scholarly journals DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGIES OF CONCERN IN CONTEXT OF BIOSAFETY (review)

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-9
Author(s):  
T. Ashcheulova ◽  
T. Ambrosova

One of the main prerequisites for creation and dissemination of bioethics in the world was the concept of dual use in medical and biological sciences, which is defined as the direction of unintentional creation of biological threats in research or implementation of new biotechnologies. To determine the range of dual-use research that could potentially generate products, technologies, or knowledge whose misuse could harm large numbers of people or the environment and that are biosafety-relevant, the international term Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) is used. Actualization of the debate on the dilemma of dual use in biomedical sciences is due to, on the one hand, the international community's attempt to minimize the potential for destructive use of biomedical research, on the other hand, the active search for effective ways to raise awareness of their social and moral responsibility for implementation of the results of scientific developments in the field of life. This article considers the definition of terms that define the field of DURC in the context of biosafety, which in recent decades have undergone a number of semantic changes. The article also outlines the modern general concept of DURC, defines the categories by which DURC is defined, and outlines the scope of policy on the implementation of control over DURC. Informing the scientific community engaged in biomedical research about the problem issues of DURC biotechnology is a key component of biosafety. Modern biotechnology and related biosafety issues should be applied to society needs, but without compromising human and environmental safety. Systematic consideration of all these disputable questions of the dual-use dilemma with the involvement of all stakeholders will allow to form a rational biosafety policy for biotechnology.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Lavezzi

It is with great pleasure that I write this editorial to welcome you to the first issue of this new International journal, “Pakistan Biomedical Journal” (PBMJ). The topics covered by the journal are certainly broad and interesting. Biomedical science is a collection of applied sciences that help us understand, research, and innovate within the _eld of healthcare. It includes disciplines like molecular biology, clinical virology, bioinformatics, and biomedical engineering, among others. It's designed to apply the biological sciences to advance not only individual health but also the area of public health. Biomedical Research can help health professions better understand things like the human body and cell biology, making advances in our understanding of epidemics, health initiatives, and human health in the age of longer life expectancy. It aids our understanding of infectious disease and provides research opportunities into some of our most troubling health issues. The journal will continue to publish high quality clinical and biomedical research in health and disease later in life. Peer review will remain a vital component of our assessment of submitted articles. I am very happy to have a team of excellent editors and editorial board members from the top international league covering in depth the related topics. They will ensure the highest standards of quality for the published manuscripts and, at the same time, keep the process time as short as possible. We hope to bring best researches in the _eld of biomedical sciences that may serve as a guideline in health awareness, understanding the mechanisms and its management in future. We definitely look forward to receiving your excellent studies to making PBMJ synonymous with high quality in the biomedical science domain.


1996 ◽  
Vol 06 (06) ◽  
pp. 1177-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. GORODETSKI ◽  
Yu. ILYASHENKO

A general concept going back to Kolmogorov claims that if a dynamical system has a complicated attracting set then its behavior has not a deterministic, but rather probabilistic character. This concept was not formalized up to now. Even the definition of attractor has a lot of different versions. This paper presents an attempt to give some definitions and results formalizing this heuristic ideas. It contains a definition of a minimal attractor, modifying the one given in Ilyashenko [1991]. The actual minimality of the attractor is discussed. The principal result is the Triple Choice Theorem. It claims that the existence of a strange minimal attractor implies some mild form of chaos for the map itself or for a nearby one. The program of further investigation is proposed as a chain of problems at the end of the paper.


Author(s):  
Myroslava Hromovchuk

The article examines the features of the essence and content of the constitutional principles of human rights as a basis for legalregulation of biomedical research of somatic human rights. The author reveals the essence and content of international and nationallegal principles of human biomedical research. It was found that there are currently no standards of legal regulation of human rightsprotection during biomedical research at the national level and at the level of international acts in this field. It is pointed out that theissue of human and civil rights and freedoms in the conditions of formation and development of civil society in democratic states occupiesa central place. It is established that the effective provision of constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen is associatedwith the need for restrictions in their implementation. It is determined that it is of fundamental importance that the attitude to law, tohuman rights and freedoms for the Ukrainian legal consciousness is impossible only through the awareness of a certain moral ideal asa goal in one’s own life. Therefore, any legal problem for the Ukrainian mentality is inextricably linked with the values of goodnessand justice, truth and humanity.It is noted that the approaches to the definition of “freedom” have both common and different features or certain clarificationsregarding certain manifestations. Without resorting to controversy about the truth or falsity of each of them, by generalizing their content,we can conclude that freedom, on the one hand, is an action according to their own desires, on the other - an action against them.The limits of permissible intervention in conducting biomedical research with human participation have been studied, as well asthe ethical examination of biomedical research as a way to protect human rights has been determined.


1972 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Campbell

The philosophy of primary and secondary qualities is in a state of some confusion. There is no agreement as to the basis upon which the two classes of quality may be distinguished—a host of features, as diverse as perceptible by more than one sense and belonging to the definition of matter, are offered as the mark of the primary. There is not even agreement on which qualities belong to which group. Shape, size and solidity are generally held to be primary, while colours, smells, and the like (I) are favoured secondary candidates. But for large numbers of qualities, for example being acidic, malleable, rust-proof—or, among perceptible qualities, glistening and vibrating—we are offered no effective guidance.Inevitably, in such a situation, we are without clear answers to the questions; Why should any distinction be made between primaries and secondaries? Must all qualities be the one or the other? To the solution of which problems does the distinction serve as a preliminary step? What special relationship is there between primary qualities and scientific theory, or between secondary qualities and peculiarities in perception?


