Search Results (8)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias of clinical relevance and a major cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Following a diagnosis of AF, patients are directed towards therapy with anticoagulant drugs to reduce the thromboembolic risk and antiarrhythmics to control their cardiac rhythm, with periodic follow-up checks. Despite the great ease of handling these drugs, we soon realized the need for follow-up models that would allow the appropriateness and safety of these pharmacological treatments to be monitored over time. This pilot study was conducted at a rural pharmacy. The study comprised 47 patients (average age 71.22 years) with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (68% being paroxysmal) on NOACs. Twenty percent of the enrolled subjects lived alone and fifty-four percent of the participants stated that they were not independent in managing their treatment. The primary aim was to describe the implementation and the outcomes of an innovative smart clinic model in which a local trained pharmacist is a case manager, and the patient carries out the required checks via telemedicine and point-of-care testing systems (POCT) under the service pharmacy regime; the results of the checks could be shared in real time with the attending general practitioner and the relevant specialist. The secondary aims of this study were to evaluate adherence to the planned controls, the prescriptive appropriateness of the dosages and drugs and adherence to the prescribed therapy, the occurrence of pharmacological problems linked to drug type interactions, the occurrence of hemorrhagic and/or thromboembolic complications, the acceptance by the general practitioners and/or the specialists of the reports made by the pharmacist on the subsequent actions undertaken, the economic and social impact of this model on the National Health Service and on the patient, and the impact on the quality perceived by the patients involved in this innovative monitoring process. Compliance with the planned checks was 93%. The dosage of the anticoagulant drug during enrollment was found to be inappropriate, without apparent clinical reasons, in 11% of the sample. Adherence to the anticoagulant therapy was found to be 98%. In total, 214 drug–drug interactions of varying clinical relevance were detected. No embolic events were detected; however, 13% of the sample reported a major hemorrhagic event, which came to light thanks to the close monitoring of hemoglobinemia. A total of 109 reports were made to the patients’ referring doctors in relation to the summarized anomalies, and 84% were accepted by the referring clinicians. Therefore, community pharmacists and pharmacy services represent ideal actors and contexts that, when integrated into the care network, can really favor individual care plan adherence and achieve daily morbidity reductions and cost savings through proper disease control and the early diagnosis of complications. Full article

The recovery of valuable nutritional compounds, like proteins, from waste streams and by-products is a key strategy for enhancing production sustainability and opening up new market potential. This research aimed to use high-intensity ultrasound as an innovative technique to extract the soluble proteins from the pumpkin leaves. The impact of various sonication amplitudes and duration periods on protein yield, functional properties, antioxidant qualities, and structural characteristics, were studied. Utilization of ultrasound technology significantly increased the yield of pumpkin leaf protein by up to 40%—six times higher than maceration. The ultrasound extraction provided a RuBisCO-rich protein fraction with high radical scavenging and chelating activities, especially at 40% amplitude. Cavitation modified the tertiary and secondary structures of leaf proteins: the amount of α-helix changed based on amplitude (12.3–37.7%), the amount of random coil increased to 20.4%, and the amount of β-turn reduced from 31 to 18.6%. The alteration of the protein fluorescence spectrum (blue shift in spectrum) provides further evidence that ultrasound alters the proteins’ molecular structure in comparation with maceration; the maximum tryptophan fluorescence intensity decreased from 22.000 to 17.096. The hydrophobicity values of 76.8–101.5 were substantially higher than the maceration value of 53.4, indicating that ultrasound improved the hydrophobicity of protein surfaces. Ultrasound resulted in a significant increase in solubility in an acidic environment with the increase in sonication amplitude. A 2.4-fold increase in solubility at pH 2 becomes apparent (20% amplitude; 43.1%) versus maceration (18.2%). The emulsifying ability decreases from 6.62 to 5.13 m²/g once the sonication amplitude increases by 20–70%. By combining the ultrasound periods and amplitudes, it is possible to create high-value protein leaf extracts with improved properties which can find real application as food additives and dietary supplements. Full article

This study aimed to determine the role of KIBSs as a tool for sustainable innovation in a country’s economic system. Specifically, the degree and role of their impact on the Korean economy were analyzed and compared for the entire KIBS sector, T-KIBSs (a new technology-based professional service), P-KIBSs (a traditional professional service), and every subsector. For this purpose, the demand inducement model, supply inducement model, and interlinkage effects method were applied using the 2019 input–output table published in 2022. The analysis showed that the indirect production inducement effect of the entire KIBS industry on other industries was KRW 0.800, the indirect added value inducement effect was KRW 0.330, and the supply disruption effect was KRW 1.144. For T-KIBS, the indirect production inducement effect was KRW 0.687, the indirect added value inducement effect was KRW 0.272, and the supply disruption effect was KRW 0.730. For P-KIBSs, the indirect production inducement effect was KRW 1.472, the indirect added value inducement effect was KRW 0.646, and the supply disruption effect was KRW 2.657. Finally, regarding the economic ripple effect of the KIBS subsector, legal and management support services and advertisements corresponding to P-KIBSs showed higher figures than the T-KIBS subsectors in all sectors, including production inducement, the added value inducement effect, and the supply disruption effect. These results revealed that in the South Korean economic system, KIBSs contribute to production and value addition across all industrial sectors. It is apparent that the absence of supply significantly disrupts other industries. Furthermore, production inducement effects are evenly distributed among all the KIBS subsectors in the secondary and tertiary sectors, while the value-added effects have a greater impact on the tertiary sector. In terms of the supply shortage effects, the secondary sector experiences a more significant impact. This underscores the crucial role of KIBSs in sustaining and enhancing overall economic activity in South Korea. Full article

