Identical Formulation Research Articles

“Written upon the Stones”: Of the Cyclops, the Shamir and Other Legends of Origin in Benjamin of Tudela’s Book of Travels

This paper examines legends on the origins (aetiologies) of places and placenames in Benjamin of Tudela’s travel account. Origin stories are prevalent in medieval travelogues, but Hebrew travel accounts employ a unique form that is embedded in placenames. Midrash Shem (מדרש שם), as this form is known in Jewish tradition, is the homiletical interpretation of names, typically characterized in some measure by wordplay. I suggest that these legends and placenames serve Hebrew travel literature both as an evidential tool and as an artistic means of expression, contributing to the construction of “known” and “foreign” lands and peoples, and consequently to the formulation of group identities. En route to the foreign and unknown, yet “own”, holy Eretz Yisrael, Benjamin of Tudela encounters Jewish communities and records a variety of aetiologies throughout the Middle East. In retelling the origins of the travelled landscape, he transmits local mythical, theological and historical content as well as particular Jewish-diasporic socio-political realities. Diversely told origins of Roman architecture, scattered across most of Benjamin’s account, show how these local traditions varied. Some aetiologies fuse traditional with foreign content to affirm a sense of belonging under foreign rule, while others actively undermine established non-Jewish narratives or even oppose competing Jewish narratives.

N-protein vaccine is effective against COVID-19: Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Despite the success of first-generation COVID-19 vaccines targeting the spike (S) protein, emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have led to immune escape, reducing the efficacy of these vaccines. Additionally, some individuals are unable to mount an effective immune response to S protein-based vaccines. This has created a need for alternative vaccine strategies that are less susceptible to mutations and capable of providing broad and durable protection. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel COVID-19 vaccine based on the full-length recombinant nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial (NCT05726084) in Russia. Participants (n=5229) were adults aged 18 years and older, with a BMI of 18.5-30kg/m², and without significant clinical abnormalities. They were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive a single intramuscular dose of either the N protein-based vaccine (50µg) or placebo. Randomization was done through block randomization, and masking was ensured by providing visually identical formulations of vaccine and placebo. The primary outcome was the incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 confirmed by PCR more than 15 days after vaccination within a 180-day observation period, analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis. Between May 18, 2023, and August 9, 2023, 5229 participants were randomized, with 3486 receiving the vaccine and 1743 receiving the placebo. Eight cases of PCR-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 occurred in the vaccine group (0.23%) compared to 27 cases in the placebo group (1.55%), yielding a vaccine efficacy of 85.2% (95% CI: 67.4-93.3; p<0.0001). Adverse events were mostly mild and included local injection site reactions. There were no vaccine-related serious adverse events. The N protein-based COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated significant efficacy and a favorable safety profile, suggesting it could be a valuable addition to the global vaccination effort, particularly in addressing immune escape variants and offering an alternative for those unable to respond to S protein-based vaccines. These results support the continued development and potential deployment of N protein-based vaccines in the ongoing fight against COVID-19.

Postcolonial Poetics: We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021)

The paper addresses all facets of post-colonialism in Hafsa Zayyan's We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021). The paper purports to delineate the analysis of identity conflict and racism in the novel using a postcolonial perspective. In this paper, the descriptive qualitative method was drawn upon. The postcolonial issues found in this novel are identity conflict, exile, ambivalence, alienation, racism, binarism, and marginalization. The study weaves together and examines the effects of post-colonialism on Indians in two major countries: Uganda and the United Kingdom. As a result, the article aims to examine the novel's marrow from a postcolonial perspective as well as give examples from the novel illustrating the use of postcolonial elements such as memory, identity, otherness, ambivalence, nationalism, space/place, diaspora, hybridity, unbelonging. The paper is significant because it invites Western societies to change their arrogant superiority beliefs based on racial rationales. This paper will explore all the tunnels of post-colonialism in Hafsa Zayyan's We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021). The themes concern identity conflict, racism, and hybridity. The results of the study show how racism and discrimination affect the formulation and perpetuation of postcolonial identity. The study recommends that instilling acceptance, tolerance, and love rather than hatred toward one another is the simplest way to eradicate racism.

