Daugavpils University
  • Daugavpils, Latvia
Recent publications
The responsibilities of a teacher are diverse and intricate. Societal shifts, political developments, and rapid technological progress have added further layers of complexity to teachers’ daily tasks. The current research endeavors to analyze how teachers, with varying levels of experience and backgrounds, adapt to these changes in education and perceive opportunities for further development. The aim of the article is to study Latvian teachers’ perspectives on education in Latvia and identify areas for improvement. To reach the aim, focus group discussion was conducted involving six teachers from diverse backgrounds. Through content analysis, the study identified the primary challenges facing the current education process in Latvia: 1) prolonged, ineffective educational reforms; 2) challenges in rural education; 3) inappropriate teacher training; 4) the need for adaptive teaching methods; 5) the importance of cooperation among teachers and with parents. Addressing these areas could lead to significant improvements in the Latvian education system. The analysis sheds light on several issues within education, including the dynamics of teacher–pupil roles, the quality of educational outcomes, and pupil attitudes.
This cross-cultural study examines the inclusion of global competences (GCs) in the curriculum of teacher education programs across three Baltic Sea countries: Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Using van den Akker’s (2003) substantive approach to curriculum analysis, the researchers analyzed official documents and course descriptions of Daugavpils University (Latvia), Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy (Lithuania), and Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce (Poland). Employing Rapley’s (2007) document analysis method, the study focused on both explicit content and implicit gaps to assess how well GCs are integrated into teacher training programs for primary and preschool education. The research involved a detailed examination of 262 syllabi, comprising 63 from Latvia, 61 from Lithuania, and 138 from Poland. The researchers used a template based on the PISA 2018 Global Competence Framework to identify which competences and sub-competences were included in the syllabi. The study aimed to answer the question: How are all the dimensions of global competences included in the syllabi of courses taught at the primary and preschool education levels in three Baltic Sea countries? The findings reveal that the Lithuanian curriculum includes the most GC-focused courses (92 courses, 276 ECTS), followed by Poland (44 courses, 99 ECTS), and Latvia (30 courses, 161 ECTS). The analysis was conducted in four steps: comparing the total number of courses and ECTS credits, ranking the development level of each GC dimension, characterizing the development of each dimension, and analyzing the general approach towards incorporating GCs into the curricula. The results indicate a significant variation in how GCs are integrated across the three countries, with Lithuania demonstrating the most comprehensive incorporation. The study highlights the need for a more sustainable, systematic and consistent inclusion of global competences in teacher education to better prepare educators for a globalized world.
Freshwater crayfish are amongst the largest macroinvertebrates and play a keystone role in the ecosystems they occupy. Understanding the global distribution of these animals is often hindered due to a paucity of distributional data. Additionally, non-native crayfish introductions are becoming more frequent, which can cause severe environmental and economic impacts. Management decisions related to crayfish and their habitats require accurate, up-to-date distribution data and mapping tools. Such data are currently patchily distributed with limited accessibility and are rarely up-to-date. To address these challenges, we developed a versatile e-portal to host distributional data of freshwater crayfish and their pathogens (using Aphanomyces astaci, the causative agent of the crayfish plague, as the most prominent example). Populated with expert data and operating in near real-time, World of Crayfish™ is a living, publicly available database providing worldwide distributional data sourced by experts in the field. The database offers open access to the data through specialized standard geospatial services (Web Map Service, Web Feature Service) enabling users to view, embed, and download customizable outputs for various applications. The platform is designed to support technical enhancements in the future, with the potential to eventually incorporate various additional features. This tool serves as a step forward towards a modern era of conservation planning and management of freshwater biodiversity.
To fill a gap in current literature, this paper analyses the impact of human factors on the operational performance of innovation hubs in the SAARC Nations and the European Union. Upon conducting an extensive examination of academic literature, four primary classifications of human factors were determined: organizational factors, individual attributes, the nature of a task and working environment. This research offers a cross-sectional analysis of these factors and their implications on innovation centres in the culturally and economically diverse domain of SAARC Nations and the European Union. The findings suggest that organizations functioning in the context of Innovation hubs in SAARC Nations, where centralized authority and value correctness is mostly emphasised on, face challenges in order to foster employee engagement and creativity. However, the innovation hubs of the European Union receive treatment from a more flexible and tolerant approach which is backed by progressive technology and is incredibly sensitive to concerns touching on ergonomics and safety of the working environment. This research highlights High performing, High committing, and High involvement management, management techniques to manage human factors to enhance operation performance. Adaptive and individual approach to the management of human variables, based on the differences in cultural and economic conditions of each region, is essential for effective development of the innovative substance and competitive advantage, the paper states. The results obtained from this study offer important guidance for the policymakers, managers and practitioners who are involved in managing and creating innovation hubs. It has provided a framework of how the organisation's operation performance may be improved through effective management of human resources.
