Evaluation of radon emanation coefficient in different types of building materials of different grain sizes.

The effects of some soil characteristics on radon emanation and diffusion

Correlation between the concentration of 222-Rn at the earth's surface and in waters with seismic activities

The risk of ship–bridge collisions should be evaluated using advanced models to consider different anti-collision and bridge-protection measures. This study aimed to propose a method to evaluate the effectiveness of active and passive safety measures in preventing ship–bridge collision. A novel ship–bridge collision probability formulation taking into consideration different safety measures was proposed. The model was applied at Jintang Bridge in China where the surrounding vessel traffic is ultra-crowded. We calculated the collision probability between the bridge and passing traffic using automatic identification system (AIS) data, Monte Carlo simulation, and Bayesian networks. Results under four different safety measures (i.e., active measures, passive measures, both measures and none) were analyzed and compared. The analysis concluded that both active and passive safety measures are effective in reducing the ship–bridge collision probability. Active measures, if deployed properly, can provide protection at an equivalent level than passive measures against collision risks. However, passive measures, such as setting arresting cables, are necessary in cases where the response time of the active measures is long. The proposed method and the results obtained from the case study may be useful for robust and systematic effectiveness evaluation of safety measures in other cases worldwide.

With the upcoming U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 2027 policy for mandatory reporting of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA or TKA), it is important to evaluate the resources required to achieve adequate PROM collection and reporting at a clinically relevant rate of follow-up. This study aimed to (1) determine follow-up rates for 1-year PROMs when the follow-up was conducted with active methods (attempted contact by staff) and passive (automated) methods, and (2) evaluate factors associated with higher odds of requiring active follow-up or being lost to follow-up following THA or TKA. A prospective cohort of patients undergoing primary elective THA (n = 7,436) or TKA (n = 10,119) between January 2016 and December 2020 at a single institution were included. The primary outcome was the response rate achieved with active and passive follow-up methods at our institution. Patient characteristics, health-care utilization parameters, PROM values, and patient satisfaction were compared between follow-up methods. Passive and active measures were successful for 38% (2,859) and 40% (3,004) of the THA cohort, respectively, while 21% (1,573) were lost to follow-up. Similarly, passive and active measures were successful for 40% (4,001) and 41% (4,161) of the TKA cohort, respectively, while 20% (2,037) were lost to follow-up. Younger age, male sex, Black or another non-White race, fewer years of education, smoking, Medicare or Medicaid insurance, and specific baseline PROM phenotypes (i.e., with scores in the lower half for pain, function, and/or mental health) were associated with loss to follow-up. Older age, male sex, Black race, and a residence with a higher Area Deprivation Index were associated with requiring active follow-up. One of 5 patients were lost to follow-up despite active and passive measures following THA or TKA. These patients were more likely to be younger, be male, be of Black or another non-White race, have fewer years of education, be a smoker, have Medicaid insurance, and have specific baseline PROM phenotypes. Innovative strategies aimed at targeting individuals with these baseline characteristics may help raise the bar and increase follow-up while mitigating costs after total joint arthroplasty. Prognostic Level II . See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

A majority of the commercial cement production in India is based on substitution of clinker by pozzolanic materials in the form of fly ash from thermal power plants or blast furnace slag. The present study investigates the field application of a new type of ternary blend using limestone, calcined clay and clinker with small amount of gypsum. Four different blends were manufactured under pilot scale. Two different calcined china clay was used; one with a high kaolinite content and the other with a very low kaolinite content but high iron oxide phases giving a white and red colour to the respective blends. Two different limestone with varied quality was also used. Various types of alternate building materials were produced with these four blends for roofing, walling and flooring applications. Comparative study was undertaken with Ordinary Portland and Pozzolan Portland cement locally available. It was found that with a 30 % clinker replacement by high kaolinite calcined china clay the building materials show a higher strength compared to those manufactured with normal available cement. Even the low kaolinite content clay show comparative quality with 30 % replacement. No effect on productivity of the various types of building materials were observed. A two storied demonstration building has also been constructed entirely from the new blended cements. It was concluded that it is possible to replace 30 % or even more clinker by calcined clays to produce acceptable quality building materials.

To what extent can social policies influence how individuals experience spells of unemployment? Conventional hypotheses posit that more generous unemployment insurance schemes might increase the subjective well-being of the unemployed, but the empirical literature fails to convincingly confirm (or reject) this proposition. This paper contends that a theoretical preoccupation with the overall generosity of social policies obscures more than it reveals about the mechanisms through which the state can shape how individuals experience spells of unemployment. Social support regimes for the unemployed typically include some combination of active and passive labor market measures. Passive measures provide recipients with various forms of income support during unemployment spells, while active measures help individuals find new and better jobs by improving their overall employability. Several factors — the decreasing marginal utility of income, hedonic adaptation to material conditions, and the substantial non-pecuniary costs associated with unemployment — suggest that investments in active labor market measures will yield relatively greater gains in subjective well-being among the unemployed. These intuitions are confirmed in an analysis of data from three rounds of the European Social Survey (2002–2007) using a combination of fixed-effects and random-effects modeling techniques. While the overall generosity of public expenditures on labor market policy exerts no significant effect on the life satisfaction of the unemployed, the analysis supports the notion that active labor market measures are more effective in promoting life satisfaction among the unemployed than passive measures.

