Producing and Characterizing Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Starch and Chickpea Waste Using Mixed Microbial Cultures in Solid-State Fermentation.

The environmental impact of plastic waste is a growing global challenge, primarily due to non-biodegradable plastics from fossil resources that accumulate in ecosystems. Biodegradable polymers like polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) offer a sustainable alternative. PHAs are microbial biopolymers produced by microorganisms using renewable substrates, including agro-industrial byproducts, making them eco-friendly and cost-effective.

Determination of the Mass Fractions of the Heavy Metals in the Recycled Cellulose Pulp.

In the process of paper recycling, certain amounts of metals can be found in the cellulose suspension, the source of which is mainly printing inks. The paper industry often uses different technologies to reduce heavy metal emissions. The recycling of laminated packaging contributes to the formation of sticky particles, which affects the concentration of heavy metals.

Assessment of management styles among top nursing leaders in Slovenian primary health centers: a cross-sectional analysis.

Purpose: This study aims to endeavor to discern the predominant leadership styles used by nursing managers within the framework of Slovenian primary health centers. Using a quantitative research approach, the study was conducted through the administration of a structured questionnaire.

Design/methodology/approach: The investigation encompassed 67 nursing managers, representing the entire spectrum of primary health centers in Slovenia.

Reporting of adverse events and the fundamental tasks of managers-A qualitative interview study.

Aim: To describe healthcare professionals' experiences of adverse event reporting in relation to the fundamental tasks of managers.

Design: Qualitative interview study.

Method: Twenty-four semi-structured interviews including six managers, six medical doctors, six Registered Nurses and six Enrolled Nurses were carried out in Slovenia from January to May 2019.

Toxicity of binary mixtures of pesticides and pharmaceuticals toward Vibrio fischeri: Assessment by quantitative structure-activity relationships.

Pollutants in real aquatic systems commonly occur as chemical mixtures. Yet, the corresponding risk assessment is still mostly based on information on single-pollutant toxicity, accepting the assumption that pollutant mixtures exhibit additive toxicity effect which is often not the case. Therefore, it is still better to use the experimental approach.

Combined toxicities of binary mixtures of alachlor, chlorfenvinphos, diuron and isoproturon.

Pesticides are the chemicals of increased concern regarding their adverse environmental effects. In particular, the reports on their joint toxicity effects are scarce in the literature. Therefore, this paper describes the experiments on toxicities of four pesticides: alachlor, chlorfenvinphos, diuron, and isoproturon, toward Vibrio fischeri.

Toxicity of pharmaceuticals in binary mixtures: Assessment by additive and non-additive toxicity models.

Current risk assessment in many countries, including European Union, is still placing focus on single substances rather than their mixtures, although mixtures are commonly found in the environment. To overcome this problem and gain new insights, six pharmaceuticals, namely: azithromycin (AZM), erythromycin (ERM), carbamazepine (CBA), oxytetracycline (OTC), dexamethasone (DXM), and diclofenac (DCF), were selected in order to analyze their combined toxicity in binary mixtures. Overall, 45 binary mixtures were analyzed.

Influence of process parameters on the effectiveness of photooxidative treatment of pharmaceuticals.

In this study, UV-C/HO and UV-C/[Formula: see text] processes as photooxidative Advanced oxidation processes were applied for the treatment of seven pharmaceuticals, either already included in the Directive 2013/39/EU "watch list" (17α- ethynylestradiol, 17β-estradiol) or with potential to be added in the near future due to environmental properties and increasing consumption (azithromycin, carbamazepine, dexamethasone, erythromycin and oxytetracycline). The influence of process parameters (pH, oxidant concentration and type) on the pharmaceuticals degradation was studied through employed response surface modelling approach. It was established that degradation obeys first-order kinetic regime regardless structural differences and over entire range of studied process parameters.

Adverse event reporting in Slovenia - the influence of safety culture, supervisors and communication.

Background/aim: The provision of safe healthcare is considered a priority in European Union (EU) member states. Along with other preventative measures in healthcare, the EU also strives to eliminate the “causes of harm to human health”. The aim of this survey was to determine whether safety culture, supervisors and communication between co-workers influence the number of adverse event reports submitted to the heads of clinical departments and to the management of an institution.

Vaccination management and vaccination errors: a representative online-survey among primary care physicians.

Background: Effective immunizations require a thorough, multi-step process, yet few studies comprehensively addressed issues around vaccination management.

Objectives: To assess variations in vaccination management and vaccination errors in primary care.

Methods: A cross sectional, web-based questionnaire survey was performed among 1157 primary physicians from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany: a representative 10% random sample of general practitioners (n = 946) and all teaching physicians from the University Duisburg-Essen (n = 211).

Influence of professional drivers' personality traits on road traffic safety: case study.

The purpose of this paper is to present basic elements of the research directed at identifying and determining the personality traits of professional drivers that affect safe, secure and enjoyable ride on public roads. A quantitative method has been used here, whereas data were acquired from a questionnaire based on a sample of 59 professional drivers. Determining personality traits of professional drivers that are in correlation with a safe and pleasant ride on the roads has been enabled by applying the five-factor model of personality ('Big Five') and the Personality Inventory NEO-PI.

High salinity wastewater treatment.

The shock effect, survival and ability of activated sludge to acclimatize to wastewater containing different concentrations of NaCl and Na2SO4 were investigated under laboratory conditions. To accomplish this, the potential penetration of a sewage system by seawater as a consequence of storm surge flooding was simulated. The experiments were conducted using activated sludge taken from the aeration tank of a communal wastewater treatment plant and adding different concentrations up to 40 g/L of NaCl and 4.