Performance In Relation Research Articles

Reading assessment in ADHD and dyslexia in Brazilian teenagers

IntroductionAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Dyslexia are among the most frequent developmental disorders in school-aged students, and both often cause an impact on scholar reading performance. Therefore, it is fundamental to trace the differential profile in reading performance in such diagnoses. Competent reading occurs through the interaction of several cognitive processes, such as decoding, fluency, and oral and reading comprehension, that should be assessed in an evaluation.ObjectivesThe study aimed to characterize the performance of students with ADHD and dyslexia.MethodsWe assessed 25 adolescents, aged between 11 and 14 years old, from 6th to 9th year of middle school of public and private schools in Brazil, divided into two groups: the group with ADHD (16 students) and the group with dyslexia (9 students). The diagnoses were established by a multidisciplinary center and there were no comorbidities for any case. The instruments used were: Comprehension Test of Words and Pseudowords II (TCLPP II) to assess decoding (indicate if the word is correct or incorrect); Reading Fluency Test (TFL) to assess fluency in single words and in text reading; Cloze Reading Comprehension Test (TCCL) to measure reading comprehension; and the WISC vocabulary subtest to assess auditory comprehension.ResultsNon-parametric analyzes revealed statistically significant differences in measures of textual comprehension, especially in the tasks that involved decoding and fluency processes, evidencing superior performance of the group with ADHD in these tests. Participants with dyslexia had a significantly higher performance in relation to the number of word omissions, that is, they had lower omission errors. There was no significant difference between groups in auditory comprehension.ConclusionsA differential profile was found in reading performance, consistent with the cognitive deficits classically pointed out in the literature for each diagnosis: phonological deficits in dyslexia, with problems in decoding and fluency; and attentional deficits in ADHD, with omission errors. In the comprehension measures, dyslexic group had significant lower performance than ADHD in the Cloze Reading Comprehension Test, but there was no difference in the Vocabulary subtest-WISC. An explanatory hypothesis is that, to understand the text, it is necessary to recognize the words previously, whereas, in the WISC, it is not necessary to read, since the questions are oral. These results corroborate the hypothesis that deficits in reading comprehension in dyslexia are more related to difficulties in word recognition and fluency skills than in general listening comprehension.Financial support: CAPES Proex [grant 0426/2021, no. 23038.006837/2021-73]; CNPq [grant 310845/2021-1]Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Virtuous leadership and individual performance among Indian bank employees: a parallel mediation model

PurposeThis study aims to empirically explore the effect of virtuous leadership on the individual performance of an employee in light of “institutional theory”, considering work engagement and subjective happiness as parallel mediators with specific reference to the banking sector in India.Design/methodology/approachThe data were gathered through a survey questionnaire from bank workers employed in branches across central India. After the survey, 453 responses were accepted for analysis after excluding incomplete returns. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses and validation of the proposed model.FindingsThe results revealed the integrated association of virtuous leadership and individual performance in relation to the Indian banking sector. This study also found a significant parallel mediating function of work engagement and subjective happiness in the positive relationship between virtuous leadership and self-assessed individual performance.Research limitations/implicationsIndividual performance was assessed using respondents' perceptions of their own performance. Though appropriate care was made to avoid procedural and statistical common method bias, the possibility of an exaggerated relationship between constructs and single-source could not be excluded.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that banks may benefit from a greater emphasis on virtuous leadership in both staff selection and leadership development programmes. According to the present research, employees who believe in the virtuous character of their leader feel more engaged and happier and exhibit better performance; this can help the efficiency of Indian banks.Originality/valueThe study significantly bridges the gap in current literature by explaining the mechanism of the effect of virtuous leadership on individual performance in the Indian banking sector. The study has also addressed the gaps in individual performance literature and has empirically established the layered connection.

Periodization of altitude training: A collective case study of high-level swimmers.

