Formation of new identities in the post-Soviet space: between the real and the digital world

The purpose of the article is to identify the role, specifics, trends and conditions of the digital and real social environment in the formation of new identities in the post-Soviet space. In this work, the mechanics of identification is closely linked with the factor of activity of historical, political and cultural figures. The methodological basis was the principles of quantitative content analysis, as well as the capabilities of the Google Trends system. The conclusions indicate that with the processes of digitalization and the development of social networks, a bottom-up model is added to the previous identification practices, when such new opinion leaders as bloggers, vloggers, streamers, administrators and top members of network communities themselves create a message, begin to interpret historical facts in their own way, and political events, conveying their vision to the audience they are interested in. The range of risks and threats of digitalization for building the macropolitical identities of the post-Soviet countries has been determined. The theoretical significance of the work is determined by the fact that the discovered interest among Russian-speaking researchers in such types of identity as social, ethnic, cultural, national and civic quite correlates with the increased interest in these phenomena on the part of Internet users of post-Soviet countries. It is indicated that a flexible combination of traditional and network technologies for the formation of identities makes us speak of them as techniques of soft or even smart power.

Gastropods from the Solimões Formation (upper Miocene), Acre Basin, Brazil

A taxonomic review of Miocene gastropods from the Solimões Formation, Acre Basin, Brazil, from specimens collected at Cachoeira do Bandeira, Oriente, and an outcrop named Spot 04, is here presented. Three ampullariid species (Pomacea maculata, P.planorbula, Pomacea sp.), one thiarid species (Aylacostoma sp.), and one cochliopid species (Sioliella sp.) are identified for these deposits. These gastropod are known to occur in freshwaters environments, thus consolidating the hypothesis of a non-influence of brackish water on the upper Miocene deposits of the Acre Basin. The previous identification of P. maculata and Aylacostoma sp. is changed here considering biometrical analyses and shell morphological descriptions. The first report of Sioliella in this basin increases the gastropod fauna known for these strata and expands the range of this genus. Keywords: Pomacea, Aylacostoma, Sioliella, Ampullariidae, Thiaridae, Cochliopidae.

Religious Conversion

This chapter explores the theme of religious conversion. Drawing on current social scientific debates, it investigates the religious trajectories of Judaizing Evangelical women and their previous identification with Charismatic Evangelicalism. The chapter also examines the reasons behind these women’s estrangement from Charismatic Evangelicalism. It explores how their desire for Christian “purification” and “reformation” transformed them into willing subjects of a strict moral order characterized by ritual rigidity, intense biblical study, and a strong sense of communal identity. The chapter argues that these women’s incorporation of Jewish elements aims to rebuild the authenticity of Christianity while distinguishing them from Charismatic Evangelicalism and its perceived scriptural inaccuracy, moral permissiveness, and materialism.

Dissection of Two QTL for Grain Size Linked on the Long Arm of Chromosome 5 in Rice

Background: Most agronomical traits of crops are complex traits controlled by several major quantitative trait locus (QTL) and many minor QTL. Grain size determines grain weight and influences rice appearance quality. Identification of minor QTL is important for understanding the genetic and molecular network regulating grain size in rice. Following previous identification of QTL for grain weight and size using populations derived from the Teqing/IRBB52 indica rice cross, one QTL, qTGW5/qGL5 having significant effects on grain weight and length, was targeted for validation, dissection and fine-mapping.Result: Firstly, the effect of qTGW5/qGL5 was validated using two near isogenic line (NIL) F2 populations. Then, qTGW5/qGL5 was dissected into two closely linked QTL for grain size using four sets of NILs with sequential segregating regions. One of them, qTGW5 with the IRBB52 alleles increased grain weight, length and width with the same allelic direction, was located within an 1896.4-kb region flanked by RM18865 and Fi25273. The other one, qGL5 controlling grain length, was further delimited into a 68.8-kb region using seven NIL-F2 populations. Six annotated genes were found in the qGL5 region, of which five showed nucleotide polymorphisms between the two parental lines. In three of the six annotated genes, significant expression differences were detected between qGL5-NILs.Conclusions: Two closely-linked QTL having small effects for grain size in rice were separated using NIL-derived populations. One of them, qGL5 was fine-mapped into a 68.8-kb region containing six annotated genes. Our work lays a foundation for cloning minor QTL for grain size and offers potential targets for marker-assisted breeding in rice.

Data-driven approach to identify obsolete functions of products for design improvements

Identifying defective design elements is a prerequisite for design improvements. Previous identification methods were implemented in the context of static customer requirements (CRs). However, CRs always evolve continuously, which easily leads to a failure of existing product functions in fulfilling customer expectations; this, in turn, can lead to a decline in customer satisfaction. In this study, the phenomenon is termed as ‘function obsolescence’, and a data-driven identification approach for obsolete functions is proposed for design improvements. Firstly, product operating data are employed to construct the observing parameters of functional performance (OPs), and based on the distribution of OPs, the desired level of functional performance (DL) is defined to quantitatively characterise CRs. Secondly, the time series of DL is constructed to embody the evolution of CRs, in which a Sigmoid-like function is employed to establish a dissatisfaction function. With the time series, an obsolescence index measuring the severity of obsolescence for each function is defined to identify obsolete functions. A case study was implemented on a smart phone to identify its obsolete functions to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The results show that some potentially obsolete functions can be identified by the proposed method considering the evolution of CRs.

