bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of Biogenic Sulphate Corrosion of Concrete in Sewage Treatment Plant Settling Tank Walls
Authors: Krysiak Łukasz , Falaciński Paweł , Szarek Łukasz
Published: April 2021

One of the basic threats in terms of concrete used for tanks or ducts applied in wastewater management is the phenomenon of biogenic sulphate corrosion (BSC). BSC is a particular case of corrosion caused by the action of sulphuric acid (IV), which is formed as a result of a number of biochemical processes, which can take place, e.g. in an environment encountered within the aforementioned structures. Ions present in sulphuric acid react with cement hydration products, which leads to replacing the primary cement matrix components with compounds easily-soluble or highly-swelling during crystallization. The outcome of advanced corrosion is usually an observed formation of a white, amorphous, sponge-like mass, which is easily separated from the underlying concrete. The article discusses a case study of a BSC process in a newly constructed primary settling tank in a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
Effects of Separated Fractions of Fbc Bottom Ash on Selected Properties of Cement Mortars
Authors: Kledyński Zbigniew , Krysiak Łukasz
Published: April 2021

This paper discusses the effects of partial replacement of cement with fluidized bed bottom ash on the properties of mortars. The analyzed ash samples originating from four Polish power plants were separated by grain size selection into fine and coarse-grained fractions. This process leads to a creation of derivative samples of differing physical properties and, partially, phase compositions, as tested in XRD and TG analyses. Despite its high water demand, the obtained fine-grained fraction has the potential for application in cementbased composites as a reactive, pozzolanic additive. An acceptable activity index may be reached when the sulfate content is limited, implying benefits of combining the ash with low gypsum cements. The coarse-grained fraction is significantly less reactive, while a high silica and aluminate content is related to improved mechanical properties of the composite. It can, therefore, potentially be used as a quasi-inert additive or a substitute for sand.
The Influence of Cultural-Historical Determinants on Functional-Spatial Development of Rural Areas
Authors: Borucińska-Bieńkowska Hanna
Published: April 2021

The article discusses selected issues regarding the influence of cultural-historical determinants on functional-spatial development of rural areas. Ecological, economic and social processes taking place in the last decades are examined in the context of the development of local self-governments and the rise of free market economy after Poland’s socio-economic transformation. The process of intensive rural urbanization occurs especially in areas within the impact zone of big cities. It is caused by, i.a., human migration into rural areas and development of areas of business activation. The abovementioned tendencies that occur in the ecological, economic and social context have a significant impact on functional-spatial development. Expansion of housing developments and, in effect, expansion and development of necessary technical infrastructure gives rise to many problems concerning preservation of cultural heritage of the Polish countryside. The pursuit of sustainable development of rural areas is fundamental in regard to ruralist solutions as well as preservation of traditional rural architecture. Cultural-historical determinants play a considerable role in this pursuit, especially in the context of threats that stem from overurbanization of rural areas.
A Study on the Significance of the Design Parameters of Steel Plate Shear Walls Subjected to Monotonic Loading
Authors: Honarmand Saeed , Homami Peyman , Gharehbaghi Vahidreza , Farsangi Ehsan Noroozinejad
Published: April 2021

Steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) as a resistant system against lateral loads have a high potential for earthquake energy dissipation. Due to the uncertainties of loading, construction, and installation of SPSWs, it is vital to investigate the importance of each component and achieve higher accuracy in design and the implementation of these members. In this paper, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine the significance of important uncertainties. The results denoted that the most important parameters affecting the loading capacity of the SPSWs are height, thickness, length, Young’s modulus of the wall material, flange, and web thickness of the column, respectively.
The influence of the family on the formation of eating and weight disorders
Authors: Shebanova Vitalia , Yablonska Tetiana
Published: April 2021

The аim is to study family influence on formation of eating and weight disorders. The concept of an “alimentary family” is defined as a family with dysfunctional, disharmonious relationships, which is a prerequisite for emergence and support of distorted patterns of eating behaviour, leading in the future to children’s eating and weight disorders.
Methods: The research was carried out using the method of a thematic retrospective analysis (MTRA)-food, which is a variant of the narrative method, the questionnaire "Parental convictions and control tactics as for eating behaviour of their children during food taking". The data was processed by the content analysis method; Fisher's φ-criterion was used to compare differences between the groups.

Results: The research has allowed us to clarify eating behavioural characteristics and to identify the “roots” of eating disorders. Various forms of forcing at eating, direct and indirect ways of making children to eat or blocking of eating are manifested in ignoring of children’s taste preferences, their desire and readiness to eat. Parents often use manipulative techniques influencing children’s eating behaviour (encouragement, inducement, reward promises, approval, recognition, warning, or switching attention), direct means of influence (coercion: prohibition, restriction, rejection, destructive criticism, intimidation, deprivation from various pleasures). There is the statistical confirmation that parents’ use of manipulative means and/or direct coercion towards their children during eating predetermines formation of pathological processes of corporeality, attitudes and psychological mechanisms stipulating eating disorders.
Conclusions: The research results indicate necessity to develop psychotherapeutic programs for people with eating disorders, as well as programs to help parents improve family relationships and, accordingly, to apply correctional effects on their children.