The objective was to quantify parallel changes in performance and physiological measures in relation to periodization of sequential altitude training over a season in elite swimmers. The altitude training of four female and two male international swimmers in selected seasons was examined using a collective case study approach. All swimmers were a medalist in World (WC) and/or European Championships (EC) 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018 in short or long course competition. A traditional periodization model was employed using three macrocycles with 3-4 altitude camps (duration 21-24days each) scheduled over the season, following a polarized training intensity distribution (TID) with a volume ranged between 729km and 862km. The timing of return from altitude prior to competition was between 20-32days, with 28days the most common period. Competition performance was assessed with major (international) and minor (regional or national) competitions. Hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, anthropometric characteristics, were measured before and after each camp. Competition performance following the altitude training camps improved by 0.6% ± 0.8% (personal best time; mean ± SD) (95% confidence limits (CL) 0.1%-1.1%), 1.6% ± 0.7% (95% CL 1.2% to 2.0%) (season best time) and 1.6% ± 0.5% (95% CL 1.3%-1.9%) (previous season time). Hemoglobin concentration increased 4.9% from pre-to post-altitude training camps, while hematocrit increased by 4.5%. The sum of six skinfolds reduced by 14.4% (95% CL 18.8%-9.9%) and 4.2% (95% CL 2.4%-9.2%) for the two males (EC), and by 15.8% (95% CL 19.5%-12.0%) for two females (WC). Three to four altitude training camps in a competitive season, around 21-24days of duration, scheduling the last return between 20-32days before the main competition, integrated in a traditional periodized sequence, can induce worthwhile improvements in international swimming performance, hematological parameters, and anthropometric characteristics.

Review of Counter-Based Digester ACK's Effectiveness in MANET Packet Loss Prevention

a wireless peer-to-peer network with a mobile component adaptability and self-formation characteristics that lacks infrastructure. The network is ideal for use in emergency and disaster assistance applications that need reliable communication.. Finding the channel between communicative entities and sending information across it enables communication. There are several routing protocols in the literature that are developed to achieve reliable communication. Routing protocols are susceptible to packet losses because they consider network nodes to be receptive to communication. Due to malicious behavior or a shortage of resources, nodes trash packets. To address the problem, a number of intrusion detection systems have been suggested in the literature. In order to prevent packet losses in MANET, the newly created counter-based digested Acknowledgement (CDACK) was developed. This study's objective is to assess the CDACK protocol's performance in relation to current MANET intrusion detection systems. The findings demonstrate that, in terms of avoiding packet dropping nodes from the routing path, the CDACK protocol is a good fit for MANET..

Effect of UiO-66-NH2/TiO2 nano-fluids on the IFT reduction and their use for wettability alteration of carbonate rocks

One new technique to change the wettability of rocks (carbonate) is sea water (SW) flooding and nano-composite flooding. In this regard, this study investigated the performance of a new synthetic nano-composite called UiO-66-NH2/TiO2 (UT). In this study, this nano-composite is used next to SW. Generally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses investigated synthetic nano-composite physical and chemical properties. A comparative study of the effect of the synthesized Nano-fluids was performed using interfacial tension (IFT), contact angle (CA), and core flooding experiments. In this experimental study, SW contains Ca2+ and SO42− ions. Generally, nano-composite samples with differents concentrations (0.03 wt% and 0.3 wt%) dispersed in a base-fluid (BF) with varied salinities were prepared. Results showed that this sea-water (SW) + 0.3 wt%UT could reduce interfacial tension from 22 (mN/m) to 3.3 (mN/m) and CA from 118° to 37°. Generally, the interfacial tension between nano-fluids and crude oil is also a function of nano-fluid concentration and BF salinities. On the other hand, oil recovery results using the core flooding test show that SW and 0.3 wt% UT are high efficient than other concentrations. Thus, by injecting this nano-fluid (SW + 0.3 wt% UT), the ratios of oil recovery through the flooding process in the first and second core plugs to the total oil recovery increased by 24.8% and 26%, respectively. In the end, SW + 0.3 wt% UT showed the best performance in relation to increased oil recovery. This study offers new findings that can help oil recovery by understanding SW technology with nano-composite in carbonate reservoirs.

Impact of functional crosstalk on mixed CNT bundles for future VLSI nodes

This paper focuses on a novel class of interconnect material employed in integrated circuits at nanotechnology nodes called as mixed CNT (carbon nanotube) bundle structures. These mixed bundle structures are formed by changing different positions of multi-wall and double-wall CNTs. The impact of temperature on the performance of global interconnects and the effect of undesirable functional crosstalk is also presented in detail. Crosstalk has been studied by performing transient analysis of MDCB (multi-walled CNT and double-walled CNT bundles) structures to evaluate their performance in relation with signal functionality.

