<p style="text-align: justify;">In this paper, a model based on numerical solution of two ordinary differential equations is used to obtain the water level in the surge tank and the static pressure in the headrace tunnel &ndash; the properties of essential importance for the functioning of the water supply system during the turbine shut-off. The model allows a fast and reliable simulation of the hydraulic processes in the headrace tunnel and the surge tank. It was validated by comparing the numerical results with the data available from the experiments conducted under real conditions in a surge tank of the HPP Jablanica. This model is used to analyze of influence of different parameters on variations of water level oscillation in the surge tank and the static pressure in the headrace tunnel.</p>

This study explores the tourism-urbanization-CO2 emissions nexus in the top 10 touristic destination over the period 1995-2016. Panel VAR methodology is employed. The findings of bivariate VAR models suggest the urbanization (UP) to have a significant positive response to the tourism receipts per capita (TR) as well as the negative response of the UP to the emissions of CO2. The outcome of trivariate model suggests a significant positive response of UP to its lagged value. However, tourism receipts per capita are found to respond negatively to the urbanization. The significant negative coefficient of -0.032 with UP suggests a negative response of urbanization to CO2 emissions. IRFs (Impulse Response Functions) suggest a negative response of CO2 to TR in the short-run. The impact is not found to be significant in the long-run. Besides that, the results suggest a positive decreasing response of urbanization to emissions of CO2. The results of this paper advocate the great environmental-awareness of citizens in the top 10 tourist destination suggesting that sustainable tourism has no alternative and key decision makers should develop strategies and do necessary steps in order to promote the development of sustainable tourism since the environment-friendly tourism is suggested to be the only acceptable one.

INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TBC) is a contagious chronic respiratory disease which despite the known cause, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and many decades of successful therapy, remains one of the leading global health problems. Immune responses against Mtb infection involve both of types of immunity, but cellular immunity, in which certain cytokines and Th1 cells play a key role, is crucial. A better understanding of the functions of the cytokine network involved in the state and progression of TBC could identify specific molecular markers for monitoring of disease activity as well as therapy outcomes in TBC patients. METHODOLOGY We investigated expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and IRAK1 genes using an RT-qPCR technique in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 33 TBC patients and 10 healthy individuals. RESULTS Comparison between TBC patients and healthy individuals revealed statistically significant differences for all analyzed genes. The levels of expression of TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA were higher, while the level of IRAK1 mRNA was lower in the TBC group compared to controls. Moreover, a strong positive correlation was observed between TNF-α and IL-6 gene expression. When clinical parameters were analyzed, increased levels of TNF-α mRNA were detected in patients with a longer duration of therapy (>2 months) compared to those with a shorter therapy duration (< 2 months), and in patients without anemia. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the inflammatory genes we examined play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis, and that the expression of the TNF-α gene could be a marker for monitoring the clinical effect of the ant-tuberculosis drugs during therapy.

Encapsulation can be defined as a process of entrapping one substance within another substance producing particles with diameters of a few nm to a few mm. The entrapped material is usually a liquid, but may be a solid or a gas. The main reason of using encapsulation is the fact that some nutrients do not remain in the food for a significant amount of time or may react with the other food components causing undesirable effects. It is possible to use micro- and nanoencapsulation techniques. The first one, microencapsulation, is a technology that can improve the retention time of the nutrient in the food and allow controlled release at specific times, during food consumption or in the intestinal gut (microencapsulation of vitamin). Nanoencapsulation has the potential to protect sensitive bioactive food ingredients from unfavourable environmental conditions, enhance solubilisation, improve taste and odour masking, and enhance bioavailability of poorly absorbable function ingredients. In this review, some relevant aspects of encapsulation methodologies, coating materials and their uses in food technology were discussed.

Significant socio-economic shifts, such as the emergence of the so-called ‘knowledge economy’ have transformed the transition from adolescence to adulthood, as youth are expected to garner a considerable amount of personal, cognitive, social, and educational skills in order to successfully enter adult society and prosper within the market economy. An additional determinant of the successful transition of youth into adult society is the availability of social capital through relationships and networks that can provide access to valuable resources and information and contribute to the development of a social identity. Employment programs are a mechanism for providing youth with workforce exposure and skill development in the absence of market opportunities. These programs are also a potential source of social capital, through the exposure to new environments and the development of relationships and networks that can provide resources that youth may not have access to through traditional means. Using a qualitative approach, we explored the perspectives of youth participants in a summer employment program in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. We propose that the opportunity to develop social capital is an under-recognized benefit of employment programs, and may be a particularly important aspect for disadvantaged youth. 

