Operational Efficiency Forecasting Model of an Existing Underground Mine Using Grey System Theory and Stochastic Diffusion Processes

Forecasting the operational efficiency of an existing underground mine plays an important role in strategic planning of production. Degree of Operating Leverage (DOL) is used to express the operational efficiency of production. The forecasting model should be able to involve common time horizon, taking the characteristics of the input variables that directly affect the value of DOL. Changes in the magnitude of any input variable change the value of DOL. To establish the relationship describing the way of changing we applied multivariable grey modeling. Established time sequence multivariable response formula is also used to forecast the future values of operating leverage. Operational efficiency of production is often associated with diverse sources of uncertainties. Incorporation of these uncertainties into multivariable forecasting model enables mining company to survive in today’s competitive environment. Simulation of mean reversion process and geometric Brownian motion is used to describe the stochastic diffusion nature of metal price, as a key element of revenues, and production costs, respectively. By simulating a forecasting model, we imitate its action in order to measure its response to different inputs. The final result of simulation process is the expected value of DOL for every year of defined time horizon

Parametri kvaliteta plodova kod različitih genotipova paradajza u organskoj proizvodnji

The aim of this study was to examine the content of total soluble solids, organic acids and lycopene in fruits of different tomato genotypes grown in organic production. Four different genotypes (Volovsko heart Red cherry, Tigrella and Viva) were used during this experiment. The quality of tomato fruits was analyzed based on the measurement of total soluble solids, organic acids and lycopene in fresh weight of the fruit. The values obtained for the analyzed parameters of fruit quality were as follows: total soluble solids 4.98, 5.26, 5.28 and 4.70 (° Brix), organic acids 160.67, 110.34, 132.77 and 116 (citric acid µmol g-1 FW), lycopene, 8.22, 5.70, 7.61, 9.21 (mg kg-1 FW) in genotypes Volovsko srce, Red cherry, Tigrella and Viva. Oscillations in the obtained parameters, especially in the content of lycopene in different genotypes were probably the result of genetic resources, but also the influence of abiotic factors.Cilj ovog istraživanja je bio da se ispita sadržaj ukupnih rastvorljivih suvih materija, organskih kiselina i likopena u plodovima različitih genotipova paradajza gajenog u organskoj proizvodnji. Četiri različita genotipa (Volovsko srce, Red cherry, Tigrella i Viva) su korišćeni tokom ovog eksperimenta. Kvalitet plodova paradajza analiziran je na osnovu merenja ukupnih rastvorljivih suvih materija, organskih kiselina i likopena u svežoj masi plodova. Dobijene vrednosti za analizirane parametre kvaliteta plodova su iznosile: ukupne rastvorljive materije 4.98, 5.26, 5.28 i 4.70 (oBrix), organske kiseline 160.67, 110.34, 116 i 132.77 (citric acid µmol g-1 FW), likopen 8.22, 5.70, 7.61, 9.21 (mg kg-1 FW) kod analiziranih genotipova Volovsko srce, Red cherry, Tigrella i Viva. Variranje u dobijenim parametrima, a naročito u sadržaju likopena kod različitih genotipova su bile posledica genetskog potencijala, ali i uticaja abiotičkih faktora

Co-localization of GSTP1 and JNK in transitional cell carcinoma of urinary bladder

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of urinary bladder belongs to glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) overexpressing tumors. Upregulated GSTP1 in TCC is related to apoptosis inhibition. This antiapoptotic effects of GSTP1 might be mediated through protein:protein interaction with c-Jun NH2 -terminal kinase (JNK). Herein, we analyzed whether a direct link between GSTP1 and JNK exists in TCC. The presence of GSTP1/JNK complexes was analyzed by immunoprecipitation and Western blotting in 20 TCC specimens, obtained after surgery. Co-localization of GSTP1 and JNK was also investigated in the 5637 TCC cell line by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. By means of immunoprecipitation we show for the first time the presence of GSTP1/JNK complexes in all TCC samples studied. A co-localization of GSTP1 and JNK was also demonstrated in the 5637 TCC cell line by means of confocal microscopy. Protein-protein interactions, together with co-localization between GSTP1 and JNK provide evidence that GSTP1 most probably inhibits apoptosis in TCC cells by non-covalent binding to JNK

Is Increased Susceptibility to Balkan Endemic Nephropathy in Carriers of Common GSTA1 (*A/*B) Polymorphism Linked with the Catalytic Role of GSTA1 in Ochratoxin A Biotransformation? Serbian Case Control Study and In Silico Analysis

