Psycho-physical factors of the decision making process

Choice situations in everyday life usually are characterized by some degree of uncertainty or risk, which means, that it is not possible to properly assess not only the set of feasible strategies, but also, and perhaps above all, to determine the possible outcomes to achieve. Classical decision models, emphasizing high rationality, are being frequently criticized due to the fact that a single subject has no capabilities to assess the enormous amount of substantial data provided to him by senses and elaborated though reasoning (Goodwin, Wright, Tyszka 2011). A decision made in such circumstances involve at least a potential loss, and thus it may trigger in a decision maker an aversion to the risk (or the uncertainty). George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Schiller in their book (Akerlof, Schiller 2009) would like to see the above mentioned phenomenon, and consequences of such behaviour, as an effect of animal spirits, mistakenly understood as some mysterious forces manifested mainly in fallacious and premature decisions made each day on the global market. Of course, a detailed analysis might be, in some circumstances, beneficial at the micro-scale, however in many other macroscopic analyses some simplifications and generalizations are indispensable. On the other hand mechanisms responsible for the reduction in information material have a biological character and constitute the natural endowment of human beings, thus excluding them from the analysis that distorts the shape of decision models and, therefore, their adequacy in the context of real decisive problems.Pasirinkimo situacijos kasdieniniame gyvenime pasižymi tam tikru nepaibrėžtumu arba rizika, kas reiškia, kad neįmanoma tinkamai įvertinti ne tik galimas stratgeijas, bet ir galimas jų įgyvendinimo pasekmes. Klasikiniai sprendimų priėmimo modeliai, pabrėžiantys racionalumą, dažnai yra kritikuojami dėl to, kad eilinis rinkos dalyvis neturi gebėjimų įvertinti didelio kiekio informacijos, kurį jam teikia jutimo organai bei smegenys. Priimant sprendimus tokioje situacijoje susiduriama su nepalankaus sprendimo priėmimo rizika. George A. Akerlof ir Robert J. Schiller savo knygoje aprašo šį fenomeną ir jo paskemes. Detali infomracijos analizė mikorlygmeniu galėtų būti naudinga, tačiau makrolygmeniu tam tikri supaprastinimai ir apibendrinimai priimant sprendimus yra būtini. Už informacijos sumažinimą atsakingi mechanizmai turi biologinį charakterį ir sudaro natūralius žmogiškųjų būtybių išteklius ir taip juos apsaugo nuo per didelio informacijos kiekio analizės bei iškraipo sprendimo priėmimo modelį bei neleidžia priimti visiškai racionalių sprendimų. Straipsnyje ananlizuojami psichofiziniai sprendimų priėmimo veiksniai

The molecular level characterization of biodegradable polymers originated from polyethylene using non-oxygenated polyethylene wax as a carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoate production

There is an increasing demand for bio-based polymers that are developed from recycled materials. The production of biodegradable polymers can include bio-technological (utilizing microorganisms or enzymes) or chemical synthesis procedures. This report demonstrates the corroboration of the molecular structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) obtained by the conversion of waste polyethylene (PE) via non-oxygenated PE wax (N-PEW) as an additional carbon source for a bacterial species. The N-PEW, obtained from a PE pyrolysis reaction, has been found to be a beneficial carbon source for PHA production with Cupriavidus necator H16. The production of the N-PEW is an alternative to oxidized polyethylene wax (O-PEW) (that has been used as a carbon source previously) as it is less time consuming to manufacture and offers fewer industrial applications. A range of molecular structural analytical techniques were performed on the PHAs obtained; which included nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Our study showed that the PHA formed from N-PEW contained 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB) with 11 mol% of 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV) units.This research was funded by the Research Investment Fund, University of Wolverhampton, Faculty of Science and Engineering, UK. This work was also partially supported under the EU 7FP BIOCLEAN Project, Contract No. 312100, “New biotechnological approaches for biodegrading and promoting the environmental biotransformation of synthetic polymeric materials

Molecular level structure of biodegradable poly(delta-valerolactone) obtained in the presence of boric acid

In this study, low molecular weight poly(δ-valerolactone) (PVL) was synthesized through bulk-ring openings polymerization of δ-valerolactone with boric acid (B(OH)₃) as a catalyst and benzyl alcohol (BnOH) as an initiator. The resulting homopolymer was characterized with the aid of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) techniques to gain further understanding of its molecular structure. The electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) spectra of poly(δ-valerolactone) showed the presence of two types of homopolyester chains-one terminated by benzyl ester and hydroxyl end groups and one with carboxyl and hydroxyl end groups. Additionally, a small amount of cyclic PVL oligomers was identified. To confirm the structure of PVL oligomers obtained, fragmentation of sodium adducts of individual polyester molecules terminated by various end groups was explored in ESI-MSn by using collision induced dissociation (CID) techniques. The ESI-MSn analyses were conducted both in positive- and negative ion mode. The comparison of the fragmentation spectra obtained with proposed respective theoretical fragmentation pathways allowed the structure of the obtained oligomers to be established at the molecular level. Additionally, using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), it was proven that regardless of the degree of oligomerization, the resulting PVL samples were a mixture of two types of linear PVL oligomers differing in end groups and containing just a small amount of cyclic oligomers that tended to be not visible at higher molar masses

