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Sadaf Farooqi,1 Rabia Ismail Yousuf,1 Muhammad Harris Shoaib,1 Kamran Ahmed,1 Sabah Ansar,2 Tazeen Husain1 1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11433, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Rabia Ismail Yousuf; Muhammad Harris ShoaibDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, PakistanEmail rabia_pharmaceutics@yahoo.com; harrisshoaib2000@yahoo.comPurpose: To develop the osmotically controlled-release gastroprokinetic metoclopramide HCl tablets, using quality by design (QbD)-numerical and graphical optimization technique for the treatment of gastroparesis and prophylaxis of delayed nausea and vomiting induced by low-high emetogenic chemotherapy.Methods: Formulations were designed by central composite design using Design Expert version 11.0.0, with osmogen concentration (X1), orifice size (X2), and tablet weight gain after coating (X3) as input and in-vitro drug release at 1hr. (Y1), 6 hrs. (Y2), and 12 hrs. (Y3), and the regression coefficient of drug release data fitted to zero-order, RSQ zero (Y4) as output variables. Core tablets prepared by direct compression were coated with Opadry® CA. The experimental design was validated by the polynomial equation. A correlation between predicted and observed values was evaluated by random checkpoint analysis. The optimized formulations were characterized for drug release, pH effect, osmolarity, agitation intensity, surface morphology, and stability study, and were subjected to accelerated studies according to ICH guidelines.Results: The interaction charts and response surface plots deduced a significant simultaneous effect of X variables on in vitro drug release and RSQ zero. The numerical optimization model predicted > 90% drug release with X1 (13.30%), X2 (0.6 mm), and X3 (7.96%). Random checkpoint analysis showed a good correlation between predicted and observed values. The optimized formulation followed zero-order kinetics (r2=0.9703) drug release. Shelf life calculated was 2.8 years as per ICH guidelines.Conclusion: The QbD-based approach was found successful in developing controlled release osmotic tablets of metoclopramide HCl, for reducing the dosage frequency, better emetic control, and improve patient compliance.Keywords: metoclopramide, elementary osmotic tablet, EOP, central composite design, controlled release, quality by design, QbD, numerical optimization

Muhammad Arif Asghar,1 Rabia Ismail Yousuf,1 Muhammad Harris Shoaib,1 Muhammad Asif Asghar,2 Sabah Ansar,3 Mehrukh Zehravi,4 Ahad Abdul Rehman5 1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; 2Food and Feed Safety Laboratory, Food and Marine Resources Research Centre, PCSIR Laboratories Complex, Karachi, Sindh 74200, Pakistan; 3Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy for Girls, Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz University, Al-Kharj 16278, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi 75510, PakistanCorrespondence: Rabia Ismail Yousuf; Muhammad Harris ShoaibDepartment of Pharmaceutics and Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Research Facility, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, PakistanEmail rabia_pharmaceutics@yahoo.com; harrisshoaib2000@yahoo.comPurpose: The present study reports chitosan functionalized green synthesized CS-AgNPs, conjugated with amoxicillin (AMX), cefixime (CEF), and levofloxacin (LVX) for safe and enhanced antibacterial activity.Methods: The CS-AgNPs and conjugates CS-AgNPs+AMX CS-AgNPs+CEF, and CS-AgNPs+LVX were characterized by UV–Vis, FTIR, SEM, TEM, EDX spectroscopy. The size distribution and zeta potential were measured using the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. The interaction between CS-AgNPs and antibiotic molecules was also investigated using UV–Vis spectroscopy at the concentrations of 5, 50, 500, and 5000 μM for each antibiotic. Antibacterial activity and synergism were assessed by the Fractional Inhibitory Concentration (FIC) index. The mechanism for synergistic activity was investigated by the detection of hydroxyl species based on the chemiluminescence of luminol. The biocompatibility index (BI) was calculated from IC50 using the HeLa cell line. In vivo toxicity and tissue distribution of silver ions were evaluated on Sprague Dawley rats. Physical interactions of antibiotics and significant (P< 0.05) antibacterial activity were observed after loading on CS-AgNPs surfaces.Results: The spherical shape nanocomposites of CS-AgNPs with different antibiotics were prepared with mean size ranges of 80– 120 nm. IC50 of antibiotics-conjugated CS-AgNPs decreased compared to CS-AgNPs. The biocompatibility (BI) index showed that antibiotics-conjugated CS-AgNPs have high antibacterial potential and low toxicity. Highly significant (P< 0.005) increase in the generation of hydroxyl species indicated the radical scavenging mechanism for synergistic activity of CS-AgNPs after combined with different antibiotics. Biochemical analysis and histopathological examinations confirmed low toxicity with minor hepatotoxicity at higher doses. After oral administration, extensive distribution of Ag ion was observed in spleen and liver.Conclusion: The study demonstrates positive attributes of antibiotics-conjugated CS-AgNPs, as a promising antibacterial agent with low toxicity.Keywords: chitosan functionalized silver nanoparticles, antibiotic resistance, synergistic antibacterial activity, in vivo toxicity, tissue distribution

