Search

This paper uses findings from a research study called Net.Weight to examine the concepts of interaction, information quality and Internet-based information from the perspective of people engaged in managing their weight. The Net.Weight study was a two-year project funded by the British government's Department of Health and located in the city of Brighton and Hove. It examined the potential for increased, innovative and effective uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support the self management of weight. The study had several inter-related research strands and the findings discussed in the paper emerged primarily from participatory learning workshops and evaluative interviews. The paper demonstrates that the interaction between people is an important aspect of the information process, which is often neglected in the literature. It suggests that exploring the user-user dimension might add to the understanding of information effectiveness. It also suggests that an approach to information and health literacy which includes a social as well as an individual perspective is necessary. On quality assessment, it supports findings from other studies that organisational authority is a key measure of reliability for lay users and that quality assessment tools have a limited role in the assessment process. The Net.Weight participants embraced the Internet as a medium for weight management information only when it added value to their existing information and weight management practices and when it could be integrated into their everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human paracaspase has been predicted to be a member of the protein structural fold that encompasses protease clan CD. To determine whether paracaspase has catalytic activity we have expressed the region corresponding to the catalytic domain and used protease activity-based chemical probes to profile the putative active site. A leucine-based acyloxymethyl ketone probe that covalently labels cysteine proteases discloses a hydrophobic P 1 preference in the putative active site. The probe covalently labels Cys539, which is not the predicted catalytic site based on structural and sequence comparisons with other clan CD proteases. Using a combinatorial peptide substrate library approach we have been unable to detect amidolytic activity of paracaspase, implying that if it is a protease it must be very specific. We suggest a switch in the use of catalytic residues to generate an enzyme overlapping the canonical clan CD protease active site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments have shown that inappropriate activation of apoptotic pathways contributes to many neurodegenerative diseases. The basic mechanisms that underlie apoptosis in neurodegenerative diseases are uncertain, although they likely represent the subversion of normal developmental programs. Several types of neuronal cell death have been reported, including autophagic and caspase-independent cell death. In this review we consider evidence for the participation of apoptotic caspases in neuronal development, and examine the hypothesis that differentiating neurons undergo stage-specific alterations in apoptosis sensitivity that may be due to caspase regulation. In addition, we present data supporting this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive genetic carrier screening (RGCS) serves to screen couples for their risk of having children affected by monogenic conditions. The included conditions are mostly autosomal recessive or X-linked with infantile or early-childhood onset. Cystic fibrosis, spinal muscular atrophy, and hemoglobinopathies are now recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for universal screening. Recommendations for further RGCS remain ethnicity based. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the National Society of Genetic Counselors in recent years have recommended universal expanded-panel RGCS and moving towards a more equitable approach. ACOG guidelines state that offering RGCS is an acceptable option, however it has not provided clear guidance on standard of care. Positive results on RGCS can significantly impact reproductive plans for couples, including pursuing in vitro fertilization with preimplantation genetic testing, prenatal genetic testing, specific fetal or neonatal treatment, or adoption. RGCS is a superior approach compared to ethnicity-based carrier screening and moves away from single race-based medical practice. We urge the obstetrics and gynecology societies to adopt the guidelines for RGCS put forward by multiple societies and help reduce systemic inequalities in medicine in our new genetic age. Having national societies such as ACOG and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine officially recommend and endorse RGCS would bolster insurance coverage and financial support by employers for RGCS. The future of comprehensive reproductive care in the age of genomic medicine entails expanding access so patients and families can make the reproductive options that best fit their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research offers a post-structuralist multilingual lens to examine translanguaging practice in Chinese as an Additional Language (CAL) teaching and learning. It investigates a cohort of bilingual Chinese teachers who had been trained in a teacher-researcher education programme in an Australian university. This research asks how the Chinese teachers utilised their own and their students' bilingual repertoires to assist the learning of Chinese in Australian schools. The participant teachers' theses were collected, and the evidentiary chapters reporting on their classroom teaching were analysed. Informed by the initial results, a follow-up stimulated recall interview was conducted. This research found that the teachers' translanguaging practices were identified in the form of theirs and their students' lingual and non-lingual capitals, and these practices showed a strong pedagogical purpose, particularly in motivating and engaging learners. The teachers' translanguaging practices contributed to CAL pedagogy across three dimensions: teachers' classroom instruction, teaching and learning resources, and learning activity design. These practices have demonstrated an impact on the students' engagement, the enrichment of teaching content and improvement in