Crystal structures of (E)-3-(4-hy­dr­oxy­benzyl­­idene)chroman-4-one and (E)-3-(3-hy­dr­oxy­benzyl­­idene)-2-phenyl­chroman-4-one

The synthesis and crystal structures of (E)-3-(4-hy­droxy­benzyl­idene)chroman-4-one, C16H12O3, I, and (E)-3-(3-hy­droxy­benzyl­idene)-2-phenyl­chroman-4-one, C22H16O3, II, are reported. These compounds are of inter­est with respect to biological activity. Both structures display inter­molecular C—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding, forming layers in the crystal lattice. The crystal structure of compound I is consolidated by π–π inter­actions. The lipophilicity (logP) was determined as it is one of the parameters qualifying compounds as potential drugs. The logP value for compound I is associated with a larger contribution of C⋯H inter­action in the Hirshfeld surface.Funding for this research was provided by: Uniwesytet Łódzki, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Łodzi (grant No. SGB_148_Suchojad_Kamil to K. Suchojad; grant No. 502-03/3-066-02/502-34-118 to A. Adamus-Grabicka, E. Budzisz)

The COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Polish medical personnel work: a survey and in-depth interviews study

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of medical personnel in terms of: task scope, preparation to perform medical tasks related to the pandemic, team collaboration, involvement in tasks performed, concerns about performing tasks related to the pandemic, stress levels.MethodsThe mixed-method approach was applied to this cross-sectional study. The online questionnaire which included 40 questions was completed via Google among medical personnel in Poland. Eight semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted to deepen the data obtained with the questionnaires.ParticipantsThe questionnaire was completed by 215 healthcare professionals, with the largest group being nurses (56.3%) followed by physicians (22.3%), midwives (11.6%) and other healthcare professionals (e.g., physiotherapists, paramedics, nutritionists – 9.8%). Among the respondents were people who worked in the hospital in the so-called “covid wards” (31.2%) and other hospital wards (60%) as well as people who were employed outside the hospital (8.8%).ResultsThe pandemic affected the nature and range of tasks performed by health professionals. Initially, respondents felt unprepared to work under pandemic conditions, but over time their ratings increased in all areas studied. More than half of respondents reported no change in interpersonal relationship within the team, but nearly 35% noted a worsening and only one in 10 claimed improvement. Study participants rated their own commitment to tasks slightly higher than that of their colleagues (mean 4.9 and 4.4 respectively) but the overall rating was high. The mean self-rating of work stress increased from 3.7 before the pandemic to 5.1 during the pandemic. Most of the respondents were afraid of transmission of the infection to their relatives. Other fears included the possibility of making a medical error, not being able to help the patient, not having enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and contracting SARS-CoV-2.ConclusionThe conducted study revealed that the organization of medical care in the initial period of the pandemic, especially the hospital care of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, was quite chaotic. The most affected were the people who were transferred to work in the covid wards. Not all medical professionals were prepared to work with the COVID-19 patients, as they lacked experience working in such facilities, especially in intensive care units (ICU). Working under time pressure and under new conditions led mainly to an increase in perceived stress and conflicts between staff

Environmental cleaning mission Bioconversion of oxidatively fragmented polyethylene plastic waste to value-added copolyesters

The innovative recycling method, we are proposing, relies upon the controlled oxidative fragmentation of waste LDPE plastic to the inexpensive substrates for future sustainable production of PHAs with the aid of Cupriavidus necator. LDPE oxidized fragments (PE-F) were obtained from the re-engineering LDPE film by means of pro-oxidant/pro-degradant additives, followed by treatment under natural UV light. Cupriavidus necator was grown in either tryptone soya broth (TSB) or basal salt medium (BSM) supplemented with PE-F for 48 h. PHA production was higher in TSB supplemented with PE-F (29%) than in TSB alone (only 0.6%). No PHA was detected in either BSM alone or BSM supplemented with PE-F. The recovered PHA was characterized using GPC, NMR, and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). These analytical tools applied confirmed that the resulting PHA was a terpolymer having an average molar mass of 624 kg/mol and consisting of 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB), 3-hydroxyvalerates (HV) and 3-hydroxyhexanoate (HH) co-monomer units randomly distributed along the chain backbone

The microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from waste polystyrene fragments attained using oxidative degradation

