bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Unwilling Wife: Marital Rape in the Canterbury Tales
Authors: Skalak Chelsea
Published: March 2020

Medieval English law maintained that it was impossible for a man to rape his legal spouse. Yet across literature of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, medieval writers fixated upon the figure of the spouse who was unwilling to have sex with his or her partner. This marked attention suggests that while marital consent was a closed discussion in the realm of medieval law, it remained open and alive in the literary imagination. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer presents a range of unwilling spouses, from saint's life to romance to fabliau. As Chaucer remixes theories of consent across genres, the Canterbury Tales makes its most radical statement on marital consent in the fabliau. In the Shipman's Tale, the wife's negotiation of her own multiple sexual relationships denaturalizes the basic assumptions of marital consent, opening up the imaginative space necessary to theorize marital rape.
Re-Visioning the Past: Charles Brockden Brown's Historical Tales and the Pleasures of Dissecting
Authors: Scheiding Oliver
Published: March 2020

This essay discusses Charles Brockden Brown's historical short stories. Although better known for his novels, Brown uses short pieces of fiction to create an early form of a metafictional impressionism. In doing so, Brown seeks to keep the associative freshness of his fiction by implication, using text that is not there. Critics have argued that Brown's narrators may end up in paranoid interpretations. The essay argues, however, that Brown's early short stories reveal stylistic and formal features that he developed in greater detail in historical tales like “Death of Cicero, A Fragment” (1800) and “Thessalonica: A Roman Story” (1799). Brown's Roman stories are complex textual games that are based upon a high degree of intertextuality and metafictional narrative devices. Brown's “unaccountable pleasure in dissecting” is therefore neither a narcissistic endeavor nor an intellectual fancy but a programmatic dimension of Brown's early short stories.
Feminism and Work in Edna Ferber's “Sisters Under Their Skin”
Authors: Petty Leslie
Published: March 2020

Edna Ferber's short story “Sisters Under Their Skin” deserves a new reading in the context of the gender politics of the 1910s. The story dramatizes an intra-movement struggle in first-wave feminism between what some perceived as a Victorian ethos of moral uplift and a more modern emphasis on women's economic equality and professional dignity. Although some critics argue Ferber ignores contemporary labor unrest in her depiction of harmony among women workers, this study asserts that Ferber is attuned to this context, offering a utopian antidote to the oppressive, inhumane working conditions that sparked these protests. Nevertheless, Ferber is limited by not only her own world-view but the expectations of a middlebrow readership as well; her appeal to their ideas about individualism and the American dream hinders her from offering a truly radical alternative to not only nineteenth-century suffragism but to Progressive Era politics as well.
The subject of proof in criminal procedure
Authors: Konieczny Jerzy
Published: March 2020

In the theory of evidential reasoning in a criminal trial, there is a discrepancy in the subject matter of proof. There are two main positions. The first one states that the object of proof is fact, while the second one is a statement expressed in a sentence. The article presents a possible solution to this controversy. The starting point is the observation that the
bearers of truth are statements/sentences. Therefore, since truth is one of the basic values in criminal proceedings, it results that the object of proof is a claim. Secondly, in the course of evidential reasoning is carried out in the form of thought operations - these can only be carried out with the use of sentences. The article ends with an conclusion that the object of evidence is a proposition; proving the fact is epistemologically impossible. Such a solution seems to be beneficial for the theory of proof, as it may improve the quality of evidential reasoning, including the quality of justifications of verdicts.
Usage of negotiations in a profession of a social worker
Authors: Kalisz Anna , Rogacka-Łukasik Anna
Published: March 2020

The paper is an attempt to both describe and classify social contract – as an example and result of negotiation in social work - as a contract of a mixed nature. It starts with a brief definition and crucial elements of negotiations, then lists various sorts of contracts applied to social work, ending up with more detailed description of social contract. It also gives a try to an analysis of its ambiguous nature.
Actual and legal limitations of the right to public information against the background of native legislation
Authors: Kwaśniak Aleksander
Published: March 2020

In this article the author presents the range of limitations of the right to public information, which are included in the law on access to public information. At the beginning the author formulates a definition of limitation. At the end of this article, the author try to make a classification of limitations on actual limitations and legal limitations, depending on the reason of limitation in a specific situation. The author also evokes views of doctrine too, where we find the split into limitations sensu stricto and sensu largo. The last think is the analysis of legal means, which are entitled to applicants for a given limitation.
Right to truth on serious violations of human rights in international law
Authors: Topa Ilona
Published: March 2020

The right to truth is extensively recognized in the contemporary legal discussion, especially within the context of the rights of serious human rights violations’ victims and
a broader debate on transitional justice, its aims and mechanisms. This right has directly
resulted from the activities of international human rights protection bodies. Human rights courts, while dealing with the cases of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances has established that states are obliged to disclose the truth about past events, and individuals has the right to require a comprehensive and accurate information on the fate of
their next of kin. The aim of this article is to analyse the standing of the right to truth in the contemporary international law. Therefore, it describes the development of this concept in international human rights law and examines what is the actual scope, who is entitled to and what are the means of execution of the right to truth.
Transforming a sole proprietorship into a limited liability company – selected tax aspects
Authors: Niziołkiewicz Monika
Published: March 2020

