The war which broke out on February 24, 2022, as a result of the military aggression of Russian Federation against Ukraine once again shattered the state of relative peace in Europe and reevaluated ...the perception of threats, shifting focus from non-military threats to military ones. Thus, the issue of the readiness of the state, including the readiness of its military forces acting as its armed wing, for another potential military conflict came to the forefront of all discussions conducted in the political, scientific and social world. Events on the international arena coincided with measures undertaken as part of the Ministry of National Defence. These consist primarily in increasing the number of soldiers in the Polish Army (ultimately up to 300,000 soldiers), increasing combat capacity through modernisation and purchasing modern armament, as well as improving combat capabilities, as assumed by the Development Program of the Armed Forces for 2017-2026. It is worth noticing that the process focuses not only on supplying the army with modern equipment, but also on shaping in soldiers those features that will be useful both in peacetime and in wartime. What is meant here is soldier duties understood as fulfilment of a certain moral obligations to the Homeland, nation, as well as both military and civil environment. Duties can also be understood in the context of a specific vocation, mission, or responsibility to be fulfilled towards those who established a particular entity, in this case the Polish Army, to fulfil tasks prescribed by law and put their trust in them. In the course of the research, the soldier duties which are relevant to the process of building the ethos of military service and the way in which these duties should be shaped were identified.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) genes are present in many bacterial and archaeal genomes. Since the discovery of the typical CRISPR loci ...in the 1980s, well before their physiological role was revealed, their variable sequences have been used as a complementary typing tool in diagnostic, epidemiologic, and evolutionary analyses of prokaryotic strains. The discovery that CRISPR spacers are often identical to sequence fragments of mobile genetic elements was a major breakthrough that eventually led to the elucidation of CRISPR-Cas as an adaptive immunity system. Key elements of this unique prokaryotic defense system are small CRISPR RNAs that guide nucleases to complementary target nucleic acids of invading viruses and plasmids, generally followed by the degradation of the invader. In addition, several recent studies have pointed at direct links of CRISPR-Cas to regulation of a range of stress-related phenomena. An interesting example concerns a pathogenic bacterium that possesses a CRISPR-associated ribonucleoprotein complex that may play a dual role in defense and/or virulence. In this review, we describe recently reported cases of potential involvement of CRISPR-Cas systems in bacterial stress responses in general and bacterial virulence in particular.
This article follows on from our previous one about the armed conflict in Colombia and its relationship with disability. We seek here to explore the ways in which people with disabilities are ...starting to be involved in the peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP), and the avenues there are for representative organizations of disabled people to have a louder voice in Colombia. Currently, while legal and human rights approaches are important, people with disabilities in Colombia do not generally have the resources to fight for their own rights. However, there could be opportunities in the negotiations currently with the National Liberation Army (ELN) to include a specific focus on the rights of people with disabilities.
Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) is one of the most important agricultural pests, which seriously threatens agricultural production and food security in China. The Yangtze River Delta is ...an important passage for the northward migration of S. frugiperda in eastern China, connecting the year-round breeding area in South China and the major maize planting area in Northern China. Understanding the migration dynamics in this area is crucial for the forecasting and controlling of this pest throughout the country. Based on three years' data (2019-2021) in the Yangtze Delta, the migration timing, migration pathway, the source area of immigrants and the potential landing area of emigrants were identified. It revealed that S. frugiperda mainly migrated into the Yangtze River Delta in May and June, and their progenies further migrated northward to Northern China mostly in July and August. The results of this paper will be helpful to further understand the migratory rules of S. frugiperda, and to provide a theoretical basis for pest forecasting and pest control. The Yangtze River Delta, located in East China, is an important passage on the eastern pathway of the northward migration of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) in China, connecting China's year-round breeding area and the Huang-Huai-Hai summer maize area. Clarifying the migration dynamics of S. frugiperda in the Yangtze River Delta is of great significance for the scientific control and prevention of S. frugiperda in the Yangtze River Delta, even in the Huang-Huai-Hai region and Northeast China. This study is based on the pest investigation data of S. frugiperda in the Yangtze River Delta from 2019 to 2021, combining it with the migration trajectory simulation approach and the synoptic weather analysis. The result showed that S. frugiperda migrated to the Yangtze River Delta in March or April at the earliest, and mainly migrated to the south of the Yangtze River in May, which can be migrated from Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and other places. In May and June, S. frugiperda migrated further into the Jiang-Huai region, and its source areas were mainly distributed in Jiangxi, Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces. In July, it mainly migrated to the north of Huai River, and the source areas of the insects were mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei and Henan. From the south of the Yangtze River to the north of the Huai River, the source areas of S. frugiperda were constantly moving north. After breeding locally, S. frugiperda can not only migrate to other regions of the Yangtze River Delta, but also to its surrounding provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Shandong and Hebei, and even cross the Shandong Peninsula into Northeast China such as Liaoning and Jilin provinces. Trajectory simulation showed that the emigrants of S. frugiperda from the Yangtze River Delta moved northward, westward and eastward as wind direction was quite diverse in June-August. This paper analyzes the migration dynamics of S. frugiperda in the Yangtze River Delta, which has important guiding significance for the monitoring, early warning and the development of scientific prevention and control strategies for whole country.
