bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CONFLICT OF INTERPRETATIONS OF LATGALIAN ETHNO-POLITICAL IDENTITY IN MODERN LATVIAN SOCIETY
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Vaisla Stanislavs
Published: December 2020

Latgalians are an ethnic group located in Latvia characterized could be characterized by an extremely undefined status. In the public discourse there are two narratives, that are opposite in meaning, constructing which form the ethnopolitical status of the people of Latagle and their historical memory. The first reflects the official position of the Latvian state, and is based on the non-recognition of Latgalians as an independent ethnic group. Also, interoperating the Latgalian language is viewed as a variant of the Latvian language and there is historical reference to the 1917 Latgale Congress that united Latvia. The opposite narrative affirms asserts the historical and cultural autonomy of the Latgalian people and the independence of the Latgalian language, based on the history of the struggle for the political autonomy of Latgale and the historical memory of discrimination by the Latvian majority as well. The article analyzes the fundamental factors contributing to irreparable the unavoidable uncertainty of in the construction of Latgalian identity and the impracticability of both political narratives. The limited and insufficient logic of postcolonial theory, which is regularly used to characterize ethnopolitical processes in the post-Soviet space and, in particular, in Latvia is shown in the article. It is concluded that the fundamental uncertainty factors of Latgalian identity, intensified by the action could be reinforced by the action of European integration processes, impede the possibility of political mobilization based on both nationalist state policy and the idea of Latgalian ethnopolitical autonomy.
THE CONCEPT OF THE POLITICAL IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF THOMAS HOBBES
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Tsanava Bachuki
Published: December 2020

The article is devoted to the concept of the political in the philosophy of English thinker Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679). The author points out the key concepts for understanding the concept of the political in Hobbes’s philosophy, such as the method of his philosophy, anthropological views, and the idea of the state of nature. The author describes the philosopher’s thought path toward the concept of the political, beginning from his attempt to overcome the shortcomings of contemporary philosophy and the desire to create a science of politics, based on rational deliberation. Hobbes contrasts elocution with his method of searching for political truth based on reason because there is more harm than good done to the state by elocution. In the hands of selfish and vain individuals, elocution turns into an instrument for achieving personal goals rather than the common good. Hobbes’s anthropological views allow him to describe all the horror and injustice in the state of nature, in which any selfish, but reasonable person, using the right method will come to the idea of the need to establish a state. The author notes that the concepts of vanity and fear occupied a particularly important place in Hobbes’s philosophy, since they are the reasons for the collapse and creation of states. Thus, the concept of the political in Hobbes’s philosophy is inseparable from deliberation based on reason, since without it selfish individuals cannot hear the voice of reason, establish the Leviathan, and proceed to the political condition. The social con- tract, obtained as a result of rational deliberation of egoistic individuals, represents the pinnacle of the political because neither the political condition nor citizens existed before it.
Planned obsolescence: legal aspects of counteraction
Authors:   Penza State University, Lihter Pavel L.
Published: December 2020

Modern society faces new challenges due to the development of technology, economy, level of consumption. The article deals with the legal aspects of counteraction to the strategy of unscrupulous manufacturers for deliberate programming of technical defects of the goods, leading to the need to replace it immediately at the end of the warranty period. This strategy has significant implications for public health, social and environmental security. The objectives of the work are studying the actual problems of planned obsolescence of products, the search for its essence, principles and features. The author identifies legislative and law enforcement practice formed by the European Union and different countries in this area. The analysis of law in other countries allows to state the tendency of shift of emphasis from private law methods of protection of consumer and social rights to public law methods, to wider use of a number of coercive instruments. Rethinking the balance of private, public and public interests led to the author’s proposal to develop a holistic concept of legal regulation of civil law relations. As a result of the article, the directions for improving various branches of law in order to counteract the planned obsolescence of goods are proposed.
The educational program in theology at the university: Integration of knowledge and pedagogical conditions for its implementation
Authors:   Orel State University named after I. S. Turgenev, Chelovenko Tatyana G.
Published: December 2020

The article problematizes the search for the principles to create and implement the educational program in theology at the university, taking into account the specifics of the Eastern Christian theological tradition. The need for integrative and sociallyoriented approaches that allow students to authentically perceive the essence of Orthodox theology, expressed in the unity of Eastern Christian speculation and moral attitude towards life, is substantiated. Taking into consideration the synergistic nature of theological knowledge and its value-worldview capabilities, the author identifies a number of fundamental theoretical and methodological approaches for the development of the educational program and the corresponding goals of its implementation. The formation of a personal value-semantic conceptual system of a young person as a “super-task” is emphasized. Developing personal meanings with a focus on values, as they are presented in the Holy Scriptures and the patristic heritage, is a great pedagogical task, which should include the methodology of the so-called “existential cognition,” orienting a person to coexistence and one’s spiritual foundations. The author illustrates that in theological education, the information-cognitive approach, even with all its innovations, must be supplemented by an appeal to the issue of personal coexistence. Many years of the author’s practical experience in the field of education made it possible to identify a number of pedagogical conditions for such conjugation presented in the subject-semantic model of pedagogical integration of knowledge.
Authenticity v/s Glocalization as Represented in the Digital Platforms: A Study on the Food Culture with Special Reference to Tripura
Authors:   Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts, ICFAI University, Tripura., Roy Gitanjali
Published: December 2020