This article deals with the transformation of a sole proprietorship into a sole-shareholder limited liability company, with particular emphasis on tax aspects. Considerations are supported by numerous rulings of courts of general and administrative jurisdiction, as well as interpretations of the tax authorities. At the beginning, the author presents the binding normative acts regulating this subject and the main reasons for transformations. The methods of transforming a sole proprietorship into a sole-shareholder limited liability company binding until the end of 2011 have been described, as well as provisions regulating the issue of formal transformation. In the further part of the article the legal consequences of formal transformation were discussed, with particular emphasis on the succession of rights
and obligations under tax law. The next part of the article is devoted to the effects of transformation on the basis of the tax on goods and services, personal income tax and income tax from juridical persons, as well as tax on civil law transactions.
O pluralismo eclesial: da contradição à afirmação do Evangelho
Authors: Wolff Elias
Published: March 2020

O artigo objetiva analisar o pluralismo eclesial no mundo cristão, as tensões e os conflitos que aí existem, mas também as possibilidades de encontro no testemunho do Evangelho. Pelo método da análise qualitativa da bibliografia pertinente ao tema identifica, de um lado, fatores socioculturais e teológicos do pluralismo que são expressões de contradição na compreensão e vivência da fé cristã. De outro lado, aponta para elementos que podem favorecer a superação das divisões. Mostra que para isso se faz necessário um redimensionamento da leitura teológica do pluralismo de igrejas verificando as possibilidades para um reconhecimento das legítimas motivações de fé, para assumir as exigências do diálogo e para rever os pressupostos da separação dos cristãos. Como resultado, compreende-se que o pluralismo eclesial não implica diretamente apenas em divisão da igreja, mas pode expressar também possibilidades distintas da fidelidade ao Evangelho. Assim, a superação da divisão cristã não se dá pelo cancelamento de um sadio pluralismo eclesial, mas pela interação entre diferentes tradições eclesiais no testemunho da unidade da fé em Cristo, “para que o mundo creia” (Jo 17,21).
Negritude a varejo ou quando uma etiqueta é assimétrica: estratégias necropolíticas no campo das artes
Authors: Casteleira Rodrigo Pedro , Campos Jefferson
Published: March 2020

Neste artigo, tematizamos os modos de (in)existência da negritude no interior do projeto colonizador de produção de conhecimento, arte e cultura na contemporaneidade. Nosso objetivo é o de compreender em que (des)medida algumas produções artísticas, ao tematizar a negritude, são rubricadas por autorias brancas, estas, sustentadas por efeitos de verdade produzidas no campo do fazer artístico. Nossa empreitada elege como objeto de análise a obra “Polvo”, produzida em 2013, pela artista plástica Adriana Varejão, e parte do questionamento que se delineia da seguinte forma:  quais são as estratégias empregadas pela lógica colonial na manutenção das relações de poder estabelecidas no âmbito das artes, de modo que a existência negra se apague tanto no nível autoral, quanto no nível epistêmico da cultura? A partir de uma proposta teórico-analítica de caráter decolonial, cujas bases, são, necessariamente, um modo de inscrição negra no campo de produção de conhecimento, foi possível compreender que o etiquetamento universal, no campo artístico, se trata de uma espécie de estratégia necropolítica de apagamento da autoria negra no âmbito das práticas estabelecidas no campo cultural e artístico.  Palavras-chave: Arte brasileira. Negros - Identidade racial.  Etiqueta universal..
Racialização, subjetividades, arte e estética: um estudo de caso a partir da formação em psicologia
Authors: Adriao Karla Galvao , Rodrigues Mariana Borelli
Published: March 2020

Este texto propõe-se a discutir sobre tensionamentos entre arte, estética, decolonialidades, branquitude e negritude, a partir de um olhar feminista pós-estrutural e decolonial, para uma experiência de docência na primeira disciplina sobre raça da grade curricular da graduação em Psicologia em uma universidade pública do nordeste do Brasil. Toma como estudo de caso as vivências junto aos 45 alunos e alunas que puderam compartilhar de um debate teórico e epistemológico que se centrou na discussão sobre racismo, branqueamento, miscigenação, mito da democracia racial, branquitude, pactos de privilégio brancos, capitalismo e neoliberalismo, decolonialidades e as artes como formas de resistência local. Amparou-se na perspectiva de educação feminista participativa através de metodologias da arteterapia e de processos grupais, que têm as relações de poder e de voz/silenciamento no centro, utilizando-se de recursos de jogos teatrais, corporais e arteterapêuticos. Traremos exertos dos debates e deslocamentos realizados sobre as relações entre racialização e artes, através das idas a exposições/expressões artísticas em museus e em comunidades da cidade; e ao processo de construção da exposição “à flor/cor da pele” na confrontação com os processos de subjetivação e as políticas que tangenciam o campo Psi na formação de futuros profissionais menos colonizados.Palavras-chave: Racialização; subjetividades; decolonialidades; feminismos; arte; arteterapia.
Resenha do Livro “Necropolítica"
Authors: Santos Merylin Ricieli dos
Published: March 2020

Resenha do Livro “Necropolítica"
Effects of a Blended-Flipped English program on the learning of Academic and Administrative Staff in a Higher Education Institution
Authors: Caro Torres María Catalina , Parra Pérez Diana Angélica
Published: March 2020

