The article contains considerations on the organisational, on the creation, functioning and management of illegal armed forces remaining outside the official control of the state — private military ...companies (PMCs)2 but also informal groups such as the Wagner Group, which has an extremely unclear status. The text consists of three main parts. The first explains the concept of ‘mercenary’ in international public law, the second describes the first modern mercenary group, the French Foreign Legion, and the third provides information on the Wagner Group, a private Russian mercenary army. The text includes an introduction and a summary. The main purpose of the article is to present the origins, essence and methods of operation of the French Foreign Legion and the Wagner Group in the context of national, international and even global security. It further intends to show the reader the extremely illegal and criminal practice of modern mercenaries using extremely brutal, and sometimes even atavistic violenceStreszczenieW artykule przedstawiono rozważania na temat organizacji, tworzenia, funkcjonowania i zarządzania nielegalnymi siłami zbrojnymi pozostającymi poza oficjalną kontrolą państwa — prywatnymi formacjami wojskowymi (ang. PMC), ale także grupami nieformalnymi, takimi jak Grupa Wagnera, posiadającej wyjątkowo niejasny status. Tekst składa się z trzech głównych części. W pierwszej wyjaśniono pojęcie „najemnika” w międzynarodowym prawie publicznym, w drugiej — opisano pierwszą współczesną grupę najemników, francuską Legię Cudzoziemską, a w trzeciej — przedstawiono informacje na temat Grupy Wagnera, prywatnej rosyjskiej armii najemników. Głównym celem artykułu jest przedstawienie genezy, istoty i metod działania francuskiej Legii Cudzoziemskiej oraz Grupy Wagnera w kontekście bezpieczeństwa narodowego, międzynarodowego, a nawet globalnego. Ponadto zamierzeniem autorki jest zaprezentowanie skrajnie nielegalnych i przestępczych praktyk współczesnych najemników, posługujących się niezwykle brutalną, a niekiedy wręcz atawistyczną przemocąResumenEl artículo plantea una reflexión sobre la organización, la formación, el funcionamiento y la gestión de fuerzas armadas ilegales fuera del control oficial del Estado: empresas militares privadas (PKW), pero también grupos informales como el Grupo Wagner, cuyo estatus resulta sumamente confuso. El texto consta de tres partes principales. La primera explica el concepto de “mercenarios” en el derecho internacional público, la segunda describe el primer grupo mercenario moderno, la Legión Extranjera Francesa, y la tercera aporta información sobre el Grupo Wagner, un ejército mercenario privado ruso. El objetivo principal del artículo es presentar los orígenes, la naturaleza y los métodos de la Legión Extranjera Francesa y del Grupo Wagner en el contexto de la seguridad nacional, internacional e incluso mundial. Por otro lado, pretende mostrar al lector la práctica extremadamente ilegal y criminal de los mercenarios modernos, que recurren a una violencia excesivamente brutal y a veces incluso atávicaZusammenfassungDer Artikel stellt die Überlegungen zum Thema der Organisation, der Bildung, der Funktionsweise und der Verwaltung mit illegalen Streitkräften dar, die sich der offiziellen staatlichen Kontrolle entziehen - privaten militärischen Formationen (PMCs), aber auch informellen Gruppen wie der Wagner-Gruppe, deren Status äußerst unklar ist. Der Text besteht aus drei Hauptteilen. Im ersten Teil wird der Begriff „Söldner” im internationalen offentlichen Recht erläutert, im zweiten Teil wird die erste moderne Söldnergruppe, die französische Fremdenlegion, beschrieben, und der dritte Teil enthält Informationen über die Wagner-Gruppe, eine private russische Söldnerarmee. Das Hauptziel des Artikels besteht darin, die Ursprünge, das Wesen und die Arbeitsweise der französischen Fremdenlegion und der Wagner-Gruppe im Kontext der nationalen, internationalen und sogar globalen Sicherheit darzustellen. Darüber hinaus möchte der Autor die extrem illegalen und kriminellen Praktiken der heutigen Söldner aufzeigen, die mit äußerst brutaler und manchmal sogar atavistischer Gewalt handelnРезюмеВ статье рассматриваются вопросы организации, формирования, деятельности и управления незакон- ными вооруженными формированиями, неподконтрольными официальному государству, — частными военными формированиями (анг. PMC), а также неформальными группами, такими как ЧВК Вагнера, имеющая крайне нео- пределенный статус. Текст состоит из трех основных частей. В первой части раскрывается понятие наемник в международном публичном праве, во второй дается описание первого современного формирования наемников — Французского иностранного легиона, в третьей — информация о частной российской наемной армии — Группе Вагнера. Основная цель статьи — представить историю создания, основные задачи и методы деятельности Французского иностранного легиона и ЧВК Вагнера в контексте национальной, международной и даже глобальной безопасности. Кроме того, автор намерен представить совершенно незаконную и преступную деятельность современных наемников, использующих крайне жестокое, а порой и атавистическое насилие
This paper aims to identify the costs of capital in a group of companies from the energy sector by including an investor and market risk approach. The study also concerns the company’s Weighted ...Average Cost of Capital (WACC) cost intra-industry analysis related to sector characteristics such as total assets, revenues, market capitalization, and companies’ age. In order to assess the intergroup relationships, basic correlation relationships were compared and a nonparametric test of variance was performed. The period under study covered the years 2015–2019. The conducted research evaluates groups of companies that dedicated their activity to a particular energy intra-industry division under numerous regulations in Europe. The study contributes to assessing the level of risk among energy listed companies in European capital markets based on capital structure valuation. The study results underline the role of the cost of equity financing, which was twice as high as the cost of debt. The highest WACC was related to the Beta indicator that also expressed the political and regulatory risk over the investigated period. Across debt cost analysis, the role of effective tax rate decreased the level of WACC. The highest level of WACC was noticed among uranium and integrated oil and gas companies. The study contributes to information asymmetry theory related to the cost of capital assumptions.