Asghar MA, Yousuf RI, Shoaib MH, et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2020;15:7841–7859. The Editor and Publisher of International Journal of Nanomedicine wish to retract the published article. Concerns were raised regarding alleged image duplication and manipulation in Figure 8 and Figure 9. Specifically: Figure 8 panel Control, Heart appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 90 µg/ml, Heart which has been flipped. Figure 8 panel CS-AgNPs 30 µg/ml, Heart appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 60 µg/ml which has been rotated. Figure 8 panel Control, Kidney appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 90 µg/ml, Kidney which has been zoomed and rotated. Figure 8 panel Control, Liver appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 30 µg/ml, Liver and CS-AgNPs 60 µg/ml, both of which have been frame-shifted or zoomed out. Figure 8 panel CS-AgNPs 90 µg/ml, Liver appears to have been duplicated with Figure 9 panel CS-AgNPs 60 µg/ml, Liver which has been altered. Figure 9 panel Control, Heart appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 90 µg/ml which has been altered. Figure 9 panel CS-AgNPs 30 µg/ml, Heart appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 60 µg/ml which has been rotated. The same images also appear to have been duplicated with Figure 8 panel CS-AgNPs 30 µg/ml, Heart and CS-AgNPs 60µg/ml, Heart. Figure 9 panel CS-AgNPs 30 µg/ml appears to have been duplicated with panel CS-AgNPs 90 µg/ml, Kidney which has been rotated. The same images also appear to have been duplicated with Figure 8 panel Control, Kidney and CS-AgNPs 90 µg/ml, Kidney. Figure 9 panel Control, Liver appears to have been duplicated with Figure 8 panel Control, Liver, panel CS-AgNPs 30 µg/ml, Liver and CS-AgNPs 60 µg/ml, Liver. The authors responded to our queries and provided original data relating to the images presented in Figures 8 and 9, however, the data provided was not satisfactory. The Editor determined the findings of the study were invalid and requested for the article to be retracted. Our decision-making was informed by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retraction. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”. This retraction relates to this paper

Sabah Ansar,1 Saad M Alshehri,2 Manal Abudawood,1 Sherifa S Hamed,3,4 Tansir Ahamad2 1Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Applied Medical Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Alexandria, Moharram Bey, Alexandria, Egypt Abstract: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have attracted the most interest in terms of their potential biomedical and industrial applications. However, these nanoparticles have shown their toxic behavior toward environment, living tissues, and organisms. Selenium (Se), an essential trace element, is necessary for various metabolic processes, including protection against ­oxidative stress and immune function. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of Se against AgNP-induced hepatic oxidative stress. AgNPs were synthesized and then prepared nanoparticles were characterized using various analytical techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Rats were administered AgNPs intraperitoneally (5 mg/kg/day) and Se (0.2 mg/kg) was given by gavage. AgNP administration induced hepatic damage as indicated by the serum marker enzymes with reduction in levels of glutathione, and decrease in activities of SOD, CAT, and GSH-peroxidase (P

