Search results for: strain diversity

Authors: Suphitcha Charoen-Amornkitt, Chokeanand Bussracumpakorn

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The tendency of the Karen backstrap weaving succession has gradually decreased due to the difficulty of weaving techniques and the relocation of the young generation. The Yang Nam Klat Nuea community, Nong Ya Plong District, Phetchaburi, is a Pwo Karen community that is seriously confronted with a lack of cultural heritage. Thus, a group of weavers was formed to revive the knowledge of weaving. However, they have been gradually confronted with culture assimilation to mainstream culture from the desire for marketing acceptance and imperative and forced the extinction of culture due to the disappearance of weaving details and techniques. Although there are practical solutions, i.e., product development, community improvement, knowledge improvement, and knowledge transfer, to inherit the Karen weaving culture, people in the community cannot fulfill their deep intention about the weaving inheritance as most solutions have focused on developing the commercial products and making the income instead of inheriting their knowledge. This research employed qualitative user research with an in-depth user interview to study communal knowledge transfer succession based on the internal involved parties, i.e., four expert weavers, three young weavers, and three 4th generation villagers. The purpose is to explore the correlation and mindset of villagers towards the culture with specific issues, including the psychology of culture, core knowledge and learning methods, cultural inheritance, and cultural engagement. As a result, the existing models of knowledge management mostly focused on tangible strategies, which can notice progress in short terms, such as direct teaching and consistent practicing. At the same time, the motivation and passion of inheritors were abolished while the research found that the young generation who profoundly connected with the textile culture will have a more significant intention to continue the culture. Therefore, this research suggests both internal and external solutions to treat the community. Regarding the internal solutions, family, weaving group, and school have an important role to participate with young villagers by encouraging activities to support the cultivating of Karen’s history, understanding their identities, and adapting the culture as a part of daily life. At the same time, collecting all of the knowledge in the archives, e.g., recorded video, instruction, and books, can crucially prevent the culture from extinction. Regarding the external solutions, this study suggests that working with social media will enhance the intimacy of textile culture, while the community should relieve the roles in marketing competition and start to drive cultural experiences to create a new market position. In conclusion, this research intends to explore the causes and motivation to support the transfer of the culture to the 4th generation villagers and to raise awareness of the diversity of culture in society. With these suggestions and the desire to improve pride and confidence in culture, the community agrees that strengthening the relationships between the young villagers and the weaving culture can bring attention and interest back to the weaving culture.

Keywords: Pwo Karen textile culture, backstrap weaving succession, cultural inheritance, knowledge transfer, knowledge management

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Authors: Anna Solovyeva, Ivan Levakin, Nickolai Galaktionov, Olga Podgornaya

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Animals that reproduce asexually were thought to have the same genotypes within generations for a long time. However, some refuting examples were found, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) or transposons are considered to be the most probable source of genetic instability. Dispersed nature and the ability to change their genomic localization enables MGEs to be efficient mutators. Hence the study of MGEs genomic impact requires an appropriate object which comprehends both representative amounts of various MGEs and options to evaluate the genomic influence of MGEs. Animals that reproduce asexually seem to be a decent model to study MGEs impact in genomic variability. We found a small marine trematode Himasthla elongata (Himasthlidae) to be a good model for such investigation as it has a small genome size, diverse MGEs and parthenogenetic stages in the lifecycle. In the current work, clonal diversity of cercaria was traced with an AFLP (Amplified fragment length polymorphism) method, diverse zones from electrophoretic patterns were cloned, and the nature of the fragments explored. Polymorphic patterns of individual cercariae AFLP-based fingerprints are enriched with retrotransposons of different families. The bulk of those sequences are represented by open reading frames of non-Long Terminal Repeats containing elements(non-LTR) yet Long-Terminal Repeats containing elements (LTR), to a lesser extent in variable figments of AFLP array. The CR1 elements expose both in polymorphic and conservative patterns are remarkably more frequent than the other non-LTR retrotransposons. This data was confirmed with shotgun sequencing-based on Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. Individual cercaria of the same clone (i.e., originated from a single miracidium and inhabiting one host) has a various distribution of MGE families detected in sequenced AFLP patterns. The most numerous are CR1 and RTE-Bov retrotransposons, typical for trematode genomes. Also, we identified LTR-retrotransposons of Pao and Gypsy families among DNA transposons of CMC-EnSpm, Tc1/Mariner, MuLE-MuDR and Merlin families. We detected many of them in H. elongata transcriptome. Such uneven MGEs distribution in AFLP sequences’ sets reflects the different patterns of transposons spreading in cercarial genomes as transposons affect the genome in many ways (ectopic recombination, gene structure interruption, epigenetic silencing). It is considered that they play a key role in the origins of trematode clonal polymorphism. The authors greatly appreciate the help received at the Kartesh White Sea Biological Station of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zoological Institute. This work is funded with RSF 19-74-20102 and RFBR 17-04-02161 grants and the research program of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (project number AAAA-A19-119020690109-2).

Keywords: AFLP, clonal polymorphism, Himasthla elongata, mobile genetic elements, NGS

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Authors: Veenu Bala, Yashpal S. Chhonker, Bhavana Kushwaha, Rabi S. Bhatta, Gopal Gupta, Vishnu L. Sharma

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According to UNAIDS 2013 estimate nearly 52% of all individuals living with HIV are now women of reproductive age (15–44 years). Seventy-five percent cases of HIV acquisition are through heterosexual contacts and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), attributable to unsafe sexual behaviour. Each year, an estimated 500 million people acquire atleast one of four STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis. Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) is exclusively sexually transmitted in adults, accounting for 30% of STI cases and associated with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), vaginitis and pregnancy complications in women. TV infection resulted in impaired vaginal milieu, eventually favoring HIV transmission. In the absence of an effective prophylactic HIV vaccine, prevention of new infections has become a priority. It was thought worthwhile to integrate HIV prevention and reproductive health services including unintended pregnancy protection for women as both are related with unprotected sex. Initially, nonoxynol-9 (N-9) had been proposed as a spermicidal agent with microbicidal activity but on the contrary it increased HIV susceptibility due to surfactant action. Thus, to accomplish an urgent need of novel woman controlled non-detergent microbicidal spermicides benzenepropanamine analogues have been synthesized. At first, five benzenepropanamine-dithiocarbamate hybrids have been synthesized and evaluated for their spermicidal, anti-Trichomonas and anti-fungal activities along with safety profiling to cervicovaginal cells. In order to further enhance the scope of above study benzenepropanamine was hybridized with thiourea as to introduce anti-HIV potential. The synthesized hybrid molecules were evaluated for their reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibition, spermicidal, anti-Trichomonas and antimicrobial activities as well as their safety against vaginal flora and cervical cells. simulated vaginal fluid (SVF) stability and pharmacokinetics of most potent compound versus N-9 was examined in female Newzealand (NZ) rabbits to observe its absorption into systemic circulation and subsequent exposure in blood plasma through vaginal wall. The study resulted in the most promising compound N-butyl-4-(3-oxo-3-phenylpropyl) piperazin-1-carbothioamide (29) exhibiting better activity profile than N-9 as it showed RT inhibition (72.30 %), anti-Trichomonas (MIC, 46.72 µM against MTZ susceptible and MIC, 187.68 µM against resistant strain), spermicidal (MEC, 0.01%) and antifungal activity (MIC, 3.12–50 µg/mL) against four fungal strains. The high safety against vaginal epithelium (HeLa cells) and compatibility with vaginal flora (lactobacillus), SVF stability and least vaginal absorption supported its suitability for topical vaginal application. Docking study was performed to gain an insight into the binding mode and interactions of the most promising compound, N-butyl-4-(3-oxo-3-phenylpropyl) piperazin-1-carbothioamide (29) with HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase. The docking study has revealed that compound (29) interacted with HIV-1 RT similar to standard drug Nevirapine. It may be concluded that hybridization of benzenepropanamine and thiourea moiety resulted into novel lead with multiple activities including RT inhibition. A further lead optimization may result into effective vaginal microbicides having spermicidal, anti-Trichomonas, antifungal and anti-HIV potential altogether with enhanced safety to cervico-vaginal cells in comparison to Nonoxynol-9.

Keywords: microbicidal, nonoxynol-9, reverse transcriptase, spermicide

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Authors: Anuj Tyagi, Balwinder Singh, Naveen Kumar B. T., Niraj K. Singh

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Characterization of diverse microbial communities in specific environment plays a crucial role in the better understanding of their functional relationship with the ecosystem. It is now well established that gut microbiome of fish is not the simple replication of microbiota of surrounding local habitat, and extensive species, dietary, physiological and metabolic variations in fishes may have a significant impact on its composition. Moreover, overuse of antibiotics in human, veterinary and aquaculture medicine has led to rapid emergence and propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the aquatic environment. Microbial communities harboring specific ARGs not only get a preferential edge during selective antibiotic exposure but also possess the significant risk of ARGs transfer to other non-resistance bacteria within the confined environments. This phenomenon may lead to the emergence of habitat-specific microbial resistomes and subsequent emergence of virulent antibiotic-resistant pathogens with severe fish and consumer health consequences. In this study, gut microbiota of freshwater carp (Labeo rohita) was investigated by shotgun metagenomics to understand its taxonomic composition and functional capabilities. Metagenomic DNA, extracted from the fish gut, was subjected to sequencing on Illumina NextSeq to generate paired-end (PE) 2 x 150 bp sequencing reads. After the QC of raw sequencing data by Trimmomatic, taxonomic analysis by Kraken2 taxonomic sequence classification system revealed the presence of 36 phyla, 326 families and 985 genera in the fish gut microbiome. At phylum level, Proteobacteria accounted for more than three-fourths of total bacterial populations followed by Actinobacteria (14%) and Cyanobacteria (3%). Commonly used probiotic bacteria (Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Lactococcus) were found to be very less prevalent in fish gut. After sequencing data assembly by MEGAHIT v1.1.2 assembler and PROKKA automated analysis pipeline, pathway analysis revealed the presence of 1,608 Metacyc pathways in the fish gut microbiome. Biosynthesis pathways were found to be the most dominant (51%) followed by degradation (39%), energy-metabolism (4%) and fermentation (2%). Almost one-third (33%) of biosynthesis pathways were involved in the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis of 35 antibiotic types were also present, and these accounted for 5% of overall metabolic pathways in the fish gut microbiome. Fifty-one different types of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) belonging to 15 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene families and conferring resistance against 24 antibiotic types were detected in fish gut. More than 90% ARGs in fish gut microbiome were against beta-lactams (penicillins, cephalosporins, penems, and monobactams). Resistance against tetracycline, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and phenicols ranged from 0.7% to 1.3%. Some of the ARGs for multi-drug resistance were also found to be located on sequences of plasmid origin. The presence of pathogenic bacteria and ARGs on plasmid sequences suggested the potential risk due to horizontal gene transfer in the confined gut environment.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, fish gut, metabolic pathways, microbial diversity

