THE ROLE OF THE DIVAN CLERKS AND POLITICAL LETTERS IN THE ‎DEVELOPMENT OF THE I. ABBASID PERIOD LITERATURE PROSE. AHMED BIN ‎YOUSSEF'S ALHAMIS RESSALA AS AN EXAMPLE‎

Divan Scribe is a very old profession and it is said that it was one of the highest and most ‎respected statures among worldly affairs, after the caliphate, when their positions in the state policy ‎and judicial affairs are taken into account. Most of the time, the profession of the Divan Scribe was ‎an important step to enter politics, as well as an important tool for reaching high positions such as ‎Vizier. In general, Divan Scribes had a special role serving the Arab culture during the Abbasid ‎period. Because the writing style of the Scribes had both lofty ideas and beautiful expression. As a ‎matter of fact, as required by their statures, these people developed a dual-character expression that ‎both emphasized the goals of the orders given from the administration and had the characteristics of ‎Arabic rhetoric in the literal sense of the word. Their language was not a dry administrative ‎language, on the contrary, it had brought together the requirements of the administrative language ‎and the artistic beauties of the word. This study sheds light on the relations of the Divan Scribes ‎with politics and the importance of this position during the Abbasid period. Again, in this study, the ‎connection of the art of scribe with the vizier and the contributions of the scribes in service to the ‎Arab-Islamic culture and especially in political thought are discussed despite the political crisis and ‎troubles faced by the scribes.‎

On the Importance of σ–Hole Interactions in Crystal Structures

Elements from groups 14–18 and periods 3–6 commonly behave as Lewis acids, which are involved in directional noncovalent interactions (NCI) with electron-rich species (lone pair donors), π systems (aromatic rings, triple and double bonds) as well as nonnucleophilic anions (BF4−, PF6−, ClO4−, etc.). Moreover, elements of groups 15 to 17 are also able to act as Lewis bases (from one to three available lone pairs, respectively), thus presenting a dual character. These emerging NCIs where the main group element behaves as Lewis base, belong to the σ–hole family of interactions. Particularly (i) tetrel bonding for elements belonging to group 14, (ii) pnictogen bonding for group 15, (iii) chalcogen bonding for group 16, (iv) halogen bonding for group 17, and (v) noble gas bondings for group 18. In general, σ–hole interactions exhibit different features when moving along the same group (offering larger and more positive σ–holes) or the same row (presenting a different number of available σ–holes and directionality) of the periodic table. This is illustrated in this review by using several examples retrieved from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), especially focused on σ–hole interactions, complemented with molecular electrostatic potential surfaces of model systems.

The Dual Character of MAX Phase Nano-Layered Structure Highlighted by Supersonic Particles Deposition

MAX phase compounds offer an attractive mixture of ceramic–metallic properties due to their covalent ionic–metallic nature. Since their discovery, a great interest was attributed to their synthesis and potential applications, but the processing of pure compounds as coatings for industrial large-scale application is still considered a challenge. To date, a limited number of papers have evaluated the build-up of MAX phase coating by cold spray (CS), a novel cost-effective and productive spray technology used in both areas of research and industry. Employing CS, the hot gas-propelled material particles have ballistic impingement on a substrate where they undergo plastic deformation. Because of the brittleness, internal delamination, and limited deformability, the deposition of the pure MAX phase is rather challenging. This paper presents the building-up ability of dense MAX-phase coatings by CS with retained structures and compositions, in close relation with the substrate characteristics and phase composition that influences the dual character ceramic–metallic behaviour. Besides recent literature, the originality of this research consists of pioneering deposition of Ti3AlC2 that emphasizes the ceramic–metallic character influenced by the particle speed and the mechanical properties of both substrate and compound.

A Comparative Investigation of the Bispecific Antibody: Expression in Expi293F Cells and E.coli

Aims: Dual-Character antibodies can simultaneously target two surface markers. Blinatumomab is a C19 / CD3 antibody from the BiTE family (Bispecific T cell engager antibody) and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for clinical use. This antibody effectively targets malignant cells in patients with acute infoblastic leukemia. In the production of large quantities of such antibodies on an industrial scale, selecting the appropriate host remains a critical issue. Mammalian cells and strains of E.coli are the most common hosts for producing antibodies and antibody components on an industrial scale, respectively. Methods & Materials: In this study, a dual-specific antibody was used in the mammalian system of plasmid pcDNA3.1 (+) and for expression in the bacterial system of plasmid pET22b. The antibody produced in both systems was purified using nickel affinity resin under similar conditions. Next, SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis was performed on both study samples. Finally, the binding properties of the antibody secreted from both systems were assessed by the ELISA test. Findings: The present study results suggested that antibodies produced by the mammalian expression system provided better binding properties than the expression system in bacteria. Conclusion: This study indicated that in the case of antibodies to two traits of the BiTE family, like Blinatombe, mammalian cells generate a more efficient and successful expression system; although the bacterium can produce much larger amounts of the antibody.

