The Conceptual Model of Well-Being Management Based on Achieving Requisite Personal Holism

Organizations should look at humans as multilayered, not only as professional entities. In synergy, not only individually, we define humans as: (1) physical, (2) mental, (3) social, (4) spiritual, and (5) economic entities, marked by requisitely holistic patterns of relatively permanent characteristics, due to which individuals differ from each other; they differ also as specialized professionals. All these and other attributes form synergies. On this basis, the behavior of individuals who are willing to practice interdisciplinary cooperation becomes socially responsible and they have a high level of well-being.

Individuals as well as organizations seek requisite personal holism (RPH) on the one hand and psychic well-being (PWB) on the other hand. Thus, individuals implement individual techniques and organizations implement special strategies, programs, and actions in the frame of human resource management (HRM). That is how organizations in the frame of HRM, more specifically in the frame of management well-being, are developing special programs for managing PWB. These programs are based on their RPH and organizations might help employees to feel respected and valued in their work settings, without regard to their culture, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, or other individual differences. The most-often applied programs of the kind include: (1) stress management programs, (2) diversity management programs, (3) wellness programs, (4) employee assistance programs, and (5) programs for personal growth.     

Evaluation of a Novel Thiol–Norbornene-Functionalized Gelatin Hydrogel for Bioprinting of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Introduction: Three-dimensional bioprinting can be considered as an advancement of the classical tissue engineering concept. For bioprinting, cells have to be dispersed in hydrogels. Recently, a novel semi-synthetic thiolene hydrogel system based on norbornene-functionalized gelatin (GelNB) and thiolated gelatin (GelS) was described that resulted in the photoclick hydrogel GelNB/GelS. In this study, we evaluated the printability and biocompatibility of this hydrogel system towards adipose-tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs). Methods: GelNB/GelS was synthesized with three different crosslinking densities (low, medium and high), resulting in different mechanical properties with moduli of elasticity between 206 Pa and 1383 Pa. These hydrogels were tested for their biocompatibility towards ASCs in terms of their viability, proliferation and differentiation. The extrusion-based bioprinting of ASCs in GelNB/GelS-high was performed to manufacture three-dimensional cubic constructs. Results: All three hydrogels supported the viability, proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs to a similar extent. The adipogenic differentiation of ASCs was better supported by the softer hydrogel (GelNB/GelS-low), whereas the osteogenic differentiation was more pronounced in the harder hydrogel (GelNB/GelS-high), indicating that the differentiation fate of ASCs can be influenced via the adaption of the mechanical properties of the GelNB/GelS system. After the ex vivo chondrogenic differentiation and subcutaneous implantation of the bioprinted construct into immunocompromised mice, the production of negatively charged sulfated proteoglycans could be observed with only minimal inflammatory signs in the implanted material. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the GelNB/GelS hydrogels are very well suited for the bioprinting of ASCs and may represent attractive hydrogels for subsequent in vivo tissue engineering applications.     

Subgrain growth in Al and Al-1% Mn during annealing

The subgrain growth during annealing of cold-worked Al-1% Mn and Al(4N) has been measured in the temperature intervals 300 to 400° C and 100 to 200° C respectively. For Al-1%Mn the subgrain diameter showed a parabolic growth, while for Al the diameter gradually reached a constant value. The microstructural investigations which included in situ annealing in a high voltage electron microscope demonstrated that the operating mechanism for growth in the higher temperature range was collective migration of sub-boundary dislocations. In the lower temperature range extraction of dislocations was found to be the dominating mechanism, i.e. dislocations partly lying in the boundaries are pulled out by the stress field in the subgrain interior. The observed growth rates were consistent with models for these mechanisms presented in two previous papers.     

Plate tectonic reconstructions with continuously closing plates

We present a new algorithm for modeling a self-consistent set of global plate polygons. Each plate polygon is composed of a finite list of plate margins, all with different Euler poles. We introduce a "continuously closed plate" (CCP), such that, as each margin moves independently, the plate polygon remains closed geometrically as a function of time. This method solves emerging needs in computational geodynamics to combine kinematic with dynamic models. Because they have polygons that are too widely spaced in time and have inconsistent motions between margins and plates, traditional global plate tectonic reconstructions have become inadequate for geodynamics. The CCP algorithm has been incorporated into the GPlates open-source paleogeographic system. The algorithm is a set of procedures and data structures that operate on collections of reconstructed geometric data to form closed plate polygons; the main data structures used for each plate polygon are based on a nested hierarchy of topological elements. Reconstructions with CCPs can be created, edited, visualized, and exported with GPlates. The native storage of the dynamic reconstructions is the GPlates Markup Language, GPML, which uses an XML-based file format called GML. We demonstrate the utility of the CCP method by creating a global reconstruction with continuously closing plates from 140 Ma to the present using data from existing, traditional reconstructions.     