This article presents the results of an exploratory study about the contributions of a blended English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning program, with a flipped classroom instructional model, to the development of the listening and reading skills of academic and administrative staff of a higher education institution. The research followed a mixed method approach framed on variables such as the development of oral (listening) and written (reading) comprehension activities. The results present some contributions of the blended-flipped instructional model to the EFL teaching and learning processes, as well as to development of professors’ and administrative staff’s communicative competences in English. This study highlights how the combination of blended learning with a flipped classroom approach to proficiency program design opens new possibilities in the language learning instructional design field, and demonstrates the blended-flipped model’s positive effects on language learning. It is also novel in its proof of the effectiveness of creating a program based on the professional development needs of the University’s community of professors and administrative staff from various disciplines.
Early Eurocentric Criticism of Achebe and Postcolonial Realities in Africa
Authors: Nwaozuzu Uche-Chinemere , Anene Ezeugwu Cindy
Published: March 2020

Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart has attracted a glut of global opinions on the nature and character of the work. This is to be expected as any good work of literature will elicit much scholarly criticism. Thus, this paper looks at the early Eurocentric criticism of Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The study leans on bio-bibliographical approach to literary criticism. It tries to situate their conclusions within the realities of the postcolonial environment of most African societies and reaches the conclusion that features of culture clash and social dislocation which these critics misinterpreted, glossed over and out rightly dismissed have become the albatross of virtually all post-colonial African states.
Ecological Unconscious, Animals and Psychological Trauma in Monique Roffey’s Archipelago Diren Ashok
Authors: Ashok Khandhar Diren , Kaur Hardev , Bin Talif Rosli , Izat Binti Zainal Zainor
Published: March 2020

Monique Roffey is a Trinidadian-born award winning writer who has produced a number of famous novels and a memoir. In her recent novel, Archipelago (2012), issues on redemption, loss of hope and healing were highlighted in the wake of a devastating natural disaster that swept across the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. Life was a complete change for the chief protagonist, Gavin Weald, as the catastrophic flood not only destroyed his home but also put great psychological strains which affected him and his family. In order to combat the distressing ordeal, Gavin and his daughter- alongside with their dog- decided to set sail and to make peace with the very ocean that caused the misfortune upon them. This research aims to validate the authenticity and importance nature plays in overcoming trauma that has been caused by the flood. In order to carry out this research, the concepts of ecological unconscious and dualism under the lenses of Eco-psychology by Theodore Roszak and Andy Fisher as well as trauma by Cathy Caruth will be employed in analysing how nature plays a pertinent role in healing trauma caused by the floods in this novel. This study aspires to explicate further the relationship between human and animals and how this union helps to overcome psychological disturbances experienced by the characters.
Post-Aural Story-Telling and the Iranian Flaneurs: A Benjaminian Reading of Sina Dadkhah’s Yousef Abad, Street 33
Authors: Sadjadi Bakhtiar , Nilfrushan Bahareh
Published: March 2020

The city has fascinated the street wanderer as the contemplation of modern life. Walter Benjamin’s conception of ‘flâneur,’ originally borrowed from Charles Baudelaire, could be taken as the true legacy of such fascination. There is always a sense of nostalgia being revealed through the flânerie of the city stroller passing through the metropolis, its shopping centers, and boulevards nourishing the mind of the bohemic storyteller with tales of post-aural experience and memory. Adapting Walter Benjamin’s concept of ‘flânerie’ in the streets of Paris to those of Tehran, the present paper attempts to explore Sina Dadkhah’s Yousef Abad, Street 33 in order to demonstrate the post-aural stories of the flaneurs in an Iranian milieu. This article focuses on the modern aspect of the Iranian contemporary society and explores the immediate consequences of modernity on the individual subjectivity of the characters represented in the novel. Considering Dadkhah’s novel as a product of the urban literature of a generation dealing with modernity of the arcades and other lures of the megapolis on the one hand and feeling of nostalgia for their past spirit on the other, the paper simultaneously reveals the close affinity between the subjectivity of the characters and Benjaminian tenets of flânerie and modern storytellers. The flaneurs represented in the novel, by rambling through and about the city of Tehran, are turning to be the storytellers who narrate their ‘post-aural’ experiences. In Yousef Abad, Street 33 the central characters are, as fully manifested in the paper, deeply engaged in the experiences of a modern sense of living while wandering to console their wistful longings despite the everyday challenges.
Emerging Trends in English among Youths in Nigeria – An Exploratory Study
Authors: P. Dozie Chinomso , Ojilere Ijeoma C.
Published: March 2020

