Descriptive Scale Research Articles

One Year of COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Effect of Sedentary Behavior on Physical Activity Levels and Musculoskeletal Pain among University Students.

The COVID-19 outbreak forced Italian students to reduce their daily activities, inducing a seden-tary attitude that was worsened by distanced learning. This study aimed to survey the physical activity levels that were maintained before and during the social restrictions following the pan-demic, their correlation to musculoskeletal pain, as well as analyzing the impact of these COVID-19 restrictions on pain and fatigue that affects daily life activities. A total of 2044 students completed the online questionnaire, of which the results of 1654 participants were eligible. Before the pandemic, the levels of physical activity were distributed as: 19.9% no activity, 30.1% light ac-tivity, 21.5% moderate activity, and 28.5% high activity. After one year of the pandemic, 30.6% of the participants were inactive, 48.1%, 10.9%, and 10.5% stated as maintaining, respectively, light, moderate and high levels of physical activity. Furthermore, 43.5% reported neck pain and 33.5% stated to experience low back pain. Physical activity levels lower than 150 min/week may have predisposed students to suffer from neck pain (1.95 OR at 95% CI, 1.44–2.64) and low back pain (1.79 OR at 95% CI, 1.29–2.49). A positive correlation between physical activity levels, Verbal Descriptive Scale (VDS), and pain frequency have been observed for neck and low back pain (p-value < 0.05). Finally, low physical activity levels were associated with musculoskeletal pain onset and pain worsening.

ASSESSMENT OF THE LABOR COURSE AND POSTNATAL PERIOD DEPENDING ON THE TYPES OF CONDUCTING ANTINATAL PREPARATION

The aim – to conduct a comparative assessment of the condition of newborns, dependingon different types of antenatal preparation.Material and methods. The study was carried out on the basis of the maternitydepartment for pregnants and parturient women with obstetric pathology of the StateInstitution “Institute of Pediatrics of Obstetrics and Gynecology named after V.I. acad.EAT. Lukyanova National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine ". The first groupincluded 45 pregnant women who underwent a course of psychophysical training withpositive motivation for partner childbirth. The second group consisted of 45 pregnantwomen, also underwent a course of psychophysical training with positive motivation forpartner labor, but had a desire not to carry out pain relief during childbirth, therefore,they chose training using the method of transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) of brainstructures. All pregnant women underwent a determination of their psychoemotional stateto define the level of situational anxiety according to the method of Ch.D. Spielberger andYu.L. Khanin. The second group of pregnant women was tested after the fourth EFTprocedure and again the day before delivery. The threshold of pain sensitivity of apregnant woman in each group was also determined. Subjective assessment was carriedout for women in labor on the first day after delivery and using a verbal descriptivescale for assessing pain (Verbal Descriptor Scale, 1990). To assess the condition of thefetus during childbirth, cardiotocographic studies were carried out, and after birth – anassessment on the Apgar scale at the first and fifth minutes.Results. In women who underwent a course of psychophysical training with positivemotivation for partner childbirth together with the method of transcranial electricalstimulation, physiological childbirth proceeded 1.2 times more often than in womenpatients who did not undergo prenatal training (88.9 % versus 75.6 %, respectively).Allchildbirth, occurred in the second group, began on their own and did not require laborinduction, but in the first group this indicator was 6.3% of cases.Conclusions. It has been established that prenatal preparation has a positive effect notonly on the condition of the woman, but also on the condition of the fetus and newborn.Psychophysical preparation for childbirth with motivation for partner support using theTES method significantly increases the pain tolerance threshold, improves the courseof childbirth and the possibility of adaptive mechanisms of the mother and fetus, asevidenced by the assessment of points on the Apgar scale, adaptation of newborns, earlyattachment to the breast, joint stay of mother and child.

A critical evaluation for validation of composite and unidimensional postoperative pain scales in horses.

