Half Part Research Articles

Experimental Investigation on Waste Paper-pulp Infused Cement Mortar

A huge amount of newspaper waste is generated in an average Indian household on a daily basis. The ideology behind this study is to amalgamate this paper waste into construction materials. This manuscript is a preliminary initiative for the same motive and explores the feasibility of mixing waste paper pulp into cement mortar for further adopting the practice on construction sites. Different ratios of cement, standard sand and crushed paper pulp (soaked for 72 hours) were administered to cast cement mortar cubes and the same were tested for compressive strength in a compression testing machine. The several trial mixes, partially replacing sand in mortar making were attempted to study the behavior of cement mortar while infused with waste paper pulp. The strength of these cubes were compared to standard cement mortar cubes cast using one part cement and 3 parts of standard sand. The trial ratios of cement, sand and paper pulp were 1:0.5:0.5; 1:0.75:0.25 and 1:0.25:0.75 respectively. Both 7 days as well as 28 days strength was determined. It was found that one part cement, half part standard sand and half a part of waste paper pulp was the most optimum combination yielding satisfactory strength of cement mortar cubes. The compressive strength of standard cube was 7.2 MPa and the same for 1:0.5:0.5 was 6.6 MPa. Thus waste paper pulp infused cement mortar may be used for brickwork and other trivial lean cement members in construction. The purpose of the study is to address two major underlying challenges in modern day construction projects, first being the dearth of river sand availability and secondly the disposal of waste paper which ultimately ends up in landfills subsequently polluting the environment.

An EKF-Based Attitude Estimator for Eliminating the Effect of Magnetometer Measurements on Pitch and Roll Angles

Nowadays, magnetic and inertial measurement units (MIMUs) have become useful tools for determining the attitude of moving objects. An attitude calculation algorithm (ACA) is programed into an MIMU, which determines the attitude by fusing three built-in sensors, namely, gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer. Attitude is often represented by Euler angles, quaternion, or rotation matrix. Despite that great development has been achieved, how to eliminate the negative effect of magnetic disturbance on the pitch and roll estimation is still difficult for an ACA. This article aims to propose an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF)-based approach for problem solving. Inspired by the fact that the Euler angles are computed by using some elements of the rotation matrix, a diagonalizable regulation matrix (DRM) is multiplied to the right half part of the gain matrix (which is multiplied to the residual of the magnetometer measurement in the update stage of EKF). The determination of DRM is based on the principle that these elements can be appropriately regulated by the DRM so as to make the magnetometer measurement only participate in the computation of azimuth. No further revision to EKF is made except the Kalman gain matrix, hence the proposed EKF behaves similar as traditional EKF, except its ability of eliminating the negative effect of magnetic disturbance on the pitch and roll estimation. The superiority of the proposed EKF is validated by comparing it with four other competing algorithms through simulation and experimental experiments.

Orange peels as a potential ecological thermal insulation material for building application

Most of the national orange production, estimated at 900,000 tons per year, is processed in several cities in the south area of Italy. Half part of this amount corresponds to the peels, which are separated in the orange selection and processing plants. In this work, the possibility of using orange peels as raw material for the manufacture of building materials for the civil construction industry is studied. Recently, some attempts to reuse by-products derived from citrus waste have been proposed. For example, it was used as a source of nutrients in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries and as a source for energy production. There are precedents in the use of biomass residues in different building blocks, mainly with the aim of generating insulating materials. With this objective, insulating materials were obtained from agriculture by-products also manufactured without a binder. After a drying process, orange peels were characterized with electronic scanning analysis and thermal analysis in order to analyze the application in the building sector. The same by-products for the production of samples in the form of panels were used. In order to establish the best panel composition, physical and thermal properties, as well as mechanical and durability performances of the samples, were characterized.