Fibrinolysis is a cascade of proteolytic reactions occurring in blood and soft tissues, which functions to disintegrate fibrin clots when they are no more needed. In order to elucidate its regulation in space and time, fibrinolysis was investigated using an in vitro reaction-diffusion experimental model of blood clot formation and dissolution. Clotting was activated by a surface with immobilized tissue factor in a thin layer of recalcified blood plasma supplemented with tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), urokinase plasminogen activator or streptokinase. Formation and dissolution of fibrin clot was monitored by videomicroscopy. Computer systems biology model of clot formation and lysis was developed for data analysis and experimental planning. Fibrin clot front propagated in space from tissue factor, followed by a front of clot dissolution propagating from the same source. Velocity of lysis front propagation linearly depended on the velocity clotting front propagation (correlation r2 = 0.91). Computer model revealed that fibrin formation was indeed the rate-limiting step in the fibrinolysis front propagation. The phenomenon of two fronts which switched the state of blood plasma from liquid to solid and then back to liquid did not depend on the fibrinolysis activator. Interestingly, TPA at high concentrations began to increase lysis onset time and to decrease lysis propagation velocity, presumably due to plasminogen depletion. Spatially non-uniform lysis occurred simultaneously with clot formation and detached the clot from the procoagulant surface. These patterns of spatial fibrinolysis provide insights into its regulation and might explain clinical phenomena associated with thrombolytic therapy.

Ansar S, Alshehri SM, Abudawood M, Hamed SS, Ahamad T. Antioxidant and hepatoprotective role of sele-nium against silver nanoparticles. Int J Nanomedicine. 2017;12:7789–7797. On page 7796, the Acknowledgment is incorrect, it should have been: The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, for funding this work through the Undergraduate Student Research Support Program. Read the original article.

This research aims to optimize tourism potential in the Buton Islands, Indonesia, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Big Data Analytics. The study addresses the low tourism potential in the region and constraints in tourism development, such as lack of information and data. Qualitative methods include document analysis, literature studies, and focus group discussions. Quantitative methods involve surveying respondents about the use of GIS and Big Data Analytics in tourism development. Data was collected from government documents, online news, and direct observation of tourist sites. The results emphasize the importance of IT and GIS in developing the tourism sector in the Buton Islands, particularly in Baubau City and South Buton Regency. GIS is crucial for identifying and managing tourism potential, while Big Data Analytics helps optimize development by analyzing visitation trends, tourist preferences, and consumer behavior patterns. The integration of these technologies can improve tourist experience and efficiency of tourism-related public services. By integrating GIS, Big Data Analytics, and Information Technology, local government and stakeholders can collaborate to create a superior tourism experience, support local economic growth, and ensure the sustainability of the natural and cultural environment in the Buton Islands.

The aged population in Indonesia in 2021 is 30. Sixteen million people. The aged populace elderly 60 years and over reached 11.01% of the complete populace of Indonesia, which amounted to 273.88 million humans. There are ages who live on their own because of busy households with work. if there's an incident of falling elderly, a motion detection gadget is needed for monitoring the situation of the elderly at domestic. This takes a look at designing a visual synthetic intelligence hobby recognition gadget with entry from the digital camera to come across aged sports from video. take video records with the photograph Acquisition technique, Foreground Detection for changing photographs into binary, masks R-CNN to come to aware of detection items and discover the location of the incident, movement history photo, and C_motion to represent the placement of the detected object's body, SVM magnificence to categorize aged statistics falls or sports of every day residing. The experimental outcomes display that this device can come across the condensed-space version with an accuracy of ninety-seven, 50.

