Pemetaan Zona Kerentanan Airtanah Pesisir Formasi Batugamping Terhadap Pencemaran Nitrat Di Kecamatan Sepulu Madura

Fomasi litologi akuifer batugamping mempunyai karakteristik media aliran berupa celah, rekahan, dan lorong pelarutan, sehingga memiliki potensi mengalirkan airtanah dengan kecepatan tinggi. Produktivitas yang tinggi ini mengakibatkan sumber pencemar di permukaan dapat dengan cepat meresap ke sistem akuifer dan bercampur dengan airtanah; kondisi inilah yang memicu kerentanan tinggi. Salah satu langkah pengelolaan airtanah pesisir adalah penentuan zona kerentanan airtanah terhadap pencemaran. Dengan demikian, tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui tingkat kerentanan airtanah pesisir terhadap pencemaran di formasi batugamping menggunakan metode COP dengan pendekatan intrinsik dan metode EPIK dengan pendekatan perkembangan karst. Hasil penilaian menggunakan kedua metode tersebut menunjukkan tingkat kerentanan rendah hingga sangat tinggi. Pemetaan metode COP menghasilkan dua kelas kerentanan: rendah (95% dari luas wilayah) dan sedang (4%), sedangkan metode EPIK menghasilkan zona indeks kerentanan yang lebih panjang dengan empat kelas kerentanan, yaitu rendah (1,23%), sedang (17,82%), tinggi (17,82%), dan sangat tinggi (21,65%). Dibandingkan dengan COP, EPIK menghasilkan kelas kerentanan yang lebih tinggi karena pengaruh koefisien pembobot pada formula penghitungannya. Hasil penilaian kerentanan divalidasi dengan indikator limbah domestik berupa senyawa nitrat (NO3). Uji laboratorium menunjukkan kandungan nitrat (NO3) airtanah yang bervariasi dari 0,12 mg/l (terendah) hingga 9,80 mg/l (tertinggi). Variasi ini masih berada di bawah baku mutu air minum tetapi di atas baku mutu air limbah domestik atau melebihi kadar nitrat di alam. Berdasarkan hasil validasi, zona kerentanan berkorelasi dengan kandungan nitrat (NO3). Pada zona kerentanan yang tinggi, ditemukan kadar nitrat yang tinggi pula.ABSTRACTA limestone aquifer is lithologically characterized by three flow media: fissures, fractures, and dissolution channels, thus creating the potential to drain groundwater at a high rate. This high productivity, however, means that the groundwater is highly vulnerable to pollution. If a pollutant source is present on the surface, it can quickly seep into and mix with the subsurface system. Among the widely proposed management strategies is groundwater vulnerability zoning. This study was intended to determine the degrees of coastal groundwater vulnerability to pollution in a limestone formation with two methods: COP intrinsic vulnerability) and EPIK (karst development-based vulnerability). The assessment results showed that the vulnerability produced with both methods varied from low to very high. In the mapping, COP produced two levels: low (95% of the total area) and medium (4%), while EPIK generated a longer vulnerability index zone with four levels: low (1.23%), medium (17.82%), high (17.82%), and very high (21.65%). Compared to COP, EPIK results in a higher vulnerability class due to the weighting values in its vulnerability assessment. The results were validated with a domestic waste indicator: the presence of nitrate (NO3). Laboratory tests showed NO3 concentrations in the range 0.12 of 9.80 mg/l. These figures are still below the quality standard for drinking water but above that of domestic wastes or exceeding the maximum NO3 content found in nature. The validation revealed that the vulnerability zone is correlated with NO3 levels: the higher the vulnerability class of the zone, the higher the nitrate content.

OpenCarrier: Breaking the User Limit for Uplink MU-MIMO Transmissions With Coordinated APs

The global IoT market is experiencing a fast growth with a massive number of IoT/wearable devices deployed around us and even on our bodies. This trend incorporates more users to upload data frequently and timely to the APs. Previous work mainly focus on improving the up-link throughput. However, incorporating more users to transmit concurrently is actually more important than improving the throughout for each individual user, as the IoT devices may not require very high transmission rates but the number of devices is usually large. In the current state-of-the-arts (up-link MU-MIMO), the number of transmissions is either confined to no more than the number of antennas (node-degree-of-freedom, node-DoF) at an AP or clock synchronized with cables between APs to support more concurrent transmissions. However, synchronized APs still incur a very high collaboration overhead, prohibiting its real-life adoption. We thus propose novel schemes to remove the cable-synchronization constraint while still being able to support more concurrent users than the node-DoF limit, and at the same time minimize the collaboration overhead. In this paper, we design, implement, and experimentally evaluate OpenCarrier, the first distributed system to break the user limitation for up-link MU-MIMO networks with coordinated APs. Our experiments demonstrate that OpenCarrier is able to support up to five up-link high-throughput transmissions for MU-MIMO network with 2-antenna APs.

