Reappraising the Impact of Environmental Stresses on the Useful Life of Electronic Devices

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 640-651
Author(s):  
Khaled A. Abuhasel ◽  
◽  
Abdullah M. Iliyasu ◽  
Ibrahim N. Alquaydheb ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Electronic Device ◽  
Electronic Devices ◽  
Environmental Stresses ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

The notion of lifespan of an electronic device (or system) is formulated in terms of a reinterpretation of the concept of electronic systems reliability (ESR) so that the impact of ‘physical’ geographic environmental stresses, notably: psychrometry and aridity, which are known to vary from one location to another could be effectively accounted for. The proposed formulation is based on a conscientious analysis of climatic data and its relationship with the longevity of electronic devices. To validate our proposal, we employed a veridical approach, wherein we compared the failure rate of a widely used electronic biomedical electrocardiogram (ECG) device based on standard environmental ‘conditions’ and reference values and then computed the lifespan of the same device based on our proposed configuration using the average climatic conditions prevalent in five countries that are geographically spread across the length of the Earth. Our proposed approach estimates a lifespan of only 2 years when the device is used in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as opposed to an average lifespan of 40 years when the same device is deployed for use under average environmental conditions prevalent in (the capital cities of) China, Japan, the USA, and Britain. Results from both aridity-based and psychrometry-based interpretations of ESR suggest that the ECG device has a lower lifespan when used in harsher arid environments which also infers a greater influence of physical geographic proximity on the smooth, reliable, and prolonged operation of electronic devices.

scholarly journals Trichothecenes in Food and Feed, Relevance to Human and Animal Health and Methods of Detection: A Systematic Review

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Magdalena Polak-Śliwińska ◽  
Beata Paszczyk
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Toxic Effects ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Food And Feed ◽  
The Impact

Trichothecene mycotoxins are sesquiterpenoid compounds primarily produced by fungi in taxonomical genera such as Fusarium, Myrothecium, Stachybotrys, Trichothecium, and others, under specific climatic conditions on a worldwide basis. Fusarium mold is a major plant pathogen and produces a number of trichothecene mycotoxins including deoxynivalenol (or vomitoxin), nivalenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, and T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin. Monogastrics are sensitive to vomitoxin, while poultry and ruminants appear to be less sensitive to some trichothecenes through microbial metabolism of trichothecenes in the gastrointestinal tract. Trichothecene mycotoxins occur worldwide however both total concentrations and the particular mix of toxins present vary with environmental conditions. Proper agricultural practices such as avoiding late harvests, removing overwintered stubble from fields, and avoiding a corn/wheat rotation that favors Fusarium growth in residue can reduce trichothecene contamination of grains. Due to the vague nature of toxic effects attributed to low concentrations of trichothecenes, a solid link between low level exposure and a specific trichothecene is difficult to establish. Multiple factors, such as nutrition, management, and environmental conditions impact animal health and need to be evaluated with the knowledge of the mycotoxin and concentrations known to cause adverse health effects. Future research evaluating the impact of low-level exposure on livestock may clarify the potential impact on immunity. Trichothecenes are rapidly excreted from animals, and residues in edible tissues, milk, or eggs are likely negligible. In chronic exposures to trichothecenes, once the contaminated feed is removed and exposure stopped, animals generally have an excellent prognosis for recovery. This review shows the occurrence of trichothecenes in food and feed in 2011–2020 and their toxic effects and provides a summary of the discussions on the potential public health concerns specifically related to trichothecenes residues in foods associated with the exposure of farm animals to mycotoxin-contaminated feeds and impact to human health. Moreover, the article discusses the methods of their detection.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impacts of Urbinization on the Climate of Kumasi

