Fireworks Research Articles

Heavy Metal Concentration in PM2.5 from Firework Displays is a Major Factor of Atmospheric Pollution during Spring Festival in Chengdu, China

Firework displays have been reported to dramatically increase atmospheric pollution during the annual Spring Festival in Chengdu, China. It is unclear, however, whether the atmospheric pollution caused by the displays is associated with specific heavy metal elements. To investigate the matter of firework induced atmospheric pollution during Spring Festival in Chengdu in 2017. We determined the major measurement factors of air quality include PM10, PM2.5, PM1.0, meteorological phenomena, and heavy metal elements with the conditions and characteristics of atmospheric pollution. All data was measured under atmospheric quality monitoring and quality control in accordance with the relevant standard of China. On the one hand, we observed the first heavy atmospheric pollutions were impacted by unfavorable meteorological conditions which led to constant generation and accumulation of PM1.0, and an increased concentration of PM2.5. The maximum value of concentration of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0 was 302 μg/ m3, 222 μg/m3 and 131 μg/m3 respectively. On the other hand, we measured the maximum value of concentration of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0 as 408 μg/m3, 275 μg/m3 and 191 μg/m3, respectively during the second heavy atmospheric pollution. We found that while the concentration of PM2.5 was decreased to 78μg/m3, the heavy metal elements in PM2.5 also declined to 10.6 μg/m3, which was almost the same as the concentration of heavy metal elements before the displays. Moreover, the concentrations of heavy metal elements K, Ca, Cu and Ba were obviously changed in different weather conditions. We observed that the concentrations of K, Ca, Cu and Ba can be decreased to a large extent in the transition from pollution to cleaners, suggesting that the concentration of heavy metal elements in PM2.5 was significantly increased by fireworks during Spring Festival in Chengdu, China. Taken together, firework displays were a major factor of atmospheric pollution, causing the concentration of heavy metal elements in PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0 to dramatically increase during Spring Festival in Chengdu, China.

Fire-work

Fire-work

Focus: Why McDonald's Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement

8 | International Union Rights | 25/1 FOCUS | TAX AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS Why McDonald’s Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement In 2009, McDonald’s Corporation – the largest fast food company in the world and the planet’s secondlargest private-sector employer – decided to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to handle ‘Intellectual Property’ for all of its European operations. Every McDonald’s store in Europe paid 5 percent of its revenue in exchange for the right to sell Big Macs and every other ‘McProduct’ – which presumably cost a great deal of money to intellectually develop – and these royalties were funnelled to this corporate entity in Luxembourg. So this company in Luxemburg had an annual revenue of roughly $800 million starting in 2009 and about $1 billion each subsequent year until they closed it in 2016. What did they do there with all this money? Develop new products? Perhaps special sauces to help McDonald’s sell more burgers? Apparently not, as the company in Luxemburg was housed in a small, anonymous office complex, and it had a mere thirteen employees spread between its head office in Luxembourg and branches in Switzerland, the UK and in the USA. Seven billion dollars over seven years: not bad revenue for a company of thirteen people! Of course, locating subsidiaries in tax jurisdictions within the EU that have accommodating tax agreements that allow companies to pay essentially no taxes is nothing new. It is a familiar strategy that many multinationals have been using in Europe. The effective rate of taxation in Luxemburg for this McDonald’s subsidiary was 1.7 percent between 2009 and 2015. What is particularly galling about the McDonald’s case is that it is a brick-and-mortar company, not a digital entity that makes money in series of ones and zeroes. It is highly visible to consumers, who understand that the money they are paying for a very tangible product is effectively being funnelled out of the country in which they are eating their burger to executives’ pockets in Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Unlike consumers’ paycheques, which are carefully and methodically taxed, corporate receipts apparently are subject to a different, more malleable set of rules. Thus one of the major economic actors in Europe is not paying its share for the overstretched nurses, the exhausted fire-fighters, and the labouring sanitation workers who are meant to pick up the many McDonald’s wrappers that litter the high streets of Europe. All this in a period of cutbacks and austerity that are stretching public budgets across Europe and leading to real cuts that affect people in real ways. Why McDonald’s Matters McDonald’s practices in Europe are no exception to its conduct in the rest of the world. On the contrary, virtually everywhere McDonald’s operates it uses its power and influence to avoid its legal obligations. In recent years, McDonald’s has been accused of violating labour and tax laws in Brazil, committing antitrust violations in Asia, and illegally harassing and firing workers in the United States. This pattern of behaviour around the world matters because the company exerts a super-sized impact on the global economy. In addition to being the second-largest private employer, McDonald’s is the world’s largest ‘employer of employers’ – small businesses – with 34,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries. McDonald’s is the world’s biggest buyer of beef, chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes. And it is the world’s largest food supplier, feeding 69 million people a day. McDonald’s influence is huge, but instead of using its global scale to support good jobs and lift standards in the service sector, it uses its enormous footprint for just the opposite. In recent decades, companies like McDonald’s have faced limited resistance to this way of doing business as corporate power has grown across the globe. But starting in 2012 – a few years after McDonald’s in Europe set up its scheme in Luxembourg – fast-food workers in the US started a revolt that would grow into a global movement to hold the burger giant accountable. The ‘Fight for $15’ On Nov. 29, 2012, some 200...

