Common Usage Research Articles

Metaphors and culturally unique idioms of eating and drinking in Mongolian

AbstractThis paper investigates the cognitive mechanisms underlying eating and drinking metaphors in Mongolian and discusses complex linguistic features of some culturally unique idioms relating to id- ‘eat’ and uu- ‘drink’, which are interpreted from a sociocultural perspective, along with the help of world knowledge. Metaphorical extensions of id- and uu- fall into three subcategories: (1) agent-oriented extensions, highlighting the consumer’s role in the source domain of eating and drinking; (2) patient-oriented extensions, focusing on destructive effects on the patient in the source domain; (3) extensions involving both agent and patient orientations, describing the agent’s sensation and “destruction” of the patient at the same time. Based on the Mongolian Web Corpus (mnWac16) and an extensive online dictionary (mongoltoli.mn), it is found that patient-oriented extensions tend to be more connected with EAT verbs in Mongolian, denoting a range of extensions like overcoming of the patient, spending material wealth, psychological torment or destruction, corrosion caused by external factors, etc., while agent-oriented extensions are more likely to involve DRINK verbs, denoting ‘smoking’, receiving material wealth (e.g., earning money) and absorption of such liquids as ink or oil. Overall, id- has a broader extension than uu-, and there are some overlaps involving both agent and patient orientations in terms of living on material wealth and physical exploitation. Some common usages pertaining to metaphorical extensions of consumption verbs are found cross-linguistically.

SOFT PVC COMPOUNDING EXTRUDER DESIGN

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most preferred thermoplastics in the world due to its compatibility with various additives. PVC products are examined in two groups soft and rigid. Sheath, insulation, and filling materials used in electrical cables are some of the common usage areas of soft PVC. In this study, a soft PVC compound extruder machine was designed and manufactured. The system consists of 6 components: powder feeding system, main rotor, discharge transfer screw system, pelletizer, pellet cooling (cooler) unit and main control panel (HMI). In the designed and produced machine, the temperature values can be entered into the HMI panel according to the desired formulation, and the temperatures of the desired sections can be controlled during the compound production using thermocouples. Heating is brought to the desired level using PID control with resistances, cooling with fans in the main screw area and water in the transfer area. During the compound production process, many values such as temperature and pressure values can be controlled from the material feeding section to the pelletizer section. The density of the soft PVC compound produced was measured as 1.475 gr/cm3 . The test sample was produced from PVC compound, which was produced via the compounder designed and manufactured in this study, with a laboratory-type extruder. Tensile and elongation tests were carried out according to the ISO 527-2 test method. As a result of the test, it was observed that produced soft PVC compound extended by 280%. As a result of the experiments, it has been determined that the designed and manufactured compounder machine produces the sheath, insulation and filling materials (Plasticized PVC) used in the electrical cables appropriately.

Is NSGA-II Ready for Large-Scale Multi-Objective Optimization?

NSGA-II is, by far, the most popular metaheuristic that has been adopted for solving multi-objective optimization problems. However, its most common usage, particularly when dealing with continuous problems, is circumscribed to a standard algorithmic configuration similar to the one described in its seminal paper. In this work, our aim is to show that the performance of NSGA-II, when properly configured, can be significantly improved in the context of large-scale optimization. It leverages a combination of tools for automated algorithmic tuning called irace, and a highly configurable version of NSGA-II available in the jMetal framework. Two scenarios are devised: first, by solving the Zitzler–Deb–Thiele (ZDT) test problems, and second, when dealing with a binary real-world problem of the telecommunications domain. Our experiments reveal that an auto-configured version of NSGA-II can properly address test problems ZDT1 and ZDT2 with up to 217=131,072 decision variables. The same methodology, when applied to the telecommunications problem, shows that significant improvements can be obtained with respect to the original NSGA-II algorithm when solving problems with thousands of bits.