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caleb Mensah ◽  
Julia Atayi ◽  
Amos T. Kabo-bah ◽  
Marian Švik ◽  
Daniel Acheampong
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Garden City ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Green Vegetation ◽  
City Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The key anthropogenic effects on climate include the changes in land use and emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Depletion of vegetation poses serious threat that speeds the process of climate change and reduces carbon sequestration by the environment. Thus, the preservation of natural environment in urban areas is an essential component of the garden city model, proposed by Sir Ebenezer Howard in 1898, to ensure ecological balance. Recent Landsat images showed that Kumasi does not have the required percentage of green vegetation as was stipulated in the garden city model on which the city was built. It was observed that most parts of Kumasi's green vegetation have been lost to built environments. This study was conducted to assess the impact of urbanization on the garden city status and its effect on the micro-climate of the city. Significant changes in the vegetation cover of the city was evaluated from Landsat-TM imagery and analysis of a long term climatic data of Kumasi carried out over a 55-year period (1960 to 2015). It was observed that, climatic conditions have slightly changed, as mean surface temperature of has increased by 1.2 °C/ 55 years, due to the significant landuse changes from development of non-transpiring, reduced evaporative urban surfaces. However, the impact is not greatly felt due to the geographical location of the city on the globe despite the evidence of a considerable temperature change. Green vegetation conservation for the city is recommended as a top priority in future for city authorities and planners.

scholarly journals Effect of Extreme Climate on Topology of Railway Prestressed Concrete Sleepers

Climate ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Li ◽  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Prestressed Concrete ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Railway Infrastructure ◽  
Time Dependent Behaviour ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dependent Behaviour

Railway networks are exposed to various environmental conditions. It is thus critical that infrastructure components can tolerate such effects by design. Railway sleepers are a critical safety component in ballasted track systems. Prestressed concrete is currently the most common material for railway sleepers due to its superior advantages in structural performance, low maintenance, sustainability, and construction. In practice, many prestressed concrete sleepers are installed in harsh environments that are subject to various changes in climate. Environmental conditions are, therefore, one of the most critical phenomena affecting the time-dependent behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers. Hence, the impact of climate changes on the serviceability of railway infrastructure needs to be thoroughly investigated. Temperature and relative humidity are crucial aspects that have not been sufficiently studied so far with reference to prestressed concrete sleepers embedded in track systems. This study aims to investigate the effects of extreme climatic conditions on the performance and time-dependent behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers using contemporary design approaches. The issue concerning the effects of climate uncertainties on creep and shrinkage is rigorously investigated on the basis of both environmental temperature and relative humidity. The outcome indicates that environmental conditions play a vital role in the time-dependent behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers. The insights will be essential for assessing the long-term serviceability of prestressed concrete sleepers that have been installed in railway lines and are subjected to extreme environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Why respiratory viruses or bacteria have the highest probability to be deposited in the respiratory tract in flu seasons

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandr N Ishmatov
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Deposition Rate ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Aerosol Deposition ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Submicron Particles ◽  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
Infected People ◽  
The Impact

Objective: In this study the main aspects of influenza transmission via fine and ultrafine bioaerosols were considered. Here, we aimed to estimate the impact of the different environment conditions on the deposition rate of the infectious bioaerosols in the respiratory tract. Background: The latest researches show the infected people generate the fine and ultrafine infectious bioaerosols with submicron particles/droplets (size below 1 µm). The airborne transmission of these particles/droplets in the environment is effective. It is considered the deposition of submicron particles in the respiratory tract (RT) has very low probability. But most studies examined the aerosol deposition in RT under normal environmental conditions and did not paid attention to the affecting the different environmental factors. Methods: We review the problems of epidemiology of respiratory infections and aspects of airborne transmission/spread of infectious agents. We contrast these approaches with known data from next areas: inhalation toxicology, respiratory drug delivery and physics of heat and mass transfer in the airways. Results: Based on the conducted analysis, we propose the next main concepts: 1 Breathing cool air leads to the supersaturation of air in RT; 2 the air supersaturation leads to the intensive condensational growth(CG) of inhaled viruses or bacteria in RT; 3 CG leads to the intensive and dramatically growth of deposition rate of viruses or bacteria in RT. We have shown: a) Under normal conditions of inhaled air (T>20˚C; Relatively Humidity, RH=60%) there is no transition in supersaturated condition in RT and CG is insignificant and probability of virus deposition on epithelium of RT is low – no more than 20%. b) Breathing cool/cold air of T<+15˚C and RH of [30..60]% leads to the supersaturation in the airways and it can dramatically increase the deposition rate of inhaled bioaerosols in RT(up to 96%). c) With an increase in RH of inhaled air the supersaturation in RT occurs even at warm temperature of inhaled air (for inhaled air of T<20°C and RH>70% ; T<25°C and RH>90%). Which also indicates the deposition rate of bioaerosols in RT under these conditions is high. Conclusion: Under specific environmental conditions (when flu seasons) the processes of supersaturation in the RT can be observed. These results indicate the high probability of virus deposition on epithelium of RT and correspond to influenza and seasonal respiratory infections in temperate and tropical climates. We believe the effect of supersaturation in the airways can be the key to understanding of ‘the age-old epidemiologic mystery of influenza seasonality in the different climatic conditions’.

