The safe and reliable operation of pressurized water reactors (PWRs) depends on the integrity of structural material. In particular, the failure of steam generator (SG) tubes on the secondary side is one of the major concerns of operating nuclear power plants. To establish remediation techniques and manage damage, it is necessary to articulate the mechanism through which various impurities affect the SG tubes. This research aims to understand the effect of impurities (e.g., S, Pb, and Cl) on the stress corrosion cracking of Alloy 600 and 690.

The generalization of the European experience in waste management in the context of the directives, decisions and regulations adopted in the last decade in the European Union, as well as the state of the organizational, economic and regulatory framework for solving the waste problem in Ukraine, reveals a systemic lag in the implementation of new conceptual, methodological and practical approaches to the formation of an appropriate state policy.
The dynamics of handling certain types of waste in Ukraine have been analyzed. Features of disposal and waste management in Ukraine have been identified. A comparative assessment of the dynamics of waste generation in European countries and Ukraine per capita has been carried out, a block model of the financing system for the waste management sector in Ukraine has been formed and the directions of effective waste management in Ukraine have been determined. Furthermore, priority policy measures for waste management and secondary resource use in Ukraine have been formulated.
A set of obstacles on the method of efficient waste management in Ukraine has been prioritized. In the context of the formation of an efficient waste-management strategy, it has been advised to structure its three components of the subsystem: receipts (sources of formation) of funds, their accumulation and costs (expenses). This structuring indicates the presence of a number of flows of funds, each of which is largely autonomous but together they create a complementary system. Improvements to the legislative framework have been suggested. In particular, it is recommended to devote more resources to reorienting the existing economic model, which will create new business projects and will increase the flow of investment into the country.

The authors established the chemical and phase compositions of grain fractions of the magnesia carbon scrap disintegrated using industrial cone crushers. The investigations included chemical and XRD analyses and optical investigations. The contents of admixtures: SiO2, CaO, Fe2O3 and Al2O3 increase with the decreasing size of the scrap grain fractions, whereas the C/S ratio decreases in finer and finer fractions due to changes of the phase composition. These relations are caused by the presence of low-fusible silicate phases, characterized by their cleavage and brittleness. Such phases were mainly derived from the graphite ash containing a high silica content. The scrap after removing its finest grain fractions can be recycled and utilized for producing the magnesia-carbon refractory materials. However, the finest grain fractions may be used, e.g. as a component of gunite mixes. Many years of experience collected by the ArcelorMittal Refractories Ltd., Krakow, Poland in the field of refractory scrap utilization has also been presented.

Plant secondary metabolites have a variety of functions, including mediating relationships between organisms, responding to environmental challenges, and protecting plants against infections, pests, and herbivores. In a similar way, through controlling plant metabolism, plant microbiomes take part in many of the aforementioned processes indirectly or directly. Researchers have discovered that plants may affect their microbiome by secreting a variety of metabolites, and that the microbiome could likewise affect the metabolome of the host plant. Pesticides are agrochemicals that are employed to safeguard humans and plants from numerous illnesses in urban green zones, public health initiatives, and agricultural fields. The careless use of chemical pesticides is destroying our ecology. As a result, it is necessary to investigate environmentally benign alternatives to pathogen management, such as plant-based metabolites. According to literature, plant metabolites have been shown to have the ability to battle plant pathogens. Phenolics, flavonoids, and alkaloids are a few of the secondary metabolites of plants that have been covered in this study.

Considering recent media cases of incorrect communication about the traumatic experiences of children, the Committee on Psychological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, together with scientific psychological societies, prepared a joint statement on this problem. It illustrates the role of adverse events (including sexual abuse) experienced in childhood in lowering an individual's wellbeing in the future, and how some factors may lead to secondary victimization. It also emphasizes the appropriate ways of communicating about children's exposure to traumatic events. An appeal to the participants of the public debate is made to refrain from using media descriptions of child abuse in current political games.