Achieving ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylenes by vanadium aroylhydrazine‐arylolates

AbstractA series of vanadium(V) aroylhydrazine‐arylolates is employed in ethylene polymerization to produce ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), surprisingly extending to such coupling reactions beyond their common usage in the oxidation of hexanes and alcohols. Activated by either MAO or DMAC, the complexes V1–V3 efficiently catalyze the polymerization of ethylene into UHMWPE, that is, with an activity up to 3.37 × 106 g mol−1 h−1 (60°C) and the polyethylene obtained has a molecular weight around 3 million g mol−1, being the highest molecular weight achieved by a vanadium catalyst so far. More importantly, the significant effects of different cocatalysts are well illustrated; the catalytic system with MAO generally shows lower activity with almost one order in the magnitude than that with DMAC (0.43 vs. 3.37 × 106 g mol−1 h−1), but the polyethylenes with higher molecular weights are obtained by the system with MAO.

ON THE PROBLEM OF ABBREVIATION AS A MEANS OF LINGUISTIC ECONOMY (UPON THE MATERIAL OF THE ENGLISH LITERARY TEXT “REPORT FROM IRON MOUNTAIN ON THE POSSIBILITY & DESIRABILITY OF PEACE”)

The article throws light upon the theoretical understanding of the role and place of abbreviations, as well as the description of the structural and semantic features of the abbreviation vocabulary. It aims at developing a systematic approach to the study of this phenomenon on the material of an English literary text by defining the types of acronyms in English on the basis of conventional, common usage, analysis of the systemic, structural, semantic characteristics of the abbreviated vocabulary of English and by trying establish the basic structural-semantic characteristics of such vocabulary.

First report of glyphosate-resistant downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) in Canada

Glyphosate is the most used herbicide worldwide, and is an important source of economical weed control in glyphosate-resistant crops, and conservation tillage systems, among other uses. Downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.), otherwise known as cheatgrass, is a highly invasive winter-annual grass weed in cropping systems, pastureland, and naturalized or ruderal areas in western North America. In 2021, a downy brome population remained uncontrolled following four applications of glyphosate in a glyphosate-resistant canola (Brassica napus L.) field located in Taber County, Alberta, Canada. All individuals from the subsequent generation of the population survived glyphosate treatment at the typical field rate (900 g ae ha−1). In dose-response bioassays, the putative glyphosate-resistant population exhibited 10.6- to 11.9-fold, 7.7- to 8.7-fold, 7.8- to 8.8-fold, and 8.3- to 9.5-fold resistance to glyphosate based on plant survival, visible control, and biomass fresh weight and dry weight, respectively, compared with two susceptible populations 21 days after treatment. Estimated glyphosate rates for 80% control of this population ranged from 2795 to 4511 g ae ha−1; well above common usage rates. This downy brome population represents the first glyphosate-resistant grass weed confirmed in Canada, and the second weed species exhibiting glyphosate resistance in the Canadian prairie region.

ACCESSIBILITY OF CULTURAL EDUCATION IN ITS BROADEST SENSE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN LATVIA

Although Latvia can be justifiably proud of its many cultural achievements, there are still problems for people with disabilities to exercise their right to access culture both inside and outside the capital city. The purpose of the research paper is to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the cultural policy of Latvia with a scope on social inclusion. Various documents regulating cultural policy mention the need to ensure access to the cultural environment and to foster cultural diversity. However, those responsible for implementing cultural policy seem to either misinterpret the documents or are unable to implement the planned improvements due to other circumstances. Hence the article will first briefly outline the scope of cultural diversity in order to show that a cultural product created by people with disabilities is part of cultural diversity. The article will focus on the concept of “cultural education”, analysing the most common present usage of it by cultural policy actors, and considering whether this concept should not be used on a much broader sense. This would raise the awareness of the necessity of cultural education and thus of the necessity for accessibility to cultural education for people with disabilities in cultural institutions both in cities and in the countryside. The research paper provides an overview of the data collected from surveying cultural institutions of Latvia in 2017 and 2020, with a regard to the availability of cultural processes and cultural education in Latvia. The author strives to emphasize that participation in cultural activities has to be perceived as cultural education in a broader sense, as the participation process brings new cultural knowledge to people. Probably the reason for the unsatisfactory environment and human resource accessibility is the fact that accessibility has not been emphasized in the currently most significant documents regulating cultural education. The environment accessibility in the cultural institutions of Latvia is insufficient and does not stimulate the availability of cultural education opportunities for people with disabilities.

