Antioksidantni potencijal korova - Ambrosia artemisiifolia, A. Trifida i Iva xanthifolia

The purpose of this study was to analyze antioxidant systems among three invasive ragweed species, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., A. trifida L. and Iva xanthifolia Nutt. Antioxidant capacity could be a possible marker of adaptation to variable environmental conditions, since change in amount of antioxidants represents one of the first responses to various environmental stimuli. Among investigated ragweeds, I. xanthifolia leaves had more pronounced guaiacol peroxidase activity (87.5 and 62.5%) and reduced glutathione content (2.3 and 28.8%) than A. artemisiifolia and A. trifida, respectively. However, super-oxide dismutase activity was invariable in all investigated plants (234.1-247.5 U g-1 fresh weight). The highest content of total phenolics, tannins, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were detected in A. trifida leaves (up to 3.7-fold the amount of the others). According to antioxidant activity tests, investigated ragweed species could be presented in a scale: A. trifida gt I. xanthifolia gt A. artemisiifolia. Accumulation of non-enzymatic antioxidants and lower content of reduced glutathione point to different oxidative stress avoidance strategies of A. trifida when compared to A. artemisiifolia and I. xanthifolia within the same environmental conditions.Svrha ove studije bila je analiza antioksidantih sistema tri invazivne vrste: Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., A. trifida L. i Iva xanthifolia Nutt. Antioksidantni kapacitet može biti potencijalni marker adaptacije na promenljive uslove okoline, jer promena u količini antioksidanata predstavlja jedan od prvih odgovora na različite ekološke faktore. Među ispitivanim korovima, listovi I. xanthifolia imali su izraženiju aktivnost gvajakol peroksidaze (87,5 i 62,5%) i sadržaj redukovanog glutationa (2,3 i 28,8%) u odnosu na A. artemisiifolia i A. trifida, respektivno. Međutim, aktivnost superoksid dismutaze bila je nepromenljiva u svim ispitivanim biljkama (234,1-247,5 U g-1 sveže mase). Najveći sadržaj ukupnih fenola, tanina, flavonoida i proantocianidina detektovan je u listovima A. trifida (do 3,7 puta više od ostalih). Prema ispitivanim antioksidantnim aktivnostima, date vrste mogu biti predstavljene skalom: A. trifida gt I. xanthifolia gt A. artemisiifolia. Akumulacija neenzimskih antioksidanata i manji sadržaj redukovanog glutationa ukazuju na različite strategije izbegavanja oksidativnog stresa kod A. trifida u poređenju sa ostalim ispitivanim korovima u istim uslovima životne sredine

Antioxidant potential of ragweeds: Ambrosia artemisiifolia, A. trifida and Iva xanthifolia

The combination of reproductive success with high stress tolerance (through osmotic adjustment and antioxidants) is essential for invasion success, particularly in stressful environments in the frame of global change.Antioxidant capacity could be a possible marker of adaptation to variable environmental conditions, since change in amount of antioxidants represents one of the first responses to various environmental stimuli. Among investigated ragweeds, I. xanthifolia leaves had more pronounced guaiacol-peroxidase (GPx) activity (2.5- to 9.7-fold) than A. artemisiifolia and A. trifida. A. artemisiifolia and I. xanthifolia leaves have similar reduced glutathione (GSH) content (13.05 μmol g-1 fr. w.), while A. trifida had 1.3-fold lower GSH concentration. However, superoxide-dismutase (SOD) activity was invariable in all investigated plants (234.1-247.5 U g-1 fr. w.). The highest content of total phenolics, tannins, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were detected in A. trifida leaves (up to 3.7-fold the amount of the others). According to antioxidant activity (O2˙-, ˙OH and DPPH-scavenging tests), investigated ragweed species could be presented in a scale: A. trifida > I. xanthifolia > A. artemisiifolia. Accumulation of non-enzymatic antioxidants and lower content of GSH point to different oxidative stress avoidance strategies of A. trifida when compared to A. artemisiifolia and I. xanthifolia within the same environmental conditions

Humidity sensing properties of nanocrystalline pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5) based thick films

