scholarly journals Ships’ Solutions for meeting the International requirements regarding the reduction of Air Pollution

10.18048/5304 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-65
Author(s):  
Franjo Nižić ◽  
Vlado Frančić ◽  
Josip Orović
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Chemical Processes ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Maritime Community ◽  
Entire Planet

Large quantities of harmful substances, gases and particles are released from the ships into the air. This leads to many unwanted chemical processes having a harmful effect on the entire planet and on the human health as well. In most cases, these processes result in ozone depletion, acid rain, global warming, appearance of dermatological and respiratory diseases and other undesirable impacts on the entire ecosystem. Aiming to reduce the adverse impact on the environment, the international maritime community has decided to regulate and set rigorous requirements for ships by introducing and implementing the Annex 6 of the MARPOL Convention. On the bases of these requirements, ships and their owners will be subjected to more stringent conditions that are primarily related to adjustment of existing ships’ engines and/or the use of environmentally friendly fuels. This paper analyses air pollution deriving from ships in general and its negative effects on the atmosphere. It also presents possible methods and solutions of adapting ships to new and more stringent requirements as well as the advantages and disadvantages of relevant technical solution

scholarly journals The Principles of Sustainable Development and the Possibilities of Limiting the Global Effects of Smog by Medium-sized Cities Located in the European Union on the Example of Mikołów (Poland) and Żylina (Slovakia)

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-119
Author(s):  
Michał Czuba ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Agricultural Crops ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The World

The urban smog has negative global effects. They are expressed in the increased mortality of people, an increase scale of respiratory diseases as well as climate changes causing negative effects in the field of agricultural crops, which results in an increase in food prices. The occurrence of these phenomena mobilizes the global community to conduct activities aimed at limiting their occurrence. Medium-sized cities can play a significant role in this respect. The element conditioning the life of city dwellers is the appropriate condition of the natural environment. In Polish and Slovak conditions, smog is becoming a problem, which negatively affects the health of citizens of these countries. Therefore, actions are taken to limit the occurrence of this phenomenon. They are described in the current ecological policy of both countries. This article tries to show on the example of the Polish commune of Mikołów and the Slovak commune of Żylina the actions taken in them to reduce air pollution and thereby reduce the phenomenon of smog. In both analysed cities, measures taken to reduce the phenomenon of smog are implemented in a planned manner and may be an inspiration for other medium-sized cities in the world having air quality problems

Can trust become a factor of economic growth? Dynamic changes in the level of trust of Russian youth

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Bakhtigaraeva ◽  
A. A. Stavinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Dynamic Changes ◽  
Generalized Trust ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Future ◽  
Analysis Of Dynamics

The article considers the role of trust in the economy, the mechanisms of its accumulation and the possibility of using it as one of the growth factors in the future. The advantages and disadvantages of measuring the level of generalized trust using two alternative questions — about trusting people in general and trusting strangers — are analyzed. The results of the analysis of dynamics of the level of generalized trust among Russian youth, obtained within the study of the Institute for National Projects in 10 regions of Russia, are presented. It is shown that there are no significant changes in trust in people in general during the study at university. At the same time, the level of trust in strangers falls, which can negatively affect the level of trust in the country as a whole, and as a result have negative effects on the development of the economy in the future. Possible causes of the observed trends and the role of universities are discussed. Also the question about the connection between the level of education and generalized trust in countries with different quality of the institutional environment is raised.

Environmental and Hygienic Assessment of Ambient Air Pollution in Oil-Producing and Oil-Refining Areas of the Republic of Bashkortostan and Population Health Status

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
Z.B. Baktybaeva ◽  
R.A. Suleymanov ◽  
T.K. Valeev ◽  
N.R. Rahmatullin ◽  
E.G. Stepanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Nitrogen Dioxide ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Oil Refining ◽  
Disease Rates ◽  
Total Suspended Particles

Introduction. High density of oil-producing and refining facilities in certain areas of Bashkortostan significantly affects the environment including ambient air quality in residential areas. Materials and methods. We analyzed concentrations of airborne toxicants (sulfur and nitrogen oxides, nitrogen and carbon oxides, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, xylenes, toluene, phenol and total suspended particles) and population health status in the cities of Ufa, Sterlitamak, Salavat, Blagoveshchensk, and the Tuymazinsky District in 2007–2016. Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) were used to establish possible relationships between medico-demographic indicators and air pollution. Results. Republican fuel and energy enterprises contributed the most to local air pollution levels. Gross emissions from such enterprises as Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim and Bashneft-Navoil reached 43.69–49.77 thousand tons of pollutants per year. The levels of some air pollutants exceeded their maximum permissible concentrations. Elevated concentrations of ammonia, total suspended particles, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide were registered most frequently. High rates of congenital abnormalities, respiratory diseases in infants (aged 0-1), general mortality and morbidity of the population were observed in some oil-producing and refining areas. The correlation analysis proved the relationship between the concentration of carbon monoxide and general disease rates in adults based on hospital admissions (r = 0.898), general incidence rates in children (r = 0.957), and blood disease rates in infants (r = 0.821). Respiratory diseases in children correlated with nitrogen dioxide emission levels (r = 0.899). Conclusions. Further development of oil-producing, petrochemical and oil-refining industries should be carried out taking into account socio-economic living conditions of the population.

