Working with the Community: Reflections from an Instructional Design Service-Learning Project

As part of an instructional design course, EDCI 572 (Learning Systems Design), we completed a service project developing a face-to-face training for volunteer coordinators for United Way of Greater Lafayette. United Way promotes activities to encourage civic engagement and make a positive change in the community. A network of community members and organizations facilitate a larger community impact in collaboration with United Way. One part of this partnership is the United Way training for volunteer coordinators of different nonprofit organizations. Under the supervision of Dr. Seçil Caskurlu, we applied instructional design models to design and develop face-to-face training modules in consultation with a subject matter expert. This face-to-face training covered four topics: skill-based volunteering, recruitment, retention, and recognition. Students gained several skills from this service project, including experience in developing and creating learning solutions that drive measurable impact to the organization and align to organization’s and learner’s needs; experience in developing face-to-face learning experiences; experience applying instructional design models; communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills; and strong organizational and time management skills. Thus, this authentic learning experience helped us develop instructional design skills by building practical knowledge and hands-on experience. Additionally, we received funding from the Community Service/Service-Learning Student Grant Program, which was used to support a showcase event where we presented this service project and shared our experiences. This event had the objectives of increasing awareness of course-based service projects, potentially creating new partnerships within the community, and allowing students to practice public speaking skills. In this service project, not only were concepts and theories taught, but they were applied to a real-world context and went beyond the conventional hypothetical classroom scenarios. The challenge to work for a real client, that helps communities grow, added an extra motivation to do our best

Production of aroma-rich extracts from sardine cooking wastewaters: exploring their potential for modulating feed intake in European seabass

Managing the canning industry’s nutrient-rich and odorous liquid waste is a hurdle. Concurrently, the growing use of vegetable ingredients in aquafeeds diminishes palatability and feed consumption in carnivorous fish. Thus, we hypothesized that aromas could be extracted from cooking wastewaters at canning factories and added to plant-based diets to stimulate intake in European seabass. Sardine cooking wastewaters were collected and tested directly (CW-A) or after vacuum distillation (VD-A) or liquid/liquid extraction with soybean oil (LLE-A). Despite losses in aldehydes and short-chain alcohols, both processes were effective in removing off-flavours. VD-A displayed a higher concentration of most aromas compared to LLE-A. Extracts were included at 2 μg g−1 of 1-penten-3-ol, the most abundant compound in all extracts, in diets (CW, VD, LLE). A non-supplemented diet was used as control. Each diet was assigned to six groups of juvenile fish, fed a single meal until apparent satiation. Our emphasis was on this initial feeding to comprehend the hedonic control of feed intake, minimizing habituation effects and the impact of the long-term metabolic requirements. Feed intake was highest for the control group. No differences on plasma metabolites were observed, suggesting feed intake was primarily regulated by hedonic rather than homeostatic mechanisms. Moreover, the lower intake in the supplemented diets was partially associated with a lower expression of orexigenic (intake-promoting) neuropeptides and higher expression of anorexigenic (intake-reducing) neuropeptides in the brain, despite the lack of significant diet-related differences. Overall, this study presents a novel approach to valorise cooking wastewater from the canning industry, since cooking wastewaters extracts rich in aromas were successfully produced, however, in the tested concentration, had no positive impact on the short-term feed intake response of European seabass.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New tribes, overview and checklist of Neotropical Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae)

The Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae) are a peculiar tetrigid taxon characterized by a relatively widened fascial carina on the frontal costa. This group currently has a doubtful taxonomic status since this is the only character shared by its members. Here, we provide an overview of the Cladonotinae reported from the Neotropical region (29 species, three of them fossils), based on the morphological examination of the specimens housed at several museums. We show that Neotropical Cladonotinae share more characteristics, which strengthen its taxonomic status, and propose two new tribes: Choriphyllini n. trib. and Mucrotettigini n. trib. We propose the new combination Cota undulata (Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona-Granda, 2015) n. comb. (from Metrodora undulata Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona, 2015). We also propose splitting the genus Dasyleurotettix Rehn, 1904 by revalidating the status of one of its junior synonyms, Liotettix Bolívar, 1906, and creating the combinations Liotettix affinis Bruner, 1920 n. comb. (from Dasyleurotettix affinis (Bruner, 1920)), L. lobulatus Stål, 1861, rev. comb. and L. miserabilis Blanchard, 1851, rev. comb. We then transfer both Liotettix and Dasyleurotettix out of Cladonotinae, with the former going to subfamily Tetriginae and the latter going to tribe Criotettigini (Tetrigidae: Scelimeninae). Additionally, we provide a taxonomic key for Neotropical Cladonotinae genera. Os Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae) são um peculiar táxon de tetrigídeos caracterizados pelo alargamento significativo da carena fascial da costa frontal. Este grupo atualmente apresenta posição taxonômica duvidosa, pois há apenas essa característica compartilhada por seus membros. Aqui, revisamos a situação das espécies registradas para a região Neotropical (29 espécies, três delas fósseis), tendo por base a morfologia dos espécimes depositados em vários museus. Nós mostramos que os Cladonotinae Neotropicais compartilham mais características, o que fortalece seu status taxonômico e propomos duas novas tribos: Choriphyllini n. trib. e Mucrotettigini n. trib. Nós propomos uma nova combinação Cota undulata (Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona-Granda, 2015) n. comb. (a partir de Metrodora undulata Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona, 2015). Também propomos dividir o gênero Dasyleurotettix Rehn, 1904, revalidando o status de um de seus sinônimos juniores, Liotettix Bolívar, 1906 e criando as combinações Liotettix affinis Bruner, 1920 n. comb. (a partir de Dasyleurotettix affinis (Bruner, 1920)), L. lobulatus Stål, 1861, rev. comb. e L. miserabilis Blanchard, 1851, rev. comb. Nós então transferimos ambos Liotettix e Dasyleurotettix de Cladonotinae, com o primeiro indo para a subfamília Tetriginae e o último indo para a tribo Criotettigini (Tetrigidae: Scelimeninae). Adicionalmente, fornecemos uma chave taxonômica para os gêneros de Cladonotinae Neotropical. Los Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae) son un taxón peculiar de tetrígidos que se caracterizan por el alargamiento significativo de la carina fascial de la costa frontal. Este grupo actualmente presenta una posición taxonómica dudosa, ya que solamente cuenta con esa característica compartida por los miembros que lo conforman. Aquí revisamos la situación de las especies registradas para la región Neotropical (29 especies, tres de estas fósiles), basándonos en la morfología de los especímenes depositados en varios museos. Nosotros mostramos que los Cladonotinae Neotropicales comparten más características en común, que fortalecen su estatus taxonômico y proponemos dos nuevas tribus: Choriphyllini n. trib. and Mucrotettigini n. trib. Nosotros proponemos nuevas combinaciones para Cota undulata (Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona-Granda, 2015) n. comb. (de Metrodora undulata Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona, 2015). También proponemos dividir el género Dasyleurotettix Rehn, 1904, revalidando el estado de uno de sus sinónimos, Liotettix Bolívar, 1906, y creando las combinaciones Liotettix affinis Bruner, 1920 n. comb. (de Dasyleurotettix affinis (Bruner, 1920)), L. lobulatus Stål, 1861, rev. comb. y L. miserabilis Blanchard, 1851, rev. comb. Luego transferimos tanto a Liotettix como a Dasyleurotettix de Cladonotinae, la primera a la subfamilia Tetriginae y la última a la tribu Criotettigini (Tetrigidae: Scelimeninae). Adicionalmente, presentamos claves taxonómicas para los géneros de Cladonotinae Neotropicales

New tribes, overview and checklist of Neotropical Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae)

The Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae) are a peculiar tetrigid taxon characterized by a relatively widened fascial carina on the frontal costa. This group currently has a doubtful taxonomic status since this is the only character shared by its members. Here, we provide an overview of the Cladonotinae reported from the Neotropical region (29 species, three of them fossils), based on the morphological examination of the specimens housed at several museums. We show that Neotropical Cladonotinae share more characteristics, which strengthen its taxonomic status, and propose two new tribes: Choriphyllini n. trib. and Mucrotettigini n. trib. We propose the new combination Cota undulata (Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona-Granda, 2015) n. comb. (from Metrodora undulata Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona, 2015). We also propose splitting the genus Dasyleurotettix Rehn, 1904 by revalidating the status of one of its junior synonyms, Liotettix Bolívar, 1906, and creating the combinations Liotettix affinis Bruner, 1920 n. comb. (from Dasyleurotettix affinis (Bruner, 1920)), L. lobulatus Stål, 1861, rev. comb. and L. miserabilis Blanchard, 1851, rev. comb. We then transfer both Liotettix and Dasyleurotettix out of Cladonotinae, with the former going to subfamily Tetriginae and the latter going to tribe Criotettigini (Tetrigidae: Scelimeninae). Additionally, we provide a taxonomic key for Neotropical Cladonotinae genera. Os Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae) são um peculiar táxon de tetrigídeos caracterizados pelo alargamento significativo da carena fascial da costa frontal. Este grupo atualmente apresenta posição taxonômica duvidosa, pois há apenas essa característica compartilhada por seus membros. Aqui, revisamos a situação das espécies registradas para a região Neotropical (29 espécies, três delas fósseis), tendo por base a morfologia dos espécimes depositados em vários museus. Nós mostramos que os Cladonotinae Neotropicais compartilham mais características, o que fortalece seu status taxonômico e propomos duas novas tribos: Choriphyllini n. trib. e Mucrotettigini n. trib. Nós propomos uma nova combinação Cota undulata (Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona-Granda, 2015) n. comb. (a partir de Metrodora undulata Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona, 2015). Também propomos dividir o gênero Dasyleurotettix Rehn, 1904, revalidando o status de um de seus sinônimos juniores, Liotettix Bolívar, 1906 e criando as combinações Liotettix affinis Bruner, 1920 n. comb. (a partir de Dasyleurotettix affinis (Bruner, 1920)), L. lobulatus Stål, 1861, rev. comb. e L. miserabilis Blanchard, 1851, rev. comb. Nós então transferimos ambos Liotettix e Dasyleurotettix de Cladonotinae, com o primeiro indo para a subfamília Tetriginae e o último indo para a tribo Criotettigini (Tetrigidae: Scelimeninae). Adicionalmente, fornecemos uma chave taxonômica para os gêneros de Cladonotinae Neotropical. Los Cladonotinae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigidae) son un taxón peculiar de tetrígidos que se caracterizan por el alargamiento significativo de la carina fascial de la costa frontal. Este grupo actualmente presenta una posición taxonómica dudosa, ya que solamente cuenta con esa característica compartida por los miembros que lo conforman. Aquí revisamos la situación de las especies registradas para la región Neotropical (29 especies, tres de estas fósiles), basándonos en la morfología de los especímenes depositados en varios museos. Nosotros mostramos que los Cladonotinae Neotropicales comparten más características en común, que fortalecen su estatus taxonômico y proponemos dos nuevas tribus: Choriphyllini n. trib. and Mucrotettigini n. trib. Nosotros proponemos nuevas combinaciones para Cota undulata (Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona-Granda, 2015) n. comb. (de Metrodora undulata Cadena-Castañeda and Cardona, 2015). También proponemos dividir el género Dasyleurotettix Rehn, 1904, revalidando el estado de uno de sus sinónimos, Liotettix Bolívar, 1906, y creando las combinaciones Liotettix affinis Bruner, 1920 n. comb. (de Dasyleurotettix affinis (Bruner, 1920)), L. lobulatus Stål, 1861, rev. comb. y L. miserabilis Blanchard, 1851, rev. comb. Luego transferimos tanto a Liotettix como a Dasyleurotettix de Cladonotinae, la primera a la subfamilia Tetriginae y la última a la tribu Criotettigini (Tetrigidae: Scelimeninae). Adicionalmente, presentamos claves taxonómicas para los géneros de Cladonotinae Neotropicales