In Poland, the mineral sector generates 110–130 million tons of wastes annually (in the last 20 years), and metal ore mining alone was responsible for 31.2 million tons of wastes in 2017. The slags deposited at the Polkowice were investigated. This waste may be a potential source of many valuable metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Sb, Sn, Se). The tailings dump in Polkowice contains approximately 80,000 tons of slag. The material contains primary phases formed by pyrometallurgical processes and secondary phases, which are the result of transformation of primary components. The primary phases are represented by sulfides: sphalerite [ZnS]; wurtzite [(Zn,Fe)S]; pyrite [FeS2]; sulfates: beaverite-(Zn) [Pb(Fe3+ 2Zn)(SO4)2(OH)6]; palmierite [(K,Na)2Pb(SO4)2]; oxides and hydroxides: goethite [Fe3+O(OH)]; wüestite [FeO]; hematite [Fe2O3]; magnetite [Fe2+Fe3+ 2O4]; chromian spinel [Fe2+Cr3+ 2O4]; silicates: petedunnite [Ca(Zn,Mn2+,Mg,Fe2+)Si2O6]; quartz [SiO2]; and microcline [KAlSi3O8]. Additionally, SEM -BSE observations revealed that oxidized native metals (Cu, Pb, As) and metal alloys and semi-metals appear. The slag consists mainly of SiO2 (13.70–20.60 wt%), Fe2O3 (24.90–39.62 wt%) and subordinately of CaO (2.71–6.94 wt%) and MgO (1.34–4.68 wt%). High contents are formed by Zn (9.42–17.38 wt%), Pb (5.13–13.74 wt%) and Cu (1.29–2.88 wt%). The slag contains trace elements Mo (487.4–980.1 ppm), Ni (245.3–530.7 ppm), Sn (2380.0–4441.5 ppm), Sb (2462.8–4446.0 ppm), Se (168.0–293.0 ppm). High concentrations are formed by toxic elements, such as e.g. As (13 100–22 600 ppm) and Cd (190.5–893.1 ppm). It is estimated that the tailings dump has accumulated about 80,000 t of slag, which may contain about 10,000 t of Zn, about 6,700 t of Pb, and 1,500 t of Cu.

The research investigates the possibility of applying Sentinel-2, PlanetScope satellite imageries, and LiDAR data for automation of land cover mapping and 3D vegetation characteristics in post-agricultural areas, mainly in the aspect of detection and monitoring of the secondary forest succession. The study was performed for the tested area in the Biskupice district (South of Poland), as an example of an uncontrolled forest succession process occurring on post-agricultural lands. The areas of interest were parcels where agricultural use has been abandoned and forest succession has progressed. This paper indicates the possibility of automating the process of monitoring wooded and shrubby areas developing in post-agricultural areas with the help of modern geodata and geoinformation methods. It was verified whether the processing of Sentinel-2, PlanetScope imageries allows for reliable land cover classification as an identification forest succession area. The airborne laser scanning (ALS) data were used for deriving detailed information about the forest succession process. Using the ALS point clouds vegetation parameters i.e., height and canopy cover were determined and presented as raster maps, histograms, or profiles. In the presented study Sentinel-2, PlanetScope imageries, and ALS data processing showed a significant differentiation of the spatial structure of vegetation. These differences are visible in the surface size (2D) and the vertical vegetation structure (3D).

In a previous study, the endophytic Bacillus velezensis NC318 was isolated from the rhizosphere of date palm and showed strong antifungal activity against the soil-borne plant pathogenic fungus, Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc, the causal agent of Southern blight. The potential of the Bacillus genus in the inhibition of plant pathogens is mainly due to the production of certain bioactive compounds. In the present study, secondary metabolites extracted from the cell-free supernatant of strain NC318 showed strong antifungal activity on the mycelial growth and germination of S. rolfsii sclerotia in vitro. With 50 μl of bioactive compounds crude extracts, the mycelial growth inhibition rate was 97% and any germination of sclerotia was reported. Chemical analysis of the secondary metabolite crude extracts performed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS), revealed that the secreted bioactive compounds belonged to the family of lipopeptides (iturin, fengycin, surfactin), polyketides (bacillaene, macrolactin, difficidin and bacilysin) and siderophores (bacillibactin). These results provide a better understanding of the biocontrol mechanism of the bacteria strain B. velezensis NC318 against the soil fungal pathogens, especially S. rolfsii root rot.

Fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda) (FAW) is an important invasive pest of maize. The young FAW larva disrupts the photosynthetic system by feeding on the leaves. The older caterpillar interferes with pollination and fertilization processes, destroying the tassel and silks, or it bores into the maize cob, reducing harvest quality and predisposing the cob to secondary infections. The infested plant responds by channeling or converting the primary metabolites into secondary metabolites for plant defense, further reducing crop yield. The devastating feeding effect on maize becomes even more severe when maize plants are exposed to prolonged drought, during which the production of secondary metabolites is optimum. These secondary metabolites are food for herbivorous insects like the fall armyworm. Naturally, plants possess several adaptive features which enable them to cope and survive herbivorous insect attacks without compensating yield for plant defense. Such features include: thickening of the leaf cuticle of the epidermal cell walls, production of certain allelochemicals, defense proteins and the toxic chemical compound, favone glycoside (silk maysin). This review attempts to critically appraise the physiological implications of fall armyworm damage on developmental processes and maize yield. Understanding the mechanisms of various adaptive traits that confer resistance to maize against herbivorous insect damage would assist greatly in crop improvement processes.

Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Pseudofusicoccum kimberleyense are pathogens causing trunk canker in Carya illioniensis and there are still no reports of effective forms of control. However, biological control is a promising measure. The objective of this work was to isolate, identify and evaluate the action of Trichoderma spp. in the in vitro control of L. theobromae and P. kimberleyense and to identify the compounds produced by the antagonist. Trichoderma spp. was identified by molecular technique and morphologically characterized. The antagonistic action of T. asperellum isolates (obtained from the rhizospheric soil, and of an isolate obtained from a commercial formulation) was evaluated by pairing cultures and volatile metabolites on L. theobromae and P. kimberleyense. Optimization of the cultivation method of T. asperellum was carried out and the compounds produced by the antagonist were identified by gas chromatography. Isolates obtained from the soil were identified as T. asperellum and decreased mycelial growth of L. theobromae and P. kimberleyense in the crop pairing test (48.98% S6 x Qt), as well as by volatile metabolites (29.85% SM21 x TR4). The cultivation conditions that generated the filtrates with the greatest antifungal action used 20 g · l ^–1 of corn maceration water, yeast extract 7.5 g · l ^–1, pH 5, agitation 100 rpm, sucrose 50 g · l ^–1, inoculum concentration 105 spores /ml. Among the identified compounds, some stood out for having bioactive action, such as pyran derivatives, celidoniol, deoxy, pentadecanoicacid, 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl, propanoicacid, 1-methylethyl ester and 9-octadecenoic acid. The T. asperellum isolates showed potential for biocontrol in vitro, acting by different mechanisms.

In order to improve the efficiency and ensure the security of power supply used in a mine, this paper mainly studies the quasi-resonant flyback secondary power supply and analyzes its operational principles based on the requirements of soft-switching technology. In accordance with the maximum energy of a short-circuit and the request of maximum output voltage ripple, this paper calculates the spectrum value of the output filter capacitor and provides its design and procedures to determine the parameters of the main circuit of power supply. The correctness and availability of this theory are eventually validated by experiments.

The aim of the paper is to discuss the existing CLIL models with respect to how they are used by teachers in Polish lower–secondary education. Throughout the paper a general situation in the system of education concerning bilingual classrooms is depicted with the focus on four CLIL models traditionall used in contemporary schools. The overall objective is to analyse the popularity of languages employed as the medium of instruction in bilingual provision, the subjects whose content is imparted through the medium of a foreign language as well as the four major curricular models themselves developed and implemented for the needs of bilingual programmes in the Poland.

