bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Body Composition, Psychological, Cardiovascular, and Physical Activity Factors Related with Academic School Performance
Authors: Redondo-Flórez Laura , Ramos-Campo Domingo Jesus , Clemente-Suárez Vicente Javier
Published: August 2021

The aim of the present study was to analyse body composition, anxiety, cardiovascular, and physical activity factors related with academic performance of school students as well as to analyse differences, by age, in these factors. We analysed in 266 primary school students’ (8.81 ± 1.62 years, range: 5–13 years) heart rate, anthropometric variables to calculate body mass index, physical activity performance, anxiety levels and academic results by the average of marks. Students were divided in two different groups, firstly by their lower or higher academic performance, and secondly by age. Results showed a negative correlation between academic performance and age, weight, body mass index and trait anxiety variables. Additionally, significant differences were found by age, presenting older students higher scores in body mass index and lower physical activity, trait anxiety, heart rate and academic performance values than younger students. Overweight and obesity may have a great impact in academic performance in children and we pointed out the necessity to establish programs related with healthy habits which include improvements in physical activity and nutrition behaviours with the objective to enhance children’s health general status, psychological profile, cognitive and motor development, and academic performance.
Linking Semantic 3D City Models with Domain-Specific Simulation Tools for the Planning and Validation of Energy Applications at District Level
Authors: Widl Edmund , Agugiaro Giorgio , Peters-Anders Jan
Published: August 2021

Worldwide, cities are nowadays formulating their own sustainability goals, including ambitious targets related to the generation and consumption of energy. In order to support decision makers in reaching these goals, energy experts typically rely on simulation models of urban energy systems, which provide a cheap and efficient way to analyze potential solutions. The availability of high-quality, well-formatted and semantically structured data is a crucial prerequisite for such simulation-based assessments. Unfortunately, best practices for data modelling are rarely utilized in the context of energy-related simulations, so data management and data access often become tedious and cumbersome tasks. However, with the steady progress of digitalization, more and more spatial and semantic city data also become available and accessible. This paper addresses the challenge to represent these data in a way that ensures simulation tools can make use of them in an efficient and user-friendly way. Requirements for an effective linking of semantic 3D city models with domain-specific simulation tools are presented and discussed. Based on these requirements, a software prototype implementing the required functionality has been developed on top of the CityGML standard. This prototype has been applied to a simple yet realistic use case, which combines data from various sources to analyze the operating conditions of a gas network in a city district. The aim of the presented approach is to foster a stronger collaboration between experts for urban data modelling and energy simulations, based on a concrete proof-of-concept implementation that may serve as an inspiration for future developments.
Key Performance Indicators for an Energy Community Based on Sustainable Technologies
Authors: Bianco Giovanni , Bonvini Barbara , Bracco Stefano , Delfino Federico , Laiolo Paola , Piazza Giorgio
Published: August 2021

As reported in the “Clean energy for all Europeans package” set by the EU, a sustainable transition from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy is necessary to improve the quality of life of citizens and the livability in cities. The exploitation of renewable sources, the improvement of energy performance in buildings and the need for cutting-edge national energy and climate plans represent important and urgent topics to be faced in order to implement the sustainability concept in urban areas. In addition, the spread of polygeneration microgrids and the recent development of energy communities enable a massive installation of renewable power plants, high-performance small-size cogeneration units, and electrical storage systems; moreover, properly designed local energy production systems make it possible to optimize the exploitation of green energy sources and reduce both energy supply costs and emissions. In the present paper, a set of key performance indicators is introduced in order to evaluate and compare different energy communities both from a technical and environmental point of view. The proposed methodology was used in order to assess and compare two sites characterized by the presence of sustainable energy infrastructures: the Savona Campus of the University of Genoa in Italy, where a polygeneration microgrid has been in operation since 2014 and new technologies will be installed in the near future, and the SPEED2030 District, an urban area near the Campus where renewable energy power plants (solar and wind), cogeneration units fed by hydrogen and storage systems are planned to be installed.
Future of Insecticide Seed Treatment
Authors: Vojvodić Milorad , Bažok Renata
Published: August 2021

