The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected every aspect of human life. In these challenging times nursing students, facing academic and psychological issues, are advised to use augmented reality ...applications in the field of health sciences for increasing their motivations and academic performances. The main motive of the study was to examine the acceptance status of nursing students in implementing augmented reality technology in their education and training. The study is a quantitative research study, and it uses the causal-comparative screening method. The data used in the study was collected online from 419 nursing students. The hybrid method was preferred. First, the hypotheses based on the linear relationships were defined between the variables which were then tested by the method of structural equation modeling. Second, the method of artificial neural networks was used to determine the non-linear relationships between the variables. The results show that the nursing students have a high intention of using augmented reality technology as a way of self-learning. It was also found that the most emphasized motive behind this intention is the expectation that using augmented reality technology will increase their academic performance. They also think that AR technology has many potential benefits to offer in the future. It was observed that a considerable number of students already use augmented reality technology for its usefulness and with a hedonic motivation. In conclusion, nursing students have a high acceptance of using augmented reality technology during their education and training process. Since we live in a world where e-learning and self-learning education/training have become widespread, it is estimated that students will demand augmented reality applications as a part of holistic education, and as an alternative to traditional textbooks.
Recycling aims at preventing rapid depletion of natural resources while transforming produced waste into value for economy. However, this process becomes a major challenge in automotive industry, ...which requires cooperative engagement of multiple players within a complex supply chain. In line with the essence of the topic, government agencies around the world issue directives drawing regulatory frameworks for designing recycling operations comprising various activities such as collection of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs), recovery of reusable components, shredding ELV's body, recycling valuable materials and disposal of the hazardous waste. In general, the amount of returned product in a reverse logistics network is highly uncertain, and the ELV market in Turkey is no exception to this. For that purpose, this study aims developing a fuzzy mixed integer location-allocation model for reverse logistic network of ELVs conforming to the existing directives in Turkey. Accordingly, this study uses a novel approach and assumes that ELV supply in the network is uncertain. The merit of the proposed mathematical model is proved on a real world scenario addressing the reverse logistics design problem for ELVs generated in metropolitan area of Istanbul. The network generated specifies that recycling process is not profitable under the existing circumstances with the given level of supplied ELV and the returned product records per capita in Istanbul are far beyond the EU averages. Consequently, sensitivity analyses question the reliability of the obtained results.
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Novel β-cyclodextrin-grafted-N-vinylcaprolactam nanogel structures (β-CD-g-PNVCL NG) were synthesized with different ratios by free radical graft copolymerization in aqueous media. ...The synthetic nanogel structures were characterized by different techniques including XRD, FT-IR, SEM, HRTEM, TGA, and DSC as an advanced carrier for 5-fluorouracil drug (5-FU) with stunning loading properties and controlled release behavior. The results revealed that the preparation of the gel at 1 (β-CD):5 (PNVCL) ratio resulted in the best loading capacity (qmax 659.7 mg/g) and the most controlled releasing profile. The loading behavior can be described excellently by Langmuir model followed by the Freundlich model reflecting homogenous and monolayer loading of the adsorbed 5-FU molecules. Additionally, the adsorption energy (11.62 KJ/mol) from the Dubinin–Radushkevich model revealed chemical uptake for the drug molecules. The releasing profile is of controlled features and continued for 30 h especially in the intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) without complete releasing of the loaded 5-FU drug molecules and the maximum released percentage is 68 %. The pharmacokinetics studies for the commonly inspected theoretical models reflected the best fitting of the results with the Higuchi model as well as the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. The obtained values of the diffusion exponent related to non-Fickian transport behavior and associated with diffusion and erosion as releasing mechanisms with dominance for the diffusion process during the initial stages. β-CD-g-PNVCL NG is of low cytotoxicity on the normal cells and after loading it by 5-FU drug it showed higher toxicity effect than the free 5-FU drug molecules on HCT-116 cells which confirmed the role of β-CD-g-PNVCL NG carrier in enhancing the performance of 5-FU drug as anticancer chemotherapy.
The use of enzymes in many industrial applications has gained increasing importance in recent years due to their non-toxic, specific, and eco-friendly characteristics. However, two main reasons ...limiting their use in industry are production costs and instability under harsh conditions. We isolated thermophilic and halo-tolerant/halophilic bacteria from bio-deteriorated plastic waste. Among them, Bacillus mojavensis isolate TH309 exhibited excellent esterase secretion ability. Esterase production on sunflower seed meal increased approximately 20-fold (80.43 U/gds) with optimization of solid state medium using Plackett Burman design and response surface methodology Box Behnken design. The enzyme (BmEST) was purified 7.82-fold using ultrafiltration and anion-exchange techniques. The molecular weight of BmEST was estimated to be 30 kDa. BmEST demonstrated an optimal temperature and pH of 80 °C and 8.0, respectively, and was remarkable stable at 60-90 °C. BmEST exhibited high activity and stability in the presence of NaCl (5-20%). Furthermore, it was hyper-activated by n-pentane, acetone, hexane, DMSO, methanol, and ethanol. The apparent K
m
and V
max
values of BmEST were 1.28 mM and 23.88 µmol/min, respectively, with p-nitrophenol butyrate as a substrate. The enzyme caused a mass loss of poly(ε-caprolactone) films of 44% after 12 h hydrolysis. As a result, BmEST, with remarkable functional properties, presents a promising candidate to meet the needs of certain harsh biotechnological applications.