A Performance-Based Decision Support Workflow for Retrofitting Residential Buildings

The trend towards high-performance residential buildings with new building regulations necessitates fundamental changes in the residential market, which is currently driven by low initial investment costs and dominated by weak innovative cycles. This change involves a difficult decision-making process that must consider the multiple and generally conflicting objectives regarding optimal retrofitting for residential buildings. This study aimed to develop an approach that would provide feedback about a building’s energy and economic performance in relation to the decision-making process to ensure that the complex residence retrofitting process is more efficient. For this purpose, a performance-oriented decision support workflow is recommended for a typical multifamily apartment block within a hypothetical settlement context in Istanbul Province, which includes (i) an automated parametric energy simulation through the coupling of EnergyPlus and MATLAB® to determine differences between retrofit alternatives in relation to the building envelope, energy systems and renewable energy systems, and (ii) a multiple-criteria decision analysis to determine the retrofit alternatives by which the optimal performance can be achieved, taking into account the conflicting nature of key performance indicators (primary energy saving and life-cycle cost saving). Architects and residence owners—who are the main decision makers—can use this proposed workflow to explore effective retrofit alternatives and to make informed decisions about performance-based retrofitting by comparing the energy and economic performance of these alternatives.

The Role of Social Capital in Enhancing Financial Support for Capital Investments: An Analytical Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Employees in Private Banks in the Middle Euphrates Region

The research to identify the role of social capital and its components (relational, cognitive, and structural) in enhancing financial support for capital investments, which in turn will contribute to directing individuals working in private banks in the middle euphrates region to find the strengths and weaknesses in their performance in relation to the research variables. The questionnaire was adopted as a main tool in collecting data related to the field side of the study, and the sample size was (149), and many statistical methods were used in the research, such as standard deviations, arithmetic averages, with the help of programs (spss.var.27), and a set of conclusions were reached from the most important of which is that social capital has a correlation and a significant impact on capital investments, and the research concluded with a set of recommendations.

Monologue or Dialogue? Oral Feedback Experiences of Students and Supervisors During Undergraduate Research

Effective feedback provides information to both students and educators about the goals they need to achieve, students’ current performance and understanding in relation to the goals, and the next activities or goals to be achieved to make better progress. Despite its significance as a catalyst to enhance learning, feedback may not always fulfill its true potential. Specifically, feedback as telling where the educator takes a central role in the feedback process has been identified as problematic and insufficient to promote students’ self-regulation. Following a qualitative case study design, this paper explores oral feedback experiences of undergraduate students and their supervisors during students’ undergraduate research projects. Data were collected using audio-recorded attended observations of supervision meetings of four student-supervisor dyads. Findings from the present study revealed that students and supervisors had a limited view of feedback and therefore unable to harness the potential of feedback for students’ self-regulation. The uniqueness of this study lies in its representations of authentic student-supervisor verbal exchanges. It also demonstrates that although there are always opportunities for students and educators to engage in verbal interactions, these do not necessarily lead to dialogic exchanges between the two parties.

Apoyo institucional y acciones antituberculosas en Atención Primaria de Salud en Brasil*

Objective: Evaluate the association between institutional support and tuberculosis (tb) control actions carried out by Primary Health Care (aps) teams. Methods: Cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, based on data from the external evaluation of the 2nd cycle of the Program for Improvement of Access and Quality of Basic Care carried out in 2014. The Software for Statistics and Data Science was used for it realization of frequencies and associations through multilevel analysis. Results: The annual estimate record percentage of the number of confirmed tb cases and respiratory symptoms in the APS health equipment reached 81.7% in all of Brazil, but only 55.6% of the equipment reported There are users with tb in the territory, among them the control actions have been satisfactory, remaining above 77%. In the multilevel analysis, it was identified that the institutional support actions offered to the health teams showed that the majority of them increase the possibilities that the teams will develop TB control actions. The lesser the evaluation by the team of performance in relation to the work of the institutional assistant, the lesser the chances of cure, the realization of directly observed treatment and the realization of the surveillance of contacts. Conclusion: The development of institutional support actions offered to the teams strengthens tb control actions in aps. &nbsp

Plastic packaging waste in Europe: Addressing methodological challenges in recording and reporting.

