Overview of FAA's aircraft icing program

An overview of the FAA's icing program is presented. The program involves certification of various types of aircraft for flight in known icing conditions, the study of icing conditions, and the preparation of certification standards. Test and technology transfer programs are also included

Specific Properties of Woven Multiaxial Structures

The development of the construction and technology of multiaxial fabrics should be accompanied by exploring their specific properties. On the one hand, there is a need to assess the behaviour of such woven structures under complex loading, while on the other there are no appropriate tools to conduct such research. This paper presents a prototype of a bi-directional load testing machine which was used to generate complex stress in tri- and foura-xial fabrics. Fabrics used for the tests were made of woven polyester tapes subjected to the thermal stabilisation process in order to unify their properties. As was expected, the results confirmed that increasing the number of axes in the fabric results in improved directional properties and increases the transfer of oblique loads in relation to the main axis. In the case of multiaxial fabrics, longitudinal rigidity in both directions can be increased by either increasing the number of axes or reducing working-in of threads (tapes) in the fabric. A multiaxial fabric may replace a package composed of many orthogonal fabrics when reinforcement of a composite exposed to complex multidirectional loading is required

The association of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3β) gene polymorphism with kidney function in long-term lithium-treated bipolar patients

BACKGROUND: Most bipolar patients experience a reduction in urinary concentrating ability within a few weeks of starting lithium treatment. This phenomenon may be connected with the effect of lithium on the glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3β) present in the renal tubules. The GSK-3β gene is located on chromosome 3q13 and possesses a functional -50 C/T polymorphism. In the present study, we estimated this polymorphism in a group of long-term lithium-treated patients and assessed its association with various parameters of kidney function, including novel markers of kidney injury such as serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and urinary beta2-microglobulin (β2-MG). METHODS: The study comprised 78 patients with bipolar mood disorder (25 males, 53 females), aged 36 to 82 (60 ± 11) years. The mean duration of bipolar illness was 6 to 50 (24 ± 10) years, and the patients have been receiving lithium for 5 to 38 (16 ± 9) years. All the patients had the following features, regarded as the phenotypes of kidney functions measured: urine examination for specific gravity evaluation, serum creatinine concentration, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) evaluation, as well as the serum concentrations of NGAL and urinary β2-MG. Genotyping of GSK-3β gene -50 C/T polymorphism was done by polymerase chain reaction analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Thirty-four patients (6 males, 28 females) had the T/T genotype, 37 patients (16 males, 21 females) had the T/C genotype, and 7 patients (3 males, 4 females) had the C/C genotype. Patients homozygous for C allele had significantly higher urine specific gravities (1.019 ± 0.008) compared to the remaining genotypes (1.013 ± 0.007) (p = 0.035), with no influence of the duration of lithium treatment. Other parameters of kidney function (serum creatinine, eGFR, serum NGAL, and urinary β2-MG levels) were not different between genotypes and, again, were not affected by the duration of lithium treatment. There was no correlation between urine specific gravity and other kidney function parameters. The results of our study indicate that the GSK-3β genotype may be connected with lithium-induced impairment of renal concentrating ability in long-term lithium-treated bipolar patients. Limitations of the study include small size of the sample, small number of C/C genotype patients, and a lack of multiple testing analysis of genotypic differences in various measures of kidney function

Belonging in South Africa : nationality, race and religion in J. M. Coetzee's "Boyhood"

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of three issues – nationality, race and religion – on the life of John Coetzee, the child protagonist of J.M Coetzee’s semi-autobiographical Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life. The article stipulates that the boy’s sense of alienation within South African society is a direct result of his rejection of, respectively, nationality (due to his bilingual upbringing and affection for English history and language), race (the boy cannot comprehend the racial segregation imposed by policies of legislated racism and division) and religion (he is brought up in a secular family and, consequently, does not follow any religious doctrine in a highly devout, predominantly Christian society)

Time to Follow Florida: Why GINA\u27s Definition of Genetic Information Must Change in the Context of Life Insurance