Pseudobrookite based nanopowder was obtained by solid state synthesis of starting hematite and anatase nanopowders in the weight ratio 55:45. Structural and morphological properties were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirming the formation of nanocrystalline pseudobrookite. The obtained powder was mixed with a binder (ethyl cellulose), dispersant (alpha-terpinol) and adhesion agents (acetic acid and distilled water) to obtain a thick film paste. It was screen printed on alumina substrate with interdigitated PdAg electrodes and fired at 600 degrees C for 30 min. Formation of a porous nanocrystalline thick film structure was shown using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while Hall measurements enabled determination of carrier mobility. Change of impedance response in the frequency range 42 Hz-1 MHz with humidity was analyzed at room temperature (25 degrees C) and 50 degrees C in the relative humidity range 30-90% and 40-90%, respectively. At 42 Hz, and room temperature the impedance reduced similar to 28 times, while at 50 degrees C it reduced similar to 147 times in the relative humidity range 40-90%. The sensor showed rapid response (16 s) and relatively low hysteresis (8.39% at 25 degrees C and 2.64% at 50 degrees C) showing that this is a promising material for application in humidity sensing

Do brain networks evolve by maximizing their information flow capacity?

We propose a working hypothesis supported by numerical simulations that brain networks evolve based on the principle of the maximization of their internal information flow capacity. We find that synchronous behavior and capacity of information flow of the evolved networks reproduce well the same behaviors observed in the brain dynamical networks of Caenorhabditis elegans and humans, networks of Hindmarsh-Rose neurons with graphs given by these brain networks. We make a strong case to verify our hypothesis by showing that the neural networks with the closest graph distance to the brain networks of Caenorhabditis elegans and humans are the Hindmarsh-Rose neural networks evolved with coupling strengths that maximize information flow capacity. Surprisingly, we find that global neural synchronization levels decrease during brain evolution, reflecting on an underlying global no Hebbian-like evolution process, which is driven by no Hebbian-like learning behaviors for some of the clusters during evolution, and Hebbian-like learning rules for clusters where neurons increase their synchronization

The politics of performance: transnationalism and its limits in former Yugoslav popular music, 1999–2004

This paper examines transnational relations between the Yugoslav successor states from the point of view of popular music, and demonstrates how transnational musical figures (such as Djordje Balaševi?, Mom?ilo Bajagi?-Bajaga and Ceca Ražnatovi?) are interpreted as symbolic reference points in national ethnopolitical discourse in the process of identity construction. Another symbolic function is served by Serbian turbofolk artists, who in Croatia serve as a cultural resource to distance oneself from a musical genre associated by many urban Croats with the ruralization (and Herzegovinization) of Croatian city space. In addition, value judgements associated with both Serbian and Croatian newly composed folk music provide an insight into the transnational negotiation of conflicting identities in the ex-Yugoslav context. Ultimately the paper shows how the ethnonational boundaries established by nationalizing ideologies created separate cultural spaces which themselves have been transnationalized after Yugoslavia's disintegration

Contemporary strategic management approach in the defense system by U.S. methodology concept