As the amount of high-capacity secondary battery waste gradually increased, waste secondary batteries for industry (high-speed train & HEV) were recycled and materialization studies were carried out. The precipitation experiment was carried out with various conditions in the synthesis of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 material using a Taylor reactor. The raw material used in this study was a leaching solution generated from waste nickel-based batteries. The nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) precursor was prepared by the Taylor reaction process. Material analysis indicated that spherical powder was formed, and the particle size of the precursor was decreased as the reaction speed was increased during the preparation of the NCM. The spherical NCM powder having a particle size of 10 µm was synthesized using reaction conditions, stirring speed of 1000 rpm for 24 hours. The NCM precursor prepared by the Taylor reaction was synthesized as a cathode material for the LIB, and then a coin-cell was manufactured to perform the capacity evaluation.

The effect of aging time at 850°C for 300 s, 600 s, 1800 s, and 84600 s on the microstructural evolution and corrosion resistance of 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) was studied after cold rolling up to 60% of reduction. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy were used for microstructural characterization. The corrosion behavior was studied by cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP) and electrochemical impedance technique (EIS) in 3.5% NaCl solution and the susceptibility to sensitization was investigated through the double loop electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation (DL-EPR) test in 0.5 M H2SO4 + 0.1 M NaCl + 0.002 M KSCN solution. After cold working, increasing aging time led to an increase in sigma phase precipitation and a decrease in pitting corrosion resistance. However, the ultrafine microstructure had a beneficial influence on the self-healing effect in Cr and Mo depleted areas with the increasing of aging time, resulting in higher passivation ability. The DSS 2205 type was not susceptible to intergranular corrosion for the aged conditions applied.

The secondary aluminium alloys are very important material in actual industry from economic and ecological point of view. The secondary aluminium used for production of casts, however, contains some elements, i.e. iron, – affecting physical, chemical and mechanical behaviour. The subject of our investigation has been corrosion behaviour in natural atmosphere of the hypoeutectic AlSi7Mg0.3 cast alloys with various content of iron, because the Fe content affects not only mechanical properties but corrosion resistance, as well. Three types of the AlSi7Mg0.3 cast alloys were exposed for 9 months in natural atmosphere and the measure of their degradation by corrosion was found by determination of the weight loss and the light microscopy. In addition, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses and evaluation of surface changes were used. The corrosion behaviour in natural atmosphere was compared to results of the carried out electrochemical and exposure laboratory experiments in chloride solutions.

In Jordan, the unprecedented proliferation of building projects is anticipated to increase the potable water demand in the construction manufacturing. In the present work, secondary treated wastewater (STW) and potable water (PW) were used in the production of concrete mixes, which were subjected to testing after 3 to 28 days of curing to determine how the, mechanical properties of concrete was affected by the addition of secondary treated wastewater in various proportions (25-100%). Results indicated that the use of 25% and 75% of secondary treated wastewater in concrete production increased the compressive strength to 39 MPa after 28 days of curing. A more noticeable increment was recorded in tensile strength, which was double that achieved with the standard design. Overall, the compressive strength increased by 21.95% when secondary treated wastewater was used, while the expenditure related to water usage was halved. Furthermore, there was consistency between the results obtained from scaling up to actual ready-mix concrete production and the results of the empirical work.

Portulaca oleracea L. (Portulacaceae) is used as functional food and its nutritional and therapeutic properties are related to the high levels of organic and fatty acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides and cyclo-dopa amides. This study presents a strategy based on liquid chromatography – high resolution accurate mass spectrometry method (LC – HRAMS) and bioinformatic methods to analyze 33 purslane accessions originating from 11 floristic regions in Bulgaria together with 5 accessions of Greek provenance. Extracts were obtained by microwave extraction. Based on the LC-MS metabolic “fingerprints” of assayed samples, a purslane metabolic database was developed. LC-MS data were proceeded with Software application Compound Discover 2.0 (Thermo Fischer Sci., USA). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combined with both descriptive and differential analyses were used to find marker metabolites to distinguish different geographical regions. The differential analysis of the Bulgarian and Greek samples allowed the identification of 50 marker metabolites. Based on accurate masses, retention times, fragmentation patterns in MS/MS, comparison with commercial standards and literature data, these secondary metabolites were identified after detailed analysis of Volcano-plots. For the first time, 29 compounds are reported. The identified compounds were used to perform a study of the biosynthetic pathways of purslane secondary metabolites using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) software platform. The statistical treatments identified marker compounds that can be used to distinguish the origin of accession set. Combining LC-MS data with multivariate statistical analysis was shown to be effective in studying the purslane metabolites, allowing for integration of chemistry with geographic origin.