dynamic teaching processes. This research is expected to provide insights into the future development of translanguaging curriculum and pedagogy in CAL education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent to which working memory (WM) capacity and distance-based complexity influenced how second language (L2) learners used morphosyntactic information incrementally during online processing of L2 English long-distance subject-verb number agreement dependencies. The moving-window self-paced reading experiment involved 40 agreement-lacking first language (L1) Thai learners of English and 40 native English speakers. Distance-based complexity was manipulated based on whether the agreement controller and the agreeing verb were intervened by a short-distance subject-extracted relative clause or a long-distance object-extracted relative clause in line with the Dependency Locality Theory. The findings indicated that both native speakers and L2 learners experienced less processing difficulty in short-distance conditions, showing heightened sensitivity to agreement violations. Their sensitivity was, however, modulated as a function of distance-based complexity and WM capacity. The L2 learners' lack of sensitivity in the long-distance conditions was associated with their limited pool of cognitive resources. Consistent with the L1–L2 structural competition account, these findings suggest in relation to morphology learning in SLA that L2 learners may labor under parallel activation during crosslinguistic competition, whereby cognitive resources are insufficient to resolve long-distance agreement dependencies, thus resulting in reduced sensitivity to L2 morphosyntactic violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of universities on firm performance based on the universe of firms in Germany from 2013 to 2017. From a regional perspective, firms have 0.92 % more revenues per employee in counties with a university than in a county without a university. To address potential endogeneity concerns, I focus on a subsample of universities, founded for political reasons. Analysing different types of German universities indicates that the high-skilled regional labour supply is important for the positive impact of universities, while proximity to the knowledge spillovers of research-intensive universities is associated with weaker firm performance. The latter finding is at least partially explained by the networks of multinational firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current times call for continuous communication across countries, negotiations on several levels, and the creation of international relationships based on dialogue and participation. Those ideals are often pursued in intercultural communication contexts and written about, as a desideratum, in the Intercultural Communication literature. However, how can this be achieved concretely? In this article, we analyze how decisions are taken by newly founded intercultural teams of higher-education students playing a so-called intercultural game online via Zoom. The game revolves around the creation of a development plan for a fictitious city. In our study, we conducted a conversation-analytic investigation of decision-making processes by players oriented towards the ideal of 'intercultural speakers' as the ones mediating between different points of view and giving voice to all parties in an inclusive way. We illustrate our analysis with examples that range from unilateral decision making to decisions achieved through highly collaborative processes. We point to how expectations of inclusion-oriented interactional moves in intercultural situations are sometimes at odds with how these interactions and the related decision-making processes actually unfold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how the identity is constructed of elders who have Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT) by examining the communicative disorder in daily interactions with other interlocutors. Specifically, this paper evaluates a conversation between one Chinese elder with early-stage DAT and the interviewer. It analyzes the identity construction processes in the discourse in depth, using the age-identity taxonomy, self-identity representation theory, and the pragmatic emergentist model. Based on the case study, this paper confirms the five dimensions of age-identity taxonomy provided by Coupland as: (1) disclosure of chronological age, (2) age-related categories/role reference, (3) age-identity concerning health, decrement, and death, (4) adding time-past perspective, and (5) self-association with the past. Meanwhile, two more approaches to the age-identity taxonomy were developed, i.e., address behavior and cross-generational contrast. Self-identity to realize interactional goals is typically constructed at the individual level, although rarely at the relational level. The DAT elder conducts compensation in the interaction by adopting verbal and non-verbal strategies to bridge cognitive disorders such as memory loss, word-finding difficulty, or meeting the desire to enhance the pragmatic effects of their identity. This shows that the self-identity construction also facilitates the DAT elders in generating a discourse strategy when encountering pragmatic impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal how aircraft affects the internal flow of the ejector nozzle, we have constructed three model types in this article. These include the model of SR-71 aircraft, the model that only contains ejector nozzle with third auxiliary valve, and the model that integrates the previous two. The results showed that in the transonic regime (Ma = 1.2), the third auxiliary flow mainly stems from the boundary layer of the aircraft body. Indeed, a large-scale flow separation phenomenon near the third auxiliary door may require a more nuanced description. The mainstream flow is always in an overexpansion state and results in a Mach plate structure at the exit of the nozzle. However, after integration, the rates of the third auxiliary and the secondary flow are reduced by 18.15% and 5.26%, respectively. Meanwhile, the mainstream flow demonstrates higher overexpansion levels, the position of the Mach plate further downstream changes, and the thrust coefficient decreases by 1.75%. It is worthwhile noting that a strong pressure gradient occurs in the circumferential