Food habit articulates the local culture of a region. Tripura, a land-locked state of varied communities (the tribes and Bengalis of the soil) negotiates the countercultural exchange of cuisines. Traditional ethnic foods are markers of shared cultural values and identity. Preparation of traditional food involves the role of memory which involves passing down culinary skills, techniques, and ingredients from one generation to the next. The marketing industry and the restaurant culture have changed the taste of the consumers but again the ‘losses’ and the ‘need’ to preserve the traditional cuisines are archived in digital platforms. With the rise in YouTube food channels, Facebook pages, food delivery companies like Swiggy and Zomato; the local food met with the global consumer culture. On one hand, lost ethnic food habits are preserved by documenting the procedures of cooking traditional dishes. On the other, restaurants and bloggers are experimenting to prepare local food using global spices and techniques, resulting in a hybridized food identified by their hybridized name. This paper shall focus on how a new taste for food has developed in Tripura with the rise in digital participatory culture. The focus shall also be on the marketing signs and signifiers used in digital platforms to attract digital food readership. As e-readers, a survey of digital menu cards shall try to identify how the local food has evolved as glocalized cuisines.
CoVID-19 Pandemic as a Factor Revolutionizing the Industry of Higher Education
Authors:   Professor, National Academy of the National Guard of Ukraine, Ukraine, Melnyk Yuriy Borysovych , Pypenko Iryna Sergiivna ,   Associate Professor, Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, Ukraine, Maslov Yuri Vsevolodovich ,   Associate Professor, Belarusian State Economic University, Belarus
Published: December 2020

Due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, the world has changed dramatically, and it will never be the same. Under the circumstances, a new type of specialist is in demand that possesses competency in information technologies and communication means, as well as in health culture. The problem of corporate health culture is becoming a serious issue in scientific discourse. The present paper deals with the results of the study aimed at the assessment of the higher education systems’ preparedness for an emergency such as the CoVID-19 pandemic that affects the health of the participants in the educational process. The results were obtained through expert evaluations. The paper contains the analysis of the anonymous questionnaire answers obtained from the participants of the International Academic Conference “Psychological and Pedagogical Problems of Modern Specialist Formation” held online in June 2020 (Zoom Video Communications platform). The conference hosted over 200 researchers and practitioners in the field of education, psychology, and medicine representing 78 institutions from 20 countries located on five continents. The conference framework included a roundtable discussion accompanied by a questionnaire related to the organizational problems university education faced during the CoVID-19 pandemic. The analysis of the answers and expert opinions was conducted using the Pearson method ?2, which produced statistically relevant results. The analysis revealed marked differences in the attitudes of faculty (including gender differences) to the pandemic in terms of the organization of teaching at universities, the effect of social distancing measures on health (both physical and mental), and the value systems.
Performing Refugee’s Body and Memory: Poetics of Diaspora in lê thi diem thúy’s Autoperformance
Authors:   Assistant Professor, City University of Macau, KONG Io Chun
Published: December 2020

Despite the fact that substantial scholarship in Asian diasporic and refugee narratives has been developed in the post-Cold War era, critical refugee studies related to autoperformance have yet to be examined. Within this context of addressing autoperformance as an aesthetic genre, this paper explores the poetics of Vietnamese refugeehood as mediated in lê thi diem thúy’s ?Red Fiery Summer (1995) and the bodies between us (1996). While the former historicizes the Vietnam War from the diasporic perspective of a refugee, the latter articulates the counter master narratives by performing bodily memories of refugeehood. Informed by Marianne Hirsch’s “post-memory”, the paper demonstrates how body and memory could be inextricably and interdependently rendered as a poetics of diaspora in performance. This paper further argues that autoperforming these two aspects is critical to revisiting the history of the Vietnam War and calling the militarism of the U.S.A. into question.
Integrating ICT in English Language Teaching in Bangladesh: Teachers’ Perceptions and Challenges
Authors:   Division of Research, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Khan Nafis Mahmud , Kuddus Khushboo ,   School of Humanities (English), KIIT Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Published: December 2020