A água é essencial à conservação da vida sobre a Terra, contudo, o homem a trata como um bem inesgotável. Assim, torna-se fundamental provocar mudanças culturais, buscando a conscientização da população. O artigo apresentado tem como objetivo estimar o potencial pluviométrico captado pela área de coberturaconstruída dentro do campus do Instituto Federal da Bahia, em Eunápolis. Além de abordar, do ponto de vista da Educação Ambiental,o potencial de aproveitamento da água da chuva com o corpo discente do Instituto. Para a área considerada, foi realizada uma comparação entre o potencial pluviométrico a partir de dados coletados diretamente no campus e dados médios de estações próximas, Guaratinga e Canavieiras.A área total das edificações do campus, de 9.978,80 m², em 2018, apresentou um potencial de captação de água da chuva de 54.349,53 litros, utilizando índices médios das estações. Enquanto isso, ao aplicar índices médios do pluviômetro do campus, encontrou-se um volume de 20.276,92 litros,o que ressalta a importância da coleta de dados pluviométricos in loco. Pode-se concluir com este estudo que a captação e o aproveitamento da água da chuva possuem grande potência quanto a: economia orçamentária do campus; aplicabilidade dos conhecimentos apresentados nas aulas do curso de meio ambiente; e articulação com outros projetos a serem implantados no Instituto.

By using KAM theory we investigate the stability of equilibrium points of the class of difference equations of the form xn+1=f(xn)xn−1,n=0,1,…$x_{n+1}=\frac{f(x _{n})}{x_{n-1}}, n=0,1,\ldots $ , f:(0,+∞)→(0,+∞)$f:(0,+\infty )\to (0,+\infty )$, f is sufficiently smooth and the initial conditions are x−1,x0∈(0,+∞)$x_{-1}, x _{0}\in (0,+\infty )$. We establish when an elliptic fixed point of the associated map is non-resonant and non-degenerate, and we compute the first twist coefficient α1$\alpha _{1}$. Then we apply the results to several difference equations.

By using KAM theory we investigate the stability of equilibrium points of the class of difference equations of the form xn+1=f(xn)xn−1,n=0,1,…\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$x_{n+1}=\frac{f(x _{n})}{x_{n-1}}, n=0,1,\ldots $\end{document} , f:(0,+∞)→(0,+∞)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$f:(0,+\infty )\to (0,+\infty )$\end{document}, f is sufficiently smooth and the initial conditions are x−1,x0∈(0,+∞)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$x_{-1}, x _{0}\in (0,+\infty )$\end{document}. We establish when an elliptic fixed point of the associated map is non-resonant and non-degenerate, and we compute the first twist coefficient α1\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$\alpha _{1}$\end{document}. Then we apply the results to several difference equations.

ZnO nanopowders were produced using microwave processing of a precipitate and applied as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Two different surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the cationic and Pluronic F127 as the non-ionic one, were employed to in situ adjust the surface-to-bulk defect ratio in the ZnO crystal structure and further to modify the photo(electro)catalytic activity of the ZnO photoanode. The crystal structure, morphological, textural, optical and photo(electro)catalytic properties of ZnO particles were studied in detail to explain the profound effects of the surfactants on the photoanode activity. The ZnO/CTAB photoanode displayed the highest photocurrent density of 27 mA g−1, compared to ZnO (10.4 mA g−1) and ZnO/F127 photoanodes (20 mA g−1) at 1.5 V vs. SCE in 0.1 M Na2SO4 under visible illumination of 90 mW cm−2. A significant shift of the overpotential toward lower values was also observed when photoanodes were illuminated. The highest shift of the overpotential, from 1.296 to 0.248 V vs. SCE, was recorded when the ZnO/CTAB photanode was illuminated. The ZnO/CTAB photoanode provides efficient charge transfer across the electrode/electrolyte interface, with a longer lifetime of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and reduced possibility of charge recombination. The photoconversion efficiency was improved from 1.4% for ZnO and 0.9% for ZnO/F127 to 4.2% for ZnO/CTAB at 0.510 mV. A simple procedure for the synthesis of ZnO particles with improved photo(electro)catalytic properties was established and it was found that even a small amount of CTAB used during processing of ZnO increases the surface-to-bulk defect ratio. Optimization of the surface-to-bulk defect ratio in ZnO materials enables increase of the absorption capacity for visible light, rendering of the recombination rate of the photogenerated pair, as well as increase of both the photocurrent density and photoconversion efficiency.

Orthopedic surgical judgment and a decision-making process in peace is a topic that has been discussed and written about for decades, but the wartime surgical judgment is something that cannot be predicted or prepared for. There is no wartime surgery class in any medical school worldwide that can prepare a surgeon for his/her work under a wartime environment applying all of their knowledge, skill and effort to achieve the best possible result for a patient. With this short note, authors would like to raise awareness on all surgical and medical staff worldwide working under wartime conditions and giving their super-human efforts to save patients.

Abstract. The article discusses the emergence of a functional literacy construct and the rediscovery of illiteracy in industrialized countries during the second half of the 20th century. It offers a short explanation of how the construct evolved over time. In addition, it explores how functional (il)literacy is conceived differently by research discourses of cognitive and neural studies, on the one hand, and by prescriptive and normative international policy documents and adult education, on the other hand. Furthermore, it analyses how literacy skills surveys such as the Level One Study (leo.) or the PIAAC may help to bridge the gap between cognitive and more practical and educational approaches to literacy, the goal being to place the functional illiteracy (FI) construct within its existing scale levels. It also sheds more light on the way in which FI can be perceived in terms of different cognitive processes and underlying components of reading. By building on the previous work of other authors and previous definitions, the article brings together different views of FI and offers a perspective for a needed operational definition of the concept, which would be an appropriate reference point for future educational, political, and scientific utilization.