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Authors: Niamh Higgins, Dawn Howard

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The Irish agri-food sector is of major importance to Ireland’s manufacturing sector and to the Irish economy through employment and the exporting of animal products worldwide. Infectious diseases and parasites have an impact on farm animal health causing profitability and productivity to be affected. For the sustainability of Irish dairy farming, there must be the highest standard of animal health. There can be a lack of information in accounting for > 1% of complete microbial diversity in an environment. There is the tendency of culture-based methods of microbial identification to overestimate the prevalence of species which grow easily on an agar surface. There is a need for new technologies to address these issues to assist with animal health. Metagenomic approaches provide information on both the whole genome and transcriptome present through DNA sequencing of total DNA from environmental samples producing high determination of functional and taxonomic information. Nanopore Next Generation Technologies have the ability to be powerful sequencing technologies. They provide high throughput, low material requirements and produce ultra-long reads, simplifying the experimental process. The aim of this study is to use a metagenomics approach to analyze dairy cattle faecal samples using the Oxford Nanopore MinION Next Generation Sequencer and to establish an in-house pipeline for metagenomic characterization of complex samples. Faecal samples will be obtained from Irish dairy farms, DNA extracted and the MinION will be used for sequencing, followed by bioinformatics analysis. Of particular interest, will be the parasite Buxtonella sulcata, which there has been little research on and which there is no research on its presence on Irish dairy farms. Preliminary results have shown the ability of the MinION to produce hundreds of reads in a relatively short time frame of eight hours. The faecal samples were obtained from 90 dairy cows on a Galway farm. The results from Oxford Nanopore ‘What’s in my pot’ (WIMP) using the Epi2me workflow, show that from a total of 926 classified reads, 87% were from the Kingdom Bacteria, 10% were from the Kingdom Eukaryota, 3% were from the Kingdom Archaea and < 1% were from the Kingdom Viruses. The most prevalent bacteria were those from the Genus Acholeplasma (71 reads), Bacteroides (35 reads), Clostridium (33 reads), Acinetobacter (20 reads). The most prevalent species present were those from the Genus Acholeplasma and included Acholeplasma laidlawii (39 reads) and Acholeplasma brassicae (26 reads). The preliminary results show the ability of the MinION for the identification of microorganisms to species level coming from a complex sample. With ongoing optimization of the pipe-line, the number of classified reads are likely to increase. Metagenomics has the potential in animal health for diagnostics of microorganisms present on farms. This would support wprevention rather than a cure approach as is outlined in the DAFMs National Farmed Animal Health Strategy 2017-2022.

Keywords: animal health, buxtonella sulcata, infectious disease, irish dairy cattle, metagenomics, minION, next generation sequencing

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Authors: Casta Guillaume, Robert Jagers, Deborah Rivas-Drake

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Civically engaged youth are critical to maintaining and/or improving the functioning of local, national and global communities and their institutions. The present study investigated how school climate and academic beliefs (academic self-efficacy and school belonging) may inform emergent civic behaviors (emergent citizenship) among self-identified middle school youth of color (African American, Multiracial or Mixed, Latino, Asian American or Pacific Islander, Native American, and other). Study aims: 1) Understand whether and how school climate is associated with civic engagement behaviors, directly and indirectly, by fostering a positive sense of connection to the school and/or engendering feelings of self-efficacy in the academic domain. Accordingly, we examined 2) The association of youths’ sense of school connection and academic self-efficacy with their personally responsible and participatory civic behaviors in school and community contexts—both concurrently and longitudinally. Data from two subsamples of a larger study of social/emotional development among middle school students were used for longitudinal and cross sectional analysis. The cross-sectional sample included 324 6th-8th grade students, of which 43% identified as African American, 20% identified as Multiracial or Mixed, 18% identified as Latino, 12% identified as Asian American or Pacific Islander, 6% identified as Other, and 1% identified as Native American. The age of the sample ranged from 11 – 15 (M = 12.33, SD = .97). For the longitudinal test of our mediation model, we drew on data from the 6th and 7th grade cohorts only (n =232); the ethnic and racial diversity of this longitudinal subsample was virtually identical to that of the cross-sectional sample. For both the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, full information maximum likelihood was used to deal with missing data. Fit indices were inspected to determine if they met the recommended thresholds of RMSEA below .05 and CFI and TLI values of at least .90. To determine if particular mediation pathways were significant, the bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals for each indirect pathway were inspected. Fit indices for the latent variable mediation model using the cross-sectional data suggest that the hypothesized model fit the observed data well (CFI = .93; TLI =. 92; RMSEA = .05, 90% CI = [.04, .06]). In the model, students’ perceptions of school climate were significantly and positively associated with greater feelings of school connectedness, which were in turn significantly and positively associated with civic engagement. In addition, school climate was significantly and positively associated with greater academic self-efficacy, but academic self-efficacy was not significantly associated with civic engagement. Tests of mediation indicated there was one significant indirect pathway between school climate and civic engagement behavior. There was an indirect association between school climate and civic engagement via its association with sense of school connectedness, indirect association estimate = .17 [95% CI: .08, .32]. The aforementioned indirect association via school connectedness accounted for 50% (.17/.34) of the total effect. Partial support was found for the prediction that students’ perceptions of a positive school climate are linked to civic engagement in part through their role in students’ sense of connection to school.

Keywords: civic engagement, early adolescence, school climate, school belonging, developmental niche

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Authors: Abdulmajeed Abdullah Alqarni

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This paper is devoted a study of the current frameworks applicable to foreign investments at the levels of domestic and international law, with a particular focus on the legitimate balance to be achieved between the rights of the host state and the legal protections owed to foreign investors. At the wider level of analysis, the paper attempts to map and critically examine the relationship between foreign investment and economic development. In doing so, the paper offers a study in how current discourses and practices on investment law can reconcile the competing interests of developing and developed countries. The study draws on the growing economic imperative for developing nations to create a favorable investment climate capable of attracting private foreign investment. It notes that that over the past decades, an abundance of legal standards that establish substantive and procedural protections for legal forms of foreign investments in the host countries have evolved and crystalized. The study then goes on to offer a substantive analysis of legal reforms at the domestic level in countries such as Saudi Arabia before going on to provide an in- depth and substantive examination of the most important instruments developed at the levels of international law: bilateral investment agreements and double taxation agreements. As to its methods, the study draws on case studies and from data assessing the link between double taxation and economic development. Drawing from the extant literature and doctrinal research, and international and comparative jurisprudence, the paper excavates and critically examines contemporary definitions and norms of international investment law, many of which have been given concrete form and specificity in an ever-expanding number of bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. By reconsidering the wider challenges of conflicts of law and jurisdiction, and the competing aims of the modern investment law regime, the study reflects on how bilateral investment treaties might succeed in achieving the dual aims of rights protection and economic sovereignty. Through its examination of the double taxation phenomena, the study goes on to identify key practical challenges raised by the implementation of bilateral treaties whilst also assessing the sufficiency of the domestic and international legal solutions that are proposed in response. In its final analysis, the study aims to contribute to existing scholarship by assessing contemporary legal and economic barriers to the free flow of investment with due regard for the legitimate concerns and diversity of developing nations. It does by situating its analysis of the domestic enforcement of international investment instrument in its wider historical and normative context. By focusing on the economic and legal dimensions of foreign investment, the paper also aims to offer an interdisciplinary and holistic perspective on contemporary issues and developments in investment law while offering practical reform proposals that can be used to be achieve a more equitable balance between the rights and interests of states and private entities in an increasingly trans nationalized sphere of investment regulation and treaty arbitration.

Keywords: foreign investment, bilateral investment treaties, international tax law, double taxation treaties

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Authors: Ilaria Coppola, Davide Lacqua, Nadia Ranìa

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Over the past two decades, migration has gained central importance in the global landscape. Europe hosts the largest number of migrants, totaling 92.9 million people, approximately 37.4 million of whom are regular residents within the European Union's borders. Reception services and different modes of management have received increasing attention precisely because of the complexity of the phenomenon, which necessarily impacts the wider community. Indeed, opening a reception center in an area entails major challenges for that context, for the community that inhabits it, and for the people who use that service. Questioning the strategies needed to offer a functional reception service means listening to the different actors involved who daily face the difficulties involved in working in the field. Recognizing the importance of the professional figures who work closely with migrant people, each with their own specific experiences has led researchers to study and analyze the different types of reception centers and their management. This has led to the development of intervention models and best practices in various countries. However, research from this perspective is still limited, especially in Italy. From this theoretical framework, this study aims to bring out an innovative qualitative tool, such as the world café, the work experiences of 29 social workers working in shelters in the Italian context. Most of the participants were female and lived in the Northwest regions of Italy. Through this tool, the aim was to bring out and share reflections on the critical issues encountered in working in reception centers, with a view to identifying possible solutions for better management of services. The World café represents a tool used in participatory action research that promotes dialogue among participants through the sharing of reflections and ideas. In fact, from critical reflections, participants are invited to identify and share possible solutions to provide a more functional service with benefits to the entire community. Therefore, this research, through the innovative technique of the World café, aims to promote critical thinking processes that can help participants find solutions that can be introduced into their work contexts or proposed to decision-makers. Specifically, the findings shed light on several issues, including complex bureaucratic procedures, insufficient project planning, and inefficiencies in the services provided to migrants. These concerns collectively contribute to what participants perceive as a disorganized and uncoordinated system. In addition, the study explores potential solutions that promote more efficient networking practices, coordinated project management, and a more positive approach to cultural diversity. The main results obtained will be discussed with a focus on critical reflections and possible solutions identified.