direction near the connecting structure, which induces lateral flow. This lateral flow breaks away from the wall under the reverse pressure gradient of the nozzle, thus forming three vortex pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No abstract available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though literary works serve as excellent media for bearing witness to trauma, postcolonial and diasporic literary texts are often dismissed for their falsified accounts of traumatic life experiences. Recent studies on African American literature have stressed the need for a decolonized conceptualization of trauma that would not only disrupt the long-existing white Global Northern perspectives but also recognize feelings of empathy and solidarity among members of the community in these literary corpora. The present study adopts a hybrid analytical framework to examine the representations of trauma in the Nigerian American writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah (2013). Specifically, we draw upon Gérard Genette's narrative levels, Ron Eyerman's collective memory, and Jeffrey Charles Alexander's collective identity to argue that the novel defies conventional forms of narrative by depicting postcolonial and diasporic identities as volatile and dynamic constructs. The findings indicate the multiple ways in which the story presents diasporic Africans – that is, the female protagonist Ifemelu and her male lover Obinze – as capable of overcoming the adverse effects of traumatic memories by chronicling an authentic record of their experiences. The study also reveals that the leading female character, like the novelist Adichie, creates an empowering platform for migrants of various ethnicities to speak up about their traumatic experiences, and thereby establish what is called 'cross-cultural solidarity' in reconstructing a new community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic nitrates are widely used, but their chronic efficacy is blunted due to the development of tolerance. The properties of new tolerance free organic nitrates were studied. Their lipophilicity profile and passive diffusion across polydimethylsiloxane membrane and pig ear-skin, and their efficacy in tissue regeneration using HaCaT keratinocytes were evaluated. The permeation results show that these nitrates have a suitable profile for NO topical administration on the skin. Furthermore, the derivatives with higher NO release exerted a pro-healing effect on HaCaT cells. This new class of organic nitrates might be a promising strategy for the chronic treatment of skin pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viruses are obligatory protein-coated units and often utilize the metabolic functions of the cells they infect. Viruses hijack cellular metabolic functions and cause consequences that can range from minor to devastating, as we have all witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For understanding the virus-driven pathogenesis and its implications on the host, the cellular metabolism needs to be elucidated. How SARS-CoV-2 triggers metabolic functions and rewires the metabolism remains unidentified but the implications of the metabolic patterns are under investigation by several researchers. In this review, we have described the SARS-CoV-2-mediated metabolic alterations from in vitro studies to metabolic changes reported in victims of COVID-19. We have also discussed potential therapeutic targets to diminish the viral infection and suppress the inflammatory response, with respect to evidenced studies based on COVID-19 research. Finally, we aimed to explain how we could extend vaccine-induced immunity in people by targeting the immunometabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulation of two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels has emerged as a novel field of therapeutic strategies as they may regulate immune cell activation and metabolism, inflammatory signals, or barrier integrity. One of these ion channels is the TWIK-related potassium channel 1 (TREK1). In the current study, we report the identification and validation of new TREK1 activators. Firstly, we used a modified potassium ion channel assay to perform high-throughput-screening of new TREK1 activators. Dose-response studies helped to identify compounds with a high separation between effectiveness and toxicity. Inside-out patch-clamp measurements of Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing TREK1 were used for further validation of these activators regarding specificity and activity. These approaches yielded three substances, E1, B3 and A2 that robustly activate TREK1. Functionally, we demonstrated that these compounds reduce levels of adhesion molecules on primary human brain and muscle endothelial cells without affecting cell viability. Finally, we studied compound A2 via voltage-clamp recordings as this activator displayed the strongest effect on adhesion molecules. Interestingly, A2 lacked TREK1 activation in the tested neuronal cell type. Taken together, this study provides data on novel TREK1 activators that might be employed to pharmacologically modulate TREK1 activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyze the evolution of the Common Ground notion in theoretical and sociocognitive fields. Some recent studies from psychology, cognitive sciences, and socio-linguistics have enriched the traditional formulations on CG by analyzing various factors related to the nature of mental processes. It emerged that CG is a dynamic entity where sources of different nature interact in a complex way during the communication process. On the other hand, contemporary clinical investigations on CG and aphasia seem to overlook the multiple and dynamic factors involved in the communication between patients and ordinary speakers. Although most experimental studies prove that any form of knowledge can, in principle, support communication with aphasic patients, it seems that they focus their attention only on an isolated aspect of the situational or past context. A general theory that explains how personal, cultural, or perceptual knowledge jointly mediates the understanding of texts produced by aphasic patients is missing. This work does not intend to offer such a theory. Instead, it has the less ambitious purpose of highlighting the current limitations related to the practice of breaking down and analyzing isolated features of the CG. Highlighting these limitations is essential in pushing aphasiology research towards introducing more complex models of CG adhering to the reality of the facts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, the photodecolorization of Congo red pigment by V2O5–TiO2 nanohybrid was analyzed. Sonication approach was employed to produce V2O5–TiO2 nanohybrid materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), high-resolution electron microscopy (TEM), BET-surface rea analyzer, and UV spectroscopy were utilized to describe the V2O5–TiO2 nanohybrid materials. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic behavior, pH, and reactive oxygen are examined in detail to explain CR pigment decolorization. Congo red pigment photodestruction exhibited a rate constant of 0.03567 (min−1) and a decolorization rate of 96%. The degradation efficiency of Congo red pigment by V2O5–TiO2 catalysts follows the pseudo-first-order kinetics assumption. The findings of this work displayed that V2O5–TiO2 act as a highly efficient nanocatalyst for destroying pigments in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) often develop drug resistance after treatment with enzalutamide. The goal of our study was to identify the key genes related to enzalutamide resistance in CRPC and to provide new gene targets for future research on improving the efficacy of enzalutamide. Differential expression genes (DEGs) associated with enzalutamide were obtained from the GSE151083 and GSE150807 datasets. We used R software, the DAVID database, protein–protein interaction networks, the Cytoscape program, and Gene Set Cancer Analysis for data analysis. The effect of RAD51 knockdown on prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines was demonstrated using Cell Counting Kit-8, clone formation, and transwell migration experiments. Six hub genes with prognostic values were screened (RAD51, BLM, DTL, RFC2, APOE, and EXO1), which were significantly associated with immune cell infiltration in PCa. High RAD51, BLM, EXO1, and RFC2 expression was associated with androgen receptor signaling pathway activation. Except for APOE, high expression of hub genes showed a significant negative correlation with the IC50 of Navitoclax and NPK76-II-72-1. RAD51 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and migration of PC3 and DU145 cell lines and promoted apoptosis. Additionally, 22Rv1 cell proliferation was more significantly inhibited with RAD51 knockdown than without RAD51 knockdown under enzalutamide treatment. Overall, six key genes associated with enzalutamide resistance were screened (RAD51, BLM, DTL, RFC2, APOE, and EXO1), which are potential therapeutic targets for enzalutamide-resistant PCa in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, the history of early Medieval glassmakers has mainly been derived from archaeological sources. Significant in this context was, more than half a century ago, the discovery of a new glass recipe, which began to spread in Europe from the 'deepest' early Middle Ages; the question of how this could develop is still subject of various discussions. A new contribution was published by Alexis Wilkin in 2019. According to this contribution, the early Medieval glass artisans owed the technological foundations of their new recipe to their collaboration with metal artisans. There is some clear evidence for this theory, but besides the technical innovation the social conditions of the artisans should not be forgotten. The glassmakers of the early Middle Ages were not free entrepreneurs, in the historical texts they are dependent on their landlords. This dependency, however, gives rise to a purely historical method of investigation: new finds of early Medieval glassworks manufactured according to the altered glass recipe can be assigned to the territories of specific landlords. This paper examines the extent to which family connections can be made visible in the passing on of glassmakers belonging to these families, perhaps also in the development of the new glass recipe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine student and faculty perspectives of student incivility in the online learning environment and social media platforms and to describe the participants' recommendations for promoting civility. Mixed-method design was used to collect data from a convenience sample of students and faculty in a nursing program in the Southeast United States. 53 faculty members and 203 nursing students participated, and the majority agreed that incivility is a problem to some degree. Several themes emerged for effectively promoting civility. Incivility is a problem, but students and faculty believe the use of proactive strategies may be effective in promoting civility. Implications for International Audience: As more nursing programs move to the OLE, even if temporarily as occurred during the pandemic, coupled with the increase in social media use, there is need to recognize and implement strategies to thwart the incidence of incivility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Im Mittelpunkt steht der funktionale und ökonomisch begründete Zusammenhang zwischen der stationären Handelstätigkeit und der benötigten Handelsfläche. Die Basis für diese Untersuchung liefern die Theorie des Kapitalkreislaufs sowie ein Marktmodell für Handelsimmobilien. Damit gelingt der Nachweis der wechselseitigen Beeinflussung von Handelsentwicklung und Investitionstätigkeit. Der Online-Wettbewerb verändert die Bedeutung der Handelsfläche für die Handelstätigkeit und als Investitionsgut. Der vorgeschlagene interdisziplinäre Ansatz ergänzt die theoretischen Grundlagen der geographischen Handelsforschung und trägt zum Verständnis der flexibler werdenden Raumstrukturen im stationären Handel bei. This state of the art-report deals with the functional and economic dependence between stationary retailing and its floor space. Research work is based on the foundations of the „new retail geography" and the formulation of a market model to estimate the demand and supply for retail floor space. As retail real estate becomes an asset class for mainly institutional investors, retail development is dependent of the interest of investors. The results lead to an interdisciplinary research approach which allows to understand better the emergence of flexible stationary retail systems