The paper wants to emphasize the importance of contemporary strategic management approachs in the defense system. Displays the work of American author Leslie Lewis and C. Robert Roll "Strategy-to- tasks: a methodology for resource allocation and management". It were used by parts of the discussion above, in order to describe the strategy-to-tasks methodology for planning, programming and budgeting system (PPBS). In developed Western countries adopted some elements of strategic management to determine and monitor the execution of strategic plans in the defense system. This trend is spreading to other countries as a result of the necessity of obeying certain methodological and technological achievements. The uncritical acceptance of a strategic management approach can cause great confusion and problems, and the terminology and scientific explanation for this trend is of great importance. Introduction PPBS is a resource management framework based on force planning concept. It was developed at the lRand Company during the late eighties and is adapted to the special needs of several DoD organization. The planning, programming and budgeting system (PPBS) PPBS is DoD`ş primary system for planning and managing defense resources. It links the overall U.S. national security strategy to specific programs. It was designed to facilitate fiscally-constrained planning, programming and budgeting in terms of complete programs (i.e. forces and systems) rather than through artificial budget categories. The goal is to determine forces, systems and program costs. Strategy-to-tasks and the PPBS The Strategy-To-Tasks methodology, regardless of its application, it must be consistent and supportive of each phase of the PPBS. This section describes the basics frameworks of which are adapted to resource allocation and management activities for the Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The authors have used it during the various phases of the PPBS. The National Security Strategy is formulated at the executive branch. National security objectives determine what must be done to preserve and protect the national principles, goals and interests in relation to the threats and challenges. National military objectives determine the manner in which national security strategy will be supported by the military. Operational objectives define the various military strategies. They describe how forces will be used to support the national military objectives. Tasks are accurately expressed by different levels of command (CINCs). They are the specific actions that must be performed in order to accomplish an operational objective. USSOCOMS and strategy-to-tasks The author concludes that any recommendation to USSOCOM for improving management and resource allocation had to contain the elements that DoD requires in various PPBS phase: links from the national security strategy down to specific military tasks. Moreover, these elements must be reliable, reproducible and easily verifiable. There were three proposals for improvement: 1. develop linkages between national securityobjectives and USSOCOM program resource needs, 2. change USSOCOM's planning and programming processes, functions and data structures, 3. realign selected functions and organizational structure. USSOCOM and strategy-to-tasks framework Shows the revised Strategy-To-Taks framework as applied to USSOCOM. Force development issues in the U. S. Army Authors were asked to attempt to apply the STT methodology to facilitate development decision-making of U.S. military forces. The aim was on Army modernization. The approach that the authors outlined has enabled  the U.S. Army to begin to evaluate its force structure and modernization programs against the other services by operational objective and task. The authors call this "competition among dissimilar systems." Institutionalize methodology Various application of mathodology are designed for STT simulation processes and connections among the commands and their associated elements. The authors point out that the application of the methodology STT shows how it can be developed and evaluated a complete operating concept. In this way, ensure that the logistical and other significant issues debated between the major military-related systems. The whole concept of an "operationalizing the PPBS process." Conclusion The main problems are observed using the approach of strategic management through literature and analysis of this example are: 1. proper determination of the strategic plan and its decomposition to lower down the strategic goals, objectives, processes, tasks and activities, 2. acceptance of the fact that the formulation and implementation of strategy is not a static process, 3.  instead of a set of representative objectives the structure of objectives steers the organisation, 4. core structure of the objectives makes the process of harmonization of individual goals and their representation in the representative objectives, 5. implementation strategy consists in introducing the maximum number of persons with the basic hypotheses, 6. linking resources with hypotheses, a continuous test of the hypothesis and its application in real time. Every scientific theory has its own regularity of that time of origination, acceptance, implementation and application of the first serious critique of theory, important reductions, reshaping and creating new theories. The emergence and development of strategic management methodologies obvious example of the need and necessity of modern technology and the development of corporate culture and the Anglo-Saxon norm of civilization. Future direction of development strategic management methodologies is difficult to predict. The general impression is that the advent and advancement of strategic management methodologies that are organically connected with contemporary business information systems of this area substantially enclosed and that it has received the eventuaily contours.</p

