Reduction of Cracks in Marble Appeared at Hydro-Abrasive Jet Cutting Using Taguchi Method

The appearance of cracks in brittle materials in general and in marble, in particular, is a problem in the hydro-abrasive jet cutting process. In this paper is presented a method to reduce the appearance of cracks when cutting with a hydro-abrasive jet of marble by using statistical analysis. The Taguchi method was used, establishing the main parameters that influence the process. Research design was based on performing experiments by modifying the parameters that influence the process. In this way, it has been shown that the stochastic effects resulting from the marble structure can be reduced. A careful study was made of the behavior of marble under the action of the hydro-abrasive jet, and of the behavior of the whole process in the processing of brittle materials. Results of experiments confirmed the hypothesis that statistical analysis is a procedure that can lead to a decrease in the number of cracks in processing. The measurement was performed with precise instruments and analyzed with recognized software and according to the results obtained, the reduction of the number of cracks is achieved through use of low pressure, a minimum stand-off distance and a small tube diameter. In this way, the paper presents a new and effective tool for optimizing the cutting with a hydro-abrasive jet of marble.

THE ESSENCE OF COMMON METHODS OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Today, knowledge of foreign languages is required to avoid barriers to communication between people around the world. Thus, learning foreign languages is relevant at almost any age.The purpose of this article is to consider the generally accepted methods and determine the effectiveness of each of them during training. To achieve fluency in a foreign language, it is necessary to divide foreign language communicative competence into a number of components and develop them both individually and in combination. Each of the models is a separate and independent method that can be used to improve certain components of foreign language communicative competence. The main components include: the development of speech, writing, reading, and the study of vocabulary. There is no single approach in the scientific literature to determine the structure of foreign language communicative competence, as the general form of this competence can be presented in a set of components such as linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic competence. Therefore, it is not possible to dwell on a specific method as ideal for the formation of competence, as each of them has its disadvantages and advantages. The formation of foreign language communicative competence requires a long and careful study of the material offered by a teacher who uses a certain method.

From Information Search to the Loss of Personality: The Phenomenon of Dataism

Purpose. The research is devoted to the analysis of the urgent problem of the information society: the overload of a person with information and, as a result, the impossibility of adequate formation and development of the personality; as well as the problem of "digitization" of human existence and the formation of a new reality of dataism. Theoretical basis. A lot of modern scientific works are devoted to the analysis of the information society, its problems and features. The information society is a logical continuation of the scientific and technological revolution, which led to the rapid growth of scientific knowledge and the technology development. In the 20th century, technologies have touched the sphere of knowledge and information, as a result of which the formation and development of the information society, or "knowledge society", takes place. Information becomes the main resource in it, and, one way or another, a person’s life is inextricably connected with the information space. With the information society formation, the problem of information search and processing becomes one of the most urgent. It turns out that despite the abundance and availability of information, it is very difficult to determine its relevance. A lot of effort is spent on developing information retrieval algorithms. Another problem is related to the person’s inability to process large amounts of data. This situation begins to influence not only the education process and professional activity, but also the formation of a person’s personality. A person is "lost" in the information space and gradually loses his/her "I". Algorithms for data analysis come to the rescue, but gradually, instead of giving a person material for thought, they begin to make decisions on their own, and therefore, live life instead of a person. With the advent of Big Data processing algorithms, a new ideological paradigm appears – dataism, which predicts the merger of a person with the general data flow. Originality. The authors make assumptions that the dataistic future is "natural". A lot of works, including in the framework of philosophy, are focused on the problem of "dissolving" a person in the information space and finding ways to overcome it. But, in our opinion, this process is a completely logical continuation of human evolution. Conclusions. Existence of a person as a data flow is not a problem and a threat, but a new dimension of his/her being, and, therefore, requires a careful study and formulation of the main principles of this form of existence.