as a consequence of continuous economic re-evaluation of space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historische Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although there has been growing interest in the study of demonstratives, a number of demonstrative categories remain largely unexplored. This article addresses one gap, presenting a preliminary typological overview of predicative demonstratives, a type of demonstrative used primarily in non-verbal predication constructions. The morphosyntax of predicative demonstratives is first briefly examined, followed by a typological characterization based primarily on semantic and morphosyntactic grounds. Predicative demonstratives focus on the immediately surrounding spatial, temporal, or textual environment of the speech act, showing restrictions on occurring in negated clauses or questions. In terms of lexical categorization, predicative demonstratives most commonly find themselves in a small closed word class of non-verbal predicators. Four types of predicative demonstratives are proposed here: Presentatives, identifiers, localizers, and the rare copular demonstratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historische Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The essence of such procedure is that a US-based customer may contact Amazon regarding a defective product and Amazon will then notify the third-party vendor of such defect. Due to the fact that Amazon, though not the seller in this scenario, played an effective role in the chain of distribution of the defective product and attained financial benefit from this, it is evident that Amazon had been an active intermediary between the supplier and purchaser. Amazon accepted possession of the product from [the seller], stored it in an Amazon warehouse, attracted Bolger to the Amazon website, provided her with a product listing for [the seller's] product, received her payment for the product, and shipped the product in Amazon packaging to her. For example, in I Bolger v Amazon.com LCC i ("Amazon"), the claimant was an Amazon Prime user who purchased a laptop from a third-party manufacturer and seller, Lenoge Technology (HK) Ltd. Lenoge initially shipped the product to an Amazon warehouse for storage, whereafter Amazon proceeded to ship the product to the claimant in its standard Amazon-branded packaging. [Extracted from the article]

Stroke is a major reason for disability and the second highest cause of death in the world. When a patient is admitted to a hospital, it is necessary to identify the type of stroke, and the likelihood for development of a recurrent stroke, vascular dementia, and depression. These factors could be determined using different biomarkers. Metabolomics is a very promising strategy for identification of biomarkers. The advantage of metabolomics, in contrast to other analytical techniques, resides in providing low molecular weight metabolite profiles, rather than individual molecule profiles. Technically, this approach is based on mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. Furthermore, variations in metabolite concentrations during brain ischemia could alter the principal neuronal functions. Different markers associated with ischemic stroke in the brain have been identified including those contributing to risk, acute onset, and severity of this pathology. In the brain, experimental studies using the ischemia/reperfusion model (IRI) have shown an impaired energy and amino acid metabolism and confirmed their principal roles. Literature data provide a good basis for identifying markers of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke and understanding metabolic mechanisms of these diseases. This opens an avenue for the successful use of identified markers along with metabolomics technologies to develop fast and reliable diagnostic tools for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of the commonly used phrase "thanks in advance" on compliance with a small request. In a controlled laboratory experiment we ask participants to give a detailed answer to an open question. The treatment variable is whether or not they see the phrase "thanks in advance." Our participants react to the treatment by exerting less effort in answering the request even though they perceive the phrase as polite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal investigations, whistleblowing and external monitoring are three information and enforcement channels that belong to corporate compliance. They are a task of the management and/or the board of directors. The board is legally bound to see that the compliance obligations are met, but it has broad entrepreneurial discretion (business judgment) in terms of deciding how this should be done. These standards have established themselves in large companies in a typical sequence of a stages and steps: (1) Indication of an incident: plausibility assessment, preparation, possible ad hoc measures, investigation; (2) Legal assessment of the interim result based on the facts at hand, data analysis and interviews; (3) Result and reporting: measures, tracking, follow-up and identification of lessons learned. In the case of listed companies, the establishment of a whistleblower organization is considered to be a part of good corporate governance and may now also legally be part of the organizational compliance obligation that is already required for them. The EU Whistleblower Directive of 7 October 2019 only concerns disclosures about violations of European legal provisions, it is not yet sure whether the Member States will introduce a whistleblower system for national legal provisions too. In the case of external monitoring, a distinction must be made between monitors that are used by the supervisory authority itself, usually through an administrative act, for example in accordance with banking law, and those installed by the company itself, albeit often in an international context and under pressure from a foreign supervisory authority. There is broad and detailed body of comparative legal experiences from the USA, the United Kingdom and Switzerland on internal investigations, whistleblowing and external monitoring, which can also be relevant in other countries for legislation, case law and scholarship. Empirical studies on all three information and enforcement channels are available, but they seem to be