Keywords: alimentary family, psychosomatic family, eating disorders, weight disorders eating behaviour, parental control tactics.
On Creating My Method of Research in Creators’ Biographies – a Researcher’s Reflection
Authors: Lasocińska Kamila
Published: April 2021

The main objective of this paper is to present the process of preparing and conducting my biographical research regarding creators’ middle-adulthood. My intention in this study is to direct attention towards such an approach to creators’ biographies that in the very process of biographical narrative reconstruction reveals not only the different viewpoints regarding life experiences, but also interpretation of events. First of all, my approach to biographical research did not focus on creators’ life stories, but allowed them to create different tales of their own lives and to show different aspects of their autobiographical experiences related to shaping their own lives. In this paper, I intend to discuss a methodological solution and by this, to show how my research methods developed during the preparation stage, but also during the stages of implementation and preparation of the concept of analysis. A particular challenge, which is the subject of this study, was the strategy that required some aspects of creativity in the process of data collecting. Within the frame of this strategy, the researcher prepared biographical tasks designed in consideration of the poosed research problems. The tasks took a form of diverse forms of activity (verbal, visual) and encouraged respondents to refer to their own life experiences (past), reflect on the present moment (present), consider plans and projects (future), as well as to inspire constructing different stories about life (Lasocińska, 2013; 2017). The result of that was a structure that divided a biographical interview into phases and stages that assume different uses of time periods and diverse biographical reflections. In the following text, I do not focus on the results of my research, which are still being formulated, but focus my attention on concepts and research experiences related to the search for adequate solutions for the chosen topic and to the initial assumptions of the research.
The Vitality and Endangerment of the Western Shoshone Language
Authors: Černý Miroslav
Published: April 2021

Shoshone, the northernmost Uto-Aztecan language, originally spoken in the area of the Great Basin (U.S.), has been frequently reported as threatened. In his paper, the author presents a vitality assessment of the Western dialect of the Shoshone language based on the methodology which stems from the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages. He takes into account UNESCO′s nine factors in order to determine the degree of language vitality and endangerment for Western Shoshone and to outline strategies which might help to revitalize the language in the future.
Symbolism of the Eagle and Jaguar in the Novel City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
Authors: Zaťko Roman
Published: April 2021

The following article is concerned with the analysis of the symbols of eagle and jaguar in the native cultures from the Amazon area, which, have inspired, among others, Chilean author Isabel Allende in her novel City of the Beasts.

The animal motives become an integral part of the cultural tradition of the South American indigenous tribes that the author mentions. Legends and myths that the inhabitants of the rainforest keep to this day often describe the relation between person's life and the surrounding nature. In this respect, eagle and jaguar play an important role.

From an anthropological point of view, the native peoples of the Amazon are closely tied with these animals. Their culture contains customs and rituals in which they imitate these worshipped animals. The aim of these rituals is to acquire animal hunting skills and strength.

In literature, this connection can be even stronger. There are occasionally marriages between an eagle or jaguar and human characters, who live side by side. Such connection is not possible with other animals like sloths or monkeys. The reason for this is primarily the fact that only jaguars and eagles make living in a similar fashion to human characters of native myths. They hunt like people, eat what humans do and they share the same hunting grounds and habitat.

In the novel, Isabel Allende refers to the jaguar and eagle as totem animals. They are symbols of profound connection between humans and nature. In the course of the story, the eagle and jaguar accompany the young heroes Alexander Cold and his friend Nadia on their initiation journey through the forest. At the end of the story, the young couple comes back to the civilization to convey the message of the indigenous people of Amazon, seeking an end of the bloodshed these tribes face.
The Nexus Between Public Spending on Education and Economic Growth of Kosovo (Econometric Approach)
Authors: Ziberi Besime , Gashi Rrezarta , Hodaj Mimoza
Published: April 2021

The main aim of this study is to analyse the trend of public spending dedicated to education in case of Kosovo over the years and to measure the impact of public spending in education on economic growth of Kosovo. In order to achieve the aim, the Pearson Correlation has been used and a multifactorial regression model (OLS) has been modified and adapted, where we have determined the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a dependent variable and as an independent variable in the model: (i) Public expenditure on secondary education and (ii) Public expenditure on higher education (university). The data used are secondary data from the Kosovo’s State Budget, Ministry of Finance and Transfers, and Kosovo Agency of Statistics. We have come to a conclusion that public spending dedicated to higher education (university) has a positive impact on Kosovo’s economic growth meanwhile public spending on secondary education does not show any effect. The paper suggests further recommendations on public spending policies dedicated to education in order to influence Kosovo’s economic growth.
Technology towards hotel competitiveness: Case of Antalya, Turkey
Authors: Napierała Tomasz , Bahar Mehmet , Leśniewska-Napierała Katarzyna , Topsakal Yunus
Published: April 2021

