Mindful Sustainable Consumption and Sustainability Chatbots in Fast Fashion Retailing During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and ecological crisis are paving the way for new consumption models based on customers’ conscious choices and the subsequent integration of sustainable policies into retailers’ business strategies. As a consequence, the current consumer trends suggest that more people are becoming aware of their consumption standards and their repercussion on the environment and society. Statistics demonstrate that, in their purchasing processes, these “mindful customers” now search for a sustainable, self-sufficient way of living in harmony with nature. This paper argues that artificial intelligence (AI) is able to facilitate this process in the marketplace. More specifically, mindfulness with the support of AI technologies could be a plausible way to activate sustainable consumption patterns for avoiding overconsumption. The life-changing ability of mindful consumption is reviewed in this paper across domains of sustainability. Using a comprehensive literature review, the paper first outlines the theoretical and conceptual foundations of the mindful sustainable consumption (MSC) approach that fills the literature gap that almost always separates mindful consumption from sustainability. Second, the new conceptual approach is applied through a strategic framework in the field of fast fashion retailing through the use of AI-powered chatbots. In particular, the study defines a new category of chatbots, named sustainability chatbots (SC), which could convey mindful and sustainable consumption choices. The paper highlights that the MSC approach combined with the support of SC could enable marketing managers to create the appropriate context for embedding sustainability into consumer behaviour and fast fashion retailers’ strategies from a value co-creation perspective.

FEATURES OF ORGANIZATION OF ACCESS IN AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF NONLINEAR DYNAMICS

Исследовано три решения проблематики нелинейного процесса организации доступа в АИС образовательного спектра. Определены ключевые причины появления затруднений с использованием автоматизированных информационных систем и проведен анализ существующих средств и методик, которые применяются при организации взаимодействия между пользователями и АИС. Статья объясняет, каким образом можно упростить доступ к АИС путем использования принципов декомпозиции и иерархичности. В реализации указано, какой может быть структура АИС типового образовательного учреждения. Проведено сравнение преимуществ и недостатков разных систем бухгалтерского, управленческого, хозяйственно-экономического учета с точки зрения интеграции в работу высших учебных заведений. Отдельное внимание уделено анализу механизмов и особенностей взаимодействия между подсистемами АИС и базой данных на примере проведения аттестационных мероприятий. На основании изученных аспектов функционирования АИС сделан вывод о недостаточности использования вузами локальных систем и необходимости разработки и последующей интеграции персонализированных высокотехнологичных решений, которые позволят увеличить эффективность образовательной деятельности. В перспективах показано, какие задачи можно поставить перед собой, чтобы внедрить дополнительные аспекты декомпозиции и иерархичности в аналогичных системах We investigate three solutions to the problem of the nonlinear process of organizing access to the AIS of the educational spectrum. We identified the key reasons for the emergence of difficulties with the use of automated information systems and carried out the analysis of existing tools and techniques that are used in organizing interaction between users and AIS. We explained in what way we can simplify the access to AIS by using the principles of decomposition and hierarchy. The implementation indicates what the structure of the AIS of a typical educational institution can be. We carried out comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of different systems of accounting, managerial economic and economic accounting from the point of view of integration into the work of higher educational institutions. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the mechanisms and features of the interaction between the AIS subsystems and the database on the example of carrying out certification activities. On the basis of the studied aspects of the functioning of the AIS, we made a conclusion about the insufficient use of local systems by universities and the need for the development and subsequent integration of personalized high-tech solutions that will increase the efficiency of educational activities. The perspectives show what tasks you can set in order to implement additional aspects of decomposition and hierarchy in similar systems

The emergence of the idea of ‘the welfare state’ in British political discourse

This article traces the emergence of the term welfare state in British political discourse and describes competing efforts to define its meaning. It presents a genealogy of the concept's emergence and its subsequent integration into various political scripts, tracing the struggles that sought to name, define, and narrate what welfare state would be taken to mean. It shows that the concept emerged only after the core programmes to which it referred had already been enacted into law and that the referents and meaning of the concept were never generally agreed upon – not even at the moment of its formation in the late 1940s. During the 1950s, the welfare state concept was being framed in three distinct senses: (a) the welfare state as a set of social security programmes; (b) the welfare state as a socio-economic system; and (c) the welfare state as a new kind of state. Each of these usages was deployed by opposing political actors – though with different scope, meaning, value, and implication. The article argues that the welfare state concept did not operate as a representation reflecting a separate, already-constituted reality. Rather, the use of the concept in the political and economic arguments of the period – and in later disputes about the nature of the Labour government's post-war achievements – was always thoroughly rhetorical and constitutive, its users aiming to shape the transformations and outcomes that they claimed merely to describe.

THAP9 Transposase Cleaves DNA via Conserved Acidic Residues in an RNaseH-Like Domain

The catalytic domain of most ‘cut and paste’ DNA transposases have the canonical RNase-H fold, which is also shared by other polynucleotidyl transferases such as the retroviral integrases and the RAG1 subunit of V(D)J recombinase. The RNase-H fold is a mixture of beta sheets and alpha helices with three acidic residues (Asp, Asp, Glu/Asp—DDE/D) that are involved in the metal-mediated cleavage and subsequent integration of DNA. Human THAP9 (hTHAP9), homologous to the well-studied Drosophila P-element transposase (DmTNP), is an active DNA transposase that, although domesticated, still retains the catalytic activity to mobilize transposons. In this study we have modeled the structure of hTHAP9 using the recently available cryo-EM structure of DmTNP as a template to identify an RNase-H like fold along with important acidic residues in its catalytic domain. Site-directed mutagenesis of the predicted catalytic residues followed by screening for DNA excision and integration activity has led to the identification of candidate Ds and Es in the RNaseH fold that may be a part of the catalytic triad in hTHAP9. This study has helped widen our knowledge about the catalytic activity of a functionally uncharacterized transposon-derived gene in the human genome.