Seed treatment as a method of local application of pesticides in precise agriculture reduces the amount of pesticides used per unit area and is considered to be the safest, cheapest and most ecologically acceptable method of protecting seeds and young plants from pests in the early stages of their development. With the introduction of insecticides from the neonicotinoid group in the mid-1990s, the frequency of seed treatment increased. Due to suspected negative effects on pollinators, most of these insecticides are banned in the European Union. The ban has therefore led to a reduction in the number of active substances approved for seed treatment and to an increased re-use of active substances from the group of pyrethroids as well as other organophosphorus insecticides, which pose potentially very serious risks, perhaps even greater than those of the banned neonicotinoids. The objective of this review is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of seed treatment and the potential role of insecticide seed treatment in reducing the negative impact of pesticides on the environment. The main disadvantage of this method is that it has been widely accepted and has become a prophylactic protective measure applied to almost all fields. This is contrary to the principles of integrated pest management and leads to an increased input of insecticides into the environment, by treating a larger number of hectares with a lower amount of active ingredient, and a negative impact on beneficial entomofauna. In addition, studies show that due to the prophylactic approach, the economic and technical justification of this method is often questionable. Extremely important for a quality implementation are the correct processing and implementation of the treatment procedure as well as the selection of appropriate insecticides, which have proven to be problematic in the case of neonicotinoids. The ban on neonicotinoids and the withdrawal of seed treatments in oilseed rape and sugar beet has led to increased problems with a range of pests affecting these crops at an early stage of growth. The results of the present studies indicate good efficacy of active ingredients belonging to the group of anthranilic diamides, cyantraniliprole and chlorantraniliprole in the treatment of maize, soybean, sugar beet and rice seeds on pests of the above-ground part of the plant, but not on wireworms. Good efficacy in controlling wireworms in maize is shown by an insecticide in the naturalites group, spinosad, but it is currently used to treat seeds of vegetable crops, mainly onions, to control onion flies and flies on other vegetable crops. Seed treatment as a method only fits in with the principles of integrated pest management when treated seeds are sown on land where there is a positive prognosis for pest infestation.
The Relationship between Cities’ Cultural Strength, Reputation, and Tourism Intensity: Empirical Evidence on a Sample of the Best-Reputable European Cities
Authors: Pavković Vladimir , Karabašević Darjan , Jević Jelena , Jević Goran
Published: August 2021

As the social phenomenon that takes into account cultural venues and facilities and cultural participation and attractiveness, the cultural strength of a city is a significant dimension of each city relevant for its inhabitants, as well as its visitors. The results of a research study on the nature of the relationship between cultural strength, on the one hand, and reputation and tourism intensity, on the other, are presented in this paper on a sample of the 20 European cities with the best reputation index according to the report entitled “The World’s Most Reputable Cities” (2018 City RepTrak®). The primary goal of the study is to determine the relationship between the cultural strength and reputation of these cities. The secondary goals are focused on determining the relationship between cultural venues and facilities as a segment of cultural strength and tourism intensity. The methodology used in the study comprises: the definition and analysis of the city reputation concept, as well as the determination of the differences in comparison with the reputation of an urban tourism destination, the identification of the constituents of the cultural strength of the cities and their role in tourist attractions, and finally, the investigation of the nature of the relationship between cultural strength, on the one hand, and tourism intensity, on the other. In order to conduct the analysis of these relationships and their interdependence, correlation and regression analyses are used. One of the conclusions of the paper is that cultural venues and facilities are not connected with the reputation of cities, whereas the correlation regarding cultural participation and attractiveness is confirmed. The results of the study also show the most important “cultural venues and facilities” indicator in relation to tourism intensity. In terms of this and based on the obtained research results of the study, the role that cultural strength plays in positioning cities in stakeholders’ perception through the strategic process of the creation and management of cities’ reputation, as well as the tourism attractiveness of cities and a consequent increase in the number of tourists as important stakeholders and ensuring their satisfaction, are presented in the paper.
A Novel Hybrid Methodology of Measuring Sentence Similarity
Authors: Yoo Yongmin , Heo Tak-Sung , Park Yeongjoon , Kim Kyungsun
Published: August 2021

The problem of measuring sentence similarity is an essential issue in the natural language processing area. It is necessary to measure the similarity between sentences accurately. Sentence similarity measuring is the task of finding semantic symmetry between two sentences, regardless of word order and context of the words. There are many approaches to measuring sentence similarity. Deep learning methodology shows a state-of-the-art performance in many natural language processing fields and is used a lot in sentence similarity measurement methods. However, in the natural language processing field, considering the structure of the sentence or the word structure that makes up the sentence is also important. In this study, we propose a methodology combined with both deep learning methodology and a method considering lexical relationships. Our evaluation metric is the Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman correlation coefficient. As a result, the proposed method outperforms the current approaches on a KorSTS standard benchmark Korean dataset. Moreover, it performs a maximum of a 65% increase than only using deep learning methodology. Experiments show that our proposed method generally results in better performance than those with only a deep learning model.
A Consortium Blockchain Wallet Scheme Based on Dual-Threshold Key Sharing
Authors: Li Guojia , You Lin
Published: August 2021

In recent years, blockchain has triggered an upsurge in the application of decentralized models and has received more and more attention. For convenience and security considerations, in blockchain applications, users usually use wallets to manage digital assets. The most important data stored in the wallet is the user’s private key, which is also the only identification of the ownership of the encrypted digital assets. Once the private key is lost or stolen, it will bring irreparable losses. We proposed a consortium blockchain wallet scheme based on dual-threshold key protection secret-sharing. By splitting and storing the user’s wallet private key using a secret-sharing method, we can protect our private keys safely and effectively. Our scheme is based on the application scenario of the consortium blockchain. The peers preset by the consortium blockchain store the user’s wallet private key shadow shares, reasonably integrate storage resources, and enhance the solution’s anti-attack ability by setting double thresholds.
Curvature and Entropy Statistics-Based Blind Multi-Exposure Fusion Image Quality Assessment
Authors: He Zhouyan , Song Yang , Zhong Caiming , Li Li
Published: August 2021