The main goal of the paper is to identify the perception of technology by managers of five-star hotels located in Antalya region (Turkey). The managerial perception in the following contexts is discussed in detail: the enterprise, the employees, the managers and the competitiveness of hotel entities. The selection of such research area was determined by the fact that Antalya is one of the top Turkish tourist destinations, with international profile of visitors and intense hotel competition. The following three types of hotels were investigated: hotels affiliated with international chains, hotels affiliated with national brands and independent enterprises. Furthermore, 12 selected general managers were interviewed regarding the above-mentioned hotel types. The results confirmed that managers of internationally affiliated hotels are more focused on increasing their employees’ skills and competencies compared to managers of independent entities.
Job-Related Activity Patterns, Health Status and Absenteeism-Related Factors of Star-Rated Hotels Staff
Authors: Dwomoh Emmanuel , Moses Monday Omoniyi
Published: April 2021

Hotel staff have been observed to be involved in workload for long hours with few break times, unpredictable shifting and lifting of heavy loads manually. Although these practices have the potential to reduce health and fitness status of staff thereby compromised productivity in hospitality industry and national development, it has, however, not been established whether the job-related activity patterns of the staff of star-rated hotels have implications on their health status and absenteeism factors.

In total, 70 staff (48.6% male, 51.4% female, mean age = 24.63 ± 12.06) of star-rated hotels in Kumasi were sampled. International physical activity (IPAQ), health status (HSQ-12) and Koen–Müller’s employee absenteeism questionnaires were administered.

About 77.0% spent averagely two hours/day and four days/week on vigorous job-related physical activities (PAs), 90.0% spent averagely four hours/day and five days/week on moderate job-related physical activities (heavy lifting, digging, heavy construction work, climbing upstairs) and spent averagely 1.8 hours/day walking during weekly activity. Job-related activities of the participants correlate significantly with daily vigorous PA (F = 5.625, P-value = 0.000). Participants’ self-reported results showed that vigorous- and moderate-job related activities amounted to good health status. Sleep deprivation, inad-equate rest days, short time with close-knit family predis-posed participants to absenteeism. The significant relationship between health status and absenteeism factors showed 87.2% variability. Participants strongly disagreed to being absent from work due to transport. Job-related activities of star-rated hotels staff are identical with vigorous daily PA, which could be harmful to health. Provision of functional and accessible health-care resources for staffers of star-rated hotels would attenuate unproductive absenteeism.
Warehouse location selection with TOPSIS group decision-making under different expert priority allocations
Authors: Ocampo Lanndon , Genimelo Gianne Jean , Lariosa Jerome , Guinitaran Raul , Borromeo Philip John , Aparente Maria Elena , Capin Teresita , Bongo Miriam
Published: April 2021

Warehouses are crucial infrastructures in supply chains. As a strategic task that would potentially impact various long-term agenda, warehouse location selection becomes an important decision-making process. Due to quantitative and qualitative multiple criteria in selecting alternative warehouse locations, the task becomes a multiple criteria decision-making problem. Current literature offers several approaches to addressing the domain problem. However, the number of factors or criteria considered in the previous works is limited and does not reflect real-life decision-making. In addition, such a problem requires a group decision, with decision-makers having different motivations and value systems. Analysing the varying importance of experts comprising the group would provide insights into how these variations influence the final decision regarding the location. Thus, in this work, we adopted the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to address a warehouse location decision problem under a significant number of decision criteria in a group decision-making environment. To elucidate the proposed approach, a case study in a product distribution firm was carried out. Findings show that decision-makers in this industry emphasise criteria that maintain the distribution networks more efficiently at minimum cost. Results also reveal that varying priorities of the decision-makers have little impact on the group decision, which implies that their degree of knowledge and expertise is comparable to a certain extent. With the efficiency and tractability of the required computations, the TOPSIS method, as demonstrated in this work, provides a useful, practical tool for decision-makers with limited technical computational expertise in addressing the warehouse location problem.
Are smart service manufacturing providers different in cooperation and innovation flexibility, in innovation performance and business performance from non-smart service manufacturing providers?
Authors: Kaňovská Lucie
Published: April 2021