Direct-write digital holographic (DWDH) printing is a highly flexible technique for the generation of photoresist masters, which are required to produce the metallic shims used for the mass production of holograms in the security and packaging industries. Here we describe a new type of holographic feature, which can be combined with any other feature printable using DWDH: full-parallax, full-colour transmission masters containing limited animation. We will also describe a technique to print the fringe pattern of each hogel without using a reference beam. By programming the required fringe calculation algorithm on a graphics card using CUDA, we obtain acceptable calculation times. The advantage of using such direct fringe writing is that once again DWDH allows extra features to be written onto a master and combined with other features to produce a stronger security solution. Finally, we present results concerning the use of hogel image dithering to improve the grey-scale performance of DWDH printers.
The research on sustainability has already become the agenda of the day. International teams of scholars have already been addressing various themes of sustainability in sufficient depth and breadth by focusing attention on social, ecological, economic, political, and cultural aspects of sustainability. By the use of the method of bibliometric literature review, the authors intend to analyse research on sustainability, and issues related to sustainable development and education during the last five years, as revealed in the Journal of UNESCO Chair on the Interplay of Tradition and Innovation in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at Daugavpils University, Latvia. The articles provide an extensive overview of the research agenda and show the scope of sustainability research that has broadened in scope, and is growing stronger. The article also shows the geography of sustainability challenges, including challenges addressed in practice and everyday life, reflection on methodologies for sustainability research, and institutional policy developments on sustainability. By evaluating sustainability pathways and approaches and by addressing challenges of smart governance, the article highlights the cases of good practice and challenges that need to be addressed. The article also highlights issues related to sustainability research that still remain unsolved and calls for continuous efforts of improvement and for deeper transdisciplinary processes. Challenges brought up by unsustainable consumption and an unpredictable intent as a way of life can not be solved by technological fixes but require deeper sustainability transitions, co-evolution, multi-actor involvement, long-term thinking, open-mindedness and tolerance of uncertainty.
Freshwater turtles are often used as terrarium pets, especially juveniles of exotic species. At the adult stage they are often released by their owners into the wild despite their high invasion potential. In Europe these thermophilic potentially invasive alien species occupy the habitats of the native European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758), with new records from the wild being made specifically in Eastern Europe (Latvia and Ukraine) during recent decades. Assessing the potential of alien freshwater turtles to establish in new territories is of great concern for preventing invasion risks while preserving native biodiversity in the present context of climate change. We explored this issue by identifying the present and future (by 2050) suitable habitats of the European pond turtle and several potentially invasive alien species of freshwater turtle already settled in Europe, using a geographic information system (GIS) modelling approach based on datasets from CliMond for climate, Near-global environmental information (NGEI) for freshwater ecosystems (EarthEnv) and Maxent modelling using open-access databases, data from the literature and original field data. Modelling was performed for seven species of alien freshwater turtles occurring from the extreme northern to southern borders of the European range of E. orbicularis: the pond slider Trachemys scripta (Thunberg and Schoepff, 1792), the river cooter Pseudemys concinna (Le Conte, 1830), the Florida red-bellied cooter Pseudemys nelsoni (Carr, 1938), the false map turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica (Gray, 1831), the Chinese softshell turtle Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann, 1835), the Caspian turtle Mauremys caspica (Gmelin, 1774) and the Balkan terrapin Mauremys rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833). In Ukraine, the most Eastern limit of E. orbicularis distribution, were previously reported northern American originated T. scripta, M. rivulata, M. caspica, whereas in Latvia, Emys’ most northern limit, were additionally reported P. concinna, P. nelsoni, G. pseudogeographica and Asia originated P. sinensis. The resulting Species Distribution Models (SDM) were of excellent performance (AUC > 0.8). Of these alien species, the most potentially successful in terms of range expansion throughout Europe were T. scripta (34.3% of potential range expansion), G. pseudogeographica (24.1%), and M. caspica (8.9%) and M. rivulata (4.3%) mainly in Eastern Europe, especially in the south of Ukraine (Odesa, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions, and Crimean Peninsula). Correlation between the built SDMs for the native E. orbicularis and the invasive alien T. scripta was reliably high, confirming the highly likely competition between these two species in places they cooccur. Moreover, a Multiple Regression Analysis revealed that by 2050, in most of Europe (from the western countries to Ukraine), the territory overlap between E. orbicularis and potentially invasive alien species of freshwater turtles will increase by 1.2 times, confirming higher competition in the future. Importantly, by 2050, Eastern Europe and Ukraine are predicted to be the areas with most suitable habitats for the European pond turtle yet with most limited overlap with the invasive alien species. We conclude that Eastern Europe and Ukraine are the most relevant priority conservation areas for the European pond turtle where it is now necessary to take protective measures to ensure safe habitat for this native species on the long-term.
