Percipirani stres, suočavanje sa stresom i usredotočena svjesnost su prediktori promotivnih zdravstvenih ponašanja studenata

The main aim of this study was to examine the predictive contribution of Perceived stress, styles of coping with stress and Mindfulness in explanation of partaking in Health Promotion Behaviors, with gender and age as controlled variables. In this study 307 college students from 45 different higher education institutions in Croatia were included. The rate of taking part in health promotion behaviors was assessed using the Health-promotion Lifestyle Profile-II - HPLP-II, levels of perceived stress were assessed using the short version of Perceived Stress Scale - PSS10, and a short version of the COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) questionnaire - BriefCOPE was used to assess different styles of coping with stress, while the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale – MAAS was used to assess the level of mindfulness. Significant Pearson correlation coefficients were found between Perceived stress, Problem-oriented and Emotion-oriented style of coping, Mindfulness and taking part in Health Promotion Behaviors. According to the results of hierarchical regression analysis, Perceived stress, Problem-oriented and Emotion-oriented styles of coping and Mindfulness have a significant contribution in predicting taking part in Health Promotion Behaviors. Specifically, lower levels of stress, a higher level of Problem and Emotion-oriented styles of coping and a higher level of Mindfulness predict a higher level of taking part in Health Promotion Behaviors by college students. The results of this study may be useful for constructing educational programs and interventions with the aim of spreading the knowledge on many potential benefits of partaking in promotional health behaviors as well as helping both, students and general population, in changing their potentially harmful behaviors or in sustaining their protective health behaviors.Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati prediktivni doprinos percipiranog stresa, suočavanja sa stresom i usredotočene svjesnosti u objašnjavanju uključivanja u promotivna zdravstvena ponašanja, uz kontrolu doprinosa varijabli spola i dobi. Istraživanje je obuhvaćalo 307 studenata (269 ženskih i 38 muških sudionika) sa 45 visokih učilišta s područja Republike Hrvatske. Učestalost uključivanja u promotivna zdravstvena ponašanja mjerena je Upitnikom promotivnih zdravstvenih ponašanja-II – HPLP-II, za mjerenje razine percipiranog stresa korištena je skraćena verzija Ljestvice percipiranog stresa – PSS10, skraćeni Upitnik suočavanja sa stresom – BriefCOPE korišten je za mjerenje stilova suočavanja sa stresom, dok je za mjerenje konstrukta usredotočene svjesnosti korišten Upitnik usredotočene svjesnosti – MAAS. Povezanost među varijablama mjerena Pearsonovim koeficijentom korelacije pokazala je da postoji značajna povezanost percipiranog stresa, Problemu usredotočenog i Emocijama usredotočenog suočavanja i usredotočene svjesnosti s promotivnim zdravstvenim ponašanjima. Rezultati hijerarhijske regresijske analize su pokazali da percipirani stres, Problemu usredotočeno i Emocijama usredotočeno suočavanje i usredotočena svjesnost pokazuju značajni doprinos u predviđanju uključivanja u promotivna zdravstvena ponašanja. Konkretno, rezultati su pokazali da niža razina percipiranog stresa, viša razina Problemu usredotočenog i Emocijama usredotočenog suočavanja te viša razina usredotočene svjesnosti predviđaju veću uključenost studenata u promotivna zdravstvena ponašanja. Dobiveni rezultati mogu se koristiti u izradi edukacijskih programa i intervencija, čiji bi cilj bio proširiti saznanja o brojnim potencijalnim koristima uključivanja u promotivna zdravstvena ponašanja te pomoći i studentima i općoj populaciji u promjeni štetnih ili održavanju zaštitničkih zdravstvenih ponašanja

Prevention of electrofilter ash toxic leaching by embedding in composite materials

Disposal of the fly ash may pose a significant risk to the environment due to the leaching of hazardous pollutants. The only sustainable solution for the pollution-prevention is the reapplication of fly ash as one of the components in construction material composites. There is a risk of leaching even when fly ash is built-in the construction composites and the goal of this investigation was to prove that leaching concentrations of toxic elements is in range assigned by actual regulations. Fly ash was applied in several composits: mortar, concrete and asphalt. The leachability of the potentially toxic elements from the fly ash based products was investigated. The leaching behavior and potential environmental impact of the 11 potentially hazardous elements was tracked: Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Hg, As, Ba, Sb and Se. A detailed study of physico-chemical characteristics of the fly ash is included. The overall results showed that most of the elements are more readily leachable from the fly ash in comparison with the fly ash based composites