Lipase-catalyzed ethanolysis of Jatropha curcas L. oil assisted by ultrasonication

ABSTRACT Transesterification of non-edible oils using immobilized lipase is a promising process for biodiesel production. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the enzymatic transesterification of the non-edible Jatropha curcas oil for FAEE production under ultrasound irradiation in a solvent-free system. The effects of enzyme concentration, water concentration, molar ratio of ethanol to oil and ultrasound power on the FAEE conversion have been evaluated. The results show that enzyme concentration and irradiation power have a positive significant effect on FAEE conversion, where an increase in these variables leads to higher conversions. Conversion above 54% of FAEE was achieved with 1.5 hours of reaction time using ultrasound irradiation, reducing reaction time by at least 3 times, when compared with the same experimental conditions without ultrasound irradiation. Results showed that ultrasound can improve reaction conversion mainly by enhancing the mass transfer between the constituents of the reactions

Fisetin derivatives exhibit enhanced anti-inflammatory activity and modulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress

Fisetin (FST) is a dietary flavonol that is known to possess multiple relevant bioactivities, raising the question of its potential health benefits and even its use in novel pharmacological approaches. To attain this prospect, some limitations to this molecule, namely its poor bioavailability and solubility, must be addressed. Inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are often hand in hand in the context of chronic disease. Both are activated upon perceived disturbances in homeostasis but can be deleterious when intensely or chronically activated. We have synthesized a set of FST derivatives trying to improve the biological properties of the parent molecule. These new molecules were tested along with the original compound for their ability to mitigate the activation of these signaling pathways. FST has proven to be effective against the onset of inflammation, reducing NF-κB activation, cytokine release, inflammasome activation and ROS generation, as well as decreasing the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Some of the tested derivatives are also described as new caspase-1 inhibitors, being also capable of reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and ER stress markers.(undefined

TiO2 nanostructured films for electrochromic paper based-devices

(H2020-NMP-2015, grant 685758-21D H2020 ERC AdG 787410)Electrochromic titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructured films were grown on gold coated papers using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method at low temperature (80 °C). Uniform nanostructured films fully covered the paper substrate, while maintaining its flexibility. Three acids, i.e., acetic, hydrochloric and nitric acids, were tested during syntheses, which determined the final structure of the produced films, and consequently their electrochromic behavior. The structural characteristics of nanostructured films were correlated with electrochemical response and reflectance modulation when immersed in 1 M LiClO4-PC (lithium perchlorate with propylene carbonate) electrolyte, nevertheless the material synthesized with nitric acid resulted in highly porous anatase films with enhanced electrochromic performance. The TiO2 films revealed a notable contrast behavior, reaching for the nitric-based film optical modulations of 57%, 9% and 22% between colored and bleached states, at 250, 550 and 850 nm, respectively in reflectance mode. High cycling stability was also obtained performing up to 1500 cycles without significant loss of the electrochromic behavior for the nitric acid material. The approach developed in this work proves the high stability and durability of such devices, together with the use of paper as substrate that aggregates the environmentally friendly, lightweight, flexibility and recyclability characters of the substrate to the microwave synthesis features, i.e., simplicity, celerity and enhanced efficiency/cost balance.publishersversionpublishe

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students in Paraguay during the COVID-19 Pandemic

We aimed to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in university students in Paraguay during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 293 students from four universities in Paraguay in 2021. The DASS-21 mental health scale was used to measure the outcomes (depression, anxiety, and stress) and evaluate their association with socio-educational variables. A total of 77.1% of the participants were women and 136 (46.4%) were between 21 and 25 years old. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 74.7%, 87.4%, and 57%, respectively. We found that being a woman and studying at a public university was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Receiving COVID-19 training increases the prevalence of mental health problems. In conclusion, high levels of anxiety, depression, and stress were found in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being a woman, studying at a public university, and receiving training on COVID-19 were factors associated with a higher prevalence of presenting all the mental health problems evaluated. Furthermore, students aged 31 and over had a higher prevalence of depression and stress