The study explored the potential impact of emerging trends in the formal written English language of youths which hitherto is uninvestigated in South-east Nigeria. Through a random sampling process, 2000 copies of pretested and validated questionnaire written in English were administered to undergraduates at five federal universities in south-east Nigeria. In addition, print-out of a couple of group conversations on Facebook and WhatsApp and Key Person Interview (KPI) was used to supplement the questionnaire data. In all, 1940 copies of questionnaire representing 97.00% were completed and returned for analysis. Results showed that emerging trends in written English conversation as social media convention is common among students in tertiary institutions. Findings revealed that 98.87% of participants used emerging trends during classes which indicates a massive infiltration of formal written English with social media trivialities while a statistically significant 34.54% have had to use these emerging trends though unconsciously during exams which reflects their deep and deliberate learning of these most potentially contentious tools of informal written conversation. Ultimately, the study confirmed that activities on social media was taking its toll on the students’ performance in written English as they can no longer tell the appropriateness of one variety or another. In conclusion, the study established that emerging trends have profound negative impact on written English and recommends that teachers/instructors must make purposeful efforts to unteach that which has been wrongly learned by insisting that students begin to imbibe the culture of standard and formal writing regardless of the purpose of the writing.
A Descriptive Analysis of Cultural Content of “English for Iraq” Textbooks Used in the Intermediate Schools in Iraq
Authors: Abdulridha Obaid Ali , Ismail Lilliati , Mohamed Razali Abu Bakar , Mansor Nor Shahila , Othman Moomala , Aralas Dalia
Published: March 2020

Despite the abundance of the literature addressing culture incorporation in English language teaching and learning, the study of the implicit, as well as the explicit, cultural representations in EFL textbooks’ linguistic content formulates an essential part with a consensus on its significant importance. Since 2012, a new EFL textbooks series written by foreign authors has been adopted in Iraq; this series does not seem to have gained a lot of quality research about the hidden curriculum, particularly related to its cultural content. This study investigates culture integration in the content of “English for Iraq” textbook series currently used in the intermediate schools in Iraq, aiming at detecting both any potential acculturation, and the kind of culture, (surface or deep) emphasized in the written texts and the visuals of the textbooks’ content. A qualitative research method is employed based on a descriptive content analysis. Findings show that the textbooks encompass sharp difference in the frequency occurrences of the cultural representations, resulting to the dominance of both the source (Iraqi local cultural) culture, and the two cultural dimensions, products and persons. This imbalanced representation drives the textbooks to be source-culture-based textbooks with least probability of acculturation, and be prevailed with surface culture materials focusing on items like Folks, Fairs, Festivals, and Food, which turn the textbooks to look like tourist’s guide books. The textbooks then follow a traditional approach for integrating culture in their content. A pedagogical implication of the study can be the necessity of re-considering culture corporation in these textb
Study of Socratic Irony and Romantic Irony in Khayyam, Abol-ala and Schopenhauer’s Quatrains
Authors: Khalilollahi Shahla , Mousavi Maryam
Published: March 2020

In this article we are determined to review Socratic irony, romantic and ironic structures of Khayyam's quatrains and the ones attributed to him and explain the place of Khayyam as an ironist among other thinkers of the world, according to the meaning of romantic irony and Socratic irony in his quatrains. Irony is the recognition of the fact that the world itself is sick and only an ambivalent attitude can understand its paradoxical totality.  Ashleh Goal believes that irony in this sense, according to its nature, is not moderating, but it means that it is endless and self-looking like Socratic wisdom. Irony is related to an aspect of speech in which the meaning of the word is placed in contrast to the literal meaning of the word.  In fact, an individual mentions something which is not what he or she actually meant, or is not all of what he or she meant.  Examples of these meanings can be seen in Socrates' dialogues, which one type of irony is called Socratic irony and the other type is romantic irony.  This term was used in a more complicated meaning, which was our purpose in this article, by the German romantic theorists in the late eighteenth century A.D.  In romantic irony, the offended artist of the events of life portrays an excerpt from reality, from the perspective of his knowledge as Khayyam created a school and after him a number of Iran's poets continued it.  He constantly reminds the human suffering by offering images of the world inversion.
Re-evaluating the Hegemony of the English Language in Western Africa: A Critical Review of the Research (2003 to 2018)
Authors: Tom-Lawyer Oris , Thomas Michael
Published: March 2020

This paper seeks to analyse the hegemony of the English language in Western Africa. The originality of the approach stems from its reading of hegemony through the lens of educational policies and the socio-economic functions of the language and its examination of the premise that there is a positive link between English and development contexts (Coleman, 2010). The study aims to fill a gap in existing research on the role of English in the development of Western Africa by exploring the usefulness of English’s linguistic hegemony in the region, and to counter the negative connotations that it has always attracted. Based on a critical review of the research literature between 2003 and 2018, the paper concludes that the hegemony of English has resulted in the development of anglophone countries in Western Africa, while in the francophone/lusophone regions, industrial backwardness and low literacy rates have been consequences of English language marginalisation. In conclusion, it recommends, amongst other implications, the need for the early introduction of English into French curricula.
IterCluster: a barcode clustering algorithm for long fragment read analysis
Authors: Weng Jiancong , Chen Tian , Xie Yinlong , Xu Xun , Zhang Gengyun , Peters Brock A. , Drmanac Radoje
Published: March 2020