scholarly journals Heritability and correlation between selected phenotypical characters of soybean under the climatic conditions of Poland

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
Edward Warzecha
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Period ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Agronomic Characters ◽  
High Reproducibility ◽  
Soybean Breeding ◽  
Analogous Data ◽  
Yield Structure ◽  
The Usa

The variability of characters connected with yield structure in soybean is much more influenced by environmental conditions than the genotype as indicated by heritability coefficients (h<sup>2</sup>), calculated on the basis of trials performed during several years under the climatic conditions of Poland. The length of the vegetation period, however, is determined predominantly by the genotype since high reproducibility of h<sup>2</sup> values in different years was found. The heritability coefficients obtained for the agronomic characters of soybean grown in Poland were relatively similar to analogous data from the USA. Phenotypical correlations calculated for the whole group together with correlations between the length of the vegetation period and other characters calculated for individual varieties, provided information on the interrelationship between characters in soybean grown in Poland. This, together with calculated heritability coefficients could be useful for soybean breeding in Poland.

scholarly journals Studying the Impact of Different Field Environmental Conditions on Seed Quality of Quinoa: The Case of Three Different Years Changing Seed Nutritional Traits in Southern Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Granado-Rodríguez ◽  
Nieves Aparicio ◽  
Javier Matías ◽  
Luis Felipe Pérez-Romero ◽  
Isaac Maestro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Capacity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Seed Quality ◽  
Chenopodium Quinoa ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Nutritional Properties ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Shed Light

Chenopodium quinoa Willd (quinoa) has acquired an increased agronomical and nutritional relevance due to the capacity of adaptation to different environments and the exceptional nutritional properties of their seeds. These include high mineral and protein contents, a balanced amino acid composition, an elevated antioxidant capacity related to the high phenol content, and the absence of gluten. Although it is known that these properties can be determined by the environment, limited efforts have been made to determine the exact changes occurring at a nutritional level under changing environmental conditions in this crop. To shed light on this, this study aimed at characterizing variations in nutritional-related parameters associated with the year of cultivation and different genotypes. Various nutritional and physiological traits were analyzed in seeds of different quinoa cultivars grown in the field during three consecutive years. We found differences among cultivars for most of the nutritional parameters analyzed. It was observed that the year of cultivation was a determinant factor in every parameter studied, being 2018 the year with lower yields, germination rates, and antioxidant capacity, but higher seed weights and seed protein contents. Overall, this work will greatly contribute to increase our knowledge of the impact of the environment and genotype on the nutritional properties of quinoa seeds, especially in areas that share climatic conditions to Southern Europe.

scholarly journals Reference Evapotranspiration Assessment Techniques for Estimating Crop Water Requirement

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1094-1100
Keyword(s):  
Reference Evapotranspiration ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Crop Coefficient ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Water Requirement ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Water Demands ◽  
Conventional Methods ◽  
The Impact

