Promising Measures to Reduce the Harmful Effects of Man-made Waste from Ferroalloy Production

This article formulates a list of promising measures to reduce the harmful impact of man-made waste from ferroalloy enterprises on the environment: (1) technical measures: replacement of the main and auxiliary obsolete equipment with new environmentally safe, allowing to significantly reduce or completely eliminate hazardous emissions and the formation of unclaimed production waste; (2) introduction of energy-saving technologies: the use of physical and chemical energy of top gas from ore-reduction furnaces in turbine generators and in the contrivance for preheating and partial reduction of charge materials elements, etc.; (3) prevention and localization of emissions due to the modernization of existing equipment: sealing and shelter of the main melting equipment, places of loading and unloading of bulk materials, prevention of dusting for the ore materials warehouses, tailing ponds, sludge collectors, etc.; (4) cleaning of harmful emissions, the formation of which cannot be prevented; (5) introduction of innovative waste-free and low-waste technologies with the integrated use of raw materials: utilization of accumulated and current waste (slags, sludge, etc.) that form during the production of ferroalloys, reducing or completely eliminating the waste dumps and sludge collectors; (5) deeper ore preparation with the exception of the use of toxic reagents; and (6) more complete and economical use of water, the creation of closed water systems, the use of modern highly efficient treatment facilities, etc. Keywords: metallurgy, ferroalloys, man–made wastes, slag, sludg

Opportunities and disadvantages of distance education in the process of studying of military specialists

In the article the basic elements and disadvantages of distance educative system in the conditions of the military education are consideredРассматриваются основные структурные элементы и противоречия системы дистанционного обучения, применительно к условиям военного образовани

Metal Phase Formation in Bubbling Reduction of Nickel and Iron from Oxide Melt

Bubbling reduction of nickel and iron from oxide melt is considered. Oxidized nickel ores melts interaction with gases (hydrogen, carbon monoxide, converted natural gas) is accompanied by the ferroalloy formation with high nickel content. This process is associated with the mass transfer, chemical reaction running and metal phase formation in the multi-component oxide melts, regardless of the reducing agent used. Those processes are of great importance for understanding of the ferronickel pyrometallurgical production processes. To describe the process, we used equations that allow one to estimate the size of gas bubble and metal drop moving in an oxide melt without fragmentation, its joint movement direction, flotation rate, sedimentation and separation conditions. The physicochemical characteristics affecting mass transfer (the densities and surface tensions of oxide and metal melts, as well as their interfacial characteristics) have been determined. Keywords: nickel, iron, reduction, bubbling, metal, oxide, melts, ores, ferroalloy, flotation, sedimentation, reducing ga

On the way to the ideal state: Internet against corruption

© 2017 Serials Publications. The article is devoted to the research of discursive practices in the Internet environment on anticorruption issues. The research objective is to analyze the online-communications of the Russian authorities and citizens on the issues of anticorruption policy implementation. The methodological basis of the research is systemic-communicative approach; its theoretical basis is the conception of an Open society by K. Popper. Basing on the analysis of international rankings and all-Russia opinion polls on corruption issues, Internet freedom and quality of state administration, the authors come to the conclusion that the social-information anomie on anticorruption issues is strengthening. This type of anomie reflects the contradiction between the prescriptive, official information and the descriptive one, which ascertains the actual state of affairs in the society. The information gap leads to the reduction of level of trust to the existing power institutions, to the growth of social-political entropy, to social-network mobilization of the citizens. The analysis of the causes and conditions, which maintain the information misbalance, revealed the incongruence between the technological preparedness of the Russian state for its functions' implementation via the Internet and the level of thestates' social-political preparedness for the open anticorruption dialog

Local taxonomic spectra in plants, animals, fungi and terrestrial protists show common mathematical patterns