Focus: Why McDonald's Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement

8 | International Union Rights | 25/1 FOCUS | TAX AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS Why McDonald’s Tax Practices Matter to the Global Labour Movement In 2009, McDonald’s Corporation – the largest fast food company in the world and the planet’s secondlargest private-sector employer – decided to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to handle ‘Intellectual Property’ for all of its European operations. Every McDonald’s store in Europe paid 5 percent of its revenue in exchange for the right to sell Big Macs and every other ‘McProduct’ – which presumably cost a great deal of money to intellectually develop – and these royalties were funnelled to this corporate entity in Luxembourg. So this company in Luxemburg had an annual revenue of roughly $800 million starting in 2009 and about $1 billion each subsequent year until they closed it in 2016. What did they do there with all this money? Develop new products? Perhaps special sauces to help McDonald’s sell more burgers? Apparently not, as the company in Luxemburg was housed in a small, anonymous office complex, and it had a mere thirteen employees spread between its head office in Luxembourg and branches in Switzerland, the UK and in the USA. Seven billion dollars over seven years: not bad revenue for a company of thirteen people! Of course, locating subsidiaries in tax jurisdictions within the EU that have accommodating tax agreements that allow companies to pay essentially no taxes is nothing new. It is a familiar strategy that many multinationals have been using in Europe. The effective rate of taxation in Luxemburg for this McDonald’s subsidiary was 1.7 percent between 2009 and 2015. What is particularly galling about the McDonald’s case is that it is a brick-and-mortar company, not a digital entity that makes money in series of ones and zeroes. It is highly visible to consumers, who understand that the money they are paying for a very tangible product is effectively being funnelled out of the country in which they are eating their burger to executives’ pockets in Illinois, where McDonald’s is headquartered. Unlike consumers’ paycheques, which are carefully and methodically taxed, corporate receipts apparently are subject to a different, more malleable set of rules. Thus one of the major economic actors in Europe is not paying its share for the overstretched nurses, the exhausted fire-fighters, and the labouring sanitation workers who are meant to pick up the many McDonald’s wrappers that litter the high streets of Europe. All this in a period of cutbacks and austerity that are stretching public budgets across Europe and leading to real cuts that affect people in real ways. Why McDonald’s Matters McDonald’s practices in Europe are no exception to its conduct in the rest of the world. On the contrary, virtually everywhere McDonald’s operates it uses its power and influence to avoid its legal obligations. In recent years, McDonald’s has been accused of violating labour and tax laws in Brazil, committing antitrust violations in Asia, and illegally harassing and firing workers in the United States. This pattern of behaviour around the world matters because the company exerts a super-sized impact on the global economy. In addition to being the second-largest private employer, McDonald’s is the world’s largest ‘employer of employers’ – small businesses – with 34,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries. McDonald’s is the world’s biggest buyer of beef, chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes. And it is the world’s largest food supplier, feeding 69 million people a day. McDonald’s influence is huge, but instead of using its global scale to support good jobs and lift standards in the service sector, it uses its enormous footprint for just the opposite. In recent decades, companies like McDonald’s have faced limited resistance to this way of doing business as corporate power has grown across the globe. But starting in 2012 – a few years after McDonald’s in Europe set up its scheme in Luxembourg – fast-food workers in the US started a revolt that would grow into a global movement to hold the burger giant accountable. The ‘Fight for $15’ On Nov. 29, 2012, some 200...

