Partial Renewal is a Tool for an Increase in the Environmental Efficiency of the Worn-out Power Facilities

The mankind created the global production that has an increasingly harmful effect on the natural environment. The present-day condition of natural environment causes much concern. A global environmental problem has inevitably emerged and now it requires a decrease in the intensity of the harmful action of available productive facilities. The purpose of the research done was to substantiate and find a potential opportunity for the use of a new approach to an increase in the level of ecological compatibility due to a partial renewal of the worn-out equipment. A substantial portion of the domestic energy equipment has a low level of the process-related functioning efficiency (including ecological efficiency). A global practice shows that the problems of the improvement of technological parameters can be solved in a different way to provide failure –free functioning of power facilities. The analysis of the circumstances existing nowadays in the field of the interaction of domestic power engineering and natural environment gives us an opportunity to adhere to the opinion that the use of the method of partial renewal is objectively affordable and it is a highly efficient tool for the reduction of the degree of harmful action on the part of power equipment. The purpose of this research paper was to show technological opportunities of the method of a partial renewal of worn-out engineering facilities (first of all power equipment and especially boiler plants) as an affordable tool for a decrease of the degree of their harmful action on the environment. Among the branches of the domestic industry, the power engineering branch needs badly a partial renewal and in the first turn these are boiler plants. This type of renewal is of vital importance for Ukraine that possesses a huge fleet of completely worn-out boiler plants. It is advisable to perform an integrated partial renewal. The partial renewal can involve all or individual parts of the entire chain of process elements. A successful fulfillment of the program of partial renewal is defined by a high quality control of the system of scientific and organizational-&-engineering problems relating to the renewal arrangement and realization. An issue relating to an index of the estimation of the extent of renewal of engineering facilities is of great importance. The capital inputs into the partial renewal are always justified for all intents and purposes. As for the conception of the renewal of the worn-out equipment the partial renewal can become an important launching low-cost step that will simplify the expected realization of the program of complete renewal.

Сихырсы ‘колдуны’ и колдовство в башкирской мифологии

Introduction. The article deals with the mythologized characters of the Bashkir mythology ― sikhyrsy (сихырсы, sorcerers). Its aim is to identify and to interpret the characters and their names, as well as other related vocabulary. Data and methods. The research materials include folklore texts and entries of dictionaries of the Bashkir and of other Turkic languages. The main methods employed for the analysis are descriptive and comparative. Results. The main, most common names of Bashkir sorcerers have been established. These are the terms сихырсы and боҙомсо, which come from lexemes sykhyr (сихыр: magic, witchcraft, sorcery) and bozom (боҙом: damage, witchcraft, harm effected with the help of mythologized objects and means). In addition, the article discusses the terms osokso (осоҡсо), arbausy (арбаусы), iamialliauise (әмәлләүсе), etc., characterizing the methods of Bashkir sorcerers’ malicious actions. There are parallels from other Turkic and non-Turkic languages to the terms associated with sorcerers and witchcraft, which indicate the origin of Bashkir terms. Hence, it has been established that some lexical items, as well as the characters they refer to have pan-Altai roots, some are Turkic, some are inter-Turkic, still others are of Bashkir origin; and a number of words are loans. In particular, the term sikhyrsy (сихырсы) itself goes back to Arabic, while the items bozomso (боҙомсо), arbausy (арбаусы), osokso (осоҡсо), and yelpeui (йелпеү) have parallels in many Turkic languages. Interestingly, йелпеү has phonetic variants not only in the Turkic, but also in the Mongolian languages; and боҙомсо and арбаусы have parallels in the Finno-Ugric languages. Also, the article discusses in some detail methods of Bashkir sorcerers’ malicious actions, illustrating them with examples. According to the author, the most common of these are the use of grave earth, “mortuary water”, needles to sew a shroud, raw eggs, dolls, blood of innocence, menstrual blood, as well as witchcraft based on the use of sweat, knots, and special incantations, which, according to the Bashkir ancestors, enhanced the harmfulness of techniques used. Finally, the article deals with cases of witchcraft of medicine men, positive characters of Bashkir mythology, who performed them to punish evil, namely, thieves of cattle and of goods, and rapists. Conclusions. The mythologized characters of sykhyrsy belong to negative characters and the Bashkir language has numerous items for their designation. The sykhyrsy had at their disposal a variety of means and methods to do harm, as well as antidotes to their harmful action. There is terminology for every magical action, the items often having Turkic or Altaic roots, and sometimes borrowed from other languages.