Neurotrauma continues to contribute to significant mortality and disability. The need for better protective equipment is apparent. This review focuses on improved helmet design and the necessity for continued research. We start by highlighting current innovations in helmet design for sport and subsequent utilization in the lay community for construction. The current standards by sport and organization are summarized. We then address current standards within the military environment. The pathophysiology is discussed with emphasis on how helmets provide protection. As innovative designs emerge, protection against secondary injury becomes apparent. Much research is needed, but this focused paper is intended to serve as a catalyst for improvement in helmet design and implementation to provide more efficient and reliable neuroprotection across broad arenas. Full article

In this new decade of the twenty-first century, research reports the same concerns about agricultural literacy in primary and high school students globally. A systematic review of agricultural literacy studies published between 2000 and 2020 which assess the agricultural literacy of the target population; evaluated an agricultural education program or curriculum; or developed instruments to measure agricultural literacy was conducted. The review method followed an internationally recognized protocol for selecting, screening, analyzing, and reporting outcomes. Results found that definitions of agricultural literacy have evolved from an awareness to a measure of a deeper understanding developed throughout the years of formal schooling by both formal and informal education and experiences. Informal agricultural knowledge may be gained through numerous sources and misconceptions are apparent even among those with informal familial knowledge networks. Developing agricultural literacy in school-aged children through formal education is critical. Recommendations offer innovative ways of developing agriculturally literate young people that can be used to design, deliver and evaluate programs which aim to increase the agricultural literacy of primary and secondary students across the globe. Full article

The main challenge of the economy is counteracting the adverse effects of progressive industrialisation on the environment around the world. Economic development that accompanies this trend correlates to production increase in not only consumer articles but also special application articles that are difficult to remanufacture, such as medical supplies. For many researchers, discovering innovative materials for special applications that could become an essential element of circular economy production is important. Measures to reduce the production of industrial materials whose waste is difficult to recycle are more and more apparent to manufacturers, especially when faced with the new financial situation in European Union, as one of its priorities is to implement the principles of circular economy. The purpose of the article is to analyse the current state of research on special-application biomaterials within the context of the circular economy. Empirical analysis is conducted for Poland compared to the rest of the European Union (EU) within the time-frame of 2014–2020, which is the most recent financial timeframe of the EU. The submitted studies are based on secondary data obtained mainly from European databases, as well as primary data resulting from the research works at Łukasiewicz Research Network—Institute of Biopolymers and Chemical Fibres. Full article

The main aim of this article was to define the innovativeness of the tourism sector in cross-industry terms. The specific objectives were to identify categories of innovations implemented by tourism enterprises with division by industry branches, and to identify the differences and similarities of the innovations implemented by tourism enterprises in terms of the industry in which they operate. A conceptual framework, based on existing literature, was developed to analyze the innovation process. The research was carried out using the method of a diagnostic survey with interview elements, according to a structured research questionnaire using the telephone interview technique. The results show that tourism enterprises are characterized by average and low innovativeness. From the point of view of assessing the impact of innovation on market behavior in the tourism sector, there are no so-called disruptive innovations, which could have a decisive impact on market changes and replace the existing and constantly improved products, services, and processes. There are sustaining innovations that improve the functioning of companies, which do not affect the market changes, but do compete with the existing solutions on existing terms. However, incremental and adaptive innovations constitute an important part of innovation; this process proves the development of tourism companies and has an impact on the improvement of the situation of the entire economy. Full article

Dental ceramic material is one of the widely preferred restorative materials to mimic the natural tooth enamel surface. However, it has continuously been degraded because of low wear resistance during mastication in the oral cavity. The friction involved was reduced by introducing the lubricant saliva protein layers to improve the wear resistance of the dental materials. However, little is understood regarding how the protein–protein interactions (PPI) influence the adsorbed-state structures and lubricating behaviors of saliva proteins on the ceramic material surface. The objective of this study is to quantify the influences of PPI effects on the structural changes and corresponding oral lubrications of adsorbed α-amylase, one of the abundant proteins in the saliva, on the dental ceramic material with glass as a model surface. α-Amylase was first adsorbed to glass surface under varying protein solution concentrations to saturate the surface to vary the PPI effects over a wide range. The areal density of the adsorbed protein was measured as an indicator of the level of PPI effects within the layer, and these values were then correlated with the measurements of the adsorbed protein’s secondary structure and corresponding friction coefficient. The decreased friction coefficient value was an indicator of the lubricated surfaces with higher wear resistance. Our results indicate that PPI effects help stabilize the structure of α-amylase adsorbed on glass, and the correlation observed between the friction coefficient and the conformational state of adsorbed α-amylase was apparent. This study thus provides new molecular-level insights into how PPI influences the structure and lubricating behaviors of adsorbed protein, which is critical for the innovations of dental ceramic material designs with improved wear resistance. Full article