Recent advances in long fragment read (LFR, also known as linked-read technologies or read-cloud) technologies, such as single tube long fragment reads (stLFR), 10X Genomics Chromium reads, and TruSeq synthetic long-reads, have enabled efficient haplotyping and genome assembly. However, in the case of stLFR and 10X Genomics Chromium reads, the long fragments of a genome are covered sparsely by reads in each barcode and most barcodes are contained in multiple long fragments from different regions, which results in inefficient assembly when using long-range information. Thus, methods to address these shortcomings are vital for capitalizing on the additional information obtained using these technologies. We therefore designed IterCluster, a novel, alignment-free clustering algorithm that can cluster barcodes from the same target region of a genome, using -mer frequency-based features and a Markov Cluster (MCL) approach to identify enough reads in a target region of a genome to ensure sufficient target genome sequence depth. The IterCluster method was validated using BGI stLFR and 10X Genomics chromium reads datasets. IterCluster had a higher precision and recall rate on BGI stLFR data compared to 10X Genomics Chromium read data. In addition, we demonstrated how IterCluster improves the de novo assembly results when using a divide-and-conquer strategy on a human genome data set (scaffold/contig N50 = 13.2 kbp/7.1 kbp vs. 17.1 kbp/11.9 kbp before and after IterCluster, respectively). IterCluster provides a new way for determining LFR barcode enrichment and a novel approach for de novo assembly using LFR data. IterCluster is OpenSource and available on https://github.com/JianCong-WENG/IterCluster.
Dental characters used in phylogenetic analyses of mammals show higher rates of evolution, but not reduced independence
Authors: Brocklehurst Neil , Benevento Gemma Louise
Published: March 2020

Accurate reconstructions of phylogeny are essential for studying the evolution of a clade, and morphological characters are necessarily used for the reconstruction of the relationships of fossil organisms. However, variation in their evolutionary modes (for example rate variation and character non-independence) not accounted for in analyses may be leading to unreliable phylogenies. A recent study suggested that phylogenetic analyses of mammals may be suffering from a dominance of dental characters, which were shown to have lower phylogenetic signal than osteological characters and produced phylogenies less congruent with molecularly-derived benchmarks. Here we build on this previous work by testing five additional morphological partitions for phylogenetic signal and examining what aspects of dental and other character evolution may be affecting this, by fitting models of discrete character evolution to phylogenies inferred and time calibrated using molecular data. Results indicate that the phylogenetic signal of discrete characters correlate most strongly with rates of evolution, with increased rates driving increased homoplasy. In a dataset covering all Mammalia, dental characters have higher rates of evolution than other partitions. They do not, however, fit a model of independent character evolution any worse than other regions. Primates and marsupials show different patterns to other mammal clades, with dental characters evolving at slower rates and being more heavily integrated (less independent). While the dominance of dental characters in analyses of mammals could be leading to inaccurate phylogenies, the issue is not unique to dental characters and the results are not consistent across datasets. Molecular benchmarks (being entirely independent of the character data) provide a framework for examining each dataset individually to assess the evolution of the characters used.
Two new combinations in Corybas and Genoplesium (Orchidaceae) for New South Wales.
Authors: Renner Matthew AM
Published: March 2020

The new combinations, Corybas longituba (D.L.Jones & L.M.Copel.) M.A.M.Renner and Genoplesium trifidum (Rupp) M.A.M.Renner, are provided for a species described in a genus not currently accepted (Corysanthes), and another species described in a genus since split (Prasophyllum) for which no valid combination in Genoplesium exists. The circumscription, recognition, and distribution of Genoplesium trifidum are all reconsidered.
Cheilolejeunea rodneyi Bever. & Glenny (Lejeuneaceae, Marchantiopsida), a newly described species from lowland indigenous forest sites in the Tararua Ecological District, North Island of New Zealand.
Authors: Beveridge Peter , Glenny David , Shepherd Lara
Published: March 2020

Cheilolejeunea rodneyi Bever. & Glenny, a new species of liverwort from lowland indigenous forest reserves in the Tararua Ecological District near Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand is described and illustrated. In both morphology and phylogeny, it is closest to the recently-described C. morganii Bever. & Glenny, with which it shares monoicy, pycnolejeuneoid innovation leaf sequences, a pentacarinate perianth with long rostrum and absence of large botryoidal oil-bodies, but differs in having a single or two-celled uniseriate second tooth, a large extal lobule papilla, a cylindrical rostrum, oil-bodies with large, usually homogeneous segments, and the common presence of cladia. Its addition to the New Zealand flora brings the total species of Cheilolejeunea to 11, four of which are endemic.
ALTERNATIVAS DE MANEJO QUÍMICO DE CAPIM-AMARGOSO NA CULTURA DA SOJA
Authors: Gongora Andreotti Enzo Giuseppe , Pio de Oliveira Guilherme Mendes , Ferreira Luiz Augusto Inojosa , Pio de Oliveira Stella Mendes , Fornarolli Bruno Candido , Fornarolli Donizeti Aparecido
Published: March 2020