First principles of Si-doped BC2N single layer for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)

Understanding the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) process is fundamental to use hydrogen as a sustainable (clean and renewable) energy source. Using first-principles calculations, we study the HER process when Si-doped a h-BC2N single layer. The pristine BC2N presents semiconducting properties with a band gap of 1.6–2.0 eV, being appropriate as a catalytic in the water splitting process. When Si is incorporated into the BC2N monolayer, we obtain that the most stable site (lower formation energy) occurs when the Si atom replaces a C atom (SiC). The Si atom moves out of the plane forming a buckling structure and the semiconducting properties are maintaining without spin effects. However, SiB and SiN give rise to two unpaired spin electronic levels inside the band gap and a magnetic moment of 1 μB. The adsorption energies of an H2 molecule on the top of the Si atom are in the range of 50–100 meV, which are greater than the calculated ones for H2 adsorbed on graphene and h-BN nanosystems but still low to be considered as an optimized medium for hydrogen storage. In addition, we observe that dispersive forces (van der Waals interactions) are responsible for half part of the adsorption energies. Strain due to the difference between the atomic radius of Si and C as well as the less stability of the Si–H bonds compared to the C–H ones leads to the Gibbs free energy (ΔG∗) for hydrogen adsorbed on SiC near zero, showing that Si-doped h-BC2N is a potential system for HER.

The efficacy of EndoActivator, passive ultrasonic irrigation, and Ultra X in removing calcium hydroxide from root canals: an in-vitro study

BackgroundThis study aimed to compare the efficacy of EndoActivator, passive ultrasonic irrigation, and Ultra X in removing calcium hydroxide from the artificial grooves in root canal walls.MethodsThe root canals of 50 extracted human maxillary incisors were instrumented by using the ProTaper rotary system up to #F4 (size 40/0.06 ProTaper) and the teeth were split longitudinally. Lateral grooves were created in the apical and coronal parts of one half and the middle part of the other half. Calcium hydroxide paste was applied to the grooves and the root halves were reassembled. After seven days, the calcium hydroxide was removed from the canal by using one of the EndoActivator, passive ultrasonic irrigation, and Ultra X devices; one group went without irrigation (control group). The CH remnants in the grooves were scored at 20× magnification. The data were analyzed by using the Kruskal–Wallis, Dunn’s post hoc, and Friedman tests. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.ResultsNo statistically significant difference existed among the experimental groups at the coronal and middle grooves (P > 0.05). However, Ultra X was significantly more effective than passive ultrasonic irrigation at the apical grooves (P = 0.023).ConclusionWithin the limitations of this study, Ultra X can be reported to remove the calcium hydroxide from the apical third more efficiently than passive ultrasonic irrigation.

Comparative Analysis of CNN Regularisation and Augmentation Techniques with Ten Layer Deep Learning Model To Detect Lung Cancer

In the medical sector cancer detection became the most challenging task. Here a lot of research is carried out by the scientific fraternity. Most medical issues are getting better answers because to modern technology like artificial intelligence and models based on neural networks. In this the first half part of the paper discuss about the CNN model by using regularization and augmentation techniques for getting the better accuracy result. The second part delas with developing and demonstrating an application for detecting the lung cancer using the deep learning (DL). Here the application is built using flask which works based on the Python programming language. This acts as an application programming interface (API) between the cloud server and the proposed application model. Heroku cloud platform was used as a service base to launch the software and to use the application with highest reliability. The internal functionality of the proposed model is based on convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture with ten layers to obtain high accuracy. The model demonstrated a considerable training and validation accuracy of 94% and 92% respectively.

Evolution of small and large ribosomal RNAs from accretion of tRNA subelements

tRNAs presumably accreted into modern ribosomal RNAs. Previous analyses showed similar secondary structures for ancient rRNA subelements and theoretical minimal RNA rings, candidate tRNA ancestors rationally designed from tRNA-unrelated principles. Here, analyses test which tRNA secondary structure subelements resemble ancient/recent rRNA subelements. Results show that ribosomal RNA subelements evolved from structures resembling 1. Upper half part of the tRNA secondary structure; and 2. Towards structures resembling (a) tRNA 5′ stem-loop hairpins in large rRNA subunit and (b) tRNA lower half part in small rRNA subunit (stop and start codons conservation model). tRNAs and rRNAs presumably originated from the tRNA upper half part including the acceptor stem. Modern split 5′ and 3′ tRNA genes (spliced at anticodons) apparently reproduce ancestral-like states, because the acceptor stem protocode suggests acceptor stems evolved from spliced anticodon-like stem-loop hairpins, strengthening central roles for acceptor stem CCA-addition at translation origins. The Root-Bernstein hypothesis on the existence of tRNA structural symmetries presumably reflects late 5’ tRNA stem-loop hairpin duplications, some integrating rRNAs. Analyses of tRNA subelements similarities with rRNA subelements suggest tRNAs evolved and re-evolved by different duplication-fusions, along different structural subdivision models. Hence, sequential/parallel processes, perhaps in the same ancestral organism(s) produced polyphyletic tRNAs. Results confirm RNA ring usefulness for understanding prebiotic and early life evolution, and their similarities with primordial protein coding and tRNA genes.