Water scarcity is a serious issue that has to be addressed in order to face the increasing water demands. Due to this issue, agricultural crops do not receive the required amount of water. So, it is necessary to have a proper technique to determine the water requirement for a particular crop. Evapotranspiration (ET), a process which is reliant on numerous climatic conditions, quantifies the loss of water from soil and crops through evaporation and transpiration processes respectively. Reference evapotranspiration ET is a concept of estimating ET from the reference surface which resembles an in-depth surface of green grass of stable height, actively growing, fully shading the surface with sufficient water. The amount of water required for a crop is thus determined by multiplying ETo with the crop coefficient (Kc) which depends on the growth stages and duration of a crop. So, evapotranspiration is considered to be one of the successful approaches to optimize the usage of water for crops. A literature survey is carried out on the popular methods of estimating ETo and their merits, demerits are discussed in this paper. Also, the impact of various climatic factors on ETo is presented. From the survey, it is known that ETo is estimated using conventional and non-conventional methods like Penman-Monteith, Blaney-Criddle, Hargreaves, ANN and WNN, regression and fuzzy logic. Humidity, temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation are the factors that have a major impact on estimating ETo. Generally, conventional methods are tedious since it requires experimental setups and more climatic data to determine ETo which are not available in many under developing countries. Thus, in this case, non-conventional methods are found to yield better results from the survey.

scholarly journals Why respiratory viruses or bacteria have the highest probability to be deposited in the respiratory tract in flu seasons

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandr N Ishmatov
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Deposition Rate ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Aerosol Deposition ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Submicron Particles ◽  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
Infected People ◽  
The Impact

Objective: In this study the main aspects of influenza transmission via fine and ultrafine bioaerosols were considered. Here, we aimed to estimate the impact of the different environment conditions on the deposition rate of the infectious bioaerosols in the respiratory tract. Background: The latest researches show the infected people generate the fine and ultrafine infectious bioaerosols with submicron particles/droplets (size below 1 µm). The airborne transmission of these particles/droplets in the environment is effective. It is considered the deposition of submicron particles in the respiratory tract (RT) has very low probability. But most studies examined the aerosol deposition in RT under normal environmental conditions and did not paid attention to the affecting the different environmental factors. Methods: We review the problems of epidemiology of respiratory infections and aspects of airborne transmission/spread of infectious agents. We contrast these approaches with known data from next areas: inhalation toxicology, respiratory drug delivery and physics of heat and mass transfer in the airways. Results: Based on the conducted analysis, we propose the next main concepts: 1 Breathing cool air leads to the supersaturation of air in RT; 2 the air supersaturation leads to the intensive condensational growth(CG) of inhaled viruses or bacteria in RT; 3 CG leads to the intensive and dramatically growth of deposition rate of viruses or bacteria in RT. We have shown: a) Under normal conditions of inhaled air (T>20˚C; Relatively Humidity, RH=60%) there is no transition in supersaturated condition in RT and CG is insignificant and probability of virus deposition on epithelium of RT is low – no more than 20%. b) Breathing cool/cold air of T<+15˚C and RH of [30..60]% leads to the supersaturation in the airways and it can dramatically increase the deposition rate of inhaled bioaerosols in RT(up to 96%). c) With an increase in RH of inhaled air the supersaturation in RT occurs even at warm temperature of inhaled air (for inhaled air of T<20°C and RH>70% ; T<25°C and RH>90%). Which also indicates the deposition rate of bioaerosols in RT under these conditions is high. Conclusion: Under specific environmental conditions (when flu seasons) the processes of supersaturation in the RT can be observed. These results indicate the high probability of virus deposition on epithelium of RT and correspond to influenza and seasonal respiratory infections in temperate and tropical climates. We believe the effect of supersaturation in the airways can be the key to understanding of ‘the age-old epidemiologic mystery of influenza seasonality in the different climatic conditions’.

scholarly journals Why respiratory viruses or bacteria have the highest probability to be deposited in the respiratory tract in flu seasons