scarce. Conversely there are now many important findings and experience from national and international corporate law practice that are particularly relevant for external monitoring, which is still less well known in many countries. These findings not only offer suggestions but in some cases already represent good corporate governance standards. In parts and over the long term they can form legal obligations for the corporate board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asclepius was one of the most popular healing deities in Graeco-Roman antiquity. Patients suffering from various diseases resorted to his sanctuaries, the so-called asclepieia, looking for cure. Many inscriptions preserve stories of supplicants who slept in the abaton of the temples and claimed that they had been healed or received remedies from the god. The historical study may take into consideration modern (neuro)cognitive research on the placebo effects in order to examine the possibilities of actual healing experiences at the asclepeiea. In this paper, I take into account the theoretical premises of the placebo drama theory suggested by Ted Kaptchuk in order to explore the specific factors, including the personality of Asclepius, his patients' mindsets, the relationship between them, the nature of the supplicants' impairments, the employed or prescribed treatments and the ritual settings of the cult, which could have mediated health recovery, and contributed to the phenomenal success of the Asclepian therapies via the activation of patients' placebo responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraviolet treatment (UV-C) is well known for its antimicrobial effects and current research shows that it has the potential to inactivate microorganisms in milk at much lower temperatures than conventional thermal treatment. However, Ultraviolet irradiation may result in adverse effects on milk quality, which arises due to photo oxidation in the presence of oxygen. Limiting the dissolved oxygen content in milk can minimize oxidative damage and thus, result in a better product quality. Nitrogen purging could be an effective method for reducing dissolved oxygen from liquids. The present study evaluates effects of nitrogen purging (prior to UV treatment) on milk quality. It was found that nitrogen purged UV treated milk causes minimal changes to physicochemical properties of milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The source of fluids and their mechanism of metal precipitation in sediment-hosted, disseminated orogenic gold deposits are ambiguous. Pyrite texture, trace element, S, Pb, and He-Ar isotope compositions of sulfides and C-O isotope data of calcite from Chang'an orogenic gold deposit in the Ailaoshan orogenic belt, southwest (SW) China, were studied to provide a new genetic model for the sediment-hosted orogenic gold deposit, furthering knowledge of the source of fluids and their mechanism of metal precipitation. Orebodies at Chang'an are mainly hosted by Ordovician turbidite with a few in Oligocene syenite. Two stages of mineralization have been identified in the deposit: stage I disseminated quartz-arsenopyrite-pyrite and stage II veined quartz-calcite-polymetallic sulfides. Five generations of pyrite have been identified in turbidite: pre-ore syn-sedimentary pyrite, pyI-1 and pyI-2 in stage I, and pyII-1 and pyII-2 in stage II, and an unzoned pyrite population developed in syenite. PyI-1 commonly overgrows syn-sedimentary pyrite with irregular boundaries and contains arsenopyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and electrum inclusions along the boundaries. PyI-1 is overgrown by thin and inclusion-free pyI-2, and crosscut by pyII-1, which is rimmed by pyII-2. The syn-sedimentary pyrite is distributed parallel to the sedimentary bedding and contains As (620.8 ppm), Pb (61.6 ppm), Ni (59.8 ppm), Mo (54.4 ppm), Co (23.4 ppm), and Cu (13.0 ppm) with low-Au content of 0.06 ppm. This pyrite has δ34S values of –18.1 to +30.4‰ and high-radiogenic Pb isotope ratios (average 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb of 19.05, 15.86, and 39.87, respectively). PyI-1 and coexisting arsenopyrite are enriched in invisible Au (up to 227.1 and 353.3 ppm, respectively), As, Ni, Cu, and Pb, while pyI-2 contain much lower trace element abundances relative to pyI-1 and arsenopyrite. Partial replacement of syn-sedimentary pyrite by pyI-1 plus arsenopyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and electrum, and similar Pb isotope ratios between syn-sedimentary pyrite and pyI-1 indicate that reaction of external deep Au-rich fluids with syn-sedimentary pyrite is responsible for gold precipitation in stage I. PyI-1, arsenopyrite, and pyI-2 show a narrower δ34S range of –3.2 to 7.1‰ relative to syn-sedimentary pyrite, demonstrating that the fluid-pyrite interaction has homogenized the sulfur. The unzoned pyrite in syenite has similar mineral inclusions (arsenopyrite, galena, etc.), δ34S values (+0.6 to 6.3‰) and Pb isotope ratios to pyI-1, but much lower trace element abundances relative to pyI-1. It may be attributed to different reactions of similar fluids with different wall-rocks. PyII-1 and pyII-2 in stage II contain elevated As, Pb, Cu, Sb, Zn, and Ag with low mean Au content (3.3 ppm) and have δ34S ranges of –2.8 to +1.2‰ and –6.2 and –0.8‰, respectively. Galena in stage II has lower radiogenic Pb isotope ratios than stage I pyrites, indicative of a diferent Pb source or fluid evolution. The gases released from a mixture of pyII-1-pyII-2 have R/Ra of 0.38 to 0.98 and 40Ar*/4He of 0.50 to 1.34, falling between the fields of mantle-derived and crustal fluids. Late ore calcites have δ13CPDB of –8.7 to 2.7‰ and δ18OSMOW of 8.05 to 25.58‰, also plotting between sedimentary carbonate and mantle fields. These signatures indicate that ore fluids in stage II are base metal-rich fluids with a small amount of contribution from the mantle. Different ore assemblages, trace element composition and isotope data between stages I and II at Chang'an suggest that the deposit experienced an evolution from early Au-rich fluids to late base metal-rich ones. This study highlights that ore metals in sediment-hosted disseminated orogenic gold deposits may be sourced from both deep fluids and local wall-rock, and that fluid-rock interaction behaved as a key control on ore precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depressogenic