A roadmap to becoming a smart village: Experiences from living labs in rural Bavaria

This paper illustrates the measures and digital integrations being made in the course of digitalization, using the example of existing rural pilot communities in Bavaria, Germany. The participating communities were selected as part of the government-funded project "Digitales Dorf" (Engl. digital village). Since 2016, digital solutions as well as complementary actions have been identified and implemented to make everyday life in the community equal to that in the city: the main intention is to push digitalization to create equivalent living conditions to urban areas. This paper is intended to provide an overview of the requirements and steps that need to be taken in digital transformation, in order to develop a generalized blueprint for other communities. Furthermore, it introduces the pilot projects, provides an insight into best practices to promote digitalization in traditional rural areas, and focuses on the transformation process rather than on digital solutions.

Maternal Values and Personality Enhance Infant Cooperation with an Adult

This longitudinal study (N = 204) examines if the association between maternal cooperative values or personality and 14-month-olds’ cooperative ability with an adult experimenter across two tasks is mediated by infant temperament (i.e., biology) or infants’ early at-home cooperative experience through social gameplay at the age of 9 months (i.e., socialisation). The results revealed that infants of mothers with other-oriented cooperative values demonstrated increased coordination and success on the cooperative task requiring complementary actions. Infants of mothers high in cooperative personality traits agreeableness and honesty-humility demonstrated increased coordination and success on the cooperative task involving parallel actions. Neither infant temperament nor the frequency of social gameplay mediated these effects. These findings offer the first evidence suggesting that 14-month-old infants’ cooperative ability is shaped by their parents’ cooperative dispositions.

Pharmacokinetic Characteristics of a Nifedipine and Lidocaine Fixed Combination in the Form of Rectal Cream: Two Decades Data Analysis

The creation of medicines' fixed combinations from compounds with complementary effects is one of the most popular directions in modern pharmacology and pharmaceutics. In case of nifedipine and lidocaine fixed combination such approach is quite obvious. The present review article is devoted to the analysis of clinical and non-clinical studies results on the assessment of the pharmacokinetic characteristics of these medicines. Although the oral route is the most convenient for drug administration, there are a number of circumstances where this is not possible from either a clinical or pharmaceutical perspective. In these cases, the rectal route may represent a practical alternative and can be used to administer drugs for both local and systemic actions. Research data of last decades suggested that nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker, could be effective in reducing anal resting pressure and in healing chronic anal fissure and acute thrombosed hemorrhoids. Another component of fixed combination lidocaine is a local anesthetic usually used to relieve pain of anal fissures and symptomatic hemorrhoids. In combinations lidocaine and nifedipine have complementary actions. Analysis of all available studies (during last 2 decades) which were aimed to investigate pharmacokinetic characteristics of a nifedipine and lidocaine fixed combination in the form of rectal cream showed that following topical application, the active ingredients nifedipine and lidocaine are absorbed into the bloodstream in only small quantities that have no major implications for the safety of the product, and systemic absorption, if any, was incomparably lower than absorption following per os administration of the two active ingredients.

Improving Students’ Vocabulary Mastery Through Bingo Games

This research was aimed to improve the vocabulary mastery of students through Bingo Game. This research was an action research study. The place of the research was at SDK Petra Madiun, East Java, Indonesia. The subject of the research was fourth grade students of SDK Petra Madiun, consisting 30 students. It was done in two cycles. The researcher did some steps for each cycle. They were planning, action, observation, and reflection. The data were collected by using test, observation, and interview. Furthermore, the data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. It was compared between the scores of pre test (before implementing Bingo game) and post test (after implementing Bingo game). The research findings showed that vocabulary mastery of most students improved after Bingo Game was used in the teaching and learning process. It was indicated by the increase of the mean of students’ vocabulary score in the pre-test and post-test (67.22 to 80.57). The students’ involvement and classroom interaction during the implementation of the game improved. It was showed by students’ enthusiasm during the game. They tried to be the first winner and raised their competitiveness among them. In addition, the implementation of Bingo Game and the complementary actions were successful to help the students memorize and understand new words easily. In conclusion, the students’ vocabulary mastery improved through the implementation of Bingo Game.

