Dardania in late Antiquity

Late Antiquity, known as a transitory phase between Antiquity and the Middle Ages that encompasses the 4th-6th centuries, was characterized by major historical events that led not only to political and administrative changes, but also social, cultural and religious changes. This paper will elaborate the impact of these changes in the province of Dardania, of which the central territory corresponds to today’s Kosovo, with a specific focus on the spread of Christianity and Christian architecture and changes in settlement patterns, as people moved from field settlements to hillforts. Moreover, it will present architectural features and the role of fortifications in Late Antiquity.

Nutrient limitations regulate soil greenhouse gas fluxes from tropical forests: evidence from an ecosystem-scale nutrient manipulation experiment in Uganda

Soil macronutrient availability is one of the abiotic controls that alters the exchange of greenhouse gases (GHGs) between the soil and the atmosphere in tropical forests. However, evidence on the macronutrient regulation of soil GHG fluxes from central African tropical forests is still lacking, limiting our understanding of how these biomes could respond to potential future increases in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition. The aim of this study was to disentangle the regulation effect of soil nutrients on soil GHG fluxes from a Ugandan tropical forest reserve in the context of increasing N and P deposition. Therefore, a large-scale nutrient manipulation experiment (NME), based on 40 m×40 m plots with different nutrient addition treatments (N, P, N + P, and control), was established in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve. Soil carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes were measured monthly, using permanently installed static chambers, for 14 months. Total soil CO2 fluxes were partitioned into autotrophic and heterotrophic components through a root trenching treatment. In addition, soil temperature, soil water content, and nitrates were measured in parallel to GHG fluxes. N addition (N and N + P) resulted in significantly higher N2O fluxes in the transitory phase (0–28 d after fertilization; p<0.01) because N fertilization likely increased soil N beyond the microbial immobilization and plant nutritional demands, leaving the excess to be nitrified or denitrified. Prolonged N fertilization, however, did not elicit a significant response in background (measured more than 28 d after fertilization) N2O fluxes. P fertilization marginally and significantly increased transitory (p=0.05) and background (p=0.01) CH4 consumption, probably because it enhanced methanotrophic activity. The addition of N and P (N + P) resulted in larger CO2 fluxes in the transitory phase (p=0.01), suggesting a possible co-limitation of both N and P on soil respiration. Heterotrophic (microbial) CO2 effluxes were significantly higher than the autotrophic (root) CO2 effluxes (p<0.01) across all treatment plots, with microbes contributing about two-thirds of the total soil CO2 effluxes. However, neither heterotrophic nor autotrophic respiration significantly differed between treatments. The results from this study suggest that the feedback of tropical forests to the global soil GHG budget could be disproportionately altered by increases in N and P availability over these biomes.

On The Way to Global Peace

The present book starts with an introductory chapter in which the contents of the previous book have been dealt with in a whole new perspective and the ways and means to move forward towards global peace have been delineated in the concluding chapter of the book. In the process, “Life, Mind, Brain, Cognition, Existentialism, Matter, Memory, Consciousness, Mysticism, Ontology, Psychology, Parapsychology, Ecology and Phenomenology” have been dealt with. This is followed by the discussion of “ Philosophy, Renaissance, Soul, Theosophy, Cosmology, Universe, The Witness and The Ultimate Truth”. It has been revealed that there is a whole new world of Existence on a new uncharted plane; the present day world-drama is not matured enough and not qualified enough with a sense of unselfishness to foster Global Peace. None-the-less, the destiny of the world and the whole human race, nay the entire manifested world is set to reach a spirited esoteric plane of Blissful Existence, this being a matter of eternity. The current situation in this planet is no more than a transitory phase.

Transnational Women Writers in Europe: the Italian case-study

My paper is divided in two parts: the first theoretical it is focused on the importance of Transnational Studies. Comparative Studies, Gender Studies and Translation Studies are in a transitory phase, a moment of great change implicit in a new perspective that wants to take into account a ‘global’ vision on the state of art in these three fields. The canonical division between literary/cultural studies and translation is not acceptable anymore, because translation is nowadays an hermeneutical category important to understand the complexity of the world. A research area that seems to unite this new notion of comparatism and translation is that of “Transnational literatures/cultures”, where the term ‘trans’ outlines, not only the passage among cultures, literatures and languages, but also the overcoming of barriers and national borders. In the second part I analyse some Transnational Women Writers, who have chosen to write their fiction in Italian: Ornella Vorpsi (Albania), Lilia Bicec (Moldova), Geneviève Makaping (Cameroon), Christina de Caldes Brito (Brazil), Jarmila Ockayová (Slovakia) and finally, Jhumpa Lahiri (Bangladesh/USA). I analyse the reasons of their choice and the specificity of their contribution to Transnational Literatures/Cultures.

Quantum Neuro – Synchronicity

Quantum Neuro-Synchronicity explores the brain activities of an individual when they are completely immersed into a previously inexperienced and unfamiliar activity. Although there have been researches on the synchronicity between dyads, there is a clear gap in research on the benefits of the sync on the right and left sides of the brain on an individual. Its scope extends to not only engaging and developing our neurology but also as a means to escape all the weights that constantly pull people back. It is a momentary relief, a transitory phase, and a feeling of bliss that one can experience by simply learning something new. Carl Jung created the term “synchronicity” to explain a relationship between two events that could not be explained by cause and effect.