To overcome the challenges posed by increasing competition, many traditional manufacturing companies are moving from the mere production of manufacturing goods to the integration of services that are more or less integrated into the product, which is also due to the constant development of the industry. Moreover, many manufacturing companies offer products that use smart technologies. This paper focuses on the importance of smart service provision for cooperation and innovation flexibility, innovation performance and business performance in small and medium manufacturing companies. The paper aims to find out if smart service manufacturing providers are different in cooperation and innovation flexibility and innovation and business performance from non-smart service manufacturing providers. To better understand the issue, research was undertaken in 112 small and medium manufacturing companies of the Czech Republic. The problems of smart service provision were investigated in the first empirical research held among the electric engineering companies (CZ-NACE 26 and CZ-NACE 27) in the Czech Republic. The findings show that smart service manufacturing providers are better in internal cooperation flexibility, innovation flexibility related to product and to accompanying services and in business performance than non-smart service manufacturing providers. Theoretical implication contributes in two specific ways: first, in the presentation of the interconnection of smart services and cooperation flexibility, innovation flexibility, innovation performance and business performance; and second, in the identification of the impact of smart services in manufacturing SMEs and in finding out which areas affect the provision of smart services. The findings can have a positive influence in several areas; therefore, they can be important factors for many manufacturing companies which still need some persuasion to offer smart services.
Glucose deprivation affects the expression of genes encoding cAMP-activated protein kinase and related proteins in U87 glioma cells in ERN1 dependent manner
Authors: Ratushna Oksana O.
Published: April 2021

Objective. The aim of this investigation was to study the expression of genes encoding cAMP-activated protein kinase catalytic and regulatory A subunits (PRKACA and PRKAR1A) and related proteins such as cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitors A and G (PKIA and PKIG), catalytic subunit A of protein phosphatase 3 (PPP3CA), A-kinase anchoring protein 12 (AKAP12), and praja ring finger ubiquitin ligase 2 (PJA2) in U87 glioma cells in response to glucose deprivation in both control U87 glioma cells and cells with ERN1 (endoplasmic reticulum to nucleus signaling 1) knockdown, the major pathway of the endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling, for evaluation of possible significance of glucose deprivation in ERN1 dependent regulation of glioma growth.

Methods. The expression level of PRKA related genes was studied in control (transfected by vector) and ERN1 knockdown U87 glioma cells under glucose deprivation by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Results. It was shown that the expression level of PRKACA and PKIA genes was down-regulated in control glioma cells treated by glucose deprivation, but PJA2 gene was up-regulated. At the same time, the expression of four other genes (PRKAR1A, PKIG, AKAP12, and PPP3CA) was resistant to this experimental condition. Furthermore, ERN1 knockdown of glioma cells significantly modified the effect glucose deprivation on the expression almost all studied genes. Thus, treatment of glioma cells with inhibited ERN1 enzymatic activity by glucose deprivation lead to a more significant down-regulation of the expression level of PKIA and to suppression PRKAR1A gene expressions. Moreover, the ERN1 knockdown introduced up-regulation of PKIG and AKAP12 gene expressions in glioma cells treated by glucose deprivation and eliminated the sensitivity of PJA2 gene to this experimental condition.

Conclusions. Results of this investigation demonstrated that ERN1 knockdown significantly modified the sensitivity of most studied PRKA related gene expressions to glucose deprivation and that these changes are a result of complex interactions of variable endoplasmic reticulum stress related and unrelated regulatory factors and contributed to the suppression of glioma cell proliferation and their possibly chemoresistance.
Effect of selected bisphenol derivatives on nuclear receptor expression in ovarian cell line COV434
Authors: Mlynarcikova Alzbeta Bujnakova , Scsukova Sona
Published: April 2021

Objectives. Bisphenol A (BPA), as an indispensable plastic additive, has also been proven as an endocrine disruptor associated with adverse health effects including impaired ovarian function and cancer. Due to the restrictions of its usage, several analogs have been employed to replace BPA. Although many studies revealed a harmfulness in the biological effects of BPA analogs, their specific targets remain largely unknown. Nuclear receptors (NRs) may be one of the most important targets of bisphenols. Therefore, in this study, our attention was directed to explore the effect of BPA and its analogs, AF and S, on the mRNA expression of selected NRs involved in the steroidogenic and carcinogenic pathways in the human granulosa cell line COV434. The NRs investigated included: thyroid hormone receptor α (THRA), peroxisome proliferator activating receptor β/δ (PPARD), retinoid X receptor α (RXRA), chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor II (COUPTFII), nuclear receptor-related protein 1 (NURR1), and liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH1).

Methods. COV434 cells were treated with the bisphenols at the concentrations of 10−9 M, 10−7 M, and 10−5 M, and after 24 and 48 h, cell viability was monitored by the MTS assay and gene expressions were analyzed using RT-qPCR.

Results. Bisphenol treatment did not alter the COV434 cell viability. After 24 h, the expression of neither of the NRs was changed. Likewise, after 48 h, the expression of the selected genes was not altered. However, both BPAF and BPS increased, at the highest concentration (10−5 M) used, the mRNA levels of both PPARD and NURR1 NRs after 48 h of the treatment. In the BPA-treated groups, no significant upregulation was observed.