Proper pain therapy requires adequate pain assessment. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Unesp-Botucatu horse acute pain scale (UHAPS), the Orthopedic Composite Pain Scale (CPS) and unidimensional scales in horses admitted for orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. Forty-two horses were assessed and videotaped before surgery, up to 4 hours postoperatively, up to 3 hours after analgesic treatment, and 24 hours postoperatively (168 video clips). After six evaluators viewing each edited video clip twice in random order at a 20-day interval, they chose whether analgesia would be indicated and applied the Simple Descriptive, Numeric and Visual Analog scales, CPS, and UHAPS. For all evaluators, intra-observer reliability of UHAPS and CPS ranged from 0.70 to 0.97. Reproducibility was variable among the evaluators and ranged from poor to very good for all scales. Principal component analysis showed a weak association among 50% and 62% of the UHAPS and CPS items, respectively. Criterion validity based on Spearman correlation among all scales was above 0.67. Internal consistency was minimally acceptable (0.51-0.64). Item-total correlation was acceptable (0.3-0.7) for 50% and 38% of UHAPS and CPS items, respectively. UHAPS and CPS were specific (90% and 79% respectively), but both were not sensitive (43 and 38%, respectively). Construct validity (responsiveness) was confirmed for all scales because pain scores increased after surgery. The cut-off point for rescue analgesia was ≥ 5 and ≥ 7 for the UHAPS and CPS, respectively. All scales presented adequate repeatability, criterion validity, and partial responsiveness. Both composite scales showed poor association among items, minimally acceptable internal consistency, and weak sensitivity, indicating that they are suboptimal instruments for assessing postoperative pain. Both composite scales require further refinement with the exclusion of redundant or needless items and reduction of their maximum score applied to each item or should be replaced by other tools.

Quantifying the compressibility of complex networks

Many complex networks depend upon biological entities for their preservation. Such entities, from human cognition to evolution, must first encode and then replicate those networks under marked resource constraints. Networks that survive are those that are amenable to constrained encoding-or, in other words, are compressible. But how compressible is a network? And what features make one network more compressible than another? Here, we answer these questions by modeling networks as information sources before compressing them using rate-distortion theory. Each network yields a unique rate-distortion curve, which specifies the minimal amount of information that remains at a given scale of description. A natural definition then emerges for the compressibility of a network: the amount of information that can be removed via compression, averaged across all scales. Analyzing an array of real and model networks, we demonstrate that compressibility increases with two common network properties: transitivity (or clustering) and degree heterogeneity. These results indicate that hierarchical organization-which is characterized by modular structure and heterogeneous degrees-facilitates compression in complex networks. Generally, our framework sheds light on the interplay between a network's structure and its capacity to be compressed, enabling investigations into the role of compression in shaping real-world networks.

TINGKAT KESIAPAN KOTA BANDARLAMPUNG DALAM MENERAPKAN KONSEP SMART MOBILITY

Nowadays, smart city becomes a promising program, because smart city offers good service to the government by involving information technology, which provides open space in public services. Bandar Lampung City Government is currently trying to make the city of Bandar Lampung become smart city. Movement that continues to occur, the more citizens and transportation problems in Bandar Lampung City, needs to be the application of the concept of smart mobility immediately, in applying the concept of smart mobility we must see how ready Bandar Lampung city in applying it, therefore we need to take one of the districts in bandar Lampung city. One of the sub-districts in Bandar Lampung city is Tanjung Karang Pusat Subdistrict which is one of the most populous sub-districts and also a center of trade and services. This research was conducted with qualitative approach, data analysis techniques using descriptive analysis and scale analysis. The research variables are drawn from the conclusions of smart city experts, research has already been done and precedents. From the results of the analysis that has been done the results of the research on the level of readiness of Tanjung Karang Pusat Subdistrict in applying the concept of smart mobility is quite ready.

O39 Unidimensional and functional pain assessment tools in postoperative adult patients: a systematic review of their development and utility

Abstract Introduction The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Verbal descriptor scale, and faces pain scale are used to measure postoperative pain in adults. However, their utility in this population has not been reviewed systematically. We aimed to summarise and appraise the evidence relating to the measurement properties of unidimensional tools when used for this population and to identify available tools assessing the impact of pain on the restoration of function. Method Four databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO) were searched up to August 2020 for relevant studies. Two reviewers independently screened articles and assessed risk of bias using the COensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist. Result Thirty-one studies were included. Only one study included an objective pain score; a tool assessing pain interference with function and reported low-quality evidence for construct validity. Studies looked at unidimensional tools were underpinned by low or very low-quality evidence for reliability, and all displayed a low quality of evidence of indeterminate responsiveness. Measurement error was only reported for VAS in one study of moderate quality. Interpretability results were available only for VAS and NRS. Feasibility results varied based on the included population. Conclusion Despite the extensive use of unidimensional tools, there is no evidence to suggest that any of these tools has superior measurement properties for postoperative pain. Therefore, future studies should be prioritised to assess their validity, measurement error and responsiveness. Validation studies of pain assessment tools that promote function are needed. Take-home Message Take home message: Functional pain scores should be assessed and validated for postoperative pain.