Innovative forms of green urban architecture aim to combine food, production, and design to produce food on a larger scale in and on buildings in urban areas. It includes rooftop gardens, rooftop ...greenhouses, indoor farms, and other building-related forms (defined as “ZFarming”). This study uses the framework of sustainability to understand the role of ZFarming in future urban food production and to review the major benefits and limitations. The results are based on an analysis of 96 documents published in accessible international resources. The analysis shows that ZFarming has multiple functions and produces a range of non-food and non-market goods that may have positive impacts on the urban setting. It promises environmental benefits resulting from the saving and recycling of resources and reduced food miles. Social advantages include improving community food security, the provision of educational facilities, linking consumers to food production, and serving as a design inspiration. In economic terms it provides potential public benefits and commodity outputs. However, managing ZFarming faces several challenges. For some applications, the required technologies are known but have not been used or combined in that way before; others will need entirely new materials or cultivation techniques. Further critical aspects are the problem of high investment costs, exclusionary effects, and a lack of acceptance. In conclusion, ZFarming is seen as an outside-the-box solution which has some potential in generating win–win scenarios in cities. Nevertheless, ZFarming practices are not in and of themselves sustainable and need to be managed properly.
Considering global trends such as climate change and resource scarcity, a major challenge of future cities will be to reduce urban footprints. Moreover, cities have to become or remain livable for ...their inhabitants and offer social and economic opportunities. Thus, reconnecting food production and cities offers promising potential. The diffusion of urban farming reflects a rising awareness of how food and farming can shape our cities. A growing number of urban farming projects exist in and on urban buildings, including open rooftop farms, rooftop greenhouses and indoor farming. These projects are characterized by the non-use of land or acreage for farming activities. We use the term ‘Zero-Acreage Farming’ (ZFarming) to represent these farms. The objective of this paper is to: (1) illustrate and systemize present practices of ZFarming and (2) discuss specific novelties of ZFarming in the wider context of urban agriculture. We analyzed 73 ZFarms in cities of North America, Asia, Australia and Europe using a set of criteria, and developed a typology of ZFarming, complemented by in-depth interviews with pioneers in rooftop farming in New York. The results illustrate that ZFarming generates innovative practices that may contribute to a sustainable urban agriculture. Besides growing food, it produces a range of non-food and non-market goods. It involves new opportunities for resource efficiency, new farming technologies, specific implementation processes and networks, new patterns of food supply and new urban spaces.
This paper aims to identify financial measures that are related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involvement activities. The study concerns the food industry, in which clients, as well as ...stakeholders, increasingly appreciate socially responsible companies, which could be a crucial factor for future growth strategy. An analysis was made on a sample of 448 food companies from 50 countries in 2009–2020. As a financial measure for CSR assessment, we used profitability ratios, dividend payout ratio, price-to-earnings ratio and market capitalization. The results confirmed that CSR reporting was a crucial division that differentiated companies from the perspective of profitability, OE, market capitalization, and share price. The CSR practices that are realized and published in reports become an important signal for investors that the company has a good financial situation and is able to invest in CSR without reducing its performance.
The research aims to assess the cost of capital according to the WACC methodology across the food industry companies. The study also investigates the primary financial indicators for company position ...on the market as total assets, total revenues, and total equity. The study was conducted among 35 European countries from a sample of 1,274 records. The research period covers the years 2015–2018. The results of the survey underline the current asymmetric information problems in WACC food companies’ assessment between European emerging and developed economies. The emerging markets were characterized by a higher level of the cost of equity and debt. The cost of debt among companies from emerging economies was related to total assets value and revenues, which proves the importance of the size of enterprises in relation to their market assessment.
