Expectations, outcomes and attitude change of study abroad students

As universities prepare students for the 21st century, the value of a globalized education is increasing. Study abroad programs are increasingly important means for students to gain the global education that they will need to be successful in international settings. Many universities now offer students the ability to integrate a study abroad program into already intensive academic programs by offering shorter study abroad programs (2–8 weeks) during break periods between academic sessions in winter and summer. This study is based upon a larger dataset collected from students participating in several international study abroad programs offered by a US university’s tourism program. This study builds upon two previous studies conducted by the authors, by examining the extent to which students’ expectations were fulfilled and attitudes changed after participating in a short-term study abroad program using a large dataset collected from four study abroad programs

Why do students study abroad? Exploring motivations beyond earning academic credits

The purpose of this study was to examine motivations of college students’ participation in study abroad programs. The study is based on surveys conducted with a group of university students who participated in a study abroad program to either the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji) or Europe (Austria and the Netherlands). The study results suggested four motivation domains: international travel, escape, social, and academic. Of the four motivational dimensions, the strongest was international travel, followed by academic, social, and escape. The implications of the findings to the student travel industry and study abroad programs are discussed

Synthesis of Phosphatidylethanolamine Lipids for Model Studies of the Cell Membrane

Concerns about global warming have resulted in a surge of research into alternatives to fossil fuels. In recent years, biofuels have gained traction due to their low environmental impact. Biofuel production most commonly employs microorganisms to convert biomass to fuel for industrial and transportation applications. Compounds made in biofuel production, however, are toxic to cell membranes and disrupt their integrity, harming the microorganisms and limiting biofuel yield. A key to overcoming this challenge is understanding how fuels interact with microorganisms’ cell membranes, which perform a host of functions, including transport, cell recognition, transduction, and movement. Phospholipids are the cell membrane’s building blocks and provide the critical matrix to support these vital functions. This research sought to make in-vitro membrane phospholipid models of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis (a biofuel producer candidate), subject them to fuel stress and employ fluorescence techniques to understand how fuels affect membrane integrity

Microbial quality of chevon and mutton sold in Tamale Metropolis of Northern Ghana

The microbial quality of 80 meat samples made up of 40 chevon and 40 mutton were collected from the Aboabo, Central-internal, Central-external, and Sakasaka meat shops in Tamale Metropolis and assessed in order to ascertain it  safety. Chevon from Aboabo and mutton from the Central market-internal had the highest mean total aerobic bacterial count of 3.9 X 10 6 cfu/cm2 and 3.7 X 106 cfu/cm2 , respectively. The lowest total aerobic count in chevon was found in the Central-internal (6.0 X 105 cfu/cm2) and that of mutton was  found in Sakasaka market meat shop (6.0 X 10 5 cfu/cm2). Bacteria isolated from the samples were  Escherichia coli, Streptococcus species, Salmonella species , Enterococcus species, and Staphylococcus species, some of which harbor human pathogens of public health concern. The isolation of various bacteria in chevon and mutton sold in the Tamale Metropolis indicates that, lower standard  of operating systems in the slaughtering, processing and sale of meats are adhered to. The Government of Ghana, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Food and Agriculture should enforce the laws that prohibit the illegal slaughtering of animals without veterinary inspection, unstandardized methods of handling animals, slaughtering and selling of meats on the open market. @JASEMJ. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. December, 2010, Vol. 14 (4) 53 - 5

Records of the Franciscan monastery in Našice, vol. 3 (1821-1842) (eds. Tamara Tvrtković – Milan Vrbanus) Hrvatski institut za povijest – Hrvatski institut za povijest – Podružnica za povijest Slavonije, Srijema i Baranje – Zavičajni muzej Našice – Franjevački samostan Sv. Antuna Padovanskoga u Našicama – Grad Našice, Našice – Slavonski Brod – Zagreb, 2017, pp. 520

SiO2 nanofibers have been produced by the electrospinning method by two different approaches: direct spinning of silica precursor-containing nanofibers and spinning of polymer nanofibers followed by sol–gel silica coating. After pyrolysis of the resulting materials, both methods yield silica nanofibers. We extend this work by coating the silica nanofibers with AlN films using a reactive magnetron sputtering technique. Substrate temperature, input gas composition and radio frequency (rf) power are the critical operating parameters for the formation of different crystal structures of the AlN shells. The AlN/SiO2 core-shell heterostructures demonstrate that electrospinning has the potential to produce low-mass, high-surface-area flexible nanofibers for potential space-based applications

Current situation on data exchange in agriculture in the EU27 & Switzerland

AgriXchange network for data exchange in agriculture -hankkeen julkaisuvokKV

Haptoglobin and Sickle Cell Polymorphisms and Risk of Active Trachoma in Gambian Children

BACKGROUND: Susceptibility and resistance to trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, have been associated with a range of host genetic factors. In vitro studies of the causative organism, Chlamydia trachomatis, demonstrate that iron availability regulates its growth, suggesting that host genes involved in regulating iron status and/or availability may modulate the risk of trachoma. The objective was to investigate whether haptoglobin (Hp) haplotypes constructed from the functional polymorphism (Hp1/Hp2) plus the functional promoter SNPs -61A-C (rs5471) and -101C-G (rs5470), or sickle cell trait (HbAS, rs334) were associated with risk of active trachoma when stratified by age and sex, in rural Gambian children. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In two cross sectional surveys of children aged 6-78 months (n = 836), the prevalence of the clinical signs of active trachoma was 21.4%. Within boys, haplotype E (-101G, -61A, Hp1), containing the variant allele of the -101C-G promoter SNP, was associated with a two-fold increased risk of active trachoma (OR = 2.0 [1.17-3.44]). Within girls, an opposite association was non-significant (OR = 0.58 [0.32-1.04]; P = 0.07) and the interaction by sex was statistically significant (P = 0.001). There was no association between trachoma and HbAS. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that genetic variation in Hp may affect susceptibility to active trachoma differentially by sex in The Gambia

Warmth and competence perceptions of key protagonists are associated with containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from 35 countries

It is crucial to understand why people comply with measures to contain viruses and their effects during pandemics. We provide evidence from 35 countries (Ntotal = 12,553) from 6 continents during the COVID-19 pandemic (between 2021 and 2022) obtained via cross-sectional surveys that the social perception of key protagonists on two basic dimensions—warmth and competence—plays a crucial role in shaping pandemic-related behaviors. Firstly, when asked in an open question format, heads of state, physicians, and protest movements were universally identified as key protagonists across countries. Secondly, multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed that warmth and competence perceptions of these and other protagonists differed significantly within and between countries. Thirdly, internal meta-analyses showed that warmth and competence perceptions of heads of state, physicians, and protest movements were associated with support and opposition intentions, containment and prevention behaviors, as well as vaccination uptake. Our results have important implications for designing effective interventions to motivate desirable health outcomes and coping with future health crises and other global challenges.publishedVersio