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of metabolites using ion-pair liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

We have developed an analytical method, consisting of ion-pair liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (IP-LC-ESI-MS), for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of several key classes of polar metabolites, like nucleotides, coenzyme A esters, sugar nucleotides, and sugar bisphosphates. The use of the ion-pair agent hexylamine and optimization of the pH of the mobile phases were critical parameters in obtaining good retention and peak shapes of many of the above-mentioned polar and acidic metabolites that are impossible to analyze using standard reversed-phase LC/MS. Optimum conditions were found when using a gradient from 5 mM hexylamine in water (pH 6.3) to 90% methanol/10% 10 mM ammonium acetate (pH 8.5). The IP-LC-ESI-MS method was extensively validated by determining the linearity (R2 > 0.995), sensitivity (limit of detection 0.1-1 ng), repeatability, and reproducibility (relative standard deviation <10%). The IP-LC-ESI-MS method was shown to be a useful tool for microbial metabolomics, i.e., the comprehensive quantitative analysis of metabolites in extracts of microorganisms, and for the determination of the energy charge, i.e., the cellular energy status, as an overall quality measure for the sample workup and analytical protocols.     

Characterisation of Phenolic Compounds in Oils Produced from Frosted Olives

Frost is one of the most important weather related hazards for the Australian olive industry and it has caused significant economic losses during the last decade. Its impact on oil quality was significant in 2006 with more than 20% of Australian oil of that year being affected to some degree. Early frosts will normally affect the fruit leading to significant changes in the chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the oils. The aim of this work was to study the effect of freeze damage on the phenolic composition and quality parameters of oils from three different varieties: Frantoio, Barnea and Picual. Quality chemical parameters showed significant differences in oils produced from fruit that was frozen for 2 and 4 weeks. Those chemical parameters were not significantly different in the oil produced from fruit immediately after being frosted. Nonetheless, the sensorial profile and the polyphenols showed significant changes even with oils produced within a short time after the freezing event. Those changes became more evident with the oils produced at increasing time from the moment of fruit freezing.     

Free‐radical scavenging activity of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L) extracts

In an effort to discover new antioxidant natural compounds, wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L) an aromatic‐bitter herb, was screened. The sequential extraction was realized with five solvents of different polarities (70% methanol, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n‐butanol). The antioxidative activity was tested by measuring their ability to scavenge stable 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical and reactive hydroxyl radical during the Fenton reaction trapped by 5,5‐dimethyl‐1‐pyrroline‐N‐oxide (DMPO), using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. Results demonstrated that the antiradical and antioxidative activity depend on the type and concentration of applied extracts and increased in the order ethyl acetate > methanol > n‐butanol > chloroform > petroleum ether > remaining water extracts. The investigation showed that the antiradical activity increased with increasing concentration of all extracts. The high contents of total phenolic compounds (25.6 mg g^?1) and total flavonoids (13.06 mg g^?1) indicated that these compounds contribute to the antiradical and antioxidative activity. In a model system, the formation of o‐semiquinone radicals from quercetin and chlorogenic acid was obtained to prove the mechanism (hydrogen donating and/or one‐electron reduction) of free‐radical scavenging activity. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of gamma-irradiation on flavour 5′-nucleotides,tyrosine, and phenylalanine in mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)

The impact of gamma-irradiation on 5′-nucleotides and on the free amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine in fresh mushrooms was studied. After irradiation the samples were freeze-dried to avoid enzyme induced chemical changes. Three 5′-nucleotides could be detected using HPLC–UV and LC–ESI-MS: adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP), guanosine 5′-monophosphate (GMP) and guanosine 5′-diphosphate (GDP). Irradiation significantly reduced (p = 0.05) the GDP concentration (22%). AMP showed a marked reduction (46%) only at 5 kGy. GMP, tyrosine, and phenylalanine were not affected by gamma-irradiation.     

Comparison of HDTV formats using objective video quality measures

In this paper we compare some of the objective quality measures with subjective, in several HDTV formats, to be able to grade the quality of the objective measures. Also, comparison of objective and subjective measures between progressive and interlaced video signal will be presented to determine which scanning emission format is better, even if it has different resolution format. Several objective quality measures will be tested, to examine the correlation with the subjective test, using various performance measures.     

Water Reuse Fit for Purpose by a Sustainable Industrial Wastewater Management Concept

Water shortage is often a challenge for industrial park developments. To ensure a more sustainable water supply, the Industrial Wastewater Management Concept with a focus on Reuse (IW²MC→R) provides a strategy to meet the challenges. Main requirements to achieve water reuse fit for purpose are optimized wastewater treatment, an optimized sewer and pipe system, and an innovative water quality monitoring concept. To evaluate water‐reuse concepts, a reuse factor is calculated, which relates to all wastewater inflows to the central wastewater treatment plant and all reuse‐water flows.