Between flowers and fears: the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the flower retail trade

In order to support a better understanding of the current scenario of the crisis installed by the New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2: COVID-19) in the flower retail trade, it is presented a descriptive exploratory research carried out between April and May 2020 with 30 flower shop managers located in the Southern region of Brazil. The results showed that the most significant impacts were the drop in the number of customers, which reduced the company’s income when compared to the values sold before the pandemic, and that the pandemic scenario generated a 45.3% reduction in financial transactions on average. Among the flower shops in this survey, 70% of flower shops were closed for an average of 21.4 days, when they were reopened with restrictions on attendance related to hours or the number of people inside the stores. The e-commerce and social media were the main tools to confront this situation, and the most used Apps were WhatsApp and Instagram. But other actions such as discounting on purchases by quantity, free delivery and marketing in the surrounding were also registered. Among the possible complementary actions in order to face this crisis and which can have positive effects, it is highlighted the online courses directed to the trade of gardening kits, the adoption of the Just In Time (JIT) methodology that can result in partnerships with local producers in order to reduce inventory costs and purchase prices, and the organization of collective purchasing groups to bargain prices with wholesalers, as well as the reduction of transportation and operational costs at Veiling in Holambra.

Indigenous Microbiota to Leverage Traditional Dry Sausage Production

The main issue addressed in this review is the need for innovation in the artisanal production of dry fermented sausages—leveraging rather than discarding tradition, together with some practical strategies available to achieve it. Throughout the text, emphasis is placed on the autochthonous microbiota responsible for the identity and unique sensory characteristics of these products. The available strategies to introduce innovation in this manufacturing process rely on metabolic flexibility of microbial strains. In this sense, this review evaluates the application of several tools aimed at improving the quality and safety of artisanal dry fermented sausages focusing on the microbial community role. The most studied alternatives to enhance dry sausage production comprise the use of autochthonous starter cultures—including functional and/or probiotic strains, the production of bacteriocins, and the generation of bioactive peptides, which have been thoroughly covered herein. The purpose of this work is to review recent research about novel different strategies available for food technologists to improve safety and quality in the manufacture of dry fermented sausages. Additional support strategies—quality product registers and innovation through tradition—have been suggested as complementary actions towards a successful introduction of indigenous microbial communities into traditional dry sausage production.

Fournier Syndrome-Surgical and Intensive Care Treatment

Fournier’s Gangrene, also referred to as necrotising fasciitis, Mellene Syndrome or Fournier Syndrome (FS), is a soft-tissue acute infection of the perinium with secondary necrotising cellulitis caused by anaerobic germs or gram-negative bacilli or both. This infection may develop in apparently normal skin, affects the tegumentary and fascial planes but it affects the muscle - aponeurotic plane very rarely dissecting the necrotic tissues, as it rapidly moves towards sepsis, with multiple failure of the organs and death. Treatment consists of agressive surgical debridement, broad spectrum antibiotic therapy, hyperbaric oxiygen therapy (OHB) and other complementary actions.

Zadania administracji publicznej w zakresie ochrony zieleni oraz formy ich realizacji – uwagi wybrane

Public administration tasks in the scope of green areas protection and the forms of their implementation – selected remarks The article presents forms of administration activities which may influence the condition of green areas. It is pointed out that the analysis of public administration tasks in the scope of green areas protection cannot be limited only to the solutions presented in the Act of April 16, 2004 on the protection of the environment. It is stressed that actions taken on the basis of other legal acts, not necessarily directly related to the protection of the environment, may also have an influence on the condition of green areas. Both planning acts and decisions issued in specific cases may have this kind of character. The legal effects resulting from them may indirectly affect the green areas. Therefore, the necessity of taking complementary actions by all authorities is indicated, the application of which may ensure effective protection of green areas. Solutions that may enable it are already existing and operational, but they should be properly used.

Public policies of electronic governance and corruption in Mexico

This article argues that although the electronic governance has been institutionalized as a public policy that promotes access to information, transparency, and control of public institutions by citizens, that does not necessarily imply that such progress has generated a positive impact in the reduction of corruption and that, consequently, other complementary actions are necessary for the execution of the electronic government public policies.