A STUDY ON AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE INDEX (APTI) AND ANTICIPATED PERFORMANCE INDEX (API) OF SOME PLANTS

Due to industrialization, urbanization and increasing number of vehicles air pollution has turn out to be serious problem today. Now a days particulate matter shows the undesirable effects on plants, animals and human beings also. Tree plantation programme is the best ways to control the air pollution. Most of the plants filter the air by their aerial elements. Vegetation naturally cleanses the atmosphere by absorbing gases and some particulate matters through leaves so they work as sink for air pollution and reduce pollution level in atmosphere. Leaves function as an efficient pollutant trapping device. Air pollution can directly affects plants via leaves or indirectly via soil acidification. Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) is an intrinsic quality of trees to control air pollution problems. The trees higher tolerance index are tolerance towards air pollution and can be used a source to control air pollution. Air pollution tolerance index can be used as an indicator of rate of air pollution. By combining biochemical and aggregate factors the anticipated performance index (API) is prepared which is used as development of green belt. Thus, the assessment of APTI and API potential of different trees are used to control air pollution.

Development and Vertical Tests of CEPC 650-MHz Single-Cell Cavities with High Gradient

A circular electron positron collider (CEPC) will adopt hundreds of 650-MHz superconducting cavities with high quality factor (Q) and accelerating gradient (Eacc). Two 650-MHz single-cell cavities made of fine-grain niobium were first treated via buffered chemical polishing (BCP), which was easy and convenient. However, the vertical test results could not meet the specification of the CEPC (4 × 1010 at 22 MV/m). Therefore, electro-polishing (EP) of 650-MHz single-cell cavities was conducted, which was complicated but remarkably effective. Both 650-MHz single-cell cavities achieved state-of-the-art gradients of 35 MV/m after the EP process, which is extremely high for large elliptical cavities (frequency < 1 GHz). One cavity achieved an intrinsic quality factor (Q0) of 4.5 × 1010 at 22.0 MV/m, which was higher than the CEPC spec. The other cavity obtained a lower Q0 of 3.4 × 1010 at 22.0 MV/m, which may have resulted from the cancellation of high-temperature annealing.

Chinese consumers’ purchase intention of fresh cherries: Modeling of relations between satisfaction and perceived quality

The purpose of this study was to model Chinese consumers’ intention to purchase fresh cherries through direct and indirect relations and mediating role between perceived intrinsic quality, perceived extrinsic quality and satisfaction. The analytical method used was a structural equation modeling (SEM). Surveys were applied to 388 buyers in three traditional markets in Beijing, China. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed, which presented an adequate goodness of fit to accept the model, according to the literature, which confirmed the relations. The results showed, that perceived extrinsic quality and satisfaction are directly and significantly related to Chinese consumers’ intention to purchase fresh cherries. Additionally, an indirect and significant relationship was found between perceived intrinsic quality and purchase intention, through the mediating role of satisfaction. Highlights: Only the intrinsic perceived quality in fresh cherries is directly and significantly related to the satisfaction of Chinese consumers, generating indirect effects on the purchase intention through the mediating role of satisfaction, which is opposed to the results obtained in extrinsic perceived quality. The results obtained in this study determined that the intrinsic perceived quality does not present a direct and significant relationship with the purchase intention in fresh cherries, a result in conflict with that obtained in the extrinsic perceived quality. It was statistically demonstrated that intrinsic perceived quality has an indirect and significant influence on purchase intention through the mediating role of satisfaction; on the other hand, no indirect and significant influence was found between perceived extrinsic quality and purchase intention as a result of the mediating role of satisfaction. Satisfaction has a direct and significant relation on the purchase intention of Chinese consumers. The results of this research seem to be in line with the marketing initiatives developed by ASOEX, enhancing the attributes of intrinsic quality, color and size, and linking it to celebrations and traditions, through activities such as "Super Cherries days", "Chilean Cherries dance" and "Cherries from Chile", activities that have also been enhanced by public policies and agreements such as the free trade agreement between the two countries in force since 2005.

Analysis of subunit folding contribution of three yeast large ribosomal subunit proteins required for stabilisation and processing of intermediate nuclear rRNA precursors

In yeast and human cells many of the ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) are required for the stabilisation and productive processing of rRNA precursors. Functional coupling of r-protein assembly with the stabilisation and maturation of subunit precursors potentially promotes the production of ribosomes with defined composition. To further decipher mechanisms of such an intrinsic quality control pathway we analysed here the contribution of three yeast large ribosomal subunit r-proteins rpL2 (uL2), rpL25 (uL23) and rpL34 (eL34) for intermediate nuclear subunit folding steps. Structure models obtained from single particle cryo-electron microscopy analyses provided evidence for specific and hierarchic effects on the stable positioning and remodelling of large ribosomal subunit domains. Based on these structural and previous biochemical data we discuss possible mechanisms of r-protein dependent hierarchic domain arrangement and the resulting impact on the stability of misassembled subunits.

Local food consumption during the covid-19 pandemic

The influence of intrinsic quality, health consciousness, environmental awareness, local support, and proximity of process on consumers’ intention to consume local food during the COVID-19 pandemic was tested, with food availability as a moderator. Online survey results were analyzed using a two-step structural equation modelling (SEM). Health consciousness was the major reason for consuming local food. Intrinsic quality and proximity of process were also significant drivers. Local support and environmental awareness have little impact on the intention to purchase local food. This study contributes to knowledge regarding the main factors driving local food consumption during a health crisis, providing directions.