Keywords: participatory action research, world café method, reception services, migration contexts, social workers, Italy

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Authors: Fatima Boutaleb

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Entrepreneurship proves to be crucial for the economic growth and development, since it contributes to job creation and the improvement of the overall productivity thus generating a positive impact upon society at various levels. Promoting entrepreneurship stimulates therefore economic diversity that is key to the betterment and/or maintaining of the standard of living. In fact, recent research suggests that entrepreneurship contributes to development by creating businesses and jobs, stimulating innovation, creating social capital across borders, and channeling political and financial capital. However, different research studies indicate that among the main factors impeding the entrepreneurship are politico-economic as socio-cultural problems, with an intensity for those related to young people and to women. In the MENA region, discrimination inherent in gender is alarming: Only one woman in eight runs her own business against 1 in 3 men. In most countries, young women and young men are facing problems involving access to finance, inadequate infrastructure, lack of support and, in general, an ecosystem that is rather unfavorable. According to the International Labor Organization, North Africa and the Middle East has the highest unemployment rate in all other regions of the world. In other hand, nearly a quarter of the population under 30 is unemployed and youth unemployment costs more than $40 billion each year to the region. In the current context, the situations in the Middle East and North Africa region are singular, both in terms of demographic trends and socio-economic issues around the employment of a large and better trained youth, but still strongly affected by unemployment and under-employment. According to a study published in 2015 by McKinsey, the world gain 26% of additional GDP (47% in the MENA region), more than 28 trillion dollars by 2025, if women came to participate, as well as men, to the economy. Promoting entrepreneurship represents an excellent alternative for the countries whose productive fabric fails to integrate the contingent of young people entering the job market each year. The MENA region, presenting entrepreneurial activity rates below those of other regions in terms of comparable development, has undoubtedly leeway at this level, even though the region displays large national heterogeneity, namely in the priority given to the promotion of entrepreneurship. The objective of this article is therefore to examine the women entrepreneurial vocation in the MENA region, to see to what extent research on the determinant of gender can provide information on the trend of the emerging entrepreneurial activity whether driven by necessity or by opportunity and, on this basis, to submit public policy proposals for the improvement of the mechanisms of inclusion among the youth women people. The objective is not to analyze the causality models but rather to identify the entrepreneurial construct specific to the MENA region via the analysis of GEM data from 2017 to 2019 among adults belonging to 10 countries of the MENA region. Notably, the study shows that inclusion of young women may be enhanced. These disadvantaged segments frequently intend to become entrepreneurs, but they tend not to enact their vocational intentions.

Keywords: economic development, entrepreneurial activity, GEM, gender, informal sector

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Authors: Alexander A. Stakheev, Larisa V. Samokhvalova, Sergey K. Zavriev

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Fusarium fungi are among the most devastating plant pathogens distributed all over the world. Significant reduction of grain yield and quality caused by Fusarium leads to multi-billion dollar annual losses to the world agricultural production. These organisms can also cause infections in immunocompromised persons and produce the wide range of mycotoxins, such as trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone, which are hazardous to human and animal health. Identification of Fusarium fungi based on the morphology of spores and spore-forming structures, colony color and appearance on specific culture media is often very complicated due to the high similarity of these features for closely related species. Modern Fusarium taxonomy increasingly uses data of crossing experiments (biological species concept) and genetic polymorphism analysis (phylogenetic species concept). A number of novel Fusarium sibling species has been established using DNA barcoding techniques. Species recognition is best made with the combined phylogeny of intron-rich protein coding genes and ribosomal DNA sequences. However, the internal transcribed spacer of (ITS), which is considered to be universal DNA barcode for Fungi, is not suitable for genus Fusarium, because of its insufficient variability between closely related species and the presence of non-orthologous copies in the genome. Nowadays, the translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF1α) gene is the “gold standard” of Fusarium taxonomy, but the search for novel informative markers is still needed. In this study, we used two novel DNA markers, frataxin (FXN) and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) to discover phylogenetic relationships between Fusarium species. Multilocus phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of TEF1α, FXN, HSP90, as well as intergenic spacer of ribosomal DNA (IGS), beta-tubulin (β-TUB) and phosphate permease (PHO) genes has been conducted for 120 isolates of 19 Fusarium species from different climatic zones of Russia and neighboring countries using maximum likelihood (ML) and maximum parsimony (MP) algorithms. Our analyses revealed that FXN and HSP90 genes could be considered as informative phylogenetic markers, suitable for evolutionary and taxonomic studies of Fusarium genus. It has been shown that PHO gene possesses more variable (22 %) and parsimony informative (19 %) characters than other markers, including TEF1α (12 % and 9 %, correspondingly) when used for elucidating phylogenetic relationships between F. avenaceum and its closest relatives – F. tricinctum, F. acuminatum, F. torulosum. Application of novel DNA barcodes confirmed the fact that F. arthrosporioides do not represent a separate species but only a subspecies of F. avenaceum. Phylogeny based on partial PHO and FXN sequences revealed the presence of separate cluster of four F. avenaceum strains which were closer to F. torulosum than to major F. avenaceum clade. The strain F-846 from Moldova, morphologically identified as F. poae, formed a separate lineage in all the constructed dendrograms, and could potentially be considered as a separate species, but more information is needed to confirm this conclusion. Variable sites in PHO sequences were used for the first-time development of specific qPCR-based diagnostic assays for F. acuminatum and F. torulosum. This work was supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant № 15-29-02527).

Keywords: DNA barcode, fusarium, identification, phylogenetics, taxonomy

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Authors: Seyedeh Nasim Mirbahari, Taha Azad, Mehdi Totonchi

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Oncolytic viruses, which only replicate in tumor cells, are being extensively studied for their use in cancer therapy. A particular virus known as the vaccinia virus, a member of the poxvirus family, has demonstrated oncolytic abilities glioma. Treating Glioma with traditional methods such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy is quite challenging. Even though oncolytic viruses have shown immense potential in cancer treatment, their effectiveness in glioblastoma treatment is still low. Therefore, there is a need to improve and optimize immunotherapies for better results. In this study, we have designed oncoVV-TT, which can more effectively target tumor cells while minimizing replication in normal cells by replacing the thymidine kinase gene with a luc-p2a-GFP gene expression cassette. Human glioblastoma cell line U251 MG, rat glioblastoma cell line C6, and non-tumor cell line HFF were plated at 105 cells in a 12-well plates in 2 mL of DMEM-F2 medium with 10% FBS added to each well. Then incubated at 37°C. After 16 hours, the cells were treated with oncoVV-TT at an MOI of 0.01, 0.1 and left in the incubator for a further 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Viral replication assay, fluorescence imaging and viability tests, including trypan blue and crystal violet, were conducted to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of oncoVV-TT. The finding shows that oncoVV-TT had significantly higher cytotoxic activity and proliferation rates in tumor cells in a dose and time-dependent manner, with the strongest effect observed in U251 MG. To conclude, oncoVV-TT has the potential to be a promising oncolytic virus for cancer treatment, with a more cytotoxic effect in human glioblastoma cells versus rat glioma cells. To assess the effectiveness of vaccinia virus-mediated viral therapy, we have tested U251mg and C6 tumor cell lines taken from human and rat gliomas, respectively. The study evaluated oncoVV-TT's ability to replicate and lyse cells and analyzed the survival rates of the tested cell lines when treated with different doses of oncoVV-TT. Additionally, we compared the sensitivity of human and mouse glioma cell lines to the oncolytic vaccinia virus. All experiments regarding viruses were conducted under biosafety level 2. We engineered a Vaccinia-based oncolytic virus called oncoVV-TT to replicate specifically in tumor cells. To propagate the oncoVV-TT virus, HeLa cells (5 × 104/well) were plated in 24-well plates and incubated overnight to attach to the bottom of the wells. Subsequently, 10 MOI virus was added. After 48 h, cells were harvested by scraping, and viruses were collected by 3 sequential freezing and thawing cycles followed by removal of cell debris by centrifugation (1500 rpm, 5 min). The supernatant was stored at −80 ◦C for the following experiments. To measure the replication of the virus in Hela, cells (5 × 104/well) were plated in 24-well plates and incubated overnight to attach to the bottom of the wells. Subsequently, 5 MOI virus or equal dilution of PBS was added. At the treatment time of 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h, the viral titers were determined under the fluorescence microscope (BZ-X700; Keyence, Osaka, Japan). Fluorescence intensity was quantified using the imagej software according to the manufacturer’s protocol. For the isolation of single-virus clones, HeLa cells seeded in six-well plates (5×105 cells/well). After 24 h (100% confluent), the cells were infected with a 10-fold dilution series of TianTan green fluorescent protein (GFP)virus and incubated for 4 h. To examine the cytotoxic effect of oncoVV-TT virus ofn U251mg and C6 cell, trypan blue and crystal violet assay was used.