A resistência de plantas daninhas a herbicidas demanda novas estratégias de manejo químico da comunidade intraespecífica, visto sua capacidade de interferência em sistemas de cultivo. Objetivou-se avaliar a eficácia de inibidores da ACCase aplicados em mistura ou sequencial com o herbicida 2,4-D, como alternativas de controle de capim-amargoso. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com onze tratamentos e quatro repetições, entre 2015 e 2016. Os manejos foram compostos pelos herbicidas cletodim, haloxifope-p-metílico, fenoxaprope-p-etílico, quizalofope-p-etílico e fluazifope-p-butílico em mistura ou sequencial com 2,4-D, além de aplicações de paraquate e dos graminicidas associados ao glyphosate em todos os tratamentos. Foram realizadas avaliações visuais de controle aos 5 dias antes da semeadura (DAS), e com 0; 10; 20; 40; 50 e 65 dias depois da semeadura (DDS) para determinar o controle de capim-amargoso. A aplicação dos herbicidas cletodim e haloxifope-p-metílico em mistura ou sequencial com 2,4-D não diferem no controle das plantas de capim-amargoso. A aplicação dos herbicidas fenoxaprope-p-etílico, quizalofope-p-etílico e fluazifope-p-butílico em sequencial com o herbicida 2,4-D apresentaram maior controle quando comparada com a aplicação dos mesmos em mistura com 2,4-D. O herbicida fluazifope-p-butílico em mistura com 2,4-D não é indicado para o controle de capim-amargoso.
VIABILIDADE TÉCNICA E ECONÔMICA DA ADIÇÃO DE INIBIDORES DA ACCASE E DA ALS AO GLYPHOSATE NO CONTROLE DE PLANTAS DANINHAS E NO RENDIMENTO DE GRÃOS DA SOJA
Authors: Machineski Gabriela Silva , Dalazen Giliardi , Victola César Augusto Gotardo , Colombo Larissa Abgariani , Bidoia Flávia Luciane
Published: March 2020

O uso contínuo de glyphosate no cultivo da soja tem propiciado o aparecimento de plantas daninhas resistentes. Assim, buscam-se alternativas de manejo, como a utilização de produtos com diferentes mecanismos de ação. Neste trabalho, o objetivo foi avaliar a eficiência da aplicação em pós-emergência de herbicidas com diferentes mecanismos de ação no controle de plantas daninhas na cultura da soja. O experimento foi conduzido na safra 2016/2017, em Cambé-PR, em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Foram avaliados os tratamentos glyphosate; glyphosate + haloxifop com sequencial de chlorimuron -ethyl; glyphosate + clethodim com sequencial de cloransulam; testemunha capinada; testemunha infestada. O uso exclusivo de glyphosate não apresentou controle eficiente das plantas daninhas encontradas. As espécies Digitaria insularis (Capim-amargoso), Commelina virginica (Trapoeraba) e Digitaria horizontalis (Capim-colchão) foram eficientemente controladas pelos tratamentos glyphosate + haloxifop com sequencial de chlorimuron-ethyl e glyphosate + clethodim com sequencial de cloransulam. Todavia, as espécies Conyza bonariensis (Buva) e Ipomoea purpurea (Corda-de-viola) foram eficientemente controladas apenas pelo tratamento testemunha capinada. A produtividade da soja foi maior nos tratamentos glyphosate + haloxifop com sequencial de chlorimuron-ethyl e glyphosate + clethodim com sequencial de cloransulam, com média de 4.600 kg ha-1. Os tratamentos glyphosate e testemunha infestada apresentaram a menor massa de mil grãos e o menor rendimento de grãos. A maior receita líquida foi obtida pelos tratamentos glyphosate + haloxifop com sequencial de chlorimuron-ethyl e glyphosate + clethodim com sequencial de cloransulam. Dessa forma, a aplicação de herbicidas com diferentes mecanismos de ação (inibidor da EPSPs, inibidor de ACCase e inibidor de ALS) melhorou o controle das plantas daninhas, o rendimento de grãos da soja e a lucratividade da lavoura em comparação à aplicação isolada de glyphosate e à capina manual.
In silico Analysis of Phytochemicals from Glycyrrhiza glabra against Conjunctivitis
Authors: Sahoo Shibani , Gouda Swetanginee , Das Sunanya , Pandey Mukundjee , Bhattacharyay Dipankar
Published: March 2020

Phytochemicals are naturally occurring biologically active compounds found in plant parts such as roots, barks, leaves, seeds, and even pulps. It has been reported that Glycyrrhiza glabra plant extract is used for treatment of the disease conjunctivitis. The plant extract contains different phytochemicals. The agent that causes conjunctivitis is a gram positive bacterium which belongs to species Staphylococcus. One of the key enzymes involved in its biochemical pathway is Isocitrate dehydrogenase. The molecular docking of the phytochemicals with the enzyme was studied using Biovia Discovery Studio. The strength of the interaction was evaluated based on -CDocker energy and -CDocker interaction energy. High positive values for both the parameters indicated that out of different phytochemicals rosmarinic acid can effectively deactivate the is ocitrate dehydrogenase enzyme thereby inhibiting the life cycle of Staphylococcus.
In silico Analysis of Phytochemicals from Cocoa against Ribitol-5-Phosphate 2-Dehydrogenase of Streptococcus pneumoniae Causing Pneumonia
Authors: Das Sunanya , Khatei Suchismita , Sahoo Saismita , Swain Sitaram , Bhattacharyay Dipankar
Published: March 2020

This analysis aims at evaluating the effects of Cocoa extract on Pneumonia. Pneumonia is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Caffeine, Chorogenic acid, Ferulic acid, Iso- Orientin, luteolin, Naringenin and Vanillic acid of Cocoa were interacted with ribitol-5-phosphate 2-dehydrogenase which is involved in pentose and glucorunate interconversion pathways of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The enzyme was taken as receptor and phytochemicals were considered as ligands. All the interactions were done in Biovia discovery Studio 2020 and the process is known as molecular Docking. Molecular Docking provides us an opportunity to identify the potential phytochemical or component which can act as powerful tool against the pathogen. Out of all the phytochemicals, Luteolin of Cocoa inhibits or blocks the mechanism or action of ribitol-5-phosphate 2-dehydrogenase enzyme of Streptococcus pneumoniae. There is high possibility that these phytochemicals can potentially inhibit others enzymes involved in various metabolic pathways of Streptococcus pneumoniae.
IUBMB/PSBMB 2019 Conference/Plenary: National Program Accreditation. Does it help drive change and support faculty and student or does it limit our creativity?
Authors: Provost Joseph J.
Published: March 2020

