bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Colegiados de gestão em serviços de saúde: um estudo empírico
Authors: Cecilio Luiz Carlos de Oliveira
Published: April 2010

O artigo teve como objetivo analisar, com base em material empírico coletado em programa de educação permanente de coordenadores de unidades básicas de saúde, o funcionamento de colegiados de gestão. É possível caracterizar uma marcada polissemia nos sentidos e modos de operação dos colegiados. Antinomias estão presentes em sua operacionalização (autonomia/heteronomia, reprodução do instituído/processos instituintes, razão comunicativa/razão instrumental), o que dá a dimensão da complexidade do dispositivo de gestão analisado. A gestão do cuidado apenas pontualmente entra na pauta do colegiado gestor, ocupado principalmente com questões administrativas. Sugere-se que a implicação do coordenador no campo de forças que constitui o colegiado seja objeto de análise, bem como sejam desenvolvidas estratégias pedagógicas que apóiem os coordenadores e as equipes na construção dos colegiados. O material empírico foi submetido a uma discussão epistemológica ancorada na idéia da dupla hermenêutica, na múltipla validação dos resultados da pesquisa e na relação entre teoria e prática.
Gravidez na adolescência e outros fatores de risco para mortalidade fetal e infantil no Município do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Authors: Oliveira Elaine Fernandes Viellas de , Gama Silvana Granado Nogueira da , Silva Cosme Marcelo Furtado Passos da
Published: April 2010

O objetivo foi identificar o efeito da gravidez na adolescência e outros fatores de risco para a mortalidade fetal e infantil no Município do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. O estudo foi desenvolvido em uma amostra de nascimentos do município, e as variáveis de exposição foram organizadas em níveis de hierarquia. Para óbito fetal, pré-natal adequado revelou efeito protetor, e morbidade materna aumentou seu risco. No óbito neonatal, pré-natal adequado e recém-nascido do sexo feminino foram fatores de proteção. No entanto, cor da pele da mãe preta ou parda, história prévia de nascido morto, morbidade materna e agressão física na gestação elevaram o risco. O baixo peso e a prematuridade foram corroborados como determinantes do óbito fetal e neonatal. No óbito pós-neonatal, o risco foi mais elevado na presença de maior número de gestações anteriores, morbidade na gestação e o baixo peso ao nascer. A gravidez na adolescência surgiu com um efeito direto para o óbito pós-neonatal. Os achados reafirmam a relevância das políticas sociais e de saúde voltadas para os adolescentes e a melhoria da atenção pré-natal.
Evolution of disease mortality burden in Cuba: 1990-2005
Authors: Seuc Armando H. , Domínguez Emma
Published: April 2010

The objective of this study was to estimate the evolution of the burden of disease in Cuba for 20 major causes at five year intervals from 1990 to 2005, in terms of mortality and years of life lost due to premature death (YLL), using national mortality registries. Six summary measures were computed for each of the 20 major causes of death which characterized the evolution of the disease burden over the period studied. The 20 causes were then grouped according to their behaviour in these summary measures; hierarchical cluster analysis was used to support this grouping process. We compute YLL results with and without age-weighting and time discounting (3%). The 20 major causes were grouped into 12 subgroups, each with a particular pattern. The burden of disease in Cuba during the period 1990-2005 has a peculiar pattern that does not reproduce the one characteristic of other low- and middle-income countries. The approach used in this study supports a better description of mortality and YLL trends for major causes, for identifying possible explanations, and for supporting public health policy making. It seems convenient to reproduce this analysis using shorter time intervals, e.g. annually.
Persistência dos sintomas de dengue em uma população de Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brasil
Authors: Teixeira Luciana de Almeida Silva , Lopes Juliana Salviano Mendonça , Martins André Guilherme da Costa , Campos Fernando Augusto Batista , Miranzi Sybelle de Souza Castro , Nascentes Gabriel Antônio Nogueira
Published: April 2010

O quadro clínico clássico de dengue caracteriza-se por duração máxima de 14 dias, embora freqüentemente pacientes refiram prolongamento dos sintomas. Este estudo avaliou a ocorrência de sinais e sintomas persistentes (> 14 dias) e seu impacto no cotidiano do indivíduo doente. Foram entrevistados 118 pacientes, cujos principais sintomas ao diagnóstico foram mialgia (98,3%), febre (97,5%) e fraqueza (95,8%). A presença de pelo menos um sintoma persistente foi referida por 77 (65,2%) entrevistados, sendo que 10 (8,5%) relataram sua permanência de maneira intensa e por 30 dias ou mais. Os sintomas persistentes mais mencionados foram fraqueza (58 casos), hiporexia (49) e sonolência (40), ocorrendo mais no gênero feminino, com odds ratio: 5,4 (IC95%: 2,3-12,3). Houve associação significativa entre a persistência dos sintomas e o relato de gastos adicionais (p = 0,02), e com o retorno às atividades habituais (p < 0,001). Assim, foi verificado que o dengue apresentou impacto na vida dos indivíduos, mesmo depois de 14 dias, sendo tal fato associado à presença de sintomas persistentes da doença.
Climate conditions and consequences for de-icing operations as exemplified by the situation on a motorway and airport at Gardermoen, Norway
Authors: French H. K. , Eggestad H.-O. , Øvstedal J. , Jahren P.-E.
Published: April 2010

