Experiencing Infertility – Social Work Dilemmas in Child Adoption Procedures

The research deals with experiencing infertility and its consequences in the adoption of a child and focuses on infertile couples that have wished to adopt a child and joined a program preparing them to be foster parents. The results show that most of the infertile couples experience infertility very much as being different from couples with children as well as having to cope with the feelings of deep emotional loss resulting from the inability to reproduce biologically. There is therefore the question whether these facts should be taken into account by the profession (i.e. social workers) when dealing with child adoption as, according to most of the respondents of our survey, the process of coming to terms with infertility and its consequences is an important factor in establishing healthy family relationships and the child’s identity within the adoptive family. We concluded from the results of the research that the infertile couples preparation program for adopting a child carried out by the Society of Adoptive Families »Deteljica«, is a comprehensive autopoietic social workers’ answer to the needs of participants for a successful adoption of a child, as it makes it possible to supply these future adoptive parents with the requisite information and experience and provides support to the entire family upon accepting a child in its midst, while its fundamental attribute is offering help to couples in overcoming the traumas resulting from their infertility

How to alter image\u27s communicativeness using digital image processing

V diplomski nalogi sem predstavila vpliv računalniško obdelanih fotografij na njihovo sporočilnost. V teoretičnem delu sem pisala o digitalni fotografiji, njeni obdelavi in programih za urejanje. Predstavljene so dobre strani obdelave in podprte s primeri z interneta. Dotaknila sem se tudi sporočilnosti in predstavila, kaj in kako vpliva nanjo. Raziskala sem tudi vpliv obdelanih fotografij na čustva in to podprla z uporabo programa Noldus Face Reader. V praktičnem delu sem vso teorijo uporabila v praksi. Predstavila sem obdelavo fotografije od zajema do končne obdelane fotografije. Obdelava je predstavljena v programu Adobe Photoshop. Končni odziv na obdelane slike in njihovo sporočilnost sem preverila z eksperimentom s programom Noldus Face Reader. Pri tem sem uporabila dva primera, vsak od njiju je vseboval tri avtorske slike. Vsi testiranci so na koncu sodelovali tudi v anketi, ki predstavlja drugi del eksperimenta in s pomočjo katere sem preverjala njihovo mnenje o fotografijah. Na koncu diplomske naloge so predstavljeni vsi pridobljeni podatki tako iz programa za zaznavanje čustev kot iz ankete. S njimi sem lahko splošne trditve o sporočilnosti povezala z dejanskimi.In the graduation thesis, I presented influence of computer-processed photos on their communicativeness. In the theoretical part, I wrote about the digital photography, processing of a digital photography, and editing programs. In the graduation thesis, good sides of processing are presented, and they are supported by examples from Internet. I also mentioned communicativeness itself. I presented what and how it affects communicativeness. I also presented the impact of the processed photos on emotions and supported that by using the Noldus Face Reader program. In the practical part, I shifted all the theory into the implementation. I presented the photography processing from the capture itself to the final processed photography. Processing is presented in Adobe Photoshop. I checked the final response to the processed photos and their communicativeness in an experiment using the Noldus Face Reader program. In the experiment, I used two examples. Each example consisted of three photos. Photos are copyrighted. All of the participants also took part in the survey, which represents the second part of the experiment and according to which I checked their opinion regarding the photos. At the end of the thesis, I presented all of the data obtained in the program for emotions detections as well as survey. Based on the obtained data, I could link general statements on communicativeness with the actual ones

Evaluation of the training program for p16/ Ki-67 dual immunocytochemical staining interpretation for laboratory staff without experience in cervical cytology and immunocytochemistry

p16/Ki-67 dual immunocytochemical staining (DS) is considered easy to interpret if evaluators are properly trained, however, there is no consensus on what constitutes proper training. In the present study we evaluated a protocol for teaching DS evaluation on students inexperienced in cervical cytology

New insights into antibacterial and antifungal properties, cytotoxicity and aquatic ecotoxicity of flame retardant PA6/DOPO-derivative nanocomposite textile fibers

