Search

IntroductionApproximately 240,000 people live with HIV in Ukraine, concentrated among key populations, including sex workers. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in the funding and delivery of HIV testing and prevention services in Ukraine. These services are set within the context of national healthcare reforms as well as ongoing armed conflict. This study seeks to describe and understand the usage of HIV testing and prevention services among sex workers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro.MethodsA cross-sectional bio-behavioral survey was administered in September 2017-March 2018 among 560 sex workers working in Dnipro. Descriptive analyses of survey data are presented alongside multivariable logistic regression models identifying factors associated with NGO awareness and HIV testing in the past 12 months; adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported.ResultsSixty-two percent of respondents were aware of NGOs offering HIV services. Sixty-eight percent had tested for HIV in the past 12 months, and 51% of those who reported the location of their most recent test were tested at an NGO. Those with 5–9 years in sex work had greater odds of being aware of NGOs (AOR = 5.5, 95%CI: 3.2–9.7) and testing for HIV (AOR = 3.4, 95%CI: 2.0–6.0) compared to those new to the profession. Contact with outreach workers was strongly associated with increased odds of testing (AOR = 13.0, 95%CI: 7.0–24.0). Sex workers in “offices” (brothel-like venues) reported higher odds of testing than all other workplaces, while those in entertainment venues (AOR = 0.3, 95%CI: 0.2–0.5) and public places (AOR = 0.2, 95%CI: 0.1–0.3) reported lower rates. Receiving prevention services, such as free condoms, was associated with increased testing (AOR = 16.9, 95%CI: 9.7–29.3).DiscussionNGOs in Dnipro, Ukraine play an important role in HIV testing and prevention for women involved in sex work. However, focused efforts should be placed on supporting access to these services for women that are newer to sex work, and those working in entertainment venues or public places. Outreach workers appear to support access to HIV prevention information and supplies and facilitate linkages to HIV testing for sex workers.

Cities are centres of human and economic activities, and in its flurry, are also producers of great quantities of discarded materials and products, effectively functioning as concentrators of natural resources, perpetuating the current linear system of "take-make-dispose" (EMF - Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). In order to tackle this issue, there has been an evergrowing push for the adoption of better resource management and waste prevention in urban areas, going in line with the concept of Circular Economy (Zeller et al., 2019). The definition of Circular Economy, given in the first publication of the COST Action Circular City (Langergraber et al., 2020), is an economic system that aims at minimising waste and input of energy and return them as many resources as possible. In order to do so, the different economic systems must bear in mind to minimise resources input and output, emissions to air, water and soil and energy leakage. This could be achieved by slowing, closing and narrowing energy and material loops. In urban environments, specifically, this can be ensured by managing the energy and material flows specific to this environment (water, nutrients, commodities, organics, energy) in such a way that the amount of waste generated is minimal or none at all (Langergraber et al., 2020). However, the implementation of circularity in urban areas comes with added challenges which needs must be addressed. Paiho et al. (2020) attempted to develop a comprehensive list of these challenges, which belong to the following categories: i) "Business" category, ii) "Policy" category, iii) "Technical" category and iv) "Knowledge" category. To deal with these circularity challenges, Langergraber et al. (2020) proposed to apply Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) as the basis for achieving the Circular City concept. By establishing solutions which are simultaneously cost-effective, resource efficient and locally adapted, NBS can serve as tools of application of circular economy within cities (Langergraber et al., 2020; Nika et al., 2020). NBS methodology is extremely interesting, as the inherent focus on resource recovery ensures an improved management of not just water but also the carbon, nutrients, energy and potentially other elements that can be used in interconnected systems (Nika et al., 2020). Several NBS units can together form resource recovery system to cycle above mentioned elements. In that way, the ethodology introduced with the concept of NBS can be proved to fulfil the goals previously set out. While biological processes are the foundation for NBS, other units based on chemical and physical principles may be required to effectively "close the loop". These additional units are designated as "Supporting Units", and their mass and energy balances need also to be studied in detail. As a follow-up of the paper of Kisser et al. (2020), this work will provide a characterisation of urban solid and liquid resource flows, (including water, nutrients, potential energy and organics) which pass through selected NBS and Supporting Units, expanding on that characterization through the study of real-life cases. In particular, we will present the currently implemented NBS units for resource recovery and the applicable solid and liquid urban waste streams and the supporting units dedicated for producing separate input streams at the source level (like urine or concentrated black water) or concentrated fertilizers and disinfected recovered products. Recovery efficiency of systems (where NBS and supporting units are combined) operated at micro or meso scale, applied at TRL higher than 5, is reviewed. The importance of collection and transport infrastructure, treatment and recovery technology and (urban) agricultural or urban green reuse on the quantity and quality of inputs and outputs material will be debated. Finally, the current main circularity and application challenges to be considered (e.g. from the infrastructure, legislation, social and environmental services, multi-stakeholders view-points) will be discussed.

In this article, we consider the need for the development of eco-architecture, due to the sharp deterioration of the natural environment. We single out the main goals of eco-architecture and the issues it studies. We also analyze the term «concept», from the point of view of two main approaches: linguistic-cognitive and linguistic-cultural. We emphasize the importance of developing intercultural relations, using the example of creating international systems of standards. В данной статье мы рассматриваем вопрос о необходимости развития эко-архитектуры как концептуального направления, выделяем основные цели эко-архитектуры и изучаемые ею вопросы, разбираем понятие концепта с точки зрения двух основных подходов: лингвокогнитивного и лингвокультурного, подчеркиваем значение развития межкультурных связей на примере создания международных систем стандартов.

In the work gives general information of municipal solid waste. Briefly described are methods of solid waste disposal. In the study of the features of processing municipal solid waste pyrolysis has been investigated. The results of the study are presented. В работе приведены общие сведения о твердых бытовых отходах. Кратко изложены способы утилизации ТБО. В работе рассмотрены особенности переработки твердых бытовых отходов методом пиролиза. Приведены результаты исследования.

The paper proposes a method for calculating the layered gas generator, which allows calculating not only the yield and composition of the generator gas in the gasification of solid fuels, but the yield and composition of chemical products. The calculation is made based on the proposed method for the coal gasification of the technological grade "G" of OAO «Severny Kuzbass». В работе предложена методика расчета слоевого газогенератора, позволяющая рассчитывать не только выход и состав генераторного газа при газификации твёрдых топлив, но выход и состав химических продуктов. Приведён расчёт по предложенной методике процесса газификации каменного угля технологической марки "Г" ОАО «Северный Кузбасс».

The flora of the Nebet Tepe Architectural Reserve in the city of Plovdiv (Thracian Plain) was studied in the period 1998–2003. The number of plants growing spontaneously on and around the fragments of the fortification wall and on the pavements is 131. The flora is analyzed with respect to the local distribution of the taxa, their chorology, life form and geoelement characteristics. The flora contains a relatively high proportion of ruderals and weeds. The hemicryptophytes and therophytes constitute the largest group. The following families are distinguished by the greatest number of species: Asteraceae (14), Fabaceae (13), Poaceae (12), Brassicaceae (8), Scrophulariaceae (7), Caryophyllaceae (7). The species Cerastium tauricum Spreng. and Melica transsilvanica Schur are recorded for the first time for the flora of the Thracian Plain floristic region. The results are compared with other European and Mediterranean wall floras.