© 2018 The Authors. Published by MDPI. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10090957Excessive levels of plastic waste in our oceans and landfills indicate that there is an abundance of potential carbon sources with huge economic value being neglected. These waste plastics, through biological fermentation, could offer alternatives to traditional petrol-based plastics. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of plastics produced by some strains of bacteria that could be part of a new generation of polyester materials that are biodegradable, biocompatible, and, most importantly, non-toxic if discarded. This study introduces the use of prodegraded high impact and general polystyrene (PS0). Polystyrene is commonly used in disposable cutlery, CD cases, trays, and packaging. Despite these applications, some forms of polystyrene PS remain financially and environmentally expensive to send to landfills. The prodegraded PS0 waste plastics used were broken down at varied high temperatures while exposed to ozone. These variables produced PS flakes (PS1–3) and a powder (PS4) with individual acid numbers. Consequently, after fermentation, different PHAs and amounts of biomass were produced. The bacterial strain, Cupriavidus necator H16, was selected for this study due to its well-documented genetic profile, stability, robustness, and ability to produce PHAs at relatively low temperatures. The accumulation of PHAs varied from 39% for prodegraded PS0 in nitrogen rich media to 48% (w/w) of dry biomass with the treated PS. The polymers extracted from biomass were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) to assess their molecular structure and properties. In conclusion, the PS0–3 specimens were shown to be the most promising carbon sources for PHA biosynthesis; with 3-hydroxybutyrate and up to 12 mol % of 3-hydroxyvalerate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate co-monomeric units generated

Bioactive and functional oligomers derived from natural PHA and their synthetic analogs

This is an accepted manuscript of a chapter published by CRC Press in The Handbook of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Postsynthetic Treatment, Processing and Application on 05/11/2020, available online: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003087663/chapters/10.1201/9781003087663-5 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Polyhydroxyalkanoate oligomers (oligo-PHA) are low molar mass PHA consisting of a small number of 3-hydroxyacid repeat units (usually not more than 200 residue units). They can be synthesized either naturally in eukaryotic cells and in prokaryotic cells through intracellular or extracellular degradation of storage PHA to yield natural oligomers, or via several chemical modifications such as basic hydrolysis or transesterification. The synthetic analogs of natural PHA oligomers are obtained by anionic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of β-substituted β-lactones. These synthetic and biodegradable oligomers, through various chemical modifications, can further allow the preparation of bioactive oligomers with attractive properties for novel and high value-added applications, especially in medicine, agrochemistry, and cosmetology. Bioactive oligomers are also biodegradable: they possess enhanced properties, controlled functional end groups, and thus can be potential components of copolymers or blends with other biodegradable polymers. The natural and synthetic routes used for the preparation of selected bioactive PHA oligomers and their detailed characterization by mass spectrometry are discussed in this chapter

Designing of drug delivery systems to improve the antimicrobial efficacy in the periodontal pocket based on biodegradable polyesters

© 2023 The authors. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010503Delivery systems for biologically active substances such as proanthocyanidins (PCANs), produced in the form of electrospun nonwoven through the electrospinning method, were designed using a polymeric blend of poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA)and poly[(R,S)-3-hydroxybutyrate] ((R,S)-PHB). The studies involved the structural and thermal characteristics of the developed electrospun three-dimensional fibre matrices unloaded and loaded with PCANs. In the next step, the hydrolytic degradation tests of these systems were performed. The release profile of PCANs from the electrospun nonwoven was determined with the aid of UV–VIS spectroscopy. Approximately 30% of the PCANs were released from the tested electrospun nonwoven during the initial 15–20 days of incubation. The chemical structure of water-soluble oligomers that were formed after the hydrolytic degradation of the developed delivery system was identified through electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Oligomers of lactic acid and OLAGA oligocopolyester, as well as oligo-3-hydroxybutyrate terminated with hydroxyl and carboxyl end groups, were recognized as degradation products released into the water during the incubation time. It was also demonstrated that variations in the degradation rate of individual mat components influenced the degradation pattern and the number of formed oligomers. The obtained results suggest that the incorporation of proanthocyanidins into the system slowed down the hydrolytic degradation process of the poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide)/poly[(R,S)-3-hydroxybutyrate] three-dimensional fibre matrix. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity and antimicrobial studies advocate the use of PCANs for biomedical applications with promising antimicrobial activity.This research was funded by UM0-2016/22/Z/ST5/00692 PELARGODONT Project financed under M-ERA.NET.Published onlin

Mass spectrometry reveals molecular structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates attained by bioconversion of oxidized polypropylene waste fragments

This study investigated the molecular structure of the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) produced via a microbiological shake flask experiment utilizing oxidized polypropylene (PP) waste as an additional carbon source. The bacterial strain Cupriavidus necator H16 was selected as it is non-pathogenic, genetically stable, robust, and one of the best known producers of PHA. Making use of PHA oligomers, formed by controlled moderate-temperature degradation induced by carboxylate moieties, by examination of both the parent and fragmentation ions, the ESI-MS/MS analysis revealed the 3-hydroxybutyrate and randomly distributed 3-hydroxyvalerate as well as 3-hydroxyhexanoate repeat units. Thus, the bioconversion of PP solid waste to a value-added product such as PHA tert-polymer was demonstrated.This research was funded by the Research Investment Fund, University of Wolverhampton, Faculty of Science and Engineering, UK. This work was also partially supported the European Regional Development Fund Project EnTRESS No 01R16P00718 and the PELARGODONT Project UM0-2016/22/Z/STS/00692 financed under the M-ERA.NET 2 Program of Horizon 2020.Published onlin