The multi-exposure fusion (MEF) technique provides humans a new opportunity for natural scene representation, and the related quality assessment issues are urgent to be considered for validating the effectiveness of these techniques. In this paper, a curvature and entropy statistics-based blind MEF image quality assessment (CE-BMIQA) method is proposed to perceive the quality degradation objectively. The transformation process from multiple images with different exposure levels to the final MEF image leads to the loss of structure and detail information, so that the related curvature statistics features and entropy statistics features are utilized to portray the above distortion presentation. The former features are extracted from the histogram statistics of surface type map calculated by mean curvature and Gaussian curvature of MEF image. Moreover, contrast energy weighting is attached to consider the contrast variation of the MEF image. The latter features refer to spatial entropy and spectral entropy. All extracted features based on a multi-scale scheme are aggregated by training the quality regression model via random forest. Since the MEF image and its feature representation are spatially symmetric in physics, the final prediction quality is symmetric to and representative of the image distortion. Experimental results on a public MEF image database demonstrate that the proposed CE-BMIQA method achieves more outstanding performance than the state-of-the-art blind image quality assessment ones.
ClbG in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Contributes to Meningitis Development in a Mouse Model
Authors: Wang Peili , Zhang Jiaxiang , Chen Yanfei , Zhong Haoran , Wang Heng , Li Jianji , Zhu Guoqiang , Xia Pengpeng , Cui Luying , Li Jun , Dong Junsheng , Gao Qingqing , Meng Xia
Published: August 2021

Colibactin is a complex secondary metabolite that leads to genotoxicity that interferes with the eukaryotic cell cycle. It plays an important role in many diseases, including neonatal mouse sepsis and meningitis. Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is responsible for several diseases in the poultry industry and may threaten human health due to its potential zoonosis. In this study, we confirmed that clbG was necessary for the APEC XM strain to produce colibactin. The deletion of clbG on APEC XM contributed to lowered γH2AX expression, no megalocytosis, and no cell cycle arrest in vitro. None of the 4-week Institute of Cancer Research mice infected with the APEC XM ΔclbG contracted meningitis or displayed weakened clinical symptoms. Fewer histopathological lesions were observed in the APEC XM ΔclbG group. The bacterial colonization of tissues and the relative expression of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in the brains decreased significantly in the APEC XM ΔclbG group compared to those in the APEC XM group. The tight junction proteins (claudin-5, occludin, and ZO-1) were not significantly destroyed in APEC XM ΔclbG group in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, clbG is necessary for the synthesis of the genotoxin colibactin and affects the development of APEC meningitis in mice.
Venom of the Annulated Sea Snake Hydrophis cyanocinctus: A Biochemically Simple but Genetically Complex Weapon
Authors: Zhao Hong-Yan , Sun Yan , Du Yu , Li Jia-Qi , Lv Jin-Geng , Qu Yan-Fu , Lin Long-Hui , Lin Chi-Xian , Ji Xiang , Gao Jian-Fang
Published: August 2021

Given that the venom system in sea snakes has a role in enhancing their secondary adaption to the marine environment, it follows that elucidating the diversity and function of venom toxins will help to understand the adaptive radiation of sea snakes. We performed proteomic and de novo NGS analyses to explore the diversity of venom toxins in the annulated sea snake (Hydrophis cyanocinctus) and estimated the adaptive molecular evolution of the toxin-coding unigenes and the toxicity of the major components. We found three-finger toxins (3-FTxs), phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and cysteine-rich secretory protein (CRISP) in the venom proteome and 59 toxin-coding unigenes belonging to 24 protein families in the venom-gland transcriptome; 3-FTx and PLA2 were the most abundant families. Nearly half of the toxin-coding unigenes had undergone positive selection. The short- (i.p. 0.09 μg/g) and long-chain neurotoxin (i.p. 0.14 μg/g) presented fairly high toxicity, whereas both basic and acidic PLA2s expressed low toxicity. The toxicity of H. cyanocinctus venom was largely determined by the 3-FTxs. Our data show the venom is used by H. cyanocinctus as a biochemically simple but genetically complex weapon and venom evolution in H. cyanocinctus is presumably driven by natural selection to deal with fast-moving prey and enemies in the marine environment.
Clinical and Histopathologic Features of a Feline SARS-CoV-2 Infection Model Are Analogous to Acute COVID-19 in Humans
Authors: Rudd Jennifer M. , Tamil Selvan Miruthula , Cowan Shannon , Kao Yun-Fan , Midkiff Cecily C. , Narayanan Sai , Ramachandran Akhilesh , Ritchey Jerry W. , Miller Craig A.
Published: August 2021