Accreditation of academic programs and recognition of student degrees provide academic institutions a measure of a set of community agreed upon standards. These can aid pedagogical change, support faculty to successfully engage students in their discipline and to provide a mechanism to maintain standards. Several professional scientific societies from engineering, chemistry, and biochemistry and molecular biology have developed standards by which departments can be recognized for accreditation. As one of the members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology who helped develop the accreditation and standardized exams and a committee member of the American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training I will present the evolution of the accreditation process, discuss the benefits and challenges with being an accreditation. How these programs serve their communities and at times can hinder or be used to support potential creativity and teaching pedagogies will also be discussed.
Circular economy to enhance sustainability of small and medium‐sized enterprises
Authors: Dey Prasanta Kumar , Malesios Chrisovaladis , De Debashree , Budhwar Pawan , Chowdhury Soumyadeb , Cheffi Walid
Published: March 2020

The circular economy (CE) represents a major paradigm shift of moving from the concepts of linear to circular supply chains across multiple industries. Although some aspects of CE adoption within industrial supply chains have been researched extensively (particularly addressing challenges of design, implementation, and operations), the research that relates CE practices with sustainability performance to reveal the current state of CE practices within small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) is scant. The aim of this research was to facilitate SMEs to achieve greater sustainability through CE implementation. This research addresses three research questions—How are CE fields of action related to sustainability performance? What are the issues, challenges, and opportunities of adopting CE in SMEs? And what key strategies, resources, and competences facilitate effective implementation of CE in SMEs? This study adopts a mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) using survey research, focus group, and case studies; 130 randomly selected SMEs within the Midlands of the United Kingdom have been surveyed, and the responses are analysed using statistical tools along with findings from focus groups and case studies. The study reveals that all CE fields of action (take, make, distribute, use, and recover) of SMEs are correlated to economic performance, but only make and use are related to environmental and social performance. The study further derives strategies, resources, and competences for achieving sustainability across all the CE field of actions. Additionally, this research reveals the issues and challenges, strategies, resources, and competences required for implementing CE in SMEs.
TSPAN31 suppresses cell proliferation in human cervical cancer through down‐regulation of its antisense pairing with CDK4
Authors: Xia Yingjie , Deng Yuanfei , Zhou Yuting , Li Dan , Sun Xuemeng , Gu Lei , Chen Zipeng , Zhao Qing
Published: March 2020

Natural antisense transcripts (NAT) are prevalent phenomena in the mammalian genome and play significant regulatory roles in gene expression. While new insights into NAT continue to be revealed, their exact function and their underlying mechanisms in human cancer remain largely unclear. We identified a NAT of CDK4, referred to TSPAN31, which inhibits CDK4 mRNA and protein expression in human cervical cancer by targeting the 3′‐untranslated region (3′‐UTR) of the CDK4 mRNA. Furthermore, silencing the expression of the TSPAN31 mRNA rescued the TSPAN31 3′‐UTR‐ or the TSPAN31 full‐length‐induced decrease in CDK4 expression. Noteworthy, we discovered that TSPAN31, as a member of the tetraspanin family, suppressed cell proliferation by down‐regulating its antisense pairing with CDK4 and decreasing retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation in human cervical cancer. Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that TSPAN31 may serve as a potential molecular target for the development of novel anti‐cancer agents.

Significance of the study

Natural antisense transcripts are widely found in the genome and play an important role in the growth and development of cells. TSPAN31 is natural antisense transcript, and CDK4 is an important gene in the regulation of the cell cycle. Therefore, TSPAN31 and CDK4 have great significance in the study of tumour therapeutic targets.
Efficient Separation of Photogenerated Charges in Sandwiched Bi2S3−BiOCl Nanoarrays/BiVO4 Nanosheets Composites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity
Authors: Li Huali , Chen Yajie , Li Li , Liu He , Jiang Haiyu , Du Lizhi , Tian Guohui
Published: March 2020

The development of cost‐efficient and feasible strategies for producing efficient photocatalysts is crucial to advance photocatalytic pollutants degradation. Herein, we report a high photocatalytic active hierarchical sandwiched Bi2S3−BiOCl nanoarrays/BiVO4 nanosheets composites fabricated using biomass‐derived BiVO4 porous nanosheets as starting substrate material. BiVO4 porous nanosheets were first prepared via an impregnation‐calcination process using biomass template method. Subsequently, the ion exchange reactions during solvothermal reaction realized the in situ nucleation and growth of Bi2S3 nanorods and BiOCl nanoflakes nanoarrays from both sides of BiVO4 porous nanosheets, resulting in the formation of hierarchical sandwiched Bi2S3−BiOCl nanoarrays/BiVO4 nanosheets composites. Specifically, well‐defined Bi2S3 nanorods and BiOCl nanoflakes nanoarrays are vertically grown on the surface of BiVO4 nanosheets to provide plenty of accessible active sites and enable visible light harvesting. The tight contact between different components promises fast electron transfer and excellent durability. Consequently, optimized sandwiched Bi2S3−BiOCl/BiVO4 composite exhibits superior photocatalytic activity for pollutants degradation.
Electronic Modulation between Tungsten Nitride and Cobalt Dopants for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at a Wide Range of pH
Authors: Liu Zhizhong , Zhang Xuming , Song Hao , Yang Yixuan , Zheng Yang , Gao Biao , Fu Jijiang , Chu Paul K. , Huo Kaifu
Published: March 2020

