Developing students' creativity using secondary raw materials to improve educational spaces

Žaidimas suvokiamas ne tik kaip vaikų laisvalaikio praleidimo forma, bet ir kaip labai svarbi vaikų ugdymo ir socialinių įgūdžių formavimo priemonė. Žaisdami vaikai parodo savo išradingumą, atsiskleidžia jų originalumas, sumanumas – tai daro įtaką asmenybės kūrybiškumo ugdymui. Kūrybiškumo supratimo pagrindas apsiriboja ne tik tuo, ką daro vaikai, bet ir kaip tai daro. Šio tyrimo tikslas - skatinti mokinių kūrybiškumą, sprendžiant antrinių žaliavų panaudojimo galimybes mokyklos edukacinių erdvių tobulinimui bei mokinių užimtumo skatinimui. Tyrimo dalyviai – ketvirtos klasės mokiniai, jų tėvai ir mokytoja. Siekiant gerinti mokinių užimtumą mokykloje laisvu nuo ugdymosi metu, įdiegta inovacija – inžinerijos pamokų metu sukurtos ugdomąsias veiklas skatinančios priemonės iš antrinių žaliavų, į kūrybos procesą įtraukiant ne tik mokinius, bet ir jų šeimos narius. Kad ištirti pasikeitusią situaciją, atliktas pedagoginės veiklos tyrimas. Tiriamajame darbe naudoti empiriniai tyrimo metodai: stebėjimas, interviu ir anketinė apklausa raštu. Teorinėje darbo dalyje atskleistos žaidybiškumo ir kūrybiškumo koncepcijos, skatinant vaikų užimtumą ir įsitraukimą į edukacines veiklas laisvu nuo ugdymosi metu. Pirmajame tyrimo etape išanalizuotas ugdomąsias veiklas skatinančių priemonių poreikis laisvu nuo ugdymo metu bei motyvaciją jas pasigaminti iš antrinių žaliavų. Antrajame tyrimo etape buvo organizuotas ugdomąsias veiklas skatinančių priemonių kūrimas bei gamyba. Šio etapo metu vaikai kartu su savo tėvais pagamino 16 naujų žaidimų, kurie papildė klasėje turimų edukacinių priemonių asortimentą. Inovacijos diegimas pasiteisino – mokiniai jautė didelį pasitenkinimą savo atliktais darbais, didžiavosi, galėdami pristatyti juos savo klasės draugams. Mokiniai noriai žaidė savos gamybos žaidimais laisvu nuo ugdymosi metu, jų veikla tapo prasmingesnė. Jie pripažino, kad gamindami žaidimus tapo kūrybiškesniais, sužinojo, jog daug ką galima pasigaminti patiems, atrado naujų antrinių žaliavų panaudojimo galimybių, išmoko naudotis naujais įrankiais, bei jiems buvo smagu dirbti kartu su savo šeimos nariais.A game is understood not only as a free time activity for children, but also as a very important tool for the development of a child’s social skills and their education. While playing, children show their ingenuity, originality, intelligence which influence the development of a person’s creativity. The basis of understanding creativity is not only limited to what children do, but also to how they do it. The aim of this research is to increase students' creativity while solving the possibilities of using secondary raw materials for the improvement of a school’s educational spaces and encouraging students’ employment. The participants of this research are students of the fourth grade, their parents and their teacher. In order to improve students' employment in school during their free time an innovation has been introduced - engineering lessons have been developed to encourage educational activities using secondary raw materials, involving not only students but also their family members in the creative process. In order to investigate the changed situation, the study of pedagogical activities was conducted. The empirical research methods were used in the research: observation, interviews and a written questionnaire. The theoretical part of the work reveals the concepts of playfulness and creativity, promoting children's employment and involvement in educational activities during their free time. In the first stage of the research, the need for tools that encourage educational activities during free time and the motivation to produce those tools from secondary raw materials were analysed. In the second stage of the research, the development and production of tools to promote educational activities were organized. During this stage children together with their parents created 16 new games, which complemented the range of educational tools available in the classroom. The introduction of this innovation paid off - students felt very satisfied with their work and were proud to present it to their classmates. Students willingly played the games they had created during their free time and their activities became more meaningful. They acknowledged that while making the games they had become more creative, learned that they can do a lot of things on their own, discovered new uses for secondary raw materials, learned how to use new tools and had fun working with their family members.Švietimo akademij

