Search Results (50)

Timber heritage buildings reflect the character and specifics of the region in which they are located and in which they were built. They form part of memory and history, preserving the traditions and culture of a community. The fact that their building material is timber makes them more susceptible to fire. The purpose of the article is to evaluate the current state of fire protection of timber heritage buildings. Having established this status, we will analyze the results and list the main problems we have identified. We will propose measures to reduce the risk of fire occurrence and spread. For the purposes of our research, we followed the developed methodologies for fire protection assessment of heritage buildings. We developed a checklist which we used for data collection. We analyzed the results, and then used synthesis to look for areas of correlation between the different buildings. The most common shortcomings in the fire protection of sacral timber buildings are the absence of fire protection coatings, missing or non-functioning electric fire alarms, and the absence of a stable fire extinguishing system. The presence of combustible materials in the building or its immediate vicinity, water sources, access roads or the travel time of the fire brigade to the building were also problematic. The main challenge to increasing fire protection of heritage timber buildings in Slovakia is the lack of funding. Without funds, it will not be possible to equip the buildings with fire-fighting equipment and the sustainability of these objects for future generations will not be possible. Full article

The Arctic presents various challenges for a transition to electric vehicles compared to other regions of the world, including environmental conditions such as colder temperatures, differences in infrastructure, and cultural and economic factors. For this study, academic researchers partnered with three rural communities: Kotzebue, Galena, and Bethel, Alaska, USA. The study followed a co-production process that actively involved community partners to identify 21 typical vehicle use cases that were then empirically modeled to determine changes in fueling costs and greenhouse gas emissions related to a switch from an internal combustion engine to an electric vehicle. While most use cases showed decreases in fueling costs and climate emissions from a transition to electric versions of the vehicles, some common use profiles did not. Specifically, the short distances of typical commutes, when combined with low idling and engine block heater use, led to an increase in both fueling costs and emissions. Arctic communities likely need public investment and additional innovation in incentives, vehicle types, and power systems to fully and equitably participate in the transition to electrified transportation. More research on electric vehicle integration, user behavior, and energy demand at the community level is needed. Full article

Biomass energy is a significant yet often overlooked energy source in many developing nations, particularly in households where it is utilized in highly inefficient ways. This inefficiency stems from the direct combustion of wood, charcoal, leaves, agricultural residues, and animal dung for cooking purposes. A substantial portion of the Ethiopian population relies on traditional biomass energy, a dependence influenced by socioeconomic factors and residential location. In this study, we focus on traditional coffee vendors operating on the streets of Bahir Dar who utilize traditional biomass for coffee preparation. We aim to investigate the accessibility and health implications of traditional biomass utilization among these women coffee vendors. We employed a mixed-methods research approach with a concurrent research design to achieve our objectives. Data were analyzed quantitatively through descriptive statistics and qualitatively through thematic analysis. Both the descriptive and textual data indicate that women traditional coffee vendors (WTCVs) rely on traditional biomass energy because customers expect the ceremonies to be performed using it, as it holds significant traditional and cultural value. While traditional biomass energy is relatively accessible, the vendors’ limited income often restricts their ability to secure it consistently. Consequently, their dependence on traditional biomass, combined with poor working conditions, negatively impacts their respiratory health and heightens the risk of burns and injuries. Full article

Particulate matter (PM) is a major component of ambient air pollution. PM exposure is linked to numerous adverse health effects, including chronic lung diseases. Air quality guidelines designed to regulate levels of ambient PM are currently based on the mass concentration of different particle sizes, independent of their origin and chemical composition. The objective of this study was to assess the relative hazardous effects of carbonaceous particles (soot), ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and copper oxide (CuO), which are standard components of ambient air, reflecting contributions from primary combustion, secondary inorganic constituents, and non-exhaust emissions (NEE) from vehicular traffic. Human epithelial cells representing bronchial (BEAS-2B) and alveolar locations (H441 and A549) in the airways, human lung fibroblasts (HFL-1), and rat precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) were exposed in submerged cultures to different concentrations of particles for 5–72 h. Following exposure, cell viability, metabolic activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, and inflammatory responses were analyzed. CuO and, to a lesser extent, soot reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, increased ROS formation, and induced inflammatory responses. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate did not elicit any significant cytotoxic responses but induced immunomodulatory alterations at very high concentrations. Our findings demonstrate that secondary inorganic components of PM have a lower hazard cytotoxicity compared with combustion-derived and indicative NEE components, and alveolar epithelial cells are more sensitive to PM exposure. This information should help to inform which sources of PM to target and feed into improved, targeted air quality guidelines. Full article