A ballistics module as a part of the fire control system

<p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">This article presents a ballistics module as a part of the fire control system of weapons for fire support (mortars, artillery weapons and rocket launchers). The software is "open" with the prominence of autonomy work. It can be modulated and adapted on the user demand. Moreover, it is independent of the hardware base.</p> <p class="10Tekst"><em> </em></p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Introduction:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">The fire control system is based on a ballistic module (BM) which determines the firing data for each weapon tool in the battery. Ballistic calculations, for the given position of the target in relation to the position of tools in the given weather conditions, determine firing data (elevation, direction, timing and locating devices) so that the missile seems to cause the desired effect. This paper gives the basic information about the features the BM performs and the manner of their implementation in the fire control system without going into algorithmic solution procedures.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Ballistic problem in the fire control system:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Ballistic calculation is based on a trajectory calculation of all kinds of projectiles (current, time-fuze, illuminating, smoke, with conventional propulsion, rocket, with built-in gas generator, etc.). Instead of previous solutions, where a trajectory calculation of the fire control system was done by approximate methods, in this BM the trajectory calculation is made by the same model with the same data as for a weapon and ammunition in the process of creating a firing table. The data used in the fire control system are made simultaneously with the preparation of firing tables for a particular tool and associated ammunition,. A modified model of particle, standardized at the NATO level, is also used.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Taking into account the meteorological situation, before the trajectory calculation is done, a relative position of the target in relation to the position of the tool should be determined. A selection or loading check is carried out (possibility of reaching a given target) as well as the point at which the fuse is activated. The initial elevation of the tools that is used for calculating the trajectory to the end point should also be determined. The calculation is repeated until the final point of the trajectory coincides with a specific point by a projectile.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">During the preparation phase of fire, after all input parameters have been defined, the calculation is activated by the appropriate command. As an output from the BM, the initial firing data for the battery are determined:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">- Type of projectile, type of fuse, angle, distance table, locating devices and timing device (or the flight time);</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">- Information and data: ordinate trajectory, angle of fall, terminal velocity, probable error of range and probable error of deflection.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">The demands placed on the ballistic module:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">In order to perform the functions of fire, the BM should provide, in addition to determining the elements for target practice, the solution to the following tasks:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">- Check the possibility to fire;</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">- Correction and transfer of fire;</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">- Group shooting, and</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">- Planned fire.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Ballistic testing of module:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">All ballistic modules (ballistic model, ballistic data, ballistic module software and the hardware that they will be implemented on) should meet the established requirements.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">The ballistic testing of the module is done in several stages, using a ballistic computer (BC) simulation model, the entire artillery system simulation program and the computer embedded in the target system.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">The ballistic computer simulation model allows input of all projected input data and displaying all the results of calculations in a batch and interactive mode.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">The ballistic model and ballistic data are tested by comparing them with the verification data obtained from simulation programs or parts of programs used for creating firing tables.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Conclusion:</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">Modern combat conditions impose increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of artillery fire by increasing the speed of response and shooting accuracy. The approximate methods used in the first stage of artillery computers inevitably caused inaccuracy of such data as well as a number of corrections, which increased the time required for firing at goal. In accordance with international standards, a module for calculating firing elements in the fire control system must be implemented by the same trajectory model and with the same ballistic data for the weapon and ammunition as well as in the procedure for the preparation of firing tables. Technological advances in hardware implementation ensure the implementation of such software.</p> <p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom">From the above mentioned reasons, the realized ballistic BM module shows the following benefits of the fire control system: significant increase of the speed, accuracy and efficiency of artillery fire, reduction of the number of persons required to perform its functions and a higher technological level.</p><p class="24Tekstrezimeanaengleskom"> </p

Optimising 3D printed concrete structures using topology optimisation

Additive manufacturing and 3D printing are rapidly developing digital fabrication techniques (Lu et al. 2015). After the first steps in small scale printing of metals (Frazier 2014) and plastics (Gibson et al. 2014) have been made, research from various groups around the world is now also focusing on large scale printing in concrete (Lim et al. 2012) and making this technology more suitable for the construction scale. The potential of using this technology is that it will be possible to create complex and/or customised concrete designs with the expectation that the costs will be low and the construction speeds will be high. Additionally, this new technology will provide opportunities to create more efficient structures. Structures can already be optimised in the early stages of the design for weight and structural performance, but the resulting optimised structures are often difficult to manufacture due to the resulting geometry of the design. Additive manufacturing can address this issue without high costs for moulds and labour. This paper will present a novel methodology to include material performance and manufacturing constraints of 3D printed concrete in design optimisation processes. The study examines the possibility to optimise concrete structures in the design phase. In order to save material and thus create more sustainable and more cost efficient structures, a topology optimisation method has been created specifically for 3D printed concrete. Traditional topology optimisation methods consider isotropic and linear elastic material and will not necessarily produce realisable and reliable optimised structures. In the algorithm presented constraints of the printing process and material properties from physical testing of this layered material have been considered in the optimisation. By adopting this methodology more realistic and feasible optimal concrete structures can be designed