Digital Marketing Adoption Among Food Products Home Industry: A Study of Melinjo Chips Producer In Bantul

Digital marketing has become a new trend recently, which is not only applied by large-scale industries but also small industries. Similarly, melinjo chips home industries producer, some of whom have implemented digital marketing using their devices. This study aims to describe the marketing conditions of the melinjo chips and to determine the perceptions of melinjo chips producers towards the adoption of digital marketing. Data were collected through interviews with 63 producers of the melinjo chips selected using census method from all producers in Pandak District, Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region. Descriptive analysis and 5-point Likert Scale were used to determine the producers’ perception of the adoption of digital marketing in the marketing of melinjo chips. The results showed that in general, the marketing of melinjo chips was mostly using conventional marketing, although some producers have implemented digital marketing. Moreover, the adoption of digital marketing was perceived in neutral category. The neutral perception was due to the fact that although the adoption of digital marketing has positive view such as benefits, and marketing efficiency, there were also obstacles in using it, not providing innovation and low trust in digital marketing technology. DOI : https://doi.org/10.33005/adv.v10i1.2614

The use of integrative and complementary practices in leprosy-related pain is influenced by sociodemographic, clinical and care factors: A case-control study

Purpose: Study in order to evaluate the use of complementary and integrative practices for leprosy-related pain. Cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative research carried out at the University Hospital and Medical Specialties Center of Sergipe between February and June 2019. Methods: 170 people with leprosy pain contributed socio-demographic data, resources used for pain relief and factors that hinder adherence to practices. For pain assessment, the Verbal Pain Scales, Descriptor Scales and the tester Douler Neuropathic 4 were used. Results: Neuropathic pain was present in 119 individuals (70.0%) and the pain was assessed as severe in 85 (50.0%). Half of them (86; 50.6%) reported using pain relief: restricted diet (50, 29.4%), exercise (32, 18.8%), massage (31, 18.2%), among others. The factors that most influenced adherence to practices: lack of information (65, 38.2%), economic reasons (36, 21.2%), subjective characteristics (34, 20.0%). Women (45, 60.0%, p = 0.0427), patients with the borderline clinical form of the patient (23, 74.2%, p = 0.0014), reporting a burning sensation on the skin (70, 55, 5%, p = 0.0437), and those monitored by a physiotherapist (11, 84.6%, p = 0.0178) showed greater adherence to the practices. Conclusion: It is concluded that several complementary and integrative practices are being used for pain relief, but sociodemographic, clinical and care factors can influence adherence to these interventions.

Self-similarity in NMR Spectra: An Application in Assessing the Level of Cysteine

High resolution of NMR spectroscopic data of biosamples are a rich source of information on the metabolic response to physiological variation or pathological events. There are many advantages of NMR techniques such as the sample preparation is fast, simple and non-invasive. Statistical analysis of NMR spectra usually focuses on differential expression of large resonance intensity corresponding to abundant metabolites and involves several data preprocessing steps. In this paper we estimate functional components of spectra and test their significance using multiscale techniques. We also explore scaling in NMR spectra and use the systematic variability of scaling descriptors to predict the level of cysteine, an important precursor of glutathione, a control antioxidant in human body. This is motivated by high cost (in time and resources) of traditional methods for assessing cysteine level by high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC).

Effect of temperament on recovery in isoflurane-anaesthetised horses

Background:Recovery is a crucial phase of equine anaesthesia and factors influencing recovery quality are an active area of research.Aim:To investigate the effect of temperament on recovery score after isoflurane-anaesthesia in 30 adult horses undergoing elective surgery.Methods:Two veterinarians used a numerical rating scale to score each horse's response to five tests as a gauge of temperament. Owners used a numerical rating scale to score their horse's temperament according to seven behaviour-related questions. Horses underwent elective surgery under general anaesthesia using a standardised protocol. Recovery was recorded and scored by a blinded assessor using the simple descriptive scale for scoring recovery (R1) and the Edinburgh system (R2).Findings:There was no correlation between veterinarian or owner-assessed temperament and recovery score. Veterinary-assessed temperament score was negatively correlated with pre-induction romifidine and total romifidine dose. Both recovery scores were negatively correlated with anaesthetic duration and R1 was positively correlated with time to first movement in recovery.Conclusions:Temperament did not influence recovery score in our population of horses.