Environmental forces impacting public health include exposure to toxic substances, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), diet, and exercise. Here, we examine the first two of these forces in some detail since they may be amenable to correction through cultural, medical, and practitioner intervention. At the same time, changing people’s dietary and exercise routines are likely more resistant to these interventions and are referred to only incidentally in this review. That is, societal efforts could prevent exposure to toxicants and ACEs—not necessarily requiring cooperation by the affected individuals—whereas changing diet and exercise practices requires an individual’s discipline. Toxic substances considered in this review include endocrine disruptors, arsenics, 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the organic solvent, Trichloroethylene (TCE), and the Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) produced from incomplete combustion of tobacco and other organic materials. Exposure to each of these toxic substances may have serious adverse health effects, especially in genetically more susceptible individuals. For example, children of mothers exposed to the endocrine disruptor, Atrazine, have significantly lower birth length, weight, and head circumference. Moreover, male offspring exhibit genital abnormalities, and all of these effects may be transgenerational. However, analyses of interactions among genes, the environment, and epigenetic modifications have already revealed distinctive individual risks of adverse reactions to toxic exposure. So, interventions through precision medicine might improve the health of those exposed individuals. Adults previously exposed to more than one ACE (e.g., child abuse and inter-parental violence) are more likely to develop anxiety, cancer, and diabetes. Detecting ACE exposures in children in the general population is fraught with difficulty. Thus, the risks of ACEs to our health remain even more insidious than exposures to toxicants. Nevertheless, higher provider compassion is associated with significantly better clinical outcomes for patients with these afflictions. For all these reasons, the first major aim of this review is to recount several of the major forces contributing to or impairing public health. Our second major aim is to examine mitigating influences on these forces, including social justice and provider compassion in the setting of precision medicine. Idealistically, these mitigators might eventually lead to the development of more cooperative and compassionate cultures and societies. Full article

This study introduces an empirical model designed to predict the maximum values of time-dependent data across four turbulence-related fields: hydrogen combustion in renewable energy systems, urban microclimate effects on cultural heritage, shipping emissions, and road vehicle emissions. The model, which is based on the mean, standard deviation, and integral time scale, employs two parameters: a fixed exponent ‘ν’ (0.3) reflecting time scale sensitivity, and a variable parameter ‘b’ that accounts for application-specific uncertainties. Integrated into the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) framework, specifically the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) methodology, the model addresses the RANS approach’s limitation in predicting extreme values due to its inherent averaging process. By incorporating the empirical model, this study enhances RANS simulations’ ability to predict critical values, such as peak hydrogen concentrations and maximum urban wind speeds, which is essential for safety and reliability assessments. Validation against experimental and numerical data across the four fields demonstrates strong agreement, highlighting the model’s potential to improve CFD-RANS predictions of extreme events. This advancement offers significant implications for future CFD-RANS applications, particularly in scenarios demanding fast and reliable maximum value predictions. Full article

Hydrogen is ideal for replacing fossil fuels because upon combustion it generates only water. Dark fermentation (DF) from lignocellulose might be a competitive process for hydrogen production at the industrial scale. However, lignocellulose must be pretreated to obtain fermentable sugars, which is costly and creates pollution. Microorganisms from bovine rumen efficiently degrade lignocellulose. Unfortunately, they have scarcely been explored for the production of hydrogen. Therefore, deeper studies on the culture conditions have to be undertaken to understand the behavior of microbial consortia from the rumen of bovines (MCRB) during hydrogen production. In this work, we evaluated the production of hydrogen by DF with MCRB by varying the incubation time, two culture media (MB and Rhodospirillaceae), headspace (40 and 80 mL), and thermal treatment. It was found that the production of hydrogen was maximum at 16 h MCRB incubation in MB. An amount of 80 mL headspace resulted in a threefold production of hydrogen as compared to 40 mL; the MCRB without heat treatment had a higher H₂ yield. The production of hydrogen with 32 MCRB was highly variable, ranging between 21 and 696 mL. Our findings show a different perspective on the treatment of MCRB for the production of hydrogen and give insights on the impact of the culture conditions for increasing hydrogen production. Full article

