Bloomer : a magazine promoting sustainable fashion

"Seasons” in the fashion world have little to do with temperature. Fashion’s increasingly rapid turnover is meant to boost producers’ profits and respond to consumers’ desire for novelty. On the down side, “fast fashion” comes with grave environmental and social costs. Bloomer is a magazine and an online platform that aims to slow down the conversation around fashion, and offer a platform for reflection and appreciation. In a throwaway culture, what does it mean when someone rebels by keeping and cherishing a garment for years? What makes people value some garments more than others? Is it the labor value in its creation, or sentimental value gained through lived experience, or the status value in its brand identity? The aura of a garment is a complex intersection of market forces, cultural ideals, and metaphysical subtleties. Rather than scolding or guilting people into adopting more sustainable wardrobes, Bloomer takes a positive approach to sustainability by featuring glamorous Austinites wearing their own clothes, sharing their stories of sustainable consumption, and promoting local thrift shops and sources of high-quality “slow fashion.” The first issue of Bloomer features a series of photos documenting how a variety of people practice sustainable fashion. Using the visual and written language of advertising and fashion, is it possible to cultivate an appreciation for the garments we already own, and for sustainable wardrobe practices? The goal of Bloomer as a magazine about sustainable fashion is to show pictures and tell stories of people who have unique and meaningful relationships with their clothes, and encourage the rest of us to ask ourselves “What is my relationship with my clothes?”Desig

Price and distribution policy of seaside holiday hotels on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in the conditions of the COVID crisis

The object of this article is pricing and distribution in the hospitality industry, and the subject is the relationship between pricing and distribution policy in seaside holiday hotels. Based on the literature review and direct observations of the author on the activities of seaside holiday hotels on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the author aims to reveal the importance of pricing for the successful distribution of the seaside holiday product. A special emphasis is placed on interdependence between pricing and distribution policy of seaside holiday hotels in the conditions of Covid- 19 crisis in tourism

New Reagent for Fine Gold Recovery during Copper Ores Processing

During flotation treatment of copper ores, more than 30% of the metallurgical losses could be attributed to the non-recoverable fine dispersed gold. Gold particles are most commonly met in region 1-3 m. Due to their high surface hydrophobicity they are often lost in the clarified water of the thickeners. Closed loop water use does not lead to elimination of these losses. On the basis of the flotation behavior of the fine gold particles, a new flot-ation collector has been synthesized securing their effi- cient recovery in the copper concentrate. The reagent reduces gold losses in the clarified water from the thic-keners and in the filter waters from the vacuum filters. The reagent is oil-based and is naturally introduced in the grinding cycle. The behavior of its functional groups offer the possibility of sticking the gold particles onto chalcopyrite grains and thus their collective recovery as a final concentrate. The new reagent is particularly suitable when a part of the gold is dispersed as emulsion within pyrite or quartz

Evaluation of Sponsorship Activation Strategies Employed by a Minor League Baseball Team

A common challenge for corporations engaging in sport sponsorship activities lies in the evaluation of these activities. Some of the struggle is in the multitude of objectives that can be pursued through developing sponsorship relationships. Typical objectives include increasing brand awareness and recognition (Cornwell, Humphreys, Maguire, Weeks, & Tellegen, 2006), increasing sales (Choi, Stotlar, & Park, 2006) accessing specific target markets (Doherty & Murray, 2007), developing goodwill (Meenaghan, 2001), and positioning the brand (Ferreira, Hall, & Bennett, 2008). With so many differing objectives, it can be difficult to identify and/or develop standard rules, measurement scales, or generally accepted techniques that guide sport properties and corporate sponsors in their efforts to measure sponsorship effectiveness (Shankinlin & Kuzma, 1992). Despite the inherent challenges in doing so, this study examined the activation strategies employed by one Minor League Baseball team and three of its game night title sponsors as they pursued increased awareness, purchase intentions, and sales

Advantages and disadvantages of OTAs in the distribution system of seaside holiday hotels

The aim of this article is to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) in the distribution system of a seaside holiday hotels. Based on the literature review and direct observations of the author on the activities of seaside holiday hotels on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the author aims to indicates the features of the seaside holiday hotel and defines its distribution system. The article points out the problems of a seaside holiday hotels when using different OTAs and reveals some benefits for both hotels and travellers

Return to Campus_Message for our UMaine Community and International Colleagues

Screenshot of a message from Christopher Richards, Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management, University of Maine Orlina Boteva, Director of the Office of International Programs, University of Maine to clarify how the guidance issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 6 impacted international students at UMaine

Biotests in Ecotoxicology: Current Practice and Problems

Nowadays ecotoxicology plays the role of a theoretician – methodical unifying centre for the optimization of man – biosphere relations and sustainable existence of life on the Earth. The main basis for its development is the classical toxicology—studies of chemical compounds’ effects on man, but ecotoxicology is the original part, following it. According to the modern concept, the ecotoxicology is a science for migration, transformation and utilization of different toxic ingredients (with organic, inorganic or organic-mineral chemical nature; with natural biotic or abiotic origin and artificial, mainly anthropogenic origin) in the environment and their impact on Macro- biological systems with different levels of integration as groups of individuals, population, community, ecosystem, etc. studied in ecology. In this chapter, the types of ecotoxicological tests are discussed in detail with a set of examples about used species, advantages and disadvantages of different types of toxicity testing. The application of exposed natural ecosystems or man-made analogue systems is also commented as the environmentally more realistic approach for ecotoxicological testing. These test systems are increasingly becoming in aquatic ecotoxicology practice, but they are contemporary challenge in terrestrial testing. The development of test systems for realistic assessment of contaminant toxicity is essential for the efficient control of human influence on the environment