Motivasi Petani dalam Usahatani Pembibitan Padi (Studi Kasus di Desa Ngumpakdalem Kecamatan Dander Kabupaten Bojonegoro)

Rice is the staple food of Indonesian society which cannot be replaced by other staples. The earliner stage in rice cultivation is nursery or seedbed stage. Ngumpakdalem village has a field area of 602,74 hectares, but there are only 30 farmers who work in rice nurseries, because farmers think that rice nursery businesses must be have an expertise, time enough, need a lot of capital, and has some risks. The purpose of this study are to determine the characteristics of farmers who cultivate rice nurseries in Ngumpakdalem village, Dander district, Bojonegoro regency, to find out the level of motivation of farmers in cultivating rice nurseries, to know the factors that motivate farmers in cultivate rice nurseries. Data was collected by census. Data was analyzed with quantitative descriptive use likert scale and multiple linear regression analysis. Farmer’s level motivation in cultivating rice nurseries is high. Farmer’s motivation level in farming rice nurseries is influenced by age, farming experience, number of family dependents, extension intensity, and farmer group activities. Recommendation from the research is that farmers should empower their family members and supporting institutions to be more active in conducting extension activities and farmer group activities in order to increase knowledge and experience to improve rice nursery farming

Determination of problems experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic by individuals receiving hemodialysis treatment.

Patients receiving hemodialysis treatment are among the risk groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. They must cope with many factors simultaneously like anxiety about being ill, social isolation, inadequate information about protective precautions, and the need to attend regular treatment. This study was performed with the aim of determining problems experienced by individuals receiving hemodialysis treatment during the pandemic. This was a descriptive and cross-sectional type study. The research included 234 patients receiving chronic hemodialysis treatment. For collection of data in the research, a patient descriptive information form and COVID-19 phobia scale (CP19-S) scale were used. Patients receiving hemodialysis treatment were determined to have high levels of compliance with individual precautions required during the pandemic. Of patients, 87.6% were determined to experience concern about bringing infection from the dialysis unit to family members. The mean total points for CP19-S were 59.80 ± 14.49. Patients who were female, had low educational level, were not employed, had heart disease in addition to kidney failure, with hemodialysis age from 6 to 8 years, who did not want to go to the dialysis center and had not received education about the pandemic (p < 0.001) were identified to have high phobia at statistically significant levels. Changes occurring in normal life and to hemodialysis treatment during the pandemic cause concern and anxiety in many patients. In this process, providing patients with education about the pandemic and protective methods is very important.

Efektifitas Latihan Stretching Terhadap Penurunan Nyeri Akibat Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSDs) Di Tempat Kerja

Stretching exercise is a therapeutic exercise that aims to increase soft tissue extensibility. Stretching has a positive effect on musculoskeletal symptoms and reduces pain and can prevent work-related musculoskelatal injuries. This study aims to analyze the effect of stretching exercises on reducing pain due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace. This type of research is experimental research design with one group pre test-post test design. The research subjects were 30 employees at PT Naka Tujuh Gemilang. Subjects received stretching exercise intervention for 10-15 minutes which was done 2-3 times per week for 2 weeks. Subjects were measured the quality of pain with the Verbal Descriptor Scale (VDS) before and after stretching exercises. The research data shows that p = 0.00 Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted, so the hypothesis states that stretching exercises have an effect on decreasing VDS values. The conclusion of this study is that stretching exercises are effective in reducing pain due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace

Uncontrolled Pain and Risk for Depression and Behavioral Symptoms in Residents With Dementia