The article is devoted to the study of verbal identifiers of the enemy, their ranking in terms of normativity / abnormality of public communication is shown, and distinguished are stylistically neutral and stylistically colored language units. Described are the secondary nominations with negative connotations, as well as determining their communicative and pragmatic load. Achieving the goal was facilitated by the use of a descriptive method, methods of observation, contextual‑semantic and complex analysis. The corpus of the research material were national Ukrainian and regional mass media texts from 2022 to the beginning of 2023. It was found that during the specified time period, the linguistic identifiers of the invaders, which do not violate the canons of written forms of newspaper journalism, were activated. The secondary nominations are aimed at the expressiveness of language expression, the expression of contempt and hatred for one’s enemies and the creation of a specific communicative and pragmatic effect, which, although deaestheticizing the journalistic space, does reorganize the established media space, clearly reflecting the social perception of Ukrainians to the realities of the Russian‑Ukrainian war. The linguistic creativity of Ukrainian journalists expresses a combination of pathos and irony, usually employed to humiliate the Russian enemy.

This work aims at investigating the influence of the initial concentrations of carbon (glucose) and organic nitrogen (yeast extract) sources on Streptomyces rimosus ATCC10970 secondary metabolism in the stirred tank bioreactors. Additionally, glucose utilisation, biomass formation, pH, redox potential and dissolved oxygen levels, and the morphological development of S. rimosus pseudomycelium were studied. Eighteen secondary metabolites were detected by mass spectrometry and identified with the use of the authentic standard, or putatively with the use of literature and database of secondary metabolites. Varied initial yeast extract concentration acted much stronger on the formation of secondary metabolites than glucose did. For example, oxytetracycline was not biosynthesised at high yeast extract concentration while the formation of three other metabolites was enhanced under these conditions. In the case of glucose its increasing initial concentration led to higher secondary metabolite levels with the exception of an unnamed angucycline. High initial yeast extract concentration also drastically changed S. rimosus pseudomycelial morphology from the pelleted to the dispersed one. Ultimately, the cultivation media with the varied initial levels of carbon and nitrogen sources were proved to have the marked effect on S. rimosus secondary metabolism and to be the simplest way to either induce or block the formation of the selected secondary metabolites.

This article addresses the issue of the axiological and derivational specificity of the secondary names of defenders and enemies of Ukraine during the period of the Russian intervention of 2022. Its relevance is due to the need for a comprehensive study of new trends in connotative nomination, as well as the importance of outlining the value orientations of Ukrainians in the critical conditions of the war. The author defines 5 groups of secondary names of persons created during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022: 1) names of soldiers of the Armed Forces; 2) the names of the occupiers; 3) names of Ukrainian politicians; 4) names of politicians from the aggressor side; 5) names of foreign politicians who have supported Ukraine. The author emphasizes that modern Ukrainians use both traditional means of emotional and evaluative nomination, as well as original derivational mechanisms, in particular graphoderivation, a non‐standard combination of word‐forming components, witty convergence of words, etc. For the first time, the author substantiates the connotative derivation as an effective method of verbal psycho‐regulation and worldview self‐presentation of Ukrainians during the Russian aggression, since the names of defenders and enemies in the modern Ukrainian communicative space perform a number of communicative‐pragmatic and psychoregulatory functions: they enable the nomination of persons according to new value criteria, provide an outlet for negative emotions, indicate a cultural and moral superiority over the invaders, define the political position against the background of the enemy’s geopolitical and informational aggression.