Background and Objective: Sapropel, a biologically active sedimentary deposit, is high in organic matter and minerals and has been shown to offer health benefits. Its constituents, humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA), have been found to have some therapeutic applications. The aim of this study was to determine the potential therapeutically significant properties of freshwater sapropel extracts: their polyacid content, antioxidative (AO) status, and biological activity in cell culture. Materials and Methods: Freshwater lakes from the southeast region of Latvia were investigated layer by layer. The total organic carbon (TOC) was determined through combustion using the catalytic oxidation method, HA and FA were measured via acid perspiration, and the total polyphenol content (TPC) and total antioxidant status (TAS) was analysed spectrophotometrically. Sapropel extracts’ regenerative abilities were tested in vitro using a Cell-IQ real-time monitoring system on mouse BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts and human keratinocyte HaCaT cell lines. Cytotoxicity was measured through neutral red uptake assessment as a concentration-dependent reduction in the uptake of neutral red dye relative to a vehicle control or untreated cells. Results: The highest AO activity was observed in sapropel extracts with elevated concentrations of HA and TPC from Audzelu Lake (1.08 ± 0.03 mmol/L), and the lowest activity was found in extracts from Ivusku Lake (0.31 ± 0.01 mmol/L). Correspondingly, the concentrations of HA in Audzelu and Ivusku Lakes were recorded as 45.2 and 27.4 mg/g, respectively. High concentrations of HA promoted in vitro cell growth upon short-term exposure (up to 6 h). Conclusions: The results show that high TPC correlates with AO status and sapropel extracts with higher concentrations of HA exhibit greater AO activity and promote in vitro cell growth, suggesting a perspective use for short-term topical therapeutic skin applications. However, higher concentrations over longer durations showed cytotoxic effects, indicating the need for further investigation. Full article

Hydrogen creates water during combustion. Therefore, it is expected to be the most promising environmentally friendly energy alternative in the coming years. This study used extract liquid obtained from the waste nigella sativa generated by the black cumin oil industry. The performance of biological hydrogen manufacturing via dark fermentation was investigated in the fluidized bed reactor (FBR) and completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) under the operation conditions of pH 5.0, 4.0, and 6.0 and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 36 and 24 h. The performance of hydrogen manufacturing was determined to be good under an organic loading ratio (OLR) of 6.66 g.nigella sativa extract/L and pH 4.0. According to these conditions, the maximum amount of hydrogen in CSTR and FBR was found to be 20.8 and 7.6 mL H₂/day, respectively. The operating process of the reactors displayed that a reduction in HRT augmented biohydrogen manufacturing. The work that used mixed culture found that the dominant microbial population at pH 4.0 involved Hydrogenimonas thermophila, Sulfurospirillum carboxydovorans, Sulfurospirillum cavolei, Sulfurospirillum alkalitolerans, and Thiofractor thiocaminus. No research on waste black cumin extract was found in biohydrogen studies, and it was determined that this substrate source is applicable for biological hydrogen manufacturing. Full article

The sustainable energy transition to a low-carbon and climate-neutral economy by 2050 requires a consistent increase in the share of renewable energy sources (RESs) at the expense of the share of fossil fuels. The coal power plants in the Republic of Bulgaria have provided about one third of the annually produced electric power for decades, utilizing mainly locally available sources of lignite. The present work aimed to review the progress of the energy transition, its rejection and acceptance at the national and international scene alongside the available research for cleaner coal combustion in Bulgaria, as well as discuss a Bulgarian perspective for coal share reduction options for power generation during the energy transition. A comprehensive review was carried out, based on freely accessible data such as research and open media articles, officially published field reports, legislative and strategic acts as well as validated statistical data. Three groups of critical gaps (socioeconomic, sociotechnical and cultural and political) were indicated, claimed to be capable of guiding the just transition. Key factors influencing the process dynamics were identified and categorized in the context of the critical gaps. The peculiar policy criteria for the carbon-intensive regions are as follows: the dominant energy carriers, existing infrastructure, involved actors and choice of strategy. The observations allowed us to conclude that in addition to the efforts achieved and ambitious political will, the identification of reliable technological and socioeconomic measures is needed more than ever (accompanied by interdisciplinary research involving the technical, social and environmental and policy factors), while renewables still have long way to go towards complete substitution of the fossil fuels for power generation, transport, and manufacturing. Limited literature was found for reducing the share of coal from currently operating Bulgarian coal-fired power plants (CFPPs). Herein, short- and/or medium-term measures for carbon emission reduction were discussed, capable of promoting the limited operation of existing CFPPs, thus paving the road towards a sustainable, long-term transition. These measures concerned the typically used power units in the largest CFPPs located at the Maritsa Iztok Mining Complex (MIMC). Analyses of the biomass production, supply and cost for the same type of power units were proposed, considering the use of 100% biomass. Estimated costs, unit efficiencies and power generation were discussed along with the evaluations about the land use, ensuring a given annual productivity of wood chips from fast growing plants, e.g., Paulownia. Full article