A CASE OF ANAPHYLAXIS TO SUGAMMADEX SKIN PRICK TESTING

<h3>Introduction</h3> Sugammadex is a modified gamma-cyclodextrin gaining increasingly common usage as an anesthetic medication for the rapid reversal of the neuromuscular blocking agents rocuronium and vecuronium. While considered safer than traditional reversal agents, sugammadex is becoming more widely recognized as a rare cause of peri-operative anaphylaxis. There are no standardized skin prick testing protocols or commercially available IgE assays for sugammadex, although previous literature has used an undiluted concentration of 100mg/ml for epicutaneous skin testing. <h3>Case Description</h3> A 57 year old woman with a medical history of anaphylaxis to bee sting experienced peri-operative anaphylaxis upon first time exposure to sugammadex. Despite adequate treatment, she had subsequent rebound anaphylaxis. Four months after her reaction she completed skin prick testing to sugammadex. During the first round of epicutaneous skin prick testing with a diluted concentration of 0.1mg/mL of sugammadex she experienced diffuse hives, throat closer, and hoarseness of voice requiring treatment with epinephrine, diphenhydramine, and steroids. She again had rebound of symptoms shortly thereafter, requiring transfer to the emergency department for monitoring. <h3>Discussion</h3> The evaluation of a patient with peri-operative anaphylaxis can be challenging. As the use of sugammadex increases, clinicians should be aware of its ability to cause anaphylaxis. This case demonstrates anaphylaxis in a sugammadex naive patient, both intra-operatively and then during in-office skin prick testing. The case raises awareness of the possibility for anaphylaxis at a concentration of 0.1mg/ml for epicutaneous skin testing and highlights the need for standardized skin prick testing protocols.

Topological Access Methods for Spatial and Spatiotemporal Data

In order to perform topological queries on geographic data, it is necessary to first develop a topological access method (TOAM). Using the fact that any (incidence or other binary) relation produces a topology which includes the common usage of topology for spatial or spatiotemporal data, here, such a TOAM is developed on the basis of the previously applied concept of Property Graph used in order to manage topological information in data of any dimension, whether time dependent or not. As a matter of fact, it is necessary to have a TOAM in order to query such a graph, and also to have data which are topologically consistent in a certain sense. While the rendering of topological consistency was the concern of previous work, here, the aim is to develop a methodology which builds on this concept. In the end, an experimental test of this approach on a small city model is performed. It turned out that the Euler characteristic, a well-known topological invariant, can be helpful for the initial data validation. Practically, this present theoretical work is seen to be necessary in view of future innovative applications, e.g., in the context of city model simulations, including distributed geo-processing.

CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS OF BIXA ORELLANA BARK EXTRACTS ON HUMAN CELL LINE (HEPG2 CELLS)