Evaluation of Hydrothermal Treatment of Winter Wheat Grain with Ozonated Water

Products must be cleaned or otherwise treated to keep them clean when they are prepared for further production or when they are supplied fresh to the consumer. Cereals have significantly lower settling losses than succulent agricultural products, but the risks that can arise from their hydrothermal treatment before milling—where the cereals are moistened and left to rest for 14 h (temperature 30 °C)—are often underestimated. This operation creates a favourable environment for the development of micro-organisms, which, if not destroyed, can continue throughout the processing stages and be passed on to the consumer. This study investigated the qualitative characteristics of winter wheat hydrothermally treated with ozonated water at a concentration of 1.51 ± 0.1 mg L−1, such as the amount of mould in the grains and flour, as well as the grain protein, moisture, gluten, sedimentation, starch and weight per hectolitre. For the assessment of these parameters, the account was taken of the State standard, which provides the grain class and the type of grain. The reduction in mould fungi after the treatment of the winter wheat grain with ozonated water ranged between 440 and 950 CFU g−1. The results of the microbiological analysis showed that the ozone treatment improved the mycological safety of the flour samples made from the grain from an average of 390 ± 110 CFU g−1 to 29 ± 12 CFU g−1. On the other hand, the treatment of kernels with ozonated water did not significantly affect the basic composition of the winter wheat grains

Treatment of carrots by ozone and the environmental impact of technological processes

ISSN 2335-8653 ; Online ISSN 2335-8718More than half of agricultural products don't reach consumers in the world, because they are lost. The production of food uses a lot of energy resources. To solve this problem alternatives are being created to reduce energy losses. The study researches how to increase consumer satisfaction with product quality and in the same time reduce impact on the environment in the preparation for consumption of fresh carrots. It also explores the extent to which the effective reduction in fresh carrot losses would be across the supply chain. In this case, when carrots are washed with ozonated water there is not only reduction in product loss but also increase in the productivity. In the farm in which carrots are prepared for market ozonated water is introduced in the commercial preparation line by introducing it in the final stage of processing by spraying products with ozonated water. This allows the surface of the products to be disinfected. The evaluation was carried out with the SimaPro 8.0.5 program, where two scenarios were compared with each other: in the first scenario there was used the usual carrot treatment line and in the second scenario there was used processing line that sprayed ozonated water on the productsKauno technologijos universitetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro Žemdirbystės institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

The application of ozonated water as a technology in vegetable storage and preservation

Kauno technologijos universitetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro Žemdirbystės institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Application of an environmentally friendly preventive measure for the preservation of fresh vegetables

Vegetables are an important source of vitamins and minerals and are one of the most perishable products. Fresh vegetables need to be cleaned, sorted, washed and dried before entering distribution and trading systems. The quality of the product and the effect of the environment during preparation are very important. One method of stabilizing vegetable quality is the application of ozone, which is a strong disinfectant used to inactivate microorganisms. Ozone, when in contact with a product surface, does not leave any harmful by-products. This research aims to optimize carrot treatment with ozonated water and evaluate its effect and efficiency on the storage of products. A constant concentration of 1.53 ± 0.09 mg L−1 ozone in water was used, and processing times of 5, 10, 15 and 20 min were applied. The carrots’ weight and changes to the mould population on the carrots’ surface during storage were observed after treatment with ozonated water. A decrease in mycological contamination on washable vegetable surfaces occurred within the first 5 min, and longer processing times (more than 5 min) did not influence the efficacy of the treatment. Thus, using ozonated water at an ozone concentration of 1.53 ± 0.09 mg L−1 reduced the mould population by up to 99.99% and could also prolong carrot storage duration up to 1.7 times. Treatment of carrots with ozonated water had minimal impact on the carrots’ weightKauno technologijos universitetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro Žemdirbystės institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

The Application of Environmentally Friendly Preventive Measures Technologies to Preserve Fresh Vegetables

Plants are constantly in contact with the soil and other natural environment. That`s why on plants surface and in its tissues we can always find origins of microorganisms, which, under favorable conditions, multiply rapidly undermining the quality and security of harvested products. This fact poses a danger to human and livestock health.Stored vegetables are cleaned, sorted, washed and dried before supplying to trade networks. In order to reduce mycological contamination on washable vegetables surface, it is appropriate to use ozone, which acts as a disinfectant and extends the safe storage period. Rinsing carrots with ozonated water (concentration of ozone – 1.5 mg L-1) for 5 minutes during preparation for a market and then storing them under favourable conditions it is possible to maintain their quality for longer period of time than washing them with tap water. Moreover, chemicals as chlorine or similar are not used; these usually get back into the sewage systems or environment. Moreover, chemicals such as chlorine or similar which usually get back into the sewage system or environment are not used. Rinsing of the samples with ozonated water had minimal influence on variation of weightKauno technologijos universitetasLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro Žemdirbystės institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