The emergence and ensuing dominance of COVID-19 on the world stage has emphasized the urgency of efficient animal models for the development of therapeutics for and assessment of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Shortcomings of current animal models for SARS-CoV-2 include limited lower respiratory disease, divergence from clinical COVID-19 disease, and requirements for host genetic modifications to permit infection. In this study, n = 12 specific-pathogen-free domestic cats were infected intratracheally with SARS-CoV-2 to evaluate clinical disease, histopathologic lesions, and viral infection kinetics at 4 and 8 days post-inoculation; n = 6 sham-inoculated cats served as controls. Intratracheal inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 produced a significant degree of clinical disease (lethargy, fever, dyspnea, and dry cough) consistent with that observed in the early exudative phase of COVID-19. Pulmonary lesions such as diffuse alveolar damage, hyaline membrane formation, fibrin deposition, and proteinaceous exudates were also observed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, replicating lesions identified in people hospitalized with ARDS from COVID-19. A significant correlation was observed between the degree of clinical disease identified in infected cats and pulmonary lesions. Viral loads and ACE2 expression were also quantified in nasal turbinates, distal trachea, lungs, and other organs. Results of this study validate a feline model for SARS-CoV-2 infection that results in clinical disease and histopathologic lesions consistent with acute COVID-19 in humans, thus encouraging its use for future translational studies.
Autophagy Delays Apoptotic Cell Death Induced by Siniperca chuatsi Rhabdovirus in Epithelioma Papulosum Cyprinid Cells
Authors: Zhou Guang-Zhou , Li Jun , Sun Yan-He , Zhang Qin , Zhang Lu , Pei Chao
Published: August 2021

Autophagy and apoptosis are two key cell fate determination pathways, which play vital roles in the interaction between viruses and host cells. Previous research had confirmed that one strain of fish rhabdoviruses, Siniperca chuatsi rhabdovirus (SCRV), could induce apoptosis and autophagy after infection. In the current study, we continued to analyze the interaction of autophagy and apoptosis in SCRV-infected EPC cell lines after treatment with different autophagy or apoptosis inhibitors. We found that SCRV infection could activate the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway by the detection of the activities of the caspase-3 and caspase-9 and by flow cytometry analysis in JC-1-stained cells, respectively. Furthermore, no significant autophagy-related factors were disturbed in SCRV-infected cell after apoptosis inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK treatment, while autophagy inducer rapamycin could obviously delay the occurrence of CPE and cell death. Meanwhile, rapamycin was able to reduce the proportion of apoptotic cells. Besides that, rapamycin could disturb the expression of p62 and LC3B-II, and the transcription level of SCRV nucleoprotein mRNA. The progeny virus titers did not show a big difference between the rapamycin treatment or without it. Collectively, our data preliminarily confirmed that SCRV-activated autophagy could delay apoptosis in EPC cells and may not affect virus production. Further study may need to focus on the crosstalk regulation and its roles on the SCRV infection.
Structural 3D Domain Reconstruction of the RNA Genome from Viruses with Secondary Structure Models
Authors: Poblete Simón , Guzman Horacio V.
Published: August 2021

Three-dimensional RNA domain reconstruction is important for the assembly, disassembly and delivery functionalities of a packed proteinaceus capsid. However, to date, the self-association of RNA molecules is still an open problem. Recent chemical probing reports provide, with high reliability, the secondary structure of diverse RNA ensembles, such as those of viral genomes. Here, we present a method for reconstructing the complete 3D structure of RNA genomes, which combines a coarse-grained model with a subdomain composition scheme to obtain the entire genome inside proteinaceus capsids based on secondary structures from experimental techniques. Despite the amount of sampling involved in the folded and also unfolded RNA molecules, advanced microscope techniques can provide points of anchoring, which enhance our model to include interactions between capsid pentamers and RNA subdomains. To test our method, we tackle the satellite tobacco mosaic virus (STMV) genome, which has been widely studied by both experimental and computational communities. We provide not only a methodology to structurally analyze the tertiary conformations of the RNA genome inside capsids, but a flexible platform that allows the easy implementation of features/descriptors coming from both theoretical and experimental approaches.
HIV in the Brain: Identifying Viral Reservoirs and Addressing the Challenges of an HIV Cure
Authors: Ash Michelle K. , Al-Harthi Lena , Schneider Jeffrey R.
Published: August 2021

Advances in antiretroviral therapy have prolonged the life of people living with HIV and diminished the level of virus in these individuals. Yet, HIV quickly rebounds after disruption and/or cessation of treatment due to significant cellular and anatomical reservoirs for HIV, which underscores the challenge for HIV cure strategies. The central nervous system (CNS), in particular, is seeded with HIV within 1–2 weeks of infection and is a reservoir for HIV. In this review, we address the paradigm of HIV reservoirs in the CNS and the relevant cell types, including astrocytes and microglia, that have been shown to harbor viral infection even with antiretroviral treatment. In particular, we focus on developmental aspects of astrocytes and microglia that lead to their susceptibility to infection, and how HIV infection propagates among these cells. We also address challenges of measuring the HIV latent reservoir, advances in viral detection assays, and how curative strategies have evolved in regard to the CNS reservoir. Current curative strategies still require optimization to reduce or eliminate the HIV CNS reservoir, and may also contribute to levels of neuroinflammation that lead to cognitive decline. With this in mind, the latent HIV reservoir in the brain should remain a prominent focus when assessing treatment options and overall viral burden in the clinic, especially in the context of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND).
Chlamydia trachomatis Cross-Serovar Protection during Experimental Lung Reinfection in Mice
Authors: Lanfermann Christian , Kohn Martin , Laudeley Robert , Rheinheimer Claudia , Klos Andreas
Published: August 2021