Transition metal nitrides with Pt‐like chemical properties are important electrocatalysts and tungsten nitride (WN) is a good hydrodenitrogenation and hydrodesulfurization catalyst but its catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is poor because of the unfavourable d‐band electronic structure resulting in strong interactions with adsorbed hydrogen. Herein, Co doped WN nanowire arrays grown on carbon cloth are reported and the result shows that Co dopants not only act as active sites, but also increase activity of W sites by downshifting the position of d‐band centre of W sites as a result of the electron transfer from W to Co. Density‐functional theory (DFT) and density of states (DOS) calculations confirm that the enhanced HER performance is attributed to the modulation of the d‐band center of W and introduced Co dopants both consequently facilitating the HER process. The results on electronic modulation provide insights into the design of electrocatalysts with high activity.
Infigratinib in upper tract urothelial carcinoma versus urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and its association with comprehensive genomic profiling and/or cell‐free DNA results
Authors: Pal Sumanta K. , Bajorin Dean , Dizman Nazli , Hoffman‐Censits Jean , Quinn David I. , Petrylak Daniel P. , Galsky Matthew D. , Vaishampayan Ulka , De Giorgi Ugo , Gupta Sumati , Burris Howard A. , Soifer Harris S. , Li Gary , Wang Hao , Dambkowski Carl L. , Moran Susan , Daneshmand Siamak , Rosenberg Jonathan E.
Published: March 2020

Background

Infigratinib (BGJ398) is a potent and selective fibroblast grown factor receptor 1 to 3 (FGFR1‐3) inhibitor with significant activity in patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma bearing FGFR3 alterations. Given the distinct biologic characteristics of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB), the authors examined whether infigratinib had varying activity in these settings.

Methods

Eligible patients had metastatic urothelial carcinoma with activating FGFR3 mutations and/or fusions. Comprehensive genomic profiling was performed on formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded tissues. Blood was collected for cell‐free DNA analysis using a 600‐gene panel. Patients received infigratinib at a dose of 125 mg orally daily (3 weeks on/1 week off) until disease progression or intolerable toxicity occurred. The overall response rate (ORR; partial response [PR] plus complete response [CR]) and disease control rate (DCR; CR plus PR plus stable disease [SD]) were characterized.

Results

A total of 67 patients were enrolled; the majority (70.1%) had received ≥2 prior antineoplastic therapies. In 8 patients with UTUC, 1 CR and 3 PRs were observed (ORR, 50%); the remaining patients achieved a best response of SD (DCR, 100%). In patients with UCB, 13 PRs were observed (ORR, 22%), and 22 patients had a best response of SD (DCR, 59.3%). Notable differences in genomic alterations between patients with UTUC and those with UCB included higher frequencies of FGFR3‐TACC3 fusions (12.5% vs 6.8%) and FGFR3 R248C mutations (50% vs 11.9%), and a lower frequency of FGFR3 S249C mutations (37.5% vs 59.3%).

Conclusions

Differences in the cumulative genomic profile were observed between patients with UTUC and those with UCB in the current FGFR3‐restricted experience, underscoring the distinct biology of these diseases. These results support a planned phase 3 adjuvant study predominantly performed in this population.
A malware detection method using satisfiability modulo theory model checking for the programmable logic controller system
Authors: Xie Yaobin , Chang Rui , Jiang Liehui
Published: March 2020

Nowadays programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are suffering increasing cyberattacks. Attackers could reprogram PLCs to inject malware that would cause physical damages and economic losses. These PLC malwares are highly customized for the target which makes it difficult to extract a general pattern to detect them. In this article, we propose a PLC malware detection method based on model checking. Firstly, we improve the existing modeling method for PLC system by using the Satisfiability Modulo Theory (SMT) constraints to model the PLC system. We also present an algorithm that can transform the PLC program to the model. Our SMT‐based model can deal with the features of the PLC system such as undetermined input signals, edge detection and so on. Secondly, we focus on malware detection and propose two methods, invariant extraction and rule design pattern, to generate detection rules. The former can extract the invariants from an original program, and the latter can lower the bar for user to design detection rules. Finally, we implement a prototype and evaluate it on three representative ICS scenarios. The evaluation result shows that our proposed method can successfully detect the malwares using four attack patterns.
Singlet Oxygen and Dyes: Synthesis with Visible Light is Where the Future Lies
Authors: Vassilikogiannakis Georgios
Published: March 2020

Georgios Vassilikogiannakis
is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Crete (Greece). He is a current member of the ChemPhotoChem Editorial Board.