Abstract Calculation of the Village Zakat Index Value is the aim of research conducted in Buhu, Iloponu, East Limehe, Toyidito and Tonala Villages. The method used is a descriptive quantitative approach. The samples in this study were the 5 poorest villages in Gorontalo Regency, namely Buhu Village, Iloponu Village, East Limehe Village, Toyidito Village, and Tonala Village. Data collection instruments through observation, questionnaires and documentation. By using primary data sources obtained directly from respondents related to research and secondary data obtained from books, journals and previous research. The informants in this research were village officials and the community. The results of the Zakat Index calculation, Tonala Village has the lowest overall index value of 0.45. Thus, this figure is in the quite good category, so consideration needs to be taken when providing assistance. Keywords: Zakat Village Index, Zakat Community Development Abstrak Perhitungan Nilai Indeks Desa Zakat merupakan tujuan dari pada penelitian yang dilakukan di Desa Buhu, Iloponu, Limehe Timur, Toyidito dan Desa Tonala. Metode yang digunakan yakni pendekatan kuantitatif Deskriptif. Sampel pada penelitian ini adalah 5 Desa termiskin di Kabupaten Gorontalo yaitu Desa Buhu, Desa Iloponu, Desa Limehe Timur, Desa Toyidito, dan Desa Tonala. Instrumen pengumpulan data melalui observasi, angket dan Dokumentasi. Dengan menggunakan sumber data primer diperoleh langsung dari responden yang berkaitan dengan penelitian dan data sekunder diperoleh dari buku, jurnal dan penelitian terdahulu. Informan dalam penelitian ini adalah aparat desa dan masyarakat. Hasil perhitungan Indeks Zakat, Desa Tonala memiliki nilai indeks terendah secara keseluruhan sebesar 0,45. Dengan demikian, angka ini berada pada kategori cukup baik, sehingga perlu adanya pertimbangan dalam pemberian bantuan. Kata Kunci: Indeks Desa Zakat, Zakat Community Development

For information technology (IT) projects to be successful, it is imperative to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) that are essential to the IT project management process. This study aims to illuminate these CSFs by incorporating insights from professionals involved in the management of IT projects. The major contribution of this study lies in classifying these factors into different categories and quantifying their impact while taking IT project management experts’ viewpoints into account. To accomplish this, a thorough assessment of the literature was carried out, which resulted in the identification of 20 success factors that fall into five categories: project team capability, top management support, project quality, project management, and organizational process assets (OPAs). A survey covering these variables was then sent to professionals in the IT industry, and responses were obtained from five experts. The collected data was analyzed using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method, which mitigates imprecision and avoids bias in the data. The most important factor was determined to be project team capability, whereas organizational process assets were deemed to be the least significant factor. It is anticipated that the insight garnered from this study will help IT project management professionals in supporting, evaluating, and improving project success.

At present, global software development (GSD) is gaining considerable attention in the realm of software engineering. The project management of global software projects presents substantial complexity owing to several inherent challenges of GSD. The software project management practices employed for in-house development appear inadequate to address the unique challenges posed by global software projects, making their management a formidable task. Software organizations rely on traditional software project management practices to manage global projects, often resulting in impairments or failures. This paper explores the critical success factors (CSFs) in software project management for global projects by developing a framework for effective project management within the context of GSD. The study focuses on identifying and prioritizing CSFs in software project management within a GSD setting utilizing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) analysis methods. Therefore, the present research provides an extensive literature review of CSFs in software project management within GSD. Additionally, the research applies the combinatorial approach to assess the various dimensions and CSFs of software project management in GSD. The proposed approach aids in measuring and comparing the effects of several dimensions and CSFs of software project management in GSD. Five dimensions and twenty factors have been determined through a literature review and further evaluated for prioritization using the combinatorial approach. The identified dimensions and factors will be valuable in devising strategies to effectively manage global software projects.

