Water hardness and deposition of incrustation is a problem in households and industry. In this regard, several technologies have been developed with the purpose of water softening and preventing the deposition of incrustation. The ion exchange method is the most commonly used method and is considered a conventional method. However, due to the shortcomings of this method, there is a need to develop adequate alternative methods. The potential of the method using biosorbents such as moss Leucobryum glaucum and Spaghnum peat moss for the purpose of removing water hardness has recently become the subject of intensive research with growing interest. In this study, the method using Leucobryum glaucum as a biosorbent was tested and a comparison was made with the conventional method and previously conducted studies that used other biosorbents.

Pepper is one of the most famous and widespread spices in the world. This commercial plant belongs to the Piperaceae family. Depending on the treatment to which the pepper fruit is exposed, we distinguish between black, white and green pepper. In this research, methanolic extracts of different types of pepper (Piper nigrum) and pink pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) were prepared. Maceration and ultrasonic extraction were used to extract bioactive components from pepper samples. The reduction potential of the extracts was tested using the FRAP method. The efficiency of free radical inhibition was determined by the DPPH method. Pink pepper extract showed the highest antioxidant activity in in vitro conditions. High antioxidant activity was also recorded in green pepper extracts. In general, the extracts showed high potency in neutralizing free radicals.

This article is dedicated to Eduardo D. Sontag on the occasion of his 70th birthday. We build upon fundamental stability concepts developed by Sontag, such as input-to-state stability and its related properties, to study a relevant application in industrial internet of things, namely estimation for wireless networked control systems. Particularly, we study emulation-based state estimation for nonlinear plants that communicate with a remote observer over a shared wireless network subject to packet losses. To reduce bandwidth usage, a stochastic communication protocol is employed to determine which node should be given access to the network. Each node has a different successful transmission probability. We describe the overall closed-loop system as a stochastic hybrid model, which allows us to capture the behaviour both between and at transmission instants, whilst covering network features such as random transmission instants, packet losses and stochastic scheduling. We then provide sufficient conditions on the transmission rate that guarantee an input-to-state stability property (in expectation) for the corresponding estimation error system. We illustrate our results in the design of circle criterion observers.

<p>Laut &nbsp;Wortschatzforschern &nbsp;ist &nbsp;es &nbsp;noch &nbsp;nie &nbsp;vorgekommen, &nbsp;dass &nbsp;in &nbsp;so &nbsp;einer &nbsp;kurzen &nbsp;Zeit &nbsp;so ungew&ouml;hnlich &nbsp;viele &nbsp;W&ouml;rter &nbsp;zu &nbsp;einem &nbsp;Thema &nbsp;den &nbsp;Wortschatz &nbsp;so &nbsp;stark &nbsp;pr&auml;gen, &nbsp;wie &nbsp;die &nbsp;zum &nbsp;Thema &nbsp;der Coronapandemie. &nbsp;Besonders &nbsp;auff&auml;llig &nbsp;sind &nbsp;die &nbsp;Anglizismen &nbsp;in &nbsp;der &nbsp;Berichterstattung &nbsp;zur &nbsp;Covid-19-Pandemie. Der Beitrag besch&auml;ftigt sich mit den Unterschieden hinsichtlich der Frequenz und Verbreitung der &nbsp;Anglizismen &nbsp;im &nbsp;Deutschen &nbsp;und &nbsp;Bosnischen.Unter &nbsp;Beobachtung &nbsp;stehen &nbsp;viele &nbsp;Anglizismen, &nbsp;wie &nbsp;z. &nbsp;B. Lockdown, Cluster, Homeschooling, Zoomparty, Social Distancing. Im Bosnischen findet man z.B. neben dem Fremdwort Lockdown noch zatvaranje und zaključavanje. Dabei verwendet man nicht das schon bestehende Wort im Bosnischen karantena f&uuml;r die entsprechende Ma&szlig;nahme der strikten Isolierung. &Uuml;ber solche &nbsp;und &nbsp;&auml;hnliche &nbsp;Erscheinungen &nbsp;im &nbsp;Wortschatz &nbsp;der &nbsp;beiden &nbsp;Sprachen &nbsp;wird &nbsp;hier &nbsp;eigene &nbsp;Recherche durgef&uuml;hrt. Als Korpus dienen Belege aus den Zeitungsartikeln in den Medienquellen,haupts&auml;chlich &bdquo;Die Zeit&ldquo; und &bdquo;Oslobođenje&ldquo;, wie auch aus einigen im Netz vorhandenen Wortsammlungen.</p>

Steel X8CrNiS18-9 (standard EN 10088-3: 2005) is the most commonly used from the group of austenitic stainless steel in terms of machinability. The content of sulphur present in the steel from 0,15 to 0,35% has the exclusive task to improve the machinability. However, while sulphur improves machinability it simultaneously reduces the resistance of steel to corrosion but also affects the decrease in mechanical properties particularly steel toughness. Due to its harmful effect on the steel, as well as the fact that the non-metallic inclusions are insufficiently tested for this type of high-alloy steel the aim of this study is to determine the appropriate microalloying possibility to modify the non-metallic inclusions. The aim of this work is that explore the influence of boron, zirconium, and tellurium on the impact toughness of the mentioned steel. Change of impact toughness, depending on the chemical composition of the steel is simulated with the Matlab program.