Lichens are well-known bioindicators and exhibit high sensitivity to environmental changes due to their unique biological characteristics. Despite their ecological significance, lichens are often overlooked in conservation policies both at the European Union (EU) and global levels. The situation is better at the level of national Red Lists that can provide candidate species for regional or global Red Lists, thereby helping to prioritize conservation efforts. To fill a gap at the national level, this article presents the comprehensive data of the Red List of Latvian lichens. For the first time, IUCN threat categories and criteria were applied to assess 85 lichenized and one lichenicolous fungus during 2022–2023. Of these species, 3 were classified as Least Concern (LC), 2 as Data Deficient (DD), 11 as Near Threatened (NT), and 68 were ascribed the threatened categories: 14 to Vulnerable (VU), 27 to Endangered (EN), 27 to Critically Endangered (CR). The majority of Latvian lichens categorized as threatened or near threatened inhabit woodlands, particularly old-growth forests, which face the primary threat of intensive forest management. This article emphasizes the importance of continued evaluation efforts, while also addressing challenges associated with data scarcity and limited lichenological research capacity in Latvia.
In 2000, Cleide Costa published a paper presenting the state of knowledge of the Neotropical Coleopte ra, with a focus on the Brazilian fauna. Twenty-four years later, thanks to the development of the Coleoptera section of the Taxonomic Catalog of the Brazilian Fauna (CTFB - Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil) through the collaboration of 100 coleopterists from all over the globe, we can build on Costa’s work and present an updated overview of the state of knowledge of the beetles from Brazil. There are currently 35,699 species in 4,958 genera and 116 families known to occur in the country, including representatives of all extant suborders and superfamilies. Our data show that the Brazilian beetle fauna is the richest on the planet, concentrating 9% of the world species diversity, with some estimates accounting to up to 15% of the global total. The most diverse family in numbers of genera is Cerambycidae (1,056 genera), while in number of species it is Chrysomelidae (6,079 species). Conotrachelus Dejean, 1835 (Curculionidae) is the most species-rich genus, with 570 species. The French entomologist Maurice Pic is the author who has contributed the most to the naming of species recorded from Brazil, with 1,794 valid names in 36 families, whereas the Brazilians Ubirajara R. Martins and Maria Helena M. Galileo are the only ones among the top-ten authors to have named species in the 21st century. Currently, approximately 144 new species of Brazilian beetles are described each year, and this average is projected to increase in the next decade to 180 species per year, or about one new Brazilian beetle every two days. KEY WORDS: Beetles; biodiversity; list; Neotropical; South America; CTFB
This research aims to analyse the factors influencing the sustainable development of innovation hubs in the Indian green building sector. The research focuses on the significance of innovation hubs in enhancing sustainability in the Indian green building sector. These hubs decrement costs, improve market value, attract huge investments and generate job opportunities. Innovation hubs promote reducing waste, effectively using resources and mitigating carbon emissions. Incorporating advanced green technologies through innovation hubs helps to develop more eco-friendly architectural solutions. The authors utilized quantitative methodologies to gather and analyse the acquired data. Primary data is collected through a digital survey, and secondary data is acquired by retrieving information from articles and journals of academic databases. Snowball sampling was used by the authors, and 150 individuals participated in the survey. The obtained data is analysed using the Chi-square test and Spearman correlation to identify the strength of the relationship between identified variables and innovation hubs in the green building sector in India. The factors are government policies and regulations (0.709), technological advancements (0.648), skilled workforce (0.517), market demand (0.619), public-private partnerships (0.527), and supply chain efficiency (0.501). A model is developed to enhance the sustainable innovation hubs in green buildings in India.
