Association Between Self-Regulation of Learning, Forced Labor Insertion, Technological Barriers, and Dropout Intention in Chile

Early dropout and retention of students are critical problems in both secondary and higher education. Existing models that predict the intention to drop out require the incorporation of complex variables strongly related to student success, such as self-regulated learning. Moreover, new possible predictors have emerged in the context of a pandemic. This study set out to validate scales that measure the phases of self-regulation of learning in Chilean secondary school students and determine the association between self-regulation, forced labor insertion, technological barrier, and intention to quit during COVID-19. An instrumental design was carried out, where 251 students participated, and a cross-sectional predictive design with a sample of 171. Results showed adequate psychometric properties in assessment scales for self-regulation. Furthermore, the logistic regression model carried out to predict the dropout intention was significant. The final model showed that external causal attributions, planning self-evaluation, forced labor insertion, and technological barriers were significant predictors, achieving a success rate of 84.8%. In conclusion, although many factors are considered in dropout intention models, this study incorporated self-regulation skills that can be promoted in students and systematically integrated into school programs to help reduce dropout rates in secondary education, therefore contributing to a successful transition to higher education.

Born or Grown: Enablers and Barriers to Circular Business in Europe

Circular economy goals have made their way towards the very heart of EU policy, promising the delivery of both economic and environmental goals, but key to their achievement is the active involvement and participation of businesses. Scholarly literature has made considerable headway in describing the diverse CE business model archetypes and the enablers and barriers that can nurture the transition toward them. However, little work has been done to assess a more profound distinction—that between enterprises that are born circular in contrast with incumbent businesses that grow into circularity. We review 18 case studies of businesses in Europe, which shed light on this distinction. A systematic analysis of their internal, contextual, and policy issues results in the identification of ten key enablers (including business targets, cost reduction potential, loyal customers, demographic aspects, growing waste flows, environmentalism, EU policy, circular policy, and dis/incentives as well as sectoral considerations) and ten key barriers (including bottom line concerns, problematic consumer preferences, lack of infrastructure, technological barriers, poor access to finance, competition, lack of EU harmonisation, uncertainty and lack of internalisation of externalities, and the presence of obstructive policy). We observe that businesses which are born circular seem to face fewer barriers than those seeking to grow into circularity, a finding which offers hope for the transition to a circular economy. Our analysis also suggests that while some enablers and barriers cut across different types of businesses, others tend to be more prevalent among enterprises of a certain size or sector.

Thermolability of factor VIII in donor fresh frozen blood plasma

A criterion of the quality of fresh frozen blood plasma (FFP) is the activity of clotting factor VIII (FVIII).Aim — to identify technological barriers in the study of FVIII thermolability and to describe the requirements for experiments, providing new knowledge about the thermolability of this factor.Basic information. An analysis of domestic and foreign publications devoted to the study of the mechanisms responsible for reducing the value of FVIII activity in donor blood plasma from the moment of donation to the moment of transfusion was carried out. Data on the decrease in FVIII activity at various stages of work with blood plasma are presented. An analysis of methods for preparing samples for studying changes in the values of FVIII in donor blood plasma was performed. The existence of contradictory conclusions about the infl uence on the change in FVIII at the thawing stage of various values of the effects on FFP and poor knowledge of the change in the indicator at the stage of heating to the transfusion temperature after the end of the phase transition in the samples was established. The fundamental differences in the methods of preparing and conducting experiments in previous works are determined. Methods for increasing the reliability of experimental results for studying the thermal lability of FVIII are proposed.