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E Smith), is an important insect pest that can cause severe damage to a wide range of economically important crops. Many insecticides are used to ...manage the FAW in Brazil, including teflubenzuron. Here, we monitored the susceptibility of the FAW to teflubenzuron in more than 200 field-collected populations from major corn-growing regions of Brazil, from 2004 to 2020. Overall, our findings showed that the FAWs susceptibility to this insecticide reduced over the years, providing evidence of field-evolved resistance. We discuss the possible causes for this loss in the susceptibility to teflubenzuron in S. frugiperda and focus on the importance of implementing resistance management strategies. Susceptibility monitoring to insecticides is a key component to implementing insecticide resistance management (IRM) programs. In this research, the susceptibility to teflubenzuron in Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E Smith) was monitored in more than 200 field-collected populations from major corn-growing regions of Brazil, from 2004 to 2020. Initially, we defined a diagnostic concentration of 10 µg mLsup.−1 of teflubenzuron using a diet-overlay bioassay for monitoring the susceptibility. A variation in the susceptibility to teflubenzuron in S. frugiperda was detected among populations from different locations. We also detected a significant reduction in the susceptibility to teflubenzuron throughout time in all the populations of S. frugiperda evaluated, with larval survival at diagnostic concentration varying from values of <5% in 2004 to up 80% in 2020. Thus, this research provides evidence of field-evolved resistance of S. frugiperda to teflubenzuron and reinforces that IRM practices are urgently needed to be implemented in Brazil.
As Washington's new National Security Strategy emphasises China is engaged in continuous competition with America--neither fully "at peace" nor "at war." Per this national guidance the U.S. Navy must ...raise its competitive game to meet that challenge in part by addressing the potential risks to American interests and values posed by all three Chinese sea forces: the Navy Coast Guard and Maritime Militia. In terms of ship numbers each is the largest of its type in the world. China's maritime "gray zone" operations represent a new challenge for the U.S. Navy and the sea services of our allies partners and friends in maritime East Asia. There Beijing is waging what some Chinese sources term a "war without gun smoke." Already winning in important areas it could win far more if left unchecked. One of China's greatest advantages thus far is foreign difficulty in understanding and characterising the situation let alone responding effectively. With contributions from some of the world's leading subject matter experts, this volume aims to close that gap by elucidating the forces and doctrines driving China's paranaval expansion. This book covers China's major maritime forces beyond core gray-hulled Navy units with particular focus on China's second and third sea forces: the "white-hulled" Coast Guard and "blue-hulled" Maritime Militia. Increasingly, these paranaval forces and the gray zone in which they typically operate are on the frontlines of China's seaward expansion. Beijing uses these forces to further its unresolved maritime claims in the Near Seas (Yellow East and South China Seas) an approach allowing China to "win without fighting." Beijing conducts these operations-more intensely assertive than normal interstate relations but less intense than armed conflict-to alter the status quo without resorting to war. They include actions to assert Chinese sovereignty over waters adjacent to disputed land features and jurisdiction over other parts of the ocean based on China's wilful misinterpretation of international law. Chinese behaviour at sea harms U.S. interests both directly and indirectly. As a seafaring state, America demands maximal access to the world's oceans within the constraints of international law. Actions that impede that access violate America's maritime freedom. China harms U.S. interests indirectly when it violates the legitimate maritime freedom and maritime rights of its allies and partners. Such acts devalue Washington's commitments to its friends and shake the foundations of our alliance system-the true source of America's global influence. Moreover, China's efforts to curtail and infringe upon both the maritime freedom of all nations including the United States and the maritime rights of its neighbours undermines the rules-based international order. This volume therefore concludes by examining America's response to Beijing's gray zone coercion and suggests what U.S. policymakers can do to counter it.
