The Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity with Changes in Aerosol Microenvironment

Understanding the factors that influence the airborne survival of viruses such as SARSCoV2 in aerosols is important for identifying routes of transmission and the value of various mitigation strategies for preventing transmission. We present measurements of the stability of SARSCoV2 in aerosol droplets (5 to 10 micrometres equilibrated radius) over timescales spanning from 5 seconds to 20 minutes using a novel instrument to probe survival in a small population of droplets (typically 5-10) containing ~1 virus/droplet. Measurements of airborne infectivity change are coupled with a detailed physicochemical analysis of the airborne droplets containing the virus. A decrease in infectivity to 10 % of the starting value was observable for SARS-CoV-2 over 20 minutes, with a large proportion of the loss occurring within the first 5 minutes after aerosolisation. The initial rate of infectivity loss was found to correlate with physical transformation of the equilibrating droplet; salts within the droplets crystallise at RHs below 50% leading to a near instant loss of infectivity in 50 to 60% of the virus. However, at 90% RH the droplet remains homogenous and aqueous, and the viral stability is sustained for the first 2 minutes, beyond which it decays to only 10% remaining infectious after 10 minutes. The loss of infectivity at high RH is consistent with an elevation in the pH of the droplets, caused by volatilisation of CO2 from bicarbonate buffer within the droplet. Three different variants of SARS-CoV-2 were compared and found to have a similar degree of airborne stability at both high and low RH.

Street Network: Physical and Cultural Transformations on the Morphology of Historical City of Malacca

The deterioration of streets in the historical city of Malacca in Malaysia due to modernization contributes to the streets’ vulnerabilities. This paper purposely analyses the physical transformation of the street networks for the years of 1993-2015, and the cultural influences and impact throughout the establishment of multi-racial cultural society. The methodology for the study is through mapping the street networks of Malacca city by using SPOT satellite imageries of three different years; 1993, 2005, and 2015, and through the street semi-automatic extraction technique to monitor the street pattern of Malacca city. Multiple sensors of SPOT were used, consisting of SPOT-2XS, SPOT 5, and SPOT 6 with 20 m, 5 m, and 1.5 m resolutions in extracting the street objects, while using the IMAGINE OBJECTIVE tools from ERDAS. The finding shows that the street network trend varied from 1993, 2005, and 2015 where the streets achieved 23.8% street expansions in the year 1993 compared to 10.49% in the year 2005. However, the development trend of streets increased to 14.68% in the year 2015. The connection of the physical transformations of the streets with the cultural impact contributed to the sense of place and divided the streets based on socio-economic, cultural and ethnic lines. Finally, it shows that the trend and pattern of street networks were essential in understanding a city’s morphology that has a significant impact on cultural evolution since the establishment of the Chinese community in Malacca.

The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing

Human remains recovered from the Donghulin site are key materials for the study of the physical evolution and biocultural adaptation of the North Chinese population during the early Holocene. Physical anthropological study of the skeletal remains of two Donghulin individuals shows that their craniofacial heterogeneity and diversity are comparable to that of the Upper Paleolithic population. Early Holocene is the critical period for the formation of the diagnostic craniofacial features of modern East Asian population. The dental macrowear, dental caries, and femoral midshaft diaphyseal cross section geometry suggest that the Donghulin people were undergoing a physical transformation attributable to reduced mobility and broad-spectrum diet, which is consistent with the Upper Paleolithic-Neolithic transition of lifestyle and subsistence strategy.

IDENTIFICATION DES DIFFICULTES DES APPRENANTS DU SECONDAIRE COLLEGIAL MAROCAIN DANS L’APPRENTISSAGE DES CONCEPTS DE TRANSFORMATION CHIMIQUE – TRANSFORMATION PHYSIQUE / IDENTIFICATION OF DIFFICULTIES OF MOROCCAN SECONDARY COLLEGIAL PUPILS IN LEARNING CONCEPTS OF CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATION - PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION

<p>Le présent article vise à identifier et à analyser les difficultés des élèves marocains (13–15 ans) de deuxième année de secondaire collégial lors de l’enseignement–apprentissage des concepts chimiques et physiques telles les transformations chimique et physique, l’atome, la molécule, la réaction chimique, et la loi de la conservation de masse. Tout d’abord, nous avons délimité le contexte et la problématique de l’étude, puis nous avons développé un cadre conceptuel portant sur les difficultés d’apprentissage et certaines conceptions alternatives qu’ont faites les élèves à propos des concepts chimiques et physiques étudiés. Puis, nous avons fait passer un test aux élèves en vue de vérifier s’ils sont capables de relier certains critères symboliques et microscopiques aux phénomènes et espèces chimiques : transformation chimique, transformation physique, réaction chimique, atomes, et molécules, etc... Les difficultés qu’éprouvent les élèves à apprendre des concepts abstraits peuvent être dues aux conceptions alternatives erronées, et aux applications heuristiques chez ces élèves à propos de ces concepts. </p><p> </p><p>This article aims to identify and analyze the difficulties of Moroccan pupils (13–15 years old) of the second year of college school in the teaching and learning of chemical and physics concepts, such as: chemical transformation, physical transformation, atom, molecule, chemical reaction, low of conservation of mass. Firstly, we have defined the research context, and we have developed a conceptual framework dealing with learning difficulties and the alternative conceptions that pupils have made about the studied concepts. Then, we passed a survey to the pupils in order to check if they are able to associate symbolic and microscopic criteria with the chemical phenomena and species: chemical transformation, physical transformation, chemical reaction, atoms, and molecules etc... The difficulties encountered by pupils in the learning of these abstract concepts may be due to alternative conceptions, and heuristic applications that have the pupils about these concepts. </p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0882/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Female Bildungsroman in the Narrative of African Women Writers

This paper addresses the ‘Bildungsroman’ genre in African postcolonial narratives. It mainly focuses on African women writers’ literary works and, specifically, aims to shed light on how they blend female subjugation with an unknown genre in the narrative of female characterization and autobiographies. The study also evidences that, even though, the term ‘Bildungsroman’ is German in origin, i.e., ‘bildung’, which means apprenticeship, self-cultivation, formation, etc; and the word ‘roman’ which means novel, the concept is fully adapted and adopted in African male and female writers’ literary discourses. Thus the paper seeks to demonstrate that colonization in Africa has had intellectual impacts on modern African literature, as the pioneers of contemporary African literature have used foreign languages to write back, claim cultural retrieval, independence and represent their own experience through their own perspective and narrative in the midst of their protagonists’ psychological and physical transformation.