Remote enrollment into a telehealth-delivering patient portal: Barriers faced in an urban population during the COVID-19 pandemic

Telehealth drastically reduces the time burden of appointments and increases access to care for homebound patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many outpatient practices closed, requiring an expansion of telemedicine capabilities. However, a significant number of patients remain unconnected to telehealth-capable patient portals. Currently, no literature exists on the success of and barriers to remote enrollment in telehealth patient portals. From March 26 to May 8, 2020, a total of 324 patients were discharged from Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI), a teaching hospital in New York City. Study volunteers attempted to contact and enroll patients in the MyChart patient portal to allow the completion of a post-discharge video visit. If patients were unable to enroll, barriers were documented and coded for themes. Of the 324 patients discharged from MSBI during the study period, 277 (85%) were not yet enrolled in MyChart. Volunteers successfully contacted 136 patients (49% of those eligible), and 39 (14%) were successfully enrolled. Inability to contact patients was the most significant barrier. For those successfully contacted but not enrolled, the most frequent barrier was becoming lost to follow-up (29% of those contacted), followed by lack of interest in remote appointments (21%) and patient technological limitations (9%). Male patients, and those aged 40–59, were significantly less likely to successfully enroll compared to other patients. Telehealth is critical for healthcare delivery. Remote enrollment in a telemedicine-capable patient portal is feasible, yet underperforms compared to reported in-person enrollment rates. Health systems can improve telehealth infrastructure by incorporating patient portal enrollment into in-person workflows, educating on the importance of telehealth, and devising workarounds for technological barriers.

2021 World of Shipping Portugal: An International Research Conference on Maritime Affairs Editorial

Currently, the shipping industry is at a crossroads. Although it has overcome numerous technological barriers and finance and economic crises over the years, the industry is facing its most prominent challenge, which rests on finding the most feasible solutions to deal with industry decarbonisation until 2050. Within this scope, the current Editorial addresses the issue of sulphur emissions that the industry faced with the entrance of the sulphur regulation on 1 January 2020 and draws attention to the road that the industry players need to cover to decarbonise the shipping industry. Innovative measures like the Poseidon Principles or the Sea Cargo Charter are in place, and industry players are coming together to find feasible solutions. Within this regulatory environment, the shipping industry also had to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, some market segments, such as the container and dry bulk ones, have managed to survive, which is not the case with the tanker market. Altogether, these events draw the industry to deal with the market, technology, and regulatory challenges and risks whose outcome is yet to be seen. The Editorial concludes by presenting briefly the papers published in this Special Issue, which were selected among the ones presented at the 2021 World of Shipping Portugal, an international research conference on maritime affairs, 28–29 January 2021, that took place online from Portugal to the World due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Visualizing synaptic plasticity in vivo by large-scale imaging of endogenous AMPA receptors

Elucidating how synaptic molecules such as AMPA receptors mediate neuronal communication and tracking their dynamic expression during behavior is crucial to understand cognition and disease, but current technological barriers preclude large-scale exploration of molecular dynamics in vivo. We have developed a suite of innovative methodologies that break through these barriers: a new knockin mouse line with fluorescently tagged endogenous AMPA receptors, two-photon imaging of hundreds of thousands of labeled synapses in behaving mice, and computer-vision-based automatic synapse detection. Using these tools, we can longitudinally track how the strength of populations of synapses changes during behavior. We used this approach to generate an unprecedentedly detailed spatiotemporal map of synapses undergoing changes in strength following sensory experience. More generally, these tools can be used as an optical probe capable of measuring functional synapse strength across entire brain areas during any behavioral paradigm, describing complex system-wide changes with molecular precision.

Barriers to Success: A Technical Review on the Limits and Possible Future Roles of Small Scale Gasifiers

Literature and manuals refer to biomass gasification as one of the most efficient processes for power generation, highlighting features, such as residual biomass use, distributed generation and carbon sequestration, that perfectly incorporate gasification into circular economies and sustainable development goals. Despite these features, small scale applications struggle to succeed as a leading solution for sustainable development. The aim of this review is to investigate the existing technological barriers that limit the spreading of biomass gasification from a socio-technical point of view. The review outlines how existing technologies originated from under feed-in-tariff regimes and highlights where the current design goals strongly differ from what will be needed in the near future. Relevant market-ready small-scale gasification systems are analyzed under this lens, leading to an analysis of the reactor and filtration design. To help understand the economical sustainability of these plants, an analysis of the influence of capital expenditures and operating expenditures on the return of investment is included in the discussion. Finally, a literature review on prototypes and pre-market reactors is used as a basis for spotting the characteristics of the system that will likely resolve issues around fuel flexibility, cost efficiency and load variability.

