The Role of Homoaromaticity in the Tropylium-Catalyzed Carboxylic Acid O-H Insertion with Diazoesters

The tropylium catalyzed carboxylic acid O-H insertion with diazoesters providing α-hydroxy esters was reported recently through an activated carbene as the key intermediate. We report a revised mechanism involving a unique homoaromatic intermediate with the tropylium ion and the diazoester based on the DFT calculations. Our computational model provides a clear insight into the binding of the tropylium ion with the diazoester providing the homoaromatic intermediate. The reaction profiles of four different pathways were compared. The energies of the intermediates and the transition states are reported at B97-D3(SMD)/def2TZVP//B97-D3/def2TZVP (in dichloromethane). The energy profiles were compared across a few computational methods to study the sensitivity of our model across methods.

Queen Bee Syndrome a Part of Sexual Politics or another Gendered Stereotype

Purpose: The aim of the study is to explore the queen bee stereotype in the financial institutions running its operations in Pakistan since there has been seen an increase in the trend of participation of women in the commercial banks. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a qualitative research methodology, the lived experiences of the female at leadership position and their subordinates are explored; by recognizing the factors of phenomena of queen bee syndrome as well as the sexual politics prevalent in the banking industry. Findings: The results highlighted that the phenomena of queen bee is a gender based stereotype along with being a part of the sexual politics which is taking place in the banking sector since it is a sector having domination of male. The study also found that there is female to female acceptance and female leaders help their fellow women to grow in the banking sector. Implications/Originality/Value: The study is beneficial to all the stakeholders and provides a clear insight about the predominant dynamics in females working in the same organization but at different position which results in eliminating the perpetuation of biases within female staff members regarding the women leaders.

Relationship between Representation of Violence Against Women in TV Drama Serials and Reactivity of Viewers

Purpose: The present study aims to explore the role of viewer’s reactivity of entertainment and empathy in their perception of violence against women among viewers of Lahore, Pakistan. The supplementary aim was also formulated to gain more clear insight which is the role of viewers’ gender in viewer’s reactivity and perception of violence against women. Design/Methodology/Approach Quantitative method was used in the study. Sample was consisted of 500 viewers of the thirty dramas serials of Geo, ARY Digital and Hum TV which presented violence against women. The participants were drawn through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. The sample has 233 male participants and 267 female participants. Findings: The findings indicated that viewer’s reactivity of both enjoyment and empathy correlated with perception of violence against women. Gender differences were found only for the one sub scale of perception (i.e., domination). Implications/Originality/Value: The findings highlighted that perception of violence against women was more inclined towards active violence being portrayed by the entertainment channels and chances to imitate the same behavior in society cannot be ruled out.

Electrochemical and quantum chemical study to assess the role of (2E)-2-(furan-2-ylmethylidene) hydrazine carbothioamide as inhibitor for acid corrosion of mild steel

Synthesis and inhibition effectiveness of (2E)-2-(furan-2-ylmethylidene) hydrazine carbothioamide (FMHC) as an inhibitor for corrosion of mild steel in 0.5 M H2SO4 is reported. Experiments were conducted at various temperatures (303–323 K) by adopting potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Readings obtained demonstrated that percentage inhibition efficiency (% IE) improved with the upsurge in the concentration of FMHC, while it decreased with a rise in temperature. The highest % IE observed was 60% for 2.5 × 10–4 M FMHC at 303 K. FMHC worked moderately as a mixed inhibitor. FMHC obeyed the Langmuir model of adsorption and the mode of adsorption was physisorption on the mild steel surface which was further endorsed by examining the surface using the scanning electron microscope. A clear insight into the mechanistic features of corrosion inhibition by using FMHC was acquired. Calculation of activation parameters helped to suggest an appropriate mechanism for the adsorption of FMHC on mild steel through quantum chemical calculations using density functional theory (DFT). Graphical abstract

Numerical Study to Assess the Structural Behavior of the Bajrakli Mosque (Western Kosovo)

Cultural heritage is one of most significant concerns in modern societies carrying different social and historical values. Among the stock of cultural heritage, historical monuments are one of the greatest contributors to the values in many aspects. Due to several factors, such structures have gone through changes causing structural deficiencies. The aim of this study is to provide a clear insight of the cause and impacts of structural deficiencies through visual inspections and computational methods. As a representative model, Bajrakli Mosque located in western of Kosovo is selected as a case study. During visual inspections, some cracks are found along the structural elements of the mosque. A possible cause of the structural cracks may be the stress concentration through the regions of the structure. In order to provide a better understanding, two different loadings are considered to examine the structural behavior of the mosque. The first loading covers the analysis due to gravity loads, whereas the second one defines the dynamic loading due to ground shakings defined by the earthquake spectrum using finite element analysis in SAP2000. By means of these analyses, the performance of the building is examined. As a result, important data are obtained for identifying the critical regions of the structure. The maximum displacement of the structure is found to be 7.1 mm and 8.0 mm in combination of self-weight and earthquake load in X and Y direction, respectively. Moreover, the regions showing highest values of stress concentration are found through the small domes, through the openings of main dome and connections with arches, and around the openings of the walls.

