RISK MANAGEMENT AT TECHNICAL FACILITIES TYPE AND SITE SELECTION

Technical facilities are created by human activities, and their goal is to provide products or services for the humans´ lives. The technical facilities architecture is the object or the network. Each type of technical facility has its own specifics. Management of technical facilities´ safety is not easy and requires the application of specific engineering tools for coping with the expected risks. Due to complex architecture of majority of present technical facilities, their behaviours are sometimes unforeseeable, and therefore, special engineering tools need to be used at their type selection and sitting. In the past, the attention was not overly given to type selection and location of technical facility. Therefore, some technical facilities projects have not been completed, or after completing their operation have not met the expectations, or even they began to make serious problems, which meant substantial economic losses. Therefore, the book “Risk management at technical facilities type and site selection” deals with the problem of specification of the type of technical facilities and their location in the territory. It summarizes results of specific research performed in project “Řízení rizik a bezpečnost složitých technologických objektů (RIRIZIBE)“ CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/ 16 _018/000”. Since, the deciding body on the subject is the public administration, they are compiled decision support and the risk management plan

RISK MANAGEMENT AT TECHNICAL FACILITIES DESIGNING, BUILDING AND COMMISSIONING

The publication subject is to show the risk management of complex technical facilities at a stage involving the design, construction, outfit by technology equipment, testing and commissioning. The safety of this technical facility is related to the entire technical facility because, as a result of the interconnections among different parts, the set of the safe parts is generally not safe. The safety also considers the dynamic evolution of the world. Therefore, it is going on managing the risks caused by all possible causes in time and space. Based on the original database of failures and accidents of technical facilities, which also included weaknesses in the area of design, building, construction, testing and commissioning, they are determined the basic categories of risk causes. Through the procedures of advanced risk disciplines, there are developed the tools for working with risks in the monitored stage of the technical facility aimed at ensuring the technical facility safety throughout its life time, namely: decision support system; and risk management plan. Both tools are in two versions. The book shortly summarizes results of specific research performed in project “Řízení rizik a bezpečnost složitých technologických objektů (RIRIZIBE)“ CZ.02.2.69/0.0 /0.0/16_018/000”. The detail results are in original Czech monograph, which is cited

Inhibition of NOS- like activity in maize alters the expression of genes involved in H2O2 scavenging and glycine betaine biosynthesis

Nitric oxide synthase-like activity contributes to the production of nitric oxide in plants, which controls plant responses to stress. This study investigates if changes in ascorbate peroxidase enzymatic activity and glycine betaine content in response to inhibition of nitric oxide synthase-like activity are associated with transcriptional regulation by analyzing transcript levels of genes (betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase) involved in glycine betaine biosynthesis and those encoding antioxidant enzymes (ascorbate peroxidase and catalase) in leaves of maize seedlings treated with an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase-like activity. In seedlings treated with a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, transcript levels of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase were decreased. In plants treated with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, the transcript levels of ascorbate peroxidase-encoding genes were down-regulated. We thus conclude that inhibition of nitric oxide synthase-like activity suppresses the expression of ascorbate peroxidase and betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase genes in maize leaves. Furthermore, catalase activity was suppressed in leaves of plants treated with nitric oxide synthase inhibitor; and this corresponded with the suppression of the expression of catalase genes. We further conclude that inhibition of nitric oxide synthase-like activity, which suppresses ascorbate peroxidase and catalase enzymatic activities, results in increased H2O2 content

Hydrogen sensors based on electrophoretically deposited Pd nanoparticles onto InP

Electrophoretic deposition of palladium nanoparticles prepared by the reverse micelle technique onto InP substrates is addressed. We demonstrate that the substrate pre-deposition treatment and the deposition conditions can extensively influence the morphology of the deposited palladium nanoparticle films. Schottky diodes based on these films show notably high values of the barrier height and of the rectification ratio giving evidence of a small degree of the Fermi level pinning. Moreover, electrical characteristics of these diodes are exceptionally sensitive to the exposure to gas mixtures with small hydrogen content

Hydrophilic antioxidant compounds in orange juice from different fruit cultivars: Composition and antioxidant activity evaluated by chemical and cellular based (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) assays

Antioxidant capacity was evaluated by a cellular model (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and chemical methods (FRAP, TEAC and total phenols by Folin-Ciocalteu assay) in the hydrophilic fraction (phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid) of orange juices (OJs) from six varieties (Midknight, Delta Seedless, Rohde Red, Seedless, Early and clone Sambiasi), harvested in two seasons. The contents of phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid analyzed, respectively, by UPLC and HPLC were 370.04 76.97 mg/L and 52.05 6.69 mg/100 mL. Variety and season significantly influenced (p < 0.05) composition and antioxidant capacity. TEAC and FRAP values correlated well with individual hydrophilic compounds (R2 > 0.991) but no correlation with cellular assay was observed. An increase in survival rates between 23% and 38% was obtained, excepting for two varieties that showed no activity (Rohde Red and Seedless). Narirutin, naringin-d, ferulic acid-d2, didymin, neoeriocitrin and sinapic acid hexose and caffeic acid-d1 were the phenolic compounds which contributed to survival rates (R2 = 0.979, p < 0.01

Flavonoids in prevention of diseases with respect to modulation of Ca-pump function

Flavonoids, natural phenolic compounds, are known as agents with strong antioxidant properties. In many diseases associated with oxidative/nitrosative stress and aging they provide multiple biological health benefits. Ca2+-ATPases belong to the main calcium regulating proteins involved in the balance of calcium homeostasis, which is impaired in oxidative/nitrosative stress and related diseases or aging. The mechanisms of Ca2+-ATPases dysfunction are discussed, focusing on cystein oxidation and tyrosine nitration. Flavonoids act not only as antioxidants but are also able to bind directly to Ca2+-ATPases, thus changing their conformation, which results in modulation of enzyme activity

The Physiology and Proteomics of Drought Tolerance in Maize: Early Stomatal Closure as a Cause of Lower Tolerance to Short-Term Dehydration?

Understanding the response of a crop to drought is the first step in the breeding of tolerant genotypes. In our study, two maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes with contrasting sensitivity to dehydration were subjected to moderate drought conditions. The subsequent analysis of their physiological parameters revealed a decreased stomatal conductance accompanied by a slighter decrease in the relative water content in the sensitive genotype. In contrast, the tolerant genotype maintained open stomata and active photosynthesis, even under dehydration conditions. Drought-induced changes in the leaf proteome were analyzed by two independent approaches, 2D gel electrophoresis and iTRAQ analysis, which provided compatible but only partially overlapping results. Drought caused the up-regulation of protective and stress-related proteins (mainly chaperones and dehydrins) in both genotypes. The differences in the levels of various detoxification proteins corresponded well with the observed changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes. The number and levels of up-regulated protective proteins were generally lower in the sensitive genotype, implying a reduced level of proteosynthesis, which was also indicated by specific changes in the components of the translation machinery. Based on these results, we propose that the hypersensitive early stomatal closure in the sensitive genotype leads to the inhibition of photosynthesis and, subsequently, to a less efficient synthesis of the protective/detoxification proteins that are associated with drought tolerance