Do local urban emissions influence ambient meteorology?

Author(s):  
Jan Karlický

<p>The WRF-Chem model was used to analyze three different 14-day periods during 2016–2017 in Prague, Czech Republic. Specifically a summertime high-level ozone episode, a summertime convective episode and a wintertime episode with high concentrations of aerosol pollutants have been analyzed in great detail. Simulations were run on a 2 km grid domain covering the center of the Czech Republic with the capital Prague, which was nested into a 10 km domain covering Central Europe. For the analysis of the meteorological impact of the reduction of urban induced emissions, two model simulations were performed for each episode; one simulation with full anthropogenic emissions and a second idealized simulation where emissions over the Prague urban area were reduced to the background level. In this presentation we discuss the differences and similarities between these simulations for chemical species (gas and particle pollutants) but also meteorological variables (e.g., downward solar radiation, temperature, boundary layer height).</p>

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 147-156
Author(s):  
Laredj-Zazou Rahma ◽  
Toumi Benali Fawzia ◽  
Bouazza Sofiane

Stress salinity has an important effect on crops physiology. The scope of our study was to evaluate the effect of salt stress tolerance as determined through growth attributes, water status and ion content in (Phaseolus vul-garis. L), the variety of El-Djadida in 6 weeks post stress application. The ex-periment was performed under glasshouse, in controlled conditions, in pots and irrigated with nutrient solution of Hoagland. Plants were irrigated with water containing sodium chloride alone (100 and 200 meq.l-1) combined with sodium chloride (NaCl) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) (100 and 150 meq.l-1). The results obtained showed that the salt application had a depressive effect on the organic growth however, this trend was dependant on the intensity of the stress. The hydric state of the plant varied with the concentration of sub-strate, thus exhibiting the ability to moderate the sensitive plant to adjust gradually to their osmotic pressure even by maintaining high concentrations of K+. The distribution of Na+, K+ and Ca++ in plant organs leaves and roots highlighted that the high level of salinity increased with levels of Na+ which inhibited the absorption of Ca++ and K+ ions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 219-225
Author(s):  
Галина Табаленкова

The results of studies of the qualitative composition and quantitative content of amino acids (AAs) in the leaves of three plant species of the genus Artemisia, widespread in the Elton region, were presented. Protein AAs were determined on an AAA T-339 amino acid analyzer (Czech Republic) after hydrolysis of a sample in 6N HCl at 105 °C for 24 h, free AAs – on an AAA-400 amino acid analyzer (Czech Republic) in a lithium buffer system. The protein AAs amount varied from 66 mg / g in A. lerchiana to 113 mg / g dry weight in A. santonica. 17 AAs were found in composition of these species, aspartic and glutamic acids were dominant. The content of free AAs varied from 4.4 mg / g in A. santonica to 8.3 mg / g dry weight in A. pauciflora. 14 AAs have been identified, among them proline was the predominant free AA. The share of proline was 75-81% of the total free AAs. Among the minor components, 3-4 compounds with a content above 2% dominated. The free AAs contain 3 non-proteinogenic ones (ornithine, citruline, and γ-aminobutyric acid). A. lerchiana and A. pauciflora species were similar in protein and free amino acids, probably due to the same growing conditions. A high level of free proline, together with a complex of biologically active substances in Artemisia species, which grow abundantly in the Elton region, allow to consider the possibility of their use as a medicinal raw material.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbora Duží ◽  
Robert Osman ◽  
Jiří Lehejček ◽  
Eva Nováková ◽  
Pavel Taraba ◽  
...  

Abstract Citizen science is a relatively new phenomenon in the Czech Republic and currently a general overview of existing citizen science projects is not available. This presents the challenge to uncover the ‘hidden’ citizen science landscapes. The main objective of this paper is to explore the (public) representation of citizen science (CS) projects and to describe their heterogeneity. The study aims to answer the question of what type of projects in the Czech Republic meet the definition of citizen science. Based on a specific methodological data-base search approach, we compiled a set of CS projects (N = 73). During the classification process, two general citizen science categories were identified. The first group (N = 46) consists of “pure” CS projects with a prevalence towards the natural sciences, principally ornithology, and thus corresponding to general European trends. Citizens usually participate in such research in the form of data collection and basic interpretation, and a high level of cooperation between academia and NGOs was detected. The second group of “potential” CS projects (N = 27) entails various forms of public participation in general, frequently coordinated by NGOs. Based on these results, we discuss the position of citizen science in the Czech Republic, including socially-oriented citizen science. Further research is strongly encouraged to achieve a more in-depth insight into this social phenomenon.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Silviu Bercea ◽  
Ruxandra Năstase-Bucur ◽  
Oana Teodora Moldovan ◽  
Marius Kenesz ◽  
Silviu Constantin

The human impact upon the subterranean microbiomes is not only a peril to the cave environment but might also affect future visitors. We focused on the changes that humans induced on the surfaces they came in direct or indirect contact with inside two intensely visited Romanian show caves, by means of commercially available microbial rapid test kits and molecular identification. Overall culturable bacteria abundance in the caves maintained high levels year-round while Enterobacteriaceae, coliform bacteria and Escherichiacoli levels peaked during the touristic season, reaching levels that could pose a threat to the health of the visitors. Culturable fungi abundance usually peaked in the spring, remained at a high level in the summer and started to slowly decrease towards the winter months. Differences were observed between the direct and indirect exposed surfaces, as the later had lower overall levels of bacteria and fungi, with increased Enterobacteriaceae loads. Most of the taxa identified are known biodeteriorants of subterranean surfaces and were previously associated with human altered caves. A Dothideomycete sp. previously unknown to the cave environments was detected. This was the first study to analyse the dynamics of the microbial communities of delicate subterranean surfaces in show caves through the use of commercially available test kits. We revealed that exposed surfaces in show caves, in direct or indirect contact with tourists, are host to high concentrations of cultivable microbes. The touristic activity was shown to influence the abundance and dynamics of the microbial communities inhabiting surfaces of show caves.