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal activity, cytotoxicity, leaching, and ecotoxicity of novel flame retardant polyamide 6 (PA6) textile fibers developed by our research group. The textile fibers were produced by the incorporation of flame-retardant bridged 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) derivative (PHED) in the PA6 matrix during the in situ polymerization process at concentrations equal to 10 and 15 wt% (PA6/10PHED and PA6/15PHED, respectively). Whilst the nanodispersed PHED provided highly efficient flame retardancy, its biological activity led to excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as excellent antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans. The results confirmed leaching of the PHED, but the tested leachates did not cause any measurable toxic effect to the duckweed Lemna minor. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the leached PHED from the PA6/15PHED sample was confirmed for human cells from adipose tissue in direct and prolonged contact. The targeted biological activity of the organophosphinate flame retardant could be beneficial for the development of PA6 textile materials with multifunctional properties and the low ecotoxicity profile, while the PHED’s leaching and cytotoxicity limit their application involving the washing processes and direct contact with the skin

Antibacterial evaluation of different prosthetic liner textiles coated by CuO nanoparticles

Prosthetic liners are mainly used as an interface between residual limbs and prosthetic sockets to minimize physical and biological damage to soft tissue. However, the closed and moist conditions within liners and the amputee\u27s skin provide a suitable environment for bacterial growth to cause infections. This study aimed to coat a comprehensive variant material with copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and compare their surface analysis and antibacterial properties. These materials were covered with CuO NPs solution at a concentration of 70 μg mL−1 to achieve this purpose. After drying, their surface characteristics were analyzed by measuring zeta potential, contact angle, surface roughness, and fiber arrangement. Cu-released concentration from the coatings into the acetate buffer solution by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry indicated that lycra and nylon quickly released Cu ions to concentrations up to ∼0.2 μg mL−1 after 24 h, causing low metabolic activity of human bone–marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bMSC) in the indirect assay. Antibacterial activity of the coated specimens was evaluated by infecting their surfaces with the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis, reporting a significant ∼40 % reduction of metabolic activity for x-dry after 24 hin addition, the number of viable bacterial colonies adhered to the surface of this material was reduced by ∼23 times in comparison with non-treated x-dry that were visually confirmed by scanning electron microscope. In conclusion, CuO NPs x-dry shows optimistic results to pursue further experiments due to its slow speed of Cu release and prolonged antibacterial activity, as well as its compatibility with human cells

Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and ZnO nanohybrid coating for the development of hydrophobic, antibacterial, and biocompatible textiles

In healthcare facilities, infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from textile materials are a cause for concern, and nanomaterials are one of the solutionshowever, their impact on safety and biocompatibility with the human body must not be neglected. This study aimed to develop a novel multilayer coating with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and immobilized ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) to make efficient antibacterial and biocompatible cotton, polyester, and nylon textiles. For this purpose, the coated textiles were characterized with profilometry, contact angles, and electrokinetic analyzer measurements. The ZnO NPs on the textiles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The antibacterial tests were conducted with S. aureus and biocompatibility with immortalized human keratinocyte cells. The results demonstrated successful PAH/ZnO coating formation on the textiles, demonstrating weak hydrophobic properties. Furthermore, PAH multilayers caused complete ZnO NP immobilization on the coated textiles. All coated textiles showed strong growth inhibition (2−3-log reduction) in planktonic and adhered S. aureus cells. The bacterial viability was reduced by more than 99%. Cotton, due to its better ZnO NP adherence, demonstrated a slightly higher antibacterial performance than polyester and nylon. The coating procedure enables the binding of ZnO NPs in an amount (< 30 µg cm−2) that, after complete dissolution, is significantly below the concentration causing cytotoxicity (10 µg mL−1)

mentor prof. Zdenko Huzjan

Ustvarjalne vaje, ki jih razstavljamo tokrat, se navezujejo na ameriški Informel srede 20. stoletja, ko je J. Pollock že upošteval slikanje v robove in komuniciral s postopki slikanja po celotni površini z enakimi napetostmi

Gestualno slikanje in ritual postopkov slikanja (kapljanje, razlivanje, prelivanje, prelivanje z odtiskovanjem, smeri, žarenje barve in sledi); mentor prof. Zdenko Huzjan

Ustvarjalne vaje, ki jih razstavljamo tokrat, se navezujejo na ameriški Informel srede 20. stoletja, ko je J. Pollock že upošteval slikanje v robove in komuniciral s postopki slikanja po celotni površini z enakimi napetostmi