The Copenhagen Criteria and the Road to the Balkan Region

The affirmation and consolidation of the European project is based on a common effort to expand the domains and territorial dimension of the European Union. The different enlargement processes have been fulfilling political, economic, and geographical objectives and goals; however, the last few years have been marked by uncertainty regarding the calendar of accession processes for the Balkan States. If for some authors and political actors it is undeniable that the future will lead to an expansion of the European Union to this region, others warn of the ungovernability associated with moving forward without consolidating decision-making processes. This chapter aims to revisit the accession criteria (Copenhagen Criteria) and the current situation of candidate and potential candidate countries in the Balkan region in a critical dimension on the importance of these criteria for European democracy.

COVID-19 and Polyglot Peace: A Grammatical Understanding of Our Present Predicament

The challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is argued in this contribution, can only be met by a common effort of responsibility by all nation states across the world. That is what the COVID-19 pandemic has in common with the upcoming climate crisis and with the social and economic problems of the emerging world society in general. This contribution, however, is not focused on direct and effective methods and solutions. Such measures and methods can only meet their objectives within the framework of a new understanding. It requires a new way of ordering the world, a new type of man, a new way of speaking with and to each other. A new mindset and attitude are required. This, it is proposed, will be a mindset shaped by the grammatical method or, more commonly called, the dialogical philosophy of Rosenstock-Huessy and a circle of friends. It is the aim of the grammatical method to find the right rhythm, sequence and alternation of the different values and institutions of different societies and cultures. This can put the analytical methods and measures for the COVID-19 crisis within the broader framework of a history of salvation. We have to understand where each of our traditions is coming from, and how we are challenged to find a common destination. The COVID-19 crisis turns such mutual understanding and a sense of common purpose into a true imperative. Therefore the potential of the grammatical method to meet that requirement is explored with a special focus on the understanding of language by Rosenstock-Huessy and Levinas.

Radiolabeled Bombesin Analogs

The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is expressed in high numbers in a variety of human tumors, including the frequently occurring prostate and breast cancers, and therefore provides the rationale for directing diagnostic or therapeutic radionuclides on cancer lesions after administration of anti-GRPR peptide analogs. This concept has been initially explored with analogs of the frog 14-peptide bombesin, suitably modified at the N-terminus with a number of radiometal chelates. Radiotracers that were selected for clinical testing revealed inherent problems associated with these GRPR agonists, related to low metabolic stability, unfavorable abdominal accumulation, and adverse effects. A shift toward GRPR antagonists soon followed, with safer analogs becoming available, whereby, metabolic stability and background clearance issues were gradually improved. Clinical testing of three main major antagonist types led to promising outcomes, but at the same time brought to light several limitations of this concept, partly related to the variation of GRPR expression levels across cancer types, stages, previous treatments, and other factors. Currently, these parameters are being rigorously addressed by cell biologists, chemists, nuclear medicine physicians, and other discipline practitioners in a common effort to make available more effective and safe state-of-the-art molecular tools to combat GRPR-positive tumors. In the present review, we present the background, current status, and future perspectives of this endeavor.

The Diversity of Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) on Combination of Attractant and Different Trap Height in Cucumber Field (Cucumis sativus L.)

The main pest in the Cucurbitaceae family is the fruit fly. The common effort to control fruit flies is using a trap with methyl eugenol (ME) and cue lure (CUE) as an insect attractant. The trap height installation is also affecting the fruit fly population. The fruit fly population in the field has an important effect on the damage intensity in the commodity. This research objective was to study the distribution and diversity of fruit fly on the cucumber field with trap height installation and attractant combination. The used research method was Factorial Group Randomized Design (RAKF). The first factor was attractant combination of Metil Eugenol (ME) and Cue Lure (CUE) consisted of 6 treatment levels were K1 : 5 mL ME, K2: 5 mL ME + 1 mL CUE, K3: 5 mL ME + 3 mL CUE, K4: 5 mL ME + 5 mL CUE, K5: 5 mL ME + 7 mL CUE and K6 : 5 mL CUE. While the second factor was the high tramp installation consisted of 3 treatment levels were T1: 50 cm, T2: 100 cm, and T3: 150 cm. The treatment consisted of 3 replication on three different cucumber fields. The result showed discovered fruit fly species were eight species, B. dorsalis (Hendel), B. carambolae Drew & Hancock, B. occipitalis (Bezzi), Z. caudata (Fabricius), B. umbrosa (Fabricius), B. neocognata Drew & Hancock, Z. cucurbitae (Fabricius) and B. albistrigata (de meijere). The dominant fruit fly in each treatment in fruit fly fields was B. dorsalis (Hendel). The best treatment in trapping fruit fly was K1 (5 mL ME) with trap height installation T1 (50 cm). The diversity and species richness of fruit fly in the cucumber field was considered low and uneven.

From Reform to Rights: The American Culture of the Citizen Soldier and the Transformation of the Crusading Metaphor, 1917–1945

The “crusading” imagery attached to American soldiers in the 1917–1945 period performed an important function in assigning meaning to the wars of the United States. This was the result of a complex interplay between “official” and “vernacular” culture. The doughboys of the First World War at times fought a romantic “crusade” to reform the nation, world and themselves from a morally privileged position. In the post-war era, the romantic “crusade” survived but was more in tune with the conservative corporatism of Republican administrations. By the Second World War, gi s had become the agents of a very different “crusade”. Americans now embraced statist common effort in a realist prospective vision for human rights. This fundamental change in the meaning of “crusade” attached to the experiences of American soldiers suggests a protean nature to the metaphor and problematises notions of an ideologically cohesive American “crusade” in the world during the 20th century.