Although recent data suggest aristolochic acid as a putative cause of Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), evidence also exists in favor of ochratoxin A (OTA) exposure as risk factor for the disease. The potential role of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, such as the glutathione transferases (GSTs), in OTA biotransformation is based on OTA glutathione adducts (OTHQ-SG and OTB-SG) in blood and urine of BEN patients. We aimed to analyze the association between common GSTA1, GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 polymorphisms and BEN susceptibility, and thereafter performed an in silico simulation of particular GST enzymes potentially involved in OTA transformations. GSTA1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 genotypes were determined in 207 BEN patients and 138 non-BEN healthy individuals from endemic regions by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Molecular modeling in silico was performed for GSTA1 protein. Among the GST polymorphisms tested, only GSTA1 was significantly associated with a higher risk of BEN. Namely, carriers of the GSTA1*B gene variant, associated with lower transcriptional activation, were at a 1.6-fold higher BEN risk than those carrying the homozygous GSTA1*A/*A genotype (OR = 1.6; p = 0.037). In in silico modeling, we found four structures, two OTB-SG and two OTHQ-SG, bound in a GSTA1 monomer. We found that GSTA1 polymorphism was associated with increased risk of BEN, and suggested, according to the in silico simulation, that GSTA1-1 might be involved in catalyzing the formation of OTHQ-SG and OTB-SG conjugates

Porno Ludens: Soviet literary pornography, 1970s – 1990s

My dissertation, “Porno Ludens: Soviet Literary Pornography, 1970s – 1990s,” traces the emergence of Russian literary pornography as a counter discourse to Socialist Realism and official Soviet ideology during the late Soviet period. While influential studies of Russian sexuality have focused on the eroticism of early twentieth century literature and art or, conversely, on the post-Soviet proliferation of obscenity, my dissertation takes the “interim” period, roughly between 1970 and 1990, as a site for the emergence of a new pornographic language in underground, dissident, and émigré literature, countering the “no sex in the USSR” discourse of official Soviet ideology. The dissertation traces the development of Russian sexual discourse in Soviet literature, broadening our understanding of late Soviet culture to include that which is usually excluded: sexually explicit language that runs the gamut from eroticism to pornography. In the 1970s and 1980s, literary pornography arose as the antipode to puritan Soviet literature and culture. A plethora of vulgarisms and obscene words invaded literature and permitted the writers to design a new poetics of pornography as an anti-Socialist Realist style. Literary pornography appeared as a peculiar kind of freedom that allowed writers to break the taboos of sex, to liberate the Russian language and culture from the fetters of Soviet ideology, and to place themselves in opposition to the restrictive methods and discourses of official Soviet culture. In the early 1990s, Russian national identity and national pride were to be rediscovered and redefined through pornography, with the porno aesthetics of the last two decades of the Soviet state serving as a model. My project is structured as a comparative study of Russian literary pornography written both in the USSR and in the US—a case study of four authors: Edward Limonov and Mikhail Armalinsky as “pornographers in exile;” and Viktor Erofeev and Vladimir Sorokin as “pornographers at home.” By putting these four writers in dialogue, I accentuate that pornographic literature appears as an alternative truth-carrying discursive practice in which diverse cultural and semiotic meanings are produced in and understood as a game. The writers strive to make of pornography a personal project recording their private life, traumas, and struggles, which is both entertaining and terrifying. The skeleton of late-Soviet literary pornography is the play pattern of how to live and write porn simultaneously.U of I OnlyAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD syste