التناوب اللغوي والهوية المشتتة في ترجمة عابد إسماعيل لرواية فادية فقير اسمي سلمى

ode-switching is a sociolinguistic phenomenon that refers to the shift between various languages in speaking or writing and it is employed by speakers or authors for different linguistic, social and political reasons. This study examines the significance of code-switching in the formulation of diasporic identity in the Syrian poet and translator Abed Ismael's translation of the Jordanian-British author Fadia Faqir's My Name Is Salma (2007). The researchers propose that authors in diaspora use code-switching so as to return home linguistically/textually. However, we argue that the use of code-switching poses problems in the translation of the source text. -The methodology in this study follows a descriptive approach to analyze data concerning code-switching that Faqir employs in the original novel and their translations by Ismael. The researchers classify and list the codes used by both writers and study the connections between them. Faqir’s usage of code switching is based on her construction of Arab culture as a culture of shame, which is foreign to the English culture. Via the employment of code switching, Ismael also shows that everything is foreign for Salma in England. Exoticism and fragmentation lead to a state of indecisiveness and in-betweenness that demands sacrificing identity, language, and even home.

Wilno mityczne we współczesnej prozie litewskiej

The myth of the founding of the city of Vilnius became particularly important in Lithuanian art in the decade of the restoration of independence. After a long period of occupation, the capital of Lithuania became not only a catalyst for new formulations of national and civic identity, but also a symbol of freedom. The landscape and architecture of the Old Town of Vilnius embody the archaic Baltic imagination, which is not upstaged but, on the contrary, complemented by the Christian world of Vilnius. The restoration of independence activated the archaic Baltic imagination in Lithuanian art and literature as this kind of imagination had nurtured Lithuanians’ national self-awareness over centuries. This article focuses on two modern Lithuanian prose writers, Antanas Ramonas (1947–1993) and Ričardas Gavelis (1950–2002), whose works evoke the two most striking and different images of the same mythical Vilnius – divine and demonic, hopeful and hopeless. These two opposing images of mythical Vilnius reveal two different viewpoints on the world, on history and on the human being in modern Lithuanian literature.

Evaluation of using micronized saudi calcite in ilmenite-weighted water-based drilling fluid

A high-density water-based drilling fluid (WBDF) is crucial for maintaining wellbore stability, controlling formation pressures, and optimizing drilling performance in challenging subsurface conditions. In the present research, the effect of micronized calcium carbonate (calcite), extracted from the Aruma formation outcrop, is evaluated as one of the additives that could be added to the ilmenite-weighted WBDF to enhance and optimize its properties. Various concentrations of Calcite microparticles were introduced into identical fluid formulations to assess their impact. The concentrations ranged from 0, 10, 20, to 30 lb/bbl, providing a comprehensive examination of the effects of calcite microparticles across a spectrum of concentrations within the fluid. The results highlighted that adding Barite microparticles to the WBDF revealed a notable enhancement in rheological properties. Specifically, the yield point demonstrated an increase of 37%, 37%, and 11% for concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 lb/bbl of calcite, respectively. Equally significant, high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) filtration analysis indicated a considerable enhancement for the fluids containing calcite microparticles. A reduction of 14.5%, 24.6%, and 13% were observed in HPHT filtrate for concentrations of 10 lb/bbl, 20 lb/bbl, and 30 lb/bbl respectively. Simultaneously, there is a reduction in filter cake thickness by 20%, 40%, and 20%, respectively. No ilmenite settling was observed in the sample containing 20 lb/bbl of calcite, unlike the other concentrations. These diverse results strongly suggest that the optimal concentration for calcite microparticles is 20 lb/bbl. The combined utilization of the optimal concentration of calcite microparticles alongside the established additives proves to be an effective strategy for optimizing the ilmenite-weighted WBDF performance in terms of both thermal stability and rheological behavior.