Conversion of Oxygenates on H-ZSM-5 Zeolites—Effects of Feed Structure and Si/Al Ratio on the Product Quality

The conversion of different biogenic feedstocks to hydrocarbons is a major challenge when ensuring hydrocarbon and fuel supply in spite of the heterogeneity of this feed. Flexible adaptation to changing compositions is mandatory for the respective processes. In this study, different oxygenate model feeds, such as alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids and esters, were converted at 500 °C and 5 barg H2 using H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts with various Si/Al ratios to identify the relationship between the feed structure and the final product distribution. As the main outcome, the product distribution becomes increasingly independent of the feed structure for Al-rich H-ZSM-5 catalyst samples at low Time on Stream (ToS). Some minor exceptions are the increased formation of aromatics during ToS for carbonyl oxygenates compared to primary alcohols and the dominance of initial deoxygenation products for Si-rich H-ZSM-5 samples. This is interpreted by a multi-stage reaction sequence, which involves the initial deoxygenation of the feed and the subsequent integration of the olefin intermediates into a reaction network. The results pave the way towards the achievement of a desired product distribution in the conversion of different oxygenates simply by the adaption of the Al content of H-ZSM-5.

JSOM: Jointly-evolving self-organizing maps for alignment of biological datasets and identification of related clusters

With the rapid advances of various single-cell technologies, an increasing number of single-cell datasets are being generated, and the computational tools for aligning the datasets which make subsequent integration or meta-analysis possible have become critical. Typically, single-cell datasets from different technologies cannot be directly combined or concatenated, due to the innate difference in the data, such as the number of measured parameters and the distributions. Even datasets generated by the same technology are often affected by the batch effect. A computational approach for aligning different datasets and hence identifying related clusters will be useful for data integration and interpretation in large scale single-cell experiments. Our proposed algorithm called JSOM, a variation of the Self-organizing map, aligns two related datasets that contain similar clusters, by constructing two maps—low-dimensional discretized representation of datasets–that jointly evolve according to both datasets. Here we applied the JSOM algorithm to flow cytometry, mass cytometry, and single-cell RNA sequencing datasets. The resulting JSOM maps not only align the related clusters in the two datasets but also preserve the topology of the datasets so that the maps could be used for further analysis, such as clustering.

Educating and Integrating Minorities: The Added Value of the School Library

Vahl primary school in Oslo is Norway’s most multicultural school. 96% of the school’s 300 pupils belong to a linguistic minority (Vaagan & Enger 2004). The school library is seen and used as an extension of the class room. The range of library activities represent added value in relation to educating minority pupils and assisting in their subsequent integration in society. Some typical minority pupils are discussed, emphasizing in each case how the added value of the library comes into play.

Using CRISPR-Cas9 for Therapeutic Protein Production (Review Article)

Existence of CRISPR/Cas9 systems in bacteria and archaea has been noted to be the reason for these organisms’ ability to disarm invading nucleic acids. Such immunity is noted to arise from the targeting of the invading nucleic acids by guiding RNAs (sgRNAs), their cleavage by Cas9 (an endonuclease), and their subsequent integration into CRISPR locus. Recent studies have shown that the CRISPR/Cas9 tool can be adopted for gene editing in eukaryotic cells and thus offering potential for its use to treat genetic conditions. In this review, CRISPR/Cas9 has been shown to be an effective genome-editing tool with studies showing efficacy in zygote editing, in-vivo editing of somatic cells and ex-vivo editing of somatic cells. Occurrence of off-target effects however make zygote editing in human cells ethically questionable due to possibility of introducing unwanted mutations that may be passed on to the progeny. Nevertheless, observations that such off-target effects arise mainly from the promiscuity of sgRNAs rather that errors in CRISPR/Cas9 system show promise for increased specificity by developing better sgRNAs. Such increased specificity will facilitate the adoption of CRISPR/Cas9 for clinical use in treatment of conditions such as β-thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and HIV.

Automatic Information Extraction from Text-Based Requirements

Requirements form the legal basis for many development pro-jects. They are usually exchanged between customer and supplier in the form of product and requirements specifications and re-quire a subsequent integration effort into the corresponding requirements management solutions. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), which mainly use office solutions for the management of requirements, this involves a very high integration effort, which is why this is usually only partially managed or not managed at all. Software solutions available on the market already offer support, but they are too expensive or complex, especially for small companies. The project DAM4KMU, funded by German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), addresses this challenge and by enabling SMEs from Germany to integrate requirement documents automatically into existing requirement structures with the help of NLP-based techniques. For this purpose, the documents to be processed are divided into semantic roles, which can then be transferred into a semantic data structure. This in turn enables an automatic linking of the requirements and system components, which reduces the manual effort and avoids possible errors.