A COMMENT ON THE ATTEMPTS TO IDENTIFY PIOTR NIEWIADOMSKI’S REGIMENTThe 2022 Polish critical edition of Józef Wittlin’s World War One novel, Salt of the Earth, features a footnote where the editor ...unequivocally identifies the main protagonist’s military unit as the Austro-Hungarian 55th Infantry Regiment, based on the initial letter of the unit’s Colonel-in-chief ’s name mentioned by the author. This aligns with the 1991 edition, which previously identified him as Nicholas I of Montenegro. With publications on the Austro- -Hungarian army now more widely accessible, the new editor enumerates the regiment’s characteristics and briefly outlines its history. However, other pertinent details scattered throughout the novel, such as the unit’s recruiting district (Śniatyn in Eastern Galicia), its garrison town (Stanisławów), and facing colour (orange), are completely disregarded. This article aims to demonstrate that, when considered collectively, these clues lead to the conclusion that Wittlin’s portrayal of the unit is entirely fictitious. The writer not only fails to mention the regiment’s number (replacing it with “X”) but also presents its mutually exclusive formal characteristics. It can be inferred that the author either could not present the unit consistently or, more likely, intentionally did so to prevent readers from associating it with any actual place and people. This conclusion is drawn from scrutiny of official printed sources in German, along with fundamental Austrian and Polish publications.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced militaries worldwide to join the fight. Numerous (e.g., British or Czech) armed forces seized the opportunity to propagate their domestic pandemic mitigation ...activities to improve their public image. However, defense budgets are usually cut first in times of crisis. Such cuts, or the mere threat of them, can have severe strategic and national security ramifications. This research, both exploratory and explanatory, investigates how military crisis-relief activities and their online propagation can muster public support against austerity cuts. It employs mixed-methods analyses of more than 160,000 posts and comments from the Czech Army’s Facebook page case study from January 2011 to January 2021. The study concludes that the Army’s propagation of information about its participation in pandemic mitigation induced positive feelings significantly more than the other content. Moreover, despite unpopular measures (e.g., lockdowns and policing), the Army’s efforts mobilized online public opposition to the austerity cuts.
One concern with employer-based health insurance is job lock or the inability for employees to leave their current employment for better opportunities for fear of losing benefits. We use the ...implementation of the Affordable Care Act's dependency mandate as a natural experiment. Data from the United States Army overcome some limitations in previous studies including the ability to examine workers with fixed contract expiration dates, uniform pay, and health coverage. We find that the ACA decreased reenlistment rates by 3.13 percent for enlisted soldiers aged 23–25. We also find that younger veterans who leave the Army are more likely to attend college. These findings show that the ACA reduced job lock and increased college-going.
U.S. Army Special Operations Command asked RAND Arroyo Center to determine whether its Tactical Human Optimization, Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning (THOR3) program is effectively utilizing ...the resources provided and to identify opportunities for improvement in the program’s planning and implementation, staffing, leader development and education, facility and equipment requirements, and ability to support participating personnel.
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![[Job] Locked and [Un]loaded...](http://api.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/image/issn/XR4PS5YY4K/0167-6296_1879-1646/small "[Job] Locked and [Un]loaded: The effect of the Affordable Care Act dependency mandate on reenlistment in the U.S. Army")