Chlamydia trachomatis causes most bacterial sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. Different major outer membrane proteins (MOMPs) define various serovars of this intracellular pathogen: In women, D to L3 can cause urethritis, cervicitis, salpingitis, and oophoritis, and, thus, infertility. Protective immunity might be serovar-specific since chlamydial infection does not appear to induce an effective acquired immunity and reinfections occur. A better understanding of induced cross-serovar protection is essential for the selection of suitable antigens in vaccine development. In our mouse lung infection screening model, we evaluated the urogenital serovars D, E, and L2 in this regard. Seven weeks after primary infection or mock-infection, respectively, mice were infected a second time with the identical or one of the other serovars. Body weight and clinical score were monitored for 7 days. Near the peak of the second lung infection, bacterial load, myeloperoxidase, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in lung homogenate, as well as chlamydia-specific IgG levels in blood were determined. Surprisingly, compared with mice that were infected then for the first time, almost independent of the serovar combination used, all acquired parameters of disease were similarly diminished. Our reinfection study suggests that efficient cross-serovar protection could be achieved by a vaccine combining chlamydial antigens that do not include nonconserved MOMP regions.
Use of CdS from Teaching-Laboratory Wastes as a Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics in Water
Authors: Serna-Galvis Efraím A. , Ávila-Torres Yenny , Ibáñez María , Hernández Félix , Torres-Palma Ricardo A.
Published: August 2021

Laboratory wastes containing Cd2+ and water polluted by pharmaceuticals represent an environmental concern. In this work, a proof concept, consisting of the use of teaching-laboratory wastes to synthesize CdS and its subsequent use as a photocatalyst to degrade fluoroquinolone antibiotics, was developed. The CdS was prepared by extraction with thioacetamide and calcination (at 450 °C) and characterized using several techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the CdS, to degrade levofloxacin and norfloxacin, was tested, and the routes involved in the process and the primary transformations of the fluoroquinolones were established. Moreover, the ability of CdS-photocatalysis to eliminate levofloxacin in simulated matrices of fresh urine and hospital wastewater was evaluated. The characterization analyses indicated that the CdS semiconductor was synthesized successfully. Effectively, the CdS acted as a photocatalyst toward degradation of levofloxacin, involving the action of superoxide anion radical, holes, and singlet oxygen mainly. The process induced transformations on the methyl-piperazyl moiety, plus hydroxylation of the fluoroquinolone nucleus on levofloxacin. Additionally, CdS-photocatalysis was highly selective for the elimination of the target pollutant in both tested matrices. Our research indicated the good potentiality of recycling teaching-laboratory wastes to generate photocatalysts to degrade organic pollutants. This work was presented at 4° Congreso Colombiano de Procesos Avanzados de Oxidación (4CCPAOx).
Stochastic Modeling of Hydroclimatic Processes Using Vine Copulas
Authors: Pouliasis George , Torres-Alves Gina Alexandra , Morales-Napoles Oswaldo
Published: August 2021

The generation of synthetic time series is important in contemporary water sciences for their wide applicability and ability to model environmental uncertainty. Hydroclimatic variables often exhibit highly skewed distributions, intermittency (that is, alternating dry and wet intervals), and spatial and temporal dependencies that pose a particular challenge to their study. Vine copula models offer an appealing approach to generate synthetic time series because of their ability to preserve any marginal distribution while modeling a variety of probabilistic dependence structures. In this work, we focus on the stochastic modeling of hydroclimatic processes using vine copula models. We provide an approach to model intermittency by coupling Markov chains with vine copula models. Our approach preserves first-order auto- and cross-dependencies (correlation). Moreover, we present a novel framework that is able to model multiple processes simultaneously. This method is based on the coupling of temporal and spatial dependence models through repetitive sampling. The result is a parsimonious and flexible method that can adequately account for temporal and spatial dependencies. Our method is illustrated within the context of a recent reliability assessment of a historical hydraulic structure in central Mexico. Our results show that by ignoring important characteristics of probabilistic dependence that are well captured by our approach, the reliability of the structure could be severely underestimated.
Irrigation with Coal Mining Effluents: Sustainability and Water Quality Considerations (São Pedro da Cova, North Portugal)
Authors: Mansilha Catarina , Melo Armindo , Flores Deolinda , Ribeiro Joana , Rocha João Ramalheira , Martins Vítor , Santos Patrícia , Espinha Marques Jorge
Published: August 2021

Two water effluents that drain from the abandoned coal mine of São Pedro da Cova (NW Portugal) were characterized in terms of their physic-chemical properties and suitability for irrigation purposes. Samples were also collected in a local surface stream, upstream and downstream from the mine drainage points, also used for irrigation by local farmers. Water samples were analyzed for major and minor ions and for trace element concentrations. Sampling campaigns started in 2017 and ended in 2019 and there were 46 water quality parameters tested. There were also proposed all-inclusive indices (the Water Quality Index and the Contamination Index, and also the Trace Element Toxicity Index) based on specific groups of 18 and 17 physic-chemical parameters, respectively, to achieve adequate monitoring requirements for mine effluents and surface water from coalfield. From the physical and chemical aspects of mine water it is inferred that the mine is not producing acid mine drainage. The coal mine water is of medium to high salinity, having almost neutral pH and a high thermal stability during the year, which is a distinguishing feature of the effluents. When compared to international irrigation water quality standards, as Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations admissible concentrations, the impacted waters are unsuitable for irrigation. The major outliers to the guidelines were iron, manganese, potassium, magnesium and bicarbonates, being also detected carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Cost-effective ways of monitoring water quality parameters are needed to help control and manage the impact of coal mine effluents that should be treated before releasing into a ditch system that could be then used by local farmers to irrigate their crops.
An Evaluation of the Possible Uses of CNT in Flow Conditions for Removing Humic Substances from Water
Authors: Wolska Małgorzata , Ferenc Zbigniew , Solipiwko-Pieścik Anna
Published: August 2021