Introduction Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare autoimmune disease with multiple organ involvement; however, the contribution of the nervous system (NS) remains relatively understudied. There are no specific data on the role of the autoimmune response and inflammation in the development of peripheral nerve system (PNS) damage in SSc and markers to assess this damage have yet to be identified. Objectives The primary objective of this study was to define the autoimmune mechanisms that lead to neuropathy by identifying antibodies (Abs) that target certain component of the NS or are associated with SSc. The secondary objective was to identify markers of NS damage that correlate with the detection and progression of polyneuropathy (PNP). Methods This study included patients diagnosed with SSc who met ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria at two leading Latvian hospitals between January 2016 and December 2021. Patients underwent a nerve conduction study (NCS). The SSc-associated Abs, Abs against myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and anti-ganglioside Abs (GM1, GM2, GD1a, GD1b and GQ1b) were analysed. Potential serum PNS biomarkers—neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF15)—were measured. Results We recruited 103 Caucasian patients diagnosed with SSc. SSc-associated Abs did not differ significantly between patients with and without PNP (p > 0.05). Anti-MAG and anti-ganglioside Abs in patients with PNP did not present a significant increase above the reference range. NfL, GFAP and GDF15 were significantly elevated in the presence of PNP (p < 0.05), with a moderate to high effect size (r = 0.36–0.65). Our regression analysis revealed a strong association between the HAQ-DI score, older age, male gender and the risk of developing PNP. Conclusion The development of PNP in patients with SSc is most likely due to ageing, natural progression and the sequelae of the disease. Several serum biomarkers—NfL, GFAP and GDF15—could be used as relevant diagnostic biomarkers for PNP in patients with SSc. Future studies are warranted to validate the diagnostic efficacy of these biomarkers and to unravel the complex interplay of factors leading to PNP in patients with SSc.
The chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a widespread fungus causing amphibian declines across the globe. Although data on Bd occurrence in Eastern Europe are scarce, a recent species distribution model (SDM) for Bd reported that western and north-western parts of Ukraine are highly suitable to the pathogen. We verified the SDM-predicted range of Bd in Ukraine by sampling amphibians across the country and screening for Bd using qPCR. A total of 446 amphibian samples (tissue and skin swabs) from 11 species were collected from 36 localities. We obtained qPCR-positive results for 33 samples including waterfrogs (Pelophylax esculentus complex) and fireand yellow-bellied toads (Bombina spp.) from 8 localities. We found that Bd-positive localities had significantly higher predicted Bd habitat suitability than sites that were pathogen-free. Amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of samples with the highest Bd load revealed matches with ITS haplotypes of the globally distributed BdGPL strain, and a single case of the BdASIA-2/ BdBRAZIL haplotype. We found that Bd was nonrandomly distributed across Ukraine, with infections present in the western and north-central forested peripheries of the country with a relatively cool, moist climate. On the other hand, our results suggest that Bd is absent or present in low abundance in the more continental central, southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, corroborating the model-predicted distribution of chytrid fungus. These areas could potentially serve as climatic refugia for Bd-susceptible amphibian hosts.
Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) significantly impacts the quality of life of affected individuals. This study aimed to elucidate the epidemiological and clinical profiles of adult CSU patients in Latvia. Patient interviews and electronic medical records from two study centres in Riga, Latvia, were reviewed. PROMs, including UCT, UAS7, USS, and CU-Q2oL, were used to assess disease control, activity, severity, and quality of life. Statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi v. 2.3.28 and IBM SPSS v. 29.0.0.0. The cohort included 140 CSU patients (76.4% female; mean age 41.3 ± 14.9 years), mostly urban residents (87.1%) and non-smokers (53.6%). Urticaria with angioedema occurred in 52.1% and isolated urticaria in 47.9%, with 40% experiencing CSU for 1-5 years. Accompanying symptoms were reported by 63% and triggers by 72.9%. Allergy history and autoimmune disease diagnosis were noted in 49.3% and 29.3%. Treatment mainly involved second-generation antihistamines (85.7%) and omalizumab (17.9%). Mean scores for USS, UCT, and UAS7 were 28.8 (SD: 17.8), 8.2 (SD: 3.7), and 17.2 (SD: 14.1). UAS7 indicated severe CSU in 28.6%, and UCT suggested poorly controlled disease in 77.9%. CU-Q2oL total scores revealed mental status as the most affected domain (mean score: 51.7, SD: 28.7), with a significant association between accompanying symptoms and questionnaire scores. This study provides insights into the demographic and clinical aspects of CSU patients in Latvia, highlighting areas for potential improvement in patient care and emphasizing the need for further investigation into treatment outcomes and patient quality of life.
