Herstellung von Hybrid-Nanomaterialien für biologische Anwendungen

Im Mittelpunkt dieser Dissertation steht die Preparation der photoaktiven, Radikale produzierenden TiO2 Nanomaterialien, die sowohl für Enzymaktivierung angewendet werden können, als auch programmierten Zelltod auslösen können

Can corals form aerosol particles through volatile sulphur compound emissions?

Acropora dominated coral reefs are a substantial source of atmospheric dimethylsulphide (DMSa), one of the most abundant reduced sulphur gases present in the marine boundary layer. DMS is believed to act as a climate regulator of solar radiation and sea surface temperatures through the formation of non-sea-salt sulphate aerosols and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), although this regulation has not yet been demonstrated. A bubbling chamber experiment was conducted on coral reef seawater containing a branch of Acropora pulchra, to investigate whether the coral-generated DMSa could be oxidised to non-seasalt sulphate aerosols under treatment with UV light and O3. Results indicated that A. pulchra produced significant amounts of dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) and dissolved DMS although emissions of DMSa in the chamber headspace were reduced by the presence of the coral, probably as a result of antioxidant activity in the coral tissue. Significant amounts of carbon disulphide (CS2) and ethanethiol (ESH), other sulphur gases that could be involved in CCN formation, were also indicated in the bubbling chamber, most likely from coral production. A decrease in DMSa and CS2 in the presence of UV light and O3 followed by an occurrence of freshly nucleated nanoparticles (<10nm) suggested that these two sulphur compounds were oxidised and potentially participated in aerosol particle formation and thus could be involved in CCN formation and possibly climate regulation. The study provided insights into the production of sulphur compounds by Acropora dominated coral reefs with potential impact on local climate

Resilience in preschool children - the perspectives of teachers, parents and children

The aim of this paper is to explore how parents, teachers and children in early years‟ education understand the concept of resilience. The paper analyses the understanding of the concept of resilience in a Croatian kindergarten using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative research consists of a thematic analysis of data collected through 3 focus groups with 10 parents, 9 teachers and 11 children respectively. The quantitative research includes an analysis of data collected through the Scale of Socio-emotional Wellbeing and Resilience in Preschool Children which teachers and parents completed to assess the resilience of 116 children from a public kindergarten in a city of northern Croatia. The qualitative data indicates that parents and teachers have a different understanding of the resilience concept, while the quantitative data shows that parents, in comparison with teachers, assess all aspects of children‟s resilience more positively.peer-reviewe

Korišćenje energije vetra u poljoprivredi primenom novog tipa vetrenjače

Here is described new type of vindmill, which is registrated as a patent. Unification of modul registrated three - wing turbine round VH3, for windmills with vertical shaft, which was base for development of windmills "WINDHORIZON" and its categorization and usage generaly, especialy in agriculture for irrigation, heating and illumination. Categorization was made according to power, respectively according to number of embedded turbine rounds in windmill as it is indicated its usage in practice.U radu je opisan novi tip vetrenjače, koji je prijavljen kao patent. Unifikacija modula prijavljenog trokrilnog turbinskog kola VH3, za vetrenjače sa vertikalnim vratilom, na osnovu kojeg je razvijena familija vetrenjača "Vetrohorizont" i njena kategorizacija i primenljivost uopšte, a posebno u poljoprivredi za navodnjavanje, grejanje i osvetljenje. Kategorizacija je izvršena prema snazi, odnosno prema broju ugrađenih turbinskih kola u vetrenjaču i naznačena njihova primenljivost u praksi

First report of Belonochilus numenius (Say, 1832) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Heteroptera, Lygaeidae)

The invasive Nearctic Heteroptera species Belonochilus numenius (Say, 1832) is reported for the first time for Bosnia and Herzegovina

A thoroughly validated spreadsheet for calculating isotopic abundances (H-2, O-17, O-18) for mixtures of waters with different isotopic compositions

RationaleOxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes are widely used tracers for studies on naturally occurring and laboratory mixtures of isotopically different waters. Although the mixing calculations are straightforward to perform, there are ample possibilities to make mistakes, especially when dealing with a large number of mixed fluids. To facilitate isotope mixing calculations and to avoid computational mistakes, a flexible tool to carry out these calculations is in demand.MethodsWe developed, in three independent efforts, spreadsheets to carry out the mixing calculations for a combination of waters with different isotopic compositions using the isotope mass balance equation. We validated our calculations by comparison of the results of the three spreadsheets for a large number of test calculations. For all the cases, we obtained identical results down to the 12(th) to 14(th) significant digit.ResultsWe present a user-friendly, thoroughly validated spreadsheet for calculating H-2, O-17 and O-18 stable isotopic abundances and respective isotope delta values for mixtures of waters with arbitrary isotopic compositions. The spreadsheet allows the mixing of up to 10 different waters, of which up to five can be specified using their isotopic abundances and up to five others using their isotope delta values. The spreadsheet is implemented in Microsoft Excel and is freely available from our research groups' websites.ConclusionsThe present tool will be applicable in the production and characterization of singly and doubly labeled water (DLW) mother solutions, the analysis of isotope dilution measurements, the deduction of unknown isotope values of constituents for mixtures of natural waters, and many other applications. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</p

RESCUR : surfing the waves - a resilience curriculum for early years and primary schools - a teacher's guide

This book is based on a European Project, RESCUR, financed by the EU LLP Comenius Programme, together with the six Universities taking part in the project, namely the University of Malta (coordinator), University of Crete, Greece, University of Lisbon, Portugal, University of Pavia, Italy, Orebro University, Sweden, and the University of Zagreb, Croatia. The Maltese version of this book is also available in this section.RESCUR Surfing The Waves is a resilience programme for early years and primary schools in Europe developed by six European universities The curriculum seeks to empower vulnerable children at risk of early school leaving, absenteeism, disengagement, bullying, social exclusion and marginalisation through a universal, whole school approach. Amongst its special features, it includes story telling making use of two specially created animal characters, mindfulness activities at the beginning of each session, ready made activities and resources for the classroom teacher, interactive multisensory activities, learners portfolio, take home activities, teacher and self assessment checklists for each theme and subtheme, finger and cloth puppets, theme posters, and activity sheets. The activities are experiential, spiral, developmental, inclusive and make use of the SAFE approach. The programme consists of a Teachers Guide, a Parents Guide, and three manuals of activities and resources for Early Years, Early Primary Years and Late Primary Years respectively. It is available in hard and soft copies and available in English and six other languages (Croatian, Greek, Italian, Maltese, Portugese and Swedish). The Maltese version of this book is also available in this section.peer-reviewe

On the influence of biodiesel feedstock on compression ignition particulate emissions

Particulate emissions from compression ignition engines are a major health concern, especially in underground mine environments where limited ventilation during the operation of diesel powered equipment can exacerbate the problem. Clearly strategies are required to address the diesel particulate matter problem, with alternative fuels, such as biodiesel, having been recently considered to ameliorate the problem. This study considers a physico-chemical characterisation of particulate emissions from an underground coal mine compression ignition engine to determine the effect of using 3 biodiesel feedstocks at 4 different blend percentages. Particle physical properties measured included particle number size distributions and the lung deposited surface area, and particle chemical properties measured included particle and vapour phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and also the measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are believed to play an important role in the human body’s inflammatory response after exposure to diesel emissions. The particle number size distributions showed strong dependency on both feedstock and the blend percentage employed, with the canola feedstock yielding higher particle number emissions than diesel (followed by tallow), whereas the soy feedstock showed significant particle number reductions. Both particle and vapour phase PAHs were generally reduced with biodiesel, although the results did not exhibit dependence on blend percentage. The ROS concentrations increased monotonically with biodiesel blend percentage but the data did not suggest strong feedstock dependency. It was also shown that ROS emissions correlate quite well with the organic volume percentage of particles which was calculated using unheated and heated particle volume distributions. Whilst biodiesel fuels might be effective at reducing particle mass emissions, some feedstocks increase the number of particles emitted, and all feedstocks increase the oxidative capacity of particles and also emit particles that have a much smaller median diameter than ultra-low sulphur diesel