traits are personality dispositions that put individuals at a higher risk for developing depression. Measured by the Depressive Experience Questionnaire (DEQ), self-criticism and dependency are two personality traits that are closely related to depression. The current study explored humor styles as potential mediating factors in the relationship between depressogenic traits and depression. Study 1: Given that the traditional Chinese version of the DEQ had not been validated psychometrically, we first conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to determine the most appropriate DEQ scoring system among the existing ones. The results indicated that the reconstructed DEQ had the best psychometric properties for the traditional Chinese version of the DEQ. Study 2: The potential mediating effect of humor styles in the relationship between depressogenic traits and depression was examined. Results showed that two benign humor styles, affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles, mediated the relationship between depressogenic traits (both self-criticism and dependency) and depression. The mediational strength was stronger for self-enhancing than for affiliative humor style. Malign humor styles, aggressive and self-defeating humor styles, did not emerge as mediators. Research and clinical implications for the findings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 1980s, linguists' analyses of Sheng, the urban youth language from Nairobi, have led to the growth of a considerable body of literature. In contrast, only a few studies are available that cover other youth registers from the Kiswahili-speaking parts of Africa. While most of the available studies either deal with techniques of manipulation or with adolescents' identity constructions, our paper intends to give a comparative overview of specific morphological features of Kiswahili-based youth languages. While certain characteristics of Sheng (Nairobi/Kenya), Lugha ya Mitaani (Dar es Salaam/Tanzania), Kindubile (Lubumbashi/DR Congo) and Yabacrâne (Goma/DR Congo) largely diverge from East Coast Swahili (hereafter ECS) in regard to their nominal and verbal morphology, they all share specific features. Focusing on (apparent) supra-regional developments and changes in Kiswahili, this preliminary description of some structural features that transcend all four youth language practices aims to provide comparative insights into urban register variation, approaching East African youth languages from a micro-typological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on branded tweets that linguistically appropriate slang, African American Language, and hip hop lyrics, this article examines how corporations rework black culture to create "corporate cool" as part of their advertising strategy on social media. We examine three processes that corporations engage in to associate themselves with "coolness" while managing levels of racial contact and proximity for their audience: 1) racially ambiguous voicing, 2) "bleaching" black bodies out of images, and 3) the forging of "racially tinged" intertextual connections. While previous scholarship has analyzed how acts of cultural and linguistic appropriation reap profit for white people and continue to stigmatize already racially marginalized groups, we describe how these seemingly innocent cultural and linguistic references harness a corporately constructed black cool to produce a sense of white comfort. We argue that white comfort is generated not only through the avoidance of overt references to racial conflict, as the term "white fragility" suggests, but also through well-worn, familiar, and comfortable reminders of racial difference and domination that are offered at a safe distance from actual black people and contexts of racial violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution discusses the plot of the Odyssey as a field of opposing forces shaping the ending of the poem: (i) the generic tension between folktale and epic; (ii) the fundamental ambiguity of the poem's climactic event, the killing of the Suitors (justice or revenge?); and (iii) the antagonism between Zeus and Poseidon. On this basis two competing scenarios for the ending of the poem are proposed: amnesia and departure, the former viewing the theme of revenge on the human plane, the latter on the divine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the review we describe a method for concentration of anionic liposomes with encapsulated water-soluble substances within a small volume via electrostatic liposome adsorption on the surface of polymer particles with grafted cationic chains (spherical polycationic brushes), or cationic microgel particles. Dozens of intact liposomes can be bound to each polymer particle, the resulting polymer/liposome complex does not dissociate into the original components in a physiological solution. This allows fabrication of multi-liposomal complexes (MLCs) with a required ratio of encapsulated substances. Two approaches are discussed for the synthesis of stimuli-sensitive MLCs. The first is to incorporate the conformation switch, morpholinocyclohexanol-based lipid, into the liposomal membrane thus forming pH-sensitive liposomes capable of releasing their cargo when acidifying the surrounding solution. These liposomes complexed with the brushes release encapsulated substances much faster than the uncomplexed liposomes. The second is to adsorb liposomes on cationic thermo-responsive microgels. The resulting MLCs contracts upon heating over a volume phase transition temperature from the swollen to the collapsed state of microgel, thus causing the adsorbed liposomes to change drastically their morphology and release an encapsulated substance. Complexation of anionic liposomes with chitosan microgels and polylactide micelles gives MLCs which degrade in the presence of enzymes down to small particles, 10–15 nm in diameter. A novel promising approach suggests that immobilized liposomes can act as a capacious depot for biologically active compounds and ensure their controllable leakage to surrounding solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the natural harsh marine environments and continuous global change stressors affecting the Levant basin, the Israeli marine flora in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is quite diverse, with about 300 