This study concerns an evaluation of humic substance removal during an adsorption process on three sorbents: two consisting of carbon nanotubes embedded on a polymer (polypropylene and polyethylene) and granulated active carbon as a reference. The results that were obtained show a significantly lower organic substance removal effectiveness in the case of sorbents containing carbon nanotubes, with an insignificantly lower unit effectiveness (mg/g) of the nanosorbents during first two hours of adsorption. Unfortunately, nanosorbents only allow removing substances with a low molecular weight and high aromaticity, which significantly reduces the possibility of its use in technical conditions for naturally occurring water and the sorption capacity nanotubes were significantly lower in comparison to the GAC.
Levels, Inventory, and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Wetland Ecosystem, Northeast China: Implications for Snow Cover Monitoring
Authors: Zhang Fuxiang , Meng Bo , Gao Shang , Hough Rupert , Hu Peng , Zhang Zulin , Yu Shaopeng , Li Kunyang , Liu Zhikun , Cui Song
Published: August 2021

Snow cover is a unique environmental medium in cold regions that can cause potential risks to the ecological environment, due to the release of pollutants that are stored in it. In this study, the Qixing River wetland, located in the Sanjiang Plain of China, was taken as the target research area. Heavy metals in snow cover, including Cu, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Zn were measured at 19 sampling sites. The results showed that the average concentrations of heavy metals were: Zn (103.46 ± 39.16) > Pb (13.08 ± 4.99) > Cr (11.97 ± 2.82) > Ni (9.55 ± 4.96) > Cu (6.19 ± 1.79) > Cd (0.55 ± 0.25) μg·L−1. Cr and Zn were between Class I and Class II in the “Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water” of China (GB3838-2002). Pb in snow exceeded the upper limit of Class II, and was significantly higher than concentrations measured in water samples from the Qixing River wetland (p < 0.05), indicating that atmospheric deposition during winter was the major source of Pb. The water pollution index (WPI) indicated that 61.0% of samples could be considered of “clean” status, while the contribution of Zn, Pb, and Cr to WPI were 33.3%, 21.0%, and 19.3%, respectively. A preliminary evaluation of heavy metal inventory in snow cover showed that the residue level of Zn was the highest (2313.57 ± 1194.67 μg·m−2), while Cd was the lowest (13.91 ± 10.45 μg·m−2). The areas with high residues of heavy metals were all located near the buffer zone of the wetland (except for Zn), where snow depth tended to be greatest. Exposure analysis indicated that the risks to winter resident birds from snow ingestion was minimal, but it should be noted that the exposure risk was higher in birds with lower bodyweights. This study provides important information and scientific knowledge on the pollution characteristics and residue inventory of heavy metals in wetland ecosystems, while the results can also provide a monitoring method, reflecting atmospheric environmental quality at a local or regional scale.
A Fast Lithium-Ion Battery Impedance and SOC Estimation Method Based on Two-Stage PI Observer
Authors: Chen Tao , Huo Mengmeng , Yang Xiaolong , Wen Rui
Published: August 2021

Due to the complex changes in battery state, the accurate and fast estimation of battery state of charge (SOC) is still a great challenge. Here, a fast estimation method of battery impedance and SOC based on a multi-level PI observer is proposed. The observer model reflects the change of the battery state characteristics through the dynamic impedance, and then the system compensation factor is added to the observer to dynamically adjust the parameters of the battery model. The effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by the compound dynamic stress test (DST) experiment. The results show that the introduction of the compensation factor enables the system to tolerate a certain degree of impedance fluctuation and capacity attenuation and the maximum SOC estimation error can be kept within 2%.
Rights of civil servants as the basis of their legal status
Authors: Adamska I.
Published: August 2021