In the present digital era, being skilled and updated on modern software development practices has become of crucial importance for software engineering graduates. Moreover, the freelancing industry has grown immensely in recent years, and individuals, more than ever before, are fascinated by the opportunities it offers and have greater assurance that it can be a successful and satisfying alternative to regular employment. Unlike others, in the case of software, industry is leading the education. This makes Software Engineering Education (SEE) additionally responsible for minimizing the gap between the skills of the graduating students and the skills needed by the employers out there. There is not any previous work available in this that focuses on the skills required to cope with the freelancing industry by graduate students and recommendations for improvements to Pakistan higher education curriculum that help produce graduates who are capable enough to get themselves employed in freelancing platforms. This study aims to dissect the software industry needs and trends related to the freelancing industry and to uncover suggestions for training in this dynamic field. The data was extracted through different freelancing platforms using the Scrapy framework of Python, and then LDA analysis was performed on the scraped data using Python to find the most trending topics in the SE field and better analyze the situation. Using LDA analysis, the dataset extracted at two distinct time periods is investigated to describe how the software industry changes from time to time. For validity, the updated data was scraped on runtime from freelancing websites. The results of the analysis are shown in different formats, and empirical findings are discussed with reference to two different time periods and in relation to previous studies.

Detecting Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) through imaging remains challenging due to limited sensitivity in current methods. This study addresses the gap by proposing a novel approach integrating deep-learning algorithms and advanced image-fusion techniques to enhance detection accuracy. The method combines contextual and visual models to effectively assess injury status. Using a dataset of repeat mild TBI (mTBI) cases, we compared various image-fusion algorithms: PCA (89.5%), SWT (89.69%), DCT (89.08%), HIS (83.3%), and averaging (80.99%). Our proposed hybrid model achieved a significantly higher accuracy of 98.78%, demonstrating superior performance. Metrics including Dice coefficient (98%), sensitivity (97%), and specificity (98%) verified that the strategy is efficient in improving image quality and feature extraction. Additional validations with “entropy”, “average pixel intensity”, “standard deviation”, “correlation coefficient”, and “edge similarity measure” confirmed the robustness of the fused images. The hybrid CNN-ViT model, integrating curvelet transform features, was trained and validated on a comprehensive dataset of 24 types of brain injuries. The overall accuracy was 99.8%, with precision, recall, and F1-score of 99.8%. The “average PSNR” was 39.0 dB, “SSIM” was 0.99, and MI was 1.0. Cross-validation across five folds proved the model’s “dependability” and “generalizability”. In conclusion, this study introduces a promising method for TBI detection, leveraging advanced image-fusion and deep-learning techniques, significantly enhancing medical imaging and diagnostic capabilities for brain injuries.