Sulfide oxidation as a trigger for rhyolite weathering and paleosol formation in Devonian (Voronezh High, South Russia)

During Late Devonian Voronezh Land was one of the main volcanic centers of Central Devonian Field. Earlier eruptions on the given territory have not been documented. This paper presents the detailed multidisciplinary study of the Pre-Eifelian paleosol developed from rhyolite lava deposited on the contact with the Proterozoic basement in Shkurlat granite quarry (Voronezh region, Russia). Discovered paleosol includes abundant coalified and partly substituted by pyrite allochthonous remnants of Nematasketum and Prototaxites. Main part of them had an outstanding preservation of tissues. Along with typical for rhyolite a quartz dominance, paleosol contains in situ developed kaolinite, gypsum, goethite, jarosite. Abundant Fe-nodules concentrated in the second half part of the shallow (∼50 cm) paleosol profile are composed of gypsum, goethite and metastable Fe-sulfates - jarosite and voltaite. Based on a complex of analytical characteristics, the discovered paleosol was attributed to acidic sulfate soil. The development of paleosol was initiated by pyrite oxidation which played the role of trigger. Being gypseous, paleosol bears the characteristics which are typical for paleosol of humid type. Based on geochemical data (CIA, CIA-K, PWI indexes) the obtained climatic parameters correspond to a subtropical climate with MAP 1200–1300 mm and MAT ∼ 17 °C.

A method of image stitching with partition matching and direct detection for rotated image

Aiming at the problem of stitching overlapped images taken under different rotation angles, we present an effective and adaptive method to rotate the image to an appropriate angle before stitching in this paper. Firstly, we take the upper half, lower half, left half, and right half of the target image as the four partitions to be matched. Then, we make feature extractions and match between the reference image and those four partitions of the target image respectively. According to the half part with the most matching pairs, the target image is rotated by a preliminary angle. At the same time, the distribution area of the matching points of the reference image is calculated as the overlapping area. After matching the overlapping areas of the reference image and the rotated target image, we propose a method to detect the direction of the matching pairs to adjust the rotation angle. Finally, the reference image and the rotated target image can be successfully stitched into a wider image. Experimental results show that our method can find a suitable angle to rotate the target image, and can achieve an effective and satisfactory stitching result.

Numerical analysis of heat transfer from perforated fins of an induction motor housing

The major goal of this research article is to demonstrate how perforation on the fin surface of an induction motor’s housing improves cooling performance. Heat transfer study was also conducted between traditional fins and the suggested perforated fins housing. An Induction Motor (IM) overheats as a result of continuous operation, raising its temperature, lowering its performance and shortening its lifespan. The innovative designs and development of fins are necessary for effective cooling and enhancing the thermal performance of IM. In the present work, the thermal analysis of induction motor is carried out by means of providing the perforations on existing fins and varying perforation size from 4 mm to 10 mm diameters and number of perforation from 20 to 11, on fins and observed the steady state heat transfer and temperature variation. In this regard, the half part of IM is modelled because of symmetry and steady state thermal analysis is carried out for un-finned, solid fins and perforated fins using ANSYS software. Results show that, more reduction in temperature on the surface of IM is observed in case of perforated fins having 11 perforations of 10 mm diameter, as compared to the other cases.

“Turbulent/non-turbulent interface” in a low-Reynolds-number transitional boundary layer over a multi-element airfoil

Akin to the turbulent/non-turbulent interface, which envelops a fully developed turbulence, the iso-vorticity interface that separates the irrotational fluids from the free stream is investigated in a transitional boundary layer over a multi-element airfoil. Geometrically, the interface is steady and flat at the initial transitional stage. With the progress of transition, the interface fluctuates more and more violently. Statistically, the evolution of interface properties, including the fluctuation of interface height σI, the fractal dimension Df, and the thickness of interface δI, are tracked along the streamwise direction. It is revealed that all the three quantities grow with transition. Both σI and δI become invariant at the latter half part of the airfoil where the transition is completed. Counter-intuitively, the growth of Df stops at a more upstream location, indicating the fractal property of turbulence is already existing during transition. Instantaneously, the above-mentioned quantities are found to be related to the periodical vortices inside the boundary layer. The vortex will elevate/sink the above interface by the induced ejection/sweep flow and increases Df at slightly downstream of the vortex. Furthermore, it is highlighted that the variations of interface properties will greatly influence the entrainment by two opposite effects: the length of interface LI and the vorticity gradient across the interface; and it is found that the entrainment flux is mainly controlled by LI. This suggests that the recently reported dominance of LI on entrainment for wall-bounded turbulence could be a universal phenomenon in boundary layers, despite the flow states and wall configurations.

