Increase of collagen in the rat heart induced by noise

Rats were exposed to randomly applied noise during their nightly active phase for up to half a year. The ventricular myocardium was studied by electron microscopy and estimation of hydroxyproline. A significant increase of collagen was found especially in the left ventricle.A combination of noise stress with an Mg-deficient diet enhanced the increase of myocardial collagen Thus, Mg-deficiency and noise appears to act in a synergistic manner.     

L'Aquila's reconstruction challenges: has Italy learned from its previous earthquake disasters?

Italy is an earthquake‐prone country and its disaster emergency response experiences over the past few decades have varied greatly, with some being much more successful than others. Overall, however, its reconstruction efforts have been criticised for being ad hoc, delayed, ineffective, and untargeted. In addition, while the emergency relief response to the L'Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009—the primary case study in this evaluation—seems to have been successful, the reconstruction initiative got off to a very problematic start. To explore the root causes of this phenomenon, the paper argues that, owing to the way in which Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has politicised the process, the L'Aquila reconstruction endeavour is likely to suffer problems with local ownership, national/regional/municipal coordination, and corruption. It concludes with a set of recommendations aimed at addressing the pitfalls that may confront the L'Aquila reconstruction process over the next few years.     

On the ecology of a North Adriatic benthic community: Distribution,standing crop and composition of the macrobenthos

The boundaries as well as the macro-epibenthic biomass distribution and composition of a North Adriatic benthic community, dominated by the brittle star Ophiothrix quinquemaculata (D.Ch.), the sponges Reniera ssp., and the ascidians Microcosmus ssp. were determined. Transects totalling more than 80 km (i.e., a recorded area of approximately 150 000 m²) were taken by means of a combined TV- and photocamera sled. The observations, TV-recordings, and photos, together with 392 diver-collected quantitative samples were evaluated. The biomass values were used to establish isobenths. Within the community, the mean biomass, measured as wet weight, amounted to 370 (±73) g/m² with maxima of more than 1000 g/m². 64% of the biomass was due to the designating group Ophiothrix-Reniera-Micrcosmus, 87.5% were represented by filter- and suspension-feeding species alone. The mean biomass in the peripheral areas was evaluated at 166 (±62) g/m². Biomass distribution and composition is examined, and the ecological function and meaning of the observed patterns is discussed.This investigation was carried out within the frame of a joint programme between the Lehrkanzel für Meeresbiologie, University of Vienna, and the Marine Biological Station, Portoroz, University of Ljubljana.     

Team-Based Risk Assessment and Action Plans as Participatory Methods for Safe Patient Handling in Two Swedish Municipal Care Homes for the Elderly

Objective. We investigated the usefulness of a team-based risk assessment method in patient transfer situations in municipal care homes for the elderly. Methods. Evaluation of risk assessment and action plans carried out in 2009. Focus group interviews with care givers and one-to-one interviews with managers and occupational therapists. Results. The evaluation showed that action plans and interventions were developed for each resident with identified risk connected with movement/transfer in daily life. Twenty-six patients (28%) of a total number of 94 were assigned to the “no risk” category regarding movement/transfer situations in daily life. The other 68 patients (72%) required further interventions, which were documented in action plans. The interviews indicated that the approach of team-based risk assessment and action plans was perceived as a functional participatory method aiming to improve daily life and work. Conclusion. Systematic team-based risk assessment and action plans benefit staff as well as residents at care homes for the elderly.     

Towards zero-waste airports: a case study of Istanbul Airport

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this day and age, an important indicator of sustainable waste management is zero-waste index. Zero-waste approach is adopted by many...     

Impacts of mycotoxin on biohydrogen production from waste dry fruits

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Discarded dry fig and raisin, which exporting companies have to claim and destroy, were subjected to batch dark fermentation at 37 °C...     

An Investigation into the Influence of C. moschata Leaves Extract on Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Biodegradable PCL/PLA Blend Film

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Poly ε-caprolactone (PCL) synthesized by ring-opening polymerization method, and then it blended with polylactic acid (PLA). The blend was loaded with...     

Comparison of hybrid machine learning methods for the prediction of short-term meteorological droughts of Sakarya Meteorological Station in Turkey

Drought is a harmful natural disaster with various negative effects on many aspects of life. In this research, short-term meteorological droughts were predicted with hybrid machine learning models using monthly precipitation data (1960–2020 period) of Sakarya Meteorological Station, located in the northwest of Turkey. Standardized precipitation index (SPI), depending only on precipitation data, was used as the drought index, and 1-, 3-, and 6-month time scales for short-term droughts were considered. In the prediction models, drought index was predicted at t?+?1 output variable by using t, t???1, t???2, and t???3 input variables. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), Gaussian process regression (GPR), support vector machine regression (SVMR), k-nearest neighbors (KNN) algorithms were employed as stand-alone machine learning methods. Variation mode decomposition (VMD), discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and empirical mode decomposition (EMD) were utilized as pre-processing techniques to create hybrid models. Six different performance criteria were used to assess model performance. The hybrid models used together with the pre-processing techniques were found to be more successful than the stand-alone models. Hybrid VMD-GPR model yielded the best results (NSE?=?0.9345, OI?=?0.9438, R²?=?0.9367) for 1-month time scale, hybrid VMD-GPR model (NSE?=?0.9528, OI?=?0.9559, R²?=?0.9565) for 3-month time scale, and hybrid DWT-ANN model (NSE?=?0.9398, OI?=?0.9483, R²?=?0.9450) for 6-month time scale. Considering the entire performance criteria, it was determined that the decomposition success of VMD was higher than DWT and EMD.

     

Solid waste composition and COVID-19-induced changes in an inland water ecosystem in Turkey

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The composition and abundance of solid waste and the effect of COVID-19 measures were studied in an inland water ecosystem in Turkey. Solid waste...