Introduction: Bixaorellanais a species of tree in the family Bixaceae. The common usage of Bixaorellana include antipyretic, aphrodisiac, anti diarrhoeal, antidiabetic and insect repellant. HepG2 is an immortal cell line used as a model system for studies of liver metabolism and toxicity of xenobiotics, detection of environmental and dietary cytotoxic and genotoxic agents, understanding hepatocarcinogenesis and for drug targeting studies. The main aim of this study is to prepare Bixaorellana bark extract and to determine the cytotoxic effects of the extract on HepG2 cell line.Materials and Methods: The Bixaorellana bark extract was made using Soxhlet extraction and concentrated using Rotary evaporator. The cell viability of HepG2 cells was measured using MTT Assay. Then the gene expression analysis of the HepG2 cells was done by RNA isolation, complementary DNA synthesis followed by Real time PCR to analyze the anticancer activity.Results: As the concentration level increases, the cell viability dose dependently decreases. By modulating the expression of apoptotic signaling molecules, the drug was able to inhibit the proliferation of the cancer cells.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that bark extracts of Bixaorellanawere cytotoxic against BCl 2 mRNA and BCl-xL mRNA induced apoptosis on the human cells. Active components were probably responsible for anticancer activity. MTT assay showed that as the concentration of treated Bixaorellana bark extract increases, the cancer cell viability decreases.

A Pedagogical Introduction to Biomarker Detection in Surface-Based Biosensors

The field of biosensors is a burgeoning area of research and employs a large number of chemistry graduates. The impact of strip tests in detecting coronavirus was palpable during the recent COVID-19 pandemic and will further drive the biosensor industry. Despite their common usage, a coherent introduction to the basics of sensing remains missing from the chemistry curriculum. Through this work, key concepts of transport and noise interference in molecular sensing aimed at upper-level coursework are introduced. Exercises including teamwork activities are proposed for teaching and inquiry-based learning. The presented approach was effective in solidifying the concepts of molecular transport and competing binding kinetics. Furthermore, students are introduced to an online database on biomarkers and open-source binding affinity resources. The material can be seamlessly integrated into the existing coursework by expanding discussions on binding kinetics and equilibrium.

Graffiti for the City or the City for Graffiti? Legitimacy of Graffiti in the Historical Center of Saint-Petersburg

In contemporary society there are two contradictory points of view concerning graffiti: it is vandalism; it is art. In the cities graffiti is treated ambiguously: negatively, quietly or with interest and approval. The reasons for this may be both in citizens’ tastes and in the characteristics of the graffiti itself. Why do citizens consider some graffiti acceptable and some not? This work deals with the research of the legitimacy of the graffiti in the historical center of Saint-Petersburg. The purpose of the research is to reveal the foundations of the legitimacy of illegal graffiti in the historical center.&#x0D; The empirical basis consists of half-structured interviews analyzed with the thematic coding. The results show that a positive or negative reaction on the illegal graffiti appears during the discussion on the representational qualities, surface and content of the graffiti. The legitimate graffiti in the historical center of Saint-Petersburg has a connection with the history of the city and famous people, and it is also considered as a creative asset that transforms dilapidated surfaces. The results of the research may be used for the resolution of the conflicts between the citizens, graffiti creators and government officials providing the basis for a dialog on the common usage of the urban space. This work is also intended for the researchers of urban space, cultural city landscape and in sociology of art.

Gothic leiþu, “strong drink; fruit wine?” and its Cognates in the Germanic Languages

Gothic <i>leiþu</i>, “strong drink; fruit wine?” and its Cognates in the Germanic Languages

Association of Screen Time with Physical and Mental Health Among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The effects of digital screen use on the physical and mental health of a child are a debated area of research. Studies have established few harmful effects, but the usage among children remains to be high. There is less understanding of the pattern of the digital screen and application usage and its impact on physical and mental health in our population. Aims: To study the pattern of digital screen use among children (5-15 years) and its impact on their physical and mental health. Setting and design: Cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: Sociodemographic details of parents and their children, screen time-related questions, pediatric symptom checklist (PSC) for screening of mental health issues, and questions regarding physical health issues in children due to screen use. Statistical Analysis: Data was analyzed using R language. Results: There is a significant association between parents’ education, gender, and the number of children with screen time. YouTube followed by WhatsApp are the commonly used digital applications and smartphones followed by Smart TVs are the commonly used digital gadgets. The physical issues are less than the clinical cut-off values but significantly associated with screen time. Sleep disturbance and avoiding outdoor activity are frequently reported due to screen use. Conclusion: The study highlights the common usage pattern of various digital gadgets and applications among children and their parents; also the demographic factors of parents relating to increased screen time in children. There are no significant clinical mental health issues reported by parents, but a significant association is found between digital screen use with physical and mental health issues.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES, PHYTOCHEMISTRY AND PHARMACOLOGY OF ACACIA MODESTA (Wall.)