Large amounts of de-icing chemicals are used in the northern hemisphere to maintain winter safety on roads and airports every year. At Gardermoen, potassium formate (KFo) is used on runways, sodium chloride (NaCl) on roads and propylene glycol (PG) for aeroplanes. The total use of de-icing chemicals is an important part of the risk assessment related to water contamination at Gardermoen. The objective of this paper is to examine how climatic factors affect the use of de-icing chemicals through interviews with de-icing operators and by statistical methods using data on climate variables and de-icing operations. A multiple linear regression model shows a good relationship between daily dew point temperature, precipitation, wind speed, number of departures and the use of PG. The results were less promising for the prediction of KFo. This might be explained by the human factor and insufficiency of the standard climate variables to represent the situation near the runway. An analysis of daily downscaled climate change scenarios for the Gardermoen area revealed insufficient detail for any accurate estimates of change in total consumption of de-icing chemicals. The predicted mean increase of 7.6°C during winter does, however, suggest a reduced need for de-icing chemicals in the long term (2071–2100).
Distribution-based scaling to improve usability of regional climate model projections for hydrological climate change impacts studies
Authors: Yang Wei , Andréasson Johan , Phil Graham L. , Olsson Jonas , Rosberg Jörgen , Wetterhall Fredrik
Published: April 2010

As climate change could have considerable influence on hydrology and corresponding water management, appropriate climate change inputs should be used for assessing future impacts. Although the performance of regional climate models (RCMs) has improved over time, systematic model biases still constrain the direct use of RCM output for hydrological impact studies. To address this, a distribution-based scaling (DBS) approach was developed that adjusts precipitation and temperature from RCMs to better reflect observations. Statistical properties, such as daily mean, standard deviation, distribution and frequency of precipitation days, were much improved for control periods compared to direct RCM output. DBS-adjusted precipitation and temperature from two IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRESA1B) transient climate projections were used as inputs to the HBV hydrological model for several river basins in Sweden for the period 1961–2100. Hydrological results using DBS were compared to results with the widely-used delta change (DC) approach for impact studies. The general signal of a warmer and wetter climate was obtained using both approaches, but use of DBS identified differences between the two projections that were not seen with DC. The DBS approach is thought to better preserve the future variability produced by the RCM, improving usability for climate change impact studies.
Long-term evaluation of gauge-adjusted precipitation estimates from a radar in Norway
Authors: Abdella Yisak , Alfredsen Knut
Published: April 2010

The implementation of weather radars in Norway by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (met.no) has made radar a potential tool to improve hydrologic predictions through the use of distributed precipitation input. Met.no supplies gauge-adjusted quantitative hourly radar precipitation estimates. A key concern regarding the use of radar precipitation estimates in hydrology is their accuracy. In this study, the precipitation estimates from the Rissa radar in Norway were evaluated through a comparison with observations from 112 gauges used in the adjustment (dependent) and 15 gauges not included in the adjustment (independent). The comparison with daily measurements from the dependent gauges showed a decline in the radar's detection probability beyond a range of about 140 km, with a more severe decline in winter. The deviations between radar- and gauge-conditional mean precipitation were significantly higher in summer than in winter. There was an overestimation at most of the gauge locations during summer, while there were more underestimations during winter. A dependence of accuracy on range was identified from the spatial distribution of the Efficiency Index and mean absolute difference. The evaluation against the independent gauges revealed trends mostly similar to the ones obtained from comparison with the dependent gauges. The radar estimates exhibited better agreement with gauge measurements during winter. The main reasons for the errors remaining in the gauge-adjusted precipitation estimates are the absence of correction for the vertical profile of reflectivity, the use of average monthly adjustment factors, derivation of these factors using data from previous years and the use of a single reflectivity–precipitation rate (Z–R) relation.
Self-purification process and retention of nitrogen in floodplains of River Nemunas
Authors: Vaikasas Saulius , Dumbrauskas Antanas
Published: April 2010

Due to its catchment size and its significant level of agricultural pollution, the Nemunas river basin has been identified as an agricultural hot spot in the Baltic Sea basin. On average, the total annual inorganic nitrogen runoff into the river is 26.9 × 106 kg, which corresponds to a load of 275 kg km−2 yr−1. A submerged floodplain, covering 605 km2 of the River Nemunas lowland, maintains the natural retention threshold for pollutants in the water of the main canal and the outfall at Curonian Lagoon, as well as improving farming conditions in the inundated meadows of the valley. It also increases the sedimentation and nitrogen retention capacities of the Nemunas catchment. It has been estimated that about 40% of the fine suspended sediments can be retained and deposited in the flooded meadows of the delta. Controlled inundation of the floodplains in the Nemunas delta may reduce its runoff nitrogen load by 21 kg km−2 per flood event. As a result, nitrogen concentration decreases by approximately 8–10%, causing a self-purification process in the flooded area. Nitrogen retention is dependent upon the velocities of the flood current and has mostly been observed in zones of stagnating water.
Downscaling atmospheric patterns to multi-site precipitation amounts in southern Scandinavia
Authors: Gelati Emiliano , Christensen Ole Bøssing , Rasmussen Peter F. , Rosbjerg Dan
Published: April 2010