Investigating transcription, replication and chromatin structure in determining common fragile site instability

Common fragile sites are a set of genomic locations with a propensity to form lesions, breaks and gaps on mitotic chromosomes upon induction of replication stress. While the exact reasons for their fragility are unknown, CFS display instability in a cell-type specific manner, suggesting a substantial contribution from an epigenetic component. CFSs also overlap with sites of increased breakage and deletions in tumour cells, as well as evolutionary breakpoints, implying that their features shape genome stability in vivo. Previously, factors such as delays in replication timing, low origin density and transcription of long genes have been implicated in instability at CFS locations but comprehensive molecular studies are lacking. Chromatin structure, an important factor that fits the profile of cell-type specific contributor, has also not been investigated yet. Throughout their efforts to determine the factors that lead to the appearance of CFS lesions, investigators have focused on a single component at a time, potentially missing out complex interactions between cellular processes that could underlie fragility. Additional difficulties come from the cell-type specificity of CFS breakage: it indicates that only cell type-matched data would be informative, limiting the scope for studies using publicly available data. To perform a comprehensive study defining the role of different factors in determining CFS fragility, I explored replication timing, transcriptional landscapes and chromatin environment across a number of CFSs in two cell types exhibiting differential CFS breakage. Initially, I characterised the patterns of CFS fragility in the two cell types on both the cytogenetic and the molecular level. I then used a FISH-based technique to investigate the process of mitotic compaction at active CFS sites and found that the cytogenetically fragile core of these sites sits within larger regions which display a tendency to mis-fold in mitosis. The aberrant compaction of these regions could be observed on cytogenetically normal metaphase chromosomes, suggesting that finer scale abnormalities in chromosome structure underlie the cytogenetically visible breaks at fragile sites. I also investigated the links between transcription of long genes and CFS fragility using two approaches: I quantified levels of expression across all fragile sites using RNA-seq and modified transcription at a single active CFS using the CRISPR genome engineering methodology. My results indicate a complex interplay between transcription and CFS fragility: no simple linear correlation can be observed, but an increase of transcriptional levels at the active CFS led to a corresponding increase in fragility. To investigate the influence of the cell type specific replication programme and replication stress on CFS instability, I mapped replication timing genome-wide in unperturbed cells and under conditions of replication stress in both cell types. I found that replication stress induces bi-directional changes in replication timing throughout the genome as well as at CFS regions. Surprisingly, the genomic regions showing the most extreme replication timing alterations under replication stress do not overlap with CFS, implying that CFS instability is not fully explained by replication delays as previously suggested. Instead, I observed a range of replication-stress induced timing changes across CFS regions: while some CFSs appear under-replicated, others display switches to both earlier and later replication as well as differential recruitment of both early and late origins, implying that dis-regulation of replication timing and origin firing, rather than simply delays, underlie the sensitivity to CFS regions to replication stress. Finally, I investigated large-scale chromatin states at two active CFSs throughout S phase and into G2, the cell cycle stages most relevant stage for CFS breakage. I found that changes in large-scale chromatin architecture accompany the replication timing shifts triggered by replication stress, raising the possibility that such alterations contribute to instability. In conclusion, I assessed the influence of multiple relevant factors on CFS fragility. I found that bi-directional replication timing changes and alterations in interphase chromatin structure are likely to play a role, converging to promote mitotic folding problems which ultimately result in the well-described cytogenetic lesions on metaphase chromosomes and genomic instability

Conformational Transitions Accompanying Oligomerization of Yeast Alcohol Oxidase, a Peroxisomal Flavoenzyme

Alcohol oxidase (AO) is a homo-octameric flavoenzyme which catalyzes methanol oxidation in methylotrophic yeasts. AO protein is synthesized in the cytosol and subsequently sorted to peroxisomes where the active enzyme is formed. To gain further insight in the molecular mechanisms involved in AO activation, we studied spectroscopically native AO from Hansenula polymorpha and Pichia pastoris and three putative assembly intermediates. Fluorescence studies revealed that both Trp and FAD are suitable intramolecular markers of the conformation and oligomeric state of AO. A direct relationship between dissociation of AO octamers and increase in Trp fluorescence quantum yield and average fluorescence lifetime was found. The time-resolved fluorescence of the FAD cofactor showed a rapid decay component which reflects dynamic quenching due to the presence of aromatic amino acids in the FAD-binding pocket. The analysis of FAD fluorescence lifetime profiles showed a remarkable resemblance of pattern for purified AO and AO present in intact yeast cells. Native AO contains a high content of ordered secondary structure which was reduced upon FAD-removal. Dissociation of octamers into monomers resulted in a conversion of β-sheets into α-helices. Our results are explained in relation to a 3D model of AO, which was built based on the crystallographic data of the homologous enzyme glucose oxidase from Aspergillus niger. The implications of our results for the current model of the in vivo AO assembly pathway are discussed.

Migration and (Loss of) Language—or about the Problems of Loneliness Caused by Migration and the Implications for Intercultural Dialogue Today

Migration and language are closely interrelated fields that have not been sufficiently investigated. In particular, the state of speechlessness caused by migration has so far received little philosophical attention. Hence, this article explores speechlessness due to migration based on a dialectical human existence (Dasein). The condition of loss of language is philosophically significant because it shows who we are and who we can become through migration. It also unveils the individual and his or her development, as well as the condition of the receiving societies. The loss of language is the seismograph of human existence