Aspects influencing purchasing decision, based on fashion purchasing attitudes

PURPOSE: Authors have set a research goal to describe most important aspects when making a purchasing decision, based on fashion purchasing attitudes.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In order to verify this hypothesis, quantitative research was carried out on a representative group of people purchasing clothes. Data were gathered in Poland.FINDINGS: As a result, it was found that non-price aspects are not particularly important to buyers. Therefore, given the educational role of marketing in the area of sustainable purchasing, further efforts by enterprises in terms of education and awareness-raising are necessary.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Sustainable approach to the economy is not only political and macroeconomic. The topic of sustainable management of entities has been strongly present in them for many years, e.g., due to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These issues also apply to consumers, the choices they make in their purchasing decisions.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: It was presumed that the fashion sector consumers are more focused when making purchasing decisions on non-price aspects related to the trends of the sustainable, circular economy and sharing economy.peer-reviewe

Creative industries in a pandemic : cross sectoral innovation

PURPOSE: The creative and cultural industries (CCIs) are inherently digital-oriented. All CCIs include both physical and digital products and services. Still, most of all, growth currently generated by CCIs is digital - the non-digital part of economic activity is generally stagnant or even shrinking. The purpose of this article is to explore how CCIs as key drivers can influence sustainable social progress and meet growing societal needs.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Taking advantage of the research niche, the authors of this study surveyed between September and December 2020, selecting for the research pool entities that have collaborated with CCIs in the last two years in providing the innovative product, service, business model or process solutions. The research objective was to explore collaboration between the traditional and creative sectors in five areas: Social, Process, Financial, Corporate and Socio-Environmental.FINDINGS: Due to the lack of methodological tools to study the cross-innovation process, the following article presents the selection of questions and correctly constructed scales.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The study considers the current challenges companies face due to the significant change in economic realities in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This article is also a scientific contribution to the topic that can help overcome the economic downturn in the form of unconventional cooperation of various actors who will be stronger together.peer-reviewe

The role of restorative design in the achieving principles of Industry 5.0

PURPOSE: Industry 5.0 is the current wave of advances in the industrial sector, which focuses on the use of technology to make production processes more efficient and effective. As part of this new industrial revolution, restorative design is playing a vital role in helping businesses achieve their goals. Restorative design is a holistic approach to design that seeks to restore balance between humans, nature and the built environment. It emphasizes the use of natural resources, renewable energy, and sustainable systems to create a healthy, equitable and resilient future. By incorporating restorative design principles into Industry 5.0, businesses can create a more efficient, equitable and sustainable production process that serves the needs of both the environment and society. The aim of this article is to present the role of restorative design in the implementation of the principles of economy 5.0.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research method used was the analysis of secondary data available in the literature and the construction of research hypotheses during expert interviews.FINDINGS: This article presents excerpts from research results that illustrate the scale of the problem. Restorative design plays a huge role in achieving the goals of Industry 5.0 and is likely to become a tool in its realization.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Restorative design can help businesses achieve their goals by incorporating natural systems into their production processes. For example, designers can incorporate renewable energy sources into their processes to reduce carbon emissions. They can also use natural resources to create products without polluting the environment.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The current paper contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between the tax rate and the relevant tax revenue in the field of corporate and personal income taxes, by incorporating in the analysis the size of shadow economy.peer-reviewe

On the prospects of imaging Sagittarius A* from space

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at sub-millimeter waves has the potential to image the shadow of the black hole in the Galactic Center, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), and thereby test basic predictions of the theory of general relativity. We investigate the imaging prospects of a new Space VLBI mission concept. The setup consists of two satellites in polar or equatorial circular Medium-Earth Orbits with slightly different radii, resulting in a dense spiral-shaped uv-coverage with long baselines, allowing for extremely high-resolution and high-fidelity imaging of radio sources. We simulate observations of a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics model of Sgr A* for this configuration with noise calculated from model system parameters. After gridding the $uv$-plane and averaging visibilities accumulated over multiple months of integration, images of Sgr A* with a resolution of up to 4 $\mu$as could be reconstructed, allowing for stronger tests of general relativity and accretion models than with ground-based VLBI.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, published in Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 342, 201

A sensitive LC-MS/MS method for isomer separation and quantitative determination of 51 pyrrolizidine alkaloids and two tropane alkaloids in cow's milk

1,2-Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), their corresponding N-oxides (PANO), and tropane alkaloids (TA) are toxic secondary plant metabolites. Their possible transfer into the milk of dairy cows has been studied in feeding trials;however, only few data on the occurrence of these toxins in milk are available. In this study, the development of a sensitive analytical approach for the simultaneous detection and quantification of a broad range of 54 PA/PANO as well as of the TA atropine and scopolamine in milk of dairy cows is presented. The method optimisation focused on sensitivity and separation of PA/PANO isomers. Milk samples were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction with aqueous formic acid and n-hexane, followed by a cation-exchange solid-phase extraction for purification. Reversed phase liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis was performed using alkaline solvent conditions. Validation proved low limits of detection and quantification of 0.005 to 0.054 mu g/L and of 0.009 to 0.123 mu g/L, respectively. For 51 of the 54 tested PA/PANO and both TA, the recovery rates ranged from 64 to 127% with repeatability (RSDr) values below 15% at concentration levels of 0.05 and 0.50 mu g/L and below 8% at a concentration level of 3.00 mu g/L. Only three PANO did not match the validation criteria and were therefore regarded as semiquantitative. The final method was applied to 15 milk samples obtained from milk vending stations at farms and from local marketers in Bavaria, Germany. In three of the milk samples, traces of PA were detected

