ACCULTURATION OF ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA: ROLE OF SOCIAL IDENTITIES AND DIASPORA ACTIVITY

The Armenian diaspora is one of the largest in Russia and in the world. The Armenians living in the Krasnodar Territory are a large and active group, thus, an investigation into the problem of their acculturation is of scientific and practical importance. Based on the theory of social identity, the theory of acculturation, and the regional socio-cultural context, the study focused on the role of ethnic, regional and Russian national (civic) identities and diaspora activity in the acculturation of the Armenians in the Krasnodar Territory. The study used the scales from the MIRIPS project questionnaire (Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies). The sample consisted of 181 respondents. Using structural equation modeling, the ethnic and Russian national identities of the Armenians living in the Krasnodar Territory were revealed as factors that contributed to their integration, and regional identity—as factors that fostered assimilation. Diaspora activity was determined by both ethnic and regional identity and predicted the Armenians’ attitudes towards integration and separation. Also, diaspora activity of the Armenians in the Kuban region facilitated the interconnection of ethnic and regional identities with the separation strategy. In general, the study revealed that all identities (ethnic, regional and Russian national) contribute to a certain degree to the acceptance of the host society culture by the Armenians in the Krasnodar Territory. At the same time, diaspora activity can be an effective mechanism for the adaptation of migrants or a source of problems associated with increased impenetrability of diaspora’s borders, the migrants’ exclusive focus on their ethnic group and their decreased desire for sociocultural integration into the host society. It is important to take this into account when shaping the regional interethnic relations policy.

A fast strategy to sequentially separate and determine 90Sr, 210Pb and 210Po in water samples using Sr resin

This study presents a rapid and novel sequential separation strategy based on extraction chromatography for determining 90Sr, 210Pb and 210Po in drinking water samples. It involves the use of Sr resin for the separation and then liquid scintillation counting and alpha spectrometry for the determination. The experimental results obtained showed that the proper acidic solution to quantitatively retain the aforementioned radionuclides is 3 M HNO3. The optimum eluents were determined for obtaining quantitative recoveries (70–80%) of 90Sr, 210Pb and 210Po. The method was validated with intercomparison water samples and is satisfactory in terms of minimum detectable activities, which are 50% lower than that established in RD 314/2016.

Retaining human capital: a danger zone for METAL STAR

Learning outcomes This case is to familiarise students with the peculiarities of managing people by focussing on human capital development (HCD). Through the case, students are exposed to the critical recruitment and retention issues faced by METAL STAR Limited Company (METAL STAR), which have a detrimental impact on their business operations. Through the novel use of the transformer-transactor-performer (TTP) profiling tool, students are able to recognise the importance of matching the right candidate to the right job as a solution for recruitment and retention issues. At the end of the case analysis and discussion, students would have a clear idea of the TTP Profiling tool and how to identify core elements needed for an effective and holistic recruitment-retention-separation strategy for a company. The knowledge gained is most valuable for the students as it can be applied to other companies having similar HCD issues. Case overview/synopsis Carina Yew is the General Manager of METAL STAR, a sheet metal fabrication company in Penang, Malaysia. After more than 28 years of operations, METAL STAR has been adopting the same human resources (HR) processes and has failed to keep up with the current HR trends. Yew has to decide the best way to lead her company in transforming the HCD strategy to enable smooth and profitable business growth. Complexity academic level The case is relevant for undergraduate, postgraduate or even executive students taking courses pertaining to HCD or human resource management. Subject code CSS 6: Human resource management. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Ion-capture electrodialysis using multifunctional adsorptive membranes

Technologies that can efficiently purify nontraditional water sources are needed to meet rising global demand for clean water. Water treatment plants typically require a series of costly separation units to achieve desalination and the removal of toxic trace contaminants such as heavy metals and boron. We report a series of robust, selective, and tunable adsorptive membranes that feature porous aromatic framework nanoparticles embedded within ion exchange polymers and demonstrate their use in an efficient, one-step separation strategy termed ion-capture electrodialysis. This process uses electrodialysis configurations with adsorptive membranes to simultaneously desalinate complex water sources and capture diverse target solutes with negligible capture of competing ions. Our methods are applicable to the development of efficient and selective multifunctional separations that use adsorptive membranes.

Discovery of Post-Translational Modifications in Emiliania huxleyi

Emiliania huxleyi is a cosmopolitan coccolithophore that plays an essential role in global carbon and sulfur cycling, and contributes to marine cloud formation and climate regulation. Previously, the proteomic profile of Emiliania huxleyi was investigated using a three-dimensional separation strategy combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The current study reuses the MS/MS spectra obtained, for the global discovery of post-translational modifications (PTMs) in this species without specific enrichment methods. Twenty-five different PTM types were examined using Trans-Proteomic Pipeline (Comet and PeptideProphet). Overall, 13,483 PTMs were identified in 7421 proteins. Methylation was the most frequent PTM with more than 2800 modified sites, and lysine was the most frequently modified amino acid with more than 4000 PTMs. The number of proteins identified increased by 22.5% to 18,780 after performing the PTM search. Compared to intact peptides, the intensities of some modified peptides were superior or equivalent. The intensities of some proteins increased dramatically after the PTM search. Gene ontology analysis revealed that protein persulfidation was related to photosynthesis in Emiliania huxleyi. Additionally, various membrane proteins were found to be phosphorylated. Thus, our global PTM discovery platform provides an overview of PTMs in the species and prompts further studies to uncover their biological functions. The combination of a three-dimensional separation method with global PTM search is a promising approach for the identification and discovery of PTMs in other species.