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials possess a well-recognized potential for ultrafast data processing thanks to their intrinsic ultrafast spin dynamics, absence of stray fields, and large spin transport effects. The very same properties, however, make their manipulation difficult, requiring frequencies in THz range and magnetic fields of tens of Teslas. Switching of AFM order implies going into the nonlinear regime, a largely unexplored territory. Here we use THz light from a free electron laser to drive antiferromagnetic NiO into a highly nonlinear regime and steer it out of nonlinearity with magnetic field from a 33-Tesla Bitter magnet. This demonstration of large-amplitude dynamics represents a crucial step towards ultrafast resonant switching of AFM order.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has consistently revolutionised the field of nanotechnology, and bio-based AgNPs have emerged as efficient therapeutic tools in biomedical science. Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles from Brassica nigra (BN) and evaluation of antifungal, anticancer antibacterial, and antioxidant activities were investigated in this study. The characteristics of BN-AgNPs was studied using various spectroscopic techniques measuring ultraviolet-visible (UV--Vis) spectra, determination of particle size, zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Elemental composition was determined using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDX). Formation of AgNPs was confirmed by UV--Vis spectroscopy. Cytotoxic activity was determined at different nanoparticle concentrations on the MCF-7 cell line with the maximum cytotoxic effect observed at 100 μg/ml. BN-AgNPs also showed strong antifungal and antimicrobial activities along with antioxidant properties. The green synthesis of nanoparticles is comparatively simple, eco-friendly and safer than conventional methods and the observed anticancer activity in the current report is suggestive of the biogenic AgNPs as therapeutic agent for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning utilizing convolutional neural networks (CNNs) stands out among the state-of-the-art procedures in PC-supported medical findings. The method proposed in this paper consists of two key stages. In the first stage, the proposed deep sequential CNN model preprocesses images to isolate regions of interest from skin lesions and extracts features, capturing the relevant patterns and detecting multiple lesions. The second stage incorporates a web tool to increase the visualization of the model by promising patient health diagnoses. The proposed model was thoroughly trained, validated, and tested utilizing a database related to the HAM 10,000 dataset. The model accomplished an accuracy of 96.25% in classifying skin lesions, exhibiting significant areas of strength. The results achieved with the proposed model validated by evaluation methods and user feedback indicate substantial improvement over the current state-of-the-art methods for skin lesion classification (malignant/benign). In comparison to other models, sequential CNN surpasses CNN transfer learning (87.9%), VGG 19 (86%), ResNet-50 + VGG-16 (94.14%), Inception v3 (90%), Vision Transformers (RGB images) (92.14%), and the Entropy-NDOELM method (95.7%). The findings demonstrate the potential of deep learning, convolutional neural networks, and sequential CNN in disease detection and classification, eventually revolutionizing melanoma detection and, thus, upgrading patient consideration.

Agile software development does not include elicitation and management of non-functional requirements (NFRs). Several techniques have been proposed by researchers to elicit, manage and prioritize NFRs. The major issue with such techniques is that they involve customer or users to elicit and prioritize NFRs, which becomes problematic because they do not have exposure of NFRs. They may only be familiar with very few common NFRs such as performance, efficiency and security etc. There could be several other NFRs such as confidentiality, scalability, usability, maintainability, portability, reliability and many others which may not be known to the stakeholders. Consequently, some relevant NFRs may be missed and some wrong NFRS may be implemented in the final product which can degrade its overall quality. Secondly, it is very time consuming to elicit and prioritize NFRs from the stakeholders who have very low exposure. It is especially critical in the case of agile software development where product is developed and delivered at a very rapid pace. To overcome the challenge, this study proposed a model to prioritize NFRs for agile software development to produce quality software products. Thus, firstly, an extensive literature review was conducted to identify the NFRs which were further ranked through a survey carried out in agile software companies. Moreover, the NFRs were analyzed and prioritized using multi criteria decision making analysis technique called analytical hierarchical technique (AHP). The evaluation results showed that the NFRs prioritization model reduce the overhead of meetings and discussion required to gather and identify the NFRs common to agile products.

Teachers in schools not only have to be good at teaching in the classroom, but, like lecturers in higher education, have an obligation to be able to conduct research and compile scientific articles. So it is important for teachers to have mastery in organizing references or literature properly. The use of reference management software is something that teachers must know and be able to use. In general, teachers at SMA 1 Muhammadiyah Baubau do not have the knowledge and skills to use the reference management system, so this community service activity is carried out with the aim of providing knowledge and skills for teachers at SMA 1 Muhammadiyah Baubau regarding reference management software. The applications provided are Zotero, and EndNote, and Mendeley. The activity was held for two days, starting with a survey of participant knowledge and continued with training on reference management software, and ending with a post-test for participants to measure the level of participant mastery. The survey results showed that most of the training participants did not have a good understanding of reference management software including its operation. After the training, 90% of the trainees stated that the Zotero application is quite easy to use when compared to the End-Note application. 54% of participants stated that the Zotero application is easier to operate, while 43% stated that the EndNote application is easier to use, meaning that the two applications are almost as easy to operate. Another finding was that the training participants expressed their satisfaction with the speaker 's mastery of the material including the presentation of the material that was interesting and easily understood by the participants.