The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education especially, in English Language Teaching (ELT) in secondary schools of Bangladesh has been existing for a decade now. However, the status of actual implementation is quite different from the adoption and initiatives taken to integrate ICT in ELT. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the secondary level English language teachers’ attitude towards integration of ICT in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and the factors inhibiting the use of it. Further, the paper attempts to examine the challenges faced by the secondary level English teachers of Bangladesh in using ICT in language teaching effectively. In an attempt to examine the attitude of teachers in using ICT in ELT, a quantitative research is designed with a close ended questionnaire to collect the data from a sample of 100 secondary English language teachers of various schools of Bangladesh. The data of the responses is quantified and is analyzed by SPSS 20 program. The obtained data from the questionnaire is examined in order to investigate the perceptions of the secondary level English language teachers towards ICT integrated language teaching and the challenges of the implementation of ICT in ELT. In conclusion, the outcome of the research would provide significant information about the attitude of the teachers towards ICT integration in ELT and the challenges faced by them and hence, the study would help the policy makers and the teachers to enhance the effectiveness of using ICT in ELT.
Federalism at the Crossroads: Crisis of the Linguistic Minorities in India
Authors:   Government General Degree College, Tehatta. Nadia, West Bengal, India., Dutta Pritin
Published: December 2020

Polyglot federations face a challenge in reconciling between the national identities and regional identities. Demand for a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in India in 2015 by some groups bears testimony to this fact. On the question of political remapping in post-independence period, the constitutional ancestors sought to save India from another religious bigotry and the menace of casteism. The emergence of language as a viable alternative gained momentum in Nagpur session (1920) of the Indian National Congress (INC). But subsequent years encountered with a difficulty in adopting territorial solution for accommodating India’s multilingual identities. Pre-constitutional, extra-constitutional and constitutional arrangements have faced the challenge of linguistic accommodation. Dar Commission warned the risk of federal remapping with existing linguistic pocket corridors in the states. Inter-state migration has proliferated the problem over the years. Even the SRC could not provide adequate safeguards for large number of linguistic minorities living in all states (Kerala becomes exception with 97.03% linguistic majorities). There new minority emerged and accommodated but with limits. Census report of 2011 shows India having 19,569 languages which stood 1369 after linguistic scrutiny. Territorial machinations appear inadequate to satisfy all linguistic groups but only to incur huge expenditure. Indian federalism seems deficient in non-territorial power sharing which has succeeded in countries like Belgium in the form of Consociational representation. With its promise of inclusivity by means of a possible alternative it demands the attention of the policy makers as well as the academia.
A Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Novel White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Authors:   Department of English Language and Translation, College of Languages and Translation, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Khan Abdul Wadood
Published: December 2020

The multicultural novels of Zadie Smith, though fiction, invite linguists’ attention because of the efforts she makes to achieve dialectal and social accuracy. While Smith’s On Beauty (2005) is celebrated for its use of American Black English Vernacular; White Teeth: A Novel (2001) is acclaimed for its use of Cockney, Jamaican Creole, and youth language in London. In this linguistic review of White Teeth, specific features of the characters’ dialects are compared with standard versions of English. The impact of these speech patterns on the larger narrative is discussed. This study focuses especially on verbal inflections in the variety of dialects appropriated in the novel. It reviews the relevant research in the field of linguistic inflections and partial derivations with a view to comparing and contrasting their significance. This paper also debates the efficacy of existing sociolinguistic tools vis-à-vis a linguistically challenging work like White Teeth. The study aims at facilitating a better understanding of the linguistic features in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and their literary use.
Rendezvous with the Pandemic Survivors: An Analysis of the Spanish Flu in Katherine Anne Porter’s “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” and COVID-19
Authors:   Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Sethi Salini , Das Sonali ,   Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Dash Mousumi ,   Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University)
Published: December 2020

Laura Spinney, British science journalist and author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World observes that, “The Spanish Flu is remembered personally, not collectively. Not as a historical disaster, but as millions of discreet, private tragedies.” The pandemic of 1918 was not memorialized like World War I which supervened at the same time as the Spanish Flu. It was soon relegated in public memory as the world emerged from the throes of the nightmarish war. Almost a century later, the world finds itself in the grip of yet another pandemic, the COVID-19. Similar situations of patients with multiple complex symptoms, heaving hospitals, shortage of doctors and nurses, scenes of patients left unattended, dealing with the guilt of infecting their family and friends and struggling to survive paints an apocalyptic scenario. This paper tries to explore a parallel among the two pandemics as it witnesses the tragic tale of a survivor of the Spanish Influenza in Katherine Anne Porter’s autobiographical short novel “Pale Horse, Pale Rider.” The private tragedies of physical deterioration, psychological delusions and social stigmatization also suffered by the COVID-19 survivors have been documented and blazoned all over news and social media. The design behind broadcasting these factual accounts are recognition of the reality of the virus (suspected and labelled fake on many occasions), awareness of the symptoms and understanding of the disease. These hopeful and optimistic narratives of the COVID survivors are a faint ray of hope in these bleak times.
Imagining Extinction inside Viral Body without Organs
Authors:   Department of English, The Heritage College (Kolkata), Datta Asijit
Published: December 2020