THE FUTURE OF SCIENTIFIC PERIODICALS IN BULGARIAN MUSEUMS – THE SCIENTIFIC-AND-APPLIED ASPECT

The current research opens a discussion about the status of the scientific periodicals in Bulgarian museums in view of the opportunities for its future enrichment in terms of content and fields of application. The focus is on presenting the initiatives of Bulgarian Regional Museums, with an accent on the Regional Historical Museum of Kyustendil. On the basis of a thorough review of its publications and their thematic range, the potential of museum periodicals has been explored in relation to the dual character of the museum – as an institution which collects, studies, keeps and preserves heritage, and at the same time presents it to various audiences. The main research goal has been set towards the identification of various practices for transforming the effect of the periodicals from purely scientific into scientific-and-applied, encouraging the promotion of the museum activities and improving the interaction with museum audiences. In terms of methodology, the team has worked with traditional approaches such as analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction, induction and deduction, summarization, and building presumptions. Conclusions have been drawn concerning the character of the periodicals published by Bulgarian museums, in view of involving more actively museum audiences in the future.

Time–connectivity superposition and the gel/glass duality of weak colloidal gels

Colloidal gels result from the aggregation of Brownian particles suspended in a solvent. Gelation is induced by attractive interactions between individual particles that drive the formation of clusters, which in turn aggregate to form a space-spanning structure. We study this process in aluminosilicate colloidal gels through time-resolved structural and mechanical spectroscopy. Using the time–connectivity superposition principle a series of rapidly acquired linear viscoelastic spectra, measured throughout the gelation process by applying an exponential chirp protocol, are rescaled onto a universal master curve that spans over eight orders of magnitude in reduced frequency. This analysis reveals that the underlying relaxation time spectrum of the colloidal gel is symmetric in time with power-law tails characterized by a single exponent that is set at the gel point. The microstructural mechanical network has a dual character; at short length scales and fast times it appears glassy, whereas at longer times and larger scales it is gel-like. These results can be captured by a simple three-parameter constitutive model and demonstrate that the microstructure of a mature colloidal gel bears the residual skeleton of the original sample-spanning network that is created at the gel point. Our conclusions are confirmed by applying the same technique to another well-known colloidal gel system composed of attractive silica nanoparticles. The results illustrate the power of the time–connectivity superposition principle for this class of soft glassy materials and provide a compact description for the dichotomous viscoelastic nature of weak colloidal gels.

Train as a Semantic Space in Russian Culture of the 19th-20th Centuries

The railway station is the most important chronotope of the 20th century. In times of industrialisation, economic development, military confrontation between major powers, the images of a steam locomotive, locomotive, and train met in a large body of literary and journalistic texts. The study of the railway discourse is based on complex historical and semiotic meanings, which allow concluding about the properties of the Russian cultural world, studying it from a new perspective. In the process of the research, the methods of the theoretical level were used: the study and generalisation of scientific works, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. The authors conducted a logical analysis of the collected material, developed new categories of the image of a train as a “fiery demon”, “a locomotive of progress”, “house on wheels”. Semantic models of perception of the train as a cultural space were interpreted. A discursive analysis of ideas that influenced the semantic part of the concept of “railroad” in Russian culture was conducted. It was concluded that the image of a train in literary creation has a dual character. Already at the stage of the construction of the railway, an infernal model of its interpretation as a “serpent train/dragon” was formed, capable of destroying all living things and taking them to the kingdom of death. At the same time, there are examples of a different type of interpretation of the image of a train. Some researchers insist on its connection with the archetype of “mother”, the idea of movement in a circle, return. In the post-Soviet space, the image of a train has not lost its significance. It is still assimilated by mass culture, it enters into everyday life, without losing its ambivalent character.

Trapped in limbo – Academics' identity negotiation in conditions of perpetual liminality

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the experiences of permanent liminality of academics and the associated multidimensional processes of identity negotiation.Design/methodology/approachThe article draws upon a three-and-a-half-year at-home ethnography. The first author – as insider, participant and researcher – investigated the consequences of an organizational redesign that pushed members of a local university department into a situation of permanent liminality.FindingsThe paper describes how academics simultaneously followed multiple trajectories in their identity negotiation as a response to ongoing experiences of ambiguity, disorientation, powerlessness and loss of status.Practical implicationsManagement decisions in higher education institutions based on administrative concerns can have adverse effects for academics, particularly when such decisions disturb, complicate or even render impossible identification processes. University managers need to realize and to respond to the struggle of academics getting lost in an endless quest for defining who they are.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the dual character of identity negotiation in conditions of permanent liminality as unresolved identity work through simultaneous identification and dis-identification. It further shows the multidimensionality of this identity work and argues that identity negotiation as a response to perpetual liminality is informed by notions of struggle and notions of opportunity.

Critical Theory and the Singular Instant of Luxury: On Contemporary Conceptions of Luxury Customer Experience

Critical theory is a central concept in the study of society, politics, history, and business as an innovative academic field and intellectual tradition. This chapter offers readers an encounter with critical theorist Theodor Adorno’s crucial writings on an important philosophical debate of the twenty-first century: the dual character of luxury. In exploring Adorno’s ideas concerning luxury and their possible impact on ‘the singular instant of luxury’, the chapter traces Adorno’s engagement with other key thinkers of luxury such as Thorstein Veblen. Investigating a significant business text on luxury by Wided Batat, the chapter presents an in-depth understanding of contemporary conceptions of luxury customer experience from the perspective of critical theory.