The increased concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere has a strong impact on global warming. Therefore, efficient technologies must be used to reduce CO₂ emissions. One of the methods is the biofixation of CO₂ by microalgae and cyanobacteria. This is now a widely described technology that can improve the economics of biomass production and reduce CO₂ emissions. There are no reports on the possibility of using it to clean exhaust gases from biogas combustion. The aim of the research was to determine the possibility of using Arthrospira platensis cultures to remove CO₂ from biogas combustion. The efficiency of biomass production and the effectiveness of biological CO₂ fixation were evaluated. The use of exhaust gases led to a more efficient increase in cyanobacterial biomass. The growth rate in the exponential phase was 209 ± 17 mgVS/L·day, allowing a biomass concentration of 2040 ± 49 mgVS/L. However, the use of exhaust gases led to a decrease in the pH of the culture medium and a rapid decline in the Arthrospira platensis population. The cyanobacteria effectively fixed CO₂, and its concentration was limited from 13 ± 1% to 1.3 ± 0.7%. There was no influence of the exhaust gases on changes in the qualitative composition of the cyanobacterial biomass. In the culture fed with exhaust gas, the A. platensis population quickly entered the death phase, which requires close monitoring. This is an important indication for potential operators of large-scale photobioreactors. Full article

The extracted olive pomace (EOP) is an industrial lignocellulosic by-product of olive pomace oil extraction, currently mainly used for energy production through combustion. In this work, the hemicellulosic fraction of EOP was selectively hydrolyzed by diluted acid hydrolysis to obtain pentose-rich hydrolysates that can potentially be upgraded by Debaryomyces hansenii, targeting xylitol production. The monosaccharides and degradation by-products released along the pre-treatment were quantified and several detoxification methods for the removal of potentially toxic compounds were evaluated, including pH adjustment to 5.5, the use of anion-exchange resins, adsorption into activated charcoal, concentration by evaporation, and membrane techniques, i.e., nanofiltration. The latter approach was shown to be the best method allowing the full removal of furfural, 41% of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 54% of acetic acid, and 67% of the phenolic compounds present in the hydrolysate. The effects of the supplementation of both non-detoxified and detoxified hydrolysates were also assessed. The non-detoxified hydrolysate, under aerobic conditions, supported the yeast growth and xylitol production at low levels. Supplementation with the low-cost corn steep liquor of the nanofiltration detoxified hydrolysate showed a higher xylitol yield (0.57 g/g) compared to the non-detoxified hydrolysate. The highest xylitol productivity was found in hydrolysate detoxified with anionic resins (0.30 g/L·h), which was 80% higher than in the non-detoxified culture medium. Overall, the results showed that EOP dilute acid hydrolysates can efficiently be used for xylitol production by D. hansenii if detoxification, and supplementation, even with low-cost supplements, are performed. Full article

A model for constructing sustainable Climate Change Haven communities in appropriate areas of the United States and globally is presented. The model proposes the construction of walkable communities of 20,000 to 30,000 residents with electricity provided by hydropower generators and biofuel combustion. The remediation of surface-mined areas using switchgrass and flood control dams to redirect excess rainfall will be required in some areas. This model also addresses the multiple social and cultural considerations required to resettle groups of migrants in Climate Change Haven communities, together with the preparation and preservation of nearby farmland for feeding the community. Full article

In the evolving economic landscape, Industry 4.0 emphasizes strategic planning and operational progress for large enterprises. This transformation relies on smart robotization technologies like AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) and AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) for reducing transportation time, thereby reducing energy costs per unit of production, increasing energy efficiency, as well as replacing combustible-fuel-powered tools with electric ones. A number of concerns arise with their introduction into the production cycle. This research aims to provide a methodical basis for averting substantial mistakes when executing projects centered around the incorporation of AGVs/AMRs into in-house logistics systems. The FMEA method and empirical analysis were employed to achieve a more accurate risk assessment. APIS and MS Excel softwares were chosen. We investigated the potential hazards related to the incorporation of mobile robotic solutions and identified both external and internal threats. To streamline and improve project efficiency, a risk management algorithm for high-tech projects is presented in the paper. Integrating FMEA into projects implementing robotic technologies can lead to significant enhancements in risk reduction, and therefore cost savings, efficiency, safety, and quality, while fostering a culture of collaboration and problem solving. The research contributes to the literature by introducing an AMR planning and control framework to guide managers in the decision-making process, thereby supporting them to achieve optimal performance. Finally, we propose an agenda for future research within the field of interest. Full article

The present study examined types of scenarios in which Guam youths are offered tobacco—namely, combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes—and betel (areca) nut. We conducted 10 focus groups with public middle school students (n = 34) from Guam. Results suggested that the types of offer scenarios of combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and betel nut referenced by the students fall into two categories—direct-relational offers and indirect-contextual offers. The results also suggested that both categories of offer scenarios were more likely to occur in school rather than in other locations such as the home. Family members were more likely to make offers than other types of people. Indirect-contextual offers were more easily avoidable depending on the substance offered, the location where the offer took place, and the person making the offer. Based on the findings, we provide brief suggestions on developing a school-based prevention curriculum focused on training young adolescents from Guam on ways to resist offers of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and betel nut. Full article