ObjectivesLimited cohort studies have assessed the association between uncontrolled pain and risk for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSDs). We conducted a longitudinal cohort study to examine whether associations exist between uncontrolled pain and risk for 2 common BPSDs—depression and behavioral symptoms—among long-term care (LTC) residents with Alzheimer disease and related dementia (ADRD). DesignThis retrospective cohort study analyzed quarterly data from the 5% Medicare sample linked to Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2015. Setting and ParticipantsLTC residents aged 50 years or older with ADRD who had chronic pain and at least 2 quarterly MDS 3.0 assessments. MethodsLTC residents were followed up quarterly from first observed quarterly MDS 3.0 until first outcome event or last observed quarterly MDS 3.0. Uncontrolled pain was defined as numerical rating scale >4, verbal descriptor scale of moderate or severe pain, or ≥1 pain indicators on the Checklist of Nonverbal Pain Indicators. Depression was defined as ≥10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire 9; behavioral symptoms were defined as the presence of psychotic (delusions or hallucinations) or disruptive behaviors (rejection of care, or physical, verbal, or other aggressive behaviors). Generalized linear models (GLMs) with marginal structural modeling (MSM) stabilized weights were used to examine uncontrolled pain and outcome risk. ResultsThe incidence rate of depression and behavioral symptoms during follow-up was 9.4 and 23.1 per 100 resident-years, respectively. Results from the MSM-GLMs showed that LTC residents with uncontrolled pain had a higher risk than those with controlled pain for developing depression [hazard ratio 1.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.54–1.81] and behavioral symptoms (hazard ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.19–1.37). Conclusions and ImplicationsUncontrolled pain was associated with elevated risk for depressive and behavioral symptoms in dementia, underscoring the importance of pain assessment and control among LTC residents with ADRD.

Ordinal scaling of timbre-related spectral audio descriptors.

A psychophysical experiment was conducted to perceptually validate several spectral audio features through ordinal scaling: spectral centroid, spectral spread, spectral skewness, odd-to-even harmonic ratio, spectral slope, and harmonic spectral deviation. Several sets of stimuli per audio feature were synthesized at different fundamental frequencies and spectral centroids by controlling (wherever possible) each spectral feature independently of the others, thus isolating the effect that each feature had on the stimulus rankings within each sound set. Listeners were overall able to order stimuli varying along all the spectral features tested when presented with an appropriate spacing of feature values. For specific cases of stimuli in which the ordering task partially failed, psychophysical interpretations are provided to explain listeners' confusions. The results of the ordinal scaling experiment outline trajectories of spectral features that correspond to listeners' perceptions and suggest a number of sound synthesis parameters that could carry timbral contour information.

Catalytic Descriptors to Investigate Catalytic Power in the Reaction of Haloalkane Dehalogenase Enzyme with 1,2-Dichloroethane.

Enzymes play a fundamental role in many biological processes. We present a theoretical approach to investigate the catalytic power of the haloalkane dehalogenase reaction with 1,2-dichloroethane. By removing the three main active-site residues one by one from haloalkane dehalogenase, we found two reactive descriptors: one descriptor is the distance difference between the breaking bond and the forming bond, and the other is the charge difference between the transition state and the reactant complex. Both descriptors scale linearly with the reactive barriers, with the three-residue case having the smallest barrier and the zero-residue case having the largest. The results demonstrate that, as the number of residues increases, the catalytic power increases. The predicted free energy barriers using the two descriptors of this reaction in water are 23.1 and 24.2 kcal/mol, both larger than the ones with any residues, indicating that the water solvent hinders the reactivity. Both predicted barrier heights agree well with the calculated one at 25.2 kcal/mol using a quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics approach, and also agree well with the experimental result at 26.0 kcal/mol. This study shows that reactive descriptors can also be used to describe and predict the catalytic performance for enzyme catalysis.

Comparison of Postobturation Pain Experience after Apical Extrusion of Calcium Silicate– and Resin–Based Root Canal Sealers

