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Mild steel (MS) coated with protective bilayer hybrid coatings of polyetherimide, and ZnO/CuO was exposed to artificial treated wastewater (ATWW) inoculated with Desulfovibrio sp. (biotic system). Proteins from the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix of Desulfovibrio sp. responded to the coatings. PEI-CuO offered the highest performance against biocorrosion. The higher PEI-CuO resistivity value of $2.17\times 10^{6}~\Omega {\cdot }\mathrm{cm}^{2}$ contrasted with the decrease to $1.5\times 10^{5}$ and $1.6\times 10^{3}~\Omega {\cdot }\mathrm{cm}^{2}$ for PEI-ZnO and PEI coatings, respectively. The one order of magnitude increased resistance of the biotic system, compared to sterilized ATWW (abiotic system), resulted from the protective nature of the bacterial biofilm.

Changing trends in educational technology are one of the driving forces behind many of the new educational strategies Higher Education Institutions are introducing. These changes are frequently justified with the "digital native" nature of the current generation of students who have been surrounded by digital technology from the moment they were born and are expected to also feel comfortable to use and adopt technological tools for their learning purposes. There have been many studies trying to assess the veracity of this assumption, but we still do not have enough data to confirm or deny this willingness and aptitude or even assess if students benefit from a technologically supported approach to learning. More studies are therefore necessary, in particular in subject areas that are not so connected to the technology, like humanities, economics, and social sciences, where students cannot be expected to be so proficient in the use of those tools and therefore their technology adoption process might be dependent of other variables. This article intends to contribute to this effort by presenting a study that uses the UTAUT model to assess which variables influence the use and adoption of educational technologies' tools by Higher Education Marketing students. The result showed that, for these students, Social Influence (or Social Factors) was the most relevant variable to determine their Behavioural Intention.

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Child Routines Questionnaire: Preschool (CRQ:P), a parent-report measure developed to assess daily routines specific to preschool-age children. Participants included 208 parents of preschool children (M[subscript age] = 3.97 years old; SD = 0.95; 53.4% boys). Parents also completed measures of family routines (mealtimes) and children's social skills. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the original CRQ:P five-factor structure did not fit to the data and the subsequent exploratory factor analysis suggested a three-factor solution (Daily Living, Education/Positive Attention and Discipline), accounting for 33.36% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha reliability was very good for the Total scale ([alpha] = 0.84), and acceptable-to-good for the three subscales ([alpha] range = 0.68 to 0.79). Preliminary evidence of validity was shown by weak positive correlations between children's and family mealtime routines. Also, routines predicted children's social skills. Differences were found in discipline routines between younger and older children. The results provide initial evidence that the Portuguese version of the CRQ:P is a promising assessment tool that can be used in clinical practice and future empirical research focused on preschool-age children's routines.

Background and Objective: In recent years, the consumption of fish products has led to a worrying trend where approximately two-thirds of the total amount of fish is discarded as waste. At the same time, scientific interest in exploring natural collagen sources for cosmetics and dietary supplements has increased. This study explores the potential of valorizing sardine scales (Sardina pilchardus), a by-product of the canning industry, through the extraction of collagen for potential use in dermocosmetic formulations and food supplements. Methods: Collagen from sardine scales was obtained though acid and enzymatic extraction. The collagen extracts were characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR spectroscopy, SDS-PAGE, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The collagen was hydrolysed with papain to small peptides. Subsequently, the biological activities of acid-soluble collagen as well as the collagen peptides in terms of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity were evaluated. Furthermore, the capacity of collagen peptides to permeate the intestinal barrier, simulated with caco-2 cells, was evaluated. Results: Purified collagen extracts were obtained from sardine scales, with enzymatic extraction method having a yield three times higher than the acid method. The SDS-PAGE analysis confirmed the extraction of type I collagen as well as its hydrolysis into small fragments (25–12 kDa). In terms of biological activities, collagen and collagen peptides have not demonstrated antimicrobial activity. However, regarding antioxidant activity, collagen peptides showed three times more capacity compared to non-hydrolyzed collagen. Meanwhile, in 6 h, about 6.37% of collagen peptides could permeate the intestinal barrier. Conclusion: This work represents a continuous effort to advance our understanding and utilization of Portuguese marine waste resources, with focus on the valorization of sardine co-products for the development of food supplement or cosmetic formulations, contributing to the sustainable evolution of the circular blue economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a widely used biocompatible material in orthopedic composite preparations. However, HAp composites that exhibit both anticancer and antibacterial activities through bioactive coordination complexes are relatively rare. To explore orthopedic applications, we blended several silver camphorimine compounds with HAp to create [Ag(I)] composites. All compounds [Ag(NO3)(L)n] (n = 1,2) based on camphorimine (LA), camphor sulfonimine (LB) or imine bi-camphor (LC) ligands demonstrated significant cytotoxic activity (IC50 = 0.30–2.6 μgAg/mL) against osteosarcoma cancer cells (HOS). Based on their structural and electronic characteristics, four complexes (1–4) were selected for antibacterial evaluation against Escherichia coli, Burkholderia contaminans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. All complexes (1–4) revealed combined anticancer and antibacterial activities; therefore, they were used to prepare [Ag(I)]:HAp composites of 50:50% and 20:80% weight compositions and the activities of the composites were assessed. Results showed that they retain the dual anticancer and antibacterial characteristics of their precursor complexes. To replicate the clinical context of bone-filling applications, hand-pressed surfaces (pellets) were prepared. It is worth highlighting that no agglutination agent was necessary for the pellet's consistency. The biological properties of the so-prepared pellets were assessed, and the HOS cells and bacteria spreading on the pellet's surface were analyzed by SEM. Notably, composite 4B, derived from the bicamphor (LC) complex [Ag(NO3)(OC10H14N(C6H4)2NC10H14O)], exhibited significant anticancer activity against HOS cells and antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa, fostering potential clinical applications on post-surgical OS treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the mediating role of work-family conflict (WFC) in the relationship between job insecurity and mental health. Based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, a conceptual model is developed and tested. An online survey was created, including a sociodemographic questionnaire and measures of job insecurity, WFC, and mental health. Participants were 189 community social workers actively working with disadvantaged groups in social intervention projects. The results show that job insecurity increases depression / strain among community workers and significantly impacts on time-based and strain-based work-family conflict. Strain-based and behavior-based work-family conflict negatively influence social functioning and increase depression / strain. The mediation results show that strain-based WFC was the only WFC dimension that significantly mediated the relationship between job insecurity and mental health. The study findings and its contribution to current research in the JD-R model and COR theory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to adapt and validate the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) to a Portuguese version (IWPQ-PT) and to evaluate its psychometric properties in a sample of 423 digital sector workers. Two studies were conducted to define the factorial structure. In study 1 (n = 162), the results of an exploratory factor analysis pointed to a three-factor structure (18 items), explaining 55.56% of the variance. In study 2 (n = 261), the results of a confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good model fit (CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.06), also reproducing the structure of the original model. The overall scale and subscales demonstrated good reliability, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.72 to 0.88. Correlations between the IWPQ-PT subscales and other instruments revealed that higher task and contextual performance are associated with increased job satisfaction, work engagement, and decreased turnover intention. Conversely, counterproductive work behavior is associated with lower job satisfaction, work engagement, and higher turnover intention. This study underscores the contributions of the IWPQ-PT as a reliable and valid tool for assessing individual work performance in Portuguese organizations and highlights its contributions to the field of employee work performance research as well as human resources practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]