OCCURRENCE OF THE RISKS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RESPIRATORY DISEASES IN CHILDREN EXPOSED TO THE CHEMICAL FACTORS OF THE EXPOSURE OF ALUMINA REFINERY- ASSOCIATED BUSINESS ACTIVITY

2019 ◽  
pp. 42-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Zemlianova ◽  
I.V. Tikhonova
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Inflammatory Diseases ◽  
Allergic Inflammation ◽  
Respiratory Morbidity ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Chemical Factors ◽  
Chronic Lymphoproliferative Diseases

Alumina refineries are among the leading sources of atmospheric air pollution with a wide range of pollutants hazardous to human respiratory organs. It is relevant to study and evaluate the occurrence of the risks for development of respiratory diseases in children living in the area affected by the emission components of an alumina refinery. We assessed air quality of the area under observation and comparison according to monitoring observations, risk of non-carcinogenic effects from the respiratory organs. The content of chemicals in the blood and urine adequate to risk factors was quantified. The structure of individual groups of respiratory diseases was analyzed. The causal relationships of violations of laboratory parameters with an increased content of chemicals in biological media were evaluated. It was found that an aerogenic exposure of chemical pollutants is formed on the territory with the production of metallurgical alumina. It determines the risk for development of respiratory diseases, exceeding an acceptable level up to 49.9 times. In the exposed children, the content of manganese, chromium, nickel, copper, xylenes, formaldehyde and aluminum, fluoride ion in the urine was increased to 4.2 times in relation to the indices in the comparison group. A high level of additional respiratory morbidity(1.8 times) was revealed. Chronic lymphoproliferative diseases of the nasopharynx and inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract (up to 6.6 times more often), inflammatory diseases with a predominance of the mechanism of allergic inflammation ( up to 2.1 times more often)are more often detected in the framework of the respiratory diseases. Negative effects on the part of the respiratory system in the form of activation of antioxidant processes, the development of an inflammatory reaction, local, general and specific sensitization of the respiratory tract were established. It confirms the occurrence of the risks for the development of respiratory diseases in children in the exposure area of the chemical factors of alumina refinery-associated economic activity.

scholarly journals Not all biases are bad: equitable and inequitable biases in machine learning and radiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Pot ◽  
Nathalie Kieusseyan ◽  
Barbara Prainsack
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Technical Problem ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Patient Treatment ◽  
Technical Solution ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Human Decision

AbstractThe application of machine learning (ML) technologies in medicine generally but also in radiology more specifically is hoped to improve clinical processes and the provision of healthcare. A central motivation in this regard is to advance patient treatment by reducing human error and increasing the accuracy of prognosis, diagnosis and therapy decisions. There is, however, also increasing awareness about bias in ML technologies and its potentially harmful consequences. Biases refer to systematic distortions of datasets, algorithms, or human decision making. These systematic distortions are understood to have negative effects on the quality of an outcome in terms of accuracy, fairness, or transparency. But biases are not only a technical problem that requires a technical solution. Because they often also have a social dimension, the ‘distorted’ outcomes they yield often have implications for equity. This paper assesses different types of biases that can emerge within applications of ML in radiology, and discusses in what cases such biases are problematic. Drawing upon theories of equity in healthcare, we argue that while some biases are harmful and should be acted upon, others might be unproblematic and even desirable—exactly because they can contribute to overcome inequities.

scholarly journals Highlighting the compound risk of COVID-19 and environmental pollutants using geospatial technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram Kumar Singh ◽  
Martin Drews ◽  
Manuel De la Sen ◽  
Prashant Kumar Srivastava ◽  
Bambang H. Trisasongko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Geospatial Technology ◽  
The World ◽  
Community Transmission ◽  
Global Threat