In Vitro Sensitivity Test of <i>Fusarium</i> Species from Weeds and Non-Gramineous Plants to Triazole Fungicides

Fusarium species are common plant pathogens that cause serious crop losses worldwide. Fusarium spp. colonize not only the main host plants, crops, but also alternative hosts. The effectiveness of fungicide use in disease management ranges from very successful to possibly promoting the growth of the pathogen. Triazole fungicides are widely used to control these pathogens due to their broad-spectrum activity and systemic nature. This paper reviews the sensitivity of 40 Fusarium strains isolated from weeds, non-gramineous plants, and spring wheat to metconazole, prothioconazole, and tebuconazole. The effect of fungicides was determined by the percentage inhibition of F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F. sporotrichioides, and F. avenaceum fungal mycelial growth. The 50% effective concentration (EC50) values of all isolates on metconazole were lower than 2.9 mg L−1, prothioconazole EC50 ranged from 0.12 to 23.6 mg L−1, and tebuconazole ranged from 0.09 to 15.6 mg L−1. At 0.00025–0.025 mg L−1, the fungicides were ineffective, except for the growth of the F. avenaceum species. It was observed that isolates from weeds were more sensitive to low concentrations of fungicide than isolates from crop plants. In general, information is scarce regarding the comparison of fungicide resistance in Fusarium isolates from weed and crop plants, making this study an additional contribution to the existing knowledge base

Evaluation of antimicrobial, insecticidal and allelopathic properties of extracts of Artemisia dubia Wall

Plant biotechnology is one of the most fast-moving areas of biotechnology. The area of plant biotechnology also includes energy crops. These plants are popular because of producing a lot of biomass. This is one of the fastest growing areas of alternative energy. In Lithuania, one of these plants is from the Artemisia tribe - Artemisia dubia Wall. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the antimicrobial, insecticidal and allelopathic properties of Artemisia dubia Wall., in order to maximize the plant's potential for use. The plant was collected from two different regions of Lithuania: Akademija, Kedainiai district. (55.3896° N, 23.8624° E) and Trakų Vokė, Vilnius district. (54.6238° N, 25.1113° E). Samples were obtained from three different experimental areas with fertilization type: non-fertilized, N90 and N180 fertilizes (fertilizers with different nitrogen amount), during different time of harvest [1]. Collected samples were air-dried in Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. In this research, the antimicrobial activity of extracts was evaluated using modified antimicrobial analysis methods [2]. Different bacteria were selected for this research, such as gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli. Two plants were selected for evaluation of insecticidal properties: agave (Agave americana) and oleander (Nerium oleander L.). The scale insect was sprayed on the selected plants with a biological insecticide from A. dubia extract [3]. For the evaluation A. dubia allelopathic properties [4] the most popular used plant lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) was chosen. The report will include an evaluation of the antimicrobial, insecticidal and allelopathic properties of the Artemisia dubia Wall., the conditions of the experiments (bacterial strains and media, concentrations, methods, etc.) and a statistical analysisInstrumentinės analizės APCLietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centrasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Soil Fungistasis against <i>Fusarium Graminearum</i> under Different tillage Systems

The establishment of the harmful pathogen Fusarium graminearum in different agroecosystems may strongly depend on the ability of the soils to suppress its development and survival. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different soil tillage systems (i.e., conventional tillage, reduced tillage and no-tillage) on soil fungistasis against F. graminearum. Soil samples were collected three times during the plant growing season in 2016 and 2017 from a long-term, 20-year soil tillage experiment. The F. graminearum in the soil samples was quantified by real-time qPCR. The soil fungistasis was evaluated by the reduction in the radial growth of F. graminearum in an in vitro assay. The antagonistic activity of the soil bacteria was tested using the dual culture method. The F. graminearum DNA contents in the soils were negatively correlated with soil fungistasis (r = –0.649 *). F. graminearum growth on the unfumigated soil was reduced by 70–87% compared to the chloroform fumigated soil. After the plant vegetation renewal, the soil fungistasis intensity was higher in the conventionally tilled fields than in the no-tillage. However, no significant differences were obtained among the tillage treatments at the mid-plant growth stage and after harvesting. 23 out of 104 bacteria isolated from the soil had a moderate effect, and only 1 had a strong inhibitory effect on the growth of F. graminearum. This bacterium was assigned 100% similarity to the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Hy7 strain (gene bank no: JN382250) according to the sequence of the 16S ribosome subunit coding gene. The results of our study suggest that the presence of F. graminearum in soil is suppressed by soil fungistasis; however, the role of tillage is influenced by other factors, such as soil biological activity, type and quantity of plant residues and environmental conditions