More on “Connected (n, m)-graphs with minimum and maximum zeroth-order general Randić index”

AbstractLet G be a graph and d(u) denote the degree of a vertex u in G. The zeroth-order general Randić index 0Rα(G) of the graph G is defined as ∑u∈V(G)d(u)α, where the summation goes over all vertices of G and α is an arbitrary real number. In this paper we correct the proof of the main Theorem 3.5 of the paper by Hu et al. [Y. Hu, X. Li, Y. Shi, T. Xu, Connected (n,m)-graphs with minimum and maximum zeroth-order general Randić index, Discrete Appl. Math. 155 (8) (2007) 1044–1054] and give a more general Theorem. We finally characterize 11Note added in proof: We have learned in the meantime that correction of the main error and proof for α∈(−1,0) have been obtained in ”(n,m)- Graphs with maximum zeroth-order general Randić index for α∈(−1,0)” by X. Li, Y. Shi, MATCH, 62 (1) (2009). for α<0 the connected G(n,m)-graphs with maximum value 0Rα(G(n,m)), where G(n,m) is a simple connected graph with n vertices and m edges

Evaluation of Fly Ash Pysico-chemical Characteristics as Component for Eco-ceramic and Sintered Materials

The aim of the presented study is to evaluate utilization potential of the fly ash which is the main residue from the coal combustion thermal-plants. Decades long high production of fly ash represents extreme hazard for the environment. The storage problem of this waste material is also alerting. Thus, recycling and reapplication of fly ash in construction materials industry is the only economic solution. The well-known examples of fly-ash reapplication as a component in cement, mortar, concrete, bricks and tiles are not enough in means of reusing extreme amounts of this waste material. Therefore, new applications in ash-based composites have to be developed: eco-ceramic materials and sintered materials for refractory performances. In this investigation, characterization of three different fly ash capacities was used as base for further fly ash utilization possibilities analysis. Accent was on the investigation of the fly ash mineralogical and chemical composition. Thermal stability of crystalline phases was investigated with DTA. Macro-performance was correlated with the microstructure of fly ash studied by means of XRD and SEM analysis. Furthermore, content of trace elements, physico-chemical characteristics and leaching toxicity tests were carried out. Comparing the properties of investigated fly ashes with standard values, it could be presumed that fly ash originating from Serbian power plants can be potentially useful for high value products - eco-ceramic and refractory/sintered materials manufacturing. Key words: fly ash, microstructure, potential reusing, eco-ceramic, sintering. Acknowledgements: This investigation was supported by Serbian Ministry of Science and Education and it was conducted under following projects: 172057 and 45008

Lightweight construction ceramic composites based of pelletized fly ash aggregate

As coal combustion byproduct fly ash represents a risk for environment: direct ash emission from open land-fills causes pollution of air, soil and water. The solution for this severe pollution problem is fly ash reapplication in various construction ceramic composite materials. Although pelletization of waste powdery material is a known technique in the production of artificial aggregates, it still has not been widely used in construction sector. Here investigated cold-bonded fly ash aggregate was produced in semi-industrial pelletizing device. The fly ash particles were bonded with water-glass (Sodium silicate - Na2SiO3) and used as substitution for aggregate in Portland cement based composite. Half of the produced lightweight aggregate was submitted to thermal treatment and afterwards applied in the construction composite in the same ration as in the case of cold-bonded pellets. The performance characteristics of two types of lightweight composites were mutually compared and afterwards correlated with characteristics of normal-weight concrete. Compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and tensile strength were used as represents of the composites mechanical behavior. Mineral constituents of fly ash pellets were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction analysis, differential thermal analysis was applied in crystalline phase investigation, and scanning electron microscopy in microstructural analysis. The leaching behavior and environmental impact of hazardous elements were also analyzed. It was concluded that content of potentially toxic elements found in leachate of fly-ash based composites was far below tolerance limit proposed by actual standards for the building materials, characterizing the fly ash non-harmful secondary raw material and enabling its reapplication in building materials industry. Utilizing fly ash to produce quality aggregates should yield significant environmental benefits