Keywords: oncolytic virus, immune therapy, glioma, vaccinia virus

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Authors: S. Lahijanian, M. Mobli, B. Baninasab, N. Etemadi

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Low temperature extremes are amongst the major stresses that adversely affect the plant growth and productivity. Cold stress causes oxidative stress, physiological, morphological and biochemical changes in plant cells. Generally, low temperatures similar to salinity and drought exert their negative effects mainly by disrupting the ionic and osmotic equilibrium of the plant cells. Changes in climatic condition leading to more frequent extreme conditions will require adapted crop species on a larger scale in order to sustain agricultural production. Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees (and a few shrubs) in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of this genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. The eucalyptus genus contains more than 580 species and large number of cultivars, which are native to Australia. Large distribution and diversity of compatible eucalyptus cultivars reflect the fact of ecological flexibility of eucalyptus. Some eucalyptus cultivars can sustain hard environmental conditions like high and low temperature, salinity, high level of PH, drought, chilling and freezing which are intensively effective on crops with tropical and subtropical origin. In this study, we tried to evaluate freezing tolerance of 12 eucalyptus genotypes by means of four different morphological and physiological methods: Chlorophyll fluorescence, electrolyte leakage, proline and stomatal density. The studied cultivars include Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. coccifera, E. darlympleana, E. erythrocorys, E. glaucescens, E. globulus, E. gunnii, E. macrocorpa, E. microtheca, E. rubida, E. tereticornis, and E. urnigera. Except for stomatal density recording, in other methods, plants were exposed to five gradual temperature drops: zero, -5, -10, -15 and -20 degree of centigrade and they remained in these temperatures for at least one hour. Experiment for measuring chlorophyll fluorescence showed that genotypes E. erythrocorys and E. camaldulensis were the most resistant genotypes and E. gunnii and E.coccifera were more sensitive than other genotypes to freezing stress effects. In electrolyte leakage experiment with regard to significant interaction between cultivar and temperature, genotypes E. erythrocorys and E.macrocorpa were shown to be the most tolerant genotypes and E. gunnii, E. urnigera, E. microtheca and E. tereticornis with the more ionic leakage percentage showed to be more sensitive to low temperatures. Results of Proline experiment approved that the most resistant genotype to freezing stress is E. erythrocorys. In the stomatal density experiment, the numbers of stomata under microscopic field were totally counted and the results showed that the E. erythrocorys and E. macrocorpa genotypes had the maximum and E. coccifera and E. darlympleana genotypes had minimum number of stomata under microscopic field (0.0605 mm2). In conclusion, E. erythrocorys identified as the most tolerant genotype; meanwhile E. gunnii classified as the most freezing susceptible genotype in this investigation. Further, remarkable correlation was not obtained between the stomatal density and other cold stress measures.

Keywords: chlorophyll fluorescence, cold stress, ionic leakage, proline, stomatal density

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Authors: Omaima A. Sharaf, Wafaa M. Abd El-Rahim, Hassan Moawad, Michael J. Sadowsky

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Textile industry is one of the important industries in the worldwide. It is known that the eco-friendly industrial and agricultural activities are significant for socio-economic stability of all countries. The absence of appropriate industrial waste water treatments is essential barrier for sustainable development in food and agricultural sectors especially in developing country like Egypt. Thus, the development of enzymatic bioremediation technology for textile dye removal will enhance the collaboration between scientists who develop the technology and industry where this technology will be implemented towards the safe disposal of the textile dye wastes. Highly efficient microorganisms are of most importance in developing and using highly effective biological treatment processes. Bacterial degradation of azo dyes is generally initiated by an enzymatic step that involves cleavage of azo linkages, usually with the aid of an azoreductase as electron donor. Thus, expanding the spectrum of microorganisms with high enzymatic activities as azoreductases and discovering novel azo-dye degrading enzymes, with enhanced stability and superior catalytic properties, are necessary for many environmental and industrial applications. Consequently, the use of molecular tools has become increasingly integrated into the understanding of enzyme properties and characterization. Researchers have utilized a gene cloning and expression methods as a tool to produce recombinant protein for decolorizing dyes more efficiently. Thus, presumptive evidence for the presence of genes encoding azoreductases in the genomes of selected local, and most potent azo-degrading strains were obtained by using specific oligonucleotides primers. These potent strains have been isolated from textile industrial wastewater in Egypt and identified using 16S rRNA sequence analysis as 'Lysinibacillus macrolidesB8, Brevibacillus parabrevisB11, Bacillus coagulansB7, and B. cereusB5'. PCR products of two full length genes designated as (AZO1;621bp and AZO2;534bp) were detected. BLASTx results indicated that AZO1 gene was corresponding to predicted azoreductase from of Bacillus sp. ABP14, complete genome, multispecies azoreductase [Bacillus], It was submitted to the gene bank by an accession no., BankIt2085371 AZO1 MG923210 (621bp; 207 amino acids). AZO1 was generated from the DNA of our identified strains Lysinibacillus macrolidesB8. On the other hand, AZO2 gene was corresponding to a predicted azoreductase from Bacillus cereus strain S2-8. Gene bank accession no. was BankIt2085839 AZO2 MG932081 (534bp;178 amino acids) and it was amplified from our Bacillus coagulansB7. Both genes were successfully cloned into pCR2.1TOPO (Invitrogen) and in pET28b+ vectors, then they transformed into E. coli DH5α and BL21(DE3) cells for heterologous expression studies. Our recombinant azoreductases (AZO1&AZO2) exhibited potential enzyme activity and efficiently decolorized an azo dye (Direct violet). They exhibited pH stability between 6 and 8 with optimum temperature up to 60°C and 37 °C after induction by 1mM and 1.5mM IPTG, for both AZO1 &AZO2, respectively. These results suggested that further optimization and purification of these recombinant proteins by using different heterologous expression systems will give great potential for the sustainable utilization of these recombinant enzymes in several industrial applications especially in wastewater treatments.

Keywords: azoreductases, decolorization, enzyme activity, gene cloning and expression

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Authors: Anush Patric, M. Jadeyegowda, M. N. Ramesh, M. Ravikumar, C. R. Ajay

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Kodagu district which is situated in Central Western Ghats regions falls in one of the hottest of hot spots of biodiversity which is recognised by UNESCO. The district has one of the highest densities of community managed sacred forests in the world with rich floral and faunal diversity. It is a habitat for more than ten different types of Ethnic Indigenous tribal groups commonly called ‘Girijanas’ (Soligas, Yarvas, Jenukuruba, Bettakuruba etc.), who are having the rich knowledge of medicinal value of the plants that are commonly available in the forest. The tribal men of this region are the treasure house of the traditional plant knowledge and health care practices. An ethnobotanical survey was undertaken in tribal areas of the district to collect information about some of the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge of tribal people by semi-structured interviews, ranking exercises and field observations on their native habitat in order to evaluate the potential medicinal uses of local plants. The study revealed that, the ethnobotanical information of 83 plant species belonging to 45 families, of the total 83 species documented, most plants used in the treatment were trees (11 species), shrubs (41 species), herbs (22 species) and rarely climbers (9 species) which are used in the treatment of Hyperacidity, Respiratory disorders, Snake bite Abortifacient, Anthelmintic, Paralysis, Antiseptic, Fever, Chest pain, Stomachic, Jaundice, Piles, Asthma, Malaria, Renal disorders, Malaria and many other diseases. Maximum of 6 plant species each of Acanthaceae, Apiaceae and were used for drug preparation, followed by Asclepiadaceae, Liliaceae, Fabaceae, Verbenaceae, Caesalpinaceae, Bombaceae, Papilonaceae, Solanaceae, Rubiaceae, Myrtaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Ascelepidaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Apocyanaceae, and Solanaceae etc. In our present study, only medicinal plants and their local medicinal uses are recorded and presented. Information was obtained by local informants having the knowledge about medicinal plants. About 23 local tribes were interviewed. For each plant, necessary information like botanical name, family of plant species, local name and uses are given. Recent trend shows a decline in the number of traditional herbal healers in the tribal areas since the younger generation is not interested to continue this tradition. Hence, there is an urgent need to record and preserve all information on plants used by different ethnic/tribal communities for various purposes before it reaches to verge of extinction. In addition, several wild medicinal plants are declining in numbers due to deforestation and forest fires. There is need for phytochemical analysis and conservation measures to be taken for conserving medicinal plant species which is far better than allopathic medicines and these do not cause any side effects as they are the natural disease healers. So, conservation strategies have to be practiced in all levels and sectors by creating awareness about the value of such medicinal plants, and it is necessary to save the disappearing plants to strengthen the document and to conserve them for future generation.

Keywords: diseases, ethnic groups, folk medicine, Kodagu, medicinal plants

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Authors: Ashish Thakur

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This technical paper was written in view of focusing the biomaterials and its various applications in modern industries. Author tires to elaborate not only the medical, infect plenty of application in other industries. The scope of the research area covers the wide range of physical, biological and chemical sciences that underpin the design of biomaterials and the clinical disciplines in which they are used. A biomaterial is now defined as a substance that has been engineered to take a form which, alone or as part of a complex system, is used to direct, by control of interactions with components of living systems, the course of any therapeutic or diagnostic procedure. Biomaterials are invariably in contact with living tissues. Thus, interactions between the surface of a synthetic material and biological environment must be well understood. This paper reviews the benefits and challenges associated with surface modification of the metals in biomedical applications. The paper also elaborates how the surface characteristics of metallic biomaterials, such as surface chemistry, topography, surface charge, and wettability, influence the protein adsorption and subsequent cell behavior in terms of adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation at the biomaterial–tissue interface. The chapter also highlights various techniques required for surface modification and coating of metallic biomaterials, including physicochemical and biochemical surface treatments and calcium phosphate and oxide coatings. In this review, the attention is focused on the biomaterial-associated infections, from which the need for anti-infective biomaterials originates. Biomaterial-associated infections differ markedly for epidemiology, aetiology and severity, depending mainly on the anatomic site, on the time of biomaterial application, and on the depth of the tissues harbouring the prosthesis. Here, the diversity and complexity of the different scenarios where medical devices are currently utilised are explored, providing an overview of the emblematic applicative fields and of the requirements for anti-infective biomaterials. In addition to this, chapter introduces nanomedicine and the use of both natural and synthetic polymeric biomaterials, focuses on specific current polymeric nanomedicine applications and research, and concludes with the challenges of nanomedicine research. Infection is currently regarded as the most severe and devastating complication associated to the use of biomaterials. Osteoporosis is a worldwide disease with a very high prevalence in humans older than 50. The main clinical consequences are bone fractures, which often lead to patient disability or even death. A number of commercial biomaterials are currently used to treat osteoporotic bone fractures, but most of these have not been specifically designed for that purpose. Many drug- or cell-loaded biomaterials have been proposed in research laboratories, but very few have received approval for commercial use. Polymeric nanomaterial-based therapeutics plays a key role in the field of medicine in treatment areas such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Advantages in the use of polymers over other materials for nanomedicine include increased functionality, design flexibility, improved processability, and, in some cases, biocompatibility.