International doctoral students’ identity formulations through their orientations to their children’s languages as both stressors and assets

This study contributes to research on the doctoral experience of international students who are parents, and for whom the temporary experience of living elsewhere is both a challenge and a resource for all members of the family. The study investigated how a group of these students positioned themselves to their children’s English and home language during their study abroad. A group of 12 international doctoral students from one Australian university and one primary school teacher took part in the study. The doctoral students were from a number of non-anglophone countries. Membership Categorisation Analysis was used to examine the identity categories invoked during focus group discussions. The categories bilingual, student, parent, tutor and spouse, the category devices family, study, nationality/language, time and location, and the attributes responsibility and inadequacy that emerged in the analysis, suggest that language issues are important considerations for international students with families, and need focused attention.

Which Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) Designs Work? A Simple Kinetic Model Linking LNP Chemical Structure to In Vivo Delivery Performance.

Although lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the predominant nanocarriers for short-interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery, most therapies use nearly identical formulations that have taken 30 years to design but lack the diverse property ranges necessary for versatile application. This dearth in variety and the extended timeline for implementation are attributed to a limited understanding of how LNP properties facilitate overcoming biological barriers. Herein, a simple kinetic model was developed by using major rate-limiting steps for siRNA delivery, and this model enabled the identification of a critical parameter to predict LNP efficacy without extensive experimental testing. A volume-averaged log D, the "solubility" of charged molecules as a function of pH weighted by component volume fractions, resulted in a good correlation between LNP composition and siRNA delivery. Both the effects of modifying the structures of ionizable lipids and LNP composition on gene silencing were easily captured in the model predictions. Thus, this approach provides a robust LNP structure-activity relationship to dramatically accelerate the realization of effective LNP formulations.

Double-blind, vehicle-controlled clinical investigation of peptide OS-01 for skin rejuvenation.

Senescent cells contribute to age-related tissue deterioration, including the skin, which plays important roles in overall health and social interactions. This study aimed to assess the effects of the senotherapeutic peptide, OS-01 (a.k.a. Pep 14), on skin. A 12-week split-face, double-blinded, vehicle-controlled study involving 22 participants was conducted. The OS-01-containing formulation was applied to one side of the face, while the other side received an identical control formulation lacking the peptide. Skin characteristics were assessed using instrumental measurements, expert clinical grading, and subjective questionnaires. Results showed that the OS-01 formulation significantly improved one aspect of skin barrier function, as evidenced by reduced trans-epidermal water loss compared to both baseline and vehicle control. Expert grading and Antera 3D image analysis revealed a reduction in wrinkle appearance and indentation in the periorbital area, and improved skin texture and radiance on both sides of the face, with the OS-01-containing formulation demonstrating superior results. Participants also perceived improvements in skin hydration, smoothness, radiance, and overall appearance. The findings suggest that the OS-01 formulation promotes skin health by strengthening the skin barrier, protecting against dehydration, reducing the appearance of wrinkles, and improving skin texture and radiance. These effects are likely attributed to the senotherapeutic properties of OS-01 in reducing cellular senescence and its associated detrimental effects.

Cost variation analysis of various oral cephalosporins available in the Indian market