Eugenol: emprego em terapêutica endodôntica

The present work had the purpose to review the properties actions and uses of eugenol in endodontic, as dressing after pulpectomy. First of all, it was made a spread review of the literature. After that, experiences were proceded in rabbits, instilling in their eyes, variable aumounts of eugenol, to evaluate the irritant powerful of this medicament. At the same time, a clinical research was proceded, putting eugenol within the canal by means of absorbent points, and directly over the pulp stump by inundations of the canal with Luer syrings, with the purpose to observe their sedatives and irritatives properties. Finally, it was made a opinion research between south american endodontists, about the clinic use of eugenol in endodontic. The experiences in laboratory animals showed that eugenol is very irritant to living tissues. Clinically, however, the harmful action of eugenol is practically not perceived, because of their sedatives and anesthetics properties. The endodontists consulted recognize the very high irritant potential of eugenol and were unanimous to proscribe the use of eugenol as dressing after pulpectomy.

Radiographic aspects of dogs exposed to tobacco smoke

Knowledge of the deleterious effects of passive smoking in dogs is inconclusive and scarce. The present study investigated pulmonary radiographic aspects of dogs exposed to cigarette smoke daily. Thirty dogs were used (15 from households where smoking was reported and 15 dogs from households where there was no smoking), older than two years, regardless of sex, race, skull composition and clinical signs from september 2014 and june 2015. Chest X-rays were taken in all dogs to characterize possible lung lesions with analysis performed in a double-blind study and a questionnaire was applied to the tutors. The analysis of these data provided that 33.33% of passive smoking dogs showed clinical signs like those observed in passive smokers, although there was no significant association between the risk factors. Lung injuries were observed in all passive smoking dogs. The link between dogs, their smoking guardians and respiratory diseases is difficult. This study demonstrates pulmonary radiographic alterations suggestive of bronchial pulmonary disease were observed in 100% of passive smoking dogs. Thus, we can conclude that, regardless of the time of exposure to smoke, living with smokers' guardians is a risk to the health of animals. Our results suggest the harmful action of exposure to cigarette smoke as a risk factor for lung health in dogs.

Folk Moral Objectivism: The Case of Harmful Actions

It is controversial whether ordinary people regard beliefs about the wrongness of harmful actions as objectively correct. Our deflationary hypothesis, consistent with much of the evidence, is that people are objectivists about harmful actions that are perceived to involve injustice: when two parties disagree about whether such an action is wrong, people think that only one party is correct (the party believing that the action is wrong). However, Sarkissian and colleagues claimed that this evidence is misleading, showing that when the two disagreeing parties are from radically different cultures or species, people tend to think that both parties are correct (a non-objectivist position). We argue that Sarkissian et al.'s studies have some methodological limitations. In particular, participants may have assumed that the exotic or alien party misunderstood the harmful action, and this assumption, rather than a genuinely non-objectivist stance, may have contributed to the increase in non-objectivist responses. Study 1 replicated Sarkissian et al.'s results with additional follow-up measures probing participants' assumptions about how the exotic or alien party understood the harmful action, which supported our suspicion that their results are inconclusive and therefore do not constitute reliable evidence against the deflationary hypothesis. Studies 2 and 3 modified Sarkissian et al.'s design to provide a clear-cut and reliable test of the deflationary hypothesis. In Study 2, we addressed potential issues with their design, including those concerning participants' assumptions about how the exotic or alien party understood the harmful action. In Study 3, we manipulated the alien party's capacity to understand the harmful action. With these changes to the design, high rates of objectivism emerged, consistent with the deflationary hypothesis. Studies 4a and 4b targeted the deflationary hypothesis more precisely by manipulating perceptions of injustice to see the effect on objectivist responding and by probing the more specific notion of objectivism entailed by our hypothesis. The results fully supported the deflationary hypothesis.

Delving Into the Origin of Destructive Inflammation in COVID-19: A Betrayal of Natural Host Defense Peptides?

In contrast to other pathogenic agents that directly destroy host cells and tissues, the lethal power of SARS-CoV-2 resides in the over-reactive immune response triggered by this virus. Based on numerous evidences indicating that the lipid composition of host membranes is dramatically affected by COVID-19, and in the fact that our endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are sensitive to the membrane composition of pathogenic agents, we propose that such destructive immune response is due to the direct action of AMPs. In a scenario where most host cell membranes are dressed by a pathogenic lipid composition, AMPs can indiscriminately attack them. This is why we use the “AMP betrayal” term to describe this mechanism. Previously proposed cytokine/bradykinin storm mechanisms are not incompatible with this new proposal. Interestingly, the harmful action of AMPs could be prevented by new therapies aimed to reestablish the lipid composition or to inhibit the action of specific peptides.

Impact of vertical traffic calming devices on environmental noise

Increasing numbers of people living in urban areas are being exposed to harmful action of environmental noise, which severely affects their health and quality of life. The predominant source of environmental noise in such areas is road traffic, and a frequently used measure to curb down this noise involves reduction of driving speed. The influence of vertical traffic calming devices, normally used to improve traffic safety, on the degree of noise reduction, is analysed in this study. The analysis was carried out on seven urban two-lane two-way roads, on which various types of speed bumps and speed humps are installed.