This study analysis is aimed at examining the relationship between logical thinking, metacognitive skills, and problem-solving abilities. To accomplish the research purpose, 100 senior secondary school students were surveyed. A descriptive survey method was adopted to examine the study results. Logical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and metacognitive skills scales were used to assess students' skills. These three scales have been pretested and have good reliability and validity. The collected data was analysed using correlation and multiple regression techniques. Pearson product-moment correlation results show a significant relationship between study variables. Further, results of the comparison show that problem-solving abilities differ significantly on the basis of gender and stream of the students. Mediation analysis revealed that logical thinking fully mediates the relationship between metacognition and problem-solving abilities. In the present study, logical thinking accounts for 52.4% of the total effect. Moreover, the result of the interaction of metacognition and logical thinking skills on problem-solving abilities is significant, which leads to the conclusion that logical thinking also works as a moderator between the predictor and outcome variable.

The present paper deals with the synchronic variation of the phoneme /ʁ/ in the unstressed word final syllable onset in modern German spontaneous speech. Our research task was to determine the phonetic context, in which the phoneme /ʁ/ undergoes modifications in the above-mentioned position and to establish, whether the intensity and the type of modifications (vocalization or elision of the phoneme /ʁ/) could correlate with the part of speech and with the combinatorial conditions of sound realization. The data collected are based on the acoustic analysis of spontaneous speech (interviews in the media) of 20 German scientists (10 men and 10 women) from the Central and Southern Germany. Our results showed that the phoneme /ʁ/ undergoes intense modifications mainly in the word final position "stressed long vowel + ʁ + schwa vowel + nasal" in various parts of speech: verbs, plural forms of nouns, adjectives, participles, substantivized verbs, possessive pronouns and prepositions.
The type of modification of the phoneme /ʁ/ in the relevant position correlates with the sound context. After high and mid vowels [iː], [yː], [uː], [eː], [ɛː], [øː], [oː] vowel realizations as unsyllabic [ɐ̯] clearly dominate over the consonantal as [ʁ], leading to the emergence of centralizing secondary diphthongs [iːɐ̯], [yːɐ̯], [uːɐ̯], [eːɐ̯], [ɛːɐ̯], [øːɐ̯], [oːɐ̯]. In the position after the long [aː] an elision of the allophones of the phoneme /ʁ/ is predominant, which can lead to an overlong articulation of the preceding low vowel as [aːː].

Sedimentation tanks have a vital role in the overall efficiency of solid particles removal in treatment units. Therefore, an in-depth study these tanks is necessary to ensure high quality of water and increasing the system efficiency. In this work, an experimental rectangular sedimentation tank has been operated with and without a baffle to investigate the system behaviour and effectiveness for the reduction of solid particles. Turbid water was prepared using clay, which was collected from the water treatment plant of Al Maqal Port (Iraq), mixed with clear water in a plastic supply tank. Raw and outflow samples were tested against turbidity after plotting a calibration curve between inflow suspended solids versus their corresponding turbidity values. The key objective was to assess the impact of different flow rates, particle concentrations, heights and positions of the baffle on the system efficiency. Findings showed that the tank performance was enhanced significantly (p < 0.05) with the use of a baffle placed at a distance of 0.15 of tank length with height equal to 0.2 of tank depth. Higher removal efficiency (91%) was recorded at a lower flow rate (0.015 dm3∙s–1) and higher concentration (1250 mg∙dm–3), as the treatment efficiency enhanced by 34% compared with the operation without a baffle. Placing the baffle in the middle of the sedimentation tank produced the worst results. System efficiency for solids removal reduced with increasing baffle height. Further research is required to evaluate the efficiency of an inclined baffle.

In this study, the effects of grain size refiner addition and various pre-heating mold temperatures on AlSi9 cast alloy microstructure and solidification have been evaluated. For different process conditions, thermal analysis was performed for all samples and cooling curves were established. Important parameters in liquidus and eutectic Si-phase regions have been calculated using the first derivative cooling curves. Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing (SDAS) variation was also determined. Experimental results question the effectiveness of cooling curve parameters in providing the microstructure data as a function of refinement. The present work shows that the effect of grain refiner addition on the value of SDAS was higher when the solidification time was lower. It indicated that the solidification parameters such as nucleation temperatures of α-Al phase, undercooling temperature and total solidification time were affected by grain refinement. It has been found that the addition of grain refiner affect the eutectic phase formation time. However, it has no effect on the eutectic phase morphology.