Telehealth challenges during COVID-19 as reported by primary healthcare physicians in Quebec and Massachusetts

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has driven primary healthcare (PHC) providers to use telehealth as an alternative to traditional face-to-face consultations. Providing telehealth that meets the needs of patients in a pandemic has presented many challenges for PHC providers. The aim of this study was to describe the positive and negative implications of using telehealth in one Canadian (Quebec) and one American (Massachusetts) PHC setting during the COVID-19 pandemic as reported by physicians. Methods We conducted 42 individual semi-structured video interviews with physicians in Quebec (N = 20) and Massachusetts (N = 22) in 2020. Topics covered included their practice history, changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the advantages and challenges of telehealth. An inductive and deductive thematic analysis was carried out to identify implications of delivering care via telehealth. Results Four key themes were identified, each with positive and negative implications: 1) access for patients; 2) efficiency of care delivery; 3) professional impacts; and 4) relational dimensions of care. For patients’ access, positive implications referred to increased availability of services; negative implications involved barriers due to difficulties with access to and use of technologies. Positive implications for efficiency were related to improved follow-up care; negative implications involved difficulties in diagnosing in the absence of direct physical examination and non-verbal cues. For professional impacts, positive implications were related to flexibility (teleworking, more availability for patients) and reimbursement, while negative implications were related to technological limitations experienced by both patients and practitioners. For relational dimensions, positive implications included improved communication, as patients were more at ease at home, and the possibility of gathering information from what could be seen of the patient’s environment; negative implications were related to concerns around maintaining the therapeutic relationship and changes in patients’ engagement and expectations. Conclusion Ensuring that health services provision meets patients’ needs at all times calls for flexibility in care delivery modalities, role shifting to adapt to virtual care, sustained relationships with patients, and interprofessional collaboration. To succeed, these efforts require guidelines and training, as well as careful attention to technological barriers and interpersonal relationship needs.

Heterogeneous Strategies For Selective Conversion of Lignocellulosic Polysaccharides

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable carbon resource on earth, for which many efforts have been made to convert it using various chemocatalytic processes. Heterogeneously chemocatalytic conversion conducted based on reusable solid catalysts is the process with the greatest potential studied presently. This review provides insights into the representative achievements in the research area of heterogeneous chemical catalysis technologies for the production of value-added chemicals from lignocellulosic polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose). Popular approaches for the conversion of lignocellulosic polysaccharides into chemicals, including hydrolyzation (glucose, xylose and arabinose), dehydration (5-hydroxymethylfurfuran, furfural and levulinic acid), hydrogenation/hydrogenolysis (sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, 1,2-propylene glycol, ethlyene glycol and ethanol), selective oxidation (gluconic acid and lactic acid), have been comprehensively reviewed. However, technological barriers still exist, which have to be overcome to further integrate hydrolysis with the refinery processes based on multifunctional solid catalysts, and convert ligncellulosic polysaccharides into value-added fine chemicals. In general, the approaches and technologies are discussed and critically evaluated in terms of the possibilities and potential for further industrial implementation.

Tele-Case Work Consultation to Woman Survivor of Domestic Violence During COVID 19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 have resulted in social isolation, reduced social support system, and increased domestic violence (DV) cases against women and children. The governments and NGOs have taken several measures to prevent DV by starting helpline, WhatsApp numbers, and counseling services during the lockdown to safeguard the women. This paper describes a case scenario of how we offered tele-case work consultation during the lockdown period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the procedure adopted, and preventive measures followed while providing a tailor-made psychosocial intervention to a DV survivor. It also discusses the strengths and challenges while offering tele-consultation and possible steps to overcome the technological barriers to mental health professionals.