To what extent can social policies influence how individuals experience spells of unemployment? Conventional hypotheses posit that more generous unemployment insurance schemes might increase the subjective well-being of the unemployed, but the empirical literature fails to convincingly confirm (or reject) this proposition. This paper contends that a theoretical preoccupation with the overall generosity of social policies obscures more than it reveals about the mechanisms through which the state can shape how individuals experience spells of unemployment. Social support regimes for the unemployed typically include some combination of active and passive labor market measures. Passive measures provide recipients with various forms of income support during unemployment spells, while active measures help individuals find new and better jobs by improving their overall employability. Several factors—the decreasing marginal utility of income, hedonic adaptation to material conditions, and the substantial non-pecuniary costs associated with unemployment—suggest that investments in active labor market measures will yield relatively greater gains in subjective well-being among the unemployed. These intuitions are confirmed in an analysis of data from three rounds of the European Social Survey (2002–2007) using a combination of fixed-effects and random-effects modeling techniques. While the overall generosity of public expenditures on labor market policy exerts no significant effect on the life satisfaction of the unemployed, the analysis supports the notion that active labor market measures are more effective in promoting life satisfaction among the unemployed than passive measures.

Hydraulic fracture mapping using wavelet-based fusion of wave transmission and emission measurements

The main problem faced by PT. Surya Kapuas Perkasa is the difficulty in accurately determining the types of building materials with the highest sales levels. Currently, stock determination still relies on manual estimates based on previous sales trends, which are prone to errors and inaccuracies. As a result, the company often faces the risk of overstocking products that are less in demand, or understocking products that are actually in high demand. This condition can impact the sales process, increase storage costs, and reduce customer satisfaction. To overcome this problem, a method is needed that can predict the sales of the best-selling building materials more objectively and based on historical data. This prediction will utilize sales data from the past three years by applying data mining classification techniques using the C4.5 algorithm and K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) through the RapidMiner application. With this approach, the company can accurately identify the types of building materials that are most in demand in the market, allowing for more precise and efficient stock management. Based on the research results, four types of building materials were found to be the best-selling out of a total of 16 types analyzed: Light Steel, Brick, Iron, and Cement, with a prediction accuracy rate of 87.16%.

This article examines the active employment policy for persons with disabilities of working age, ensuring the transition from social security to employment in welfare states. In the first part of the study, based on international research and EU statistics, the reasons for such a transition, the goals, and the principles of active employment policy in welfare states with social democratic, conservative-corporatist, and neoliberal models are revealed. Criteria and methods for assessing employability are presented to distinguish between persons with disabilities and the unemployed, followed by their allocation to programmes with temporary or permanent forms of support. The pathways for entering the labour market are shown, oriented towards insiders (individuals with preserved or temporarily impaired employability) and outsiders (persons with disabilities with low employment prospects). The socio-demographic characteristics of persons with disabilities affecting their productivity and employability, and determining their needs for selective support measures, are reflected. The principles of “offensive” and “defensive” active employment policies in relation to such individuals, increasing the likelihood of employment and retention in the labour market, are studied and revealed. This includes the obligations of the state, employers and persons with disabilities, aswell as incentive and punitive measures. The volume of public funds allocated to employment policy, the main directions in the expenditure classification system: services, active and passive measures are presented. The structure of expenditures and the purpose of each type of active employment measures for persons with disabilities are revealed, including job creation, start-ups, sheltered and supported employment, rehabilitation, employment incentives, and training. The priorities of active measures for persons with disabilities and employers, which contribute to their employment and retention in the labour market in welfare states with different models, are identified. The trends in the development of active employment policies over the past decade, strategies to increase its effectiveness, priorities for passive and active measures during periods of economic downturn are analysed. The results of the impact of active policies on the employment of persons with moderate and severe disabilities, as well as the consequences of changes in the accessibility of social security for disability and unemployment during the transition from social security to employment, are shown.

The study on radon emanation and exhalation in soil is more and more important for environmental protection, and many influencing factors on radon emanation coefficient and exhalation in soil have been well documented. In order to evaluate the radon change and key influencing factors, this paper made an overall summary based on these studies. The main results show that the change laws of emanation coefficient with elevated temperature of radon can be divided into three types and they relate to the moisture state and content of soil. The normalized radon exhalation has a negative linear correlation with temperature, and the maximum emanation coefficient has a positive linear correlation with heating rate and specific surface. The pores with different size have different effects on the emanation coefficient of radon in the soil, e.g., the micro-pores increase emanation coefficient, and the mezzo-pores decrease emanation coefficient. Taken together, our results offered guiding significance for the evaluation of radon in soil and in air when soil state changes. Lastly, the existing problems and research directions were also given.