A non-homogeneous hidden Markov model (NHMM) is applied for downscaling atmospheric synoptic patterns to winter multi-site daily precipitation amounts. The implemented NHMM assumes precipitation to be conditional on a hidden weather state that follows a Markov chain, whose transition probabilities depend on current atmospheric information. The gridded atmospheric fields are summarized through the singular value decomposition (SVD) technique. SVD is applied to geopotential height and relative humidity at several pressure levels, to identify their principal spatial patterns co-varying with precipitation. We assume the common hidden weather state process to completely account for the temporal structure of precipitation. Given the current weather state, the multivariate probability distribution of precipitation occurrences is approximated using a Chow–Liu tree dependence structure, involving products of bivariate distributions. Conditional on the weather state, precipitation amounts are modelled separately at each gauge as independent gamma-distributed random variables. This modelling approach is applied to 51 precipitation gauges in Denmark and southern Sweden for the period 1981–2003. The downscaling model produces robust predictions of data statistics, such as expected precipitation amounts and spell duration distributions. Moreover, the model-defined weather states show a satisfactory degree of physical consistency.
Snow cover response to climate change in a high alpine and half-glacierized basin in Switzerland
Authors: Magnusson Jan , Jonas Tobias , López-Moreno Ignacio , Lehning Michael
Published: April 2010

In alpine areas, the accumulation and melting of snow controls the hydrological regime. Even in watersheds where glacier melt dominates, the snow pack strongly influences the stream-flow dynamics. Prognostic simulations of the response of the snow pack to climate change were conducted in a high alpine and half-glacierized basin in central Switzerland. The snow cover and glacier were simulated using a high-resolution alpine surface model. The simulations cover a reference period (1981–2007) and two predictions (2071–2100) where the measured records of temperature, precipitation and longwave radiation were modified using six regional climate model projections for two different emission scenarios of greenhouse gases. The results show that the snow season shortens by one month at the beginning of the winter and by one and a half months at the end of the season, compared to today. The maximum snow water equivalent decreases by 27% on average. The difference in the response of the snow pack to a change in climate between the emission scenarios is rather small. The most pronounced effects of a warming climate are simulated for the highest altitudes, where all snow completely melts during summer and no snow remains for glacier accumulation.
Possible ways to improve sediment deposition in the Nemunas delta
Authors: Rimkus A. , Vaikasas S.
Published: April 2010

The deposition of sediment in the inundated floodplains of rivers, particularly in their deltas, improves the water quality of the rivers themselves and of their receivers. It would be very useful if ways to increase the amount of sediment deposition could be identified. An investigation into a number of possibilities was carried out in the delta of the River Nemunas. Various factors can influence the increase or decrease of sediment deposition, e.g. the increase of water discharge flowing through the river valley, the growth of bushes on the floodplain, the building of road banks across the valley and changes in growth stages of grass (which affect its ability to entrap sediments). The effects of these factors are discussed, and the most successful ways for improvement in the Nemunas delta are proposed. Similar methods may also be applicable in other river deltas.
Role of hydrological and hydromorphological factors in ecological quality of medium-sized lowland streams
Authors: Springe Gunta , Grinberga Laura , Briede Agrita
Published: April 2010

The development of biological communities is an important research issue regarding biological quality elements. However, it is still uncertain how different organism groups and their metrics are affected by different environmental factors. A study of high-quality sites of medium-sized lowland streams typical for Latvia (ecoregion Baltic province) was carried out with an emphasis on hydrological and hydromorphological characteristics. The investigations were carried out within the STAR project using the project designated standard methods. We found that the level of saprobity according to benthic macroinvertebrates was mainly linked with substrate type and stream depth. The trophic diatom index for diatoms on a soft substratum had a negative correlation with altitude and a positive correlation with distance from the source and also stream depth. There were no significant correlations between macrophyte trophic indices and environmental factors associated with stream hydrological conditions. The European fish index was influenced mainly by stream width and distance from the source, which agrees with the results of other researchers. In general, a direct or indirect role of hydrological and hydromorphological factors was evident in the forming of communities characterizing stream ecological quality.
Validation of numerical simulations of precipitation in complex terrain at high temporal resolution
Authors: Arason Teitur , Rögnvaldsson Ólafur , Ólafsson Haraldur
Published: April 2010