NON-MARINE BIVALVES FROM THE MOSPYNE FORMATION (UPPER BASHKIRIAN) OF THE DONETS BASIN: TAXONOMY, PALEOECOLOGY, AND STRATIGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE

Remains of non-marine bivalves are widespread in the Carboniferous of the Donets Basin (Eastern Ukraine). The studies of this group of fauna are important for stratigraphy, paleoecology and paleobiogeography. The remains of non-marine bivalves were found in sediments of the Mospyne Formation; Carbonicola obtusa (Hind) and Naiadites sp. were found in the roof shale of the g2 coal bed; Curvirimula trapeziforma (Dewar) and C. tesselata (Jones) were identified in the roof shale of the g12 coal bed, and Carbonicola rectilinearis Trueman et Weir and C. limax Wright were found in the siltstone below G12 limestone layer. The upper part of the lower half of the Mospyne Formation is attributed to the Carbonicola rectilinearis Member, which probably corresponds to the upper part of the lenisulcata Zone (Langsettian) of Western Europe. The lower limit of this member is in the floor of a thick sandstone bed 43 m below G12 limestone layer. The upper boundary of Carbonicola rectilinearis Member is situated at the g12 coal layer. The Carbonicola pseudorobusta Zone, previously identified by M.T. Sergeeva as member with fauna, is distinguished between the roof shale of the g12 coal bed and h61 coal bed. This zone corresponds to the communis Zone in Western Europe. Bivalves from the roof shale of the g12 coal layer and roof shale of the g2 coal layer lived in shallow-water eutrophic freshwater or brackish lakes in the coastal accumulation lowland. These basins were characterized by significantly reduced aquatic organism assemblage and hydrogen sulfide contamination of silts and, possibly, the bottom layer of the water column. Representatives of the genera Curvirimula and Naiadites were found in the sediments of these lakes. These genera apparently led a pseudoplanktonic lifestyle, attaching themselves to various bottom objects with byssus. The bivalves from the siltstones below the G12 limestone layer (Carbonicola) lived in a shallow-water, refreshed lagoon.

Three-dimensional effects induced by depth variation in a differentially heated cavity

This work investigates a natural convection flow occurring in a differentially heated cavity. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of the cavity depth variation on heat transfers and flow dynamics. Three-dimensional numerical simulations are conducted. The working fluid is air, the vertical aspect ratio (cavity height over width) is equal to 4, and the Rayleigh Number is equal to 108. The impact of the rear and front boundary conditions on the flow topology is highlighted. When the cavity depth increases, three-dimensional effects are encountered that enhance local heat transfer at the isothermal walls. In particular, for horizontal aspect ratio (cavity depth over width) greater than 1, an alternation of local maximum and minimum Nusselt numbers can be observed along the y-direction toward the center of the wall in the lower half part of the isothermal wall, which are similar to a wave-like behavior. It is shown that they are due to vortex structures generated by a Görtler instability. The depth variation increases the emergence of those structures, but paradoxically several characteristics of both flow and heat transfer, such as the depth-averaged shear stress or the Nusselt numbers, tend to the two-dimensional case value as the cavity gets deeper.

