On the basis of the framework of Perceptual Assimilation Model connected to speech perception, this paper reports on a study of the relationship between the experience of L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English) production from the point of lexical stress level. Chinese EFL speakers were recruited for this study. All the participants were required to read 20 words in the form of English, of which the lexical stress was recorded so as to make further analysis and comparison. The study indicates that the biggest challenge for Chinese EFL learners is the misplacement of word stress. It often occurs in polysyllabic words, and there is a strong tendency of stress shift on the second syllable. The dominant reason for the misplacement is that the second or the latter syllable is frequently stressed in mandarin dissyllables. This implies that Chinese EFL learners should lay more emphasis on phonological awareness of L2 and sufficient supply of L2 auditory input should also be assured in order to maintain the quality of perception and production in stress acquisition.
The enormous biological potential of herbal products is one of the main reasons for their frequent use in the production of dietary supplements and functional foods, which, in addition to their nutritional properties, have pharmacological and physiological effects. New scientific knowledge on the isolation of pharmacologically active compounds from complex matrices has led to significant advances in this field. Today, the process of extraction plays a significant scientific role, with “green” technologies occupying a special place in today’s science. Herbal medicine is one of the oldest human skills, which has worn off with its centuries-old application in the path of modern medicine. Microwave-assisted extraction, or more simply, microwave extraction, is a new extraction technique that combines traditional extraction solvents and microwaves. The mentioned method takes less time, consumes less energy, and has strong penetration power into the plant matrix to obtain more oils, but it can also reduce production costs. This can eventually increase the quality of the final product and reduce the product price at the consumer level. Microwave-assisted extraction could be useful to the herbal industry for oil extraction as well as other pharmaceutically important plant components. Based on a comparison and study of published literature, this research examines the present state of extraction procedures. This review includes a detailed discussion of the most important extraction techniques.
Plum (Prunus domestica) is a seasonal nutraceutical fruit rich in many functional food nutrients such as vitamin C, antioxidants, total phenolic content, and minerals. Recently, researchers have focused on improvised technologies for the retention of bioactive compounds during the processing of perishable fruits; plum is one of these fruits. This study looked at how the percentage of moisture content and percentage of acidity were affected by conventional drying and osmotic dehydration. Total phenolic content (mg GA/100 g of plum), total anthocyanin content (mg/100 g), and vitamin C (mg/100 g) Conventional drying of fruit was carried out at 80.0 ℃ for 5 h. At various temperatures (45.0 ℃, 50.0 ℃, and 55.0 ℃) and hypertonic solution concentrations (65.0 B, 70.0 B, and 75.0 B), the whole fruit was osmotically dehydrated. It was observed that the osmotically treated fruit retains more nutrients than conventionally dried fruit. The total phenolic content of fruit significantly increased with the increase in process temperature. However, vitamin C and total anthocyanin content of the fruit decreased significantly with process temperature, and hypertonic solution concentration was observed. Hence, it was concluded that osmodehydration could be employed for nutrient retention in plum fruit over conventional drying. This process needs to be further refined, improvised, and optimised for plum processing.
Climate change has affected the coasts of the world due to numerous factors, including the change in the intensity and frequencies of the storms and the increase in the mean sea level, among others. Argentina has extensive coastal areas, and research and monitoring tasks are expensive and require a significant number of personnel to cover large geographical areas. Given this, citizen science has become a tool to increase scientific research's spatial and temporal extension. Therefore, the paper aims to analyze the methodology and development of the citizen science project in Villa Gesell and its lessons for applying them in future coastal environmental monitoring projects. The methodology was based on an experience of the project co-created between activists and researchers. This project included four phases for social and physical aspects: training for the citizens, theoretic and practical aspects of coastal dynamics, and how to measure its geomorphological and oceanographic variations; data collection: the activists who received the training performed the measurements to monitor the beach; data analysis by scientists; and dissemination of results; the report data were disseminated by citizens in their community. The analysis of case studies in citizen science projects generates a fundamental learning arena to apply in future projects. Among the positive aspects were the phases established for their development and the methodology used to collect beach monitoring data.
The H3N2 influenza virus is spiking dramatically, which is a major concern worldwide and in India. The multifunctional hetero-trimer influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) is involved in the generation of viral mRNA and is crucial for viral infectivity, which is directly related to the virus’s ability to survive. The goal of the current work was to use molecular docking to determine how the RdRP protein might be affected by powerful bioactive chemicals found in Calotropis gigantia latex. By applying CB-dock 2 analysis and 2D interactions, an in-silico docking study was conducted using a GC-FID (gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection) based composition profile. Tocospiro A (15%), Amyrin (7%), and Gombasterol A were found by GC-FID to be the main phytocompounds in the latex of Calotropis gigantia. The docking result showed that ligands were effectively bound to RdRP. According to interaction studies, RdRP/ligand complexes create hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, pi-alkyl bonds, alkyl bonds, and pi-Sigma bonds. Therefore, it was suggested that Calotropis gigantia latex may represent a possible herbal remedy to attenuate H3N2 infections based on the above findings of the fragrance profile and docking.
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