Atmospheric flow over Iceland has been simulated for the period January 1961 to July 2006, using the mesoscale MM5 model driven by initial and boundary data from the ECMWF. A systematic comparison of results to observed precipitation has been carried out. Undercatchment of solid precipitation is dealt with by looking only at days when precipitation is presumably liquid or by considering the occurrence and non-occurrence of precipitation. Away from non-resolved orography, the long term means (months, years) of observed and simulated precipitation are often in reasonable agreement. This is partly due to a compensation of the errors on a shorter timescale (days). The probability of false alarms (the model predicts precipitation, but none is observed) is highest in N Iceland, particularly during winter. The probability of missing precipitation events (precipitation observed but none is predicted by the model) is highest in the summer and on the lee side of Iceland in southerly flows.
Intermittent feeding of wastewater in combination with alternating aeration for complete denitrification and control of filaments
Authors: Kantartzi Styliani , Melidis Paraschos , Aivasidis Alexander
Published: April 2010

In the present study, a laboratory scale system, consisting of a primary settling tank, a continuous stirred tank reactor and a clarifier were constructed and operated, using wastewater from the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Xanthi, Greece. The system operated under intermittent aeration in aerobic/anoxic conditions and feeding of the wastewater once in every cycle. The unit was inoculated with sludge, which originated from the recirculation stream of the local wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater was processed with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h, in which various experimental states were studied regarding the combination of aerobic and anoxic intervals. The wastewater was fed in limited time once in every cycle of aerobic/anoxic conditions at the beginning of the anoxic period. The two states that exhibited highest performance in nitrification and total nitrogen removal were, then, repeated with HRT of 10 h. The results show that, regarding the nitrification stage and the organic load removal, the intermittent system achieved optimum efficiency, with an overall removal of biological oxygen demand (BOD5) and ammonium nitrogen in the range of 93–96% and 91–95% respectively. As far as the total nitrogen removal is concerned, and if the stage of the denitrification is taken into account, the performance of the intermittent system surpassed other methods, as it is shown by the total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) removal efficiency of 85–87%. These operating conditions suppressed the growth of filamentous organisms, a fact reflected at the SVI values, which were lower than 150 ml/g.
Photocatalytic hydrogen generation from water under visible light using core/shell nano-catalysts
Authors: Wang X. , Shih K. , Li X. Y.
Published: April 2010

A microemulsion technique was employed to synthesize nano-sized photocatalysts with a core (CdS)/shell (ZnS) structure. The primary particles of the photocatalysts were around 10 nm, and the mean size of the catalyst clusters in water was about 100 nm. The band gaps of the catalysts ranged from 2.25 to 2.46 eV. The experiments of photocatalytic H2 generation showed that the catalysts (CdS)x/(ZnS)1−x with x ranging from 0.1 to 1 were able to produce hydrogen from water photolysis under visible light. The catalyst with x = 0.9 had the highest rate of hydrogen production. The catalyst loading density also influenced the photo-hydrogen production rate, and the best catalyst concentration in water was 1 g L−1. The stability of the nano-catalysts in terms of size, morphology and activity was satisfactory during an extended test period for a specific hydrogen production rate of 2.38 mmol g−1 L−1 h−1 and a quantum yield of 16.1% under visible light (165 W Xe lamp, λ > 420 nm). The results demonstrate that the (CdS)/(ZnS) core/shell nano-particles are a novel photo-catalyst for renewable hydrogen generation from water under visible light. This is attributable to the large band-gap ZnS shell that separates the electron/hole pairs generated by the CdS core and hence reduces their recombinations.
Adsorption and recovery of nonylphenol ethoxylate on a crosslinked β-cyclodextrin-carboxymethylcellulose polymer
Authors: Bonenfant Danielle , Niquette Patrick , Mimeault Murielle , Hausler Robert
Published: April 2010

A study of adsorption/recovery of nonylphenol 9 mole ethoxylate (NP9EO) on a crosslinked β-cyclodextrin-carboxymethylcellulose (β-CD-CMC) polymer was carried out by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. The adsorption was performed in mixtures containing 500 mg of the β-CD-CMC polymer and aqueous NP9EO solutions at concentrations 12–82 mg/L, whereas the recovery of NP9EO was effectuated by shaking the β-CD-CMC polymer loaded with methanol. The assays were made at 25°C and atmospheric pressure under agitation. The results have shown that the adsorption is a rapid process and the β-CD-CMC polymer exhibits a high NP9EO adsorption capacity of 83–92 w% (1.1–6.8 mg NP9EO/g β-CD-CMC polymer) dependent of the initial NP9EO concentration in liquid phase. This adsorption may involve the formation of an inclusion complex β-CD-NP9EO and a physical adsorption in the polymer network. The adsorption equilibrium measurements, which were analyzed using the Langmuir isotherm, have indicated a monolayer coverage and the homogeneous distribution of active sites at the surface of the β-CD-CMC polymer. Moreover, the negative value obtained for the free energy change (−13.2 kJ/mol) has indicated that the adsorption process is spontaneous. In parallel, the β-CD-CMC polymer exhibited a high NP9EO recovery efficiency of 97 w% that may occur through a decrease of binding strength between β-CD-CMC polymer and NP9EO. Together, these results suggest that the β-CD-CMC polymer could constitute a good adsorbent for removing nonylphenol ethoxylates from wastewater due to its high adsorption capacity and non-toxic character of β-CD and CMC to environment.
Capacity attributes of future urban water management regimes: projections from Australian sustainability practitioners
Authors: van de Meene S. J. , Brown R. R. , Farrelly M. A.
Published: April 2010

