UN Peacekeeping Economies and Local Sex Industries: Connections and Implications

“Peacekeeping economies” have not been subject to much analysis of either their economic or socio-cultural and political impacts. This paper uses a gendered lens to explore some ramifications and lasting implications of peacekeeping economies, drawing on examples from four post-conflict countries with past or ongoing United Nations peacekeeping missions: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Liberia, and Haiti. The paper is particularly concerned with the interplay between the peacekeeping economy and the sex industry. It examines some of the characteristics and impacts of peacekeeping economies, arguing that these are highly gendered – but that the “normalization” of peacekeeping economies allows these effects to be overlooked or obscured. It also contends that these gendered characteristics and impacts have (or are likely to have) broad and lasting consequences. Finally, the paper considers the initial impacts of UN efforts to tackle negative impacts of peacekeeping economies, particularly the zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and the effort to “mainstream” gender and promote gender equality in and through peacekeeping. The paper suggests that the existence and potential longterm perpetuation of a highly gendered peacekeeping economy threatens to undermine the gender goals and objectives that are a component of most peace operations.Peacekeeping; Gender; Sex industry; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Kosovo; Liberia; Haiti

Paraziti crevnog trakta deverike abramis brama (linnaeus, 1758) Dunava u beogradskom delu toka

Izučavanje parazitofaune riba prirodnih voda od izuzetnog je značaja, ne samo u naučnom pogledu, već i za njihov uspešan intenzivan način gajenja u akvakulturi. U radu su predstavljeni rezultati istraživanja crevnih parazitskih vrsta deverike Abramis brama L. 1758. Primerci riba su sakupljeni tokom perida 2007–2009 na dva lokaliteta uzorkovanja duž toka reke Dunav koji protiče kroz beogradski region. Ukupno je pregledano 177 jedinki deverike različite starosti (2+ to 6+). Prtisustvo crevnih parazitskih vrsta identifikovano je kod 97 pregledanih primeraka deverike, sa intenzitetom infekcije u rasponu 1–165, predstavljajući 54.80% od ukupnog broja sakupljenih i pregledanih primeraka riba. U inficiranim jedinkama deverike utvrđeno je prisustvo 27 taksona endoparazita (helminta) iz četiri klase: jedanaest vrsta pantljičara (Cestoda), pet vrsta i jedan takson metilja (Trematoda), dve vrste klase Nematoda i osam vrsta Acanthocephala. Sprovedena istraživanja su pokazala da je inficiranost deverike Dunava u beogradskom regionu značajna, s obzirom na brojnost i raznovrsnost identifikovanih crevnih parazita. Buduća istraživanja su neophodna da bi se utvrdila uloga crevnih parazita u regulisanju brojnosti populacija deverike Dunava

ENERGY OPTIMIZATION OF SERBIAN BUILDINGS WITH PV PANELS AND GAS HEATING SYSTEM

For clean and renewable electricity generation, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is the best option. Solar energy has become a promising alternative source due to its advantages: abundance, pollution free, and renewability. On the other hand, gas heating system is an low-temperature and low-energetic system. In this paper, the possibilities to decrease energy consumption of Serbian residential buildings are analyzed. The building with gas space heating and electrical energy generated by PV system is investigated. The major aim is to determine the area of the PV array in order to minimize the consumption of primary energy. The residential buildings with variable thermal insulation thickness, variable domestic hot water consumption and variable types of PV panels are investigated in order to achieve positive-net energy building (PNEB). The buildings are simulated in EnergyPlus environment. Open Studio plug-in in Google SketchUp was used for buildings design, Hooke-Jeeves algorithm for optimization and GENOPT software for software execution control. The obtained results gave the optimal size of PV array

Semiconductor Gas Sensors: Materials, Technology, Design, and Application

This paper presents an overview of semiconductor materials used in gas sensors, their technology, design, and application. Semiconductor materials include metal oxides, conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes, and 2D materials. Metal oxides are most often the first choice due to their ease of fabrication, low cost, high sensitivity, and stability. Some of their disadvantages are low selectivity and high operating temperature. Conducting polymers have the advantage of a low operating temperature and can detect many organic vapors. They are flexible but affected by humidity. Carbon nanotubes are chemically and mechanically stable and are sensitive towards NO and NH3, but need dopants or modifications to sense other gases. Graphene, transition metal chalcogenides, boron nitride, transition metal carbides/nitrides, metal organic frameworks, and metal oxide nanosheets as 2D materials represent gas-sensing materials of the future, especially in medical devices, such as breath sensing. This overview covers the most used semiconducting materials in gas sensing, their synthesis methods and morphology, especially oxide nanostructures, heterostructures, and 2D materials, as well as sensor technology and design, application in advance electronic circuits and systems, and research challenges from the perspective of emerging technologies. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Acute hydrops followed by corneal perforation five years after corneal cross-linking for keratoconus.

We report a case of acute corneal hydrops followed by corneal perforation five years after corneal cross-linking for keratoconus. A healthy 24-year-old female patient underwent Dresden protocol cross-linking in her left eye due to advanced keratoconus. After five years of a stable cornea, she returned with epiphora, blurred vision, and a soft left eye. Acute hydrops and corneal perforation were diagnosed. There was no history of pregnancy, atopy, eye rubbing, trauma, or contact lens use. Local antibiotic and eye patching were applied. Three months after the resolution of the acute episode, she retained useful visual acuity with no need for further surgery. Although cross-linking efficiently halts keratoconus, progression can occur, leading to corneal hydrops and perforation, even in the absence of any risk factors

EXERGY EFFICIENCY OF PANEL HEATING SYSTEMS AT DIFFERENT HEAT SOURCE

This paper aims to compare the exergy efficiency of panel heating system using different energy sources. Natural gas and geothermal heat pump are used as energy sources. Floor panels, wall panels, ceiling panels, and floor-ceiling panels are used as panel heating systems. The analysed house is located in Kragujevac, Serbia. Also, this research is the part of the project "Development of a net-zero-energy house“. The operation of these panels is simulated by software EnergyPlus that is product of Lawrence Berkley Laboratory in USA

A REVIEW OF PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION

One of the most inexhaustible and the cleanest renewable energy resources is the solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) technology is one of the finest ways for using the solar power. In the recent years, the world`s development of PV technology is growing very fast because of the technological development and government support for renewable energy. Photovoltaic is playing an important role to utilize solar energy for electricity production worldwide. The efficiency of solar cells is one of the important facts in PV technologies. This paper represents the review of the photovoltaic technology based upon the silicon solar cells. Also, the paper reviews the non-silicon photovoltaic technology, based upon Cadmium telluride (CdTe) and Cadmium sulphide (CdS), Copper indium gallium selenide/copper indium selenide (CIGS/CIS), Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and some new photovoltaic technology for PV cell production - Nanotechnology or ‘‘third- generation PV’’. Very important perspective of thin film PV technology is flexible modules, and this study will show that there is great perspective for development thin film building integrated PV products