Defining the Concept of Family through the Lens of Fertile-Aged Women in Bucharest, Romania—between Traditionalism and Inclusion

Family is a notion that societies are consistently trying to define and redefine nowadays, according to various interest groups. It also represents a variable functioning within conditions of population aging, especially in developing countries. An analysis of what family means must consider all the factors that influence it both structurally and in terms of size. The main objectives were to identify the perception of fertile-aged women about the notion of family and to measure its possible influence on the target group’s demographic behavior. The inquiry method was part of the research methodology with 499 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews done of a sample size population (women aged 15 to 49) living in Bucharest, Romania and supplemented by an SPSS analysis of the data gathered. The main results show that regardless of their education or income level, the interviewed target group declared that starting a new family or enlarging the current one is mostly correlated with financial aspects, and also that a pregnancy early in a woman’s career is viewed as an obstacle to her future development, even though when asked about the ideal family the financial aspect was rarely mentioned. The authors concluded that respondents’ mental attitude and reproductive behavior are undergoing a transitory phase. As such in Romania there is a need for sustainable demographic measures to tackle fertility issues. Several aspects support this: birth rates in the country have been consistently decreasing; the country’s economy is declining; and the interviewed target group conditioned starting a family or enlarging their current one on having sufficient financial resources.

One Problem, Different Manifestation: Distribution Woes At HDFC Life And SBI Life

Life insurance distribution in India, like elsewhere, is in a transitory phase. Technological advancements and an untapped market have opened up new vistas in the field. Customer offerings through multiple touch-points seem to be the mantra. While a multi-channel strategy does offer the outreach, there are a number of issues, including, channel conflict, channel cannibalization and channel misalignment, which act as a dampener to such a strategy. The other question is that of finding an optimum distribution mix. We, by virtue of this paper, attempt to delineate the aforesaid, highlighting the manifestation of the same problem of distribution, albeit differently, rather contrastingly - concurrently suggesting the solutions – through two similar bank led (large bank as group company / bank promoted) companies, HDFC Life and SBI Life. Distribution woes have resulted in an uncertain distribution landscape with no clear pattern in sight. Industry numbers show a shrinking agency, a robust bancassurance and a rising online channel. But the pattern is all lopsided in HDFC Life and SBI Life. How to balance the distribution mix, then? Does that mean doing away with the not so hot agency channel? Or does preserving agency still make sense? Or fortifying the banca further is the need of the hour? Or, can the currently hot direct / online channel be pursued vehemently? The implications of such distribution patterns are immense for an industry trying to find a way out of the muddle.

Association of Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Medical Students Studying in Modular, Semester and Annual Examination System

Background: When there are high demands besides less resources, a person experiences a feeling of fear that is known as “Stress”. Students of professional schools/colleges and universities are encounter more stress than the general population as they are in a transitory phase from adolescence to adulthood. It has been highlighted that medical education has greater association with stress. There are three examination systems that are been followed by medical colleges of Pakistan (modular, semester and annual systems). However, to the best of our knowledge, no data is available to show the association of stress with current examination systems in our country. Aims: The objectives of our study were to find out the association of stress with different examination systems and to identify the frequency of stress causing and coping factors adopted by 1st, 2nd and 3rd year medical students studying in colleges having different examination systems i.e. modular, semester and annual. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place & Duration of Study: This study was conducted from December 2018 to April 2019 in three medical colleges of Sindh having above mentioned examination systems. Study Population: Medical students of 1st 2nd and 3rd year. Methodology: To assess depression, anxiety and stress among study population, DASS Scale was used. To identify the stress causing and coping factors in the students Likert scale based proforma with 19 factors were given to the selected participants Results: There was no significant association of examination system with depression, anxiety and stress, however various stress causing and coping factors were found significant in altering medical student`s life. Conclusion: According to our study, the frequency of stress in the medial students has no association with the examination systems (modular, semester and annual), currently followed by the medical colleges in Sindh, Pakistan.

Development of Soviet Federalism from Lenin to Gorbachev: Major Characteristics and Reasons for Failure

This article aims at examining different stages of the development of Soviet federalism, distinguishing its major principles and characteristics and identifying the reasons for its failure. In doing so, it explains the Marxist background to the emergence of Soviet federalism and the vision of Lenin, the architect of the Soviet state, of building a federation as a transitory phase towards achieving proletarian unitarism. The article provides a background to the Constitutions of the ussr of 1924, 1936 and 1977 paying particular attention to the key terms of the federal structure and also the views of the respective subsequent Soviet leaders, Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev, on the development of Soviet federalism. Further, it demonstrates the course of the constitutional reforms conducted by Gorbachev that eventually resulted in the collapse of the ussr. Finally, it draws some conclusions summarizing and demonstrating the major features of Soviet federalism and explaining why it failed.