Keywords: nanomedicine, tissue, infections, biomaterials

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Authors: Dmitry Yu. Korulkin, Raissa A. Muzychkina

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Bioactive substances of plant origin can be one of the advanced means of solution to the issue of combined therapy to inflammation. The main advantages of medical plants are softness and width of their therapeutic effect on an organism, the absence of side effects and complications even if the used continuously, high tolerability by patients. Moreover, medial plants are often the only and (or) cost-effective sources of natural biologically active substances and medicines. Along with other biologically active groups of chemical compounds, essential oils with wide range of pharmacological effects became very ingrained in medical practice. Essential oil was obtained by the method hydrodistillation air-dry aerial part of Polygonum L. plants using Clevenger apparatus. Qualitative composition of essential oils was analyzed by chromatography-mass-spectrometry method using Agilent 6890N apparatus. The qualitative analysis is based on the comparison of retention time and full mass-spectra with respective data on components of reference oils and pure compounds, if there were any, and with the data of libraries of mass-spectra Wiley 7th edition and NIST 02. The main components of essential oil are for: Polygonum amphibium L. - γ-terpinene, borneol, piperitol, 1,8-cyneole, α-pinene, linalool, terpinolene and sabinene; Polygonum minus Huds. Fl. Angl. – linalool, terpinolene, camphene, borneol, 1,8-cyneole, α-pinene, 4-terpineol and 1-octen-3-ol; Polygonum alpinum All. – camphene, sabinene, 1-octen-3-ol, 4-carene, p- and o-cymol, γ-terpinene, borneol, -terpineol; Polygonum persicaria L. - α-pinene, sabinene, -terpinene, 4-carene, 1,8-cyneole, borneol, 4-terpineol. Antibacterial activity was researched relating to strains of gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus agalacticae, relating to gram-negative strain Escherichia coli and to yeast fungus Сandida albicans using agar diffusion method. The medicines of comparison were gentamicin for bacteria and nystatin for yeast fungus Сandida albicans. It has been shown that Polygonum L. essential oils has moderate antibacterial effect to gram-positive microorganisms and weak antifungal activity to Candida albicans yeast fungus. At the second stage of our researches wound healing properties of ointment form of 3% essential oil was researched on the model of flat dermal wounds. To assess the influence of essential oil on healing processes the model of flat dermal wound. The speed of wound healing on rats of different groups was judged based on assessment the area of a wound from time to time. During research of wound healing properties disturbance of integral in neither group: general condition and behavior of animals, food intake, and excretion. Wound healing action of 3% ointment on base of Polygonum L. essential oil and polyethyleneglycol is comparable with the action of reference substances. As more favorable healing dynamics was observed in the experimental group than in control group, the tested ointment can be deemed more promising for further detailed study as wound healing means.

Keywords: antibacterial, antifungal, bioactive substances, essential oils, isolation, Polygonum L.

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Authors: Anja I. Petrov, Milica B. Veljković, Marija M. Ćorović, Ana D. Milivojević, Milica B. Simović, Katarina M. Banjanac, Dejan I. Bezbradica

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One of the fundamental requirements for overall human well-being is a stable and balanced microbiome. Aside from the microorganisms that reside within the body, a large number of microorganisms, especially bacteria, swarming the human skin is in homeostasis with the host and represents a skin microbiota. Even though the immune system of the skin is capable of distinguishing between commensal and potentially harmful transient bacteria, the cutaneous microbial balance can be disrupted under certain circumstances. In that case, a reduction in the skin microbiota diversity, as well as changes in metabolic activity, results in dermal infections and inflammation. Probiotics and prebiotics have the potential to play a significant role in the treatment of these skin disorders. The most common resident bacteria found on the skin, Staphylococcus epidermidis, can act as a potential skin probiotic, contributing to the protection of healthy skin from pathogen colonization, such as Staphylococcus aureus, which is related to atopic dermatitis exacerbation. However, as it is difficult to meet regulations in cosmetic products, another therapy approach could be topical prebiotic supplementation of the skin microbiota. In recent research, polyphenols are attracting scientists' interest as biomolecules with possible prebiotic effects on the skin microbiota. This research aimed to determine how herbal extracts rich in different polyphenolic compounds (lemon balm, St. John's wort, coltsfoot, pine needle, and yarrow) affected the growth of S. epidermidis and S. aureus. The first part of the study involved screening plants to determine if they could be regarded as probable candidates to be skin prebiotics. The effect of each plant on bacterial growth was examined by supplementing the nutrient medium with their extracts and comparing it with control samples (without extract). The results obtained after 24 h of incubation showed that all tested extracts influenced the growth of the examined bacteria to some extent. Since lemon balm and St. John's wort extracts displayed bactericidal activity against S. epidermidis, whereas coltsfoot inhibited both bacteria equally, they were not explored further. On the other hand, pine needles and yarrow extract led to an increase in S. epidermidis/S. aureus ratio, making them prospective candidates to be used as skin prebiotics. By examining the prebiotic effect of two extracts at different concentrations, it was revealed that, in the case of yarrow, 0.1% of extract dry matter in the fermentation medium was optimal, while for the pine needle extract, a concentration of 0.05% was preferred, since it selectively stimulated S. epidermidis growth and inhibited S. aureus proliferation. Additionally, the total polyphenols and flavonoid content of the two extracts were determined, revealing different concentrations and polyphenol profiles. Since yarrow and pine extracts affected the growth of skin bacteria in a dose-dependent manner, by carefully selecting the quantities of these extracts, and thus polyphenols content, it is possible to achieve desirable alterations of skin microbiota composition, which may be suitable for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Keywords: herbal extracts, polyphenols, skin microbiota, skin prebiotics

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Authors: Tammy Shel (Aboody)

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The integration of philosophy with ethnography, i.e., ethno-philosophy, or any qualitative method, is multi-dimensional. It is, thus, vital to the discourse on caring in the philosophy of education, and in therapy. These two significant dimensions are focal in this proposal’s discussion. The integration of grounded data with philosophy can shed light on cultural, gender, socio-economic and political diversities in the relationships and interactions between and among individuals and societies. This approach can explain miscommunication and, eventually, violent conflicts. The ethno-philosophy study in this proposal focuses on the term caring, through case studies of 5 non-white male and female elementary school teachers in Los Angeles County. The study examined the teachers’ views on caring and, consequently, the implications on their pedagogy. Subsequently, this method turned out to also be a caring approach in therapy. Ethnographic data was juxtaposed with western philosophy. Research discussion unraveled transformable gaps between western patriarchal and feminist philosophy on caring, and that of the teachers. Multiple interpretations and practices of caring were found due to cultural, gender, and socio-economic-political differences. Likewise, two dominant categories emerged. The first is inclusive caring, which is perceived as an ideal, as the compass of humanity that aims towards emancipation from the shackles of inner and external violence. The second is tribal caring, which illuminates the inherently dialectical substantial diversity in the interpretations and praxes of caring. Such angles are absent or minor in traditional western literature. Both categories teach of the incessant dynamic definition of caring, and its subliminal and repressed mechanisms. The multi-cultural aspects can teach us, however, that despite the inclusive common ground we share on caring, and despite personal and social awareness of cultural and gender differences, the hegemonic ruling-class governs the standardized conventional interpretation of caring. Second is the dimension of therapy in ethno-philosophy. Each patient is like a case study per se, and is a self-ethnographer. Thus, the patient is the self-observer and data collector, and the therapist is the philosopher who helps deconstruct into fragments the consciousness that comprises our well-being and self-esteem and acceptance. Together, they both identify and confront hurdles that hinder the pursuit of a more composed attitude towards ourselves and others. Together, they study and re-organize these fragments into a more comprehensible and composed self-acceptance. Therefore, the ethno-philosophy method, which stems from a caring approach, confronts the internal and external conflicts that govern our relationships with others. It sheds light on the dark and subliminal spots in our minds and hearts that operate us. Unveiling the hidden spots helps identify a shared ground that can supersede miscommunication and conflicts among and between people. The juxtaposition of ethnography with philosophy, as a caring approach in education and therapy, emphasizes that planet earth is like a web. Hence, despite the common mechanism that stimulates a caring approach towards the other, ethno-philosophy can help undermine the ruling patriarchal oppressive forces that define and standardize caring relationships, and to subsequently bridge gaps between people.

Keywords: caring, philosophy of education, ethnography, therapy, research

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Mikyung Bak

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The dokkaebi, a beloved icon of Korean culture, is represented as an elf, goblin, monster, dwarf, or any similar creature in different media, such as animated shows, comics, soap operas, and movies. It is often described as a mythical creature with a horn or horns and long teeth, wearing tiger-skin pants or a grass skirt, and carrying a magic stick. Many Korean researchers agree on the similarity of the image of the Korean dokkaebi with that of the Japanese oni, a view that is regard as negative from an anti-colonial or nationalistic standpoint. They cite such similarity between the two mythical creatures as evidence that Japanese colonialism persists in Korea. The debate on the originality of dokkaebi’s visual representation is an issue that must be addressed urgently. This research demonstrates through a diagram the plurality of interpretations of dokkaebi’s visual representations in what are considered ‘authentic’ images of dokkaebi in Korean art and culture. This diagram presents the opinions of four major groups in the debate, namely, the scholars of Korean literature and folklore, art historians, authors, and artists. It also shows the creation of new dokkaebi visual representations in popular media, including those influenced by the debate. The diagram further proves that dokkaebi’s representations varied, which include the typical persons or invisible characters found in Korean literature, original Korean folk characters in traditional art, and even universal spirit characters. They are also visually represented by completely new creatures as well as oni-based mythical beings and the actual oni itself. The earlier dokkaebi representations were driven by the creation of a national ideology or national cultural paradigm and, thus, were more uniform and protected. In contrast, the more recent representations are influenced by the Korean industrial strategy of ‘cultural economics,’ which is concerned with the international rather than the domestic market. This recent Korean cultural strategy emphasizes diversity and commonality with the global culture rather than originality and locality. It employs traditional cultural resources to construct a global image. Consequently, dokkaebi’s recent representations have become more common and diverse, thereby incorporating even oni’s characteristics. This argument has rendered the grounds of the debate irrelevant. The dokkaebi has been used recently for tourist marketing purposes, particularly in revitalizing interest in regions considered the cradle of various traditional dokkaebi tales. These campaign strategies include the Jeju-do Dokkaebi Park, Koksung Dokkaebi Land, as well as the Taebaek and Sokri-san Dokkaebi Festivals. Almost dokkaebi characters are identical to the Japanese oni in tourist marketing. However, the pursuit for dokkaebi’s authentic visual representation is less interesting and fruitful than the appreciation of the entire spectrum of dokkaebi images that have been created. Thus, scholars and stakeholders must not exclude the possibilities for a variety of potentials within the visual culture. The same sentiment applies to traditional art and craft. This study aims to contribute to a new visualization of the dokkaebi that embraces the possibilities of both folk craft and art, which continue to be uncovered by diverse and careful researchers in a still-developing field.

Keywords: Dokkaebi, post-colonial period, representation, tourist marketing

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Authors: M. Soubadra Devy, Savitha Swamy, Chethana V. Casiker

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Sustainable smart cities are emerging as an important concept in response to the exponential rise in the world’s urbanizing population. While earlier, only technical, economic and governance based solutions were considered, more and more layers are being added in recent times. With the prefix of 'sustainability', solutions which help in judicious use of resources without negatively impacting the environment have become critical. We present a case study of Bangalore city which has transformed from being a garden city and pensioners' paradise to being an IT city with a huge, young population from different regions and diverse cultural backgrounds. This has had a big impact on the green spaces in the city and the biodiversity that they support, as well as on farming/gardening practices. Edible landscapes comprising farms lands, home gardens and neighbourhood parks (NPs henceforth) were examined. The land prices of areas having NPs were higher than those that did not indicate an appreciation of their aesthetic value. NPs were part of old and new residential areas largely managed by the municipality. They comprised manicured gardens which were similar in vegetation structure and composition. Results showed that NPs that occurred in higher density supported reasonable levels of biodiversity. In situations where NPs occurred in lower density, the presence of a larger green space such as a heritage park or botanical garden enhanced the biodiversity of these parks. In contrast, farm lands and home gardens which were common within the city are being lost at an unprecedented scale to developmental projects. However, there is also the emergence of a 'neo-culture' of home-gardening that promotes 'locovory' or consumption of locally grown food as a means to a sustainable living and reduced carbon footprint. This movement overcomes the space constraint by using vertical and terrace gardening techniques. Food that is grown within cities comprises of vegetables and fruits which are largely pollinator dependent. This goes hand in hand with our landscape-level study that has shown that cities support pollinator diversity. Maintaining and improving these man-made ecosystems requires analysing the functioning and characteristics of the existing structures of governance. Social network analysis tool was applied to NPs to examine relationships, between actors and ties. The management structures around NPs, gaps, and means to strengthen the networks from the current state to a near-ideal state were identified for enhanced services. Learnings from NPs were used to build a hypothetical governance structure and functioning of integrated governance of NPs and edible landscapes to enhance ecosystem services such as biodiversity support, food production, and aesthetic value. They also contribute to the sustainability axis of smart cities.

Keywords: biodiversity support, ecosystem services, edible green spaces, neighbourhood parks, sustainable smart city

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Authors: Martina Grdiša, Filip Varga, Nina Jeran, Ante Turudić, Zlatko Šatović

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Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Trevir.) Sch. Bip.) is a plant species that occurs naturally in the eastern Mediterranean. It is of immense economic importance as it synthesizes and accumulates the phytochemical compound pyrethrin. Pyrethrin consists of several monoterpene esters (pyrethrin I and II, cinerin I and II and jasmolin I and II), which have insecticidal and repellent activity through their synergistic action. In this study, 15 natural Dalmatian pyrethrum populations were sampled along their natural range in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to characterize and compare their pyrethrin profiles and to define the bioclimatic factors associated with the accumulation of each pyrethrin compound. Pyrethrins were extracted from the dried flower heads of Dalmatian pyrethrum using ultrasound-assisted extraction and the amount of each compound was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to DAD-UV /VIS. The biochemical data were subjected to analysis of variance, correlation analysis and multivariate analysis. Quantitative variability within and among populations was found, with population P15 Vranjske Njive, Podgorica having the significantly highest pyrethrin I content (66.47% of total pyrethrin content), while the highest levels of total pyrethrin were found in P14 Budva (1.27% of dry flower weight; DW), followed by P08 Korčula (1.15% DW). Based on the environmental conditions at the sampling sites of the populations, five bioclimatic groups were distinguished, referred to as A, B, C, D, and E, each with rare chemical profile. The first group (A) consisted of the northern Adriatic population P01 Vrbnik, Krk and the population P06 Sevid - the coastal population of the central Adriatic, and generally differed significantly from the other bioclimatic groups by higher average jasmolin II values (2.13% of total pyrethrin). The second group (B) consisted of two central Adriatic island populations (P02 Telašćica, Dugi otok and P03 Žman, Dugi otok), while the remaining central Adriatic island populations were grouped in bioclimatic group C, which was characterized by the significantly highest average pyrethrin II (48.52% of total pyrethrin) and cinerin II (5.31% DW) content. The South Adriatic inland populations P10 Srđ and P11 Trebinje (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and the populations from Montenegro (P12 Grahovo, P13 Lovćen, P14 Budva and P15 Vranjske Njive, Podgorica) formed bioclimatic group E. This bioclimatic group was characterized by the highest average values for pyrethrin I (53.07 % of total pyrethrin), total pyrethrin content (1.06 % DW) and the ratio of pyrethrin I and II (1.85). Slightly lower values (although not significant) for the latter traits were detected in bioclimatic group D (southern Adriatic island populations P07 Vis, P08 Korčula and P09 Mljet). A weak but significant correlation was found between the levels of some pyrethrin compounds and bioclimatic variables (e.g., BIO03 Isothermality and BIO04 Temperature Seasonality), which explains part of the variability observed in the populations studied. This suggests the interconnection between bioclimatic variables and biochemical profiles either through the selection of adapted genotypes or through the ability of species to alter the expression of biochemical traits in response to environmental changes.

Keywords: biopesticides, biochemical variability, pyrethrin, Tanacetum cinerariifolium

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Authors: Ehsan K. Hazaveh

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This research project explores creative methods of storytelling through photography to portray a vulnerable and marginalised community: former refugees living in Wellington, New Zealand. The project explores photographic representational techniques that can not only empower and give voice to those communities but also challenge dominant stereotypes about refugees and support humanitarian actions. The aims of this study are to develop insights surrounding issues associated with the photographic representation of refugees and to explore the collaborative construction of possible counter-narratives that might lead to the formulation of a practice framework for representing refugees using photography. In other words, the goal of this study is to explore representational and narrative strategies that frame refugees as active community members and as individuals with specific histories and expertise. These counter-narratives will bring the diversity of refugees to the surface by offering personal stories, contextualising their experience, raising awareness about the plight and human rights of the refugee community in New Zealand, evoking empathy and, therefore, facilitating the process of social change. The study has designed a photographic narrative framework by determining effective methods of photo storytelling, framing, and aesthetic techniques, focusing on different ways of taking, selecting, editing and curating photographs. Photo elicitation interviews have been used to ‘explore’, ‘produce’ and ‘co-curate’ the counter-narrative along with participants. Photo elicitation is a qualitative research method that employs images to evoke data in order to find out how other people experience their world - the researcher shows photographs to the participant and asks open-ended questions to get them to talk about their life experiences and the world around them. The qualitative data have been collected and produced through interactions with four former refugees living in Wellington, New Zealand. In this way, this project offers a unique account of their conditions and basic knowledge about their living experience and their stories. The participants of this study have engaged with PhotoVoice, a photo elicitation methodology that employs photography and storytelling, to share activities, emotions, hopes, and aspects of their lived experiences. PhotoVoice was designed to empower members of marginalised populations. It involves a series of meeting sessions, in which participants share photographs they have taken and discuss stories about the photographs to identify, represent, and enhance the issues important to their lives and communities. Finally, the data provide a basis for systematically producing visual counter-narratives that highlight the experiences of former- refugees. By employing these methods, refugees can represent their world as well as interpret it. The process of developing this research framing has enabled the development of powerful counter-narratives that challenge prevailing stereotypical depictions which in turn have the potential to shape improved humanitarian outcomes, shifts in public attitudes and political perspectives in New Zealand.