Taxonomic spectra, i.e. relations between supraspecific taxa by the number of included species, remain poorly understood in aspect of the mathematical properties. We studied taxonomic spectra of plants (Magnoliophyta, Bryophyta), animals (Coleoptera, Aves), fungi (Agaricomycetes) and terrestrial protists (Myxomycetes), found in the Homilsha Forests National Nature Park (North-East of Ukraine), and concluded that they correspond to the hollow-curve distribution at the level of genera, families and orders. The spectra of most taxa, as shown by the Akaike information criterion, are closely approximated by the log-series distribution model at all taxonomic levels. This type of distribution is typical for the species abundance curves, based on collections made from small areas. At the same time, in the genera–families–orders row the similarity to the lognormal distribution increases. The central values and variability vary considerably between different taxonomic groups and ranks, however, without affecting the type of distribution. The number of orders in all taxa except Bryophyta has reached the saturation and coincides with the curve of the estimated number of orders according to the Chao1 coefficient. For families and especially genera the correspondence with estimated number of species is much lower. Our results do not confirm the assumption that hollow-curve distributions of taxonomic spectra result from the artificial fragmentation of taxa. These distributions neither depend on the insufficient knowledge about the species composition at the locality, nor reflect the size of the studied area. The presence of such distributions in both local and global biota of different groups may be explained by the common features of their evolution, especially by the existence of relict orphan groups. The fact that in Homilsha Forests the kurtosis and skewness of distributions decreases in the genera–families–orders row can therefore be explained by the relatively low percentage of the high-rank orphan taxa in the local biota. This may be a common feature of communities studied at small geographical scale, since orphan taxa often demonstrate a high level of endemism. Comparative studies of local communities from different climate zones may help to understand how universal are the patterns, described herein

Analysis and Functional Consequences of Increased Fab-Sialylation of Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) after Lectin Fractionation

It has been proposed that the anti-inflammatory effects of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) might be due to the small fraction of Fc-sialylated IgG. In this study we biochemically and functionally characterized sialic acid-enriched IgG obtained by Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA) lectin fractionation. Two main IgG fractions isolated by elution with lactose (E1) or acidified lactose (E2) were analyzed for total IgG, F(ab’)2 and Fc-specific sialic acid content, their pattern of specific antibodies and anti-inflammatory potential in a human in vitro inflammation system based on LPS- or PHA-stimulated whole blood. HPLC and LC-MS testing revealed an increase of sialylated IgG in E1 and more substantially in the E2 fraction. Significantly, the increased amount of sialic acid residues was primarily found in the Fab region whereas only a minor increase was observed in the Fc region. This indicates preferential binding of the Fab sialic acid to SNA. ELISA analyses of a representative range of pathogen and auto-antigens indicated a skewed antibody pattern of the sialylated IVIG fractions. Finally, the E2 fraction exerted a more profound anti-inflammatory effect compared to E1 or IVIG, evidenced by reduced CD54 expression on monocytes and reduced secretion of MCP-1 (CCL2); again these effects were Fab- but not Fc-dependent. Our results show that SNA fractionation of IVIG yields a minor fraction (approx. 10%) of highly sialylated IgG, wherein the sialic acid is mainly found in the Fab region. The tested anti-inflammatory activity was associated with Fab not Fc sialylation

Observation of electron transfer mediated decay in aqueous solution

Photoionization is at the heart of X ray photoelectron spectroscopy XPS , which gives access to important information on a sample s local chemical environment. Local and non local electronic decay after photoionization in which the refilling of core holes results in electron emission from either the initially ionized species or a neighbour, respectively have been well studied. However, electron transfer mediated decay ETMD , which involves the refilling of a core hole by an electron from a neighbouring species, has not yet been observed in condensed phase. Here we report the experimental observation of ETMD in an aqueous LiCl solution by detecting characteristic secondary low energy electrons using liquid microjet soft XPS. Experimental results are interpreted using molecular dynamics and high level ab initio calculations. We show that both solvent molecules and counterions participate in the ETMD processes, and different ion associations have distinctive spectral fingerprints. Furthermore, ETMD spectra are sensitive to coordination numbers, ion solvent distances and solvent arrangemen

