Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—An Underestimated Factor of Occupational Risk

Lighting is an integral aspect of electrical engineering and public safety, as buildings, public areas—both indoors and outdoors—or any type of workplace must be illuminated in a way to prevent accidents. The sensation of glare, in particular, plays an important role in visual comfort and consequently influences occupational risk. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the problem of glare at outdoor workplaces. We have carried out an assessment of glare at outdoor workplaces in 19 different industrial plants. At 20 task areas (21.5% of the 93 examined) the determined degree of glare exceeded the limits specified in the standard. In eight categories of industrial plants (66.7% of 12 examined) defined in the standard, there was at least one task area where the requirements of the standard in terms of glare limitation were not met. The presented analysis leaves no doubt about drawing the conclusion that glare at outdoor workplaces is mostly underestimated or simply neglected, although it could cause high risk in workplaces.

Operational Structure of the Hungarian Royal Agricultural Schools - the Example of Somogyszentimre

The purpose of the study. Exploration of a major milestone in the development of small towns. Presenting the role of education through the example of the agricultural vocational school in Somogyszentimre, a settlement attached to Kadarkút. Applied methods. The analysis of literature ranges from a review of education policy to factors driving the development of small towns. The study heavily relies on archival research instrumental in shedding light on the everyday life of the educational institution, and the identification of factors demonstrating a unique and innovative approach. The biographies of individuals affiliated to the institution have provided an equally valuable contribution. Outcomes. The dominance of agriculture has permeated the socio-economic history of small towns in Somogy county in all spheres of existence. Small town economies and societies were greatly enriched by their commercial and industrial functions (industrial plants), the right to hold fairs, and educational institutions connected to agriculture. The educational institution by virtue of its students, teaching staff, owners and patrons was a major trigger of development in small towns. Agricultural vocational schools besides providing theoretical training also familiarised students with novel and innovative practical approaches. This type of approach was embraced by small town farmers, generating an innovative, development-oriented vision that still characterises the majority of small towns in Somogy county today.

Walkable City and Military Enclaves: Analysis and Decision-Making Approach to Support the Proximity Connection in Urban Regeneration

Accessibility and urban walkability are the cornerstones of urban policies for the contemporary city, which needs to be oriented towards sustainable development principles and models. Such aims are included in the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, as well as in the ambitious objectives of the ‘European Green Deal’. These concepts are closely linked to the paradigm of a sustainable city—livable, healthy and inclusive—based on a system of high-quality public spaces and on a network of services and infrastructures, both tangible and intangible, capable of strengthening and building new social, economic and environmental relationships. It is necessary to recognize potential opportunities for connection and permeability in consolidated urban environments. These are very often fragmented and are characterized by enclaves of very different kinds. Ghettoes and gated communities, old industrial plants and military installations and facilities, to cite a few, represent examples of cases where closures on urban fabrics are realized, impeding full walkability and accessibility. Within such a framework, the present research is aimed at focusing on a particular set of enclaves, such as those represented by the military sites being reconfigured to civilian use, a phenomenon that characterizes many urban areas in the world; in Europe; and in Italy, in particular, given the recent history and the Cold War infrastructure heritage. In such a sense, the city of Cagliari (Sardinia Island, Italy) represents an interesting case study as it is characterized by the presence of a series of military complexes; real ‘enclaves’ influencing the proximity connections; and, more generally, walkability. Building on previous research and analysis of policies and projects aimed at reintroducing, even partially, this military asset into civilian life (Green Barracks Project (GBP)-2019), this paper proposes and applies a methodology to evaluate the effects of urban regeneration on walkability in a flexible network logic, oriented to the ‘15 min city’ model or, more generally, to the renewed, inclusive, safe “city of proximity”, resilient and sustainable.

Occurrence of the heavy metals and PCBs in Accumulation Lake Modrac

The accumulation Lake Modrac is a particularly important source of drinking water for inhabitants of the Tuzla region and few local settlements. The most significant point sources of organic contaminants in the accumulation Lake Modrac are waste water from households and industry. In this area, most of the settlements have neither sewage systems nor facilities for waste water treatment. Other potential point sources of pollutants are industrial plants. The most prominent are coal mines (Banovići and Đurđevik), metal and wood industry, plant for plastic production, and oil and oil derivatives warehouse. Few previously conducted surveys in the region showed the presence of the persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals in large extent. The objective of this study was to conduct a water quality survey targeting selected inorganic (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and As) and organic pollutants in the accumulation Lake Modrac in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The content of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) determined with ELISA test, ranging from 3.23 to 6.19 µg/L (sum of 7PCBs).The most abundant metals (analyzed by graphite furnace AAS and mercury analyzer) at all five sampling locations were Pb (6.79-36.58 µg/L); Ni (5.81-10.43 µg/L) and Hg (1.08-6.10 µg/L).