Virus, in the form of a preassigned body without organs, predates the arrival of human species, and evolved on earth approximately three billion years ago, currently having an estimated variation of hundred million types. Humans form an insignificant subsection of the ‘virosphere’ (Crawford). Equipped with the knowledge of all organisms, the SARS-CoV-2 (my focus in this paper) virus combines with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which in turn identifies the tissues vulnerable to the infection. Once in the cell, it expropriates the cell’s mechanism, makes numerous copies of itself and invades other cells. Immune cells in the battle against the virus disrupt the flow of oxygen to all other parts of the body. In most cases, there is inflammation of the alveolus, its broken walls lessen oxygen intake, and the patient ends up in the ventilator. Eventually, the virus strikes all the organs with differing intensities– the lungs, the heart, the brain, the kidneys, the gut, the eyes. The animal virus merging with its human counterpart mirrors “interkingdoms, unnatural participations” where “Nature operates– against itself” (Deleuze and Guattari). Virus is anti-genealogy. Viruses bring the human and the non-human others together in a rhizomatic relation where genetic information and DNA are exchanged. Viruses, as BwO, de-structure the essential frame and subjectivity of humans. Both the human individual and viruses share a common plane where none possesses any essential reality and unfolds as an interactive space for multiple organic and inorganic exchanges. The only “enemy” of the virus is the organism, and as indeterminate, pure lawlessness it attacks the fundamental organization– the cellular and the molecular. Like the body without organs, viruses are anonymous/acephalous with its undying insistence to repeat/multiply and maximize connections. Virus is pure desire oriented towards reducing the infected body to its elemental form (compost/ash and others). Each organ transmutes into a body reacting against other bodies and against the whole body containing all organs. Claire Colebrook observes that a virus is so alive, “so lacking in boundaries and limits” that it does not qualify as a living being. My paper seeks to investigate the role of the virus in reducing/expanding the human to such an extent that it becomes one with the ground, and returns to its originary existence. I further propose that pandemics throughout history have initiated a re-imagination of human continuance; pandemics activate the human-toward-extinction by inducing the immortal virus through (consumed/to be consumed/ living) animals within the human.
Economic and Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Badhai Hijras: A Qualitative Study
Authors:   Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India, Preeti  , Kaur Shyamkiran ,   Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India,
Published: December 2020

Human history has witnessed various natural upheavals, pandemics being one of them. These pandemics whether The Black Death, The Great Plague of London, Russian Flu, Spanish Flu, Asian Flu, HIV/AIDS, SARS, etc. struck down every sphere of human civilization. The devastating economic and psychosocial impact of COVID-19 has been experienced by every group of population whether privileged or marginalised. Hijras (a term used by Serena Nanda for the transgenders in Indian Subcontinent) especially badhai hijras (transgender performers) who are already living on the edges of society have been targeted worst by this pandemic as their livelihood is solely dependent upon their performances on various social gatherings that decreased significantly during the period. These people amidst poor finances are confronting more discrimination by the heteronormative set-up which results in their low physical, mental, and social well-being. The objective of the present paper is to study the economic and psychosocial impact of COVID-19 pandemic on hijras in general and badhai hijras in particular. The arguments are supported by various vis-a-vis interactions with hijras and an NGO working for their well-being in the district Jalandhar, Punjab (India). While using the interview technique, a structural questionnaire for a sample population of badhai hijras was used to collect data for the study. The findings of the research work highlighted the urgent need of providing financial assistance to the badhai hijras. The research work would assist the decision making agencies of government to frame policies for these marginalized individuals which will directly support them in the pandemic.
Reconceiving the Ecological Wisdoms of Ved?nta in Anthropocene: An Eco-aesthetical Perspective
Authors:   ndian Institute of Technology Tirupati, India, Verma Pankaj Kumar , Dwivedi Prabha Shankar ,   Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, India.
Published: December 2020

The paper aims to lay out a critical analysis of eco-aesthetical wisdom of pan-Indian society through the lens of ancient seers whose insights for environment and ecology were shaped in the form of the teachings of Vedas and Upani?ads. With the passage of time, the bond between humans and non-humans has largely weakened, and humans have increased exploiting the natural resources without caring for their regeneration. Consequent nature bred hostility is emerging as a bigger crisis in front of the 21st Century world that may sooner turn to be, if not taken seriously, an existential crisis for the whole human race. The Upani?ads enlighten us not only with the knowledge of maintaining the relationship between human beings and physical environment but also among various inhabitants of ecology. Therefore, as Deep Ecology proposes, there should be a shift from human at the centre (anthropocentricism) to ecology at the centre (ecocentrism) which very much was existing in Indian society. So, this paper attempts to deal with the global ecological crisis co-opting with the ecological/environmental ideas and attitude of the classical Indian treatises.
Living on the Edge: Interrogating Migrant Labourer Lives of Bengaluru/Bangalore
Authors:   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur, T. S. Navami
Published: December 2020

