This study aimed to compare measures of religiosity and spirituality in the experience of positive and negative emotions. For this purpose, a measure of non-spiritual religiosity (Religious Sense Scale) was developed. Method: The study has been conducted on a sample of 279 participants aged between 19 and 69 (M=24.42, SD=9.463) who completed a questionnaire that included the Religious Sense Scale, the Portuguese version of the Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire and the abridged Portuguese version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Findings: The was found to have excellent metrical properties for the measurement of religiosity or “religious sense”. Religious individuals differ from spiritual ones in the experience of emotions: spirituality tends to a greater experience of positive affect and religiosity to negative affect.

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most important protozoa zoonotic diseases worldwide. The present study describes the clinical, seroprevalence findings with ocular toxoplasmosis and the outcome of medicinal treatment of these cats. This study was carried out on 105 cats with various ocular signs, no historical evidence of ocular trauma or drug/vaccine exposure for at least 3 months prior to admission, and without clinical or laboratory evidence of other systemic diseases. Complete case history, physical and ophthalmic examinations were carried out. The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies was determined using the Toxoplasma Ab Rapid Test and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Out of 105 examined cats with ocular lesions, 60 cats representing 57.14% were seropositive to T. gondii. Out of these 60 cats, 15 cats (25%) had bilateral ocular abnormalities, 25 cats (41.67%) had right-sided ocular disease, and 20 cats (33.33%) had left-sided ocular disease. There were 38 cats (63.33%) with anterior uveitis, 12 cats (20%) with posterior segment involvement, 5 cats (8.33%) with anterior uveitis and anterior chamber abnormalities, 3 cats (5%) with corneal abnormalities and 2 cats (3.34%) with anterior uveitis with concurrent corneal involvement. There was a significant difference in the index values of IgM and IgG between seropositive and seronegative cats with T. gondii antibodies (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the different ages, genders and breeds of cats with seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies as well as between the age and total number of cats with seropositive and seronegative T. gondii. Out of 60 treated cats, 28 cats (46.7%), 25 cats (41.7%) and 7 cats (11.6%) showed complete, partial and poor response to treatment, respectively. In conclusion, cats showing ocular signs without obvious etiology should be examined serologically for toxoplasmosis and the seropositive cats should be treated with both specific topical and systemic treatments.

With the rapid development of industry, abundant industrial waste has resulted in escalating environmental issue. Steel slag is the by-product of steel-making and can be used as cementitious materials in construction. However, the low activity of steel slag limits its utilization. Much investigation has been conducted on steel slag, while only a fraction of the investigation focuses on the effect of steel slag particle size on the properties of mortar. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of steel slag particle size as cement replacement on properties of steel slag mortar activated by sodium sulphate (Na2SO4º. In this study, two types of steel slag, classified as fine steel slag (FSS) with particle sizes of 0.075mm and coarse steel slag (CSS) with particle sizes of 0.150 mm, were used for making alkali activated steel slag (AASS) mortar. Flow table test, compressive strength test, flexural strength test and UPV test were carried out by designing and producing AASS mortar cubes of (50 x 50 x 50) mm at 0, 10%, 20% and 30% replacement ratio and at 0.85% addition of Na2SO4. The results show that the AASS mortar with FSS possess a relatively good strength in AASS mortar. AASS mortar with FSS which is relatively finer shows a higher compressive strength than CSS up to 38.0% with replacement ratio from 10% to 30%. This study provided the further investigation on the combined influence of replacement ratio and particle size of SS in the properties of fresh and hardened AASS.

Habitat fragmentation is one of serious threats to biodiversity of nature in today's world. The present study of a typical steppe species Iris pumila L. (Iridaceae) has analyzed the impacts of geographical isolation and population size on genetic diversity and population structure in conditions of habitat fragmentation. The key indices of population genetic variability calculated from the ISSR markers data were on average as follows: Shannon diversity index (S) – 0.188; unbiased Nei’s gene diversity (He) – 0.123; and the average measure of Jaccard’s genetic distances between individuals within populations – 58.4%. Although the largest population had significantly higher values of S and He, the small and marginal populations also showed a comparable level of variation. Most of the genetic variation of I. pumila was distributed within the populations. A strong correlation was found between Nei’s genetic distances and geographic distances between the populations. According to the Bayesian analysis, genetic structure of the populations was highly homogeneous; however, the presence of admixed genotypes indicated the possibility of gene flow between the populations at present.

Understanding thermodynamics can be challenging due to its dealing with abstract concepts such as entropy and energy transfer. This paper outlines six principles of thermodynamics, whose application necessitates a coherent overarching phi-losophy. The problems studied often entail complex mathematical equations, relying on a strong foundation in physics and mathematics. Moreover, comprehending thermodynamics requires a shift in thinking, focusing on macroscopic properties of matter rather than microscopic interactions, as in other branches of physics. Thermodynamics also introduces a new philosophy in science – the concept of irreversible phenomena, rooted in the heat flow theory, which is currently being extrapolated to other scientific domains. Notably, this involves extending the concept of work to systems performing var-ious types of work beyond volume change.

During geomorphologic mapping of northern seashore of Hornsund (Spitsbergen) a geomorphologic map of Revdalen and Fuglebergsletta was prepared in the scale of 1: 10 000. Distinct outwash routes and a moutonnee area was noted to the south of Rewatnet; at the same time, the destroyed marine terraces in the upper part of the valley and an occurrence of a ground moraine there, prove a Holocene glacier advance in Revdalen (about 2 400 years B. P.). The glaciers of that time slightly overcrossed a zone of the present southern limit of the Rev Lake but they did not fill entirely the middle part of the Revdalen.

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań nad wpływem stałego pola magnetycznego na usuwanie związków organicznych i azotu amonowego wysokoobciążonym osadem czynnym. Badania prowadzono w skali laboratoryjnej, w temperaturze pokojowej, w trzech lub dwóch układach działających równolegle. W dwóch układach recyrkulowany osad czynny eksponowano w polu magnetycznym o indukcji 20 mT lub 40 mT. Magnetyzer umieszczono na przewodzie przeznaczonym do recyrkulacji osadu czynnego. Szybkość nitryfikacji w układzie, w którym recyrkulowany osad czynny eksponowano w polu magnetycznym była wyższa w porównaniu z układem działającym poza oddziaływaniem pola magnetycznego. Prowadząc badania przy obciążeniu osadu czynnego w zakresie od 0,6 do 0,9 g ChZTlg_,m·d obserwowano, że szybkość nitryfikacji w układzie, w którym recyrkulowany osad czynny eksponowano w polu magnetycznym o indukcji 40 mT była 2 razy wyższa w porównaniu z układem kontrolnym. Wyniki świadczą o tym, że pole magnetyczne może być czynnikiem wspomagającym nitryfikację ścieków wysokoobciążonym osadem czynnym.