Physical, Spectroscopic, and Biological Properties of Ruthenium and Osmium Photosensitizers Bearing Diversely Substituted 4,4'-di(styryl)-2,2'-bipyridine Ligands

Capitalising on the previous identification of a distyryl coordinated Ru(II) polypyridine complex as a promising photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy, eight new complexes were synthesized by modifications of the ligands or...

CLINICAL ISOLATES OF E.coli IN PIGS – ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AND PERSPECTIVES TO OPTIMIZE ANTIBIOTIC ADMINISTRATION

Modern livestock production inevitably involves the use of antimicrobial drugs. Adequate application thereof depends on the application of appropriate biosafety measures as well as timely and accurate diagnostics of the diseases. Administration of antimicrobial drugs without previous identification of “zootechnical errors” or relevant laboratory analysis may lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Surveillance and monitoring of AMR is conducted according to prescribed procedures and includes sampling at slaughter line. Quite often, such procedures are missed out during production cycle, which results in an inadequate use of antibiotics and consequent development of antimicrobial resistance and resistance gene transfer. In this research, we monitored the presence of specific bacterial species from the family Enterobacteriaceae and their sensitivity to particular antibiotics in diverse animal categories at pig farms over the breeding period. The aim of the study was to establish the following: development of antimicrobial resistance by isolated bacteria, occurrence of the resistance towards several diverse groups of antibiotics, and possible alternatives to antibiotics in cases when therapy is required. The research confirmed the development of AMR during pig production process, which is often manifested as multiple resistance (group of penicillin and synthetic penicillin drugs, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines).

Historical Reconstruction of Subordination in a Local Context: Agroecosystems with Sugarcane in Veracruz, Mexico

Objective: Rebuild the historical transformation of agroecosystems based on sugarcane in the sub-humid tropic, as a consequence of the change in public policies of the Mexican State in the last three decades. Design/methodology/approach: The transformation of sugar cane agroecosystems was studied in the continuum of reality, as changes in their resource management and management practices. Thus, methodologies used included life stories, field diary, and documentary review. The information collected was transcribed and classified in a database, using keywords for their previous identification by categories. The statements were identified and ordered based on their content, interpretation, and underlying concepts. Results: During the last century, public policies directed towards the sugar sector encouraged the existence of sugarcane agroecosystems as a monoculture. This implied changes in the management of time, work organization, orientation of the production, dependence on credits driven by the mills, and a process encouraged by the individualization of production, eroding the collective and solidarity work that lay behind other crops. Study limitations/implications: It is important to compare these findings with other investigations done in sugar cane producing municipalities. Findings / conclusion: Neoliberal public policies aiming the sugar sector deepened the producers' financial dependence on mills; as a consequence, they lost their autonomy in the management and use of their agroecosystems.

Structural Dynamic Load and Parameter Identification Based on Dummy Measurements of Displacement

Structural load and parameter identification are the essential contents in the field of structural dynamics, and some studies pay attention to the coupled recognition of uncertain structure parameters as well as unacquainted loads. Gillijns and De Moor presented the Kalman-type filter, which was used in the work for coupled identification as the unabbreviated form of GDF. However, it has been demonstrated that it is unstable for the extended GDF (EGDF) method, drifting in the identified unacquainted loads as well as displacement, just like most previous identification methods based on the least-square algorithm. In order to deal with this unstable issue, this paper applied the dummy measurements of displacements on a position level and modifies the EGDF algorithm using the information integration method about the accelerated measurements with dummy measurements. Numerical example of a truss is used for validating the applicability of the method in the work, and an influence of covariance matrices in dummy displacements is also considered.

Increased Burden of Rare Sequence Variants in GnRH-Associated Genes in Women With Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

Context Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) is a common, acquired form of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism that occurs in the setting of energy deficits and/or stress. Variability in individual susceptibility to these stressors, HA heritability, and previous identification of several rare sequence variants (RSVs) in genes associated with the rare disorder, isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH), in individuals with HA suggest a possible genetic contribution to HA susceptibility. Objective We sought to determine whether the burden of RSVs in IHH-related genes is greater in women with HA than controls. Design We compared patients with HA to control women. Setting The study was conducted at secondary referral centers. Patients and Other Participants Women with HA (n = 106) and control women (ClinSeq study; n = 468). Interventions We performed exome sequencing in all patients and controls. Main Outcome Measure(s) The frequency of RSVs in 53 IHH-associated genes was determined using rare variant burden and association tests. Results RSVs were overrepresented in women with HA compared with controls (P = .007). Seventy-eight heterozygous RSVs in 33 genes were identified in 58 women with HA (36.8% of alleles) compared to 255 RSVs in 41 genes among 200 control women (27.2%). Conclusions Women with HA are enriched for RSVs in genes that cause IHH, suggesting that variation in genes associated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal ontogeny and function may be a major determinant of individual susceptibility to developing HA in the face of diet, exercise, and/or stress.