This paper proposes to create a discourse of migrant labourers in the city of Bengaluru/Bangalore, especially during the current period of crisis ensued by COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being an essential part of the informal sector economy these workers are often rendered invisible from the urban social, cultural and political spaces of this global city. The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development (Habitat III), held in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016 declared the New Urban Agenda (NUA) — that was adopted as the guideline for urban development for the next twenty years — with the vision of ‘cities for all’. But in reality, for their regional, linguistic, cultural, class and caste differences, the migrant labourers in the city are marginalized from the mainstream urban scene. The paper investigates the historiography of the migrant labourers in the city to interrogate the space they occupy in Bengaluru/Bangalore. Some of the important questions the paper attempts to grapple with are also about their fight for survival amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the relief measure responses from the state. Evidences show, the immigrant labourers are perceived as the city’s necessary ‘Other’ who are needed to build the city but barely finds any representation in the planning grids of urban architects. Their direct experiences and negotiations with ‘the lived city’, available from news archives and other secondary sources, will be interrogated through the lens of ‘the Right to the City’, a concept introduced by Henri Lefebvre. The paper attempts to explore if they have any agency to assert their rights to the city and become a meaningful stakeholder in the democratic control over Bengaluru/Bangalore.
The Global Precariat: Refugees and COVID-19
Authors:   University of Hyderabad., Bhattacharjee Srinita
Published: December 2020

Are refugees welcomed by nation-states? Receiving a hospitable environment to resow the seeds of survival is a fundamental right of any human individual especially for refugees who have been rendered stateless and rightless. They require magnanimous hospitality in the form of social solidarity but what they acquire are disdainful attacks from neoliberal nation-states. Often their traumatic voyages towards a secured mode of living meet with dejection and despair when nation-states violate their obligations by refusing to grant them asylum. The few, who are accepted, are also compelled to hover around nation-state peripheries with ruthless indifference awaiting them. I shall critically consider Derridean ‘hostipitality’ as the premise to problematize refugee identity as the locus of precarity ensued by radical alterities.
“An umbrella made of precious gems”: An Examination of Memory and Diasporic Identities in Kerala Jewish Songs and Literature
Authors:   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras, Chennai, Varghese Shiji Mariam , Parui Avishek
Published: December 2020

The Jews living in the state of Kerala enact their diasporic identities through a unique narrative network including songs, stories, and memoirs. Drawing on memory studies and affect theory, this article aims to examine selected Jewish folk songs as an example of entanglement of memory and culture, nostalgia and narrative. We study Oh, Lovely Parrot (2004), which is a compilation of 43 typical Kerala “parrot songs” – devotional hymns and songs for special occasions – translated from Malayalam into English by Scaria Zacharia and Barbara C. Johnson. Performances of these songs constitute cultural as well as affective phenomena that bring together Jewish identities, especially female rituals, in a collective effort to preserve their ethnic memory and its associated social identity. The music unique to this community illustrates the ancestry and tradition of the Kerala Jews which held them together even after ‘aliyah’ (a Hebrew word referring to the migration to the nation state of Israel post-1948). Using selected songs from the book, the article aims to examine the community’s cultural identity markers related to experiential and discursive diasporic memory. It also draws on the memoir Ruby of Cochin: An Indian Jewish Woman Remembers (2001) by Ruby Daniel and Barbara C. Johnson to analyse the affective quality of songs which unites the community in collective imagination and in complex nostalgia narratives.
Hope amidst Despair: Revisiting John Steinbeck’s Novel The Grapes of Wrath in the times of COVID-19 pandemic
Authors:   Department of English, Dnyanprassarak Mandal’s College and Research Centre, Assagao, Mapusa, Goa., Shanthi M. , Gonsalves Lizella Faria ,   Department of English,Dnyanprassarak Mandal’s College and Research Centre, Assagao, Mapusa, Goa.
Published: December 2020