Artificial Intelligence Applied to Evaluate Emissions and Energy Consumption in Commuter Railways: Comparison of Liquefied Natural Gas as an Alternative Fuel to Diesel

At present, there is a common effort to reduce the environmental effect of energy consumption. With this objective, the transportation sector seeks to improve emissions in all its modes. In particular, the rail transport industry is analysing various alternatives for non-electrified lines. These services are mainly carried out with diesel units. As an alternative to diesel fuel, in the present study the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in railway traction was analysed. A predictive model was developed and implemented in order to estimate the emissions impact of this fuel on different rail routes or networks. The model was fitted with real data obtained from pilot tests. In these tests, a train with two engines, one diesel and the other LNG, was used. The methodology was applied to evaluate the impact on consumption and emissions of the two fuels on a narrow-gauge commuter line. An improvement was observed in some indicators, while in others there was no clear progress. The conclusions that can be drawn are that CO2 (greenhouse gas) operating emissions are lower in the LNG engine than in the diesel line; CO emissions are lower in the diesel engine and emissions of other pollutants (nitrogen oxide and particles) are higher in the diesel engine by several orders of magnitude.

PLANNING THE FUNCTIONAL POSITIONS WITHIN THE SPORTS ENTITY: MODEL AND ANALYSIS

The human resources are the only ones resources able to produce and reproduce all the other resources available to a sports organization, although the material and financial ones are important. The jobs’ analysis is the process that determines the tasks, the activities specific to a position and the type of persons recommended for its occupation, involving a common effort by the specialist in human resources, hierarchical chief and employee, being necessary to provide us exact information regarding the job and to justify the staff decisions. The productivity in all sports organizations is influenced by how they interact and combine the human resources in order to use the other resources of the management system. Factors such as preparation, age, job experience and the level of formal education play a role in establishing the person compatibility with a certain organization. The process of assurance of human resources suitable for a sports structure is an engaging process and slightly subjective. In order to assure the human resources that cover both managerial positions, as well as the execution ones, the managers follow the next sequentially steps: recruitment; selection; training and improvement; evaluation. There is a reciprocal interdependence between the management and execution positions established by the nature of relations that exists between the decision centers of the sports organization and its effective centers.

Aspects of Industrial Design and Their Implications for Society. Case Studies on the Influence of Packaging Design and Placement at the Point of Sale

Manufacturing engineering is responsible for the design, development and improvement of production systems that convert raw materials into finished products. Each product is designed to be sold to numerous potential consumers, so the importance of the stimuli surrounding the product in packaging, and at the point of sale, cannot be underestimated. The environmental, social, and ethical commitments of industrial design (and their implications in manufacturing) are establishing universal principles in a common effort to foster a more harmonious and sustainable society. This work aims to analyse, through eye tracking biometric techniques, the level of saturation of information generated by the concentration of stimuli in packaging and the retail channel, possibly creating a lower level of attention towards the product itself. This research confirms that every product associated with a manufacturing process seeks to respond to a need, so the associated responsibility is significant. This would suggest that designers incorporate knowledge from multiple fields, including marketing strategies, design, research and development, basic knowledge related to production, integration management and communication skills. More than 50% of consumer attention is dedicated to other elements/items that accompany the product, so it is important to consider this in the design phase. The results can be used to improve efficiency in both generating product attention, and stimulus design for the purchasing process.

Summary of over Fifty Years with Brain-Computer Interfaces—A Review

Over the last few decades, the Brain-Computer Interfaces have been gradually making their way to the epicenter of scientific interest. Many scientists from all around the world have contributed to the state of the art in this scientific domain by developing numerous tools and methods for brain signal acquisition and processing. Such a spectacular progress would not be achievable without accompanying technological development to equip the researchers with the proper devices providing what is absolutely necessary for any kind of discovery as the core of every analysis: the data reflecting the brain activity. The common effort has resulted in pushing the whole domain to the point where the communication between a human being and the external world through BCI interfaces is no longer science fiction but nowadays reality. In this work we present the most relevant aspects of the BCIs and all the milestones that have been made over nearly 50-year history of this research domain. We mention people who were pioneers in this area as well as we highlight all the technological and methodological advances that have transformed something available and understandable by a very few into something that has a potential to be a breathtaking change for so many. Aiming to fully understand how the human brain works is a very ambitious goal and it will surely take time to succeed. However, even that fraction of what has already been determined is sufficient e.g., to allow impaired people to regain control on their lives and significantly improve its quality. The more is discovered in this domain, the more benefit for all of us this can potentially bring.

On the need of social dialogue. Reflections in the perspective of the pastoral letter of the Episcopal Conference of Poland

The Church as an institution, but also a community of believers, is a part of a society. Thus, She is present in the space of processes and changes taking place in a society. A society is extended in tension between conflict and harmony. In that context, the Episcopal Conference of Poland reflected on the current social issues in the Polish society in a form of a letter. It is focused on the necessity of common effort in favour of dialogue and order and in the face of existing destructive phenomena. The letter has become a perspective for considerations on elements of social life like social mission of the Church, conflict, solidarity, the truth, dialogue. Discussing particular questions draws from the Tradition and the teaching of the Church Magisterium. The undertaken reflection is an attempt to argue for social dialogue which is necessary, especially in more and more pluralistic and at the same time full of tensions society. Genuine dialogue includes being directed to an opponent, respect, and striving for solutions in the perspective of searching the truth and taking into account human dignity.