Conclusions. In the present study, the effect of bisphenols on COUP-TFII, Nurr1, and LRH-1 NRs was investigated for the first time. Although generally we did not observe that BPs provoked any alterations in the expression of the selected NRs in COV434 cells, at specific concentrations and time points they might alter mRNA expression of certain NRs (NURR1, PPARD).
Primary hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis alter the transcriptional activity of genes regulating neurogenesis in the blood of patients
Authors: Bilous Iryna I. , Pavlovych Larysa L. , Kamyshnyi Aleksandr M.
Published: April 2021

Objective. Thyroid hormones play an important role in the development and maturation of the central nervous symptom and their failure in the prenatal period leading to an irreversible brain damage. Their effect on the brain of adult, however, has not been fully studied. With the discovery of neurogenesis in the adult brain, many recent studies have been focused on the understanding the basic mechanisms controlling this process. Many neurogenesis regulatory genes are not only transcribed but also translated into the blood cells. The goal of our study was to analyze the transcriptional activity of neurogenesis regulatory genes in peripheral blood cells in patients with thyroid pathology.

Methods. The pathway-specific PCR array (Neurotrophins and Receptors RT2 Profiler PCR Array, QIAGEN, Germany) was used to identify and validate the neurogenesis regulatory genes expression in patients with thyroid pathology and control group.

Results. The results showed that GFRA3, NGFR, NRG1, NTF3, NTRK1, and NTRK2 significantly decreased their expression in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis with rising serum of autoantibodies. The patients with primary hypothyroidism, as a result of autoimmune thyroiditis and postoperative hypothyroidism, had significantly lower expression of FGF2, NGFR, NRG1, and NTF3. The mRNA level of CNTFR was markedly decreased in the group of patients with postoperative hypothyroidism. No change in the ARTN, PSPN, TFG, MT3, and NELL1 expression was observed in any group of patients.

Conclusion. The finding indicates that a decrease in thyroid hormones and a high level of autoantibodies, such as anti-thyroglobulin antibody and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody, affect the expression of mRNA neurogenesis-regulated genes in patients with thyroid pathology.
The IMMIGRANTS ARE ANIMALS metaphor as a deliberate metaphor in British and Bosnian-Herzegovinian media
Authors: Mujagić Mersina , Berberović Sanja
Published: April 2021

Applying MIPVU (Steen et al., 2010) to the corpus of media articles about the European migrant crisis in the period from August 2015 until March 2016 in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, this paper analyzes the IMMIGRANTS ARE ANIMALS metaphor within the framework of the deliberate metaphor theory by considering the three dimensions of this metaphor, namely, the linguistic dimension of (in)directness, the conceptual parameter of conventionality, and the communicative dimension of (non)deliberateness. Specifically, the paper examines the use of the ANIMALS metaphor as a deliberate metaphor in the immigration discourse in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian. The paper aims to determine to what extent and in which situations the authors of the texts tend to divert the addressee’s attention to viewing immigrants in terms of animals. Using the IDeM protocol for the identification of deliberate metaphor (Krennmayr, 2011), the paper also focuses on the rhetorical potential and the effects of the use of deliberate metaphors in the media discourse. Such metaphors are often used in the media discourse to dehumanize immigrants and consequently reduce the addressee’s empathy for them.
Autoregressive Distributed Lag Modeling of the Effects of Some Macroeconomic Variables on Economic Growth in Nigeria
Authors: Adenomon Monday Osagie , Ojo Rotimi Olalekan
Published: April 2021

Research background: The relationship between inflation rate, unemployment rate, interest rate and real gross domestic product per capita in Nigeria. However, there seems to be a short-run or long-run relationship among the macroeconomic variables.

Purpose: This study investigated the long and short run impacts of the inflation rate, unemployment rate and interest rate on real gross domestic product per capita (RGDPPC) (proxy for economic growth).

Research methodology: This study applied a linear dynamic model Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) modeling technique to analyze the short-run dynamics and long-run relationship of economic growth in Nigeria over the sample period between 1984 and 2017 using annual secondary data extracted from the World Bank Development Indicators Report.

Results: The empirical results showed that there was a long-run relationship between the inflation rate, unemployment rate and interest rate on real gross domestic product per capita (proxy for economic growth) in Nigeria. The results further revealed that only the unemployment rate had a significant positive impact on real gross domestic product per capita in the long-run and the inflation rate had a significant negative impact on real gross domestic product per capita in the short-run.

Novelty: Therefore, the study concluded that the unemployment rate and inflation rate proved to have significant impacts on economic growth in the long-run and short-run respectively. The formulation of policies to reduce unemployment through the adoption of a labour concentrated technique of production, entrepreneurship development and policy to keep the inflation rate a single digit.
The Development of E-Commerce and Consumer Attitudes – A Comparative Analysis of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus
Authors: Gregor Bogdan , Kalińska-Kula Magdalena
Published: April 2021

Research background: Motivation for this paper is the rapid development of the electronic commerce sector and its increasing role as a sales channel. The level of e-commerce development is spatially diverse, both across continents and countries. As such, this study examined the conditions of electronic commerce development in the context of the specificity of e-consumers’ behavior in selected European countries.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to compare the attitudes towards e-commerce among buyers from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus along with their activities directly related to online shopping.

