METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE ASSESSMENT OF THE HEDGE STRUCTURE IN THE URBAN IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM

Обозначена важность своевременного учета качества и состояния живых изгородей, как многофункционального элемента городского ландшафта. Существующая методика инвентаризации не принимает во внимание распространенные проблемы живых изгородей. Предложена авторская методика, эффективность которой состоит в простоте учета, где фиксируются видимые проблемы структуры изгороди - параметры выпадов, и наглядности полученных расчетных данных, позволяющих сравнительно оценить качество изгородей и выбрать адекватную стратегию по улучшению их состояния. Введено понятие - общая целостность живой изгороди, которая показывает удельную протяженность ненарушенных выпадами участков изгороди, выраженную в процентах. Методика апробирована на 19 объектах общего пользования центрального района города Йошкар-Олы. Выявлены нарушения структуры изгородей: снижение их целостности вследствие наличия выпадов в количестве от 0,2 до 2 шт. /10 пог. м и протяженностью 0,7 до 4,8 пог. м. Различная протяженность выпадов требует различных подходов к их восстановлению. We determined the importance of timely consideration of the quality and condition of hedges as a multifunctional element of the urban landscape. The existing inventory methodology does not take into account the common problems of hedges. The authors’ methodology effectiveness is in the simplicity of accounting, where the visible problems of the hedge structure (gaps parameters) are recorded and the clarity of the calculated data is obtained. That allows us to comparatively assess the quality of hedges and choose an adequate strategy to improve their condition. The concept of general hedge integrity is introduced, which shows the specific length of hedge sections not disturbed by gaps, expressed as a percentage. The method has been tested on 19 public facilities in the central district of Yoshkar-Ola city. Violations of the structure of hedges were revealed: a decrease in their integrity due to the presence of gaps in an amount from 0.2 to 2 pcs. per 10 running meters and with length from 0,7 to 4,8 running meters. Different lengths of gaps require different approaches to their recovery.

Uninvestigated Dyspepsia and Heartburn Overlap Syndrome at Industrial Hub of Eastern Siberia

Aim. A study of the overlap syndrome of uninvestigated dyspepsia and heartburn at an industrial hub city of Eastern Siberia.Materials and methods. A total of 1,382 subjects (684 men and 698 women, mean age 40.6 years) were randomly selected and examined for the central district of Krasnoyarsk. The clinical check-up and interviewing results were registered with a standard questionnaire. Heartburn was diagnosed as per the Montreal Consensus. Since no endoscopic patient examination had been performed, dyspepsia was assumed uninvestigated. Dyspepsia was diagnosed as per the Rome IV criteria. The study conduction complied with ethical standards. Each participant signed an informed examination consent, in accordance to the regulations by the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. The survey data were analysed with common statistical methods.Results. Heartburn, uninvestigated dyspepsia and their overlap syndrome had prevalence of 12.4, 21.1 and 5% in study population, respectively. Uninvestigated dyspepsia was registered in 40.4% patients with and 18.4% — without heartburn (p < 0.001). The risk factors of overlap syndrome were age >40 years (p = 0.002), obesity (p = 0.002), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug and/or aspirin intake (p = 0.004) and tobacco smoking (p = 0.007). Among total patients with the heartburn/uninvestigated dyspepsia overlap syndrome, only 33.3% systemically had proton pump inhibitors, and only 17.4% had a prokinetic therapy.Conclusion. The heartburn/uninvestigated dyspepsia overlap syndrome is an actual issue in the Krasnoyarsk population. Attention is warranted to this problem to optimise treatment and prevention measures.