Transitioning to more sustainable urban water management is widely accepted as an essential societal objective. While there has been significant progress in developing technical solutions to the challenges faced, numerous barriers remain at the regime level, indicating that further investigation into the regime is required. This paper reports on a social research project aimed at identifying capacity attributes of a more sustainable urban water management regime. Attributes were identified for the administrative and regulatory framework, inter- and intra-organisational and individual regime spheres. Over 125 urban water practitioners specialising in sustainability in Sydney and Melbourne were interviewed to identify the attributes of a more sustainable regime. The attributes reveal that a sustainable urban water management regime emphasises learning, diverse policy tools and institutional arrangements, together with interaction among stakeholders and professional disciplines. The interaction is characterised by respect, trust and mutual understanding. The sustainable regime attributes are compared to the traditional regime and reveal that while progress has been made towards a sustainable regime, additional improvement is required. Attributes identified across multiple regime spheres indicate potential focus areas for capacity building programs or reform efforts to more effectively enable regime change towards sustainable urban water management.
Closed DHS system to prevent dissolved methane emissions as greenhouse gas in anaerobic wastewater treatment by its recovery and biological oxidation
Authors: Matsuura N. , Hatamoto M. , Sumino H. , Syutsubo K. , Yamaguchi T. , Ohashi A.
Published: April 2010

Anaerobic wastewater treatment has been focused on its eco-friendly nature in terms of the improved energy conservation and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. However, the anaerobic process discharges unrecovered methane as dissolved methane. In this study, to prevent the emission of dissolved methane from up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors used to treat sewage and to recover it as useful gas, we employed a two-stage down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor as a post-treatment of the UASB reactor. The closed DHS reactor in the first stage was intended for the recovery of dissolved methane from the UASB reactor effluent; the reactor could successfully recover an average of 76.8% of the influent dissolved methane as useful gas (containing methane over 30%) with hydraulic retention time of 2 h. During the experimental period, it was possible to maintain the recovered methane concentrations greater than 30% by adjusting the air supply rate. The remaining dissolved methane after the first stage was treated by the next step. The second closed DHS reactor was operated for oxidation of the residual methane and polishing of the remaining organic carbons. The reactor had a high performance and the influent dissolved methane was mostly eliminated to approximately 0.01 mgCOD L−1. The dissolved methane from the UASB reactor was completely eliminated—by more than 99%—by the post-treatment after the two-stage closed DHS system.
Vermifilters: a tool for aerobic biological treatment of herbal pharmaceutical wastewater
Authors: Dhadse Sharda , Satyanarayan Shanta , Chaudhari P. R. , Wate S. R.
Published: April 2010

Herbal pharmaceutical wastewater possesses high chemical oxygen demand (COD) (21,960–26,000 mg/l) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (11,200–15,660 mg/l) and suspended solids (SS) (5,460–7,370 mg/l). It cannot be directly discharged into surface water bodies, due to its highly biodegradable nature. Herbal pharmaceutical wastewater has been treated by using vermifilter, which is an ecosystem consisting of biosoil with bacteria and earthworms producing vermicastings. In the present studies a cost-effective, eco-friendly and sustainable method has been applied for the treatment of herbal pharmaceutical wastewater using earthworms. Studies were carried out at different organic loadings, ranging between 0.8 and 3.2 kg COD/m3day at three different hydraulic loadings of 1, 2 and 4 days. Vermifilters packed with 1:1:1 ratio of soil, sand and vermicast as media matrix along with the twenty adult earthworms in each reactor was used for the experiments. Treated effluent was colour and odour free. Efficient COD/BOD removals in the range of 85.44%–94.48% and 89.77%–96.26% were obtained respectively at 2 days hydraulic retention time (HRT). Heavy metal removals were also observed and no sludge production problem was encountered, only nutrient rich vermicast from the filters were removed and analysed after the experiments. It showed higher manurial value than control in terms of available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) and were in the range of 178.75–278.75 Kg/hectare available nitrogen, 16.128–50.4 kg/hectare of available phosphorus and 19.3–28.6 kg/hectare of available potassium at maximum HRT and at different organic loadings. This paper discusses in detail the feasibility of vermifilters in herbal pharmaceutical wastewater treatment at different organic and hydraulic loadings.
Full-scale experiences of nitrogen removal of fish-processing wastewater with flotation and anoxic-aerobic activated sludge system
Authors: Steinke M. , Barjenbruch M.
Published: April 2010

