an intervening variable on the contextual factors on food consumption patterns in Bandar Lampung. The results of the analysis showed that the relative and contextual factors cannot influence the consumers' buying behavior directly but influence the religiosity (as an intervening variable) and the pattern of consumption indirectly.
The microstructure and high temperature properties of the AXE622 Mg alloy were investigated after the conventional and semisolid casting processes. The tensile test was conducted at room temperature, ...and 473 K. Impression creep test was performed at a temperature range of 423–498 K under the stress range of 450–600 MPa. The microstructure of the conventional and semisolid alloys contains α-Mg dendrites, the eutectic phase, secondary phases including (Mg–Al)
2
Ca, eutectic Mg
17
Al
12
, and Al
11
RE
3
. During semisolid processing, coarse dendrites of the α-Mg became fine, globular, and Rosetta shape. The average length of the secondary phases in the semisolid alloy decreased from 4.21 to 2 μm and the average grain size of the α-Mg reduced from 113 to 96 μm. Semisolid processing caused a significant improvement in the tensile and creep resistance of the AXE622 Mg alloy. The stress exponent for creep was calculated in the range 5.6–7.7 for the conventional alloy and in the range 10.3–11 for the semisolid alloy. The activation energy for conventional and semisolid alloy was determined as 71.4 kJ/mol and 78.3 kJ/mol, respectively. It was concluded that the dominant creep mechanism in the conventional alloy was the grain boundary diffusion-controlled dislocation climb, while in the semisolid alloy was the power-law breakdown.
Graphic Abstract
Amyloid fibrils are characteristic of several disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD), with no cure or preventive therapy. Diminishing amyloid deposits using aromatic compounds is an interesting ...approach toward AD treatment. The present study examined the anti-fibrillogenic effects of silibinin and trans-chalcone in vitro, in vivo, and in silico on insulin amyloids. In vitro incubation of insulin at 37°C for 24 h induced amyloid formation. Addition of trans-chalcone and silibinin to insulin led to reduced amounts of fibrils as shown by thioflavin S fluorescence and Congo red absorption spectroscopy, with a better effect observed for silibinin. In vivo bilateral injection of fibrils formed by incubation of insulin in the presence or absence of silibinin and trans-chalcone or insulin fibrils plus the compounds in rats' hippocampus was performed to obtain AD characteristics. Passive avoidance (PA) test showed that treatment with both compounds efficiently increased latency compared with the model group. Histological investigation of the hippocampus in the cornu ammonis (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) regions of the rat's brain stained with hematoxylin-eosin and thioflavin S showed an inhibitory effect on amyloid aggregation and markedly reduced amyloid plaques. In silico, a docking experiment on native and fibrillar forms of insulin provided an insight onto the possible binding site of the compounds. In conclusion, these small aromatic compounds are suggested to have a protective effect on AD.
Transfusion remains a key treatment of sickle cell disease complications. However, delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction, the most serious complication of transfusion, may be life-threatening if ...hyperhemolysis develops. This syndrome is generally underdiagnosed because its biological and clinical features resemble those of vaso-occlusive crisis, and red blood cell antibodies are frequently absent. Further transfusions may aggravate the symptoms, leading to severe multiple organ failure and death. It is therefore essential to prevent, diagnose and treat this syndrome efficiently. Prevention is based principally on the attenuation of allo-immunization through the provision of extended-matched RBCs or the use of rituximab. However, such treatment may be insufficient. Early diagnosis might make it possible to implement specific treatments in some cases, thereby avoiding the need for secondary transfusion. Diagnosis is dependent on the knowledge of the medical staff. Finally, many treatments, including steroids, immunoglobulins, erythropoietin and eculizumab, have been used to improve outcome. Improvements in our knowledge of the specific features of DHTR in SCD should facilitate management of this syndrome.