Case Study of Insufficient Resistance to Mining Impacts of the Industrial Transport Gallery

The article presents an example of a transport gallery, which resistance to mining impacts proved to be not enough. In the first part of the article, there are given the principles which should be followed by this type of structures. The second part presents a of the gallery’s structure and also the analysis of the reasons for too low resistance of the objectdescription to mining influences. It has been shown that these reasons are design, execution and exploitation errors. In turn, there are presented procedures which are leading to the assurance of the resistance of the transport gallery in accordance with design assumptions. In summary, conclusions and recommendations which are formulated should be taken into account at the stage of design, erection and during exploitation of transport galleries in the industrial plants localized in mining areas. ANALIZA PRZYPADKU NIEWYSTARCZAJĄCEJ ODPORNOŚCI NA WPŁYWY GÓRNICZE PRZEMYSŁOWEJ GALERII TRANSPORTOWEJ W artykule przedstawiono przykład galerii transportowej, której odporność na wpływy górnicze okazała się niewystarczająca. W pierwszej części artykułu podano zasady, jakim powinny odpowiadać tego typu obiekty budowlane. W części drugiej przedstawiono opis konstrukcji przedmiotowej galerii oraz przeanalizowano przyczyny zbyt niskiej odporności obiektu na wpływy górnicze. Wykazano, że są to zarówno błędy projektowe, jak i wykonawcze oraz eksploatacyjne. Z kolei przedstawiono zabiegi zmierzające do zapewnienia galerii transportowej odporności zgodnej z założeniami projektowymi. W podsumowaniu sformułowano wnioski i zalecenia, które powinny być uwzględniane na etapie projektowania i budowy oraz podczas eksploatacji galerii transportowych w zakładach przemysłowych usytuowanych na terenach górniczych.

Forest Vegetation Cover in Yok Don National Park, Vietnam

Yok Don National Park is located in the tropical rainforest zone on the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The obtained results from the study undertaken on the composition of plant species and forest vegetation in National Park indicated a record of 856 species, 473 genera and 129 families that belongs to the four divisions of vascular plants. These includes: Lycopodiophyta, Polypodiophyta, Pinophyta and Magnoliophyta. Useful plants of 856 taxonomy species listed consists of 498 species of medicinal plants, 157 species of timber plants, 144 species of edible plants, 60 species of ornamental plants, 19 species of industrial plants, 10 species of fiber plants and 38 species of unknown use plants, respectively. During the duration of investigation, Peliosanthes teta Andrews was newly recorded in the forest vegetation of National Park. A variety of forest vegetations in the area under study is described. In this study, four major vegetation types of forest were identified in Yok Don National Park.

The devil is in the details: emerging insights on the relevance of wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 to public health

The severe health consequences and global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have necessitated the rapid development of surveillance programs to inform public health responses. Efforts to support surveillance capacity have included an unprecedented global research response into the use of genetic signals of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater following the initial demonstration of the virus' detectability in wastewater in early 2020. The confirmation of fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 from asymptomatic, infected and recovering individuals further supports the potential for wastewater analysis to augment public health conventional surveillance techniques based on clinical testing of symptomatic individuals. We have reviewed possible capabilities projected for wastewater surveillance to support pandemic management, including independent, objective and cost-effective data generation that complements and addresses attendant limitations of clinical surveillance, early detection (i.e., prior to clinical reporting) of infection, estimation of disease prevalence, tracking of trends as possible indicators of success or failure of public health measures (mask mandates, lockdowns, vaccination, etc.), informing and engaging the public about pandemic trends, an application within sewer networks to identify infection hotspots, monitoring for presence or changes in infections from institutions (e.g., long-term care facilities, prisons, educational institutions and vulnerable industrial plants) and tracking of appearance/progression of viral variants of concern.