Isar/Athen: Griechische Künstler in München – Deutsche Künstler in Griechenland [Ergebnisse der Tagung "Isar/Athen. Griechische Künstler in München - Deutsche Künstler in Griechenland" ... im Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte München am 13. April 2007]

Die 1808 gegründete Münchner Kunstakademie war über lange Zeit ein 'Magnetfeld' von internationaler Dimension und zog zahlreiche Studenten aus dem Ausland, insbesondere aus den USA, aber auch aus dem gesamten mittel-, ost- und südosteuropäischen Raum an. Einige dieser ausländischen Künstler blieben nach Abschluss ihres Studiums in München, eröffneten hier eigene Kunstschulen oder wurden selbst zu Lehrern an der Akademie ernannt. Sie trugen ebenso wie die in ihre Heimatländer zurückgekehrten Künstler wesentlich zum Ruf Münchens als einer 'Kunststadt' bei. Dieser Band enthält die Beiträge der Tagung "Isar/Athen. Griechische Künstler in München - Deutsche Künstler in Griechenland" (siehe http://www.zikg.eu/main/2007/isar-athen/index.htm). Die Beziehungen zwischen München und Griechenland waren aufgrund der politischen Gegebenheiten von besonders enger Natur. Die Texte schlagen einen Bogen vom 19. Jahrhundert über Giorgio de Chirico bis zu gemeinsamen Projekten der Münchner und Athener Akademien der letzten Jahrzehnte

Blockchain in education : the best teaching models

PURPOSE: The usefulness of Blockchain technology due to its many advantages, in the form of off-the-shelf solutions, is conquering many sectors of the economy, such as finance, insurance, retail, industry, healthcare, logistics or public administration. The main aim of this paper is to identify the best teaching models for implementing Blockchain into the teaching process in higher educational institutions.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research method emloyed in this study was a model for evaluating online courses, covering topics related to Blockchain and data collection using the Delphi method. The experts were selected from among academic teachers with knowledge and experience in the field of Blockchain technology, who conduct their research in the IT and / or economic space.FINDINGS: Not only Blockchain technology itself is important, but also exploring and learning about business transformations involving Blockchain (checking out available solutions on the market, tracing how the process of implementing Blockchain in new entities and projects).PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION: This technology is under continuous evolution and we have not yet fully explored the limits of its applications. Blockchain is also a new paradigm for digital data management and learning. Due to the rising role of Blockchain, univeristies should include Blockchain in their education offer.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The article fills the knowledge gap in the field of supporting the developing Blockchain environment in the context of introducing Blockchan into the teaching process.peer-reviewe

Solution conformations of a linked construct of the Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease

The Zika virus presents a serious risk for global health. Crystal structures of different constructs of the Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease (NS2B-NS3pro) have been determined with the aim to provide a basis for rational drug discovery. In these structures, the C-terminal β-hairpin of NS2B, NS2Bc, was observed to be either disordered (open conformation) or bound to NS3pro complementing the substrate binding site (closed conformation). Enzymatically active constructs of flaviviral NS2B-NS3 proteases commonly used for inhibitor testing contain a covalent peptide linker between NS2B and NS3pro. Using a linked construct of Zika virus NS2B-NS3pro, we studied the location of NS2Bc relative to NS3pro in solution by pseudocontact shifts generated by a paramagnetic lanthanide tag attached to NS3pro. Both closed and open conformations were observed with different inhibitors. As the NS2B co-factor is involved in substrate binding of flaviviral NS2B-NS3 proteases, the destabilization of the closed conformation in the linked construct makes it an attractive tool to search for inhibitors that interfere with the formation of the enzymatically active, closed conformation.C.N. thanks the Alexander vonHumbolt Foundation for a Feodor-Lynen fellowship. Financialsupport by the Australian Research Council is gratefully acknowl-edged. C.K. acknowledges support by the Deutsche For-schungsgemeinschaft, grant KL 1356/3

Bromodomain Protein Inhibitors Reorganize the Chromatin of Synovial Fibroblasts

Bromodomain- and extra-terminal domain (BET) proteins are epigenetic reader proteins that regulate transcription of their target genes by binding to acetylated histone side chains. Small molecule inhibitors, such as I-BET151, have anti-inflammatory properties in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) and in animal models of arthritis. Here, we investigated whether BET inhibition can also affect the levels of histone modifications, a novel mechanism underlying BET protein inhibition. On the one hand, FLSs were treated with I-BET151 (1 µM) for 24 h in absence and presence of TNF. On the other hand, FLSs were washed with PBS after 48 h of I-BET151 treatment, and the effects were measured 5 days after I-BET151 treatment or after an additional 24 h stimulation with TNF (5 d + 24 h). Mass spectrometry analysis indicated that I-BET151 induced profound changes in histone modifications, with a global reduction in acetylation on different histone side chains 5 days after treatment. We confirmed changes on acetylated histone side chains in independent samples by Western blotting. I-BET151 treatment reduced mean TNF-induced levels of total acetylated histone 3 (acH3), H3K18ac, and H3K27ac. In line with these changes, the TNF-induced expression of BET protein target genes was suppressed 5 d after I-BET151 treatment. Our data indicate that BET inhibitors not only prevent the reading of acetylated histones but directly influence overall chromatin organization, in particular after stimulation with TNF

NMDB@Home: 1st virtual symposium on cosmic ray studies with neutron detectors

An overview on the presentations at the first virtual symposium on cosmic ray studies with neutron detectors is given. The meeting was held online in July 2020. Neutron detectors on ground are shown to provide significant contributions to research on interactions of galactic cosmic rays with magnetic fields in the Heliosphere and on the acceleration of energetic particles, as well as to a growing range of applications, including geophysics and space weather. The advent of easily accessible databases makes original data easily available to a large user community. The present overview outlines and introduces the more detailed articles contained in the proceedings