This article presents full scale experience of one of the largest fish-processing factories in Europe with a production capacity of about 50,000 tons herring per year and a maximum daily wastewater discharge of 1,500 m3. The wastewater treatment plant is the only direct discharger in the fish-processing industry in Germany. Thus, very low effluent values have to be keep in, especially the nitrogen reduction has to be operated during the whole year even when the temperature is low. The central point of the multi-stage WWTP (about 90,000 PE) is the biological nutrient removal (BNR) with pre-denitrification. The wastewater pre-treatment with sieves (0.8 mm) and a two staged flotation reduces the nitrogen load – mainly the particle bounded fraction – but the optimal nutrient ratios for biological treatment need to be observed. The activated sludge system has maximum OLR of 0.12 g COD/(g MLSS d) and NLR of 0.015 g TN/(g MLSS d) but a “Stand-By”-Operation with periods without wastewater influent is unavoidable. Discontinuous operating is one problem. The dependence on temperature as one of the main influences of nitrification-activity is the second point. The article gives an overview about the start-up and the optimisation of the process.
Bioenergy II: Suitability of Wood Chips and Various Biomass Types for Use in Plant of BtL Production by Gasification
Authors: Dupont Capucine , Rougé Sylvie , Berthelot Alain , Da Silva Perez Denilson , Graffin Ambroise , Labalette Françoise , Laboubée Céline , Mithouard Jean-Claude , Pitocchi Sophie
Published: April 2010

A characterization study has been performed of the French regional resources that may be used in Biomass-to-Liquid plants based on gasification in entrained-flow reactor. It is based on about 90 representative samples of wood chips from forestry, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) and of agricultural biomass, including straws and energy crops. Results show that there is not much variability in properties inside the different families. The majority of properties do not seem to be problematical for the process. However, some properties may be questionable: (i) wood chips size distribution, with many small particles ( below 2 mm) and very large particles (above 70 mm), (ii) bulk density, which is very low in agricultural products (about 100 kg.m-3), (iii) sulphur, fluorine and chlorine contents, which are high, especially chlorine in agricultural straws (1000-8000 mg/kg) (iv) other impurities amounts, such as Ni and B, which are in relatively high amounts in some samples (v) ash content, which is high in SRC/SRF (3 wmf%) and very high in most agricultural raw materials (5 wmf%). Based on these statements, first conclusions on the suitability between feedstock and process may be drawn. Wood chips from forestry appear as the most suitable resource for the process and should be the first resource to be used in industrial plants. SRC/SRF also seem quite suitable for the process and may be seen as a short-term alternative. Agricultural raw materials seem to be more problematical and may be seen as a mid-term option.
If It Were a Fight, They Would Have Stopped It in December of 2008
Authors: Barbera Robert J
Published: April 2010

New classical economics should not be judged based upon what theorists say today about the 2008-2009 crisis, but instead by looking at what economists like Casey Mulligan said as the crisis was unfolding. Once scrutiny is given to what new classical economics lead adherents believe in late 2008, Robert Barbera wonders how any rational thinker could continue to defend the framework.
Gender inequality: The challenge of contemporary demography
Authors: Sobot Ankica
Published: April 2010

Gender perspective is a heuristic device in researching social phenomena, and gender inequality is a social fact which requires an adequate answer. Also, social differences between women and men are examined as relevant factors of demographic phenomena. The contemporary demography is opening up space not only for the gender aspect, but also for gender inequality as a relevant research topic. This paper discusses the possibilities of demographic approach to studying social inequality between women and men. By analyzing socio-demographic structures and their dynamics insight is obtained into the generality, tendencies and particular features of the phenomenon. This is the specifically demographic contribution to understanding gender inequality.
Vinca ritual vessels: Archaeological context and possible meaning
Authors: Nikolic Dubravka , Vukovic Jasna
Published: April 2010

The Hyde-vase and anthropomorphic vessel found at Vinca within two sets of pottery vessels are vessels of cult the meaning of which has never been examined. The authors highlight the significance of their archaeological contexts and positions in the settlement, reconstructed based on the preserved documents. The cult character of both pottery sets is confirmed and they are thought to have been used for a ritual important to the whole Vinca community. Considering that they come from the horizon associated with the beginning of the Gradac phase of the Vinca culture, the performed ritual may be seen as a possible reaction of the Vinca inhabitants to dynamic changes triggered by emergence of metallurgy in the region and the whole of South East Europe.
New finds from Rutevac and deliberation on purpose, origin place of production and ethnic attribution of Mramorac type belts
Authors: Stojic Milorad
Published: April 2010

A pair of nearly identical silver artefacts was found in Rutevac by Aleksinac, known as Mramorac type belts, which used to be found exclusively in Pomoravlje and within the Big Confluence zone. Twenty four such artefacts were published; of which 20 are of silver plate, two of gilt silver plate and two of gold plate. The very fact that they are void of any fastening devices at the corresponding ends for buckling up purposes or pinning up to a surface (cloth or leather), excludes their purpose as belts to be used around people's waist; it could, however, be assumed that they served as a part of equipment of secular and religious leaders - as a kind of decorative ribbon - broad bands with ample symbols, worn over the shoulder and breast - at the same time cult object and a sign of dignity of the person wearing it. The fact that all the artefacts were found within one and the same territory and that they were reconstructed due to frequent wear suggest the production and maintenance in one or more local workshops in Pomoravlje. Artefacts belonged to the Triballi, the only ancient Balkan peoples who were confirmed, both archaeologically and on the basis of historical sources, in Pomoravlje, in the Triballian valley, living at the end of the 6th and in the 5th centuries BC, the period to which these luxurious artefacts were dated to.
The Valle Ponti lead ingots: Notes on Roman notables' commercial activities in free Illyricum at the beginning of the principate
Authors: Dusanic Slobodan
Published: April 2010