Effect of Categorizing EFL Shaqra University Students' Writing Errors on Writing Improvement

This paper aims at using a strategy of categorizing EFL Shaqra University students' writing errors and identifying its effect in improving students' writing. The study hypothesized that categorizing students' errors into main headings related to the types of error, frequencies of error, examples of errors, and causes of errors will provide precise insight into the nature of students' errors. Moreover, providing students with models to read and extract the difficult vocabularies from them, understanding their meanings, and using them in their writing will improve students' writing. Hence, the researcher gave 65 female students a title to write about in lecture number one as a pre-test. The title was "women driving in Saudi Arabia", and in lecture number eleven, she gave them a post-tester in the same title after applying the hypothesized teaching strategy. The findings of students' essay analysis in the pre-test proved that students had many grammatical and lexical mistakes but in the post-test the students writing improved significantly in terms of style, diction, developing ideas, spelling, and punctuation. Even their errors decreased from 936 errors in the pre-test to 57 errors in the post-test which indicates the success of the teaching strategy adopted by the researcher. Accordingly, the researcher recommended that: firstly, instructors should categorize their students' writing errors to have a clear insight into the nature of their students' errors hence specifying much time in explaining the areas of students' weaknesses. Secondly, instructors should provide students with a well-written model to read; and then ask them to criticize those reading models. The students will learn through criticizing and imitating the style of reading models. Moreover, the instructors of Shaqraa should specify much time explaining morphology since it was the branch that the students make many errors in it.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE IN THE MEDIEVAL DOCUMENT DICTATUS PAPAE

The Dictatus Papae is a key primary source for research into the history of Church reforms in the eleventh century, the leading figure of which was Pope Gregory VII Hildebrand. The document consists of twenty-seven statements defining the prerogatives of papal authority in other ecclesiastical and spiritual areas as well as in relationship to secular rulers under the pope’s spiritual authority. This paper will examine some of these statements giving the pope religious and secular prerogatives regarding his authority over secular rulers. A detailed analysis of some of these statements and of historical literature related to the document will provide clear insight into how current historical scholarship views the document and will also showcase the document’s concepts from a completely new perspective. Thus additional space will be opened up for a detailed analysis of the influence of this document on the development of the relationship between Church and state from the time it was written until the present day.

Microbiota regulates the turnover kinetics of gut macrophages in health and inflammation

The gut immune system has evolved to co-exist in a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with its microflora. Here, using a germ-free fate-mapping mouse model, we provide clear insight into how the enteric commensals determine the kinetics of macrophage turnover. The microbiome density along the gastrointestinal tract defines the persistence of ontogenically diverse macrophages, with the highest numbers of the long-lived F4/80hiTim4+ macrophage subset in the less densely colonized small intestine. Furthermore, the microbiome contributes to a tightly regulated monocyte-dependent replenishment of both long- and short-lived F4/80hi macrophages under homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. In the latter situation, the commensals regulate rapid replenishment of the depleted macrophage niche caused by the intestinal inflammation. The microbial ecosystem imprints a favorable cytokine microenvironment in the intestine to support macrophage survival and monocyte-dependent replenishment. Therefore, the host immune system-commensal cross-talk provides an efficient strategy to assure intestinal homeostasis.

An Insight into Anti-Inflammatory Activities and Inflammation Related Diseases of Anthocyanins: A Review of Both In Vivo and In Vitro Investigations

Anthocyanin is a type of flavonoid pigment widely present in fruits and vegetables. It can not only be used as natural pigment, but also has a variety of health functions, for instance, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and neuroprotective activities. Persistent proinflammatory status is a major factor in the development, progression, and complications of chronic diseases. Not surprisingly, there are thus many food ingredients that can potentially affect inflammation related diseases and many studies have shown that anthocyanins play an important role in inflammatory pathways. In this paper, the inflammation related diseases (such as, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer) of anthocyanins are introduced, and the anti-inflammatory effect of anthocyanins is emphatically introduced. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory mechanism of anthocyanins is elaborated from the aspects of NF-κB, toll like receptor, MAPKs, NO, and ROS and the main efficacy of anthocyanins in inflammation and related diseases is determined. In conclusion, this review aims to get a clear insight into the role of anthocyanins in inflammation related diseases.

Application of Pandemic Intelligence in Dynamic Data in Taiwan

Taiwan was successful in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020. One major factor in this success was the compilation and provision of comprehensive information about the pandemic. The present study proposes a pandemic intelligence system that provides data on the number of epidemic prevention professionals in each county and city, as well as daily confirmed cases, the demographics of the confirmed cases, and available resources (negative-pressure room beds and artificial ventilation apparatuses) in hospitals. Furthermore, the system provides the location of pharmacies selling masks and their current inventories, as well as the distribution of crowds at popular tourist destinations and social-distance monitoring. The most frequently used map layer in the thematic map of the pandemic is that of crowd distribution during the study period from March 2020 until the end of the same year. The case study used in this investigation for applying the system is represented by the 4-day weekend for Tomb-Sweeping Day of 2020. Through the real-time analysis of dynamic data and the integration of intelligence, the system offers a clear insight into changes in relevant information and, thus, enables the preemptive deployment of control measures by the county/city governments regarding pandemic management.