Research methodology: The paper focuses on the results of a study conducted in central and eastern European countries on a sample of nearly 1,000 respondents. The statistical tools used included the Kruskal-Wallis test and an independence analysis through SPSS v. 25 and Statistica v. 13.3.

Results: The results showed that the country of origin is a variable differentiating both activities connected with shopping online undertaken by e-consumers and buyers’ attitudes towards e-commerce in the context of such aspects as: safety, convenience, time-consuming, possibilities of choice, ease and the economics of shopping. The predominant dependence between the country of origin of respondents and their inclination to use the Internet has not been confirmed.

Novelty: The study contributes to the on-going and extremely current issue of the importance of e-commerce and the conditions of its development.
South African Unemployment in the Post-Financial Crisis Era: What are the Determinants?
Authors: Mbekeni Lutho , Phiri Andrew
Published: April 2021

Research background: High unemployment rates are one of the greatest economic challenges facing the post-apartheid South African government over the past two decades and this problem has become more worrisome in the post-global financial crisis period.

Purpose: Our study examines the determinants of unemployment for the South African economy in the post-crisis period over a quarterly frequency period of 2009:Q1 to 2018:Q4. The determinants are examined for four classes of unemployment rates (total, male, female and youth) and we further partition possible unemployment determinants into fiscal, monetary and macroeconomic variables.

Research methodology: We employ the autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) models.

Results: We find income tax, repo rates, economic growth, trade, investment, household debt and savings to be significant determinants of unemployment in the post-crisis South African economy and yet we note discrepancies of the significance of these determinants amongst different unemployment categories.

Novelty: No study has examined the determinants of unemployment in South Africa in the post-financial crisis era.
Recreation in nature reserves – preferences and satisfaction of tourists visiting the Polesie National Park
Authors: Śliwińska Agnieszka , Mandziuk Agnieszka , Studnicki Marcin
Published: April 2021

The aim of this work was to determine preferences and satisfaction of tourists visiting the Polesie National Park (PPN). Preferences were defined in terms of the motives for visiting, ways of spending leisure time, the length and frequency of visits, knowledge of tourist attractions and awareness of the Park’s financing.

A survey was conducted in July–August 2019 gathering responses from 125 adults visiting the PPN tourist and bicycle paths. 100 correctly completed questionnaires were analysed using the CART method to determine the respondents’satisfaction with spending leisure time in the Park.

The most frequently mentioned reasons for visiting were the beautiful landscape (28%) and the species richness (27%) of the PPN. 39% of respondents visited the area for the first time and 47% came for one day. Most visitors (65%) had very good knowledge of the tourist attractions in the PPN. Walking was the most common way (37%) for visitors to spend theirleisure time in the Park. More than half of the respondents (58%) would be willing to accept additional fees in order to help maintain and protect the PPN. The vast majority of the respondents indicated that they are satisfied (42%) or very satisfied (48%) with their visit to this area.

Our statistical analysis indicated that asking the question about financing the Park greatly impacted the responses to the question about visitor satisfaction, but was also correlated with the respondent’s place of residence as well as their knowledge of tourist attractions. The unique character, landscape as well as the natural, historical and cultural richness of the PPN combined with the well-maintained infrastructure are crucial to ensure a high level of visitor satisfaction.
Pygomelia and True Hermaphroditism in a Nine Week Old Large White Piglet Case Report
Authors: Ajadi T. A. , Olaniyi M. O.
Published: April 2021

A nine weeks old female Large White piglet which was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, with a complaint of extra limbs was diagnosed with pygomelia and concurrent true hermaphroditism based on gross morphologic features, radiography, exploratory laparotomy and histopathology of the malformed organs. The piglet had two well-developed extra hind limbs consisting of the femur, tibia, fibula and the phalanges. Radiographically, the accessory limbs were attached to the ischium through a rudimentary pelvic bone. The supernumerary limbs were smaller than the normal appendages, but contained equal digits. The anal orifice was observed cranial to the right supernumerary limb. Caudal to the left supernumerary limb a rudimentary penis was observed. Two oval shaped fibrous masses were palpated in the inguinal canal of the piglet. In addition, there was a transparent tubular tract measuring 24 cm in length which contained serous fluid. The right kidney was rudimentary measuring 2.10 cm, while the left kidney appeared hypertrophied measuring 6.10 cm. The histology of the left kidney showed dysplastic areas of undifferentiated mesenchymal stroma in the cortex and medulla with the presence of groups of immature glomeruli in the cortex. The tubules in the medulla were scanty in number and had atypical epithelium. The adrenal glands had normal architecture with ectopic adrenal tissue in the adrenal capsule, while the ovaries and uterus were normal. It was concluded that the complex anomalies in the piglet might be as a result of a complex mode of inheritance.
Antioxidant Activity of the Fungus Cordyceps sinensis Grown on Two Different Media
Authors: Uhrinová A. , Poľančíková N.
Published: April 2021

