A Study on Children’s Interest towards Reading - a Questionnaire-Based Survey

In a society dominated by mass-media, which offers many temptations and seizes and reorients young people’s interests, reading has lost ground. The importance given to reading has clearly diminished, as it is no longer favoured by our pupils. This represents a real problem, especially for the teachers from the pre-university education system, who sometimes feel powerless when facing the challenges of the contemporary world and who try by various methods to entice pupils to read and to get in contact with the magical world of reading. The purpose of this research is to investigate the way in which reading is viewed by pupils and to find the way to find the educational path that entice them to read. The study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted to determine the interested reading factors

Magnetite Nanoparticles for Composite Coatings with Patterned Roughness

Extended Abstract Wettability control on solid surfaces is currently intensely studied due to its importance in many fields, such as self-cleaning coatings for solar energy panels, satellite dishes, automobile windshields, icerepellant and anti-corrosion surface treatments for aircrafts, high performance materials for biomedical applications, to mention just a few. The strategies for engineering synthetic coatings with water/ice repellant properties have been inspired by naturally occurring superhydrophobic materials and involve an optimum combination of hierarchical surface roughness and low surface tension, as concluded in recent comprehensive reviews This study aims to develop a method to prepare iron oxide nanoparticles that are capable of mutual magnetic interaction during the curing stage of a polymeric support to create micro-scale surface protuberances in a controlled manner. Materials and Methods The Fe 3 O 4 particles were obtained by partial oxidation of ferrous ions in alkaline solution and were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetization measurement. They were subsequently functionalized in aqueous suspension using either sodium oleate or mixtures of non-ionic surfactants (Span80 and Tween80) with various hydrophilic to lipophilic balance (HLB) values. Chitosan was used as a model film-forming polymeric support. Functionalized particles were suspended in acidic chitosan solution. The obtained nanoparticle-polymer dispersions were deposited by spraying on glass slides and subsequently cured by drying under a static magnetic field (strength range 3 to 6 mT) generated with the aid of an electromagnet, to yield composite films. Results The Fe 3 O 4 particles obtained by the optimum procedure had a mean size of 14 nm as estimated from the TEM micrographs, an XRD pattern that is characteristic to highly crystalline magnetite and a saturation magnetization of 88.3 emu/g that is close to the theoretical value. Magnetic field generated surface roughness was evidenced in the composite films by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The film morphology varies depending on the surfactant nature and the strength of the applied magnetic field. The rate of the particle movement in the curing stage and therefore their aggregation degree is a result of the equilibrium between the aligning effect of the magnetic field and the drag force acting upon them. The optimum texture was produced with the sodium oleate functionalized nanoparticles, assembled in chain-like structures, thus forming ordered protuberances within the polymeric film

Synthesis and characterization of cationic latex bearing grafted chains

Cationic poly(styrene) latices bearing grafted chains were synthesized by surface initiated polymerization of N(2-methoxy-ethyl) acrylamide (MEA) on core latex. The 2-3 |j.m diameter core particles were produced by successive seeded growth polymerization using a cationic azo-derivative as initiator. The area per charged group was found by conductometric titration to be between 150 and 300 A². The core latex was covered with a shell containing poly(styrene-co-acrolein) by a seeded copolymerization procedure. The surface aldehyde concentration was determined by reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride and titration. The surface aldehyde groups were used as starting points for Ce(IV) redox initiated polymerization of MEA. The amount of grafted MEA was estimated indirectly from unreacted monomer concentration. The maximum tether coverage, 9.9 MEA groups/A², was obtained for an aldehyde surface concentration of 2.8 groups/A². The probable chain conformation is a dense brush with an equilibrium length from 20 to 133 A. A model latex carrying cleavable chains was synthesized by using a shell containing poly(styrene-co-hydroxy-ethyl acrylate). The procedure for producing the shell and for grafting M E A was the same as for the aldehyde latex. The density of surface hydroxyl groups was assessed by saponification of the ester bonds, followed by conductometric titration of the carboxylic residues. In all experiments competing solution polymerization of M E A occurred due to oligomer leakage from the bead. The grafted chains were characterized by quantitative size exclusion chromatography (SEC) after saponification. The molecular weight showed an unusual trimodal distribution. The surface density of the long chains was found to be between 4.4xl0⁻⁵ and 1.3xl0⁻⁴ chains/A². Short and oligomeric chains had a density of about 6xl0⁻⁴ chains/A². The probable configuration of each of these species is a mushroom, extending into solution to a maximum of 50 A. The beads carrying grafted chains were used as stationary phases for SEC of proteins. Experimental evidence for graft-mediated size exclusion, as predicted by two theoretical models, was provided, demonstrating that SEC can be performed efficiently with nonporous media.Science, Faculty ofChemistry, Department ofGraduat

Flaxseed Lignans and Polyphenols Enhanced Activity in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Flaxseeds play an important role in human health due to their chemical composition and recognized beneficial outcomes. This study investigated the antidiabetic effects of present lignans and polyphenols found in the flaxseed extract on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The flaxseed administration produced favorable changes in body weight, food and water intake, and glycosylated hemoglobin and blood glucose quantities in the treated diabetic rats. Additionally, significant positive results were observed in the biochemical parameters, namely reduced plasma cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, plasma creatinine, and urea and uric acid levels, highlighting the seeds’ use in traditional medicine. The results were sustained by histopathological observations that showed better tissue preservation following the flaxseed diet. Overall, the consumption of flaxseeds produced moderate reduction in glucose levels and hyperlipidemia, together with improvement in the impaired organs’ function in diabetic rats. The daily administration of polyphenols and lignans compounds could impact therapeutic potential in diabetes management

Flaxseed Lignans and Polyphenols Enhanced Activity in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Flaxseeds play an important role in human health due to their chemical composition and recognized beneficial outcomes. This study investigated the antidiabetic effects of present lignans and polyphenols found in the flaxseed extract on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The flaxseed administration produced favorable changes in body weight, food and water intake, and glycosylated hemoglobin and blood glucose quantities in the treated diabetic rats. Additionally, significant positive results were observed in the biochemical parameters, namely reduced plasma cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, plasma creatinine, and urea and uric acid levels, highlighting the seeds’ use in traditional medicine. The results were sustained by histopathological observations that showed better tissue preservation following the flaxseed diet. Overall, the consumption of flaxseeds produced moderate reduction in glucose levels and hyperlipidemia, together with improvement in the impaired organs’ function in diabetic rats. The daily administration of polyphenols and lignans compounds could impact therapeutic potential in diabetes management