Porno Ludens: Soviet literary pornography, 1970s – 1990s

My dissertation, “Porno Ludens: Soviet Literary Pornography, 1970s – 1990s,” traces the emergence of Russian literary pornography as a counter discourse to Socialist Realism and official Soviet ideology during the late Soviet period. While influential studies of Russian sexuality have focused on the eroticism of early twentieth century literature and art or, conversely, on the post-Soviet proliferation of obscenity, my dissertation takes the “interim” period, roughly between 1970 and 1990, as a site for the emergence of a new pornographic language in underground, dissident, and émigré literature, countering the “no sex in the USSR” discourse of official Soviet ideology. The dissertation traces the development of Russian sexual discourse in Soviet literature, broadening our understanding of late Soviet culture to include that which is usually excluded: sexually explicit language that runs the gamut from eroticism to pornography. In the 1970s and 1980s, literary pornography arose as the antipode to puritan Soviet literature and culture. A plethora of vulgarisms and obscene words invaded literature and permitted the writers to design a new poetics of pornography as an anti-Socialist Realist style. Literary pornography appeared as a peculiar kind of freedom that allowed writers to break the taboos of sex, to liberate the Russian language and culture from the fetters of Soviet ideology, and to place themselves in opposition to the restrictive methods and discourses of official Soviet culture. In the early 1990s, Russian national identity and national pride were to be rediscovered and redefined through pornography, with the porno aesthetics of the last two decades of the Soviet state serving as a model. My project is structured as a comparative study of Russian literary pornography written both in the USSR and in the US—a case study of four authors: Edward Limonov and Mikhail Armalinsky as “pornographers in exile;” and Viktor Erofeev and Vladimir Sorokin as “pornographers at home.” By putting these four writers in dialogue, I accentuate that pornographic literature appears as an alternative truth-carrying discursive practice in which diverse cultural and semiotic meanings are produced in and understood as a game. The writers strive to make of pornography a personal project recording their private life, traumas, and struggles, which is both entertaining and terrifying. The skeleton of late-Soviet literary pornography is the play pattern of how to live and write porn simultaneously.U of I OnlyAuthor requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD syste

Isolation and characterization of four novel Gram-positive bacteria associated with the rhizosphere of two endemorelict plants capable of degrading a broad range of aromatic substrates

Four new Gram-positive, phenol-degrading strains were isolated from the rhizospheres of endemorelict plants Ramonda serbica and Ramonda nathaliae known to exude high amounts of phenolics in the soil. Isolates were designated Bacillus sp. PS1, Bacillus sp. PS11, Streptomyces sp. PS12, and Streptomyces sp. PN1 based on 16S rDNA sequence and biochemical analysis. In addition to their ability to tolerate and utilize high amounts of phenol of either up to 800 or up to 1,400 mg l(-1) without apparent inhibition in growth, all four strains were also able to degrade a broad range of aromatic substrates including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, styrene, halogenated benzenes, and naphthalene. Isolates were able to grow in pure culture and in defined mixed culture on phenol and on the mixture of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) compounds as a sole source of carbon and energy. Pure culture of Bacillus sp. PS11 yielded 1.5-fold higher biomass amounts in comparison to mixed culture, under all conditions. Strains successfully degraded phenol in the soil model system (2 g kg(-1)) within 6 days. Activities of phenol hydroxylase, catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase were detected and analyzed from the crude cell extract of the isolates. While all four strains use ortho degradation pathway, enzyme indicative of meta degradation pathway (catechol 2,3-dioxygenase) was also detected in Bacillus sp. PS11 and Streptomyces sp. PN1. Phenol degradation activities were induced 2 h after supplementation by phenol, but not by catechol. Catechol slightly inhibited activity of catechol 2,3-dioxygenase in strains PS11 and PN1

Salivary Factors that Maintain the Normal Oral Commensal Microflora

Root of Gentiana lutea commercially available as gentian root, a natural antidote for different types of poisons, possess antioxidative, immunomodulatory, cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory, and adverse, genotoxic and mutagenic effects. It has monoterpenes loganic acid, swertiamarin, gentiopicroside and sweroside as most abundant constituents. In this study, we assessed the toxicity of monoterpenes’ reactive molecular fragments using in silico prediction by VEGA-QSAR platform. Further, we compared the data obtained with in vitro geno- and cyto- toxicity testing of the above monoterpenes and the G. lutea root extract (GE), on human primary unstimulated and mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Viability was assessed by TB and XTT tests after 48 h treatmen. DNA damage was evaluated by alkaline comet assay on unstimulated cells, whereas cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay was employed on mitogen-stimulated PBMCs. Stability of compounds throughout treatment was monitored by UPLC. The observed in vitro results had highest compliance with in silico IRFMN/ISSCAN-CGX prediction model. Compounds showed high stability during experiment while treatment with single compounds reduced number of viable cells and increased DNA damage. GE treatment had toxic impact on unstimulated PBMCs but no significant genotoxic influence on mitogen-stimulated PBMCs. In summary, the mild GE effect suggests that the complexity of crude GE extract chemical composition may attenuate the toxicity of the tested monoterpenes loganic acid, swertiamarin, gentiopicroside and sweroside