Author(s):  
Jitka Machalová ◽  
Ida Vajčnerová ◽  
Kateřina Ryglová

The aim of this article is to show the possibilities of spatial modelling and analysing of assumptions of tourism development in the Czech Republic with the objective to make decision-making processes in tourism easier and more efficient (for companies, clients as well as destination managements). The development and placement of tourism depend on the factors (conditions) that influence its application in specific areas. These factors are usually divided into three groups: selective, localization and realization. Tourism is inseparably connected with space – countryside. The countryside can be modelled and consecutively analysed by the means of geographical information technologies. With the help of spatial modelling and following analyses the localization and realization conditions in the regions of the Czech Republic have been evaluated. The best localization conditions have been found in the Liberecký region. The capital city of Prague has negligible natural conditions; however, those social ones are on a high level. Next, the spatial analyses have shown that the best realization conditions are provided by the capital city of Prague. Then the Central-Bohemian, South-Moravian, Moravian-Silesian and Karlovarský regions follow. The development of tourism destination is depended not only on the localization and realization factors but it is basically affected by the level of local destination management. Spatial modelling can help destination managers in decision-making processes in order to optimal use of destination potential and efficient targeting their marketing activities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gutman ◽  

By means of presently available high-level computational methods, based on quantum theory, it is possible to determine (predict) the main structural, electronic, energetic, geometric, and thermodynamic properties of a particular chemical species (usually a molecule), as well as the ways in which it changes in chemical reactions. When one needs to estimate such properties of thousands or millions of chemical species, such high-level calculations are no more feasible. Then simpler, but less accurate, approaches are necessary. One such approach utilized so-called “topological indices”. According to IUPAC ‘s definition [Pure Appl. Chem. 69 (1997) 1137]: A topological index is a numerical value associated with chemical constitution for correlation of chemical structure with various physical properties, chemical reactivity or biological activity. In the first part of the lecture, we show that „numerical values“are associated with many other complex phenomena, encountered in various areas of human activity, implying that „topological indices“ are used far beyond chemistry. Next, we discuss the number of possible chemical compounds. Simple calculation shows that the number of possible compounds zillion times exceeds the number of those that have been experimentally characterized. Even worse, in the entire Universe, there is not enough matter to make at least a single molecule of each possible compound. In the second part of the lecture, a few most popular topological indices will be presented, as well as the way in which these can be (and are being) applied in treating real-world problems.


Author(s):  
Jen-Hau Chen ◽  
Tsung-Yu Kuo ◽  
Hwa-Lung Yu ◽  
Charlene Wu ◽  
Su-Ling Yeh ◽  
...  

Background: Previous studies have assessed limited cognitive domains with relatively short exposure to air pollutants, and studies in Asia are limited. Objective: This study aims to explore the association between long-term exposure to air pollutants and cognition in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This four-year prospective cohort study recruited 605 older adults at baseline (2011–2013) and 360 participants remained at four-year follow-up. Global and domain-specific cognition were assessed biennially. Data on PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm diameter, 2005–2015), PM10 (1993–2015), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2, 1993–2015) were obtained from Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA). Bayesian Maximum Entropy was utilized to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of levels of these pollutants. Results: Exposure to high-level PM2.5 (>29.98 μg/m3) was associated with an increased risk of global cognitive impairment (adjusted odds ratio = 4.56; β = −0.60). High-level PMcoarse exposure (>26.50 μg/m3) was associated with poor verbal fluency (β = −0.19). High-level PM10 exposure (>51.20 μg/m3) was associated with poor executive function (β = −0.24). Medium-level NO2 exposure (>28.62 ppb) was associated with better verbal fluency (β = 0.12). Co-exposure to high concentrations of PM2.5, PMcoarse or PM10 and high concentration of NO2 were associated with poor verbal fluency (PM2.5 and NO2: β = −0.17; PMcoarse and NO2: β = −0.23; PM10 and NO2: β = −0.21) and poor executive function (PM10 and NO2: β = −0.16). These associations became more evident in women, apolipoprotein ε4 non-carriers, and those with education > 12 years. Conclusion: Long-term exposure to PM2.5 (higher than TEPA guidelines), PM10 (lower than TEPA guidelines) or co-exposure to PMx and NO2 were associated with poor global, verbal fluency, and executive function over 4 years.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiggert J. Altenburg ◽  
N. Amy Yewdall ◽  
Daan F. M. Vervoort ◽  
Marleen H. M. E. van Stevendaal ◽  
Alexander F. Mason ◽  
...  

AbstractThe cell cytosol is crowded with high concentrations of many different biomacromolecules, which is difficult to mimic in bottom-up synthetic cell research and limits the functionality of existing protocellular platforms. There is thus a clear need for a general, biocompatible, and accessible tool to more accurately emulate this environment. Herein, we describe the development of a discrete, membrane-bound coacervate-based protocellular platform that utilizes the well-known binding motif between Ni2+-nitrilotriacetic acid and His-tagged proteins to exercise a high level of control over the loading of biologically relevant macromolecules. This platform can accrete proteins in a controlled, efficient, and benign manner, culminating in the enhancement of an encapsulated two-enzyme cascade and protease-mediated cargo secretion, highlighting the potency of this methodology. This versatile approach for programmed spatial organization of biologically relevant proteins expands the protocellular toolbox, and paves the way for the development of the next generation of complex yet well-regulated synthetic cells.


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