Problem setting. The civil servant is one of the main objects of public service reform and, at the same time, its subject. This is due to the fact that civil servants, as representatives of the senior public service, are the main actors in the formation of reform policy in the field of public service, as well as, subject to regulatory legislation, catalysts for its implementation. At the same time, transformational changes affect the legal status of public servants, which in turn affects the formation of their rights and responsibilities.
Recent research and publications analysis. It was found that the issue of the rights of public servants is insufficiently covered in recent research, which has led to the relevance of the selected issues.
Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem is to reveal the essence and content of the rights of public servants as a fundamental component of their legal status.
Paper main body. Research has shown that the legal status of a public servant should be understood as a system of rights granted to him, as well as a set of responsibilities imposed on him, including certain incentives, prohibitions and restrictions, as well as measures of legal liability for non-compliance or improper level of performance of professional duties assigned to him in accordance with the job description. The essence of the concept of “rights of a public servant” should be understood as a set of certain material, economic and social benefits that are guaranteed to the official and ensure the realization of his natural rights in the course of professional activity.
Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. It is concluded that the rights of a public servant can be disclosed as a set of certain material, economic and social benefits that are guaranteed to the official and ensure the realization of his natural rights in the course of professional activity. There are three levels (aspects) of the rights of civil servants, namely: private law; Labor Law; public law. Thus, private law ensures the freedom and autonomy of the individual, the independence and autonomy of the individual. Labor relations arising in the activities of public servants are an element of the general system of labor law. At the same time, public servants perform their job functions personally and must obey the rules of official discipline, which are established at both the local and state levels. In the course of using the labor of public servants, labor relations arise, which, however, are characterized by the peculiarity of official functions and the level of responsibility for decision-making of state importance. Prospects for further research are the analysis of the state of protection of the rights of civil servants in modern Ukraine, the study of improving the organizational protection of the rights of civil servants and compliance with the rights of civil servants as an optimization tool for building an effective state in Ukraine.
EFEITO DO COVID-19 SOBRE EVENTOS TROMBOEMBÓLICOS E CONTROLE DESTE COM ANTICOAGULANTES
Authors: Santos Gustavo Mariano Rodrigues , Ribeiro Daniella de Lourdes Baggio Rehfeld , Rodrigues Emanuela Carvalho , Signori Giovanna Maiolli , de Albuquerque Kesley Silveira , Tomelin Letícia Prestini , Pereira Luisa Bambirra , de Araújo Maria Beatriz Siqueira , Ferrari Natália , Barroso Tereza Dália de Freitas , Pimenta Thaís Nacur
Published: August 2021

INTRODUÇÃO: A COVID-19, está associada à inflamação e a um estado pró-trombótico com um prognóstico ruim. O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar o uso de anticoagulantes como profilaxia e/ou tratamento em eventos tromboembólicos em pacientes com COVID-19. METODOLOGIA:Trata-se de uma revisão sistemática, com busca realizada nas bases de dados clinicaltrials.gov e Pubmed, usando os descritores “anticoagulant” , “COVID-19”. Foram considerados artigos publicados em 2020 e 2021. RESULTADOS: Observou-se que pacientes com COVID-19 têm níveis elevados de dímero-D, altas taxas de tromboembolismo venoso e coagulação intravascular disseminada. Além disso, observou-se que o uso de dose maior de HBPM, como profilaxia tromboembólica, reduziu a incidência de complicações trombóticas. DISCUSSÃO: A heparina mostra-se eficaz na prevenção de fenômenos tromboembólicos durante a infecção pelo COVID19. Além disso, o aumento dos níveis de dímero D e inflamação sistêmica apresentam-se como fatores de mau prognóstico. Já à dose da anticoagulação, corroborou-se o uso de doses baixas na prevenção de eventos trombóticos, porém, divergiu-se quanto ao uso de doses intermediárias. CONCLUSÃO: Há um consenso de que a COVID-19 aumenta a probabilidade de eventos tromboembólicos, porém, há a necessidade de mais estudos sobre a utilização de terapia anticoagulante, e suas doses, em pacientes com COVID19.
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARES EM CRIANÇAS COM SÍNDROME INFLAMATÓRIA MULTISSISTÊMICA DECORRENTE DE INFECÇÃO POR COVID-19: UMA REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA
Authors: Alonso Isabela de Angelles Floro , Pacheco Matheus Alves , Cardoso Ana Luiza Caires , Mansur Isabela Martins Ferreira , Horta Izabela Daiana , Costa Jonathan Fernandes dos Santos , Marques Mariana Queiroz Cunha , Vieira Mariana Soares , Rodrigues Marianne Neto , Santos Micael Batista Ribeiro , Lopes Tomaz Jarjour Tavares Starling
Published: August 2021

INTRODUÇÃO: Recentemente, tem sido descrita na literatura, a Síndrome Inflamatória Multissistêmica em crianças (MIS-C) associada ao novo coronavírus. Nesse sentido, essa revisão tem como finalidade analisar as principais manifestações clínicas da MIS-C associada à COVID-19, focando nas alterações cardiovasculares causadas pela doença. METODOLOGIA: Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa da literatura científica, norteada pela questão: “Quais as manifestações cardiovasculares da MIS-C nas crianças infectadas pelo SARS-Cov-2?”. A busca foi realizada no banco de dados PUBMED em abril de 2021, os descritores utilizados foram: “Pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome” “COVID-19”, e “Cardiac Diseases” e ao realizar a pesquisa foi aplicado o operador booleano “and”. RESULTADOS: Os 20 artigos selecionados descreveram dados de 427 pacientes pediátricos, com COVID-19 e que apresentam MIS-C, associada a possíveis doenças cardíacas. DISCUSSÃO: Foram encontrados nos pacientes alterações cardiovasculares como, redução da fração de ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo, vasculite, insuficiência mitral leve, dilatação da artéria coronária esquerda média e da artéria coronária descendente proximal esquerda, derrame pericárdio, regurgitação valvar, miocardite e alterações eletrocardiográficas. CONCLUSÃO: Dada a possibilidade de crianças desenvolverem formas graves da doença, observa-se que essa ainda tem muito a ser explorada pela comunidade médica pesquisadora.
Risiko Rantai Pasok Konstruksi Proyek Konstruksi Gedung Pusat Olah Raga Pasca Bencana Gempa Bumi Indonesia
Authors: Boy Wendi , Zefriyenni Z , Purba Widiawati
Published: August 2021

