As an important genre of folk literature, lullabies have been sung since the first mothers experienced pregnancy and childbirth. This study aims to dig deep into three linguistically different lullabies, i. e. English, Persian, and Azari, which share common themes of Absent Fathers, Maternal Whispers, and Religion, in the light of the American School of Comparative Literature in general and that of François Jost’s thematic theory, in specific. Comparative Literature provides us with the opportunity to widen our perspectives and to study other cultures, lives, histories, arts, and literatures, in order to attain cosmopolitan oneness and unity, which eliminates national frontiers and emphasizes “primary human affections” in all human beings. Lullabies touch upon the pure soul of humanity and their common concepts and features help bring nations together.

Utricularia australis is an aquatic angiosperm, with subsurface shoots and subaerial inflorescences. To discover this species growing at depths from 4 to 6 m in two lakes in Central Italy, is an unusual phenomenon that has not been previously reported. Large U. australis populations were found growing entwined among benthic Chara stands. Then the production of showy chasmogamous flowers at this depth makes this finding yet increasingly curious. In this study, comparisons of quantitative and qualitative morphological characters between regular subaerial and underwater flowers were made on samples taken from diverse sites in Central Italy. Water chemico-physical data were also collected to delineate the ecological differences between superficial and underwater habitats where flowering Utricularia populations were found, and to help explain these extraordinary findings. The subaerial and underwater flowers were quite similar, both were chasmogamous, with typical entomophilous characteristics. However, they did show some differences, the most important of which was the length of the floral scape, the underwater scapes were on average three times longer than those emerged. If this was an attempt to find underwater pollinator or it was a redundant morpho-physiological trait as a result of a recent ecological movement was not resolved. Underwater flowers were generally smaller than subaerial ones, while showing longer styles. They also had less obvious nectar signalling than the subaerial ones, while showing longer styles, thinner petals, mucous-coated pollen (subaerial pollen is dry and grainy). In general, underwater pollination, and especially that entomophilous, is not a common occurrence, but it is possible that the mucous coated pollen may aid adhesion to an animal vector. The possibility of underwater ecological conditions causing stress induced flowering is also proposed. One ecological factor common to both habitats, the lack of water movement, was identified as an important ecological requirement for U. australis growth, and which may explain why large populations of this plant have been found in deep water of large lakes far from its typical habitat.

Leaf functional traits widely have been used to understand the environmental controls of resource utilization strategy of plants along the environmental gradients. By using of key leaf functional traits we quantified the relationships between leaf traits and local climate along the range of Rhododendron caucasicum Pall. distribution in eastern and western Georgia (South Caucasus). Our results revealed, that all traits showed high levels of intraspecific variability across study locations and confirmed a strong phenotypic differentiation of leaf functional variation along east-west longitudinal gradient in response to local climate. Among studied leaf traits, the leaf specific area (SLA) showed the highest level of variability indicating the different resource utilization strategies of eastern and western-central Rh. caucasicum individuals. High SLA leaves for western-central Georgian individuals work in relatively resource-rich environments (more humid) and could be explained by preferential allocation to photosynthesis and growth, while eastern Georgian samples work in resource-poor environments (less humid) and the retention of captured resources is a higher priority appearing in a low SLA leaves. However, more evidence from a broader study of the species throughout its Caucasian distribution range is needed for firmer conclusions of intraspecific variability of Rh. caucasicum.

Wheat bran provides substantial amount of spare biomass inconvenient in straight combustion. Pyrolytic treatment allows production of fuel and raw materials of higher value. Pyrolysis of biomass results in evolution of its composition and structure with variable char’s thermophysical characteristics. Knowing the elemental composition and characteristics of biomass on course of its thermal processing is necessary for optimization of pyrolysis process. The objective of research concerns thermophysical characteristics of wheat bran in slow pyrolysis determined by the laser flash method. Experimental research was undertaken into the bran pyrolysis with the use of differential thermal analysis (DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of pyrolytic products. The products obtained at temperatures < 300 °С exceed the bran in heat capacity, whereas at higher temperatures the latter sharply decreases due to decomposition of carbonaceous constituents. Thermal conductivity of pyrolytic products is growing from 0.146 to 0.173 W m–1 °C–1 with temperature of treatment increased from 200 to 500 °C, being, however, lower than that of untreated bran - 0.213 W m–1 °C–1. Thermophysical characteristics determined for the bran and pyrolysis products are applicable to any fraction of wheat bran with various bulk densities.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an old problem which benefits from very modern treatments. For those seeking medical attention for ED, it brings a significant negative impact on health-related quality of life and self esteem.\nThe penile prosthesis comes as the last alternative in the line of medical treatments for this condition and the last decades saw major improvements of both mechanics, durability and safety of this implant.\nOur paper reviews the devices currently available, the technique behind them and also the safety and effectivity of this treatment. Data from the literature supports the inflatable prosthesis as the ultimate treatment for ED, despite its irreversible nature arising from the destruction of the natural tissue involved in errection.\nWe conclude that the penile prosthesis should be offered as the last treatment alternative, only for regaining errections but not for enlargement of the penis.

The Himalaya is the house of some unique types of floras whose aromas fragranced the local cuisine as well as used in several traditional health care systems. Allium stracheyi Baker (Family Amaryllidaceae) is a plant used in several traditional dishes of the Himalayan communities as spice and condiment and known as Jamboo, Dhungar, and Pharan, whose overall interest has growing over time. This review aims to provide an overview on A. stracheyi botanical features, chemical composition, ethnopharmacological uses and biological activities. This herbaceous perennial, bulbous plant is mainly collected from wild places, which causes immense pressure in its natural pockets making their existence vulnerable. Despite the domestication of this plant already started in some places, mostly due to their richness in several nutraceutical components, such as crude fiber, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals along with other nutritional elements, there is still a long way to walk to deeper knowledge. Secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, saponins, phytosterols, phenolic, and flavonoids are also present at good amounts, to whom their biological effects, namely hemolytic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antioxidant activities, have been mostly attributed.