Political Participation and Request for Change: The Role of Education

The article tests the hypothesis, based on the concept of post-industrial society that people with higher education will be more politically active, especially in the manifestation of the demand for change. For this purpose, the materials of the All-Russian poll, organized in March 2021 by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, are used to analyze the sociopolitical characteristics associated with political activism and the formation of a demand for change among different educational groups of Russians. The conclusion is made that, first, education in modern Russia does directly affect an individual's preparedness for political action: more educated Russians are more interested in the political life of the country and are more aware of their ability to influence the "rules of the game". Second, education does directly affect actual involvement in social and political activism. However, concerning conscious political participation, this effect relates not so much to everyday, regular, as to its extreme protest forms. Third, the education of Russians has no discernible correlation with the presence/absence of a liberal demand for change. In terms of meeting the minimum requirements for political participation, Russian educational groups currently correspond to the Western political science mainstream theory and the practices of developed countries. Nevertheless, the highlighted features of the political characteristics of Russians with higher and post-higher education (not all of the examined indicators are stable in dynamics, not all differences between educational groups are clearly expressed, and, in general, the participation of highly educated Russians in the political life of the country is rather formal) lead to the need for a more careful study of the findings not only of the Western scientific mainstream but also of alternative concepts of Third World researchers. In addition, it has been suggested that the emancipation of a group of highly educated Russians from the state is incomplete. Consequently, they are aware of their objectively central place and leading role in political life.

Neologisms of COVID Era

This article is an attempt to analyze English neologisms that appeared in the language during the COVID-19 era. The authors examined a series of English-language publications, presented on open-access public domains such as BBC News, The Conversation, Business Mirror, The Economic Times, as well as Glossary on the COVID-19 pandemic, published on the website of the Government of Canada. The chronological scope of the study lies within April 2020 – February 2021. The analyzed glossary included 143 lexical units. The authors conducted content analysis, which helped to reveal five main groups of neologisms: neologisms that came into our speech from the limited use vocabulary; neologisms describing our new reality; neologisms formed by joining two lexical units with or without contamination; neologisms, which are phrases that either existed earlier, but experienced a semantic shift, or phrases that have appeared in the COVID era and are used to denote previously non-existent realities; neologisms formed by phonetic distortion of already existing words. The study showed that the most extensive groups of neologisms were those that have come from the limited use vocabulary, in particular from medical terminology, and neologisms describing a new reality, which include the very name of the virus (COVID or corona). It should be noted that neologisms that have come into general use from medicine require a special interpretation, since they are not always clearly understood by the recipients. Moreover, many neologisms, having arisen in English, have not got an adequate translation or analogue in the Russian language yet, therefore, these words require a further more careful study.

Isaac Newton and the Study of Chronology

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) devoted ample time to the study of ancient chronology, resulting in the posthumously published <i>The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended</i> (1728). Here, Newton attempted to show how the antiquity of Greece, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and other Mediterranean nations could be reinterpreted to fit the timespan allowed for by Scripture. Yet, as the hundreds of books from his library and the thousands of manuscript pages devoted to the topic show, the <i>Chronology</i> was long in the making. This volume provides the first full analysis of the genesis and evolution of Newton's studies of ancient history and demonstrates how these emerged from that other major project of his, the interpretation of the apocalyptic prophecies in Scripture. A careful study of Newton's reading, note-taking, writing, and ordering practices provides the key to unravelling and reconstructing the chronology of Newton's chronological studies, bringing to light writings hitherto hidden in the archives.

Business process prioritization criteria: a case study in the financial market

Purpose This paper aims to analyze and examine how an organization from the financial sector prioritizes its business processes and what criteria are adopted to select the most appropriate process for improvement projects. Design/methodology/approach This descriptive research is based on an exploratory approach. Qualitative methodology was applied to a case study through on-site observation, documentation analysis and semi-structured interviews. Findings The results confirm criteria mentioned in the literature, such as financial aspects and strategic impacts, but also raised a new critical issue: automation potential of manual processes, reflecting the current movement of process automation. Research limitations/implications As a limitation of this study, it is worth mentioning the application in only one organization in the financial market and the small number of respondents, even though they occupy leadership positions in the organization. Practical implications As a practical implication, the present work offers a direction for managers of the financial sector in structuring and applying models for prioritizing processes aimed at organizational efficiency. Social implications Automation solutions for process improvement need careful study to minimize impacts in human resources reduction. In this sense, the eligibility of a process for automation must be carefully considered. Originality/value This paper presents the evolution of the process prioritization model adopted by a large institution in the financial market, which has a significant presence in the Brazilian and international markets as a commercial and wholesale bank.