Death has always been co-existing amidst all life-forms. But when it turns its vehemence on humanity with all its force by means of pandemics, epidemics, wars or natural calamities then it gets its due, acting as a great equalizer. The Catastrophic Corona, today has revolutionized the face of humanity and the Existential Angst is acutely felt. The boundaries and demarcations of caste, creed, religion, region and gender have been ignored by the virus levelling all to the mercy of greater powers. The subversion of capitalism and deconstruction of the binaries like positive and negative, the physical and the virtual have induced discourse subjected to critical study. Since Literature and Life has always gone hand-in-hand, it is natural to witness the saga of human turmoil and suffering being portrayed in literary works. Albert Camus’s novel, The Plague is a classic example of the precariousness of human life and existential isolation. But as devastating as a pandemic or an epidemic is, equally ravaging are the forces of nature and crippling circumstances which lead to unsurmountable suffering and pain. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is an evocative saga of resilience and survival amidst the onslaught of the Dust Bowl and the Great Economic Depression. The Joad family in the novel represents a microcosm of the universal suffering and their story finds echoes in the hearts of many in such times as the present COVID-19 crisis. This paper aims at a study of the socio-economic and psychological factors affecting humanity during crisis through the study of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. It would be an endeavor to evaluate the changes and adapt to the ‘New Normal.’
Rainfall runoff features of permeable sidewalk pavement
Authors: Qiu Liyuan , Zhang Yu , Zhang Sheng , Zhao Jingwei , Wang Tengfei , Wang Qiang
Published: December 2020

In urban areas, the buildings and pavements make it hard for rainwater to infiltrate into the ground. The hardened underlaying sub-crust has increased the total rainfall runoff, pushing up the peak flood flow. Drawing on the construction concept of sponge city, this paper probes deep into the materials in each layer of permeable pavement for sidewalks. Specifically, a runoff model was constructed for sidewalk pavements under rainfall conditions through numerical simulation and model testing. Using the precipitation pattern of Qingdao, China, several combinations of materials were subject to rainfall simulations, revealing how each permeable pavement controls and affects the surface runoff. The results show that the permeability of surface course and sub-crust directly bear on the starting time, peak flow, total runoff and runoff time of sub-catchment runoff; and the latter has a greater impact than the former on sub-catchment runoff.
Effect of projected climate change on potential evapotranspiration in the semiarid region of central India
Authors: Duhan Darshana , Singh Dharmendra , Arya Sandeep
Published: December 2020

The performance of potential evapotranspiration (PET) methods such as pan evaporation (physical measurement), empirical formulas (Penman–Monteith (PM), Hargreaves and Thornthwaite) and satellite-derived PET (MOD16) were assessed in a semiarid region of central India. The satellite-based PET was obtained from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The comparisons between different methods were made with observed pan evaporation (ETpan) data to identify the best method for the semiarid region. Further, the future projection of PET was carried out using RCP4.5 emission scenarios of seven CMIP5 models. Two approaches were applied for the projection of PET. In the first approach, RCP4.5 scenario data are directly used in the PM method, and in the second approach, these variables are used as a predictor in the calibrated and validated least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) model. The projection of PET was made using the best-identified model among PM and LS-SVM from the years 2006–2100. The results show that MOD16 and Hargreaves overestimate the PET; however, PM and Thornwaite underestimate the PET. PM based PET is closely related with ETpan and is a good indicator of ETpan in a semiarid region. GFDL-ESM2M is identified as the most skillful CMIP5 model, and results show that PET is projected to increase in future using the LS-SVM model.

HIGHLIGHTS The PET estimation methods, namely empirical and satellite-based PET, were evaluated and compared with ground-based observed ET. Satellite-based PET is closely matching with ground-based PET in wet season. Satellite-based PET can be used after applying a suitable correction factor in the study area. The PM method was found suitable for the semiarid region. PET is projected to increase in future using CMIP5 models.
Pilot-scale experiments on a hybrid membrane-electrocoagulation system to produced water treatment in a domestic oil reservoir
Authors: Dehghani Yousef , Honarvar Bizhan , Azdarpour Amin , Nabipour Moein
Published: December 2020

The goal of this paper is to design and set up a new hybrid treatment system for purification of Iranian offshore oil company wastewater. The treatment system consists of electrocoagulation, microfiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) sections. Treatment performance is evaluated by measuring electrical conductivity (EC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), total dispersed solids (TDS) oil and grease (O&G), total hardness (TH) and turbidity. Results showed that the maximum removal efficiency of BOD5, COD, TSS, O&G, EC, TH and turbidity were obtained as 94.49%, 92.17%, 88.18%, 80.8%, 89.84%, 86.66% and 71.72%, respectively. DO was increased significantly due to the reduction of BOD, COD and microorganisms. Results showed that the combination of iron and aluminium electrodes can be very effective in removing pollutants. In addition, the use of microfiltration before RO led to a significant reduction in salinity and TDS. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimal experimental conditions for COD, BOD5 and turbidity using Design Expert11. RSM results showed that the optimal electric current and time for BOD5 and COD removal is 20A and 300 min, respectively. The optimal electric current and time for turbidity were obtained as 20A and 210 min.
Evaluation of pathogen risks using QMRA to explore wastewater reuse options: A case study from New Delhi in India
Authors: Hajare Rajashree , Labhasetwar Pawan , Nagarnaik Pranav
Published: December 2020