Production of lipid rich-extracts from Chlorella vulgaris using ohmic heating

Microalgae biomass is a promising raw material for several bioproducts suitable for food, energy and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of the present work was to optimize the extraction of bioactive compounds from Chlorella vulgaris using Ohmic Heating (OH). A rotatable central composite design for two factors was used to assess the effects of temperature and solvent (% ethanol in water) on lipid extraction yields and fatty acid profile. OH extraction experiments were powered by low-frequency (50 Hz) and high-frequency (25 kHz) to identify the presence of non-thermal effects and its influence on composition and bioactive properties of the generated extracts. Lipid extraction using OH was successfully optimized with the best extraction conditions found at 70 ºC for 5 min using 88 % ethanol as a solvent. No effect on the application of the electrical frequencies was observed. These conditions allowed to recover up to 87 % of lipids from biomass, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) accounting for 43 % of the extracted lipids against 26 % of saturated fatty acids (SFAs). The fatty acid profile reveals that C16:2, C16:3, C18:2 and C18:3 correspond to the PUFAs extracted from Chlorella vulgaris. Regarding lipid extraction yields OH was statistically equivalent to conventional heating (COV); however, in terms of heating kinetics, OH reaches the required extraction temperature 5 times faster than COV. Results showed that OH has potential to be applied as a treatment for the production of Chlorella vulgaris PUFAs richextracts providing high recovery yields with reduced treatment times and less energy consumption.This study was supported by: the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit and project OH2O – PTDC/EQU-EQU/029145/2017; by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) under the scope of Project Algavalor (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-035234; LISBOA-01-0247-FEDER-035234; ALG-01-0247-FEDER-035234) and OH2O (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029145); AgriFood XXI R & D & I project, operation number NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through NORTE 2020 (Northern Regional Operational Program 2014/2020). Ricardo N. Pereira acknowledge FCT for its Assistant Research contract obtained under CEEC Individual 2017. Leandro Madureira acknowledges FCT for its PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/151474/2021) obtained under MIT Portugal Programinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Incorporating sardine cooking water aromas into plant-based diets for european seabass: effects on appetite regulation, growth and sensory properties of fish flesh

Sardine cooking wastewaters are by-products of the canning industry with great potential for valorisation. We have hypothesized that they can be a source of aromas to enhance appetite when added to plant-based diets. The poor palatability of such diets often described in carnivorous species poses a recurring problem in fish farming, with harsh consequences on fish growth performance and flesh quality. Aromas from sardine cooking wastewaters were collected without processing (CW-A), processed through vacuum distillation (VD-A), or processed through liquid/liquid extraction with soybean oil (LLE-A) into plant-based diets. Each aroma was added to a plant-protein based diet for European seabass, at a concentration of 2 μg of 1-penten-3-ol/g diet, resulting in 3 experimental diets (CW, VD and LLE). A non-supplemented diet was used as a control. Each diet was assigned to triplicate fish groups (initial weight 95.7 g), that were hand-fed twice daily until apparent satiation in a recirculating saltwater system at 21 °C. After 18 weeks, fish growth performance and nutrient utilisation were evaluated. The expression in the brain of neuropeptides involved in feed intake regulation was also analysed. Moreover, flesh colour and texture were assessed instrumentally and by sensory analysis using a consumer panel. Fish fed LLE displayed a significantly higher feed intake than those fed CW which was correlated with an increased neuropeptide Y expression in the hypothalamus. However, LLE slightly hindered lipid metabolism, leading to lower available glucose and resulting in statistically similar final weights among diets. Despite variations in fillet hardness, the sensory panel revealed similar overall liking across all treatments. The findings indicate that aromas from sardine cooking wastewaters can modulate feed intake, but further refinement in processing or incorporation levels is required to potentiate their efficacy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio