Search results for: activity coefficient

Authors: Ageliki I. Katsarou, Andriana C. Kaliora, Antonia Chiou, Apostolos Papalois, Nick Kalogeropoulos, Nikolaos K. Andrikopoulos

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Oxidative stress is a major mechanism underlying CVDs while inflammation, an intertwined process with oxidative stress, is also linked to CVDs. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is widely known to play a pivotal role in CVD prevention and CVD reduction. However, in most studies, olive oil constituents are evaluated individually and not as part of the native food, hence potential synergistic effects as drivers of EVOO beneficial properties may be underestimated. In this study, EVOO lipidic and polar phenolics fractions were evaluated for their effect on inflammatory (TNF-alpha) and oxidation (malondialdehyde/MDA) markers, in cholesterol-fed rats. Thereat, oils with discernible lipidic profile and polar phenolic content were used. Wistar rats were fed on either a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) or a HCD supplemented with oils, either commercially available, i.e. EVOO, sunflower oil (SO), or modified as to their polar phenol content, i.e. phenolics deprived-EVOO (EVOOd), SO enriched with the EVOO phenolics (SOe). After 9 weeks of dietary intervention, heart and blood samples were collected. HCD induced dylipidemia shown by increase in serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and triacylglycerols. Heart tissue has been affected by dyslipidemia; oxidation was indicated by increase in MDA in cholesterol-fed rats and inflammation by increase in TNF-alpha. In both cases, this augmentation was attenuated in EVOO and SOe diets. With respect to oxidation, SO enrichment with the EVOO phenolics brought its lipid peroxidation levels as low as in EVOO-fed rats. This suggests that phenolic compounds may act as antioxidant agents in rat heart. A possible mechanism underlying this activity may be the protective effect of phenolics in mitochondrial membrane against oxidative damage. This was further supported by EVOO/EVOOd comparison with the former presenting lower heart MDA content. As for heart inflammation, phenolics naturally present in EVOO as well as phenolics chemically added in SO, exhibited quenching abilities in heart TNF-alpha levels of cholesterol-fed rats. TNF-alpha may have played a causative role in oxidative stress induction while the opposite may have also happened, hence setting up a vicious cycle. Overall, diet supplementation with EVOO or SOe attenuated hypercholesterolemia-induced increase in MDA and TNF-alpha in Wistar rat hearts. This is attributed to phenolic compounds either naturally existing in olive oil or as fortificants in seed oil.

Keywords: extra virgin olive oil, hypercholesterolemic rats, MDA, polar phenolics, TNF-alpha

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Authors: Taba Tath

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the easternmost part of India, is known for its natural beauty and diverse tribal lifestyles. The state has the highest species richness and biological diversity among Northeast states in terms of flora, fauna, and tribal traditions and culture. The protection of nature and culture is a practice that is widely used by governments or nongovernmental organizations seeking to preserve the scenic beauty of landscapes and their natural resources in spaces that stand out for their natural and cultural value and have not been heavily impacted by human activity. The whole of Arunachal Pradesh comes under the purview of special permits such as the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) for domestic and foreign travellers, respectively. Due to politically vibrant areas and naturally fragile in nature, the state needs to be protected, but at the same time, the demand for tourism activities is increasing gradually due to its unique blend of nature and socio-cultural richness. There are 13 protected areas in the state which is unexplored, and there are no tourism activities in these protected areas except for Namdapha National Park. Out of 13 protected areas, the Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the well-managed protected areas located near the Assam-Arunachal border, approximately 40km away from Tezpur town, Assam. The state has great potential for wildlife and nature-based tourism development, which can also indirectly support wildlife and nature-based livelihood options for the local inhabitants living in the peripheral of the sanctuary area due to its high richness in terms of flora and fauna. To promote the richness of the state, boost tourism, and the economic, social and environmental development of the area and local communities, a proper tourism management practice and framework are very much required. The research paper has made an attempt to study the role of stakeholders in preserving and promoting the Protected Areas for tourism development in a sustainable way. This is both a primary and secondary study conducted with field visits, interaction, questionnaire and observation with the various stakeholders and also conducted with the Government reports, magazines and other published sources available. Furthermore, this study will be relevant to all stakeholders for having knowledge and processes for promoting tourism in Protected Areas in a sustainable way. The results will provide relevant information and process for the management and promotion of the protected Areas and to strengthen the sustainable tourism activities in these areas.

Keywords: protected area, inner line permit, protected area permit, management, government, nongovernmental organization, stakeholders, sustainable, natural resources

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Authors: Nicole Virgili, Marco Utili

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The design of the Breeding Blanket in Tokamak fusion energy systems has to guarantee sufficient availability in addition to its functions, that are, tritium breeding self-sufficiency, power extraction and shielding (the magnets and the VV). All these function in the presence of extremely harsh operating conditions in terms of heat flux and neutron dose as well as chemical environment of the coolant and breeder that challenge structural materials (structural resistance and corrosion resistance). The movement and activation of fluids from the BB to the Ex-vessel components in a fusion power plant have an important radiological consideration because flowing material can carry radioactivity to safety-critical areas. This includes gamma-ray emission from activated fluid and activated corrosion products, and secondary activation resulting from neutron emission, with implication for the safety of maintenance personnel and damage to electrical and electronic equipment. In addition to the PbLi breeder activation, it is important to evaluate the contribution due to the activated corrosion products (ACPs) dissolved in the lead-lithium eutectic alloy, at different concentration levels. Therefore, the purpose of the study project is to evaluate the PbLi activity utilizing the FISPACT II inventory code. Emphasis is given on how the design of the EU-DEMO WCLL, and potential recycling of the breeder material will be impacted by the activation of PbLi and the associated active corrosion products (ACPs). For this scope the following Computational Tools, Data and Geometry have been considered: • Neutron source: EU-DEMO neutron flux < 1014/cm2/s • Neutron flux distribution in equatorial breeding blanket module (BBM) #13 in the WCLL BB outboard central zone, which is the most activated zone, with the aim to introduce a conservative component utilizing MNCP6. • The recommended geometry model: 2017 EU DEMO CAD model. • Blanket Module Material Specifications (Composition) • Activation calculations for different ACP concentration levels in the PbLi breeder, with a given chemistry in stationary equilibrium conditions, using FISPACT II code. Results suggest that there should be a waiting time of about 10 years from the shut-down (SD) to be able to safely manipulate the PbLi for recycling operations with simple shielding requirements. The dose rate is mainly given by the PbLi and the ACP concentration (x1 or x 100) does not shift the result. In conclusion, the results show that there is no impact on PbLi activation due to ACPs levels.

Keywords: activation, corrosion products, recycling, WCLL BB., PbLi

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Authors: Jan Schmitt, Sophie Fischer

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After the Corona pandemic, climate change is a further, long-lasting challenge the society must deal with. An ongoing climate change need to be prevented. Nevertheless, the adoption tothe already changed climate conditionshas to be focused in many sectors. Recently, the decisive role of the economic sector with high value added can be seen in the Corona crisis. Hence, manufacturing industry as such a sector, needs to be prepared for climate change and adaption. Several examples from the manufacturing industry show the importance of a strategic effort in this field: The outsourcing of a major parts of the value chain to suppliers in other countries and optimizing procurement logistics in a time-, storage- and cost-efficient manner within a network of global value creation, can lead vulnerable impacts due to climate-related disruptions. E.g. the total damage costs after the 2011 flood disaster in Thailand, including costs for delivery failures, were estimated at 45 billion US dollars worldwide. German car manufacturers were also affected by supply bottlenecks andhave close its plant in Thailand for a short time. Another OEM must reduce the production output. In this contribution, a game-based learning approach is presented, which should enable manufacturing companies to derive their own strategies for climate adaption out of a mix of different actions. Based on data from a regional study of small, medium and large manufacturing companies in Mainfranken, a strongly industrialized region of northern Bavaria (Germany) the game-based learning approach is designed. Out of this, the actual state of efforts due to climate adaption is evaluated. First, the results are used to collect single actions for manufacturing companies and second, further actions can be identified. Then, a variety of climate adaption activities can be clustered according to the scope of activity of the company. The combination of different actions e.g. the renewal of the building envelope with regard to thermal insulation, its benefits and drawbacks leads to a specific strategy for climate adaption for each company. Within the game-based approach, the players take on different roles in a fictionalcompany and discuss the order and the characteristics of each action taken into their climate adaption strategy. Different indicators such as economic, ecologic and stakeholder satisfaction compare the success of the respective measures in a competitive format with other virtual companies deriving their own strategy. A "play through" climate change scenarios with targeted adaptation actions illustrate the impact of different actions and their combination onthefictional company.

Keywords: business strategy, climate change, climate adaption, game-based learning

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Authors: Sina Abadzadesahraei, Stephen Déry, John Rex

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Climate research has repeatedly identified strong associations between anthropogenic emissions of ‘greenhouses gases’ and observed increases of global mean surface air temperature over the past century. Studies have also demonstrated that the degree of warming varies regionally. Canada is not exempt from this situation, and evidence is mounting that climate change is beginning to cause diverse impacts in both environmental and socio-economic spheres of interest. For example, northeastern British Columbia (BC), whose climate is controlled by a combination of maritime, continental and arctic influences, is warming at a greater rate than the remainder of the province. There are indications that these changing conditions are already leading to shifting patterns in the region’s hydrological cycle, and thus its available water resources. Coincident with these changes, northeastern BC is undergoing rapid development for oil and gas extraction: This depends largely on subsurface hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’), which uses enormous amounts of freshwater. While this industrial activity has made substantial contributions to regional and provincial economies, it is important to ensure that sufficient and sustainable water supplies are available for all those dependent on the resource, including ecological systems. In this turn demands a comprehensive understanding of how water in all its forms interacts with landscapes, the atmosphere, and of the potential impacts of changing climatic conditions on these processes. The aim of this study is therefore to characterize and quantify all components of the water budget in the small watershed of Coles Lake (141.8 km², 100 km north of Fort Nelson, BC), through a combination of field observations and numerical modelling. Baseline information will aid the assessment of the sustainability of current and future plans for freshwater extraction by the oil and gas industry, and will help to maintain the precarious balance between economic and environmental well-being. This project is a perfect example of interdisciplinary research, in that it not only examines the hydrology of the region but also investigates how natural gas operations and growth can affect water resources. Therefore, a fruitful collaboration between academia, government and industry has been established to fulfill the objectives of this research in a meaningful manner. This project aims to provide numerous benefits to BC communities. Further, the outcome and detailed information of this research can be a huge asset to researchers examining the effect of climate change on water resources worldwide.

Keywords: northeastern British Columbia, water resources, climate change, oil and gas extraction

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Authors: Claudia Cabezas-Zabala, Jairo Lindarte-Artunduaga, Carlos Mario Zuluaga-Dominguez

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Amaranth is an emerging pseudocereal rich in such essential nutrients as protein and dietary fiber, which was employed as an ingredient in the formulation of crackers to evaluate the rheological performance and sensory acceptability of the obtained food. A completely randomized factorial design was used with two factors: (A) ratio of wheat and amaranth flour used in the preparation of the dough, in proportion 90:10 and 80:20 (% w/w) and (B) two levels of inulin addition of 8.4% and 16.7 %, having two control doughs made from amaranth and wheat flour, respectively. Initially, the functional properties of the formulations mentioned were measured, showing no significant differences in the water absorption capacity (WAC) and swelling power (SP), having mean values between 1.66 and 1.81 g/g for WAC and between 1.75 and 1.86 g/g for SP, respectively. The amaranth flour had the highest water holding capacity (WHR) of 8.41 ± 0.15 g/g and emulsifying activity (EA) of 74.63 ± 1.89 g/g. Moreover, the rheological behavior, measured through the use of farinograph, extensograph, Mixolab, and falling index, showed that the formulation containing 20% of amaranth flour and 7.16% of inulin had a rheological behavior similar to the control produced exclusively with wheat flour, being the former, the one selected for the preparation of crackers. For this formulation, the farinograph showed a mixing tolerance index of 11 UB, indicating a strong and cohesive dough; likewise, the Mixolab showed dough reaches stability at 6.47 min, indicating a good resistance to mixing. On the other hand, the extensograph exhibited a dough resistance of 637 UB, as well as extensibility of 13.4 mm, which corresponds to a strong dough capable of resisting the laminate. Finally, the falling index was 318 s, which indicates the crumb will retain enough air to enhance the crispness of a characteristic cracker. Finally, a sensory consumer test did not show significant differences in the evaluation of aroma between the control and the selected formulation, while this latter had a significantly lower rating in flavor. However, a purchase intention of 70 % was observed among the population surveyed. The results obtained in this work give perspectives for the industrial use of amaranth in baked goods. Additionally, amaranth has been a product typically linked to indigenous populations in the Andean South American countries; therefore, the search for diversification and alternatives of use for this pseudocereal has an impact on the social and economic conditions of such communities. The technological versatility and nutritional quality of amaranth is an advantage for consumers, favoring the consumption of healthy products with important contributions of dietary fiber and protein.

Keywords: amaranth, crackers, rheology, pseudocereals, kneaded products

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Authors: Veruska C. Dutra, Lucio F.M. Adorno, Mary L. G. S. Senna

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Since it recognized the importance of planning sustainable tourism, which has been discussed effective methods of monitoring tourist. In this sense, the indicators, can transmit a set of information about complex processes, events or trends, showing up as an important monitoring tool and aid in the environmental assessment, helping to identify the progress of it and to chart future actions, contributing, so for decision making. The World Tourism Organization - WTO recognizes the importance of indicators to appraise the tourism activity in the point of view of sustainability, launching in 1995 eleven Keys Indicators of Sustainable Tourism to assist in the monitoring of tourist destinations. So we propose a case study to examine the applicability or otherwise of a monitoring methodology and aid in the understanding of tourism sustainability, analyzing the effectiveness of local indicators on the approach defined by the WTO. The study was applied to the Lagoa da Confusão City, in the state of Tocantins - North Brazil. The case study was carried out in 2006/2007, with the guiding deductive method. The indicators were measured by specific methodologies adapted to the study site, so that could generate quantitative results which could be analyzed at the proposed scale WTO (0 to 10 points). Applied indicators: Attractive Protection – AP (level of a natural and cultural attractive protection), Sociocultural Impact–SI (level of socio-cultural impacts), Waste Management - WM (level of management of solid waste generated), Planning Process-PP (trip planning level) Tourist Satisfaction-TS (satisfaction of the tourist experience), Community Satisfaction-CS (satisfaction of the local community with the development of local tourism) and Tourism Contribution to the Local Economy-TCLE (tourist level of contribution to the local economy). The city of Lagoa da Confusão was presented as an important object of study for the methodology in question, as offered condition to analyze the indicators and the complexities that arose during the research. The data collected can help discussions on the sustainability of tourism in the destination. The indicators TS, CS, WM , PP and AP appeared as satisfactory as allowed the measurement "translating" the reality under study, unlike TCLE and the SI indicators that were not seen as reliable and clear and should be reviewed and discussed for an adaptation and replication of the same. The application and study of various indicators of sustainable tourism, give better able to analyze the local tourism situation than monitor only one of the indicators, it does not demonstrate all collected data, which could result in a superficial analysis of the tourist destination.

Keywords: indicators, Lagoa da Confusão, Tocantins, Brazil, monitoring, sustainability

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Authors: Yousif M. Makeen

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This research will address the processes of geochemical characterization and hydrocarbon generation process occurring within hydrocarbon source and/or reservoir rocks. The geochemical characterization includes organic-inorganic associations that influence the storage capacity of unconventional hydrocarbon resources (e.g. shale gas) and the migration process of oil/gas of the petroleum source/reservoir rocks. Kerogen i.e. the precursor of petroleum, occurs in various forms and types, may either be oil-prone, gas-prone, or both. China has a number of petroleum-bearing sedimentary basins commonly associated with shale gas, oil sands, and oil shale. Taken Sichuan basin as a selected basin in this study, the Sichuan basin has recorded notable successful discoveries of shale gas especially in the marine shale reservoirs within the area. However, a notable discoveries of lacustrine shale in the North-Este Fuling area indicate the accumulation of shale gas within non-marine source rock. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hydrocarbon storage capacity, generation, and retention processes in the rock matrix of hydrocarbon source/reservoir rocks within the Sichuan basin using an advanced X-ray tomography 3D imaging computational technology, commonly referred to as Micro-CT, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), optical microscope as well as organic geochemical facilities (e.g. vitrinite reflectance and UV light). The preliminary results of this study show that the lacustrine shales under investigation are acting as both source and reservoir rocks, which are characterized by very fine grains and very low permeability and porosity. Three pore structures have also been characterized in the study in the lacustrine shales, including organic matter pores, interparticle pores and intraparticle pores using x-ray Computed Tomography (CT). The benefits of this study would be a more successful oil and gas exploration and higher recovery factor, thus having a direct economic impact on China and the surrounding region. Methodologies: SRA TOC/TPH or Rock-Eval technique will be used to determine the source rock richness (S1 and S2) and Tmax. TOC analysis will be carried out using a multi N/C 3100 analyzer. The SRA and TOC results were used in calculating other parameters such as hydrogen index (HI) and production index (PI). This analysis will indicate the quantity of the organic matter. Minimum TOC limits generally accepted as essential for a source-rock are 0.5% for shales and 0.2% for carbonates. Contributions: This research could solve issues related to oil potential, provide targets, and serve as a pathfinder to future exploration activity in the Sichuan basin.

Keywords: shale gas, unconventional resources, organic chemistry, Sichuan basin

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Authors: Andrey Davydov, Konstantin Sveshnikov, Yulia Voronina

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There is now a lot of interest to the non-perturbative QED-effects, caused by diving of discrete levels into the negative continuum in the supercritical static or adiabatically slowly varying Coulomb fields, that are created by the localized extended sources with Z > Z_cr. Such effects have attracted a considerable amount of theoretical and experimental activity, since in 3+1 QED for Z > Z_cr,1 ≈ 170 a non-perturbative reconstruction of the vacuum state is predicted, which should be accompanied by a number of nontrivial effects, including the vacuum positron emission. Similar in essence effects should be expected also in both 2+1 D (planar graphene-based hetero-structures) and 1+1 D (one-dimensional ‘hydrogen ion’). This report is devoted to the study of such essentially non-perturbative vacuum effects for the supercritical Dirac-Coulomb systems in 1+1D and 2+1D, with the main attention drawn to the vacuum polarization energy. Although the most of works considers the vacuum charge density as the main polarization observable, vacuum energy turns out to be not less informative and in many respects complementary to the vacuum density. Moreover, the main non-perturbative effects, which appear in vacuum polarization for supercritical fields due to the levels diving into the lower continuum, show up in the behavior of vacuum energy even more clear, demonstrating explicitly their possible role in the supercritical region. Both in 1+1D and 2+1D, we explore firstly the renormalized vacuum density in the supercritical region using the Wichmann-Kroll method. Thereafter, taking into account the results for the vacuum density, we formulate the renormalization procedure for the vacuum energy. To evaluate the latter explicitly, an original technique, based on a special combination of analytical methods, computer algebra tools and numerical calculations, is applied. It is shown that, for a wide range of the external source parameters (the charge Z and size R), in the supercritical region the renormalized vacuum energy could significantly deviate from the perturbative quadratic growth up to pronouncedly decreasing behavior with jumps by (-2 x mc^2), which occur each time, when the next discrete level dives into the negative continuum. In the considered range of variation of Z and R, the vacuum energy behaves like ~ -Z^2/R in 1+1D and ~ -Z^3/R in 2+1D, exceeding deeply negative values. Such behavior confirms the assumption of the neutral vacuum transmutation into the charged one, and thereby of the spontaneous positron emission, accompanying the emergence of the next vacuum shell due to the total charge conservation. To the end, we also note that the methods, developed for the vacuum energy evaluation in 2+1 D, with minimal complements could be carried over to the three-dimensional case, where the vacuum energy is expected to be ~ -Z^4/R and so could be competitive with the classical electrostatic energy of the Coulomb source.

Keywords: non-perturbative QED-effects, one- and two-dimensional Dirac-Coulomb systems, supercritical fields, vacuum polarization

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Authors: Joel Thomas, Alexa Squirini

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The key argument of this research is that every element of systems interoperability is an enabler of regional disaster resilience, and arguably should become a focal point for standardized measurement of communities’ ability to work together. Few resilience research efforts have focused on the development and application of solutions that measurably improve communities’ ability to work together at a regional level, yet a majority of the most devastating and disruptive disasters are those that have had a regional impact. The key findings of the research include a unique theoretical, mathematical, and operational approach to tangibly and defensibly measure and assess systems interoperability required to support crisis information management activities performed by governments, the private sector, and humanitarian organizations. A most effective way for communities to measurably improve regional disaster resilience is through deliberately executed disaster preparedness activities. Developing interoperable crisis information management capabilities is a crosscutting preparedness activity that greatly affects a community’s readiness and ability to work together in times of crisis. Thus, improving communities’ human and technical posture to work together in advance of a crisis, with the ultimate goal of enabling information sharing to support coordination and the careful management of available resources, is a primary means by which communities may improve regional disaster resilience. This model describes how systems interoperability can be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed when characterized as five forms of capital: governance; standard operating procedures; technology; training and exercises; and usage. The unique measurement framework presented defines the relationships between systems interoperability, information sharing and safeguarding, operational coordination, community preparedness and regional disaster resilience, and offers a means by which to implement real-world solutions and measure progress over the course of a multi-year program. The model is being developed and piloted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Advanced Regional Civil Emergency Coordination Pilot (ARCECP) with twenty-three organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. The intended effect of the model implementation is to enable communities to answer two key questions: 'Have we measurably improved crisis information management capabilities as a result of this effort?' and, 'As a result, are we more resilient?'

Keywords: disaster, interoperability, measurement, resilience

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Authors: Mikhail O. Eremin

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Seismic activity around the world is clearly a threat to people's lives, as well as infrastructure and capital construction. It is the instability of the latter to powerful earthquakes that most often causes human casualties. Therefore, during construction it is necessary to take into account the risks of large-scale natural disasters. The task of assessing the risks of natural disasters is one of the most urgent at the present time. The final goal of any study of earthquakes is forecasting. This is especially important for seismically active regions of the planet where earthquakes occur frequently. Gorni Altai is one of such regions. In work, we developed the physical-mathematical model of stress-strain state evolution of loaded geomedium with the purpose of numerical simulation of seismic process accompanying the formation of Chuya-Kuray fault zone Gorni Altay, Russia. We build a structural model on the base of seismotectonic and paleoseismogeological investigations, as well as SRTM-data. Base of mathematical model is the system of equations of solid mechanics which includes the fundamental conservation laws and constitutive equations for elastic (Hooke's law) and inelastic deformation (modified model of Drucker-Prager-Nikolaevskii). An initial stress state of the model correspond to gravitational. Then we simulate an activation of a buried dextral strike-slip paleo-fault located in the basement of the model. We obtain the stages of formation and the structure of Chuya-Kuray fault zone. It is shown that results of numerical simulation are in good agreement with field observations in statistical sense. Simulated seismic process is strongly bound to the faults - lineaments with high degree of inelastic strain localization. Fault zone represents en-echelon system of dextral strike-slips according to the Riedel model. The system of surface lineaments is represented with R-, R'-shear bands, X- and Y-shears, T-fractures. Simulated seismic process obeys the laws of Gutenberg-Richter and Omori. Thus, the model describes a self-similar character of deformation and fracture of rocks and geomedia. We also modified the algorithm of determination of separate slip events in the model due to the features of strain rates dependence vs time.

Keywords: Drucker-Prager model, fault zone, numerical simulation, Riedel bands, seismic process, strike-slip fault

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Authors: Yu Zhang, Mingxue Lang, Li Dong

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The hundreds of years of slow succession of living environment in rural area is a crucial carrier of China’s long history of culture and national wisdom. In recent years, the space evolution of traditional rural settlements has been promoted by the intervention of tourism development, among which the public architecture and outdoor activity areas together served as the major places for villagers, and tourists’ social activities are an important characterization for settlement spatial evolution. Traditional public space upgrade and layout study of new public space can effectively promote the tourism industry development of traditional rural settlements. This article takes Qi County, one China Traditional Culture Village as the exemplification and uses the technology of Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Space Syntax, studies the evolution features of public space of tourism-oriented traditional rural settlements in four steps. First, acquire the 2003 and 2016 image data of Qi County, using the remote sensing application EDRAS8.6. Second, vectorize the basic maps of Qi County including its land use map with the application of ArcGIS 9.3 meanwhile, associating with architectural and site information concluded from field research. Third, analyze the accessibility and connectivity of the inner space of settlements using space syntax; run cross-correlation with the public space data of 2003 and 2016. Finally, summarize the evolution law of the public space of settlements; study the upgrade pattern of traditional public space and location plan for new public space. Major findings of this paper including: first, location layout of traditional public space has a larger association with the calculation results of space syntax and further confirmed the objective value of space syntax in expressing the space and social relations. Second, the intervention of tourism development generates remarkable impact on public space location of tradition rural settlements. Third, traditional public space produces the symbols of both strengthening and decline and forms a diversified upgrade pattern for the purpose of meeting the different tourism functional needs. Finally, space syntax provides an objective basis for location plan of new public space that meets the needs of tourism service. Tourism development has a significant impact on the evolution of public space of traditional rural settlements. Two types of public space, architecture, and site are both with changes seen from the perspective of quantity, location, dimension and function after the intervention of tourism development. Function upgrade of traditional public space and scientific layout of new public space are two important ways in achieving the goal of sustainable development of tourism-oriented traditional rural settlements.

Keywords: public space evolution, Qi county, space syntax, tourism oriented, traditional rural settlements

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili

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Introduction: The paper assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises in Georgia, identifies their problems, and analyzes the state economic policy measures. During the pandemic, entrepreneurs named the imposition of restrictions, access to financial resources, shortage of qualified personnel, high tax rates, unhealthy competition in the market, etc. as the main challenges. The Georgian government has had to take special measures to mitigate the crisis impact caused by the pandemic. For example - in 2020, they mobilized more than 1,6 billion Gel for various eventsto support entrepreneurs. Small and medium-sized entrepreneurship development strategy is presented based on the research; Corresponding conclusions are made, and recommendations are developed. Objectives: The object of research is small and medium-sized enterprises and economic-political decisions aimed at their promotion.Methodology: This paper uses general and specific methods, in particular, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, scientific abstraction, comparative and statistical methods, as well as experts’ evaluation. In-depth interviews with experts were conducted to determine quantitative and qualitative indicators; Publications of the National Statistics Office of Georgia are used to determine the regularity between analytical and statistical estimations. Also, theoretical and applied research of international organizations and scientist-economists are used. Contributions: The COVID-19pandemic has had a significant impact on small and medium-sized enterprises. For them, Lockdown is a major challenge. Total sales volume decreased. At the same time, the innovative capabilities of enterprises and the volume of sales in remote channels have increased. As for the assessment of state support measures by small and medium-sizedentrepreneurs, despite the existence of support programs, a large number of entrepreneurs still do not evaluate the measures taken by the state positively. Among the desirable measures to be taken by the state, which would improve the activities of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, who negatively or largely negatively assessed the activity of the state, named: tax incentives/exemption from certain taxes at the initial stage; Need for periodic trainings/organization of digital technologies, marketing training courses to improve the qualification of employees; Logic and adequacy of criteria when awarding grants and funding; Facilitating the finding of investors; Less bureaucracy, etc.

Keywords: small and medium enterprises, small and medium entrepreneurship, economic policy for small and medium entrepreneurship development, government regulations in Georgia, COVID-19 pandemic

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Authors: S. Sakhri

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Background: The use of Zoledronic acid (ZA) is an established place in the treatment of malignant tumors with a predilection for the skeleton of interest (in particular metastasis). Although the main target of Zoledronic acid was osteoclasts, there are preclinical data suggest that Zoledronic acid may have an antitumor effect on cells other than osteoclasts, including tumor cells. Antitumor activity, including the inhibition of tumor cell growth and the induction of apoptosis of tumor cells, inhibition of tumor cell adhesion and invasion, and anti-angiogenic effects have been demonstrated. Methods. From (2012 to 2014), 438 patients were included respondents the inclusion criteria, respectively. This is a prospective study over a 4 year period. Of all patients (N=438), 432 received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with Zoledronic acid. The primary end point was the pathologic complete response in advancer breast cancer stage. The secondary end point is to evaluate Clinical response according to RECIST criteria; estimate the bone density before and at the end of chemotherapy in women with locally advanced breast cancer, Toxicity Evaluation and Overall survival using Kaplan-Meier and log test. Result: The Objective response rate was 97% after (C4) with 3% stabilizations and 99, 3% of which 0.7% C8 after stabilization. The clinical complete response was 28% after C4 respectively, and 46.8% after C8, the pathologic complete response rate was 40.13% according to the classification Sataloff. We observed that the pathologic complete response rate was the most raised in the group including Her2 (luminal Her2 and Her2) the lowest in the triple negative group as classified by Sataloff. We found that the pCR is significantly higher in the age group (35-50 years) with 53.17%. Those who have more than 50 years in 2nd place with 27.7% and the lower in young woman 35 years pCR was 19%, not statistically significant, -The pCR was also in favor of the menopausal group in 51, 4%, and 48, 55% for non-menopausal women. The average duration of overall survival was also significantly in the subgroup (Luminal -Her2, Her2) compared with triple negative. It is 47.18 months in the luminal group vs. 38.95 in the triple negative group. -Was observed in our study a difference in quality of life between (C1) was the admission of the patient, and after (C8), we found an increase in general signs and a deterioration in the psychological state C1, in contrast to the C8 these general signs and mental status improves, up to 12, and 24 months. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the addition of ZA to néoadjuvant CT has potential anti-cancer benefit in patients (Luminal -Her2, Her2) compared with triple negative with or without menopause status.

Keywords: HER2+, RH+, breast cancer, tyrosine kinase

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Authors: Juan Li, Hui Tian, Min Wang

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In China, under the considerable pressure of 'Gaokao' –the highly competitive college entrance examination, high school teachers and parents often worry that doing physical activity would take away the students’ precious study time and may have a negative impact on the academic grades. There was a tendency to achieve high academic scores at the cost of physical exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the physical fitness and academic achievement of Chinese high school students. The participants were 968 grade one (N=457) and grade two students (N=511) with an average age of 16 years from three high schools of different levels in Beijing, China. 479 were boys, and 489 were girls. One of the schools is a top high school in China, another is a key high school in Beijing, and the other is an ordinary high school. All analyses were weighted using SAS 9.4 to ensure the representatives of the sample. The weights were based on 12 strata of schools, sex, and grades. Physical fitness data were collected using the scores of the National Physical Fitness Test, which is an annual official test administered by the Ministry of Education in China. It includes 50m run, sits and reach test, standing long jump, 1000m run (for boys), 800m run (for girls), pull-ups for 1 minute (for boys), and bent-knee sit-ups for 1 minute (for girls). The test is an overall evaluation of the students’ physical health on the major indexes of strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory function. Academic scores were obtained from the three schools with the students’ consent. The statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS 24. Independent-Samples T-test was used to examine the gender group differences. Spearman’s Rho bivariate correlation was adopted to test for associations between physical test results and academic performance. Statistical significance was set at p<.05. The study found that girls obtained higher fitness scores than boys (p=.000). The girls’ physical fitness test scores were positively associated with the total academic grades (rs=.103, p=.029), English (rs=.096, p=.042), physics (rs=.202, p=.000) and chemistry scores (rs=.131, p=.009). No significant relationship was observed in boys. Cardiorespiratory fitness had a positive association with physics (rs=.196, p=.000) and biology scores (rs=.168, p=.023) in girls, and with English score in boys (rs=.104, p=.029). A possible explanation for the greater association between physical fitness and academic achievement in girls rather than boys was that girls showed stronger motivation in achieving high scores in whether academic tests or fitness tests. More driven by the test results, girls probably tended to invest more time and energy in training for the fitness test. Higher fitness levels were associated with an academic benefit among girls generally in Chinese high schools. Therefore, physical fitness needs to be given greater emphasis among Chinese adolescents and gender differences need to be taken into consideration.

Keywords: physical fitness; adolescents; academic achievement; high school

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Authors: F. Varga, Z. Liber, J. Jakše, A. Turudić, Z. Šatović, I. Radosavljević, N. Jeran, M. Grdiša

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Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium (Trevir.) Sch. Bip.; Asteraceae), a source of the commercially dominant plant insecticide pyrethrin, is a species endemic to the eastern Adriatic. Genetic diversity of T. cinerariifolium was previously studied using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. However, microsatellite markers (single sequence repeats - SSRs) are more informative because they are codominant, highly polymorphic, locus-specific, and more reproducible, and thus are most often used to assess the genetic diversity of plant species. Dalmatian pyrethrum is an outcrossing diploid (2n = 18) whose large genome size and high repeatability have prevented the success of the traditional approach to SSR markers development. The advent of next-generation sequencing combined with the specifically developed method recently enabled the development of, to the author's best knowledge, the first set of SSRs for genomic characterization of Dalmatian pyrethrum, which is essential from the perspective of plant genetic resources conservation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the developed SSR markers in genetic differentiation of Dalmatian pyrethrum populations, a preliminary genetic diversity study was conducted on 30 individuals from three geographically distinct natural populations in Croatia (northern Adriatic island of Mali Lošinj, southern Adriatic island of Čiovo, and Mount Biokovo) based on 12 SSR loci. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) by randomization test with 10,000 permutations was performed in Arlequin 3.5. The average number of alleles per locus, observed and expected heterozygosity, probability of deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and inbreeding coefficient was calculated using GENEPOP 4.4. Genetic distance based on the proportion of common alleles (DPSA) was calculated using MICROSAT. Cluster analysis using the neighbor-joining method with 1,000 bootstraps was performed with PHYLIP to generate a dendrogram. The results of the AMOVA analysis showed that the total SSR diversity was 23% within and 77% between the three populations. A slight deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed in the Mali Lošinj population. Allele richness ranged from 2.92 to 3.92, with the highest number of private alleles observed in the Mali Lošinj population (17). The average observed DPSA between 30 individuals was 0.557. The highest DPSA (0.875) was observed between several pairs of Dalmatian pyrethrum individuals from the Mali Lošinj and Mt. Biokovo populations, and the lowest between two individuals from the Čiovo population. Neighbor-joining trees, based on DPSA, grouped individuals into clusters according to their population affiliation. The separation of Mt. Biokovo clade was supported (bootstrap value 58%), which is consistent with the previous study on AFLP markers, where isolated populations from Mt. Biokovo differed from the rest of the populations. The developed SSR markers are an effective tool for assessing the genetic diversity and structure of natural Dalmatian pyrethrum populations. These preliminary results are encouraging for a future comprehensive study with a larger sample size across the species' range. Combined with the biochemical data, these highly informative markers could help identify potential genotypes of interest for future development of breeding lines and cultivars that are both resistant to environmental stress and high in pyrethrins. Acknowledgment: This work has been supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project ‘Genetic background of Dalmatian pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium /Trevir./ Sch. Bip.) insecticidal potential’- (PyrDiv) (IP-06-2016-9034) and by project KK.01.1.1.01.0005, Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding, at the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding (CoE CroP-BioDiv), Zagreb, Croatia.

Keywords: Asteraceae, genetic diversity, genomic SSRs, NGS, pyrethrum, Tanacetum cinerariifolium

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Authors: Jamshid Hussain, Kuen Song Lin

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Over one thousand tons of pig hair biowaste (PHB) are produced yearly in Taiwan. The improper disposal of PHB can have a negative impact on the environment, consequently contributing to the spread of diseases. The treatment of PHB has become a major environmental and economic challenge. Innovative treatments must be developed because of the heavy metal and sulfur content of PHB. Like most organic materials, PHB is composed of many organic volatiles that contain large amounts of hydrogen. Hydrogen gas can be effectively produced by the catalytic gasification of PHB using a laboratory-scale fixed-bed gasifier, employing 15 wt% NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst at 753–913 K. The derived kinetic parameters were obtained and refined using simulation calculations. FE–SEM microphotograph showed that NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst particles are Spherical or irregularly shaped with diameters of 10–20 nm. HR–TEM represented that the fresh Ni particles were evenly dispersed and uniform in the microstructure of Al₂O₃ support. The sizes of the NiO nanoparticles were vital in determining catalyst activity. As displayed in the pre-edge XANES spectra of the NiO/Al₂O₃ catalysts, it exhibited a non-intensive absorbance nature for the 1s to 3d transition, which is prohibited by the selection rule for an ideal octahedral symmetry. Similarly, the populace of Ni(II) and Ni(0) onto Al₂O₃ supports are proportional to the strength of the 1s to 4pxy transition, respectively. The weak shoulder at 8329–8334 eV and a strong character at 8345–8353 eV were ascribed to the 1s to 4pxy shift, which suggested the presence of NiO types onto Al₂O₃ support in PHB catalytic gasification. As determined by the XANES analyses, Ni(II)→Ni(0) reduction was mostly observed. The oxidation of PHB onto the NiO/Al₂O₃ surface may have resulted in Ni(0) and the formation of tar during the gasification process. The EXAFS spectra revealed that the Ni atoms with Ni–Ni/Ni–O bonds were found. The Ni–O bonding proved that the produced syngas were unable to reduce NiO to Ni(0) completely. The weakness of the Ni–Ni bonds may have been caused by the highly dispersed Ni in the Al₂O₃ support. The central Ni atoms have Ni–O (2.01 Å) and Ni–Ni (2.34 Å) bond distances in the fresh NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The PHB was converted into hydrogen-rich syngas (CO + H₂, >89.8% dry basis). When PHB (250 kg h−1) was catalytically gasified at 753–913 K, syngas was produced at approximately 5.45 × 105 kcal h−1 of heat recovery with 76.5%–83.5% cold gas efficiency. The simulation of the pilot-scale PHB catalytic gasification demonstrated that the system could provide hydrogen (purity > 99.99%) and generate electricity for an internal combustion engine of 100 kW and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) of 175 kW. A projected payback for a PHB catalytic gasification plant with a capacity of 10- or 20-TPD (ton per day) was around 3.2 or 2.5 years, respectively.

Keywords: pig hair biowaste, catalytic gasification, hydrogen production, PEMFC, resource recovery

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Authors: S. Sansone-Casaburi

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The pandemic that the world is going through is causing important changes in the daily life of all cities, which can translate into opportunities to rearrange pending situations. Among others: the town-city relationship and sustainability. On the one hand, the city continues to be the center of attention, and the countryside is assumed as the supplier of food. However, the temporary closure of cities highlighted the importance of the rural environment, and many people are reassessing this context as an alternative for life. Furthermore, the countryside is not simply the home and the center of activity of the people who inhabit it, but rather constitutes the active group of all citizens, both rural and urban. On the other hand, the pandemic is the opportunity to meet sustainable development goals. Sustainable development is understood as the capital to be transferred to future generations made up of three types of wealth: natural capital (environment), human capital (people, relationships, culture), and artificial or built capital, made up of buildings and infrastructure, or by cities and towns. The 'new normal' can mean going back to the countryside, but not to a merely agricultural place but to a sustainable, affordable, and healthy place, which, with the appropriate infrastructures, allows work from a distance, a new post-COVID-19 modality. The contribution of the research is towards the recovery of traditional villages from the perspective of populations that have managed to maintain their vitality with innovative solutions. It is assumed that innovation is a path for the recovery of traditional villages, so we ask: what conditions are necessary for innovation to be successful and sustainable? In the research, several variables were found, among which culture is named, so the objective of this article is to understand Uruena, a town in the province of Valladolid, which with only 182 inhabitants houses five museums and twelve bookstores that make up the first Villa del Libro in Spain. The methodology used is mixed: inductive and deductive and the results were specified in determining the formula of innovative peoples in culture: PIc = Pt + C [E (Aec) + S (pp) + A (T + s + t + enc)]. Where the innovative villages in culture PIc are the result of traditional villages Pt that from a cultural innovation C, integrates into the economic, economic and cultural activities E (Aec); in the social sphere, the public and private actors S (pp); and in the environmental (A), Territory (T), services (s), technology (t) and natural and built spaces (enc). The results of this analysis will focus on determining what makes the structure of innovative peoples sustainable and understanding what variables make up that structure to verify if they can be applied in other contexts and repower abandoned places to provide a solution for people who migrate to this context. That is, learn from what has been done to replicate it in similar cases.

Keywords: culture as innovation, depopulation, sustainability, traditional villages

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Authors: Gaweł Magdalena, Lipkowska Anna, Olbert Magdalena, Frąckiewicz Ewelina, Librowski Tadeusz, Nowak Gabriel, Pilc Andrzej

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Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), also known as heat shock protein 32 (HSP32), has been shown to be implicated in cytoprotection in various organs. Its activation plays a significant role in acute and chronic inflammation, protecting cells from oxidative injury and apoptosis. This inducible isoform of HO catalyzes the first and rate-limiting step in heme degradation to produce equimolar quantities of biologically active products: carbon monoxide (CO), free iron and biliverdin. CO has been reported to possess anti-apoptotic properties. Moreover, it inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines and stimulates the synthesis of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 (IL-10), as well as promotes vasodilatation at sites of inflammation. The second product of catalytic HO-1 activity, free cytotoxic iron, is promptly sequestered into the iron storage protein ferritin, which lowers the pro-oxidant state of the cell. The third product, biliverdin, is subsequently converted by biliverdin reductase into the bile pigment bilirubin, the most potent endogenous antioxidant among the constituents of human serum, which modulates immune effector functions and suppresses inflammatory response. Furthermore, being one of the so-called stress proteins, HO-1 adaptively responds to different stressors, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammatory cytokines and heavy metals and thus protects cells against such conditions as ischemia, hemorrhagic shock, heat shock or hypoxia. It is suggested that pharmacologic modulation of HO-1 may represent an effective strategy for prevention of stress and drug-induced gastrointestinal toxicity. HO-1 is constitutively expressed in normal gastric, intestinal and colonic mucosa and up-regulated during inflammation. It has been proven that HO-1 up-regulated by hemin, heme and cobalt-protoporphyrin ameliorates experimental colitis. In addition, the up-regulation of HO-1 partially explains the mechanism of action of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), which is used clinically as an anti-colitis agent. In 2009 Ueda et al. has reported for the first time that mucosal protection by Polaprezinc, a chelate compound of zinc and L-carnosine used as an anti-ulcer drug in Japan, is also attributed to induction of HO-1 in the stomach. Since then, inducers of HO-1 are desired subject of research, as they may constitute therapeutically effective anti-ulcer drugs.

Keywords: heme oxygenase-1, gastric lesions, gastroprotection, Polaprezinc

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Authors: Pongthep Bunrueng

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This action research accentuates the outcome of a development in English pronunciation, using principles of phonetics for English major students at Loei Rajabhat University. The research is split into 5 separate modules: 1) Organs of Speech and How to Produce Sounds, 2) Monopthongs, 3) Diphthongs, 4) Consonant sounds, and 5) Suprasegmental Features. Each module followed a 4 step action research process, 1) Planning, 2) Acting, 3) Observing, and 4) Reflecting. The research targeted 2nd year students who were majoring in English Education at Loei Rajabhat University during the academic year of 2011. A mixed methodology employing both quantitative and qualitative research was used, which put theory into action, taking segmental features up to suprasegmental features. Multiple tools were employed which included the following documents: pre-test and post-test papers, evaluation and assessment papers, group work assessment forms, a presentation grading form, an observation of participants form and a participant self-reflection form. All 5 modules for the target group showed that results from the post-tests were higher than those of the pre-tests, with 0.01 statistical significance. All target groups attained results ranging from low to moderate and from moderate to high performance. The participants who attained low to moderate results had to re-sit the second round. During the first development stage, participants attended classes with group participation, in which they addressed planning through mutual co-operation and sharing of responsibility. Analytic induction of strong points for this operation illustrated that learner cognition, comprehension, application, and group practices were all present whereas the participants with weak results could be attributed to biological differences, differences in life and learning, or individual differences in responsiveness and self-discipline. Participants who were required to be re-treated in Spiral 2 received the same treatment again. Results of tests from the 5 modules after the 2nd treatment were that the participants attained higher scores than those attained in the pre-test. Their assessment and development stages also showed improved results. They showed greater confidence at participating in activities, produced higher quality work, and correctly followed instructions for each activity. Analytic induction of strong and weak points for this operation remains the same as for Spiral 1, though there were improvements to problems which existed prior to undertaking the second treatment.

Keywords: action research, English pronunciation, phonetics, segmental features, suprasegmental features

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Authors: Dorit Alt, Nirit Raichel

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Although university teaching is claimed to have a special task to support students in adopting ways of thinking and producing new knowledge anchored in scientific inquiry practices, it is argued that students' habits of learning are still overwhelmingly skewed toward passive acquisition of knowledge from authority sources rather than from collaborative inquiry activities.This form of instruction is criticized for encouraging students to acquire inert knowledge that can be used in instructional settings at best, however cannot be transferred into real-life complex problem settings. In order to overcome this critical inadequacy between current educational goals and instructional methods, the LLAF consortium (including 16 members from 8 countries) is aimed at developing updated instructional practices that put a premium on adaptability to the emerging requirements of present society. LLAF has created a practical guide for teachers containing updated pedagogical strategies and assessment tools, based on the constructivist approach for learning that put a premium on adaptability to the emerging requirements of present society. This presentation will be limited to teachers' education only and to the contribution of the project in providing a scale designed to measure the extent to which the constructivist activities are efficiently applied in the learning environment. A mix-method approach was implemented in two phases to construct the scale: The first phase included a qualitative content analysis involving both deductive and inductive category applications of students' observations. The results foregrounded eight categories: knowledge construction, authenticity, multiple perspectives, prior knowledge, in-depth learning, teacher- student interaction, social interaction and cooperative dialogue. The students' descriptions of their classes were formulated as 36 items. The second phase employed structural equation modeling (SEM). The scale was submitted to 597 undergraduate students. The goodness of fit of the data to the structural model yielded sufficient fit results. This research elaborates the body of literature by adding a category of in-depth learning which emerged from the content analysis. Moreover, the theoretical category of social activity has been extended to include two distinctive factors: cooperative dialogue and social interaction. Implications of these findings for the LLAF project are discussed.

Keywords: constructivist learning, higher education, mix-methodology, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Piya Roychoudhury, Ruma Pal

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Cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue green algae were found to be an effective bioreagent for nanoparticle synthesis. Nowadays silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are very popular due to their antimicrobial and anti-proliferative activity. To exploit these characters in different biotechnological fields, it is very essential to synthesize more stable, non-toxic nano-silver. For this reason silver-gold alloy (Ag-AuNPs) nanoparticles are of great interest as they are more stable, harder and more effective than single metal nanoparticles. In the present communication we described a simple technique for rapid synthesis of biocompatible AgNP and Ag-AuNP employing cyanobacteria, Leptolyngbya and Lyngbya respectively. For synthesis of AgNP the biomass of Leptolyngbya valderiana (200 mg Fresh weight) was exposed to 9 mM AgNO3 solution (pH 4). For synthesis of Ag-AuNP Lyngbya majuscula (200 mg Fresh weight) was exposed to equimolar solution of hydrogen tetra-auro chlorate and silver nitrate (1mM, pH 4). After 72 hrs of exposure thallus of Leptolyngyba turned brown in color and filaments of Lyngbya turned pink in color that indicated synthesis of nanoparticles. The produced particles were extracted from the cyanobacterial biomass using nano-capping agent, sodium citrate. Firstly, extracted brown and pink suspensions were taken for Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis to confirm the presence of silver in brown suspension and presence of both gold and silver in pink suspension. Extracted nanoparticles showed a distinct single plasmon band (AgNP at 411 nm; Ag-Au NP at 481 nm) in Uv-vis spectroscopy. It was revealed from Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that all the synthesized particles were spherical in nature with a size range of ~2-25 nm. In X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis four intense peaks appeared at 38.2°, 44.5°, 64.8°and 77.8° which confirmed the crystallographic nature of synthesized particles. Presence of different functional groups viz. N-H, C=C, C–O, C=O on the surface of nanoparticles were recorded by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) images showed the surface topography of metal treated filaments of cyanobacteria. The stability of the particles was observed by Zeta potential study. Antibiotic property of synthesized particles was tested by Agar well diffusion method against gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Overall, this green-technique requires low energy, less manufacturing cost and produces rapidly eco-friendly metal nanoparticles.

Keywords: cyanobacteria, silver nanoparticles, silver-gold alloy nanoparticles, spectroscopy

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Authors: Noor Hasmini Abd Ghani

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Brand resonance is among of new focused strategy that getting more attention in nowadays by larger companies for their long-term market survival. The brand resonance emphasizing of two main characteristics that are intensity and activity able to generate psychology bond and enduring relationship between a brand and consumer. This strong attachment relationship has represented brand resonance with the concept of consumer brand relationship (CBR) that exhibit competitive advantage for long-term market survival. The main consideration toward this brand resonance approach is not only in the context of larger companies but also can be adapted in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well. The SMEs have been recognized as vital pillar to the world economy in both developed and emergence countries are undeniable due to their economic growth contributions, such as opportunity for employment, wealth creation, and poverty reduction. In particular, the facts that SMEs in Malaysia are pivotal to the well-being of the Malaysian economy and society are clearly justified, where the SMEs competent in provided jobs to 66% of the workforce and contributed 40% to the GDP. As regards to it several sectors, the SMEs service category that covers the Food & Beverage (F&B) sector is one of the high-potential industries in Malaysia. For that reasons, SMEs strong brand or brand equity is vital to be developed for their long-term market survival. However, there’s still less appropriate strategies in develop their brand equity. The difficulties have never been so evident until Covid-19 swept across the globe from 2020. Since the pandemic began, more than 150,000 SMEs in Malaysia have shut down, leaving more than 1.2 million people jobless. Otherwise, as the SMEs are the pillar of any economy for the countries in the world, and with negative effect of COVID-19 toward their economic growth, thus, their protection has become important more than ever. Therefore, focusing on strategy that able to develop SMEs strong brand is compulsory. Hence, this is where the strategy of brand resonance is introduced in this study. Mainly, this study aims to investigate the impact of CBR as a predictor and mediator in the context of social media marketing (SMM) activities toward SMEs e-brand equity (or strong brand) building. The study employed the quantitative research design concerning on electronic survey method with the valid response rate of 300 respondents. Interestingly, the result revealed the importance role of CBR either as predictor or mediator in the context of SMEs SMM as well as brand equity development. Further, the study provided several theoretical and practical implications that can benefit the SMEs in enhancing their strategic marketing decision.

Keywords: SME brand equity, SME social media marketing, SME consumer brand relationship, SME brand resonance

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Authors: Marina Charalambous, Phivos Phylactou, Thekla Elriz, Loukia Psychogios, Jean-Marie Annoni

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Background: Evidence-based practices for the evaluation and treatment of people with aphasia (PWA) in Greek are mainly impairment-based. Functional and multimodal communication is usually under assessed and neglected by clinicians. This study explores the adaptation and psychometric testing of the Greek (GR) version of The Scenario Test. The Scenario Test assesses the everyday functional communication of PWA in an interactive multimodal communication setting with the support of an active communication facilitator. Aims: To define the reliability and validity of The Scenario Test GR and discuss its clinical value. Methods & Procedures: The Scenario Test-GR was administered to 54 people with chronic stroke (6+ months post-stroke): 32 PWA and 22 people with stroke without aphasia. Participants were recruited from Greece and Cyprus. All measures were performed in an interview format. Standard psychometric criteria were applied to evaluate reliability (internal consistency, test-retest, and interrater reliability) and validity (construct and known – groups validity) of the Scenario Test GR. Video analysis was performed for the qualitative examination of the communication modes used. Outcomes & Results: The Scenario Test-GR shows high levels of reliability and validity. High scores of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .95), test-retest reliability (ICC = .99), and interrater reliability (ICC = .99) were found. Interrater agreement in scores on individual items fell between good and excellent levels of agreement. Correlations with a tool measuring language function in aphasia (the Aphasia Severity Rating Scale of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination), a measure of functional communication (the Communicative Effectiveness Index), and two instruments examining the psychosocial impact of aphasia (the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life questionnaire and the Aphasia Impact Questionnaire) revealed good convergent validity (all ps< .05). Results showed good known – groups validity (Mann-Whitney U = 96.5, p < .001), with significantly higher scores for participants without aphasia compared to those with aphasia. Conclusions: The psychometric qualities of The Scenario Test-GR support the reliability and validity of the tool for the assessment of functional communication for Greek-speaking PWA. The Scenario Test-GR can be used to assess multimodal functional communication, orient aphasia rehabilitation goal setting towards the activity and participation level, and be used as an outcome measure of everyday communication. Future studies will focus on the measurement of sensitivity to change in PWA with severe non-fluent aphasia.

Keywords: the scenario test GR, functional communication assessment, people with aphasia (PWA), tool validation

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Authors: Yi Li, Yinan Zheng, Ya Ke, Yungwing Ho

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Motor learning is a process that frequently happens among humans and rodents, which is defined as the changes in the capability to perform a skill that is conformed to have a relatively permanent improvement through practice or experience. There are many ways to learn a behavior, among which is observational learning. Observational learning is the process of learning by watching the behaviors of others, for example, a child imitating parents, learning a new sport by watching the training videos or solving puzzles by watching the solutions. Many research explores observational learning in humans and primates. However, the neuronal mechanism of which, especially observational motor learning, was uncertain. It’s well accepted that mirror neurons are essential in the observational learning process. These neurons fire when the primate performs a goal-directed action and sees someone else demonstrating the same action, which suggests they have high firing activity both completing and watching the behavior. The mirror neurons are assumed to mediate imitation or play a critical and fundamental role in action understanding. They are distributed in many brain areas of primates, i.e., posterior parietal cortex (PPC), premotor cortex (M2), and primary motor cortex (M1) of the macaque brain. However, few researchers report the existence of mirror neurons in rodents. To verify the existence of mirror neurons and the possible role in motor learning in rodents, we performed customised string-pulling behavior combined with multiple behavior analysis methods, photometry, electrophysiology recording, c-fos staining and optogenetics in healthy mice. After five days of training, the demonstrator (demo) mice showed a significantly quicker response and shorter time to reach the string; fast, steady and accurate performance to pull down the string; and more precisely grasping the beads. During three days of observation, the mice showed more facial motions when the demo mice performed behaviors. On the first training day, the observer reduced the number of trials to find and pull the string. However, the time to find beads and pull down string were unchanged in the successful attempts on the first day and other training days, which indicated successful action understanding but failed motor learning through observation in mice. After observation, the post-hoc staining revealed that the c-fos expression was increased in the cognitive-related brain areas (medial prefrontal cortex) and motor cortices (M1, M2). In conclusion, this project indicated that the observation led to a better understanding of behaviors and activated the cognitive and motor-related brain areas, which suggested the possible existence of mirror neurons in these brain areas.

Keywords: observation, motor learning, string-pulling behavior, prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, cognitive

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Authors: Milijana N. Miljkovic, Viktorija M. Dragojevic-Simic, Nemanja K. Rancic, Vesna M. Jacevic, Snezana B. Djordjevic, Momir M. Mikov, Aleksandra M. Kovacevic

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Itraconazole (ITZ) is a weak base and extremely lipophilic compound, with water solubility as a rate-limiting step in its absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Its absolute bioavailability, about 55%, is maximal when its oral formulation, capsules, are taken immediately after a full meal. Peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) are reached within 2 to 5 hrs after their administration. ITZ undergoes extensive hepatic metabolism by human CYP3A4 isoenzyme and more than 30 different metabolites have been identified. One of the main ones is hydroxyitraconazole (HITZ), in which plasma concentrations are almost twice higher than those of ITZ. Gender differences in drug PK (Pharmacokinetics) have already been recognized, but variations in metabolism are believed to be their major cause. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of gender on ITZ PK parameters after administration of oral capsule formulation, following 100 mg single dosing in healthy adult volunteers under fed conditions. The single-center, open-label PK study was performed. PK analyses included PK parameters obtained after a single 100 mg dose administration of itraconazole capsules to 48 females and 66 males. Blood samples were collected at pre-dose and up to 72.0 h after administration (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0, 9.0, 12.0, 24.0, 36.0 and 72.0 hrs). The calculated pharmacokinetic parameters, based on the plasma concentrations of itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole, were Cmax, AUClast, and AUCtot. Plasma concentrations of ITZ and HITZ were determined using a validated liquid chromatographic method with mass spectrometric detection, while pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated using non-compartmental methods. The pharmacokinetic analyses were performed using Kinetica software version 5.0. The mean value of ITZ Cmaxmen was 74.79 ng/ml, and Cmaxwomen was 51.291 ng/ml (independent samples test; p = 0.005). Hydroxyitraconazole had a mean value of Cmaxmen 106.37 ng/ml, and the mean value Cmaxwomen was 70.05 ng/ml. Women had, on average, lower AUClast and Cmax than men. AUClastmen for ITZ was 736.02 ng/mL*h and AUClastwomen was 566.62 ng/mL*h, while AUClastmen for HITZ was 1154.80 was ng/mL*h and AUClastwomen for HITZ was 708.12 ng/mL*h (independent samples test; p = 0.033). The mean values of ITZ AUCtotmen were 884.73 ng/mL*h and AUCtotwomen was 685.10 ng/mL*h. AUCtotmen for HITZ was 1290.41 ng/mL*h, while AUCtotwomen for HIZT was 788.60 ng/mL*h (p < 0.001). The results could point out to lower oral bioavailability of ITZ in women, since values of Cmax, AUClast, and AUCtot of both ITZ and HITZ were significantly lower in women than in men, respectively. The reason may be higher expression and activity of CYP3A4 in women than in men, but there also may be differences in other PK parameters. High variability of both ITZ and HITZ concentrations in both genders confirmed that ITZ is a highly variable drug. Further examinations of its PK are needed to justify strategies for therapeutic drug monitoring in patients treated by this antifungal agent.

Keywords: itraconazole, gender, hydroxyitraconazole, pharmacokinetics

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Authors: Pin-Ling Yin, Dung-Ying Lin

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Satellites play an important role in our daily lives, from monitoring the Earth's environment and providing real-time disaster imagery to predicting extreme weather events. As technology advances and demands increase, the tasks undertaken by satellites have become increasingly complex, with more stringent resource management requirements. A common challenge in satellite mission scheduling is the limited availability of resources, including onboard memory, ground station accessibility, and satellite power. In this context, efficiently scheduling and managing the increasingly complex satellite missions under constrained resources has become a critical issue that needs to be addressed. The core of Satellite Onboard Activity Planning (SOAP) lies in optimizing the scheduling of the received tasks, arranging them on a timeline to form an executable onboard mission plan. This study aims to develop an optimization model that considers the various constraints involved in satellite mission scheduling, such as the non-overlapping execution periods for certain types of tasks, the requirement that tasks must fall within the contact range of specified types of ground stations during their execution, onboard memory capacity limits, and the collaborative constraints between different types of tasks. Specifically, this research constructs a mixed-integer programming mathematical model and solves it with a commercial optimization package. Simultaneously, as the problem size increases, the problem becomes more difficult to solve. Therefore, in this study, a heuristic algorithm has been developed to address the challenges of using commercial optimization package as the scale increases. The goal is to effectively plan satellite missions, maximizing the total number of executable tasks while considering task priorities and ensuring that tasks can be completed as early as possible without violating feasibility constraints. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm, test instances of various sizes were generated, and the results were validated through feedback from on-site users and compared against solutions obtained from a commercial optimization package. Numerical results show that the algorithm performs well under various scenarios, consistently meeting user requirements. The satellite mission scheduling algorithm proposed in this study can be flexibly extended to different types of satellite mission demands, achieving optimal resource allocation and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of satellite mission execution.

Keywords: mixed-integer programming, meta-heuristics, optimization, resource management, satellite mission scheduling

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Authors: Oseyemi Omowunmi Olubomehin, Olufemi Michael Denton

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Diabetes mellitus is a disease that is related to the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and how this affects the blood glucose levels. Various synthetic drugs employed in the management of the disease work through different mechanisms. Keeping postprandial blood glucose levels within acceptable range is a major factor in the management of type 2 diabetes and its complications. Thus, the inhibition of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes such as α-amylase is an important strategy in lowering postprandial blood glucose levels, but synthetic inhibitors have undesirable side effects like flatulence, diarrhea, gastrointestinal disorders to mention a few. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and explore the α-amylase inhibitors from plants due to their availability, safety, and low costs. In the present study, extracts from the leaves of Rauvolfia vomitoria and seeds of Picralima nitida which are used in the Nigeria traditional system of medicine to treat diabetes were tested for their α-amylase inhibitory effect. The powdered plant samples were subjected to phytochemical screening using standard procedures. The leaves and seeds macerated successively using n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol resulted in the crude extracts which at different concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/mL) alongside the standard drug acarbose, were subjected to α-amylase inhibitory assay using the Benfield and Miller methods, with slight modification. Statistical analysis was done using ANOVA, SPSS version 2.0. The phytochemical screening results of the leaves of Rauvolfia vomitoria and the seeds of Picralima nitida showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins and cardiac glycosides while in addition Rauvolfia vomitoria had phenols and Picralima nitida had terpenoids. The α-amylase assay results revealed that at 1 mg/mL the methanol, hexane, and ethyl acetate extracts of the leaves of Rauvolfia vomitoria gave (15.74, 23.13 and 26.36 %) α-amylase inhibitions respectively, the seeds of Picralima nitida gave (15.50, 30.68, 36.72 %) inhibitions which were not significantly different from the control at p < 0.05, while acarbose gave a significant 56 % inhibition at p < 0.05. The presence of alkaloids, phenols, tannins, steroids, saponins, cardiac glycosides and terpenoids in these plants are responsible for the observed anti-diabetic activity. However, the low percentages of α-amylase inhibition by these plant samples shows that α-amylase inhibition is not the major way by which both plants exhibit their anti-diabetic effect.

Keywords: alpha-amylase, Picralima nitida, postprandial hyperglycemia, Rauvolfia vomitoria

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Authors: Muhammad Bilal, Amelia Jane Llyod, Habsah Mohamad, Jia Hui Wong, Abdul Aziz Mohamed Yusoff, Jafri Malin Abdullah, Jingli Zhang

Abstract:

Epilepsy is one of the major brain afflictions occurs with uncontrolled excitation of cortex; disturbed 50 million of world’s population. About 25 percent of patients subjected to adverse effects from antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) such as depression, nausea, tremors, gastrointestinal symptoms, osteoporosis, dizziness, weight change, drowsiness, fatigue are commonly observed indications; therefore, new drugs are required to cure epilepsy. GABA is principle inhibitory neurotransmitter, control excitation of the brain. Mutation or dysfunction of GABA receptor is one of the primary causes of epilepsy, which is confirmed from many acquired models of epilepsy like traumatic brain injury, kindling, and status epilepticus models of epilepsy. GABA receptor has 3 distinct types such as GABA (A), GABA (B), GABA(C).GABA (A) receptor has 20 different subunits, α1β2γ2 subunits composition of GABA (A) receptor is the most used combination of subunits for screening of compounds against epilepsy. We expressed α1β2γ2s subunits of GABA (A) Receptor in Xenopus leavis oocytes and examined the enhancement potential of 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid compound on GABA (A) receptor via two-electrode voltage clamp current recording technique. Bamboo shoots are the young, tender offspring of bamboo, which are usually harvested after a cultivating period of 2 weeks. Proteins, acids, fat, starch, carbohydrate, fatty acid, vitamin, dietary fiber, and minerals are the major constituent found systematically in bamboo shoots. These shoots reported to have anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial activity, also possess antioxidant properties due to the presence of phenolic compounds. Student t-test analysis suggested that 4- hydroxybenzoic acid positively allosteric GABA (A) receptor, increased normalized current amplitude to 1.0304±0.0464(p value 0.032) compared with vehicle. 4-Hydrobenzoic acid, a compound from Dendrocalamus Asper bamboo shoot gives new insights for future studies on bamboo shoots with motivation for extraction of more compounds to investigate their effects on human and rodents against epilepsy, insomnia, and anxiety.

Keywords: α1β2γ2S, antiepileptic, bamboo shoots, epilepsy GABA (A) receptor, two-microelectrode voltage clamp, xenopus laevis oocytes

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Authors: Păcurar Diana Istina

Abstract:

Structured in three chapters, the article attempts an X-ray of the theatrical aesthetics, correctly understood through the emotions generated in the intimate structure of the spectator that precedes the triggering of the viewer’s perception and not through the superposition, unfortunately common, of the notion of aesthetics with the style in which a theater show is built. The first chapter contains a brief history of the appearance of the word aesthetic, the formulation of definitions for this new term, as well as its connections with the notions of semiotics, in particular with the perception of the message transmitted. Starting with Aristotle and Plato, and reaching Magritte, their interventions should not be interpreted in the sense that the two scientific concepts can merge into one discipline. The perception that is the object of everyone’s analysis, the understanding of meaning, the decoding of the messages sent, and the triggering of feelings that culminate in pleasure, shaping the aesthetic vision, are some elements that keep semiotics and aesthetics distinct, even though they share many methods of analysis. The compositional processes of aesthetic representation and symbolic formation are analyzed in the second part of the paper from perspectives that include or do not include historical, cultural, social, and political processes. Aesthetics and the organization of its symbolic process are treated, taking into account expressive activity. The last part of the article explores the notion of aesthetics in applied theater, more specifically in the theater show. Taking the postmodern approach that aesthetics applies to the creation of an artifact and the reception of that artifact, the intervention of these elements in the theatrical system must be emphasized –that is, the analysis of the problems arising in the stages of the creation, presentation, and reception, by the public, of the theater performance. The aesthetic process is triggered involuntarily, simultaneously, or before the moment when people perceive the meaning of the messages transmitted by the work of art. The finding of this fact makes the mental process of aesthetics similar or related to that of semiotics. No matter how perceived individually, beauty, the mechanism of production can be reduced to two. The first step presents similarities to Peirce’s model, but the process between signified and signified additionally stimulates the related memory of the evaluation of beauty, adding to the meanings related to the signification itself. Then, the second step, a process of comparison, is followed, in which one examines whether the object being looked at matches the accumulated memory of beauty. Therefore, even though aesthetics is derived from the conceptual part, the judgment of beauty and, more than that, moral judgment come to be so important to the social activities of human beings that it evolves as a visible process independent of other conceptual contents.

Keywords: aesthetics, semiotics, symbolic composition, subjective joints, signifying, signified

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