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On the discourse of the folk medicine concept in the contexts of categories of the social environment, historicity and scientificity.
No full textThe article presents the discourse of folk medicine concepts in contexts of historicity, the social environment, and scientificity category interfaces. One of the essential features of folk medicine is its intra-disciplinary nature, necessitating basing the already-mentioned categories on a context analysis of theoretical and practical approaches to folk medicine. The article consists of four parts, which correspond to the approaches of discourse analysis on the concept of folk medicine. The first part presents the anthropological evaluation of folk medicine approaches to the social environment, historicity and scientificity. The second part highlights the context of the historicity of folk medicine, which raises the question whether folk medicine is an endangered legacy or a changing tradition? The third part analyses the expression of folk medicine in approaches to the coverage of the social environment: from village to city, from nation to humanity. The fourth part leads to an evaluation of the interfaces between folk medicine and scientificity as a problem of rationality/irrationality. In conclusion, it is emphasised that by presenting the discourse of folk medicine concepts in the already-mentioned segments (social environment, historicity, scientificity), folk medicine’s theoretical and practical expression is evaluated in contexts of today’s and past experiences
Burnout syndrome among otorhinolaryngologists during the COVID-19 pandemic /
No full textBackground and Objectives: To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome among otorhinolaryngologists in Lithuania and investigate associations with sociodemographic and professional factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Burnout was measured using the validated Lithuanian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Demographic characteristics and professional characteristics were collected utilizing an anonymous questionnaire. Results: Eighty otorhinolaryngologists (ORL group) and 30 information technology professionals (the control group) were enrolled in this study. A high level of professional burnout in at least one of the subscales was observed in 82.5% of the ORL group subjects. Depersonalization and burnout syndrome were more frequently detected with increasing age in the ORL group (r = 0.2, p < 0.04). Greater satisfaction with salary and working environment resulted in a lower burnout incidence (r = 0.31, p = 0.001). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of burnout syndrome has been high among Lithuanian otorhinolaryngologists. Demographic and professional characteristics are significantly related to burnout syndrome among Lithuanian otorhinolaryngologists
Use of 2-ethylhexyl nitrate for the slow pyrolysis of plastic waste /
No full textPlastics are widely used and are part of modern life. Recycling of plastic waste can be achieved by pyrolysis. Conventional pyrolysis of plastic waste takes place at temperatures higher than 450 °C, because the oil yield is higher. In this study, we examined if an initiator for radical reactions can achieve the conventional pyrolysis of HDPE and PP even at low temperatures. To support the onset of decomposition of HDPE and PP at low temperatures, 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (2-EHN) was added. 2-EHN forms radicals already at about 150 °C and can thus initiate the pyrolysis process at lower temperatures. Pyrolysis oil yields increased, especially for HDPE pyrolysis, at the expense of the gaseous (minus 50%) and especially the solid fraction (minus 80%). For PP and HDPE pyrolysis oil, the proportion of carbon compounds shifted toward shorter-chain, less cyclic compounds, and there was an improvement in the physicochemical property profile: the heating values of both oils were slightly higher and the pour point significantly lower, in line with the shift toward shorter-chain compounds. The diesel content and, to a lesser extent, the gasoline content increased at the expense of waxes and other high-boiling compounds
Pagrindinės klientų pasitenkinimo siuntų pristatymo į paštomatus paslaugomis priežastys – Lietuvos atvejis.
No full textMany business leaders agree that their performance depends on the quality of the service they provide and its impact on customer satisfaction. In order to survive in the market or to increase their market share, parcel service providers need to be aware of the key factors that affect customer satisfaction with parcel services. The aim of this article is to analyse customer satisfaction with parcel locker service theories, and create a theoretical model to identify the main reasons for customer satisfaction with parcel locker services. The research problem: What are the main reasons for customer satisfaction with parcel locker services? The research methods are based on scientific literature, and data was collected through the questionnaire survey method and analysed by AcaStat software. The theoretical analysis distinguishes the six main reasons for customer satisfaction as price and quality, location dimension, time suitability, technological friendliness, service reliability, and safety. The research data were collected from 438 parcel service delivery users in Lithuania. The results indicate that the main reasons for customer satisfaction are: no need to wait for delivery at home, easy-to-use parcel lockers, 24/7 service possibility, and location convenience. This research is limited, because it was carried out during the pandemic, and the results would need to be verified if the epidemiological situation changes
Social work with individuals having alcohol usage problems: overview of the situation in Lithuania /
No full textThis article analyzes social work with individuals having alcohol usage problems in Lithuania. In this survey-based quantitative research, frequency data was gathered to examine the usage of methods, services, practices and challenges in this specific area. The results revealed a strong orientation towards individual intervention in social work with individuals having alcohol usage problems. Uncommon usage of group, community or network methods was observed in research data. Low usage of social action or social welfare methods might represent a weak policy-making function. Among services, providing information, consultation and representation are the most often applied. Lithuanian social workers also favor social skills development and family consultation in terms of specific practices, as those are the most often used. Finally, professionals acknowledge that low the motivation among clients to change is among the biggest challenges in this field. Improvements in social work with individuals having alcohol usage problems could be made through the enhancement of skills and practices that are the most effective in the substance abuse area, although relatively rarely used in social work in Lithuania
The effects of the pandemic on the business environment in the transport sector.