Pandemic Influenza: a Report from Osijek

Retrospektivno smo analizirali povijesti bolesti hospitaliziranih bolesnika s influencom u Klinici za infektologiju KBC-a Osijek u razdoblju od 1. studenog 2009. do 28. veljače 2011. godine. Analizirali smo dob, spol, mjesec prijma u bolnicu, trajanje bolesti u danima i trajanje hospitalizacije u danima s težištem na težinu bolesti, komplikacije, rizične čimbenike, laboratorijske nalaze i terapiju. Ambulantno je pregledano 279 bolesnika oboljelih od pandemijske influence. Od toga je hospitalizirano 139 bolesnika (49,8%), a virus pandemijske influence A(H1N1) dokazan je RT-PCR-metodom u 28 bolesnika (20,1%). Hospitalizirana su 54 djeteta (do 18 godina) (38,8%) i 85 odraslih (61,2%). Rizični čimbenici zabilježeni su kod 30,9% hospitaliziranih bolesnika, najzastupljenije su bile kronične srčane bolesti i hipertenzija, dok su kronične plućne bolesti na drugome mjestu. Od komplikacija se najčešće javlja pneumonija, registrirana je u 50 hospitaliziranih bolesnika (36%). U Jedinicu za intenzivno liječenje primljeno je 9 bolesnika, u svih je dokazan virus influence A(H1N1), a smrt je uslijedila u jednog bolesnika.We conducted a retrospective study of the medical records of patients diagnosed with influenza and hospitalized at the Clinic for Infections of the Clinical Hospital Centre Osijek in the period from 1 November 2009 to 28 February 2011. Age, sex, month of admission, duration of the disease and of hospitalization in days, severity of illness, complications, risk factors, laboratory results and therapy were analyzed. We examined 279 patients at our Clinic, and hospitalized 139 (49.8%). Influenza A /H1N1 virus was detected in 28 patients (20.1%) by the RT-PCR method. Among hospitalized patients, there were 54 children (38.8%) and 85 adults (61.2%). Risk factors were found in 30.9% of hospitalized patients, and the most common were chronic cardiac diseases and hypertension followed by chronic pulmonary diseases. The most common complication was pneumonia, found in 50 (36%) of our hospitalized patients. The number of patients treated in our intensive care unit was 9, and influenza A(H1N1) virus was detected in all of them. One patient died

Učestalost preinvazivnih i invazivnih lezija vrata maternice na području Našica

Cilj je rada istražiti učestalost preinvazivnih i invazivnih lezija (PIL) vrata maternice na citodijagnostičkom materijalu područja Našica u razdoblju od 2007. do 2011. godine uz druge moguće čimbenike rizika. Retrospektivnim istraživanjem analizirana su 11843 citodijagnostička Papa testa: 479 nalaza (4,05 %) bilo je patoloških, a povišena incidencija bila je gotovo dvostruka u 2008. i 2009. godini. Uočljiva je najveća incidencija displazija lakoga stupnja (CIN I) s blagim nejednakim smanjenjem prema displazijama teškoga stupnja (CIN II-CIN III) uz rijetku pojavnost invazivnoga karcinoma (0,42.-0,43 %). No, važan je nalaz abnormalnih glandularnih stanica (AGC) u ukupnom citodijagnostičkom materijalu tijekom analiziranoga razdoblja (21,29 %), posebice u jednoj od dvije ambulante gdje se rabila intenzivna antibiotska terapija u liječenju PIL (80 %:20 %). Iz rezultata može se zaključiti da postojanje i liječenje kolpitisa (38 %) i agresivna i opetovana antibiotska terapija mogu biti bitni faktori rizika za PIL

Novel in-situ synthesis of hydroxyapatite/titanium oxide composite coatings on titanium by simultaneous anodization/anaphoretic electrodeposition

In-situ synthesis of HAp/TiO2 coating on titanium was performed via anaphoretic deposition of HAp and simultaneous anodization of Ti to produce highly adherent and strengthened composite coating. The prepared coatings were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electron dispersive spectroscopy. HAp on anodized titanium was prepared at constant voltage of 60 V and deposition time of 45 s, which provided uniform and adherent HAp/TiO2 composite coating on Ti. Since smaller size of HAp crystals within highly porous coating structures is of improved binding ability to various biomolecules, our coating is expected to be of excellent coverage and compactness. The obtained coating can be good candidate for bone implants due to reduced brittleness and improved adhesion