recognized species. Such high seaweed biodiversity for a small maritime area is remarkable compared to the ca. 1200 species described for the entire Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Since about the year 1890, the Levant basin has been hosting over 115 seaweeds species that migrated from the Indo-Pacific through the Suez Canal. Indeed, approximately 16% of the marine flora is regarded as invasive or exotic to the Israeli shores, in a process that constantly reshapes seaweed populations and their biodiversity. In spite of significant contributions by Israeli scientists to the general biology and technologies for seaweed cultivation worldwide, Israel has little historical and cultural tradition of commercial seaweed cultivation, or use. At present, only two commercial companies are engaged in land-based seaweed cultivation (Ulva sp. and Gracilaria sp.) with a number of products marketed locally and abroad. Recently, offshore cultivation and biorefinery approaches have been explored, but not yet commercialized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slag produced as a byproduct in industrial processes, contains considerable metals contents, which need to be recovered to avoid environmental contamination. In present review, the types, applications, recovery of metals from slag and their hazardous effects have been discussed. Gravimetric, magnetic, floatation, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical treatments are discussed for processing of charge chrome, steel, copper smelter, brass smelter, tin, incineration, ferrochrome and silico-manganese slags for the extraction of various metal ions (Mg, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Mn, Fe, As, Cr, Al, Nb, Ag, Au, Nb, Ta, Cu, Co, Ni, Fe, V, Cr). The possibility of biometallurgical processing of slags is also evaluated. Merits and demerits of extraction and purification techniques are highlighted with possible suggestions and possibility of integrated leaching techniques is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence indicates that the plasticity of preexisting hepatocytes and bile duct cells is responsible for the appearance of intermediate progenitor cells capable of restoring liver mass after injury without the need of a stem cell compartment. However, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exist in all organs and are associated with blood vessels which represent their perivascular stem cell niche. MSCs are multipotent and can differentiate into several cell types and are known to support regenerative processes by the release of immunomodulatory and trophic factors. In the liver, the space of Disse constitutes a stem cell niche that harbors stellate cells as liver resident MSCs. This perivascular niche is created by extracellular matrix proteins, sinusoidal endothelial cells, liver parenchymal cells and sympathetic nerve endings and establishes a microenvironment that is suitable to maintain stellate cells and to control their fate. The stem cell niche integrity is important for the behavior of stellate cells in the normal, regenerative, aged and diseased liver. The niche character of the space of Disse may further explain why the liver can become an organ of extra-medullar hematopoiesis and why this organ is frequently prone to tumor metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In medieval Switzerland, war prayers were an important ritual that was performed both before battle and after a victory. Swiss troops prayed the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary five times each, kneeling down and stretching out their arms in a prescribed posture. This posture, together with the quintuple repetition of the prayers, evokes the Passion of Christ and his five wounds. The Swiss troops thought of the correct performance of this prayer ritual as crucial for their military success. The Swiss battle prayer also partly constituted a tactical means that was employed to scare or delude enemies unfamiliar with the ritual. From the early 16th century onwards, German humanist scholars criticized this prayer ritual as an act of superstition and uttered their disconcertment concerning the underlying belief of the Swiss that they were God's chosen people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viruses are obligatory protein-coated units and often utilize the metabolic functions of the cells they infect. Viruses hijack cellular metabolic functions and cause consequences that can range from minor to devastating, as we have all witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For understanding the virus-driven pathogenesis and its implications on the host, the cellular metabolism needs to be elucidated. How SARS-CoV-2 triggers metabolic functions and rewires the metabolism remains unidentified but the implications of the metabolic patterns are under investigation by several researchers. In this review, we have described the SARS-CoV-2-mediated metabolic alterations from in vitro studies to metabolic changes reported in victims of COVID-19. We have also discussed potential therapeutic targets to diminish the viral infection and suppress the inflammatory response, with respect to evidenced studies based on COVID-19 research. Finally, we aimed to explain how we could extend vaccine-induced immunity in people by targeting the immunometabolism., (© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Acquisition is an intuitive place to look for explanation in language change. Each child must learn their individual grammar(s) via the indirect process of analyzing the output of others' grammars, and the process necessarily involves social transmission over several years. On the basis of child language learning behaviors, I ask whether it is reasonable to expect the incrementation (advancement) of new variants to be kicked off by and sustained by the acquisition process. I discuss literature on how children respond to input variation, and a series of new studies experimentally testing incrementation, and argue that at least for some phenomena, young children overgeneralize innovative variants beyond their input. I sketch a model of incrementation based on initial overgeneralization, and offer further thoughts on next steps. Much collaborative work remains to precisely link analogous dynamic phenomena in learning and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]