Do Shia-Sunni Tensions Affect Iranian-Saudi Relations?

Today the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia is one of the defining factors in the Middle East political arena. The Islamic world's division into Shiite and Sunni is often considered a factor affecting bilateral relations between Tehran and Riyadh. Iran positions itself as the center of gravity for all the Shiites in the region, while Saudi Arabia seeks to form an anti-Iranian alliance on a Sunni basis. This article assesses the impact of the doctrinal tensions between these two branches of Islam on the Iranian approach towards its relations with Saudi Arabia. For this purpose, the author analyses the rhetoric of Iranian officials, clerics, and state-run media in the context of the main concepts of the Iranian contemporary religious ideology. The author concludes that criticism of Saudi Arabia has lost its religious connotation and Tehran does not position its confrontation with Riyadh as a fight against the enemies of Islam or apostates. The traditional epithets classifying their holders as supporters of the forces of darkness and actively used against the Western countries and Israel are not cited by critics of the Saudi dynasty. Moreover, the criticism of Wahhabism as a religious movement is not linked to the kingdom's current political leadership. On the contrary, the Iranian criticism of the Saudi foreign and domestic policies focuses on condemning the Saudi authorities' infringement on human rights and media freedom, supporting the protest movement in Iran, and fighting the Houthis. Even the persecution of Shiites in Saudi Arabia, to which the Iranian press has devoted considerable attention, is viewed from the perspective of the global concept of human rights, rather than as the struggle of one religious group against another. The kingdom itself is not considered an ideological enemy of Iran, which since the Islamic Revolution has been the US and Israel. The statements by some representatives of the Iranian political establishment on the need for peaceful coexistence between the two countries, along with the March 2023 agreements on normalizing bilateral relations indicate Tehran's pragmatic approach to interaction with Riyadh which is not affected by the ShiaSunni controversy in its dogmatic and religious dimensions

Историческая роль библиотеки университета как культурно-просветительского центра

The need for studies to analyze the evolution of university libraries at the various historical stages is substantiated. The authors identify three periods when the library role was changing radically due to the changes in ideology and social demands. The authors explore the first period in detail and point to the narrative character of most publications on the library history lacking analysis of their humanitarian origins. The authors argue that, to conceptualize academic libraries mission at the present time, it is necessary to understand the university library mission from the historical perspective. They emphasize that cultural and educational activitiestoday is viewed in the context of personal socialization, or student’s social adaptation while the vector of information space development calls for conceptualization of the libraries’ humanitarian mission.The authors argue that, to understand a university library mission and, speaking wider – an education humanitarian principle we have to turn to historical and philosophic essence of humanism and enlightenment at the earliest stage of Russian academic libraries of the late 18th – early 20th century.Авторы подчёркивают необходимость проведения исследований, анализирующих эволюцию миссии библиотек высших учебных заведений на различных этапах исторического развития; выделяют три периода, в течение которых роль университетской библиотеки менялась кардинальным образом в связи с изменением идеологии и запросов общества. В статье подробно рассмотрен первый период. Обращено внимание на описательный характер большинства публикаций об истории библиотек, отсутствие анализа гуманистического начала в их деятельности. По мнению авторов, осмысление эволюции миссии библиотеки вуза с позиций исторического опыта – важная задача для определения направления развития вузовской библиотеки на современном этапе. Отмечено, что сегодня культурно-просветительская работа библиотеки рассматривается с точки зрения социализации личности или социальной адаптации студентов. Тогда как вектор развития информационного пространства требует осознания именно гуманистической миссии библиотек. Подчёркнуто, что для понимания миссии вузовских библиотек и, шире – гуманистических принципов образования, необходимо обратиться к историко-философскому смыслу гуманизма и просветительства на самом раннем этапе развития библиотек высших учебных заведений России – в конце XVIII – начале XIX века

Microwave heating, isothermal sintering, and mechanical properties of powder metallurgy titanium and titanium alloys

This article presents a detailed assessment of microwave (MW) heating, isothermal sintering, and the resulting tensile properties of commercially pure Ti (CP-Ti), Ti-6Al-4V, and Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (wt pct), by comparison with those fabricated by conventional vacuum sintering. The potential of MW sintering for titanium fabrication is evaluated accordingly. Pure MW radiation is capable of heating titanium powder to ≥1573 K (1300 C), but the heating response is erratic and difficult to reproduce. In contrast, the use of SiC MW susceptors ensures rapid, consistent, and controllable MW heating of titanium powder. MW sintering can consolidate CP-Ti and Ti alloys compacted from -100 mesh hydride-dehydride (HDH) Ti powder to ~95.0 pct theoretical density (TD) at 1573 K (1300 C), but no accelerated isothermal sintering has been observed over conventional practice. Significant interstitial contamination occurred from the Al2O3-SiC insulation-susceptor package, despite the high vacuum used (≤4.0 × 10-3 Pa). This leads to erratic mechanical properties including poor tensile ductility. The use of Ti sponge as impurity (O, N, C, and Si) absorbers can effectively eliminate this problem and ensure good-to-excellent tensile properties for MW-sintered CP-Ti, Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al, and Ti-6Al-4V. The mechanisms behind various observations are discussed. The prime benefit of MW sintering of Ti powder is rapid heating. MW sintering of Ti powder is suitable for the fabrication of small titanium parts or titanium preforms for subsequent thermomechanical processing