Author(s):  
N.A. Nikolaeva ◽  

The article considers the main current global trends in the field of foreign economic activity. The modern perspective of the development of the world economic space is justified. The legislative basis for the introduction and application of customs clearance procedures is given. The transition to sustainable development through the creation of a balanced system that combines environmental safety, social justice and economic efficiency is justified from the point of view of the study of the functioning and development of participants in foreign economic activity. However, the activation of states in the development of foreign economic activity is currently at different levels of interest, which explains the differences in the forms and features of regulation, time characteristics and degree of control. The main point in ensuring the effectiveness of foreign economic activity is to ensure the synergy effect in the development of strategic directions for further development between the world economic system – the state and the participants in foreign economic activity. The article highlights several main directions of ensuring sustainable development: the trajectory of the economic development of the enterprise, the achievement of social goals, compliance with the norms and rules of environmental behavior and foreign economic activity of the enterprise. The definition of sustainable development is given as the ability of a set of elements that represent a system to acquire and maintain positive dynamics of development based on improving the capabilities of business process participants in relation to the effective functioning of the ecosystem as a whole. An integral part of any foreign trade transaction is a well-regulated customs clearance procedure. Often, the time spent on performing customs operations may exceed the transit time and even the production time of the goods. At the same time, each algorithmic step of customs clearance contains a number of risky situations that can potentially destroy the entire international supply chain and lead to a violation of obligations under foreign trade transactions. Currently, in the customs of the Russian Federation, there is no single approach to the sequence of the customs clearance process, which allows us to talk in the article about the development of an algorithm of actions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Bulajić ◽  
Miomir Despotović ◽  
Thomas Lachmann

Abstract. The article discusses the emergence of a functional literacy construct and the rediscovery of illiteracy in industrialized countries during the second half of the 20th century. It offers a short explanation of how the construct evolved over time. In addition, it explores how functional (il)literacy is conceived differently by research discourses of cognitive and neural studies, on the one hand, and by prescriptive and normative international policy documents and adult education, on the other hand. Furthermore, it analyses how literacy skills surveys such as the Level One Study (leo.) or the PIAAC may help to bridge the gap between cognitive and more practical and educational approaches to literacy, the goal being to place the functional illiteracy (FI) construct within its existing scale levels. It also sheds more light on the way in which FI can be perceived in terms of different cognitive processes and underlying components of reading. By building on the previous work of other authors and previous definitions, the article brings together different views of FI and offers a perspective for a needed operational definition of the concept, which would be an appropriate reference point for future educational, political, and scientific utilization.


Author(s):  
Ross McKibbin

This book is an examination of Britain as a democratic society; what it means to describe it as such; and how we can attempt such an examination. The book does this via a number of ‘case-studies’ which approach the subject in different ways: J.M. Keynes and his analysis of British social structures; the political career of Harold Nicolson and his understanding of democratic politics; the novels of A.J. Cronin, especially The Citadel, and what they tell us about the definition of democracy in the interwar years. The book also investigates the evolution of the British party political system until the present day and attempts to suggest why it has become so apparently unstable. There are also two chapters on sport as representative of the British social system as a whole as well as the ways in which the British influenced the sporting systems of other countries. The book has a marked comparative theme, including one chapter which compares British and Australian political cultures and which shows British democracy in a somewhat different light from the one usually shone on it. The concluding chapter brings together the overall argument.


1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Bittanti ◽  
Fabrizio Lorito ◽  
Silvia Strada

In this paper, Linear Quadratic (LQ) optimal control concepts are applied for the active control of vibrations in helicopters. The study is based on an identified dynamic model of the rotor. The vibration effect is captured by suitably augmenting the state vector of the rotor model. Then, Kalman filtering concepts can be used to obtain a real-time estimate of the vibration, which is then fed back to form a suitable compensation signal. This design rationale is derived here starting from a rigorous problem position in an optimal control context. Among other things, this calls for a suitable definition of the performance index, of nonstandard type. The application of these ideas to a test helicopter, by means of computer simulations, shows good performances both in terms of disturbance rejection effectiveness and control effort limitation. The performance of the obtained controller is compared with the one achievable by the so called Higher Harmonic Control (HHC) approach, well known within the helicopter community.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario S. Staller ◽  
Swen Koerner

AbstractGamification is regularly defined as the use of game elements in non-gaming contexts. However, discussions in the context of the pedagogical value of gamification suggest controversies on various levels. While on the one hand, the potential is seen in the design of joyful learning environments, critics point out the pedagogical dangers or the problems related to optimizing working life. It becomes apparent that the assumptions guiding action on the subject matter of gamification in educational contexts differ, which leads to different derivations for pedagogical practice—but also allows for different perspectives on initially controversial positions. Being aware of these assumptions is the claim of a reflexive pedagogy. With regard to the pedagogical use of gamifying elements and their empirical investigation, there are three main anchor points to consider from a reflexive stance: (a) the high context-specificity of the teaching undertaken and (b) the (non-)visibility of the design elements and (c) the (non-)acceptance of the gamified elements by the students. We start by providing a discussion of the definitional discourse on what is understood as gamification leading to our argument for a non-definition of gamification. We describe the potential of this non-definition of gamification and exemplify its use in a gamified concept of teaching police recruits professional reflexivity. The concept features the narrative of a potential crime that has been undertaken and that students decide for themselves if they want to engage with it.


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