Qualitative Analysis and Componential Differences of Chemical Constituents in Taxilli Herba from Different Hosts by UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS

Taxilli Herba (TH) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with a wide range of clinical application. However, there is a lack of comprehensive research on its chemical composition in recent years. At the same time, Taxillus chinensis (DC) Danser is a semi parasitic plant with abundant hosts, and its chemical constituents varies due to hosts. In this study, the characterization of chemical constituents in TH was analyzed by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS). Moreover, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to reveal the differential constituents in TH from different hosts based on the qualitative information of the chemical constituents. Results showed that 73 constituents in TH were identified or tentatively presumed, including flavonoids, phenolic acids and glycosides, and others; meanwhile, the fragmentation pathways of different types of compounds were preliminarily deduced by the fragmentation behavior of the major constituents. In addition, 23 differential characteristic constituents were screened based on variable importance in projection (VIP) and p-value. Among them, quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucuronide, quercitrin and hyperoside were common differential constituents. Our research will contribute to comprehensive evaluation and intrinsic quality control of TH, and provide a scientific basis for the variety identification of medicinal materials from different hosts.

How good are jobs in New Zealand?

Based on an analysis of the New Zealand data in the Work Orientation module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) across three rounds (1997, 2005 and 2015), this paper examines how workers in New Zealand perceive their job quality. These surveys imply that New Zealanders have relatively good jobs, as shown in healthy levels of job quality and job satisfaction. They rate highly the quality of their collegial relationships at work and typically perceive the intrinsic quality of their job as better than the extrinsic quality. A key issue in relation to the latter is that they generally do not rate their advancement opportunities as high. While men, full-timers and graduates have some advantages over women, part-timers and non-graduates in extrinsic job quality, the intrinsic quality of work is more evenly experienced. In terms of intrinsic issues, the rising level of stress from 2005 to 2015 poses a concern and there is no evidence that graduates enjoy any kind of premium in the intrinsic quality of work apart from a lower level of hard physical effort.

CONSTRUCTING THE DIGITAL SKILLS CRISIS: A CRITICAL CONCEPTUAL HISTORY OF “SKILL”

There is a digital skills crisis: the digital skills crisis does not exist. Through a conceptual history of skill––a word, concept, and action––this paper analyzes the historical, cultural, and material constructions of skill and how it has come to influence current discourse around the alleged “digital skills crisis”. Rather than an intrinsic quality to be acquired, we show how skill has been deployed as a political concept to order bodies and processes according to the interests of power and capital. Pushing back against skilled/unskilled dichotomies, we argue skill itself has been used as a technology in the division of labor (Marx, 1990) to maintain patriarchal (Berg, 1994), and colonial hierarchies (Kumar, 2018). This genealogy helps situate how skill is conceptually operationalized alongside technology in contemporary politics. Through a systematic analysis of policy and public speech from four US presidents––from Clinton’s push to bridge the “digital divide” to Trump’s executive order to “combat the skills crisis”––we show how skills discourse is framed as a deficit issue in both democratic and republican administrations. By centering the conceptual roots of skill, this paper attempts to reclaim an understanding of skills as collective social knowledge that are essential to, and not separate from, technology (Veblen, 1914). Through this work, we hope to generate a broader discussion about the normative assumptions which tie the idea of skill to technological progress so we may re-imagine the kinds of collective social knowledge we need to produce a more just and equitable future.

Simultaneous Quantification of Diarylheptanoids and Phenolic Compounds in Juglans mandshurica Maxim. by UPLC–TQ-MS

The immature epicarps of Juglans mandshurica and Juglans regia have been used as folk medicine for the treatment of cancer in China. Other parts of the J.mandshurica plant, including leaves, branches, barks, and stems, have reported antitumor activities. We previously found that various diarylheptanoids and phenolic compounds isolated from J. mandshurica epicarps show significant antitumor activities. However, there are no reports of quantitative analysis of diarylheptanoids and phenolic compounds of J. mandshurica. In this study, a validated quantitative method, based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry, was employed to determine the contents of eight diarylheptanoids and seven phenolic compounds in the epicarps of J. mandshurica during different growth periods, in different parts of the plant, and in the epicarps of two Juglans species. The most successful J. mandshurica epicarp harvesting time fell between Day 12 and Day 27. The leaves of J. mandshurica showed potential for medical use as they had the highest content of the 15 compounds (3.399 ± 0.013 mg/g). We showed for the first time that the total content of diarylheptanoids in J. mandshurica is higher than that in J. regia, though, conversely, J. regia has higher contents of phenolic compounds. The method developed in this study is practical and simple and can be applied for quantitative analysis for evaluating the intrinsic quality of J. mandshurica.

How Successful Is Origin Labeling in a Developing Country Context? Moroccan Consumers’ Preferences toward Local Products

The Green Moroccan Plan (GMP) is a national long-term strategy launched by the Moroccan government to support the agricultural sector as the main driver of social and economic development. The GMP involves a labeling strategy based on geographical indications, aimed at protecting and promoting the marketing of locally produced food specialties and linking their specific qualities and reputations to their domestic production region. We evaluated the success of this policy by comparing consumers’ attitudes and preferences toward a local product having a geographical indication label to one without. We conducted a survey of 500 consumers in main Moroccan cities. The potential consumer set for the local product was found to be segmented, indicating the potential for a domestic niche of environmentally aware consumers preferring organically and sustainably produced food. We applied the analytical hierarchy process to prioritize the attributes of the commodities of interest, which underscores the importance of the origin when choosing a local product without origin labeling; for the labeled product, intrinsic quality attributes are considered to be more important. These findings demonstrate the limited promotion of the established origin labeling in the domestic market. Hence, we recommend that the Moroccan government reinforce the labeling scheme with an organic label to increase the market potential of the environmentally aware consumers by ensuring sustainable production of local products.