No full textThe purpose of this article is to review the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2021 on the business environment of the transport sector, and to provide the most effective means to restore the transport sector. For this purpose, scientific, statistical and documentary sources are examined, in which material from research conducted by Lithuanian and foreign scientists about the pandemic and its impact on the European and Lithuanian transport sector is analysed; the importance of the transport sector to the national economy and the peculiarities of the transport sector business environment are reviewed; the challenges of different modes of transport in the transport sector during the pandemic are described; threats, problems and opportunities the transport sector faced are presented; and impact assessments and forecasts for individual modes of transport are provided. To reveal the topic of the article about the challenges and changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the transport sector, a comparative analysis of the latest scientific literature and statistics, documents, descriptive analytical, synthesis and comparative analysis methods were used
Is the leptin/adiponectin ratio a better diagnostic biomarker for insulin resistance than leptin or adiponectin alone in adolescents? /
No full textBackground: Recently, the leptin/adiponectin (L/A) ratio has been suggested as a novel predictor of cardio-metabolic and other chronic diseases. Aim: To evaluate the ability of leptin (L), adiponectin (A), and the L/A ratio in identifying high risk of insulin resistance IR in adolescents, adjusted by cardiorespiratory fitness, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and body fat percentage. Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis with 529 adolescents aged 12–18 years-old. Blood samples were taken to analyze glucose, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin levels. IR (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was estimated from fasting serum insulin and glucose). Results: Adiponectin, leptin, and L/A ratio were accurate to predict IR among adolescents. The optimal L/A cut-off value to indicate risk of IR development was >0.35 in boys and >0.97 in girls. Logistic analyses showed that the suggested cut-off points for adiponectin (girls: OR: 2.87 (1.26–6.53); p = 0.012); leptin (boys: OR: 5.23 (1.16–7.14) p = 0.006; girls: OR: 2.99 (1.10–8.09) p = 0.031), and the L/A ratio (boys: OR: 8.38 (2.6–26.8) p < 0.001; girls: OR: 6.1 (2.1–17.0) p < 0.001), were significant predictors of IR, after adjustments for age, pubertal stage, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body fat percentage. Conclusion: Leptin and L/A ratio were associated with IR risk, after adjustments for confounders in both sexes and adiponectin in girls. The L/A ratio seems to have a higher diagnostic accuracy to identify IR risk than adiponectin or leptin, in both sexes
Sea-breeze front research based on remote sensing methods in coastal Baltic Sea climate: case of Lithuania /
No full textSea breezes, as one of the most important local varieties of daily wind dynamics, are responsible for the formation of the climate by coasts of large bodies of water. In recent decades, due to climate change, the air temperature is rising, causing larger temperature gradients to form and the dynamics of the atmosphere to change globally and locally. This research investigated the spread of sea breezes in the years 2018–2019 during the warm period of the year (June, July, and August) to the mainland territory of the southeastern Baltic and coastal Lithuania by applying in situ and remote methods. The results of the study showed that sea-breeze fronts are better identified by the formation line of convective clouds in the continental part seen in remote images. During the first half of the day (until noon), the effect of sea breezes extends on average about 20–30 km from the coast of the sea. However, maximum extension of the breeze fronts can penetrate the continent much further than previously thought. During the summer, when the westward movement of air masses prevails, the band of cumulus (Cu) clouds formed by the sea breeze marks the front of the sea breeze, and at the time of the most extended spread (around 5 pm) in the continental part of Lithuania, the sea-breeze front is an average of around 60 km away from the seacoast. Until noon, the area covered by sea breezes in the western part of Lithuania extends over 1886.2 km2. During the second half of the day, the spatial spread of the breeze impacts an average area of about 6445.2 km2 by around 5 pm. Hence, the sea breeze affects not only the coastal climate region of Lithuania, as previously recognized, but it also affects the climate of part of the region of the Samogitian (Žemaitijos) Uplands of Lithuania. Remote-sensing methods helped to identify sea-breeze fronts and evaluate the limits of marine climate expansion along the seashore. The methods used in this work can play a role in answering the question of how climate change can affect the coastal climate
Investigation of wireless energy transmission through road with ferromagnetic properties.
No full textThis essay examines wireless energy transmission technologies and their development possibilities. A wireless power transmission stand has been developed that can transmit electricity wirelessly at the resonant frequency of the transmitter. The literature reviews these systems and their technologies for energy transmission. The advantages and disadvantages of different technologies and the power system-oriented technologies are described. The paper investigates the production of ferromagnetic material from secondary used electronic components and describes how to obtain ferromagnetic material. Experiments have shown that the use of ferromagnetic material between the receiver coil and the transmitter coil does not have a positive energy transfer effect. It has also been found that to increase the distance between the transmitter and the receiver, the higher the resonant frequency increases strongly
Fabrication and characterization of environmentally friendly biochar anode /
No full textElectrical power generation by means of electrochemical systems utilizing wastewaters is a global energy challenge tackling technique for which a creation of novel eco-friendly electrode materials is in high relevance. For this purpose a Rhodophyta algae derived activated biochar anode bound with a flaxseeds mucilage binder (5, 10, 20, 30 wt.%) was formed and characterized by thermogravimetric, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis as well as conductivity and mechanical resistance determination. Activation technique with KOH prior to carbonization at 800 °C of algae was employed to obtain biocarbon with a large surface area. The highest specific surface area of 1298.49 m2/g was obtained with the binder-free sample and had a tendency to decrease with the increase of the binder content. It was estimated that biochar anodes are thermally stable at the temperature of up to 200 °C regardless of binder concentration. The concentration of the binder on the other hand had a significant influence in anodes mechanical resistance and electrical conductance: anode with 30 wt.% of the binder had the highest compressive strength equal to 104 bar; however, the highest conductivity was estimated in anode with 5 wt.% of the binder equal to 58 S/m. It is concluded that anode with 10 wt.% mucilage binder has the optimal properties necessary in MFC utilization