Many Americans apply for a life insurance policy to protect their spouses and families in the event of an untimely death.1 What if insurance companies required genetic tests as part of the application process? What if those results were used to exclude applicants or calculate premiums? Can an individual who has taken a commercial genetic test, such as the popular 23andMe, 2 be forced to disclose the results to obtain an insurance policy? Surprisingly, genetic discrimination regarding life insurance decisions is currently legal in forty-nine of the fifty states.3 This Article argues that additional federal legislation to prohibit genetic discrimination, modeled after existing Florida law, is necessary to protect against genetic discrimination involving life insurance. In the United States, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 ( GINA ) is the main source for antidiscrimination law surrounding an individual\u27s genetic information. 4 GINA accomplishes this goal with two main components: Title I and Title II.5 Title I prohibits health insurance companies from using genetic information to discriminate in issuing health insurance.6 But that prohibition does not extend to genetic discrimination involving life, disability, or long-term care insurance.7 Title II prohibits employers from using genetic information to discriminate in the employment context.8 Between Title I and Title II, GINA has made a bigger impact in the employment context, with a handful of courts finding that employers unlawfully requested or used genetic information to discriminate in employment decisions.9 However, outside of employment and health insurance, genetic discrimination is not prohibited under federal law.10 To fill this gap, some states have enacted their own legislation to protect against genetic discrimination in many other industries, including non-medical insurance, housing, education, mortgage lending, and even elections.11 In addition to problems with GINA\u27s coverage limits, courts have not uniformly interpreted the term genetic information. 12 Courts have essentially settled on two possible interpretations.13 One definition interprets the term to mean literally any type of genetic information, while the other definition only considers genetic information that shows the propensity of disease.14 At the state level, Florida has recently passed a law which applies GINA\u27s antidiscrimination principles to life insurance decisions, but the statute has an even more narrow definition of genetic information than GINA.15 While many genetic antidiscrimination activists are trying to amend GINA to cover more industries like life insurance, a balance must be struck between the interests of the companies writing the policies and those whom they insure.16 First, this Article will explore a detailed background of GINA\u27s history, as well as Florida\u27s new law passed in Summer 2020.17 The Article will analyze how federal genetic antidiscrimination caselaw yields different definitions of genetic information. 18 The Article will highlight the problems with incorporating those definitions (and Florida\u27s new, narrow definition) into the life insurance context.19 This Article will conclude with reform proposals to create a sensible approach to prohibiting genetic discrimination in life insurance. Ultimately, this Article proposes that life insurance companies should be prohibited from requiring specific genetic testing (or inquiring about genetic testing) in an application or as part of the disclosure process, while allowing insurers to continue asking applicants questions about family history

Balkan Orthodox Churches in Soviet Union policy (in the first years after the Second World War)

The aim of the article is to present the concept and actions taken by the Soviet diplomacy and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church to subjugate the Orthodox communities in the communist Balkan countries. The mechanism of the subjugation of the Balkan churches has been included into a comparative perspective and integrated into the broader concept of the Moscow Patriarchate towards gaining a leading role in the Orthodox world in the first years after the end of the Second World War. The process of dependency and its effects are reflected in diplomatic documents, but also in those produced by the Orthodox Churches themselves. The key element for gaining central position in the Orthodox world by Moscow was the organisation of anniversary celebrations and conferences to integrate the community and to involve it in the implementation of plans towards Soviet political domination. The results of these efforts were very limited in relation to ambitions outlined by the leadership of the Soviet state, revealing differing positions of the major patriarchates, as well as a real strength of authority and prestige that the Ecumenical Patriarchate invariably enjoyed.The aim of the article is to present the concept and actions taken by the Soviet diplomacy and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church to subjugate the Orthodox communities in the communist Balkan countries. The mechanism of the subjugation of the Balkan churches has been included into a comparative perspective and integrated into the broader concept of the Moscow Patriarchate towards gaining a leading role in the Orthodox world in the first years after the end of the Second World War. The process of dependency and its effects are reflected in diplomatic documents, but also in those produced by the Orthodox Churches themselves. The key element for gaining central position in the Orthodox world by Moscow was the organisation of anniversary celebrations and conferences to integrate the community and to involve it in the implementation of plans towards Soviet political domination. The results of these efforts were very limited in relation to ambitions outlined by the leadership of the Soviet state, revealing differing positions of the major patriarchates, as well as a real strength of authority and prestige that the Ecumenical Patriarchate invariably enjoyed

"Was it for this the clay grew tall?" : Wilfred Owen's aesthetic sensitivity in the face of war and violence

The purpose of the article is to analyse the evolution of Wilfred Owen’s poetry; to compare Owen’s early works, written before his firsthand experience of combat and inspired by Romantic and, subsequently, Decadent poetry, with compositions written after his traumatic experiences on the battlefield; to document the clash, or rather distinctive fusion, of his growing aesthetic sensitivity and Romantic appreciation of nature with the horrifying experiences of trench warfare. The article concludes with an analysis of the poem Futility, which may be viewed as Owen’s final literary testament; a simultaneously hopeful and bleak meditation on the nature of human existence

Utopia of the new town - implemented or degraded? : Novi Beograd, Nowa Huta and Tirana e Re in a socialist and post-socialist perspective

The paper follows in the assumption that the transformations of central-European and Balkan cities taking place in the second half of the 20th century can be considered a symptom of complex economic, social and political processes related to the development and decline of the culture of socialism. Changes after the Second World War were closely interconnected with the urbanization project, which was implemented in two ways – either by rebuilding, reorganizing and resemantizing old cities, or by creating cities and urban communities – in a modernist spirit – from scratch. We consider these issues by comparing three examples of cities with different historical experience, which shaped their identities within culturally and politically different frames of reference. The subject of thus oriented considerations is the question of what happened to the socialist utopia which at the end of the 20th century was put to the test. What was its fate depending on various politically – but also culturally-motivated scenarios of political transformation? In what way and by whom is its heritage appropriated in the 1990’s? While analyzing the fate of the utopia of the new city from a post-communist perspective, it should be noted that although individual projects did not meet the ideals and hopes of their designers, they proved to be an impulse that released social activity­ qualitatively different from existing traditional patterns and initiated a thorough redefinition of urban identitie