Keywords: media, photography, refugees, photo-elicitation, storytelling

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Authors: Ferzat Anka

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Many types of problems can be solved using traditional analytical methods. However, these methods take a long time and cause inefficient use of resources. In particular, different approaches may be required in solving complex and global engineering problems that we frequently encounter in real life. The bigger and more complex a problem, the harder it is to solve. Such problems are called Nondeterministic Polynomial time (NP-hard) in the literature. The main reasons for recommending different metaheuristic algorithms for various problems are the use of simple concepts, the use of simple mathematical equations and structures, the use of non-derivative mechanisms, the avoidance of local optima, and their fast convergence. They are also flexible, as they can be applied to different problems without very specific modifications. Thanks to these features, it can be easily embedded even in many hardware devices. Accordingly, this approach can also be used in trend application areas such as IoT, big data, and parallel structures. Indeed, the metaheuristic approaches are algorithms that return near-optimal results for solving large-scale optimization problems. This study is focused on the new metaheuristic method that has been merged with the chaotic approach. It is based on the chaos theorem and helps relevant algorithms to improve the diversity of the population and fast convergence. This approach is based on Chimp Optimization Algorithm (ChOA), that is a recently introduced metaheuristic algorithm inspired by nature. This algorithm identified four types of chimpanzee groups: attacker, barrier, chaser, and driver, and proposed a suitable mathematical model for them based on the various intelligence and sexual motivations of chimpanzees. However, this algorithm is not more successful in the convergence rate and escaping of the local optimum trap in solving high-dimensional problems. Although it and some of its variants use some strategies to overcome these problems, it is observed that it is not sufficient. Therefore, in this study, a newly expanded variant is described. In the algorithm called Ex-ChOA, hybrid models are proposed for position updates of search agents, and a dynamic switching mechanism is provided for transition phases. This flexible structure solves the slow convergence problem of ChOA and improves its accuracy in multidimensional problems. Therefore, it tries to achieve success in solving global, complex, and constrained problems. The main contribution of this study is 1) It improves the accuracy and solves the slow convergence problem of the ChOA. 2) It proposes new hybrid movement strategy models for position updates of search agents. 3) It provides success in solving global, complex, and constrained problems. 4) It provides a dynamic switching mechanism between phases. The performance of the Ex-ChOA algorithm is analyzed on a total of 8 benchmark functions, as well as a total of 2 classical and constrained engineering problems. The proposed algorithm is compared with the ChoA, and several well-known variants (Weighted-ChoA, Enhanced-ChoA) are used. In addition, an Improved algorithm from the Grey Wolf Optimizer (I-GWO) method is chosen for comparison since the working model is similar. The obtained results depict that the proposed algorithm performs better or equivalently to the compared algorithms.

Keywords: optimization, metaheuristic, chimp optimization algorithm, engineering constrained problems

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Authors: Arifur Rahman, Ardeshir Amirkhani, Honghua Hu, Mark Molloy, Karen Vickery

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Introduction and Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci comprises approximately 65% of infections associated with medical devices and are well known for their biofilm formatting ability. Biofilm-related infections are extremely difficult to eradicate owing to their high tolerance to antibiotics and host immune defences. Currently, there is no efficient method for early biofilm detection. A better understanding to enable detection of biofilm specific proteins in vitro and in vivo can be achieved by studying planktonic and different growth phases of biofilms using a proteome analysis approach. Our goal was to construct a reference map of planktonic and biofilm associated proteins of S. aureus. Methods: S. aureus reference strain (ATCC 25923) was used to grow 24 hours planktonic, 3-day wet biofilm (3DWB), and 12-day wet biofilm (12DWB). Bacteria were grown in tryptic soy broth (TSB) liquid medium. Planktonic growth was used late logarithmic bacteria, and the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) biofilm reactor was used to grow 3 days, and 12-day hydrated biofilms, respectively. Samples were subjected to reduction, alkylation and digestion steps prior to Multiplex labelling using Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) 10-plex reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The labelled samples were pooled and fractionated by high pH RP-HPLC which followed by loading of the fractions on a nanoflow UPLC system (Eksigent UPLC system, AB SCIEX). Mass spectrometry (MS) data were collected on an Orbitrap Elite (Thermo Fisher Scientific) Mass Spectrometer. Protein identification and relative quantitation of protein levels were performed using Proteome Discoverer (version 1.3, Thermo Fisher Scientific). After the extraction of protein ratios with Proteome Discoverer, additional processing, and statistical analysis was done using the TMTPrePro R package. Results and Discussion: The present study showed that a considerable proteomic difference exists among planktonic and biofilms from S. aureus. We identified 1636 total extracellular secreted proteins, of which 350 and 137 proteins of 3DWB and 12DWB showed significant abundance variation from planktonic preparation, respectively. Of these, simultaneous up-regulation in between 3DWB and 12DWB proteins such as extracellular matrix-binding protein ebh, enolase, transketolase, triosephosphate isomerase, chaperonin, peptidase, pyruvate kinase, hydrolase, aminotransferase, ribosomal protein, acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase, DNA gyrase subunit A, glycine glycyltransferase and others we found in this biofilm producer. On the contrary, simultaneous down-regulation in between 3DWB and 12DWB proteins such as alpha and delta-hemolysin, lipoteichoic acid synthase, enterotoxin I, serine protease, lipase, clumping factor B, regulatory protein Spx, phosphoglucomutase, and others also we found in this biofilm producer. In addition, we also identified a big percentage of hypothetical proteins including unique proteins. Therefore, a comprehensive knowledge of planktonic and biofilm associated proteins identified by S. aureus will provide a basis for future studies on the development of vaccines and diagnostic biomarkers. Conclusions: In this study, we constructed an initial reference map of planktonic and various growth phase of biofilm associated proteins which might be helpful to diagnose biofilm associated infections.

Keywords: bacterial biofilms, CDC bioreactor, S. aureus, mass spectrometry, TMT

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Authors: Lilah Inzelberg, David Rand, Stanislav Steinberg, Moshe David Pur, Yael Hanein

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Human facial expressions carry important psychological and neurological information. Facial expressions involve the co-activation of diverse muscles. They depend strongly on personal affective interpretation and on social context and vary between spontaneous and voluntary activations. Smiling, as a special case, is among the most complex facial emotional expressions, involving no fewer than 7 different unilateral muscles. Despite their ubiquitous nature, smiles remain an elusive and debated topic. Smiles are associated with happiness and greeting on one hand and anger or disgust-masking on the other. Accordingly, while high-resolution recording of muscle activation patterns, in a non-interfering setting, offers exciting opportunities, it remains an unmet challenge, as contemporary surface facial electromyography (EMG) methodologies are cumbersome, restricted to the laboratory settings, and are limited in time and resolution. Here we present a wearable and non-invasive method for objective mapping of facial muscle activation and demonstrate its application in a natural setting. The technology is based on a recently developed dry and soft electrode array, specially designed for surface facial EMG technique. Eighteen healthy volunteers (31.58 ± 3.41 years, 13 females), participated in the study. Surface EMG arrays were adhered to participant left and right cheeks. Participants were instructed to imitate three facial expressions: closing the eyes, wrinkling the nose and smiling voluntary and to watch a funny video while their EMG signal is recorded. We focused on muscles associated with 'enjoyment', 'social' and 'masked' smiles; three categories with distinct social meanings. We developed a customized independent component analysis algorithm to construct the desired facial musculature mapping. First, identification of the Orbicularis oculi and the Levator labii superioris muscles was demonstrated from voluntary expressions. Second, recordings of voluntary and spontaneous smiles were used to locate the Zygomaticus major muscle activated in Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles. Finally, recording with a wireless device in an unmodified natural work setting revealed expressions of neutral, positive and negative emotions in face-to-face interaction. The algorithm outlined here identifies the activation sources in a subject-specific manner, insensitive to electrode placement and anatomical diversity. Our high-resolution and cross-talk free mapping performances, along with excellent user convenience, open new opportunities for affective processing and objective evaluation of facial expressivity, objective psychological and neurological assessment as well as gaming, virtual reality, bio-feedback and brain-machine interface applications.

Keywords: affective expressions, affective processing, facial EMG, high-resolution electromyography, independent component analysis, wireless electrodes

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Authors: Vikas Kumar, Kailash Chandra, Kaomud Tyagi

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The insect order Thysanoptera includes small insects commonly called thrips. As insect vectors, only thrips are capable of Tospoviruses transmission (genus Tospovirus, family Bunyaviridae) affecting various crops. Currently, fifteen species of subfamily Thripinae (Thripidae) have been reported as vectors for tospoviruses. Frankliniella schultzei, which is reported as act as a vector for at least five tospovirses, have been suspected to be a species complex with more than one species. It is one of the historical unresolved issues where, two species namely, F. schultzei Trybom and F. sulphurea Schmutz were erected from South Africa and Srilanaka respectively. These two species were considered to be valid until 1968 when sulphurea was treated as colour morph (pale form) and synonymised under schultzei (dark form) However, these two have been considered as valid species by some of the thrips workers. Parallel studies have indicated that brown form of schultzei is a vector for tospoviruses while yellow form is a non-vector. However, recent studies have shown that yellow populations have also been documented as vectors. In view of all these facts, it is highly important to have a clear understanding whether these colour forms represent true species or merely different populations with different vector carrying capacities and whether there is some hidden diversity in 'Frankliniella schultzei species complex'. In this study, we aim to study the 'Frankliniella schultzei species complex' with molecular spectacles with DNA data from India and Australia and Africa. A total of fifty-five specimens was collected from diverse locations in India and Australia. We generated molecular data using partial fragments of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene (mtCOI) and 28S rRNA gene. For COI dataset, there were seventy-four sequences, out of which data on fifty-five was generated in the current study and others were retrieved from NCBI. All the four different tree construction methods: neighbor-joining, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analysis, yielded the same tree topology and produced five cryptic species with high genetic divergence. For, rDNA, there were forty-five sequences, out of which data on thirty-nine was generated in the current study and others were retrieved from NCBI. The four tree building methods yielded four cryptic species with high bootstrap support value/posterior probability. Here we could not retrieve one cryptic species from South Africa as we could not generate data on rDNA from South Africa and sequence for rDNA from African region were not available in the database. The results of multiple species delimitation methods (barcode index numbers, automatic barcode gap discovery, general mixed Yule-coalescent, and Poisson-tree-processes) also supported the phylogenetic data and produced 5 and 4 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) for mtCOI and 28S dataset respectively. These results of our study indicate the likelihood that F. sulphurea may be a valid species, however, more morphological and molecular data is required on specimens from type localities of these two species and comparison with type specimens.