Occult Infection with Hepatitis C Virus: Looking for Clear-Cut Boundaries and Methodological Consensus

The sustained virologic response and elimination of HCV is widely viewed as a true cure of chronic hepatitis C as it associates with amelioration of histological liver damage and improved clinical outcomes. Therefore, the existence and clinical burden of occult HCV infection (OCI) has been a controversial issue for many years. In this review, we summarize recently published data that adds new information on the molecular and clinical background of OCI and its epidemiological significance. We also identify and discuss the most important methodological pitfalls, which can be a source of inconsistency between studies. Data that have accumulated so far, strongly support the existence of extrahepatic HCV replication in individuals negative for serum HCV-RNA by conventional clinical tests. OCI emerges as a condition where the immune system is unable to fully resolve infection but it is continuously stimulated by low levels of HCV antigens, leading to progression of liver pathology and extrahepatic HCV-related complications. Moreover, the development of monitoring strategies or management guidelines for OCI is still hampered by the lack of clear definition and the confusion regarding its clinical significance. Careful study design and the introduction of uniform protocols for the detection of low-level HCV-RNA are crucial for obtaining reliable data on OCI.

Foreign Body Aspiration in Dentistry

Background: The foreign body aspiration is very common while performing a dental procedure. Most of the patients are from lower age group as these group of people have high amount of sugar and starch containing diet which is not good for the oral health. But it is not limited to them and several aged patients are also victim of foreign body aspiration. Summary: Foreign bodies can be anything from cloth dam, barrier techniques itself to broken tooth. Due to age related delayed gag reflex and impact of anesthesia can be possible reasons behind the foreign body aspiration. Pulmonary aspiration is a serious cause of concern and cannot be neglected. It can go unnoticed which can brought to cognizance after careful study and observation of the radiographs. Endoscopic procedures are used to locate and extract the foreign body from the lungs. Conclusion: Proper guidelines regarding the extraction of foreign body extraction and identification must be followed as it is life threatening condition. Vulnerable age group must be treated with extra caution and every chance of mistake must be covered. Standard operating procedure must be strictly adhered to in order rot have maximum accuracy.

Psychological Distress and Coping Strategies among Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey

Background: The emergence of COVID-19 has a significant impact on nurse’s overall health. The severity and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic means it is extremely likely that health-care professionals will experience psychological distress as a result of their direct contact with patients who have contracted the infection. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate levels of psychological distress among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, determine the associated factors, and identify nurses’ coping strategies. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional design. Overall, 130 nurses answered online questionnaires. The questionnaires measured sociodemographic characteristics, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Brief Coping Inventory. Results: Nurses have a moderate level of fear (mean score: 24.34 ± 13.43) and depression (43.8% of the sample), and severe anxiety (73.8%) and stress (45.4%). Anxiety and fear were positively correlated (r = .675, p < .001). Independent t-tests revealed that female nurses had higher psychological distress and fear than male nurses (p = 0.015 and p = 0.038, respectively). Nurses who cared for patients who had tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 and those who had a friend or family member who had tested positive had higher fear and psychological distress than their respective counterparts (p < .001 and p = .010, respectively). Working more hours was moderately correlated with fear and anxiety (p = 0.016). Nurses were found to generally adopt maladaptive coping styles. Conclusion: Through careful study of the factors determined through this research to be associated with psychological distress among nurses, the health-care community can better prepare to mitigate nurses’ emotional and psychological toll in future pandemic situations. Working with patients who have tested positive for COVID-2019 causes psychological distress for nurses.