AbstractThe new COVID-19 coronavirus disease has emerged as a global threat and not just to human health but also the global economy. Due to the pandemic, most countries affected have therefore imposed periods of full or partial lockdowns to restrict community transmission. This has had the welcome but unexpected side effect that existing levels of atmospheric pollutants, particularly in cities, have temporarily declined. As found by several authors, air quality can inherently exacerbate the risks linked to respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. In this study, we explore patterns of air pollution for ten of the most affected countries in the world, in the context of the 2020 development of the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that the concentrations of some of the principal atmospheric pollutants were temporarily reduced during the extensive lockdowns in the spring. Secondly, we show that the seasonality of the atmospheric pollutants is not significantly affected by these temporary changes, indicating that observed variations in COVID-19 conditions are likely to be linked to air quality. On this background, we confirm that air pollution may be a good predictor for the local and national severity of COVID-19 infections.

scholarly journals Who Becomes Unhappy when Income Inequality Increases?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Lous ◽  
Johan Graafland
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Average Life ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Effect

AbstractLiterature has established that, on a macroeconomic level, income inequality has a negative effect on average life satisfaction. An unresolved question is, however, which income groups are harmed by income inequality. In this paper we investigate this relationship at the microeconomic level combining national indicators of income inequality with individual data of life satisfaction from the World Values Survey for 39 countries over a period of 25 years. Tests on moderation by income category show that the Gini coefficient is most negatively related to life satisfaction of the lowest income groups, but the negative effects also extends to other income groups. For the income share of the top 1% we find a similar result. These findings show that income inequality is especially a concern for the lower income groups, but that the harmful effect of income inequality also spillovers to the life satisfaction of other income groups.

Investigating the Spread of Coronavirus Disease via Edge-AI and Air Pollution Correlation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
V. Gomathy ◽  
K. Janarthanan ◽  
Fadi Al-Turjman ◽  
R. Sitharthan ◽  
M. Rajesh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Viral Disease ◽  
Machine Learning Method ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Death Rates ◽  
Using Data

Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious viral disease affecting millions of people worldwide in 2020. Several studies have shown that COVID-19 results in a severe acute respiratory syndrome and may lead to death. In past research, a greater number of respiratory diseases has been caused by exposure to air pollution for long periods of time. This article investigates the spread of COVID-19 as a result of air pollution by applying linear regression in machine learning method based edge computing. The analysis in this investigation have been based on the death rates caused by COVID-19 as well as the region of death rates based on hazardous air pollution using data retrieved from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite. The results obtained in the investigation prove that the mortality rate due to the spread of COVID-19 is 77% higher in areas with polluted air. This investigation also proves that COVID-19 severely affected 68% of the individuals who had been exposed to polluted air.

Effects of some salts and sodicity on the growth of a Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viceae strain isolated from a salt-affected soil

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 807-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Y Faituri ◽  
Y E El-Mahi ◽  
G A El-Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Rhizobium Leguminosarum ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Salt Affected Soil ◽  
Retarded Growth ◽  
Cultural Medium ◽  
Yeast Extract Mannitol ◽  
Salinity Levels ◽  
Specific Ion Effect ◽  
Effect On Growth

The effects of sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), and boron (B) concentrations and sodicity, as measured by the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), on the growth of a Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viceae strain isolated from a salt-affected soil were studied. The rate of growth was measured in a yeast extract - mannitol broth, amended with salts having electrical conductivity (EC) of 4, 8, and 16 dS·m-1. Each salinity level was prepared to achieve SAR values of 10, 20, and 30 with or without graded B concentrations of 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 mg·L-1. We found that salinity levels equal to or more than 8 dS·m-1 had negative effects on Rhizobium growth during the first days of incubation, but the effects became less pronounced after 1 week. Na+ concentrations of more than 1.1 g·L-1 retarded growth, especially at high SAR values (i.e., at low Ca2+ concentrations). The retardation of growth increased with increases in EC up to 16 dS·m-1, at all sodicity levels. Mg2+ added together with Na+ or with Ca2+ + Na+ affected growth more negatively than Ca2+ + Na+ alone. The effect of Mg2+ became more pronounced with increased salinities and sodicities. It was concluded that EC of more than 4 dS·m-1 retarded growth of Rhizobium, but only at high sodicity levels. The relative specific ion effect on growth was in the order Na+ < Ca2+ < Mg2+. The harmful effect of Mg2+ on this strain was accentuated by adding Ca2+ to the cultural medium. When SAR increased from 10 to 30, Na+ had no clear effect on growth, irrespective of the accompanied cations, i.e, Ca2+, Mg2+, or Ca2+ + Mg2+. Growth was reduced by B concentrations as low as 0.5 mg·L-1, and the B effect was enhanced by increased salinity.Key words: Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viceae, salinity, sodicity, boron.

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