Keywords: DNA barcoding, species complex, thrips, species delimitation

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Authors: F. Pedro, S. Dias, A. Tadeu, J. António, Ó. López, A. Coelho

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Railway transportation is considered the most economical and sustainable way to travel. However, future mobility brings important challenges to railway operators. The main target is to develop solutions that stimulate sustainable mobility. The research and innovation goals for this domain are efficient solutions, ensuring an increased level of safety and reliability, improved resource efficiency, high availability of the means (train), and satisfied passengers with the travel comfort level. These requirements are in line with the European Strategic Agenda for the 2020 rail sector, promoted by the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC). All these aspects involve redesigning current equipment and, in particular, the interior of the carriages. Recent studies have shown that two of the most important requirements for passengers are reasonable ticket prices and comfortable interiors. Passengers tend to use their travel time to rest or to work, so train interiors and their systems need to incorporate features that meet these requirements. Among the various systems that integrate train interiors, the flooring system is one of the systems with the greatest impact on passenger safety and comfort. It is also one of the systems that takes more time to install on the train, and which contributes seriously to the weight (mass) of all interior systems. Additionally, it presents a strong impact on manufacturing costs. The design of railway floor, in the development phase, is usually made relying on a design software that allows to draw and calculate several solutions in a short period of time. After obtaining the best solution, considering the goals previously defined, experimental data is always necessary and required. This experimental phase has such great significance, that its outcome can provoke the revision of the designed solution. This paper presents the methodology and some of the results of an experimental characterisation of composite panels for railway application. The mechanical tests were made for unaged specimens and for specimens that suffered some type of aging, i.e. heat, cold and humidity cycles or freezing/thawing cycles. These conditionings aim to simulate not only the time effect, but also the impact of severe environmental conditions. Both full solutions and separated components/materials were tested. For the full solution, (panel) these were: four-point bending tests, tensile shear strength, tensile strength perpendicular to the plane, determination of the spreading of water, and impact tests. For individual characterisation of the components, more specifically for the covering, the following tests were made: determination of the tensile stress-strain properties, determination of flexibility, determination of tear strength, peel test, tensile shear strength test, adhesion resistance test and dimensional stability. The main conclusions were that experimental characterisation brings a huge contribution to understand the behaviour of the materials both individually and assembled. This knowledge contributes to the increase the quality and improvements of premium solutions. This research work was framed within the POCI-01-0247-FEDER-003474 (coMMUTe) Project funded by Portugal 2020 through the COMPETE 2020.

Keywords: durability, experimental characterization, mechanical tests, railway flooring system

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Authors: Indra Bahadur Chand

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This paper will focus on the need for development and application of global protocols and policy in planning, designing, development, and management of systems of eco-towns and eco-villages so that sustainable development will be assured from the perspective of environmental, economical, peace, and harmonized social dynamics. This perspective is essential for the development of civilized and eco-friendly human settlements in the town and rural areas of the nation that will be a milestone for developing a happy and sustainable lifestyle of rural and urban communities of the nation. The urban population of most of the town of developing economies has been tremendously increasing, whereas rural people have been tremendously migrating for the past three decades. Consequently, the urban lifestyle in most towns has stressed in terms of environmental pollution, water crisis, congested traffic, energy crisis, food crisis, and unemployment. Eco-towns and villages should be developed where lifestyle of all residents is sustainable and happy. Built up environment of settlement should reduce and minimize the problems of non ecological CO2 emissions, unbalanced utilization of natural resources, environmental degradation, natural calamities, ecological imbalance, energy crisis, water scarcity, waste management, food crisis, unemployment, deterioration of cultural heritage, social, the ratio among the public and private land ownership, ratio of land covered with vegetation and area of settlement, the ratio of people in the vehicles and foot, the ratio of people employed outside of town and village, ratio of resources recycling of waste materials, water consumption level, the ratio of people and vehicles, ratio of the length of the road network and area of town/villages, a ratio of renewable energy consumption with total energy, a ratio of religious/recreational area out of the total built-up area, the ratio of annual suicide case out of total people, a ratio of annual injured and death out of total people from a traffic accident, a ratio of production of agro foods within town out of total food consumption will be used to assist in designing and monitoring of each eco-towns and villages. An eco-town and villages should be planned and developed to offer sustainable infrastructure and utilities that maintain CO2 level in individual homes and settlements, home energy use, transport, food and consumer goods, water supply, waste management, conservation of historical heritages, healthy neighborhood, conservation of natural landscape, conserving bio-diversity and developing green infrastructures. Eco-towns and villages should be developed on the basis of master planning and architecture that affect and define the settlement and its form. Master planning and engineering should focus in delivering the sustainability criteria of eco towns and eco village. This will involve working with specific landscape and natural resources of locality.

Keywords: eco-town, ecological habitation, master plan, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Frederick Gooding

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This paper explores how many Hip Hop artists have intentionally and strategically invoked sustainability principles of people, planet and profits as a means to create community, compensate for and cope with structural inequalities in society. These themes not only create community within one's country, but the powerful display and demonstration of these narratives create community on a global plane. Listeners of Hip Hop are therefore able to learn about the political events occurring in another country free of censure, and establish solidarity worldwide. Hip Hop therefore can be an ingenious tool to create self-worth, recycle positive imagery, and serve as a defense mechanism from institutional and structural forces that conspire to make an upward economic and social trajectory difficult, if not impossible for many people of color, all across the world. Although the birthplace of Hip Hop, the United States of America, is still predominately White, it has undoubtedly grown more diverse at a breath-­taking pace in recent decades. Yet, whether American mainstream media will fully reflect America’s newfound diversity remains to be seen. As it stands, American mainstream media is seen and enjoyed by diverse audiences not just in America, but all over the world. Thus, it is imperative that further inquiry is conducted about one of the fastest growing genres within one of the world’s largest and most influential media industries generating upwards of $10 billion annually. More importantly, hip hop, its music and associated culture collectively represent a shared social experience of significant value. They are important tools used both to inform and influence economic, social and political identity. Conversely, principles of American exceptionalism often prioritize American political issues over those of others, thereby rendering a myopic political view within the mainstream. This paper will therefore engage in an international contextualization of the global phenomena entitled Hip Hop by exploring the creative genius and marketing appeal of Hip Hop within the global context of information technology, political expression and social change in addition to taking a critical look at historically racialized imagery within mainstream media. Many artists the world over have been able to freely express themselves and connect with broader communities outside of their own borders, all through the sound practice of the craft of Hip Hop. An empirical understanding of political, social and economic forces within the United States will serve as a bridge for identifying and analyzing transnational themes of commonality for typically marginalized or disaffected communities facing similar struggles for survival and respect. The sharing of commonalities of marginalized cultures not only serves as a source of education outside of typically myopic, mainstream sources, but it also creates transnational bonds globally to the extent that practicing artists resonate with many of the original themes of (now mostly underground) Hip Hop as with many of the African American artists responsible for creating and fostering Hip Hop's powerful outlet of expression. Hip Hop's power of connectivity and culture-sharing transnationally across borders provides a key source of education to be taken seriously by academics.

Keywords: culture, education, global, hip hop, mainstream music, transnational

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Liou Shyhnan, Chia Han Yang

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The study aims to investigate the promotion of innovation in the development of cultural and creative industries (CCI) and apply research on culture and creativity to this promotion. Using the research perspectives of culture and creativity as the starting points, this study has examined the challenges, trends, and opportunities that have emerged from the development of the CCI until the present. It is found that a definite context of cause and effect exist between them, and that a homologous theoretical basis can be used to understand and interpret them. Based on the characteristics of the aforementioned challenges and trends, this study has compiled two main theoretical systems for conducting research on culture and creativity: (i) reciprocal process between creativity and culture, and (ii) a mechanism for innovation involving multicultural convergence. Both theoretical systems were then used as the foundation to arrive at possible research propositions relating to the two developmental systems. This was respectively done through identification of the theoretical context through a literature review, and interviews and observations of actual case studies within Taiwan’s CCI. In so doing, the critical factors that can address the aforementioned challenges and trends were discovered. Our results indicated that, for reciprocal process between creativity and culture, we recognize that culture serves as creative resources in cultural and creative industries. According to shared consensus, culture provides symbolic meanings and emotional attachment for products and experiences offered by CCI. Besides, different cultures vary in their effects on creativity processes and standards, thus engendering distinctive preferences for and evaluations of the creative expressions and experiences of CCIs. In addition, we identify that creativity serves as the engine for driving the continuation and rebirth of cultures. Accounting for the core of culture, the employment of technology, design, and business facilitates the transformation and innovation mechanism for promoting culture continuity. In addition, with cultural centered, the digital technology, design thinking, and business model are critical constitutes of the innovation mechanism to promote the cultural continuity. Regarding cultural preservation and regeneration of local spaces and folk customs, we argue that the preservation and regeneration of local spaces and cultural cultures must embody the interactive experiences of present-day life. And cultural space and folk custom would regenerate with interact and experience in modern life. Regarding innovation mechanism for multicultural convergence, we propose that innovative stakeholders from different disciplines (e.g., creators, designers, engineers, and marketers) in CCIs rely on the establishment of a cocreation mechanism to promote interdisciplinary interaction. Furthermore, CCI development needs to develop a cocreation mechanism for enhancing the interdisciplinary collaboration among CCI innovation stakeholders. We further argue multicultural mixing would enhance innovation in developing CCI, and assuming an open and mutually enlightening attitude to enrich one another’s cultures in the multicultural exchanges under globalization will create diversity in homogenous CCIs. Finally, for promoting innovation in developing cultural and creative industries, we further propose a model for joint knowledge creation that can be established for enhancing the mutual reinforcement of theoretical and practical research on culture and creativity.

Keywords: culture and creativity, innovation, cultural and creative industries, cultural mixing

Procedia PDF Downloads 297