Background: Cephalosporins stand as one of the most frequently prescribed antibiotics for combating infectious diseases. This group has proven to be effective in the treatment of both gram positive and gram negative infections. Analysis of price discrepancies among various brands of oral cephalosporins. Offers guidance for prescribing cost-effectively, which turns out to be beneficial for both the patient and the prescribing physician. A cost-effective prescribing pattern ensures good patient compliance and better treatment outcome. Aims and Objectives: The objectives of the study were to analyze price variation of various single oral cephalosporin formulations available in the Indian market. Materials and Methods: The prices of oral cephalosporins, produced by different pharmaceutical companies in India, with the same strength, were acquired from the current index of medical specialties, January-April 2023. The cost of generics was obtained from the official website janaushadhi.gov.in. The disparity between the highest and lowest prices of the identical formulation manufactured by different companies, the difference between the maximum and minimum prices of brand-name versus generic versions of the identical formulation, as well as the cost ratio and percentage cost variation, were computed. Results: Total number of brands range from 3 to 79 for various drugs. A large price variation was seen across the different brands. The maximum price variation 521.11% was seen with 100 mg of Cefixime and minimum price variation of 14.13% was seen with 125 mg of cefdinir. Conclusion: With the high variation in prices seen among the different drugs it is important to consider the affordability of the patient before prescribing the drug to ensure completion of the course and better treatment outcome.

The Unwritten

Abstract For many years, having searched for the foods with which I had grown up within the pages of published recipe books, I realised that there was a lack of written representation around what I had understood as ancestral foods. Neither could I find the voices of the mothers and grandmothers who had fed our bodies and spirits. Through the lens of Indian indenture, a colonial system of servitude that had introduced my ancestors to South Africa, I attempt to understand why. While published recipe books offer multiple readings, they are also powerful forms of knowledge production, contributing to narrow formulations of identity. Power dictates what is published and how. By exploring how recipes live beyond words on the page, I suggest that the possibility exists to revisit hidden food narratives while recognising the creativity, ingenuity, and adaptability of many women, who are usually rendered invisible within food texts. Through poetry, story, and my mother’s handwritten recipe book, I search for my mother and the taste of home.

Ten Years as Boundary Object: The Search for Identity and Belonging as ‘Hongkongers’

ABSTRACT This article examines the complex process of symbolic boundary-making of ‘Hongkonger’ cultural identities through the lens of the controversial 2015 film Ten Years, which is a celebrated omnibus production comprised of five short segments that picture a dystopic end to Hong Kong’s cherished way of life in the year 2025. The article is premised on an interdisciplinary approach engaging with cultural studies and film studies. On one hand, it explores how Ten Years functioned as a boundary object, a vast terrain within which cultural identities of what it means to be a Hongkonger are constructed, banished, imagined, and performed under the rubric of bodily performatives. On the other hand, it offers blurring encounters into unfamiliar and precarious territories where the formation and formulation of Hongkonger identities and sense of belonging are negotiated, evacuated, and inhabited. In the end, the key tropes in Ten Years suggest that boundary work in post-Umbrella Hong Kong affectively negotiates with state-level nationalism advocated by the central government in Beijing through establishing and reformulating notions of ‘localism’ and Hongkonger identities.

Whose city? (De)colonising the bodies of speculative fiction in Lauren Beukes's Zoo City

This article explores the (de)colonisation of the body and body boundaries in contemporary South African speculative fiction, paying particular attention to award-wining author, Lauren Beukes's, second novel, Zoo City (2010). I will apply Lara Cox's (2018:317) argument that 'Haraway's cyborg resembles the liminal view of identity presented by queer theory, which seeks to blur strict divisions between sexual and gender categories, dissolving binary oppositions such as woman/man and heterosexual/homosexual', to my reading of Zoo City. By centring the novel around Zinzi December, a resident of 'Zoo City' (the marginalised underbelly of Johannesburg), and situating the novel in the cradle of humankind, Beukes reacts against South Africa's colonial history and its colonisation of the body by blurring the animal-human boundary and challenging the colonial construct of body binaries. The novel can be read as a decolonial feminist text as it re-writes South Africa's apartheid history and critiques its division, separation and bodily segregation. Furthermore, I explore how fictional bodies are imagined and constructed in the text; I ask what kinds of boundary-breaking bodies predominate; and consider their thematic, narrative, and political significance in the postapartheid imaginary in relation to speculative fiction. I examine how new boundaries (particularly between 'normative' society and 'Zoo City') are formulated. Zoo City pulls into focus Kristeva's (1982) notion of the abject body as a central to its concerns, while also bringing attention to Foucault's (1992) notion of the 'disciplined' body. It foregrounds questions about the formulation and destabilisation of identity, with a particular focus on the construction of female identity. This article builds on the critical literature on the dystopian post-apartheid state by examining Zoo City's depictions of marginalised people and its construction of the body and body boundaries, as well as by extending the examination of representations of the body in speculative fiction.

