The Practice of “Controlled Dreams” in the Alchemical Tradition of Taoism

The paper focuses on the Taoist concept of “dreams”, which is considered from the point of view of the meditative practice of “realized dreams” or “controlled visions”. Famous Taoist masters Chen Tuan (10th cent.), Ma Danyang (12th cent.), Bai Yuchan (12th cent.) and many others implemented techniques of “controlled dreams” as a type of meditative alchemical practice: erasing the frontier between sleep and reality, long periods of vigil in a state of “almost sleep” lead to deactualization of the own “ego”. Deliverance from the conventions of the “dream world” leads to the beginning of the mystical transformations inside the body, and the practitioner passes through several stages: to set up breathing, calm consciousness, the beginning of the “copulation” inside the body of two agents (analogs of alchemical lead and mercury), concluding with the formation of a “miracle remedy”. With the control of the spirit-shen, overnight visions were the continuation of the Taoist self-control during the day, while due to various psychosomatic methods, dreams and reality were perceived as a single indistinguishable continuum, and various “lustful desires” were expelled from consciousness. In this regard, the popular idea of a “dream” in Taoist practice, just as a philosophical and aesthetic category, seemed to be too one-sided. The technique of “controlled dreams” did not exist in separation from the general alchemical practice and was rather an additional than the central part of it. Dreams themselves, in other words, the uncontrolled immersion of a person into the world of images and traces of consciousness, at that moment turned into his opposite – a similar, but not identical – in the colossal work of the spirit for the complete transformation into an “immortal”.

Зоонимната фразеологиjа и надворешниот изглед на човекот (на материjал од македонскиот jазик)

Zoonymic phraseology and external Appearance (On Macedonian language material). Zoonyms as an important and numerous lexical layer are often in the focus of interest of linguists. In this paper, zonyms are considered as an integral component of the phrasemes in which they experience complete transformation and lose their basic meanings. More specifically, on this occasion we focus on the zonyms in Macedonian language phrasemes that describe the external appearance of man. For this purpose 54 phrasemes were collected and analyzed in order to determine the zonymic components present in the specific units and their impact on the motivation for the formation of the phraseme and in the formation of its meaning.

Study of Magnetite Nanoparticles by the Method of Mössbauer Spectroscopy

In this work, we studied the Mössbauer spectra of magnetite samples of various compositions. To protect magnetite from oxidation, the resulting particles are coated with protective shells, among which silanes are promising, which polymerize on the surface of magnetite nanoparticles, forming strong covalent bonds. The coating of nanoparticles protects them from aggressive environmental influences, evens out their size distribution, and also protects the environment from the possible toxic effects of the particles themselves. It was shown that the magnetite phase predominates in the sample of native particles, the coating of native particles with alkoxysilane does not lead to fundamental changes in the phase state of the sample particles, and oxidation with nitric acid leads to the complete transformation of magnetite into maghemite. It is obvious that the reason for the distortions of the relaxation nature in the Mössbauer spectra of the samples is the small sizes of the iron-containing domains, which allows us to consider the description of the spectra within the framework of the model of multilevel superparamagnetic relaxation.

THE CHANGING PERCEPTION OF INDIAN CONSUMERS TOWARDS AYURVEDA AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC: OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIAN MANUFACTURERS

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reliance of people on Ayurvedic Science has relatively in-creased. This may be due to the limited availability of COVID-19 vaccine(s) in both rural and urban India. Even in territories where adequate vaccine availability is ensured by the government, significant apprehensions related to the efficacy of the vaccine continue to hover in the minds of Indian consumers. This specific pattern of consumer behavior across India encouraged Indian consumers to turn to ayurvedic medicines as an alternative to boost their immunity seek protection from Covid-19. However, the longstanding resistance towards Ayurvedic Medicine in the past due to their lower efficacy and other factors continues to act as a significant obstruction for firms trying to increase their customer base during the pandemic. The present paper interview uses the CEO of leading ayurvedic manufacturers to unravels how firms are ag-aggressively leveraging the power of marketing to reduce the resistance prevalent toward Ayurveda among Indian consumers. Specifically, the paper discusses all the dimensions of the marketing mix and its subsequent role in reducing the resistance to give it a holistic outlook. The paper concludes by high- lighting the implications for Ayurvedic firms who are looking for a complete transformation into vibrant health and medical system. Keywords: Covid-19, Ayurveda, Indian Consumers, Marketing Mix

Several Aspects of Application of Nanodiamonds as Reinforcements for Metal Matrix Composites

After detonation synthesis, primary nanodiamond particles are around 4–6 nm in size. However, they join into agglomerates with larger parameters and weak bonds between particles. The introduction of agglomerates into a metal matrix can lead to the weakness of composites. This paper demonstrates the possibility of obtaining a non-agglomerated distribution of nanodiamonds inside a metal matrix. The fabrication method was based on mechanical alloying to create additional stresses and deformations by phase transformations during treatment in a planetary mill. According to the findings, the starting temperature of the reaction between the non-agglomerated nanodiamonds and aluminium matrix reduces to 450 °C. Furthermore, the paper shows that existing methods (annealing for the transformation of a diamond structure into graphitic material and cleaning from this graphitic material) cannot reduce the sizes of nanodiamonds in the agglomerated state. Agglomerated nanodiamonds transform into carbon onions (graphitic material) during annealing in a vacuum in the following way: the nanodiamonds located in the surface layers of the agglomerate are the first to undergo the complete transformation followed by the transformation of nanoparticles in its deeper layers. In the intermediate state, the agglomerate has a graphitic surface layer and a core from nanodiamonds: cleaning from graphite cannot reduce nanodiamond particle size.