New drivers of industrialization and novel aspects of Hungarian-Chinese bilateral cooperation. Chinese foreign investments in Hungary

A number of foreign, partly East Asian producers have made investments into Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county (Northern Hungary) since the millennium. They have contributed to the renewal of the industrial structure and enlargement of manufacturing capacity. In the past decade, the meaning and significance of Chinese investment in the Miskolc agglomeration has increased. Chinese interests have been concentrated in the dominant, export-oriented branches of the regional economy. The companies (namely, Wanhua-BorsodChem, TenPao, SEG-A, JOYSON, and Chervon Auto) comprise a key and real group of members engaged in Hungarian-Chinese bilateral relations. They represent China’s industrial development and expansion around the world and in Europe, as well as strengthen the high-value-added and technology-intensive market segments in the regional economy. The study includes two main parts. In the early sections, the evolution of Chinese economic development with a special focus on industry and industrialization are introduced, while later the related political measures and initiatives are described. Presenting an understanding of the Hungarian government’s reaction (the so-called New Foreign Economic Strategy) is part of the first half of the paper. The Flying Geese Paradigm is the conceptual frame of the synthesis. The key research question concerns the nature of Chinese economic development: Does the development differ from previous East-Asian models of export-oriented industrialization? The author discusses opinions which consider the Chinese developments to be distinct from other Asianones according to their political and market characteristics. In the second half of the article, the Chinese companies settled in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county are evaluated and their regional-level impacts and national-level lessons are identified and assessed. The listed Chinese investments, which differ in financial and legal forms, have emerged as some of the major employers and producers of the region. These considerable investments have accelerated the process of industrial renewal in key branches, although ultimately increasing the exposure and vulnerability of the entire manufacturing structure to external global factors. The Chinese investors are bridging Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén with diverse regions in China, East Asia. They are generating new results and raising new questions about Hungarian-Chinese bilateral cooperation that represent original experiences and knowledge gain for both sides. This work is an attempt to detail the creation of the cluster of Chinese companies and to draw conclusions about the entrepreneurial background, the main activities, and the stories of the respective Asian parent companies. This research will be continued to support the development and embedding of the enterprises. It is crucial effort, as the latter are not only now present but essential for Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Hungary as well.

Physiological response and yield components under greenhouse drought stress conditions in potato

Due to the effects of climate change, conditions tend to be increasingly extreme, with water availability being one of the main limiting factors in potato production. The objective of this study was to analyze the differential response of physiological and yield components in six potato varieties under water deficit conditions. For this purpose, a greenhouse trial was carried out with the varieties Agata, Agria, Kennebec, Monalisa, Sante and Zorba. The drought stress was applied in stressed plants 36 days after planting (DAP) by withholding water for 25 days. All measurements were taken at four different times: before stress (T0), 17 days (T1) and 24 days (T2) after stress and five days after re-watering. The physiological parameters evaluated were chlorophyll content and fluorescence, relative leaf water content, stomatal conductance, electrolytic leakage and water potential. After the drought period, the aerial part of half of the plants was cut to evaluate the produced biomass. At the end of the cycle yield components were determined. Stomatal conductance and water potential were the parameters that showed the highest differences between the two hydric conditions, and Monalisa was the variety with the best response in tuber production under stress conditions. Indirect selection based on parameters associated with water stress can be a useful tool in potato breeding programs for the identification of more tolerant varieties.

Universal third-trimester obstetrical ultrasonography: a cross-sectional analysis of a national survey.

Universal third-trimester obstetrical ultrasonography represents a medical debate. The current survey was conducted to evaluate the actual use of third-trimester scan and understand gynecologists' aptitude. A survey was mailed to 128 gynecologists between January and February 2020. Data about their demographic's characteristics, hospital ward, and self-assessment questionnaires were recorded. Results were evaluated by using combined analysis. Overall, 128 (29.8%) gynecologists answered. Their age ranged between 45 and 64 years (70.3% of the total, 90/128). The half part worked in hospitals and university hospitals (39.8%, 51/128 and 10.1%, 13/128, respectively), 26.5% (34/128) worked in private hospitals and 23.4% (30/128) in public ambulatories. The neonatal intensive care unit was present in 37.5% (48/128) of the cases. 96.0% of gynecologists surveyed (123/128) offered the universal third-trimester scan (28-32 weeks) and 78.1% of the physician recommended the universal 35-37 weeks ultrasonographical exam. A subanalysis among third level hospital gynecologists versus gynecologists without neonatal intensive care unit showed no statistical difference. This survey reveals extensive use of third-trimester scan in low-risk pregnancy. Nevertheless, randomized controlled trials concerning the universal third-trimester scan are required to validate this clinical attitude.