Creative Thinking Skills in Social Studies Written Exam Questions

In this study, Social Studies teachers tried to examine the questions in their exams according to their creative thinking skills. In the study document analysis and semi-structured interview methods were used for this purpose. A total of 2,065 questions were examined from the examinations prepared by 61 teachers working in 20 different schools in Ortahisar, which is in the central district of Trabzon. The exam questions were examined in terms of the question types commonly used in education, their class levels and their status for creative thinking skills according to their subjects. The SPSS program was used in the analysis of the questions and the findings were presented using frequency and percentage tables and graphs. Interviews with teachers were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. The themes were created from the data obtained from the interview answers. The themes were reflected on the tables according to the frequency of the teachers’ answers. For better understanding of the findings, examples of the teachers’ exam questions and direct quotations from teachers’ answers are given under the tables and graphics. As a result of the research, it was determined that the exam questions prepared by the social studies teachers were inadequate to develop and measure the creative thinking skills of the students.

Exploration on Landscape Reconstruction Design of Old Residential Communities Embedded with Green Technology Based on Smoke-Free Environment: Regarding Shangdatianwan Central District in Yuzhong District of Chongqing a Case

A smoke-free environment is crucial to the health of low-income, marginalized and vulnerable groups in the wake of COVID-19 and extreme weather. Low-income vulnerable groups mostly live in old residential areas, where the quality of living environment is poor. Ground buildings lack fire protection and smokeless facilities, and ground, rain and sewage pipes are mixed, posing serious safety and health risks. However, urban reconstruction and restoration often pay attention to the smoke-free environment, underground pipe network facilities and green and intelligent application of new residential areas, while ignoring the implantation of smoke-free environment, environmental protection and energy saving sustainable technology measures in the reconstruction of old residential areas. The old residential areas are the last link in the implementation of smoke-free policy and the most vulnerable areas of urban governance. Urban renewal design implanting smoke-free environment and green technology into urban fabric can improve its resilience and quality of living environment. Based on this, taking Shangdayanwan Central District, Yuzhong District of Chongqing, a typical mountain city, as an example, the reconstruction and design of the old residential area with green technology embedded in smoke-free environment was carried out, and the technical mechanism was explored, providing reference for urban renewal design to reduce pollution, prevent disasters and improve the ecological conservation of human settlements.

Clinical and epidemiological features of typical food botulism in children in the Republic of Tajikistan

Aim. To study the clinical and epidemiological features of typical foodborne botulism in children.Materials and methods. We conducted an epidemiological investigation of 132 registered cases of typical foodborne botulism in the Republic of Tajikistan in 2019 and 2020. The clinical observation was carried out for 24 sick children in hospitals of the State Institution “City Children’s Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital” and the Central District Hospital of Gissar. The diagnosis was established based on clinical and epidemiological data with the establishment of patients’ consumption of preservatives prepared from vegetables at homeResearch and discussion. In the Republic of Tajikistan, according to the Republican Sanitary and Epidemiological Service for 2019 and 2020, only 132 patients with botulism were registered, with the largest number of diseases, 68 (51.5%), registered in 2019, and in 2021, 64 (48.5%). Analysis of the incidence of botulism for The presented period indicates that the disease in the Republic of Tajikistan was registered in the form of sporadic cases. Botulism disease was of a group (mostly familial) nature and in 2019 19 (14.4%) cases were detected, in 2020 17 (12.8%) cases with the number of victims from 3 to 5. The age structure of patients with botulism was predominantly adults (62%) over children (38%).Conclusion. Epidemiological features of typical foodborne botulism in children in the Republic of Tajikistan showed that in cases 78 (59.1%) of the disease, it was registered after the consumption of traditional canned homemade products in the form of mixed vegetable spices (shakarob) and the autumn-winter period (100%).

Accessibility Assessment of Buildings Based on Multi-Source Spatial Data: Taking Wuhan as a Case Study

The question of whether each building of housing estate has equal access to nearby social service resources (e.g., public transportation service, catering, entertainment, etc.) is a major concern of citizens. This paper takes Wuhan as a case to explore the equality in social service resource sharing of the housing estate at a microscopic level by analyzing the accessibility of each building under different travel patterns. To estimate the accessibility of each building, we developed a novel model with multi-travel modes and residential suitability evaluation of residents. The specific values of the parameters involved in the proposed model were extracted from the multi-source spatial data such as social media data, census data, point of interest, and road network data. These data were acquired from multiple platforms, e.g., Gaode map, OSM (OpenStreetMap), and GeoQ. We chose three types of districts in the city of Wuhan, including the old central district, new central district, and suburban district. We applied the proposed model to assess the accessibility of communities in these districts. Based on the results, we further analyzed whether and to what extent the distribution of each building in urban communities is equitable for social service resource sharing in China.