The White Muslim Converts in Australia: Socio-Religious Reality and Identity Formation

Conversion is not only observed as a theological change in someone’s belief and behavior, but socio-cultural change that affects identity formation. This present study is conducted qualitatively involving ten Muslim converts who are associated with the white Western people. It aims at investigating their identity formulation on the process of becoming and being Muslims in the Western context in Australia, Sydney especially. Also, this research is to find the comparison between male and female converts’ identity formation.Results show that social challenge has the biggest part of the Muslim converts’ identity formation. Further, the study pictures different pattern of social challenges between male vs male and male vs female Muslim converts that leads to their identity formation. This study has highlighted that Muslim converts in the Western context have been challenged more by the socio-religious reality than faith-related practices. This study suggests that the Muslim community and the born Muslim family living in Australia are encouraged to set a program to address this tension.

Natural Indices in Rupi Kaur’s Poetry: An Ecocritical Reading

Rupi Kaur is a Canadian young poet that employed natural elements in her poems to reflect the genuine human experiences. She has recently made great fame on social media and her poetry collections have made a great impact on Canadian literature. Her poetry can be analyzed through the ecocritical lens. Kaur’s poetry is not abstruse, or metaphysically oriented rather it is easy, and simple and reflects the plight of women and her journey from stumbling, falling, breaking, rising, and finally blooming. This journey sounds more like a non-human experience that is natural for instance the cycle of life of flowers. Through mobilizing several vivid images she channels the metaphors to human life in the form of natural images regarding feeling, shaping, flourishing, and prospering. The ecocritical approach is applied in this paper to pinpoint this common tendency among humans and their counterparts from non-human entities. Moreover, it casts the light on Kaur’s descriptive force and skillfulness in forming settings fit to her perpetual slippage from certain natural asset to the other. The paper also musters certain images, metaphors and other poetic devices to show the ecocritical awareness among people with reference to this modern approach that studies the interconnectedness between nature and culture. Applying of the ecocritical approach to Rupi Kaur’s poetry may afford a feasible solution to the physical/transcendental dualism, whereas we observe the formulation of hybrid identity that results from the merging of nature and human attitudes. This study traces the five sections of the Volume “The Sun and Her Flowers” and attributes them to the development of Rupi Kaur the woman.

The Lambi Model: Haiti, Temporality, and a Holistic Methodology

Abstract: With Haiti at its helm, this article reimagines the conch shell as a methodology of resistance and renewal. The Lambi model is presented to interpret temporal pathways and ancestral practices within African Diaspora lives. Time and space serve as axes of intersection, connecting and delineating points of departure surrounding race, space, power, and freedom. A framework is established through the works of three Haitian writers and activists: Jemima Pierre, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and Edwidge Danticat. Grounded in an Antillean feminist lens, this formulation of Diaspora identity carries the cadence of a fluid and holistic orientation with ontological, epistemological, and pedagogical implications.