Cordyceps sinensis, a species of the genus Ascomycetes, is recognised as the most famous tonic herb and natural remedy in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Various pharmacological actions of the chemical constituents of C. sinensis have been reported, including: antitumour effects, hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, and antioxidant, nephroprotective and anti-apoptotic properties. In this study we tested the antioxidant activity of extracts of the fungus C. sinensis grown on two subspecies of rice, Oryza sativa var. Indica and Oryza sativa var. Japonica. The extracts were prepared with methanol by two different extraction procedures (reflux and ultrasound). The antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined by the DPPH assay. Our investigations showed that the sample 1 (grown on Oryza sativa var. Japonica) exhibited higher antioxidant activity than the sample 2 (grown on Oryza sativa var. Indica). The higher antioxidant activity of the sample 1 was observed with both extraction procedures.
Increase in 14C dating accuracy of prehistoric skeletal remains by optimised bone sampling: Chronometric studies on eneolithic burials from Mikulin 9 (Poland) and Urziceni-Vada Ret (Romania)
Authors: Chmielewski Tomasz J. , Hałuszko Agata , Goslar Tomasz , Cheronet Olivia , Hajdu Tamás , Szeniczey Tamás , Virag Cristian
Published: April 2021

In this research, sampling optimisation and modelling based thereon follow from the assumption that each human skeleton can be treated as a set of heterochronous carbon reservoirs capable of supplying at least an elementary sequence consisting of two 14C dates corresponding to the moment of birth (otic capsule) and that of demise (ribs), as well as an anthropologically defined lag between them. Two case studies demonstrate that the approach can raise the precision of 14C dates related to the death of the individuals. The benefits and main issues of this sampling strategy as well as the involved bioarchaeological conflict potential are taken under discussion.
Luminescence Dating of Nuomuhong Culture Ceramics at Talitaliha Site on the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Sun Manping , Sun Yongjuan , Chongyi E , Hou Guangliang , Zhang Jing , Shi Yunkun
Published: April 2021

As a daily utensil and artefact, the presence of ceramic at an archaeological site is direct evidence of human activity. While ceramics have been found at numerous sites on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), most have been aged using conventional methods such as typology or radio-carbon dating of associated charcoal and bone. In this study, five sand-tempered grey ceramics from Talitaliha in the Qaidam Basin were dated using quartz and K-feldspar OSL. The reliability of the ceramic OSL ages was determined using six independent radiocarbon samples, three charcoal and three bone, from the same cultural layer. Six additional OSL ages were determined on sandy loess sediments at the Talitaliha site to provide upper and lower limits for the ceramic ages. The ceramic luminescence dating results are in good agreement with the 14C ages and are within the constraints of the stratigraphic OSL ages, suggesting that OSL dating of ceramics has great potential for archaeological research on the QTP. The determined age range for the Talitaliha site was between 3400–2800 cal BP; this fits well with Nuomuhong culture dates from other locations in the Qaidam Basin that range between 3400–2450 cal BP.
COVID-19 and mass-media: the weight of the words
Authors: Spulber Diana
Published: April 2021

The events of the year 2020 have had and heavy impact on the whole world. For the first time, each of us felt that we were part of this great globalised family. For the first time, the events that happened on a strict continent were directly related to other continents’ inhabitants. The new words entered to be a part of our vocabulary, and the new way of behaviour have been performed. On the positive side, we could mention that countries have been discovered for people with low geographical culture and the existence of certain professions and certain hospital departments have been discovered. The role of mass-media has been decisive in transmitting the news about Covid 19 in various ways. The article aims to show the role of mass media on the headlines of high ranking newspapers in UK Germany and Italy by analysing the weight of the words. The used methodology was the analysis to analyse the headlines of high ranking newspapers in UK Germany and Italy. Through content analysis, it was possible to individuate how the news-papers attract the audience through the headlines and how they contributed to keeping up the attention and the stress among social reality.
European Union and Russia: international relations evolution
Authors: Figus Alessandro
Published: April 2021

Today the relationship between Russia and the today EU-28 (today EU-27) members of the European Union is essential and very strategically important; this issue is bound to become more urgent as the two draws closer together over the next decades. In this paper, we discuss this and the Russian Federation’s role in the Ukraine conflict that has seriously affected EU-Russia relations. The EU and Russia have a long record of cooperation on issues of bilateral and international concern in several fields, from climate change to drug and human trafficking, but also the organized crime, terrorism, and non-proliferation. In particular, Europe, the “old traditional Europe”, acquires special weight for Russia in the context of the cooling down of relations between Russia and the United States. We will discuss gas, oil, and energy, but we can see that the solution can be only economic, and the oil and agriculture sectors could help do just that. “Business is business”.
Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds in treatment of metabolic syndrome
Authors: Kania-Dobrowolska Małgorzata , Baraniak Justyna
Published: April 2021