A reliable comparison of European Union (EU) Member States' reporting of statistics on plastic packaging waste generation, recycling and recovery is necessary if there is to be a fair transition to a circular economy across the EU. It is a priority for there to be an improvement in the quality and validity of these statistics to assess each Member State's performance in relation to EU targets. This article explores the quality of national reporting based on the two main approaches which are used to calculate packaging waste generation, namely 'placed on the market' and 'waste analysis'. The findings outline how Member States apply a variety of approaches leading to different packaging waste statistics which makes reported data difficult to compare. Often, it is not clear what approach is applied in different counties. Factors such as freeriding, non-compliance and de minimis have represented the primary weaknesses in evaluating and reporting packaging waste statistics as producers have financial incentives for under-reporting. This article highlights the need to inform circular economy strategies by addressing the challenge of comparing data on packaging and plastic packaging waste generation across the EU.

Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.

Embedding into undergraduate medical programs experiential research curricula, based on holistic theories of education which emphasize participation in the social world, remains uncommon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the journey of undergraduate medical students in relation to an innovative compulsory curriculum-based research module, which has a prominent experiential learning component. A convergent mixed methods study design was adapted to develop a systemic understanding of the experience of the undergraduate medical students throughout the respective research module. As such, the students' perception of the experience was qualitatively explored using thematic analysis (n = 15). In parallel, the students' performance data were quantitatively analyzed using multi-repeated ANOVA (n = 158). The findings from both types of analyses (i.e., qualitative and quantitative study components) were then mapped onto each using joint display analysis. The exploration generated four themes that correspond to sequential steps that the students go through to effectively integrate the scientific research method. These themes include: 1- Attend-Acquire, 2- Accumulate-Assimilate, 3- Apply-Appreciate, and 4-Articulate-Affect. Quantitatively, two distinct clusters of mean Grade Point Average were revealed (p<0.01). Joint display analysis enabled integrating the qualitative and quantitative findings, generating the 8A-Model. The evidence-driven 8A-Model, generated by this study, highlights that medical students' understanding of the true value of research seems to increase as they progress in the module. They begin expressing appreciation of the significance of the experience when they start implementing what they are learning as part of their own research studies. It is recommended for such a research module, with a firm experiential learning component, to be integral to undergraduate medical programs. This is expected to improve the future physicians' research competences, and in turn add value in terms of quality of care and patient outcomes.

ANALYSIS ON CAPSULE NETWORKS TO DETECT FORGED IMAGES AND VIDEOS

Modern day computer vision tasks requires efficient solution to problems such as image recognition, natural language processing, object detection, object segmentation and language translation. Symbolic Artificial Intelligence with its hard coding rules is incapable of solving these complex problems resulting in the introduction of Deep Learning (DL) models such as Recurrent Neural Networks and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). However, CNNs require lots of training data and are incapable of recognizing pose and deformation of objects leading to the introduction of Capsule Networks. And these are the new sensation in Deep Learning. They have lived to this expectation as their performance in relation to the above problems has been better than Convolutional Neural Networks. Even with this promise in performance, lack of architectural knowledge and inner workings of Capsules serves as a hindrance for researchers to take full advantage of this breakthrough. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the state of the art architectures, tools and methodologies in existing implementations of capsule networks. We highlight the successes, failures and opportunities for further research to serve as a motivation to researchers and industry players to exploit the full potential of this new field. The main contribution of this survey article is that it explains and summarizes significant current state of the art Capsule Network architectures and implementations. The method introduced in this paper uses a capsule network to detect various kinds of spoofs, from replay attacks using printed images or recorded videos to computer generated videos using deep convolutional neural networks. It extends the application of capsule networks beyond their original intention to the solving of inverse graphics problems.

Effects of prenatal and postnatal melatonin supplementation on overall performance, male reproductive performance, and testicular hemodynamics in beef cattle.