Partition-of-unity generalized node method based on isolated blocks for simulating multiple cracks

A partition-of-unity generalized node method (PUGNM) based on isolated blocks was developed to model multiple cracks. This study accommodates the extended finite element method (XFEM) and the numerical manifold method (NMM) within the same framework using the “path-connectivity” concept. In the PUGNM, (1) a cracked body is discretized by a structured square mesh; (2) the pre-assumed isolated blocks (or square elements) are partitioned into isolated sub-blocks by cracks and geometric boundaries; (3) the generalized nodes associated with each square node are defined on the isolated blocks; (4) the generalized nodes with actual independent deformations are obtained by merging all initial generalized nodes on the continuous blocks; (5) the displacement approximation based on the partition-of-unity (PU) method is constructed by a product of the standard quadrilateral finite element (FE) shape functions with the local functions associated with independently deformed generalized nodes. It was demonstrated that almost identical formulations can be derived for the classic XFEM, NMM, and PUGNM from the perspective of generalized nodes. Thus, construction of generalized nodes based on isolated blocks in the PUGNM is actually another implementation of the NMM based on the “path-connectivity” concept. The excellent numerical results show that the PUGNM can model multiple cracks.

Constructing Muslim Identity in a Secular State: The Strategic Role of Two Singapore Islamic Organizations

In Singapore, Islamic identity matters mainly because Muslims and Malays have special constitutional status. However, state policies seem to contradict the status while the community is still dealing with the problem of backwardness in educational and economic development. This article examines the profile and strategic role of two Islamic organizations, MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore) and Pergas (Persatuan Ulama dan Guru-Guru Agama Islam Singapura, Singapore Islamic Scholars, and Religious Teachers Association), in accommodating the expression and reconstructing Singaporean Muslim identity. Through intensive library research and using an interdisciplinary approach from social constructivist and fiqh of minorities’ perspectives, this article found that both have played a very important role in the expression and construction of Singaporean Muslim identity. There have been dynamic contestation and cooperation between the state policies towards the Muslim community. However, the global effect of Islamist extremism and terrorism has united them in terms of religious thought, attitude, and the formulation of the ideal Singaporean Muslim identity. The changing process of their stances toward the government’s policies was effective due to the function of fiqh of minorities in contextualizing Islamic teachings in the context of Singapore as a secular state.

Anticipating the Threat of Democratic Majoritarianism: Ambedkar on Constitutional Design and Ideology Critique, 1941–1948

This article analyses B. R. Ambedkar’s works written between 1941 and 1948, and it discerns a central set of concerns and arguments in this otherwise diverse corpus. It argues that since universal franchise as a political principle is uncontroversial, Ambedkar’s primary concern is geared towards the danger of democratic majoritarianism in a society riven by historically, legally and ideologically determined forms of inequality and their logic—a danger that can only be addressed at the dual levels of institutional design and ideological critique. Reading together Pakistan or the Partition of India and What Congress and Gandhi have done to the Untouchables, the initial sections argue that Ambedkar was critical of Congress and Muslim league politics because he saw in them both, albeit in distinct ways, the affirmation of religious identity as central to the formulation of political identity. Such an orientation, in the actual mechanics of mass politics and constitutional negotiation, is therefore read as inevitably leading to conflicts including demands for Partition, but at the same time such politics avoided fundamental questions of internal critique and instituted forms of socialized inequality. It is in this context, and the imminence of Partition, that the article analyses Ambedkar’s argument for the need of both a specific institutional design (constitutional provisions) and an ideology critique (his historical research including Who were the Sudras and The Untouchables). The analysis of the demand for partition and the category of the minority can only be understood through Ambedkar’s acute historical and theoretical understanding of the nation and its history, as well as the normative demands required for institutional justice, as will be shown through a reading of this corpus.

Law, film, and trans identity in Hong Kong

Abstract This article examines the construction of trans identity in Hong Kong law and cinema. By juxtaposing the key Hong Kong court cases on trans rights and some recent feature films on trans experience, it argues that film can reproduce and reinforce the understanding of identity in the court cases, and that they can unwittingly perpetuate the dynamic of exclusion enacted in those cases. Law and popular film may seem to be distinct discursive domains, but their constructions of trans identity are in fact intertwined. The article contends that to break out of these limiting identity formulations, we need to move beyond the dominant imaginaries of law and popular culture. It offers one way of doing so by turning to independent queer filmmaking as a forum for articulating and recognizing alternative trans subjectivities.