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandr N Ishmatov
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Deposition Rate ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Aerosol Deposition ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Submicron Particles ◽  
Airborne Transmission ◽  
Infected People ◽  
The Impact

Objective: In this study the main aspects of influenza transmission via fine and ultrafine bioaerosols were considered. Here, we aimed to estimate the impact of the different environment conditions on the deposition rate of the infectious bioaerosols in the respiratory tract. Background: The latest researches show the infected people generate the fine and ultrafine infectious bioaerosols with submicron particles/droplets (size below 1 µm). The airborne transmission of these particles/droplets in the environment is effective. It is considered the deposition of submicron particles in the respiratory tract (RT) has very low probability. But most studies examined the aerosol deposition in RT under normal environmental conditions and did not paid attention to the affecting the different environmental factors. Methods: We review the problems of epidemiology of respiratory infections and aspects of airborne transmission/spread of infectious agents. We contrast these approaches with known data from next areas: inhalation toxicology, respiratory drug delivery and physics of heat and mass transfer in the airways. Results: Based on the conducted analysis, we propose the next main concepts: 1 Breathing cool air leads to the supersaturation of air in RT; 2 the air supersaturation leads to the intensive condensational growth(CG) of inhaled viruses or bacteria in RT; 3 CG leads to the intensive and dramatically growth of deposition rate of viruses or bacteria in RT. We have shown: a) Under normal conditions of inhaled air (T>20˚C; Relatively Humidity, RH=60%) there is no transition in supersaturated condition in RT and CG is insignificant and probability of virus deposition on epithelium of RT is low – no more than 20%. b) Breathing cool/cold air of T<+15˚C and RH of [30..60]% leads to the supersaturation in the airways and it can dramatically increase the deposition rate of inhaled bioaerosols in RT(up to 96%). c) With an increase in RH of inhaled air the supersaturation in RT occurs even at warm temperature of inhaled air (for inhaled air of T<20°C and RH>70% ; T<25°C and RH>90%). Which also indicates the deposition rate of bioaerosols in RT under these conditions is high. Conclusion: Under specific environmental conditions (when flu seasons) the processes of supersaturation in the RT can be observed. These results indicate the high probability of virus deposition on epithelium of RT and correspond to influenza and seasonal respiratory infections in temperate and tropical climates. We believe the effect of supersaturation in the airways can be the key to understanding of ‘the age-old epidemiologic mystery of influenza seasonality in the different climatic conditions’.

scholarly journals Climate Change Impact on Aflatoxin Contamination Risk in Malawi's Maize Crops

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika A. Warnatzsch ◽  
David S. Reay ◽  
Marco Camardo Leggieri ◽  
Paola Battilani
Keyword(s):  
Climate Models ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Contamination Risk ◽  
Aquacrop Model ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
The Impact

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with high levels of malnutrition and little domestic mycotoxin regulation. Domestically grown maize is the largest single source of calories in the country and a large contributor to the economy. This research uses Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to determine the climatic conditions in the three regions of Malawi (Northern, Central and Southern) in 2035 (2020–2049) and 2055 (2040–2069) as compared to the baseline climate of 1971–2000. This climatic data is then used as inputs to the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) AquaCrop model to assess the impact on the growth cycle of two maize varieties grown in each region and sown at three different times during the planting season. Finally, AFLA-maize, a mechanistic model, is applied to determine the impact of these projected changes on the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination risk. We find that Malawi's climate is projected to get warmer (by 1–2.5°C) and drier (reduction of 0–4% in annual rainfall levels) in all regions, although some uncertainty remains around the changes in precipitation levels. These climatic changes are expected to shorten the growing season for maize, bringing the harvest date forward by between 10 and 25 days for the short-development variety and between 25 and 65 days for the long-development variety. These changes are also projected to make the pre-harvest conditions for Malawian maize more favorable for AFB1 contamination and risk maps for the studied conditions were drawn. Exceedances of EU safety thresholds are expected to be possible in all regions, with the risk of contamination moving northwards in a warming climate.

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