Selecting appropriate reuse for treated wastewater is a challenge. The current investigation outlines the utilization of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to assist Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) management to determine the best-possible reuse of treated wastewater from 11 ETPs in Delhi. Four representative pathogens: pathogenic Escherichia coli spp., Salmonella spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. were selected to characterize microbial water quality. Reuse options selected based on the survey and interaction with ETP managers include crop irrigation, garden irrigation, toilet flush and industrial applications. The probability of infection was characterized for two exposure groups: workers and children. Water quality monitoring indicates the occurrence of pathogenic E. coli spp. (100%), Salmonella spp. (63%), Cryptosporidium spp. (81%) and Giardia spp. (45%) in the treated wastewater. QMRA reveals the annual median-probability of infection above acceptable limits for pathogenic E. coli spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Salmonella spp. The probabilities of Giardia-associated infections were low. Adults showed a 1.24 times higher probability of infection compared to children. Sensitivity analysis indicated pathogen concentration as the most critical factor. The study highlights that the existing plans for chlorination-based treatment technology may prove insufficient in reducing the risk for selected reuse options; but, alternate on-site control measures and up-grading water reuse protocol may be effective.
Panorama of the sustainable development civilization
Authors: Skowroński Antoni
Published: December 2020

The article is about the conception of sustainable development settled in the context of cultural and civilization changes. It can be taken as an alternative to further civilization development and a new panorama, opening up perspectives for the further sustainable development of civilization. The conception is a global strategy of development. It relies on the including of the natural environment into the social and economic development of a region, country or, from a global perspective, of the whole world. It assumes a long-lasting improvement of the quality of life of the present and future generations which is integrally associated with environmental improvement. It also shows the necessity of the spiritual growth and changes of the material aims of the development into immaterial ones. In all these aims and assumptions, there are a lot of practical and mental problems in the sphere of sustainable development which retard and even make it impossible to put these conceptions effectively into life.
Unintentional transport of fungi propagules to Antarctic biome and the ability to develop at low temperatures
Authors: Augustyniuk-Kram Anna
Published: December 2020

Filamentous fungi relatively easily disperse and colonize a variety of substrates, inhabiting various, often extreme environments. Therefore, they spread all over the world. The purpose of the research was to determine whether the propagules of filamentous fungi brought (accidentally transported) into the Antarctic biome by tourists and members of scientific expeditions are capable of developing at low temperatures. In the studies were used seven isolates of fungi: Penicillium sp., Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Trichoderma viride, Geotrichum candidum and Botrytis cinerea. The isolates came from samples collected from tourists and members of scientific expeditions arriving at the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station on King George Island in the South Shetland archipelago. Fungal growth was measured at 0, 5, 10, 22°C (as a control) and 10° C, but after having frozen inoculum at -15°C for a period of 7 days. Penicillium sp., Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Trichoderma viride, Geotrichum candidum and Botrytis cinerea were found to be capable of growing at low temperatures (5 and 10oC as well as after one freezing cycle, down to -15oC and thawing, up to +10oC). They did not produce a macroscopically visible mycelium at temp. 0oC, however, it was not a lethal temperature for them, as when they were transferred to higher temperatures, they continued to develop even after a fairly long time following the beginning of the experiment. The most vulnerable was Aspergillus flavus. At lower temperatures (from about to 5oC) it did not develop, while freezing and thawing were lethal for this species. Some species (G. candidum, T. viride and B. cinerea), despite the development of mycelium, did not produce spores at lower temperatures.
Ecological inspirations for the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model
Authors: Szeligiewicz Wojciech
Published: December 2020

Richard Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model proposes a specified view on the qualitative changes in the number of tourists N in the area over time and the environmental, social and economic processes taking place there simultaneously. N changes follow S-shaped curve up to stagnation phase. Such a course was adopted in the TALC model, assuming that the tourist population at this stage develops in accordance with a logistic model derived from ecology. This work aimed to recall the properties of the logistic model and the ecological assumptions underlying it, and some of the consequences of incorporating the logistic model into the TALC model. An attempt has also been made to link other TALC aspects with ecology. In particular, reference is made to the graph on the right side of the logistic equation of the TALC model as a function of N with the phases of evolution of the tourist area marked, which reminds that the most attractive area is the original area, i.e. when N is small, as it is characterized by the highest per capita growth of the tourist population. According to this figure, as N increases, there is a linear decrease in attractiveness despite the investments introduced according to the TALC model scenario, i.e. they do not reverse this trend. The same diagram can be used to show some elementary differences between ecotourism and mass tourism. The issues of population regulation were also raised, including the density-dependent self-regulation, the Allee effect, the concept of environmental capacity and r and K strategies. It was also pointed out that the experience gained in the field of population modelling in ecology could help to model tourist populations.
Extracellular Vesicles in Tumor Diagnosis: A Mini-Review
Authors: Yu Si , Huang Menglin , Wang Jingyu , Zheng Yongchang , Xu Haifeng
Published: December 2020