The use of medicinal plants is as ancient as human civilization. Acacia modesta is an important medicinal plant belonging to the family Fabaceae (sub family Mimosaceae). This review aims to provide adequate and latest summary of the traditional usage, phytochemistry, pharmacological and ethnobotanical profile of A. modesta. The important phyto-constituents of A. modesta comprising flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, fatty acids and polysaccharides (gums) are also highlighted. Pharmacological data on A. modesta shows significant haemagglutination, phytotoxic, insecticidal, anti-diabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet aggregatory, antibacterial and acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory characteristics. Furthermore, A. modesta is also widely used as fodder, fuel wood, timber, household and furniture materials. Ecological importance of the plant is also worth mentioning for its scented and colorful flowers and it serves as one of the desired plant for honey bee raring and honey production. A. modesta is an important, eco-friendly and renewable source of pharmaceuticals with a well-known therapeutic directory. Many researchers have examined its therapeutic potential and common usage through the course of this review.

A multimodal approach for the ecological investigation of sustained attention: A pilot study.

Natural fluctuations in sustained attention can lead to attentional failures in everyday tasks and even dangerous incidences. These fluctuations depend on personal factors, as well as task characteristics. So far, our understanding of sustained attention is partly due to the common usage of laboratory setups and tasks, and the complex interplay between behavior and brain activity. The focus of the current study was thus to test the feasibility of applying a single-channel wireless EEG to monitor patterns of sustained attention during a set of ecological tasks. An EEG marker of attention (BEI—Brain Engagement Index) was continuously recorded from 42 healthy volunteers during auditory and visual tasks from the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA) and Trail Making Test (TMT). We found a descending pattern of both performance and BEI in the auditory tasks as task complexity increases, while the increase in performance and decrease in BEI on the visual task. In addition, patterns of BEI in the complex tasks were used to detect outliers and the optimal range of attention through exploratory models. The current study supports the feasibility of combined electrophysiological and neurocognitive investigation of sustained attention in ecological tasks yielding unique insights on patterns of sustained attention as a function of task modality and task complexity.

An Efficient Location-Based Forwarding Strategy for Named Data Networking and LEO Satellite Communications

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are increasingly gaining attention as future global Internet providers. At the same time, named data networking (NDN) is a new data-centric architecture that has been recently proposed to replace the classic TCP/IP architecture since it is particularly well suited to the most common usage of the Internet nowadays as a content delivery network. Certainly, the use of NDN is especially convenient in highly dynamic network environments, such as those of next LEO constellations incorporating inter-satellite links (ISL). Among other native facilities, such as inbuilt security, NDN readily supports the mobility of clients, thus helping to overcome one of the main problems raised in LEO satellite networks. Moreover, thanks to a stateful forwarding plane with support for multicast transmission and inbuilt data caches, NDN is also able to provide a more efficient usage of the installed transmission capacity. In this paper, we propose a new location-based forwarding strategy for LEO satellite networks that takes advantage of the knowledge of the relative position of the satellites and the grid structure formed by the ISLs to perform the forwarding of NDN packets. So, forwarding at each node is done using only local information (node and destination locations), without the need of interchanging information between nodes, as is the case with conventional routing protocols. Using simulation, we show that the proposed forwarding strategy is a good candidate to promote the efficient and effective future use of the NDN architecture in LEO satellite networks.