INTERROGATING THE PURPOSE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN ETHIOPIA: RHETORIC AND REALITY

The study examined the prevailing purpose of secondary education. Interview, questionnaire and observation are the tools used to collect data from curriculum experts, secondary school leaders, teachers, students and classrooms. Independent t-test was used to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data obtained through interview, observation, and document analysis were analyzed using narrative description. Though the results from analysis of the Education Policy and related documents indicated the purpose of secondary education is to prepare students both for the world of work and for further education, key stakeholders perceived preparation for national examinations and higher education as the major intent of secondary education. It was found that experts, educators and students had no adequate understanding about the half part mission of secondary education, preparation for work. It was also found that the curriculum wasn’t designed to prepare students for work and teacher centered approach was the dominant pedagogical strategy employed in the schools. As a result, it is concluded that the prevailing purpose of secondary education is to prepare students for examination and higher education. It was suggested to enhance key stakeholders understanding about the entire purpose of secondary education and to revise the curriculum in use and pedagogical practices of the schools.

Role of women in environmental protection

Environment is the nature and surrounding in which all plants, animals, human being and others living and non living things on the other hands women are better half part of society. Relationship between women and environment are closely connected. They are the manager of resources of the family and directly collect water and fuel from the nature. Women are playing a key role in protection of environment and its preservation. The publication of “Women’s Role in Economic Development” by Ester Boserup in 1970 made emphasized on women role in protection and preservation of environment. Now women are understanding impact of environmental degradation on society and therefore they are working for the protection of environment for the future generations. The World Bank report, 1991 said that women were playing an essential role in management of natural resources, including soil, water, forest and energy and also have past and present knowledge regarding the natural world or environment around them. India’s Chipko movement, Narmada Bachao Andolon, Kenya’s Green Belt movement and others various women movement took place for the protection of environment. Environmentalist activist like Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg, Malaika Vaz, Katherine Hayhoe, Julia Lorraine Hill, Rachel Carson, Vandana Shiva, Sunita Narraine, Sumaira Abdulali, Kinkari Devi, Medha Patkar, Menaka Gandhi and many more are playing a key role for the protection of environment. In the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 of the Indian constitution have made a fundamental duty to protect and improve of the natural environment. Women roles in protection will be become more active and fruitful when men of the society stand with the women by holding hand in hand.

Effects analysis on hydrocarbon light-off performance of a catalytic gasoline particulate filter during cold start.

In order to study the hydrocarbon combustion in the low-temperature catalytic process of a catalytic gasoline particulate filter (CGPF) during cold start, a mathematical model of the CGPF is established and verified firstly. Then, take T50 (a temperature when the hydrocarbon conversion rate reaches 50%) as hydrocarbon light-off (LO) temperature; the effects of different exhaust parameters and structural parameters on hydrocarbon light-off performance and reaction rate are investigated based on simulation results. Finally, orthogonal experiment analysis is employed to further obtain the most significant factors and suggested parameter solution. The results show that the hydrocarbon LO performance of the CGPF during cold start is positively correlated with exhaust oxygen concentration, porosity, and filter length, but it is negatively correlated with exhaust flow rate and exhaust water vapor concentration. In addition, the inlet of the channel has a significant HC reaction when the oxygen concentration reaches 2.2%, and porosity mainly influences the front half part of the filter. Moreover, the influence degree relationship of the five factors is oxygen > mass flow > porosity > length > water vapor, and the optimum solution of length, vapor, mass flow, porosity, and oxygen is 150mm, 12.31%, 0.002kg/s, 0.55, and 2.2%, respectively. This work offers us great reference value for CGPF performance enhancement and hydrocarbon abatement of a GDI engine.

Urnov, D. (2021). Literature as life (2 vols). Moscow: Izd. Sabashnikovykh. (In Russ.)

The 2-volume book of personal recollections, literary memoirs, immediate reactions of a literary critic and thoughtful opinions of a scholar covers a greater part of the second half in 20th-c. Russia. In agreement with the promise in the book’s title, literature was more than part-time, it was life itself, books as real as people, sometimes even more real. The author is with them who love classical Russian and English literature and is very strict on others whose tastes are being shown off as radically modernist or avant-garde. Pushkin and Shakespeare are the objects of the academic study and eternal fellow-travellers for the author who rejects Joyce with Ulysses , Pasternak with Doctor Zhivago , and Bunin with Dark Avenues [ Tyomnye allei ], presumably not on any political or moral reason but primarily as the books badly written. Urnov’s own book is sincere when the author speaks about his position in life and literature, and it will stay as an opinionated commentary to the time partly gone, partly going on.