La transfusion reste un traitement majeur de la drépanocytose, à titre préventif mais aussi curatif. Cependant, la réaction transfusionnelle la plus sévère est l’hémolyse post-transfusionnelle retardée qui peut se compliquer d’une hyperhémolyse entraînant dans certains cas une insuffisance multi-organe et le décès du patient. Ce syndrome est souvent sous diagnostiqué du fait de ses caractéristiques particulières au cours de la drépanocytose, essentiellement l’apparition ou la récurrence après une transfusion d’une crise vaso-occlusive, avec une absence d’anticorps anti-érythrocytaires détectables au bilan immun-hématologique. Une retransfusion peut être fatale par exacerbation du processus hémolytique. La prise en charge de cette réaction est basée sur la triade : prévention, diagnostic et traitement. La seule prévention connue est celle de l’allo-immunisation, avec dans certains cas une prévention par le rituximab. Mais cibler uniquement l’allo-immunisation semble insuffisant, puisque de nombreux cas se développent sans anticorps détectables. Le diagnostic est basé sur la formation et l’information de l’ensemble des acteurs médicaux. La reconnaissance de ce syndrome particulier est indispensable. Enfin, le traitement repose sur les thérapeutiques classiques des accidents transfusionnels : immunoglobulines, corticoïdes, mais aussi sur l’érythropoïétine, et plus récemment, l’éculizumab. Des efforts de recherche sont indispensables pour comprendre les mécanismes de cette réaction et adapter, en fonction des mécanismes physiopathologiques prévention et traitement.
Nuclear accidents occurred in latest years highlighted the difficulty to achieve, in a short time, the quantification of alpha and beta emitters. Indeed, most of the existing methods, though ...displaying excellent performances, can be very long, taking up to several weeks for some radioisotopes, such as (90)Sr. This study focuses on alpha and beta radioisotopes which could be accidentally released from nuclear installations and which could be measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Indeed, a new and rapid separation method was developed for (234,235,236,238)U, (230,232)Th, (239,240)Pu, (237)Np, (241)Am and (90)Sr. The main objective was to minimize the duration of the separation protocol by the development of a unique radiochemical procedure with elution media compatible with ICP-MS measurements. Excellent performances were obtained with spiked river water samples. These performances are characterized by total yields exceeding 80% for all monitored radionuclides, as well as good reproducibility (RSD≤10%, n=12). The proposed radiochemical separation (including counting time) required less than 7h for a batch of 8 samples.
In this article, we use cumulative residual Kullback-Leibler information (CRKL) and cumulative Kullback-Leibler information (CKL) to construct two goodness-of-fit test statistics for testing ...exponentiality with progressively Type-II censored data. The power of the proposed tests are compared with the power of goodness-of-fit test for exponentiality introduced by Balakrishnan et al. (
2007
). We show that when the hazard function of the alternative is monotone decreasing, the test based on CRKL has higher power and when the hazard function of the alternative is non-monotone, the test based on CKL has higher power. But, when it is monotone increasing the power difference between test based on CKL and their proposed test is not so remarkable. The use of the proposed tests is shown in an illustrative example.
Cheese is able to transport live probiotics due to its dry matter, fat, and higher pH than yogurt-like products. According to health organizations’ emphasis on promoting the consumption of healthy ...dairy products and consumers’ desire to eat healthier foods, in this study, the feasibility of producing probiotic UF cheese containing probiotic strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum sp. IR007-113 and Enterococcus faecium sp. IBRC-M 10836 as a single or combined study was investigated. The experimental cheeses used in this study include A: UF cheese as a control sample, B: probiotic UF cheese containing Bifidobacterium bifidum, C: probiotic UF cheese containing Enterococcus faecium, and D: probiotic UF cheese containing a combination of Bifidobacterium bifidum and Enterococcus faecium strains. Viability of probiotic organisms on the basis of log cfu/g and aroma compounds including (acetaldehyde, diacetyl, acetone, and acetic acid all in micrograms per gram) was assessed during the 60-day ripening period. The results showed that the probiotic bacterial population decreased during the 60-day storage period. However, at the end of the storage period, all experimental cheeses contained probiotic strains above 106 cfu/g. The acetaldehyde compound increased during the 60-day storage period, and diacetyl, acetoin, and acetic acid contents decreased during the 60-day storage period except for the control sample. A total of 12 free fatty acids were identified in Iranian probiotic UF white cheese, which had the highest concentration of palmitic acid among saturated fatty acids and oleic acid among unsaturated fatty acids. The sensory scores of flavor increased during the 60-day storage period. Texture sensory scores of all experimental cheeses decreased during the storage period. In terms of acceptability, all experimental cheeses showed an increasing trend. In general, the results showed that it is possible to produce UF probiotic cheese with minimal adverse effects on quality characteristics and sensory acceptability. Also, treatment D had relatively better characteristics compared to other cheese variants.
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