Radionuclide concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in different types of building materials used in Egypt were measured using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The results showed relatively moderate radionuclide concentrations for all samples except granite, which showed extremely high concentrations of 78.75 ± 2.36, 2.82 ± 0.11 and 2.37 ± 0.07 kBq kg⁻¹ for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, respectively. The radiological hazard indexes of radium equivalent activity (Raeq), external hazard index (Hex) and internal hazard index (Hin), due to the presence of those radionuclides in the investigated building materials, were calculated. The released radon from the selected samples was measured using the AlphaGUARD radon monitor in order to use its value to calculate the radon emanation coefficient and the radon exhalation rate. The alpha equivalent dose (dose from indoor radon generated from building materials) was calculated using the measured values of the radium concentration and the radon emanation coefficient.

Method of in situ gamma-ray spectrometry was used to discriminate contributions of 137Cs and natural radionuclides to ambient dose equivalent rate indoors in settlements located in the zones of radioactive contamination after the Chernobyl accident. The measurements using a portable scintillation gamma spectrometer-dosimeter were carried out in 115 individual one-story residential buildings in 46 settlements of the Bryansk region of Russia in the summer period of 2020–2021. According to official data, the average density of soil contamination with 137Cs in the settlements ranged from 27 to 533 kBq/m2. Based on the type of building materials that had been used to construct the walls, the surveyed houses were divided into three large groups: wooden (walls made of logs) – 51 buildings, stone (walls built of bricks and/or concrete panels) – 34 buildings, and frame-panel – 30 buildings. The latter had walls constructed of wooden panels with the inclusion of heat-insulating material. Outside, the walls of the frame-panel houses were lined with a layer of silicate (white) bricks. 70 houses were built before the accident and 37 – after the accident. In eight cases it was not possible to reliably estimate the period of construction. The total ambient dose equivalent rate ranged from 42 to 228 nSv/h (average = 77 nSv/h). The values of the ambient dose equivalent rate from natural radionuclides were in the range 27–122 nSv/h. The average values of the ambient dose equivalent rate from natural radionuclides in the groups of wooden, frame-panel, and stone houses were 42, 42 and 58 nSv/h, respectively. The difference between stone houses and panel houses was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The same difference was found between stone houses and wooden houses (P < 0.01). The average values of the ambient dose equivalent rate from 137Cs, normalized to the density of soil contamination with 137Cs, were 0.13, 0.16, and 0.05 (nSv/h)/(kBq/m2) in wooden, frame-panel, and stone houses, respectively. The normalized ambient dose equivalent rates from 137Cs in the group of stone houses were statistically significantly (P < 0.01) lower compared to the corresponding values for the groups of wooden houses and frame-panel houses. The small differences between frame-panel and wooden houses turned out to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). The median and mean values of the normalized ambient dose equivalent rate from 137Cs for houses built before the accident were lower compared to those for houses built after the accident. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.01) for all groups of houses. The mean values of the normalized ambient dose equivalent rate from 137Cs and the ambient dose equivalent rate from natural radionuclides obtained in this study can be used to estimate the external effective dose to a person staying inside a one-story residential building. In this case, one should take into account not only the type of building materials used to construct the house, but also the time period of the construction: before or after the Chernobyl accident.

The building materials and products whose content of natural radionuclides are contributors to the radiation exposure of the population. In this study several types of building materials used for construction of living buildings in Slovakia were examined. The concentrations of natural radionuclides (226Ra,232Th and40K) were determined by γ-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector. In the second part of the work, sixty samples of building products (panel), used for dwelling construction in several towns in Slovakia, were analysed. The concentration of natural radionuclides and the radium equivalent activity content in the inner-and outerside of the wall were estimated. The results were used for the calculation of the annual mean effective photon dose rates, by the model and calculation procedure of KRISIUK and KARPOV.

The article deals with the market of building materials of Ukraine, as the whole industry as a whole, as well as individual components. It is observed that together with the growth of production volumes in the industry, there was an increase in the cost of construction materials, as well as significantly changed their structure and assortment, which is a research issue. The work is carried out in order to identify problems and determine the prospects for the successful functioning of the market of building materials consumer orientation. On the basis of the analysis of researches of scientists generalizations of the main problems of the state of the market of building materials of Ukraine. Based on the findings and statistical data, the work focuses on the analysis of wholesale and retail trade, import and export of construction materials. The research is carried out taking into account the three components of which the production of building materials depends, namely on the raw material factor, consumer and transport. The authors analyze the reasons for the decrease and increase in sales of certain types of building materials, taking into account retail and wholesale sales of products. The article deals with such problems as insufficient technical equipment of the enterprises producing building materials, the level of their export and import. It is noted that the technological and technological lag in the industry leads to a narrower assortment and a lower quality of domestic products than to importers. The main products, which are imported in maximum volumes and minimum, are determined. The specified group of goods that are exported the most. The reasons for the low volumes of export of certain types of building materials are indicated. The authors conclude that the market for building materials has a tendency to increase both in volume and in value. It is indicated on the dependence of the market on imported products and the reasons that hinder the development of the market for building materials. Further research is planned to be carried out in the direction of minimization of factors hindering the development of the market for building materials and restraining the development of enterprises producing building materials.