Fenugreek has a long tradition of use as a medicine and also has been commonly used as food in many countries. This plant is well known, especially in Asia. In Europe, fenugreek seeds are regarded as a traditional herbal medicine consumed in case of loss of appetite and in confirmed skin inflammations. Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds contain wide spectrum of different biologically active constituents which affect the properties of preparations produced from this plant. Numerous preclinical studies confirm the use of fenu-greek as a hypolipidemic and lowering blood glucose level drug. Unfortunately, there are not many clinical studies on fenugreek seeds in this area. Published studies often significantly differ in the amount and type of fenugreek seed preparation used. However, results of available scientific research are promising and suggest the possibility of using fenugreek seeds in metabolic syndrome therapy. Undoubtedly, further research is required to confirm such properties of Trigonella foenum-graecum.
Effects of combined ethanol extract of Funtumia africana and Abutilon mauritianum leaves (FAAM) on liver function indices of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) induced rats
Authors: Uroko Robert Ikechukwu , Adamude Fatima Amin , Egba Simeon Ikechukwu , Chukwu Charles Nnanna , Asadu Chidimma Lilian , Okwara Emmanuel Chidera
Published: April 2021

Objective

This study evaluated the effects of combined ethanol extract of Funtumia africana and Abutilon mauritianum leaves (FAAM) on the liver function indices of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) induced rats.

Materials and Methods

The study used 30 rats divided into 5 groups, comprising normal control, BPH control, standard control, and BPH induced rats treated with 200 and 600 mg/kg/day of FAAM respectively.

Results

The BPH induction caused significant (p<0.05) increases in aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities of the BPH control when compared with the normal control. The BPH control also had significantly (p<0.05) reductions in the total protein, albumin and globulin concentrations and significant (p<0.05) elevated total bilirubin and direct bilirubin concentrations relative to the normal control. The FAAM treated BPH-induced rats had non-significantly (p>0.05) reduced AST, and alanine transaminase (ALT) activities relative to the BPH control. The BPH-induced rats treated with 600 mg/kg/day of FAAM had significantly (p<0.05) reduced ALP activities relative to the BPH control. Treatment with FAAM caused significant (p<0.05) increases in the total protein, albumin, globulin concentrations and significant (p<0.05) reductions in the total bilirubin and direct bilirubin concentrations relative to the BPH control. BPH had no observable adverse effects on the liver histomorphology of the rats.

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicated that BPH impairs liver functions and treatment of BPH with combined ethanol extract of F. africana and A. mauritianum leaves restore normal liver functions in rats with BPH.
Antioxidant and anti-candida activity of selected medicinal plants of Indian origin
Authors: Prajapati Suneel , Bhardwaj Aarti , Gupta Pankaj
Published: April 2021

Introduction

Fungal disseases are the most common opportunistic infection.

Objective

The main aims of the study were to determine phenolic content and to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-candida activity of the selected Indian-origin plant extracts from the fruit pulp, stem, leaves, and seeds of three plants of Indian origin.

Material and methods

The extracts from Terminalia chebula, Thuja occidentalic and Syzygium jambolanum were investigated. The total phenolic content, antioxidant potential of different crude extracts was accessed using the free radical, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). Anti-candida activity was evaluated using disk diffusion method and broth dilution assay against Candida albicans.

Results

Ethanol and methanol extracts of Indian traditional plants possessed high radical scavenging activity: T. chebula 29.38±0.15, T. occidentalis 6.26±0.24 and S. jambolanum 25.64±0.18 at 0.32 mg/ml. The extracts exhibited good zones of inhibition diameters ranged between: for T. chebula 6.33±0.57 mm and 19.66±1.52 mm in diameter, S. jambolanum 7.00±00 mm and 23.33±1.52 and T. occidentalis 7.66±0.57 and 17.00±1.00 mm. C. albicans were susceptible to all three tested extract at different concentrations. The lowest MIC 1.95 mg/ml was recorded with S. jambolanum while the T. chebula and T. occidentalis inhibited the growth at 3.90 mg/ml, respectively, against the C. albicans.

Conclusion

The study result paves an overall view on the bioactivities of three traditional Indian medicinal plants crude extracts.
The Glocality of the Acta Comparationis Litterarum. Local Interpretations of Educational Freedom, Coercive Innovation and Comparative Literature
Authors: Szabó Levente T.
Published: April 2021

The Present Tasks of Comparative Literature (Vorläufige Aufgaben der Vergleichenden Litteratur) is the most often-cited essay of the first international journal of comparative literature, the ActaComparationis Litterarum Universarum. The article proposes a revision of the generally established explanations of this pioneering text, and traces back the microcultural genealogy of the idea of freedom and autonomy associated with the emerging modern discipline of comparative literature in the essay. In this new intellectual framework both the essay and its broad horizon are interpreted as a glocal interplay of recycled and enthrallingly reinvented transnational ideas.