Mapping of Re-Assessing Gentrification Process Post-Pandemic COVID-19 in The Old Town Semarang, Indonesia

The revitalization of The Semarang Old Town revived this area as a tourist destination and generated regional economic growth. Several new restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, and other economic activities emerge along with tourism development. Job vacancies were offered and attracted newcomers to work as well as to invest. Consequently, properties that previously had no economic value became a potential asset, increasing land prices and building rental prices significantly. Hence, gentrification becomes an inevitable phenomenon. Local communities previously inhabited vacant buildings for years were displaced because the buildings would be restored and then rented out. However, these situations changed after the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, that many restrictions on community activities, including tourism. Visitors’ numbers decrease drastically, making many businesses in the Old Town suffer losses. It pointed by several coffee shops and restaurants closed, or they did not extend the rents. In contrast, the number of informal sectors which restricted surged in line with many work terminations. Hence, this study aims to re-assess the gentrification process along with the socio-economic changes after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a quantitative method by applying the spatial analysis method, which compares aspects such as physical transformation, space use, land prices, rent prices, land ownership, and population growth before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ring RPT Method for DH Systems Containing Dispersed Particle-Type of Fuel and Burnable Poisons

Because dispersed particle-type fuel and burnable poisons both have double heterogeneity (DH), using the traditional volumetric homogenization method (VHM) to treat DH systems will bring about large reactivity calculation deviation. The improved reactivity-equivalent physical transformation (IRPT) method can be applied to DH systems which have both dispersed particle-type fuel and burnable poisons because of the features of simplicity and high calculation accuracy. In this article, the calculations show that the IRPT method becomes invalid for some DH systems when the volume fraction of dispersed particle-type burnable poisons is relatively high or the absorb cross section of burnable poison particles is relatively large. Then the two-step ring reactivity-equivalent physical transformation (TRRPT) method is proposed to be applied to the DH systems with both dispersed particle-type fuel and burnable poisons. Results of reactivity at zero burnup and depletion calculations for different types of dispersed particle-type fuel and burnable poisons and the comparison with Monte Carlo results of grain models prove the validity of the TRRPT method, and it has been proven that the TRRPT method has higher accuracy in reactivity calculation and a wider scope of transformation than the IRPT method.

Urbanization and Vulnerability of Architectural Heritage: The Case of Dar es Salaam CBD

The architectural heritage present in Dar es Salaam Central Business District (CBD) spans across Arab, German, British, and post-colonial eras. The city is rich in buildings with combined architectural styles. Over the past few decades, Dar es Salaam has been experiencing considerable pressure from urbanization. This has resulted in a boom of contemporary construction approaches, yet little concern has been given to the existing old buildings and historical fabric in general. Although urbanization is an unstoppable reality due to the forces it carries with it, it is necessary to find ways to strike a balance between urbanization and its impact on the original urban setting which is less explored in Dar es Salaam. This study investigated the relationship between urbanization and architectural heritage with the intention to balance the two, and set to answer questions about how the two can co-exist. Through a case study approach, changes such as physical transformation, elimination, and replacement of architectural heritage buildings were investigated and analyzed through maps, graphs, and charts. The results have indicated that the driving forces of urbanization such as population, policies, and economy have been influencing each other in physical transformation and demolition of architectural heritage buildings throughout the period between 1967 and 2020. The study suggests that activities such as ecotourism which will enhance social economic benefits should be promoted to support both the urbanization process and architectural heritage conservation.

Mazhar Bey’in Farkındalık Yolculuğu

It is known that content based on mythological structure can appeal to the common sense of taste of the reader and the audience. Joseph Campbell explains this situation through the Hero's Journey paradigm; explains the mythic fiction through the stages of departure, initiation and return. He explains that the narratives we read, watch or encounter are always “the same” story, within the framework of the concept of journey he proposes. This journey can be the physical transformation of the hero, as well as an initiation metaphor, which usually has psychological foundations. The movie Yol Ayrımı, written and directed by Yavuz Turgul, is a movie where we can see the initiation of the hero Campbell mentioned. In this study, the movie Yol Ayrımı will be read through the Hero's Journey paradigm, and the aspects that fit and depart from the cycle will be evaluated through the transformation of the leading role Mazhar Bey (Şener Şen) in the movie. In the research, which will be carried out using the qualitative analysis technique, the content analysis of the relevant movie will be carried out by using the content analysis method.

Fields, Funerals and Furnaces: On the Use of Fire during the Pre-Roman Iron Age on the Island of Gotland

By studying the material culture of the island of Gotland, one can conclude that the use of fire was integrated into the lives of the Pre-Roman people. Agricultural land was cleared by fire and cremation was a part of the burial tradition. Fire converted clay into ceramics, wood into charcoal and bog ore into iron. By being subjected to the flames human beings, objects and the landscape were created and/or trans formed. This paper presents fossilized field systems, burial grounds and areas with iron production as places for this physical transformation, as well as places for the creation of bonds between people.