Rantai pasok adalah metode yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan daya layan (serviceability) dalam menghasilkan suatu produk barang atau jasa kepada pengguna akhir dengan serangkaian proses produksi didalamnya. Metode ini diyakini telah membawa banyak manfaat dan sukses diterapkan di dalam industri manufaktur untuk kemudian diaplikasikan dalam industri lainnya termasuk pada industri konstruksi. Pengadopsian metode tersebut pada industri konstruksi bukan berarti tidak menimbulkan permasalahanpermasalahan baru. Oleh karena itu, diharapkan dengan adanya penelitian ini dapat memberikan gambaran lebih dalam mengenai praktik rantai pasok khususnya terkait risiko yang ditimbulkannya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui tingkat risiko menggunakan matriks analisis probabilitas dan dampak, mendapatkan faktor risiko paling dominan menggunakan analisis faktor serta mengetahui hubungan antara tingkat risiko dengan faktor risiko dalam konteks rantai pasok proyek konstruksi. Penelitian dilakukan dalam bentuk survei persepsi risiko responden terhadap para pelaku dalam rantai pasok proyek konstruksi gedung yaitu kontraktor, subkontraktor, dan supplier di Kota Padang Sumatera Barat.
Important Performancs Analysis pada Kajian Persepsi Penumpang terhadap Pelayanan Angkutan Umum
Authors: Sari Afrilda
Published: August 2021

Dilatarbelakangi dengan mulai beroperasinal ojek online di Kota Padang, diperlukan banyaknya masukan dan saran untuk menjawab tantangan-tantangan bagi penyelenggaraan operasional Angkutan Umum yang baik sehingga dapat dilakukan pembenahan dan perbaikan darisegi pelayanan bagi konsumennya. Adapun tujuan dari penelitiaan ini adalahuntuk mengetahui bagaimana penilaian penumpang sebagai pengguna jasa transportasi Angkutan Umum terhadap mutu pelayanan yang ada pada saat ini. Metodologi yang digunakan pada pengambilan sampel acak dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 100 responden yang berasal dari penyebaran kuesioner di lapangan pada penumpang sebagai pengguna jasa angkutan umum. Variabel pengamatan yang digunakan berkaitan dengan atribut pelayanan yang teramati langsung di lapangan. Analisis yang dilakukan adalah dengan menggunakan metode „Ímportance Performance Analsis’. Dari variabel pengamatan dihasilkan pada Kuadran D, Menunjukan faktor yang mempengaruhi pelanggaran kurang penting akan tetapi pelaksanaannya berlebihan dan dianggap kurang penting tetapi sangat memuaskan. Berdasarkan diagram kartesesius diatas yang masuk didalam Prioritas Berlebihan Kuadran D yaitu item 4 atribut (X4.Y4) mengnai tarif/ongkos dan penambahan asesoris angkutan, item 11 (X11) prilaku operator/sopir terhadap penumpang, item 12 (X12) prilaku opertor/sopir saat menaikan penumpang.
Analysis of the Impact of Flyover Development on Communities in the Market
Authors: Melasari Jihan , Imani Rafki , Saputra Juni
Published: August 2021

Traffic congestion that occurs almost everyday in Pekanbaru City has caused losses in travel time and economic losses such as waste of fuel, loss of productive time and health costs. One of the causes of this congestion is the growth of road infrastructure that is not proportional to the growth in the number of motorized vehicles. Besides that, the existence of Pasar Pagi Arengka at the Jl. HR Soebrantas and Jl. Soekarno-Hatta, Riau Province, has also added to the level of congestion. Overcoming this problem, the Riau government together with the Dinas Pekerjaan Umum (PU) of Riau Province built a flyover or overpass at Pasar Pagi Arengka junction to overcome the congestion problem. The research data was obtained by conducting a survey to the location through a questionnaire to the community around the flyover with the number of respondents determined as many as 60 respondents. Calculation analysis is performed using SPSS Statistics. The results of the study stated that the impact caused by the construction of a flyover at the intersection of Pasar Pagi Arengka in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, to the community was quiteinfluential.
Standar Pemasangan Rangka Atap Baja Ringan
Authors: Sari Kharisma Permata , Arsyad Nadra
Published: August 2021

Penggunaan baja ringan kini telah menjadi sebuah tren tersendiri. Banyak produsen baja ringan yang tersedia. Namun terkadang akibat banyaknya produsen baja ringan, persaingan di pasar tidak seimbang. Misalnya, beberapa produsen yang menyediakan baja ringan dengan harga yang lebih murah, namun mutu bajanya dikurangi. Penyimpangan yang terjadi di industri baja ringan tidak sedikit mengakibatkan runtuhnya konstruksi yang menggunakan baja ringan. Kegagalan tersebut disebabkan oleh kegagalan sambungan, kegagalan elemen, dan kesalahan pengerjaan. Salah satu penyebab terjadinya kegagalan tersebut adalah karena belum adanya standar maupun prosedur khusus untuk baja ringan di Indonesia.