Why theory matters:Analytical strategies of critical psychology

Based on Critical Psychology from the Standpoint of the Subject the article describes analytical concerns and strategies of critical psychology. In a first step, the development of critical psychologies is located in current discussions on the production of knowledge, and three different typical approaches and major steps toward situated critique as a practice of mutual recognition are delineated. This shift, it is argued, has led to a historically new relevance of critique, and two basic analytical elements of critical research are introduced: Everyday conflictuality as the initiating moment of critique as well as the importance of theory for critical inquiry. On this basis a variety of analytic strategies and concepts are presented which inform Critical Psychology from the Standpoint of the Subject and suggest a constituent move from partial perspectives toward situated generalization

Роль ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-ФДГ в диагностике рака шейки матки

Positron emission tomography coupled with computed tomography (PET/CT) has proven to be highly informative in the diagnosis of various malignant tumours. PET/CT examination takes into account biological and morphological data, which allow accurate tumour localisation and full staging of the disease, respectively. Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common, high-mortality cancers in women. The effectiveness of CC treatment depends on early diagnosis, which is connected to the assessment of local tumour spread and metastatic lymph node involvement and to the  detection of disease recurrence. The aim of the study was to  analyse the possibility of using PET/CT with 18F-FDG for the diagnosis of CC and the evaluation of treatment effectiveness. Additionally, the study aimed to analyse the potential of using other radiopharmaceuticals as biomarkers for the assessment of tumour response. Cervical malignancies are characterised by high glycolytic activity, which explains the superiority of 18F-FDG PET/CT over other traditional imaging methods in comprehensive diagnosis of patients with CC and, especially, in detecting nodal involvement and distant metastases. Also, 18F-FDG PET/CT plays an important part in the assessment of treatment effectiveness in CC patients. Further development of 18F-FDG PET/CT potential in the visualisation of malignant cervical lesions is associated with investigating the possibilities of using other specific radiopharmaceuticals to obtain information about the biological processes that support tumour cell growth: metabolism, proliferative activity, and oxygenation.Позитронная эмиссионная томография, совмещенная с компьютерной томографией (ПЭТ/КТ), доказала свою высокую информативность в диагностике различных злокачественных опухолей. При ПЭТ/КТ исследовании учитываются биологические и морфологические данные, что позволяет точно локализовать распространенность процесса и, соответственно, полноценно определить стадию заболевания. Одним из наиболее распространенных онкологических заболеваний у женщин является характеризующийся высокой смертностью рак шейки матки (РШМ). Эффективность лечения РШМ зависит от ранней диагностики, которая непосредственно связана с оценкой местной распространенности опухоли и метастатического поражения лимфатических узлов до лечения, а также выявлением рецидива заболевания. Цель работы — анализ возможностей метода ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-ФДГ и другими радиофармацевтическими лекарственными средствами (РФЛС) в диагностике РШМ, оценке эффективности терапии, а также рассмотрение перспектив применения других РФЛС в качестве биомаркеров ответа опухоли на терапию. Злокачественные новообразования шейки матки обладают высокой гликолитической активностью, поэтому применение ПЭТ/КТ с 18F-ФДГ в комплексной диагностике пациентов с РШМ превосходит другие традиционные методы визуализации, в особенности в выявлении поражения лимфатических узлов, обнаружении отдаленных метастазов. Кроме того, доказана важная роль ПЭТ/КТ в оценке эффективности лечения РШМ. Дальнейшие перспективы развития ПЭТ/КТ в визуализации злокачественного поражения шейки матки связаны с изучением возможностей применения других специфичных радиофармацевтических лекарственных средств для получения информации о биологических процессах, являющихся основой роста опухолевой клетки — метаболизме, пролиферативной активности, оксигенации