Surface modification of titanium implants by adherent hydroxyapatite/titanium oxide composite coatings using novel in-situ synthesis

The medical devices based on titanium and its alloys are widely used in the repair and replacement of a degraded or inhibited func-tion of locomotor system [1]. Ti and its alloys exhibit high mechanical strength, good workability, resistant to corrosion and low cost. Although, they are widely used as orthopedic and dental implants their inability to interact with living tissue will inhibit their biological fixation and osseoin-tegration [2]. Therefore, to improve the hard-tissue compatibility of Ti various sur-face treatments have been developed for the inorganic coating formation [3]. The hyd-roxyapatite (HAp, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) with superior osteogenic activity is a competitive approach to make novel coatings for titanium implants applications. HAp is a calcium phosphate very similar to the inorganic part of the human bone and hard tissues both in morphology and compo-sition. Herein, in-situ synthesis of HAp/TiO2 coating on titanium was performed via ana-phoretic deposition of HAp and simulta-neous anodization of Ti to produce highly adherent and strengthened composite coating. It can be seen that morphology of Ti substrate of anHAP/TiO2 coating is of tubular shape, and tube formation occurs mainly due to competing processes of anodization and electrophoretic deposition of HAp. anHAp/TiO2 coating does not need sintering process, and simultaneous Ti anodization and HAp deposition occur, where HAp crystals incorporate in the anodized Ti surface. From the presented results it can be concluded that novel suggested process of in situ simultaneous anHAp/TiO2 deposition with Ti surface anodization gives much better results that cathaphoretic deposition regarding adhesion

Leaching of the potentially toxic pollutants from composites based on waste raw material

Odlaganje letećeg pepela dobijenog u procesu sagorevanja uglja u termo-elektranama predstavlja veliki rizik za prirodnu sredinu zbog mogućnosti luženja opasnih čestica kao što su toksični metali. Takođe, opasnost od izluživanja je prisutna čak i kada je leteći pepeo ugrađen u konstukcioni kompozit. Leteći pepeli sa različitih deponija su upotrebljeni za spravljanje uzoraka različitih kompozita (malter, beton ili opeka) pri čemu na pepelu nije sproveden nikakav fizički ili termički pred-tretman. Ispitivano je luženje potencijalno toksičnih elemenata prisutnih u proizvodima na bazi letećeg pepela. Praćeno je izluživanje i mogući uticaj na prirodnu sredinu 11 potencijalno opasnih elemenata: Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Hg, As, Ba, Sb i Se. Sprovedeno je detaljno istraživanje fizičko-hemijskih svojstava letećeg pepela, sa posebnim naglaskom na ispitivanju hemijskog sastava i prisutnosti elemenata u tragovima. Fizičko-hemijska svojstva pepela su ispitivana sledećim metodama: X-ray fluorescenicija, difrakciona termička analiza i X-ray difrakciona metoda. Skenirajući elektronski mikroskop je primenjen u mikrostukturnoj analizi. Rezultati su pokazali da se većina elemenata lakše izlužuje iz pepela nego kompozita spravljenih na bazi pepela. Izluživanje svih ispitivanih toksičnih elemenata je bilo u dozvoljenim granicama što znači da se ispitivani leteći pepeo može upotrebiti u proizvodnji konstrukcionih materijala.The disposal of fly ash generated in coal based power-plants may pose a significant risk to the environment due to the possible leaching of hazardous pollutants, such as toxic metals. Also, there is a risk of leaching even when fly ash is built in the construction composites. Fly ashes from various landfills were applied in several composite samples (mortar, concrete and brick) without any physical or thermal pre-treatment. The leachability of the potentially toxic pollutants from the fly ash based products was investigated. The leaching behaviour and potential environmental impact of 11 potentially hazardous elements was tracked: Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Hg, As, Ba, Sb and Se. A detailed study of physico-chemical characteristics of the fly ash, with an accent on trace elements and the chemical composition investigation is included. Physicochemical properties of fly ash were investigated by means of X-ray fluorescence, differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction methods. Scanning electron microscopy was used in microstructure analysis. The results show that most of the elements are more easily leachable from the fly ash in comparison to the fly ash based composites. The leaching of investigated pollutants is within allowed range thus investigated fly ashes can be reused in construction materials production