IntroductionThis study compared the intensity of postobturation pain after unintentional apical extrusion of calcium silicate–based root canal sealers (EndoSequence BC Sealer [Brasseler USA, Savannah, GA] and Bio-C Sealer [Angelus, Londrina, PR, Brazil]) with a resin-based sealer (AH Plus; Dentsply Sirona, York, PA). MethodsA total of 330 patients referred for root canal treatment on molar teeth with asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis were recruited. Root canals were prepared using WaveOne Gold instruments (Dentsply Sirona) in a crown-down technique and irrigated with 2% chlorhexidine gel and saline solution. Next, patients were randomly distributed into 3 groups according to the root canal sealer used (n = 110): AH Plus, BC Sealer, and Bio-C Sealer. Root canal filling was then accomplished with a vertical compaction technique. Patients presenting with an unintentional extrusion of sealers (n = 13/group) were assessed for postobturation pain experience using a visual descriptor scale ranging from 0–10 at 6-, 12-, 24-, and 48-hour and 1-week intervals after treatment. Mixed analysis of variance repeated measures were used to assess the results (α = 0.05). ResultsThe extrusion rate was similar for all sealers (~12%). There was no significant difference in the postobturation pain results between the root canal sealers evaluated (P > .05). However, after the time interval of 12 hours, AH Plus (P = .04073) and Bio-C Sealer (P = .04327) demonstrated a significant reduction in pain, whereas BC Sealer did not show differences in pain intensity, even in the maximum period evaluated of 1 week (P > .05). ConclusionsThe occurrence of unintentional apical extrusion of calcium silicate–based root canal sealers presents similar postoperative pain results compared with resin-based sealers with low-intensity pain.

Approximative He Hamiltonian in descriptive multidimensional scaling statistics of RNA contained information with application to SARS-CoV-2 Spike mRNA and 7SLRNA, RN7SL2 and RN7SL3

In the present in silico viral genetics study, a mathematical method was developed for the comparison of RNA sequences. The mathematical method used was to explore component similarities and patch them together with a modern geometric statistical projection method called multidimensional scaling (MDS). The comparison looked into similarities between ≈300 nucleotides (NT) of 7SL RNA and size ≈300 NT subequences of SARS-CoV-2 Spike mRNA. RN7SL2 and RN7SL3 were also compared with SARS-CoV-2 Spike mRNA. In the component comparison, use was made of a He Hamiltonian model for the approximation of the density distribution of the outer two electrons. This was considered a basic ingredient of similarity. Improvements can be implemented later on. With MDS it is possible to blend theoretical with experimentally obtained characteristics of components. Furthermore, complementarity was employed to derive a numerical representation of the formation of RNA knots. With the use of crystallographic and electron microscopic coordinate data sets, we aimed to study a more geometric structure of comparing RNA with RNA and RNA with SRP9/14 protein. We found reason to believe that sub-sequences of the S2 SARS-CoV-2 Spike mRNA around position NT = 3620, can possibly behave similar to 7SLRNA. The latter can form “parasitic” Alu DNA. The hypothesis is drawn that under conditions where e.g. broken DNA occurs and RNA dependent DNA polymerase is present these RNA sub-sequences can, because of similar affinity to SRP9/14, be transformed into transposons and become a DNA parasite.

Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital competences of teachers

The new era of the 4IR requires changes in teachers’ initial education and in their professional advancement. Serbia is a developing country whose institutions of education are technologically underdeveloped and whose expansion in the field of digitalization is still insufficient to be on par with the developed western countries. The authors’ research goal was to determine whether potential improvement in teachers’ digital competences has occurred. The general hypothesis postulated implied a low level of the use of digital tools in schools on the territory of Serbia. The descriptive method and scaling technique were used. The research results show that science and technology teachers apply digital tools while teaching more frequently than the teachers of social sciences and humanities. The research implies that a strategic approach to Serbian teachers’ digital education is necessary even during their undergraduate studies by introducing digital technology courses and subjects in the conventional academic curricula.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords: Education, Digital competences, Teachers, Serbia, Fourth Industrial Revolution

From foraging trails to transport networks: how the quality-distance trade-off shapes network structure.

Biological systems are typically dependent on transportation networks for the efficient distribution of resources and information. Revealing the decentralized mechanisms underlying the generative process of these networks is key in our global understanding of their functions and is of interest to design, manage and improve human transport systems. Ants are a particularly interesting taxon to address these issues because some species build multi-sink multi-source transport networks analogous to human ones. Here, by combining empirical field data and modelling at several scales of description, we show that pre-existing mechanisms of recruitment with positive feedback involved in foraging can account for the structure of complex ant transport networks. Specifically, we find that emergent group-level properties of these empirical networks, such as robustness, efficiency and cost, can arise from models built on simple individual-level behaviour addressing a quality-distance trade-off by the means of pheromone trails. Our work represents a first step in developing a theory for the generation of effective multi-source multi-sink transport networks based on combining exploration and positive reinforcement of best sources.