A New Concept of Electronic Text Based on Semantic Coding System for Machine Translation

In the field of machine translation of texts, the ambiguity in both lexical (dictionary) and structural aspects is still one of the difficult problems. Researchers in this field use different approaches, the most important of which is machine learning in its various types. The goal of the approach that we propose in this article is to define a new concept of electronic text, which makes the electronic text free from any lexical or structural ambiguity. We used a semantic coding system that relies on attaching the original electronic text (via the text editor interface) with the meanings intended by the author. The author defines the meaning desired for each word that can be a source of ambiguity. The proposed approach in this article can be used with any type of electronic text (text processing applications, web pages, email text, etc.). Thanks to the approach that we propose and through the experiments that we have conducted using it, we can obtain a very high accuracy rate. We can say that the problem of lexical and structural ambiguity can be completely solved. With this new concept of electronic text, the text file contains not only the text but also with it the true sense of the exact meaning intended by the writer in the form of symbols. These semantic symbols are used during machine translation to obtain a translated text completely free of any lexical and structural ambiguity.

Inflammation-Induced Coagulopathy Substantially Differs Between COVID-19 and Septic Shock: A Prospective Observational Study

Critical COVID-19, like septic shock, is related to a dysregulated systemic inflammatory reaction and is associated with a high incidence of thrombosis and microthrombosis. Improving the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of critical COVID-19 could help in finding new therapeutic targets already explored in the treatment of septic shock. The current study prospectively compared 48 patients with septic shock and 22 patients with critical COVID-19 regarding their clinical characteristics and outcomes, as well as key plasmatic soluble biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation, endothelial activation, platelet activation, and NETosis. Forty-eight patients with matched age, gender, and co-morbidities were used as controls. Critical COVID-19 patients exhibited less organ failure but a prolonged ICU length-of-stay due to a prolonged respiratory failure. Inflammatory reaction of critical COVID-19 was distinguished by very high levels of interleukin (IL)-1β and T lymphocyte activation (including IL-7 and CD40L), whereas septic shock displays higher levels of IL-6, IL-8, and a more significant elevation of myeloid response biomarkers, including Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) and IL-1ra. Subsequent inflammation-induced coagulopathy of COVID-19 also differed from sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) and was characterized by a marked increase in soluble tissue factor (TF) but less platelets, antithrombin, and fibrinogen consumption, and less fibrinolysis alteration. In conclusion, COVID-19 inflammation-induced coagulopathy substantially differs from SIC. Modulating TF release and activity should be evaluated in critical COVID-19 patients.

Legume Alternative Oxidase Isoforms Show Differential Sensitivity to Pyruvate Activation

Alternative oxidase (AOX) is an important component of the plant respiratory pathway, enabling a route for electrons that bypasses the energy-conserving, ROS-producing complexes of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Plants contain numerous isoforms of AOX, classified as either AOX1 or AOX2. AOX1 isoforms have received the most attention due to their importance in stress responses across a wide range of species. However, the propensity for at least one isoform of AOX2 to accumulate to very high levels in photosynthetic tissues of all legumes studied to date, suggests that this isoform has specialized roles, but we know little of its properties. Previous studies with sub-mitochondrial particles of soybean cotyledons and roots indicated that differential expression of GmAOX1, GmAOX2A, and GmAOX2D across tissues might confer different activation kinetics with pyruvate. We have investigated this using recombinantly expressed isoforms of soybean AOX in a previously described bacterial system (Selinski et al., 2016, Physiologia Plantarum 157, 264-279). Pyruvate activation kinetics were similar between the two GmAOX2 isoforms but differed substantially from those of GmAOX1, suggesting that selective expression of AOX1 and 2 could determine the level of AOX activity. However, this alone cannot completely explain the differences seen in sub-mitochondrial particles isolated from different legume tissues and possible reasons for this are discussed.

Trust in the Healthcare System and Physicians in Croatia: A Survey of the General Population

Trust in healthcare systems and physicians is considered important for the delivery of good healthcare. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random three-stage sample of the general population of Croatia (N = 1230), stratified by regions. Of respondents, 58.7% displayed a high or very high level of trust in the healthcare system, 65.6% in physicians, and 78.3% in their family physician. Respondents’ views regarding patients’ roles in the discussion of treatment options, confidence in physicians’ expertise, and underlying motives of physicians were mixed. Respondents with a lower level of education, those with low monthly incomes, and those from smaller settlements had lower levels of trust in physicians and the healthcare system. Trust in other institutions, religiosity and religious beliefs, tolerance of personal choice, and experience of caring for the seriously ill and dying were predictors of trust in healthcare and physicians. Our findings suggest that levels of healthcare-related trust in Croatia are increasing in comparison with previous research, but need improvement. Levels of trust are lowest in populations that are most vulnerable and most in need of care and protection.

Chemical and Structural Analysis of Newly Prepared Co-W-Al Alloy by Aluminothermic Reaction

This article is devoted to the characterization of a new Co-W-Al alloy prepared by an aluminothermic reaction. This alloy is used for the subsequent preparation of a special composite nanopowder and for the surface coating of aluminum, magnesium, or iron alloys. Due to the very high temperature (2000 °C–3000 °C) required for the reaction, thermite was added to the mixture. Pulverized coal was also added in order to obtain the appropriate metal carbides (Co, W, Ti), which increase hardness, resistance to abrasion, and the corrosion of the coating and have good high temperature properties. The phase composition of the alloy prepared by the aluminothermic reaction showed mainly cobalt, tungsten, and aluminum, as well as small amounts of iron, titanium, and calcium. No carbon was identified using this method. The microstructure of this alloy is characterized by a cobalt matrix with smaller regular and irregular carbide particles doped by aluminum.