The Effects of Iron-Bearing Intermetallics on the Fitness-for-Service Performance of a Rare-Earth-Modified A356 Alloy for Next Generation Automotive Powertrains

Aimed at improving the tensile strength and creep resistance of a rare earth-modified A356 alloy, this study adjusted the Mg and Mn concentration in the alloy, specifically aiming to transform the harmful Al5FeSi and Al9FeSi3Mg5 phase into Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2. It was found that lowering the Mg concentration from 0.49 to 0.25 wt.% and raising the Mn concentration from 0.10 to 0.41 wt.% resulted in a near complete transformation of the Fe-bearing phases. This transformation led to a greater total volume fraction of Fe-intermetallics (2.9 to 4.1%), without affecting the volume fraction of the desirable, temperature-resistant, AlSiRE phase. Moreover, the chemistry modification led to a shift in the morphology of the AlSiRE phase while reducing its size. Combined with the decreased volume fraction of the harmful Fe precipitates, the chemistry modification improved the yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and modulus of elasticity by ~14%, 9%, and 10%, respectively. In addition, the steady-state creep rates of the high Mn alloy were lower at all stresses as compared to the low Mn alloy and the fracture stress was ~15 MPa higher, reaching 100% of the alloy’s original 250 °C YS.

Review of the state anti-corruption institutions effectiveness in Ukraine

The objective of the article is a review of the state anti-corruption institutions' effectiveness in Ukraine. An important part of anti-corruption reform in Ukraine has been the complete transformation of anti-corruption institutions. That is why the authors try to use the most optimal methodology that would be able to ensure the comprehensiveness and completeness of the study: phenomenological; the descriptive; the hypothetic-deductive; the statistical; and the method of case law analysis. It is proposed to analyze the anti-corruption powers of general competence authorities in the sphere of anti-corruption. The authors analyzed the powers of specialized anti-corruption authorities' functioning: the National Agency on Corruption Prevention; the National Anti-Corruption Bureau; the National Agency for finding, tracing, and management of assets derived from corruption and other crimes; the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the High Anti-Corruption Court. The conclusion is drawn that, realizing the need of the anti-corruption task, the state has developed an extensive and relatively closed system of specialized anti-corruption authorities. Almost all bodies of state power and local self-government have acquired certain anti-corruption competencies. The authors made conclusion that such dispersion of powers, and in some cases their duplication, does not simplify, but rather complicates the effectiveness of combating corruption.

Drosophila larval epidermal cells only exhibit epidermal aging when they persist to the adult stage

Holometabolous insects undergo a complete transformation of the body plan from the larval to the adult stage. In Drosophila, this transformation includes replacement of larval epidermal cells (LECs) by adult epidermal cells (AECs). AECs in Drosophila undergo a rapid and stereotyped aging program where they lose both cell membranes and nuclei. Whether LECs are capable of undergoing aging in a manner similar to AECs remains unknown. Here, we address this question in two ways. First, we looked for hallmarks of epidermal aging in larvae that have a greatly extended third instar and/or carry mutations that would cause premature epidermal aging at the adult stage. Such larvae, irrespective of genotype, did not show any of the signs of epidermal aging observed in the adult. Second, we developed a procedure to effect a heterochronic persistence of LECs into the adult epidermal sheet. Lineage tracing verified that presumptive LECs in the adult epidermis are not derived from imaginal epidermal histoblasts. LECs embedded within the adult epidermal sheet undergo clear signs of epidermal aging; they form multinucleate cells with each other and with the surrounding AECs. The incidence of adult cells with mixed AEC nuclei (small) and persistent LEC nuclei (large) increased with age. Our data reveals that epidermal aging in holometabolous Drosophila is a stage-specific phenomenon and that the capacity of LECs to respond to aging signals does exist.

Ed tech’s failure during the pandemic, and what comes after

For decades, technology advocates have claimed that we are on the cusp of a complete transformation in education. But, as Justin Reich explains, such transformations have not yet come to pass. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers did not use technology to significantly alter their teaching. Instead, technology enabled them to maintain many of their classroom routines (using learning management systems or video conferencing) or supplement their usual instruction (using gamified apps). Teachers did, however, tinker with their methods throughout the pandemic, gradually improving over time. Reich suggests that this tinkering framework is a more realistic way to think about ed tech’s potential to support teaching and learning.