A theoretical perspective on grandiose narcissism suggests four forms of it (sanctity, admiration, heroism, rivalry) and states that these forms conduce to different ways of thinking and acting. Guided by this perspective, we examined in a multinational and multicultural study (61 countries; N = 15,039) how narcissism forms are linked to cognitions and behaviors prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, differences in cognitions and behaviors across narcissism forms emerged. For example, higher narcissistic rivalry predicted lower likelihood of enactment of COVID-19 prevention behaviors, but higher narcissistic sanctity predicted higher likelihood of enactment of COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Further, whereas the heroism, admiration, and rivalry narcissism forms acted in a typically antisocial manner, with high narcissism predicting greater endorsement of unfounded health beliefs, the sanctity form acted in a prosocial manner, with higher narcissism being linked to lower endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 health beliefs. Thus, the findings (a) support the idea of four narcissism forms acting differently, and (b) show that these differences reflect a double-edged sword, sometimes linking to an anti-social orientation, and sometimes linking to a pro-social orientation.
There is an importance for innovation hubs in the field of real estate development as they enhance sustainability, promote technological developments and encourage collaboration. The innovation hubs help to integrate modern technologies, which decrease the associated costs and increase productivity. Moreover, innovation hubs allow the systematic organization of construction activities and achieve sustainable development goals. This paper aims to evaluate the multiple factors influencing construction logistics in developing the real estate sector through innovation hubs. The research used quantitative methodology and relied on two data acquisition techniques. The primary or unpublished data is obtained through an online survey, and secondary data is procured through already published articles and journals. The obtained survey data is analysed using factor analysis. The main factors are performance factors, optimization factors, ecological factors and growth factors. The authors developed a model according to factor analysis results. The recommendations are implementing innovative forums which help to update and adopt innovative technologies. Also, performance analysis mechanisms should be implemented to analyse workers’ productivity.
Electromagnetic levitation (EML) is a promising technique allowing to melt various materials, including refractive metals, while avoiding physical contact between the molten material and components of the melting system, thus avoiding contamination of the molten material. EML coils act both as a container and a heating source for a conductive sample placed within it. EML systems are difficult to optimize for specific tasks and computational simulations are often used to aid the process. Development of simulations of EML processes is an ongoing field of research. Obtaining precise experimental measurement data of EML processes is important for development and verification of computational simulations. This study aims to provide experimental data of simultaneous measurements for magnetic field, Joule heating and lift force in different conical EML coils with a counterturn.
A retrospective cohort study was conducted with the aim to characterise tonsillectomy patients and identify factors related to the development of complicated cases of tonsillitis and consecutive immediate tonsillectomies in the Latvian population. The data of 493 patients were analysed. Patients were hospitalised from 1 January 2019 to 30 November 2020, for elective or immediate tonsillectomy due to recurrent tonsillitis, with or without exacerbation and complications. The patients who underwent elective tonsillectomy were younger than those who underwent immediate tonsil-lectomy. Peritonsillar abscess was more common in smokers than in non-smokers ( p < 0.001). Smokers had immediate tonsillectomy more often than non-smokers ( p < 0.001). Patients who underwent elective tonsillectomy had the shortest period of antibiotic therapy ( p < 0.001). Patients who had immediate tonsillectomy had a longer hospitalisation time. Immediate tonsillectomies were associated with patients of older age, smokers, longer hospitalisation, and antibacterial treatment periods. Unilateral peritonsillar abscess was the most common complication of tonsillitis, which resulted in immediate tonsillectomy.
The study examines the impact of municipal solid waste on the environment and the volume of its formation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It has been established, that the main component of solid household waste is food (organic) waste, the disposal and processing of which is becoming a relevant and important direction for the development of the waste management industry in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the study was to identify, through a study of potential areas of application of organic waste, the most effective ways of using it, both from the point of view of environmental safety and from the point of view of economic efficiency. The main environmental problem is not only the increase of the amount of waste, but also the absence of its high-tech disposal and processing. In Kazakhstan, a significant part of organic waste as part of municipal solid waste continues to get to landfills, so the landfill is the most common method of waste disposal in the country. Today, there are various technologies for utilization and processing of the organic (food) fraction of municipal solid waste, including biogas production, combustion with energy recovery, composting and others. However, in order to establish a waste collection and recycling system in Kazakhstan, first of all, it is necessary to consider waste as a valuable secondary raw material. At the same time, separating food waste from the rest of the garbage will keep it dry and clean and increase the efficiency of sorting. It was found that recycling organic waste is effective not only from an environmental safety point of view, but also from an economic efficiency point of view.
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275 members
Arvīds Barševskis
  • Institute of Life Sciences and Technology, Coleopterological Research center
Juris Soms
  • Dept. of Environmental Science and Chemistry
Vadims Krasko
  • Department of Economics
Irēna Mihailova
  • G.Liberts' Innovative Microscopy Centre
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Daugavpils, Latvia
Head of institution
Arvīds Barševskis