Proline has attracted growing interest because of its diverse influence on tumor metabolism and the discovery of the regulatory mechanisms that appear to be involved. In contrast to general oncology, ...data on proline metabolism in central nervous system malignancies are limited.
We performed a systematic literature review of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases according to PRISMA guidelines, searching for articles concerning proline metabolism in malignant glial tumors. From 815 search results, we identified 14 studies pertaining to this topic.
The role of the proline cycle in maintaining redox balance in IDH-mutated gliomas has been convincingly demonstrated. Proline is involved in restoring levels of glutamate, the main glial excitatory neurotransmitter. Proline oxidase influences two major signaling pathways: p53 and NF- κB. In metabolomics studies, the metabolism of proline and its link to the urea cycle was found to be a prognostic factor for survival and a marker of malignancy. Data on the prolidase concentration in the serum of glioblastoma patients are contradictory.
Despite a paucity of studies in the literature, the available data are interesting enough to encourage further research, especially in terms of extrapolating what we have learned of proline functions from other neoplasms to malignant gliomas.
The role of proline dehydrogenase/proline oxidase (PRODH/POX) in the mechanism of antineoplastic activity of metformin (MET) was studied in C32 melanoma cells. PRODH/POX is a mitochondrial ...enzyme-degrading proline that is implicated in the regulation of cancer cell survival/apoptosis. The enzyme is activated by AMP kinase (AMPK). It has been found that MET induced a significant decrease in cell viability and DNA biosynthesis accompanied by an increase in the expressions of AMPK and PRODH/POX in C32 cells. The mechanism for MET-dependent cytotoxicity on C32 cells was found at the level of PRODH/POX-induced ROS generation and activation of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 expressions in these cells. The effects were not observed in MET-treated PRODH/POX knock-out C32 cells. Of interest is an MET-dependent increase in the concentration of proline, which is a substrate for PRODH/POX. This phenomenon is due to the MET-dependent inhibition of collagen biosynthesis, which is the main proline-utilizing process. It has been found that the underlying mechanism of anticancer activity of MET involves the activation of AMPK, PRODH/POX, increase in the cytoplasmic concentration of proline, inhibition of collagen biosynthesis, and stimulation of PRODH/POX-dependent ROS generation, which initiate the apoptosis of melanoma cells.
Background
Few data are available on mountaineers’ survival prospects in extreme weather above 8000 m (the Death Zone). We aimed to assess Death Zone weather extremes experienced in climbing-season ...ascents of Everest and K2, all winter ascents of 8000 m peaks (8K) in the Himalayas and Karakoram, environmental records of human survival, and weather extremes experienced with and without oxygen support.
Materials and Methods
We analyzed 528 ascents of 8K peaks: 423 non-winter ascents without supplemental oxygen (Everest–210, K2–213), 76 ascents in winter without oxygen, and 29 in winter with oxygen. We assessed environmental conditions using the ERA5 dataset (1978–2021): barometric pressure (BP), temperature (Temp), wind speed (Wind), wind chill equivalent temperature (WCT), and facial frostbite time (FFT).
Results
The most extreme conditions that climbers have experienced with and without supplemental oxygen were: BP 320 hPa (winter Everest) vs. 329 hPa (non-winter Everest); Temp –41°C (winter Everest) vs. –45°C (winter Nanga Parbat); Wind 46 m⋅s
–1
(winter Everest) vs. 48 m⋅s
–1
(winter Kangchenjunga). The most extreme combined conditions of BP ≤ 333 hPa, Temp ≤ −30°C, Wind ≥ 25 m⋅s
–1
, WCT ≤ −54°C and FFT ≤ 3 min were encountered in 14 ascents of Everest, two without oxygen (late autumn and winter) and 12 oxygen-supported in winter. The average extreme conditions experienced in ascents with and without oxygen were: BP 326 ± 3 hPa (winter Everest) vs. 335 ± 2 hPa (non-winter Everest); Temp −40 ± 0°C (winter K2) vs. −38 ± 5°C (winter low Karakoram 8K peaks); Wind 36 ± 7 m⋅s
–1
(winter Everest) vs. 41 ± 9 m⋅s
–1
(winter high Himalayan 8K peaks).
Conclusions
1.
The most extreme combined environmental BP, Temp and Wind were experienced in winter and off-season ascents of Everest.
2.
Mountaineers using supplemental oxygen endured more extreme conditions than climbers without oxygen.
3.
Climbing-season weather extremes in the Death Zone were more severe on Everest than on K2.
4.
Extreme wind speed characterized winter ascents of Himalayan peaks, but severely low temperatures marked winter climbs in Karakoram.
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