Sulphur in steel is an undesirable element because it lowers all technological and uses values of steel products. During the steelmaking process, the desulphurization process depends on the thermodynamic conditions, the used desulphurizes, and the stability of the formed sulphides. The desulphurization technology in the production of low-carbon steel in a protective atmosphere, with the addition of synthetic slag and strong desulphurizing agents with additional argon blowing, is presented in this paper. The reduction of sulphur content achieved in the induction furnace is an important contribution to the technology of the production of low-carbon steels.

Over 700 bike-sharing systems are currently in operation worldwide, and the number of systems has grown quickly in recent years. Rwanda's bike-sharing system has only recently begun operations and has encountered numerous challenges. The current study used an Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA) to examine these challenges and provide an acceptable strategy for overcoming them. Five strategies have been established. These strategies are prioritized using four criteria. The results indicate that “theft” and “damage of some bikes when being returned” are the most critical challenges while the first alternative “improving the current bike infrastructure to better serve the bike share system” is the appropriate strategy to overcome these challenges for a successful operation of the bike share system. Taking into account the findings, recommendations were provided to help local administrative bodies handle these challenges.

Road capacity utilization is causally connected with an appropriate level of efficiency and an optimal level of traffic safety. Therefore, in this paper, it is considered the issue of maximum utilization of road capacity through the maximization of the input parameter AADT (Annual Average Daily Traffic), and the minimization of output parameters related to the categories of traffic accidents. It was defined six main road sections, which were evaluated based on seven techno-operational criteria using an integrated Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model. The data refer to buses as a vehicle category. The Improved Fuzzy Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (IMF SWARA) method was chosen to determine the weights of criteria, while the road sections were ranked using the Evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS). In addition, in one of the stages of applying the model when it comes to AADT, the Bonferroni operator (BFO) is used. The results show that the highest level of safety refers to a main road section with the following characteristics: average AADT, minimal deviation from the speed limit, an ascent of 7% and the lowest number of traffic accidents by all categories. In the paper, it was performed a multi-phase sensitivity analysis in order to identify possible differences in results when determining new circumstances.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative haematological malignancy characterized by constitutive activation of BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase in the majority of patients. BCR-ABL1 expression activates signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation and survival. Current treatment options for CML include tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) with resistance as a major issue. Various treatment options for overcoming resistance are being investigated. Among them, phytochemical curcumin could play an important role. Curcumin has been found to exhibit anti-cancerous effects in various models, including CML, through regulation of multiple molecular signaling pathways contributing to tumorigenesis. We have evaluated curcumin’s effects on imatinib-sensitive LAMA84S and K562, as well as imatinib-resistant LAMA84R cell lines. Our results indicate a significant dose-dependent decrease in cell viability and proliferation of imatinib-sensitive and imatinib-resistant cell lines after curcumin treatment. Suppression of key signaling molecules regulating metabolic and proliferative events, such as Akt, P70S6K and NF-kB, was observed. Increased expression of caspase-3 suggests the potential pro-apoptotic effect of curcumin in the imatinib-resistant CML model. Additional in silico molecular docking studies revealed binding modes and affinities of curcumin with different targets and the results are in accordance with in vitro findings. Altogether, these results indicate the potential role of curcumin in the treatment of CML.

This paper is describing a new finding of Carcharhinus plumbeus (Nardo, 1927) caught at the insular shelves off the Sazan Island at the depth of 120 m, which is the southernmost record for a sandbar shark in the Adriatic Sea. The individual had a partially healed umbilical scar and is considered as neonatal. Examined shark appeared in good body condition with showed no macroscopic signs of diseases or macroscopic parasites. Detailed morphometric measurements are compared with four neonate and juvenile specimens from the north and central Adriatic Sea and are provided in the paper. Despite it is not possible to establish a certain conclusion on whether our specimen was born in the studied area or elsewhere, presented finding provides the very first evidence that neonatal sandbar sharks can be found along the coast of Albania. Knowing the exact locations and movements of both neonates and juveniles is of high importance for the effective long-term in-situ conservation.

For any society that strives for growth and development, focus on quality education is of particular importance. With the adoption of the Lisbon strategy in 2000, the European Union (EU) started an upward trajectory towards the most competitive economy in the world. Cooperation in education has become an important instrument for mutual understanding and sharing of European values. This cooperation is supported with numerous relevant policy strategies, action plans, available statistical data, evaluation reports, road maps, thematic working groups and programmes, special network structures and idea exchange platforms within the EU. Key relevant strategies, plans and respective indicators are analyzed in this paper. Special attention is given to progress in candidate and potential candidate countries with regards to recommendations and goals of EU. It is concluded that more effort of the educational authorities is needed in all countries and one of the areas that needs to be further developed is evidence based policy making in education.