To investigate whether ellagic acid (EA) has a possible protective effect against cisplatin (CP)-induced negative changes in epididymal sperm characteristics and the histologic structure of testis ...and prostate associated with oxidative stress in rats.
Experimental study.
Firat University Medical School Experimental Research Center, Elazig, Turkey.
Eight-week-old adult male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 24).
Cisplatin was administered to rats at a single dose of 7 mg/kg IP. Ellagic acid was administered both separately and simultaneously with CP by gavage daily for 10 days at the dose of 10 mg/kg.
Reproductive organ weights, epididymal sperm characteristics, and histopathologic structure of testes and ventral prostate were determined along with malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities of plasma, sperm, and testicular tissue.
Ellagic acid ameliorated the CP-induced reductions in weights of testes, epididymides, seminal vesicles, and prostate along with epididymal sperm concentration and motility. Additionally, EA decreased the CP-induced increments in abnormalities of sperm. Whereas CP increased the MDA levels of plasma, sperm, and testicular tissue, it decreased the GSH-Px and CAT activities in the study samples compared with the control group. The administration of EA to CP-treated rats decreased the MDA level and increased GSH-Px and CAT activities in these samples. Cisplatin caused degeneration, necrosis, interstitial edema, and reduction in germinative cell layer thickness and rarely reduction in spermatogenic activity in some seminiferous tubules. The CP-induced changes in histopathologic findings of testis were partially reversed by treatment with EA. No significant changes were observed in the histopathologic structure of the prostate among any of groups.
Ellagic acid has a protective effect against testicular toxicity caused by CP. This protective effect of EA seems to be closely involved with the suppressing of oxidative stress.
Purpose
Customer firms and suppliers are valuable knowledge resources that can be used for achieving superior new service development (NSD) performance. This study aims to investigate how supply ...chain relationship quality (SCRQ) and knowledge sharing promote the success of NSD, and examines service modularity as an important contingency factor that enhances NSD performance in supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on service-dominant logic, this study builds a conceptual model to empirically explore the impacts of SCRQ and knowledge sharing on NSD performance, and highlights the moderating effect of service modularity by means of survey methodology of 295 Chinese service firms to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
Regression analysis results show that SCRQ has significant positive effects on knowledge sharing and NSD performance; knowledge sharing plays a partial intermediary role between SCRQ and NSD performance; and service modularity partially moderates the relationships between SCRQ, knowledge sharing and NSD performance.
Research limitations/implications
Generalizations here are limited to Chinese service firms. Service modularity in manufacturing firms experimenting with servitization has yet to be examined and provides a good avenue for future research.
Originality/value
This study contributes to service management literature by providing empirical understanding of how service modularity affects NSD performance in multiprovider contexts. Furthermore, this study offers novel insights on the impacts of inter-firm relationship quality and knowledge sharing in modular collaborative innovation.
Turkey, under the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP), has launched large-scale national housing programmes in line with the emerging international trend in low-income ...housing provision. This paper analyses the place of the government's housing programmes in economic policy and in the international context to illustrate the overall picture of the Turkish housing policy in the AKP era. Housing programmes have enabled low and middle-income people to access homeownership. However, other areas of housing policy such as land provision, taxes, subsidies, or housing finance have ignored the housing needs of low-income households. The case of Turkey reveals that the area on which the government should focus for low-income housing provision is access to affordable finance.
The increase in consumer demand for high-quality food products has led to growth in the use of new technologies and ingredients. Resistant starch (RS) is a recently recognised source of fibre and has ...received much attention for its potential health benefits and functional properties. However, knowledge about the fate of RS in modulating complex intestinal communities, the microbial members involved in its degradation, enhancement of microbial metabolites, and its functional role in body physiology is still limited. For this purpose, the current study was designed to ratify the physiological and functional health benefits of enzymatically prepared resistant starch (EM-RSIII) from maize flour. To approve the beneficial health effects as prebiotic, EM-RSIII was supplemented in rat diets. After 21 days of the experiment, EM-RSIII fed rats showed a significant reduction in body weight gain, fecal pH, glycemic response, serum lipid profile, insulin level and reshaping gut microbiota, and enhancing short-chain fatty acid compared to control. The count of butyrate-producing and starch utilizing bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Pediococcus genus in rat's gut, elevated after the consumption of medium and high doses of EM-RSIII, while the E. coli completely suppressed in high EM-RSIII fed rats. Short-chain fatty acids precisely increased in feces of EM-RSIII feed rats. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the effect of butyrate on functional and physiological alteration on the body had been investigated during the current study. Conclusively, the present study demonstrated the unprecedented effect of utilising EM-RSIII as a diet on body physiology and redesigning gut microorganisms.
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