Most stamps of the Valle Ponti ingots (Ann. ?p. 1987, 397) refer to the great (M. Vipsanius) Agrippa and one Bat(o?), libertus or client of Caecilius (Pomponius Atticus). The ingots were obviously produced by the natives of Illyricum and exported to Italy c. 14 BC.
Prosopomorphic vessels from Moesia Superior
Authors: Nikolic Snezana , Raickovic Angelina
Published: April 2010

The prosopomorphic vessels from Moesia Superior had the form of beakers varying in outline but similar in size. They were wheel-thrown, mould-made or manufactured by using a combination of wheel-throwing and mould-made appliqu?s. Given that face vessels are considerably scarcer than other kinds of pottery, more than fifty finds from Moesia Superior make an enviable collection. In this and other provinces face vessels have been recovered from military camps, civilian settlements and necropolises, which suggests that they served more than one purpose. It is generally accepted that the faces-masks gave a protective role to the vessels, be it to protect the deceased or the family, their house and possessions. More than forty of all known finds from Moesia Superior come from Viminacium, a half of that number from necropolises. Although tangible evidence is lacking, there must have been several local workshops producing face vessels. The number and technological characteristics of the discovered vessels suggest that one of the workshops is likely to have been at Viminacium, an important pottery-making centre in the second and third centuries.
Adduct formed by chromium trioxide and zwitterionic quinolinic acid
Authors: Sundberg Markku , Uggla Rolf , Sillanpää Reijo , Zborowski Krzysztof , Sánchez-González Angel , Matikainen Jorma , Kaltia Seppo , Hase Tapio
Published: April 2010

Chromium trioxide forms an adduct with zwitterionic quinolinic acid. The structure of the product was found to be (quinolinium-3-carboxylato-O)trioxidochromium(VI), determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. To evaluate the bonding properties of the compound, its structure was optimized at the B3LYP/6-311G* level of theory. The electronic characteristics were investigated by topological methods applied to the total charge density in various model compounds including the title compound, title compound with a HF molecule presenting a hydrogen bonding and anionic moiety. Calculated aromaticity indices indicate that the quinolinic rings tend to conserve their degree of aromaticity against hydrogen bonding. However, when there is hydrogen bonding involving an N-H bond or when the quinolinium zwitterion is deprotonated, there are clear changes in the interaction between chromium trioxide and the quinolinic moiety.
Assessment of firefighters-rescuers' work severity in relation with interaction between physical and mental load
Authors: Roja Ženija , Kaļķis Valdis , Kaļķis Henrijs , Pencis Ilmārs
Published: April 2010

Assessment of firefighters-rescuers' work severity in relation with interaction between physical and mental load

The present work is focused on occupational health problems caused by ergonomic risk in firefighting, which is one of the most hazardous occupations. The aim was to evaluate the work heaviness degree and to estimate the muscle fatigue for a study group consisting of 12 firefighters-rescuers. Applying qualitative ergonomic analyses (OWAS a.o.) and clinical experiments to determine consumed metabolic energy using heart rate monitoring, the following work hardness categories were observed: firefighter-rescuer — category III (hard work, 8.2 ± 1.2 kcal/min); commanding officers — category II (moderate work, 6.0 ± 1.6 kcal/min). Assessment of muscle strain and functional state (tone) using myotonometric measurements showed several muscle tone levels, allowing subdivision of firefighters into different conditional categories basing on muscle tone and fatigue: I — a state of equilibrium when muscles are able to adapt to the work load and are partly able to relax; and II — muscle fatigue and increased tone. It was also found that the increase of muscle tone and fatigue mainly depended on workers physical preparedness and length of service, and less on their age. Assessment interaction of mental and physical load using NASA-TLX method indicated that the highest degree of total workload was for several firemen, especially, commanding officers when temporary demands, task performance, effort and frustration were taken into consideration.
Morphological characteristics of local populations of European vendace Coregonus albula (L.) in some lakes of Latvia during 50 years
Authors: Oreha Jeļena , Škute Nataļja
Published: April 2010

Morphological characteristics of local populations of European vendace Coregonus albula (L.) in some lakes of Latvia during 50 years