Melatonin has been documented to alleviate compromised pregnancies and enhance livestock performance traits. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prenatal and postnatal melatonin supplementation on overall calf performance and dam milking traits in relation to calves, molecular factors involved in growth and metabolism of calves, along with testicular physiology and fertility traits in subsequent bulls. At day 190, 220 and 250 of gestation, dams (n = 60) were administered either 2 subdermal ear melatonin implants (preMEL) or no implants (preCON). After parturition, birth weights were recorded and calves were blocked based on prenatal treatment and sex. Calves received either melatonin implants (posMEL) or none (posCON) on day 0, 30, and 60 of age. At day 60 of lactation, a subset of dams (n= 32) were selected based on age, weight and calf sex for milk collection and analysis. At weaning, (day 210 postnatally) calf weight, morphometric data, liver samples, and loin samples were collected. At 12 months of age, bull (n = 30) scrotal circumference, scrotal temperature, and testicular artery measurements were recorded. Milk yield and fat percent from dams tended to decrease in the preMEL group (P < 0.07) compared with preCON group. Prenatal melatonin administration did not affect (P = 0.95) calf birth weight and similarly calf weaning weight was unaffected (P < 0.10) by prenatal or postnatal melatonin supplementation. Blood analysis demonstrated that plasma concentrations of melatonin were not different (P = 0.12) in dams; however, an increase (P < 0.001) in plasma concentrations of melatonin was observed in posMEL versus posCON calves. A tendency (P < 0.10) for decreased MYF5 and MYOD1 expression in loin muscle was observed in the posMEL calves. Prenatal and postnatal melatonin administration did not affect subsequent bull scrotal measurements or testicular hemodynamics (P ≥ 0.14). Administering supplemental melatonin via implants during the prenatal and postnatal phase did not alter performance characteristics in offspring. In this study, dams were implanted in winter months, whereas calves were implanted in the spring months. Seasonal differences involving photoperiod and ambient temperature might have attributed to a lack of differences in melatonin levels during the prenatal phase. In the postnatal period, the level of developmental plasticity appears to be too low for melatonin properties to be effective.

ASSISTÊNCIA AO POTENCIAL DOADOR DE ÓRGÃOS EM MORTE ENCEFÁLICA EM PRONTO-SOCORRO ADULTO: PERSPECTIVA CONVERGENTE-ASSISTENCIAL

ABSTRACT Objective: to investigate situations that interfere with health professionals’ performance, in the identification and maintenance of potential brain-dead donors in an Adult Emergency Care Unit, and to indicate actions, from the health team’s perception, that can promote care for these patients. Method: this is a qualitative, convergent care research, carried out with health professionals from an adult emergency unit, a large public teaching hospital located in southern Brazil. Data were collected between February 2020 and January 2021 through structured participant observation, semi-structured interview and convergence group. Data analysis was performed according to the stages of gathering, synthesis, theorization and transfer. Results: based on data analysis, the difficulties in caring for brain-dead persons, lack of information, inadequate structure and difficulties in the work process were identified as situations that interfere with health professionals’ performance in relation to brain-dead potential donors. Actions were signaled to promote care for these people through continuing education activities on the subject, dissemination of information, construction of technologies/protocols, organization of infrastructure and the work process with support for professionals who assist these people. Conclusion: it was evidenced that professional education, the organization of the donation process and systematized actions to improve the work are fundamental factors for the effective care for brain-dead potential organ donors.

Výsledky kvalitatívneho výskumu kauzálnych súvislostí medzi klavírnou interpretáciou pedagóga a percepčnými zručnosťami žiakov v mladšom školskom veku

The piano performance as a way of direct and live performance of a musical work has become the subject of many research studies which deal primarily on its artistic application. The article introduces a qualitative research of the teacher´s piano performance in relation to the acquisition of perceptual skills with an effort to take into account the specificities and benefits of piano performance in the context of the didactic practices of the music-pedagogical concept of Juraj Hatrik in primary musical education. The article reflects the description and results of the qualitative research realised by means of a multiple-case study – causal relation between the teacher's piano performance and perceptual skills of young learners.

Comparison of Student Performance in Online versus Offline Teaching: A Case-Control Study in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Lectures in the Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Introduction: During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic, there was a global need for online learning. Numerous publications were observed both in favour of and against online platforms, but most of them were qualitative. Now that the pandemic is over, we aimed to explore the effectiveness of online teaching compared to offline teaching. Aim: This study aimed to descriptively compare the performance of medical students in online versus offline class teaching of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology course. Materials and Methods: This quantitative retrospective casecontrol study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at College of Medicine, Qassim University, from July 2022 to January 2023. The academic year 2018/2019 was considered the control group (August 2018 to June 2019, offline teaching), and the year 2020/2021 was considered the case group (online teaching, August 2020 to June 2021). A total of 123 students had the Obstetrics and Gynaecology course delivered online, compared to a control group of 115 students who had the same course offline. Chi-square test was applied to analyse categorical variables, considering a p-value &lt;0.05 as significant. Results: The measured outcomes included overall students’ performance in terms of marks and grades, as well as performance in relation to gender and attendance rates. Overall, students’ grades and attendance were higher in the online group (p=0.004 and p=0.03, respectively), which was more evident among male students (p=0.009). Conclusion: The findings suggest that medical students’ performance in online learning is comparable to or better than face-to-face teaching. Further research is needed to explore the performance of male students compared to female students.