EFFECT OF PRODUCT INNOVATION ON PERFORMANCE OF PRINTING SMES IN KAMPALA CENTRAL DISTRICT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of product innovation on performance of printing SMEs in Kampala Central District Methodology: The study used the explanatory design. The study conducted a census on a target population of 125printing SMEs operating in Kampala Central district. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires that were self- administered to managers of printing SMEs. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software program v 25.0 where both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were done. In particular, frequencies, percentages, mean scores, standard deviation and correlation analyses were used and the resultant presentation was done using figures and tables. Results: The study established that product innovation positively affected performance of printing SMEs. The study also revealed that use of graphic designs, digital printing and polymer sheets were among the major product innovations that were used which was represented by mean scores of 4.17, 3.95 and 3.81 respectively. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that printing firms should constantly endeavor to invest in different new product designs and improve on the existing products so as to attain a competitive advantage against competitors. For example, holographic and scratch off foils are some of the new products that firms can take advantage of. Holographic foil adds a thrilling effect that provides a high-tech look while scratch-off foil covers things that can be revealed by just a scratch creating an interactive print. Such products can bring more traffic and sales to the business as they are attractive and are perceived to have higher value. Additionally, the new products should be designed in a way that meets customer needs in the dynamic market environment.

Lockdown in a disneyfied city: Kraków Old Town and the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic

This paper presents the geography of the historic central district of Kraków, Poland before, during and after the first wave of the 2020 pandemic. It describes how the disneyfied main part of the UNESCO heritage site of universal values turned into a ghost town as functional changes were turning into physical ones amid restrictions. From the results of pre-pandemic processes (that, as we argue, turned the city into its disneyfied version), to the lockdown (that later revealed itself to be but the first one in a row), to the post-lockdown recovery, these changes are presented in modified figure-ground diagrams with accessibility being defined by both tangible and intangible properties. The results are set against the background of the city’s current policies regarding economic recovery, mobility and accessibility to urban green areas. As an attempt to address the present vulnerability of the once resilient historic city centres—of which Kraków Old Town is a luminous example—this paper tends to be a voice in the debate on the post-2020 planning and the strategies we will need to face the subsequent waves of this, or other, pandemics as well as consequences of climate change.

Phenetics of the rock pigeon (Columba livia) plumage coloration in Orenburg

Birds differ from larger representatives, for example: mammals from the point of studying the class of birds. The following things are considered: data on hair dryers of coloring, patterns of feather cover, structure and coloring of the beak, flapping of the legs. Representatives of the class of birds, in particular synanthropic blue pigeons, have signs: features of trophic behavior and polymorphism. The paper describes distribution and main morphs of blue pigeons on the territory of Orenburg. The blue pigeon ( Columba livia ) is one of the most widespread ancient representatives, which is prone to migrations and has an extensive habitat around the world, and in urban conditions is one of the most frequently observed objects. Pigeons on the territory of Orenburg are represented by different morphs: white, black, black-stamped, brown and blue. On the territory of the Central District, during two periods, 1650 individuals of birds (1040 in spring, 610 in autumn) of different color morphs were identified, with a large predominance of black-stamped and brown. During the spring period the maximum number of birds and morphemes was high and during the autumn period the population decreased in number, as well as the ratio of the number of color morphemes. The observations were carried out in the Central District of Orenburg on three streets: March 8th, Tereshkova, Pobedy Avenue. 35 morphemes were identified in the Central District: 21 in spring and 14 in autumn. Spring morphemes in groupings, as well as their increase, were explained by combinative variability (that is due to increased reproduction in the spring period) and manifestation of recessive traits in the phenotypes of plumage coloring. Autumn morphemes were few in number; as a result, the loss is explained by a weak stability of certain color morphemes to environmental factors.