ВЛИЯНИЕ ФИЗИЧЕСКИХ НАГРУЗОК НА СОДЕРЖАНИЕ ТРИАЦИЛГЛИЦЕРОЛОВ В СКЕЛЕТНЫХ МЫШЦАХ У КРЫС С ИНДУЦИРОВАННЫМ ВЫСОКОКАЛОРИЙНОЙ ДИЕТОЙ ОЖИРЕНИЕМ

The accumulation of triacylglycerol in peripheral tissues is one of mechanisms of insulin resistance. This paper presents the investigation of the influence of aerobic and anaerobic physical exercises on triacylglycerol level in skeletal muscles and on insulin resistance in dietary-induced obese rats. It is estimated that a high-energy (HE) diet causes the accumulation of triacylglycerols in skeletal muscles that leads to high resistance to insulin. Aerobic and anaerobic physical exercises reduce the level of triacylglycerols in skeletal  muscles  and  raise  sensitivity to  insulin  in  obese  rats.  Physical  exercises  raise  the  level  of triacylglycerols in skeletal muscles in standard-diet rats that probably is the adaptation to high energy expenditure, but does not lead to high insulin resistance.Одним из механизмов развития инсулинорезистентности является накопление триацилглицеролов в эктопических тканях. Исследовано влияние аэробной и анаэробной физических нагрузок на содержание триацилглицеролов в скелетных мышцах и инсулинотолерантность у крыс с ожирением, индуцированным высококалорийной диетой. Установлено, что высококалорийная диета вызывает накопление триацилглицеролов в скелетных мышцах у крыс, сопровождающееся повышением резистентности к инсулину. Физические нагрузки аэробного и анаэробного характера у животных с избыточной жировой массой снижают содержание триацилглицеролов в скелетных мышцах и улучшают чувствительность к инсулину. У животных, находящихся на стандартной диете, физические упражнения повышают содержание триацилглицеролов в скелетных мышцах, что, возможно, является адаптивной реакцией на повышенный расход энергии. Накопление триацилглицеролов в скелетных мышцах в этих условиях не сопровождается нарушением толерантности к инсулину

Memory of Persian campaign of Peter the Great in modern Iran

The article investigates the modern historical memory in Iran of the Persian campaign of Peter the Great that became the first serious attempt of Russia to conquer a part of its southern neighbor’s territory. The article analyses Iranian historical memory of these events using relevant research publications of Persian-speaking authors, Iranian news agencies, and schoolbooks. It compares the Iranian perceptions of the Peter’s Persian campaign and of other Russo-Iranian conflicts at the beginning of the 19th century. The author concludes that the Iranians do not view Peter’s campaign as a war and distinguish it from other conflicts of the century. This perception can be accounted for by the short life of the results of the campaign; by the quick, peaceful restoration of the status quo; by the lack of an official state of war between Russia and the governments of Tahmasp II and the shahs from the Hotak dynasty and clashes between the armies of the countries. The Iranian media and educational literature do not mention the Persian campaign, even in the few publications and sections devoted directly to Peter I. Historical literature hardly mentions it either. Such “oblivion” of the main event in Peter’s of the first Russian emperor related to Iran does not stem from the degree of attention to his personality in Iran. He appears in the media more often than many other Russian rulers and draws comparatively much attention in the educational and scientific literature even in comparison with other significant historical figures. Iranian historiography perceives Peter the Great as a ruler who defined a new vector of Russo-Iranian interrogation but not as a person who attempted expansion on the territory of Iran. This experience helps to analyze the history of bilateral relations and the factors influencing the Iranian perception of the Russian image

Improving performance purification plants when exposed to ultraviolet radiation of the atmosphere

The paper discusses the prospects of gas cleaning technology from environmentally harmful impurities in the streamer corona. The paper presents dynamics of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere. We have defined active and passive conversion zone. We have developed model of the installation of high power characteristics

Dispersion of radon in the atmosphere around old uranium mill tailings

This paper presents the results of investigations of radon levels in the atmosphere around old uranium tailings aiming to estimate the influence of inactive uranium sites to the population and personnel. These tailings are situated in the area of a former uranium processing activity of a Pridniprovsk Chemical Plant in the city of Dniprodzierzhinsk. The radon-222 measurements have been carried out using an etched track system TRACK 2010Z. The minimum detectable activity of radon-222 has made up 2 Bq/m3 with the exposure of 30 days. Corresponding data sets of radon-222 and its daughters have been analysed. We have calculated distribution of the radon equilibrium factor (F), i.e. the ratio between radon and radon daughters for the investigated site. Our study shows a contrast spatial radon-222 dispersion in the atmosphere, while radon-222 is lowered to the background levels. The average value of the F makes up 0.146 for the undisturbed open atmosphere. Atmospheric inversions cause a significant rise of F that goes up to 0.487. The present research has been carried out within the frameworks of the STCU project no. 3290