A Comprehensive Review on Graphene Nanoparticles: Preparation, Properties, and Applications

Graphene, with its amazing prospects and nonpareil aspects, has enticed scientists and researchers all over the globe in a significant fashion. Graphene, the super material, endlessly demonstrates some of the substantial, as well as desired, mechanical, thermal, optical, and chemical characteristics which are just about to bring about an unprecedented transformation in the science and technology field. Being derived from graphite, graphene is made of one-atom-thick, two-dimensional carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. This Nobel-prize-winning phenomenon includes properties that may result in a new dawn of technology. Graphene, the European Union’s (EU) largest pledged project, has been extensively researched since its discovery. Several stable procedures have been developed to produce graphene nanoparticles in laboratories worldwide. Consequently, miscellaneous applications and futuristic approaches in artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology, biomedical and nanomedicine, defence and tactics, desalination, and sports are ruling over the next generation’s fast-paced world and are making the existing market competitive and transformative. This review sheds light upon the ideology of the preparation and versatile application of graphene and foretells the upcoming advancements of graphene nanoparticles with the challenges rearing ahead. The study also considers graphene nanoparticles’ diverse fields and portends their sustainability with the possibility of their acceptance in the commercial market as well as in common usage.

Variable Effects of Twenty Sugars and Sugar Alcohols on the Retrogradation of Wheat Starch Gels.

Starch retrogradation is desirable for some food textures and nutritional traits but detrimental to sensory and storage qualities of other foods. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of sweetener structure and concentration on the retrogradation of wheat starch gels. The effects of 20 sweeteners selected based on common food usage and stereochemical structures of interest, and ranging in concentration from 10 to 50%w/w, on the retrogradation of wheat starch gels were monitored spectrophotometrically over time. The sweeteners were sucrose, xylose, ribose, glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, mannitol, L-sorbose, xylitol, tagatose, allulose, maltose, lactose, isomaltulose, isomalt, sorbitol, maltitol, and raffinose. Retrogradation rates and amounts were compared by Avrami equation rate constants (k = 0.1–0.7) and absorbance values measured on day 28 (Abs = 0.1–1.0), respectively. Both sweetener concentration and type significantly affected retrogradation. Gels made with sugar alcohols and high sweetener concentrations (≈≥40%) tended to retrograde more and faster, whereas gels made with sugars and low sweetener concentrations tended to have lower retrogradation rates and amounts. Sweeteners with more equatorial and exocyclic hydroxyl groups (e.g., glucose and maltitol) and those with larger molar volumes (e.g., isomaltulose and raffinose) tended to increase the rate and amount of retrogradation, particularly at higher concentrations. The impact of sweeteners on retrogradation was a balance of factors that promoted retrogradation (intermolecular interactions and residual short-range molecular order) and inhibiting behaviors (interference at crystallization sites), which are influenced by sweetener concentration and structure. Understanding which sweeteners at which concentrations can be used to promote or inhibit retrogradation is useful for product formulation strategies.

Empirical Fiction: Composite Character Narratives in Analytical Sociology

AbstractThis paper discusses methods for using narratives of composite characters in qualitative social scientific writing. When anonymization is required, authors can use composite narratives to better protect participants, to compress data into intelligible sequences, and to avoid problematic claims to scientific authority. However, to date, authors of composite texts have failed to adequately explain how they deal with problems of sampling, selection, and sequence from an analytical perspective.Analytical qualitative researchers interested in creating composite character narratives can learn lessons, both positive and negative, from other forms of fiction that are in common usage in sociology. Drawing on a variety of fictive methods for clustering together cases and determining the objective possibility of narrative elements, this paper proposes a method of constructing composite narratives that forces their author to abductively construct theory and interrogate the narratives’ causal logics. The Sequence-Based Composites (SBC) method is explained with reference to four criteria for evaluating empirically grounded social scientific arguments: reliability, reactivity, representativeness, and replicability. Examples of composite character construction are drawn from an ethnographic study of news production in Turkey.