Wide exploration of noninvasive tumor/cancer biomarkers has shed light on
clinical diagnosis. However, many under-investigated biomarkers showed limited
application potency due to low sensitivity and specificity, while extracellular vehicles
(EVs) were gradually recognized as promising candidates. EVs are small vesicles
transporting bioactive cargos between cells in multiple physiological processes and also
in tumor/cancer pathogenesis. This review aimed to offer recent studies of EVs on
structure, classification, physiological functions, as well as changes in tumor initiation
and progression. Furthermore, we focused on advances of EVs and/or EV-related
substances in cancer diagnosis, and summarized ongoing studies of promising
candidates for future investigations.
Protective Effects of Low Dose Vorinostat on Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats
Authors: Bashraf Omnyah M.O. , Ali Ahmed S. , Eweis Hala S.A. , Ali Soad S.
Published: December 2020

Background and Aim:

Cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum [II]; CDDP) is the
most widely used drug in cancer chemotherapy. The nephrotoxicity of CDDP is one of its major
side effects. Vorinostat (VST) has been reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
in bothin-vitro and in vivo models. The present study aimed to explore the potential protective effects
of VST against CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

Materials and Methods:

The rats were randomly divided into 4 groups; control group, CDDP
group (received CDDP 7.5 mg/kg IP single dose 5 days before the end of the experiment), VST
group, (received VST 15 mg/kg/day by gastric gavage for 28 days), and CDDP + VST group (received
CDDP + VST as above). Blood and kidney samples were collected on the 28th day for biochemical
and histopathological examinations.

Results :

Administration of CDDP single dose (7.5 mg/kg IP) 5 days before the end of the experiment
(at day 23) produced a significant decrease in renal glutathione levels and a significant increase
in serum urea nitrogen, creatinine, renal malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, tumor
suppressor protein (p53) and nuclear factor kappa B levels compared to the control group. Pretreatment
with VST for 28 days significantly attenuated all unfavorable changes of these parameters.
Histopathological analysis showed that VST significantly decreased kidney inflammatory and
degenerative changes induced by CDDP. VST also significantly increased Bcl-2 and decreased Caspas-
3 immunoexpression in renal tissues.

Conclusion:

These results suggest that VST alleviates CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity in rats
showing a novel therapeutic potential for the management of nephrotoxicity induced by CDDP.
Over-Expression of MicroRNA-122 Inhibits Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis in Colon Cancer Cells
Authors: Malayaperumal Sarubala , Sriramulu Sushmitha , Banerjee Antara , Pathak Surajit
Published: December 2020

Background:

MicroRNA, a non-coding RNA molecule plays a vital role in post transcriptional
gene expression. MicroRNA-122, a liver specific microRNA was found to be downregulated
in liver cancer and is associated with hepatocarcinogenesis. Being confirmed as tumor suppressor
microRNA in liver carcinogenesis, we aimed to study the expression of microRNA-122 in
colon cancer cell lines and the role of microRNA-122 in cell proliferation, invasion and migration
of colon cancer cells.

Methods:

The expression of microRNA-122 is quantified using qRT-PCR by TaqMan universal
primers. Colon cancer cell lines (SW480, SW620, HCT116) were transfected with microRNA-122
mimic and further studied for determining cell proliferation using CCK-8 kit, migration using
Scratch assay, invasion using Transwell assay, apoptosis using Annexin-V FITC kit, and also gene
expression.

Results:

Gene expression results displayed decreased expression of microRNA-122 in colon cancer
cell lines. Transfection with microRNA-122 mimics impaired the cell proliferation and migration
compared with control. FACS analysis confirmed that the percentage of microRNA-122 mimic
transfected cells undergoing early apoptosis was increased. Gene expression of AEG-1, PI3K,
CDK6, and PCNA were found to be downregulated in microRNA-122 overexpressed cells. Migratory
and invasion potential of transfected cells was lessened in mimic transfected cells compared to
control.

Conclusion:

The overexpression of microRNA-122 inhibited the cellular proliferation, migration,
invasion and increased percentage of cells undergoing early apoptosis, suggesting its anti-cancer
potential. Studying the role of microRNA-122 and its interactions with oncogenes might pave the
way to understand the underlying mechanism in colon cancer.