The vendace (Coregonus albula (L.)) is a widespread fish in the waters of the Holarctic and has been much studied in regard to history of spread and evolution. Statistical analysis of morphometric and meristic changes in Coregonus albula in some Latvian lakes for the last 50 years was conducted. Cluster analysis of meristic parameters showed that the vendace populations of lakes Stirnu - Alūksnes have become closer in meristic properties while the vendace populations of lakes Drīdzis - Sventes have become more dissimilar. The diversity and variation of morphological characteristics of vendace in the studied lakes are within the range of variations of the European vendace (Coregonus albula), although due to its flexibility it makes a lake-specific form depending on the local conditions of each reservoir. The discovered differences in the vendace populations from Lakes Nirzas, Rāznas, Stirnu, Alūksnes, Drīdzis, and Sventes seem to have resulted solely from/due to the adaptation of vendace to living conditions, which has changed during the previous 50 years.
Anti-Rubella IgM status in antenatal checkup visiting women
Authors: KC KP , Malla S , Ghimire P , Khanal SP , Dumre SP
Published: April 2010

Background: Rubella is a viral infection. Congenital rubella syndrome is the most serious consequences of rubella which has been observed in pregnant women. This study has been done to reveal the association of rubella infection in women. Methods: The serum specimens were collected from women during their regular antenatal check up, in, was included in the study. Specimens were tested at NPHL every week following standard operating protocol of NPHL utilizing Human ELISA (German) kits and reagents. The results of the tests along with the clinical histories collected from the patient on a proforma file carried by the patients were analyzed following standard statistical tools. Results: During the three years study period, 320 serum samples were collected in 2006, 372 in 2007 and 400 in 2008, out of which 38 (11.87%), 72 (19.35%) and 49 (12.25%) of the women visiting NPHL during their antenatal checkup were found positive to anti-rubella IgM antibody respectively, indicating recent infection. Almost above 80% of the positive cases were from age group 20-30 years. Conclusions: The study showed the significant association of recent rubella infection in women which emphasizes requirement of adolescent or adult immunization with rubella vaccine at the earliest. Key words: anti-rubella IgM; congenital rubella syndrome; pregnant women; rubella. DOI: 10.3126/jnhrc.v7i2.3010 Journal of Nepal Health Research Council Vol.7(2) Apr 2009 76-79
Risk Factor Assessment of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis
Authors: Pant R , Pandey KR , Joshi M , Sharma S , Pandey T , Pandey S
Published: April 2010

Background: Despite increasing numbers of MDR TB cases seen in Nepal, a lot remains to be understood about the disease in the local context. We evaluated possible risk factors for MDR TB among patients enrolled for treatment at a district hospital in western Nepal. Methods: A descriptive case-series study using structured interviews and abstraction of treatment records of all patients registered at the DOTS Plus clinic at Bhim Hospital, Bhairahawa from April 2008 to Dec 2008 was done. Descriptive analysis was done to find out frequencies and relations. Results: Of the total 31 patients, 22 were males (age range 18-68, median 36.7) and the remaining 9 females (age range 23-56, median 33.7). 27(87%) of the patients had monthly income below Rs 3000 and 24 (77%) of them were illiterate. 21(67%) had missed at least a few weeks of drugs during their previous treatment and 4 (13%) had been marked as defaulters. 6 (20%) had treatment failure. 74% of the patients were smokers, 2 were HIV positive. 20 (58%) had lived in India for at least 6 months where they had incomplete treatment of TB. 30 (97%) patients had disclosed their MDR status to their families; however 70% said they did not do so immediately. Conclusions: Previous TB treatment, male sex, poverty, migration to India, illiteracy and smoking have been observed in a majority of the cases in this study. These findings need to be corroborated with multi-centre casecontrol studies to bring out nationally relevant risk factors for MDR TB. Key words: directly observed treatment short course-plus; multi- drug resistance; risk factors; tuberculosis. DOI: 10.3126/jnhrc.v7i2.3013 Journal of Nepal Health Research Council Vol.7(2) Apr 2009 89-92
Women's Experience of Sexual Harassment in Carpet Factories
Authors: Dhakal G
Published: April 2010

Background: Sexual harassment is a problematic issue where women and men work together. It is being recognized as a violation of human rights and human dignity which undermines the equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. So, this study was conducted in Kathmandu which helps to find out women's experience of sexual harassment and its impact on them. Methods: Descriptive study was conducted in six carpet factories, selected purposively. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to find out experience of sexual harassment and its impact on their job, mental and physical health. The organizational context and job context of those factories were also studied. Results: From the study, 72% workers had heard about Sexual Harassment and among them, 52% had faced it in their workplace. The most frequent type of sexual harassment was passing vulgar jokes, remarks or teasing obscenely (87%). Twenty three percent of the workers felt disruption on their job, 61% were affected mentally and 8% were affected physically after harassment. All the workers felt provision and execution of penalty to the perpetrator. But none of the factory had policy on sexual harassment or none of the worker had complained about sexual harassment to the authority yet. Conclusions: Female workers are very much vulnerable to sexual harassment by their male co workers. It negatively impacts their performance, mental and physical health. There should be sexual harassment policy in their organization to maintain a fair and productive working environment and implementation is must. Key words: sexual harassment; working women; workplace; workers. DOI: 10.3126/jnhrc.v7i2.3015 Journal of Nepal Health Research Council Vol.7(2) Apr 2009 98-102