Enhancing Organisational Excellence: The Impact of Performance Management and Appraisal System in Gombe State Treasury

The implementation of performance management and appraisal system in any organization is to accomplish its strategic goals and objectives. The foundation of any organization is the performance management system (PMS). Organizations would not be able to survive if workers did not perform their assign duties. Organizations would be competitive and productivity would rise if workers gave their best effort. Performance appraisals (PA) are seen to be a useful Human Resource Management (HRM) tool that measures the standards that any organization or company sets for its workers by monitoring each worker’s performance in relation to the organization’s objectives. In Gombe State Treasury, staff evaluation performance is conducted manually which result to a lot of problems such as data inconsistency, inadequate storing of posting history, limited accessibility and flexibility among others. To address these issues online appraisal system was developed and implemented in the organization using water fall model as the adopted methodology and it is evaluated by distributing questionnaires to the staff and the management, analysis was carried out based on the defined hypothesis to see the impact of the system in the ministry which was found that the system has significant impact in conducting the appraisal exercise on both the staffs and the management as such it overcome the mentioned challenges faces during the exercise. The new system was designed to be more effective and productive for conducting staff appraisal exercise, eliminating all types of delay and tension. This research work made use of data collected from the organizations materials and journals from various authors and software was developed to effectively achieved aims of the research. The implementation of the system was carried out using PHP, JAVASCRIPT, CSS, APACHE and MYSQL for the database was carried out in the research. The system will automatically reduce the time and effort in the process. The system also evaluated by the staff of the organization and the data collected were analyzed and concluded that the system has significant impact in conducting the process based on the defined hypothesis.

The Roles of Surfactant in Tribology Applications of Recent Technology; an overview

In managing friction, wear, and lubricant qualities such as emulsification, demulsification, bio resistance, oxidation resistance, rust prevention, and corrosion resistance, surfactants play a crucial role in tribology. This is an important topic for the development of new materials and gadgets, particularly those created at the Nano-scale. The tribological characteristics of cutting fluids, lubricant performance in relation to steel surfaces, bio lubricants, and novel materials and approaches to friction and wear reduction will all be covered in this most recent edition. Numerous industries place a high priority on surface science and tribology. Almost all consumer and industrial products are manufactured and used with the aid of sophisticated surface and tribological knowledge.Amphiphilic molecules are those that function as surface-active agents or surfactants. Their tails are hydrophobic while their heads are polar, or hydrophilic. They are dispersible in both water and organic solvents. This article introduces surfactants' nature and physical traits with a focus on their importance in modern science and technology. The primary property of surfactant molecules is the ability to self-assemble into micelles, which gives us a way to apply surfactants. The study of the surfactants results in a number of practical application areas, including food, health and personal care goods, biological systems, mineral and petroleum processing, and even nanotechnology. The organisms, food manufacturing, crop protection, personal care products, mineral and petroleum processing, and other practical application areas serve as examples of what these in turn give rise to a range of operational application domains.

'Localizing' the sustainable development goals: a multivariate analysis of Spanish regions

&lt;abstract&gt; &lt;p&gt;Based on the content analysis of the websites of 102 Spanish municipalities related to actions aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the X-STATIS technique was applied to analyze the status and dynamic evolution of commitment to the SDGs in regional and local governments over the period of 2016–2021. The results show a low but increasing level of SDG commitment, which also varies significantly across municipalities and regions, as well as by SDGs, which can be attributed to the influence of several sociodemographic factors, such as the number of inhabitants, dependent population and population density. SDG8 and SDG11 stand out as the main priorities of the municipalities, while initiatives related to SDG5, SDG6 and SDG 17 are the least prioritized. The COVID-19 pandemic has marked a turning point in this regard, with greater importance being given to the SDGs more related to people and prosperity. Our findings help citizens and public authorities to understand sustainable regions and municipalities, assess their performance in relation to different dimensions of sustainability and identify key challenges for future improvements. Specifically, the results suggest that public policies should promote actions related to gender equality, drinking water and sanitation and partnerships, as well as favor investment in the regions and municipalities that are lagging behind, in order to improve their level of commitment to the 2030 Agenda and reduce inequalities. From an academic point of view, our results open a door for the analysis of possible trajectories in the implementation of the SDGs at regional and local levels and the study of their determinants.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/abstract&gt;