ADOLESCENTES E INFRAÇÃO: JUSTIÇA RESTAURATIVA COMO PROMOÇÃO DA RESPONSABILIDADE

O objetivo do texto é analisar a aplicação da justiça restaurativa como instrumento para promoção da justiça e segurança em infrações cometidas por de adolescentes. A Justiça restaurativa oportuniza para o infrator a chance de perceber e ressignificar sua ação danosa, possibilitando a transformação de seus atos e a vivencia de uma nova realidade. Dentre as medidas socioeducativas aplicadas aos adolescentes infratores, a internação deveria ser medida excepcional, no entanto é a que possui maior aplicação. No caso de internação, a maioria dos adolescentes não recebem um tratamento adequado pois o modelo aplicado segue os parâmetros da justiça retributiva. A técnica de pesquisa foi a coleta de informações bibliográfica e legislativa, sendo que as ideias foram expressas e organizadas pela base lógica indutiva. Observou-se ao final que a justiça restaurativa apresenta potencial para modificar o atual modelo de justiça aplicado aos adolescentes infratores, na medida em que, além da punição, visa reparar o dano causado. Pela Justiça restaurativa busca-se, além da resolução e alcance da justiça, um caminho de efetividade, tanto para a vítima, quanto para o infrator. Palavras-chave: Justiça restaurativa; Adolescentes infratores; Responsabilidade. ABSTRACT: The objective of the text is to analyze the application of restorative justice as an instrument to promote justice and security in infractions committed by adolescents. Restorative justice gives the offender the chance to perceive and reframe his harmful action, enabling the transformation of his acts and the experience of a new reality. Among the socio-educational measures applied to adolescent offenders, detention should be an exceptional measure, however it is the one with the greatest application. In the case of detention, most adolescents do not receive adequate treatment because the model applied follows the parameters of retributive justice. The research technique was the collection of bibliographic and legislative information, and the ideas were expressed and organized by the inductive logical basis. At the end, it was observed that restorative justice has the potential to modify the current model of justice applied to adolescent offenders, in that, in addition to punishment, it aims to repair the damage caused. Restorative justice seeks, in addition to the resolution and scope of justice, a path of effectiveness, both for the victim and for the offender. Keywords: Restorative justice; Adolescent offenders; Responsibility.

The Great Healing Potential Hidden in Plant Preparations of Antioxidant Properties: A Return to Nature?

The application of chemicals in industry and agriculture has contributed to environmental pollution and exposure of living organisms to harmful factors. The development of new pharmaceutical agents enabled successful therapy of various diseases, but their administration may be connected with side effects. Oxidative stress has been found to be involved into etiology of numerous diseases as well as harmful action of drugs and chemicals. For some time, plant origin substances have been studied as potential protective agents alleviating toxicity of various substances and symptoms of diseases. The aim of the current review was to present the diversity of the research performed during the last five years on animal models. The outcomes showed a huge protective potential inherent in plant preparations, including alleviating prooxidative processes, strengthening antioxidant defence, ameliorating immune parameters, and reversing histopathological changes. In many cases, plant origin substances were proved to be comparable or even better than standard drugs. Such findings let us suggest that in the future the plant preparations could make adjuvants or a replacement for pharmaceutical agents. However, the detailed research regarding dose and way of administration as well as the per se effects needs to be performed. In many studies, the last issue was not studied, and in some cases, the deleterious effects have been observed.

Transnational Criminology

Trafficking is a form of transnational crime that involves the illicit movement of goods and people around the world. Such global criminal markets take a variety of forms, and this book reviews six of them: trafficking in drugs, humans, wildlife, diamonds, arms, and antiquities. While there is a healthy literature on many of these types of trafficking, there is relatively little written that systematically compares and contrasts them. In doing that, this book allows us to lift the viewpoint above the details of each individual type of trafficking, to think theoretically about what they have in common. The book therefore serves two purposes. First, it is a primer and review of the main points of what we currently know about how each trafficking market works: who the traffickers are, what routines and structures are involved, what harm is caused, and the main types of regulation and control that attempt to constrain trafficking. Second, the text sets out a social theory of transnational markets, constituted and illustrated throughout by the empirical data reviewed. That theory ties the criminal practices of traffickers into the wider social promotion of a business-like mindset. This allows individuals and groups to compartmentalise the emotional and moral implications of illegal entrepreneurial profit generation, so that harmful action is seen as ‘just business’. As such, trafficking is rationalised by participants as comparable to the perceived amoral economic calculations of conventional business.