"Tolkien in Oxford" (BBC, 1968): A Reconstruction

"Tolkien in Oxford" (BBC, 1968):A Reconstruction Stuart D. Lee (bio) On 30th March 1968, from 9.50–10.35pm,1 BBC2 aired the latest episodes of its TV documentary series Release (which aimed to explore "the world of films, plays, books, art, and music"). A colour production, which was strikingly new for its time (BBC2 was in fact the first TV channel globally to broadcast in colour), it consisted of two programmes: the first, titled "Suddenly I know what I have to do…," studied the English sculptress Barbara Hepworth, and the second (longer) episode was titled "Tolkien in Oxford." The latter was described in the Radio Times of the 28th March (9) as a film "about The Lord of the Rings." Quoting in full: In Europe and Asia it's a school set book. In America it's a craze bigger than Batman: one million copies sold in 1967 alone. In Britain, a lot of people have never even heard of it. J.R.R. Tolkien, seventy-six, retired Oxford don, talks about his major work. Readers in Oxford try to explain the phenomenon of the lord of the hobbits, the orcs, and the elves. A literary masterpiece or a pleasant donnish joke? Directed by Leslie Megahey Editor: Lorna Pegram It is extraordinary to think of a time when the people of any country, especially Britain, could be described as not having heard of J.R.R. Tolkien or at least The Lord of the Rings—but such was evidently the case in the Britain of the late 1960s and, as we shall see, the risk of devoting a programme of this standing to someone so relatively unknown as Tolkien was one which was nearly not taken. This article will explore the making of the programme using archives from the BBC and those of the cast and crew, the show's reception and afterlife, its importance in terms of Tolkien scholarship, and, most importantly, will present a reconstruction of the full interview [End Page 115] given by Tolkien during the filming, based on recently discovered documents and recordings. "Tolkien in Oxford" (1968): A Summary The importance of the original programme has already been hinted at in the extract from the Radio Times. By 1968 Tolkien was aged 76 and nearing the end of his life (he would pass away five years later). Indeed, based on our current information, this was the last recording made of Tolkien (either audio or video) that survives. For many scholars of Tolkien, access to this film has been through the web. As part of their Modern Writers interviews the BBC released the original film on its web site,2 noting its length as 26 minutes 32 seconds. It erroneously listed this as the work of one 'John Izzard' (this should read John Ezard), who only assisted on the programme, and credit should go to instead to Leslie Megahey, as noted above in the Radio Times. The online version, however, contained no closing credits, no production information, and no captions. Prior to this version appearing on the BBC site, illegal copies had also appeared on YouTube.3 The programme opened with a drawing of the Eye of Sauron overlaid with actor Joss Ackland4 reciting the 'One Ring to rule them all' poem. Whilst animation was used occasionally in subsequent scenes (notably to present a map of Middle-earth), the vast majority of the programme was live production consisting of interviews with Tolkien (mainly seated in a room in Oxford's Catholic Chaplaincy off St Aldate's, but also walking in Merton College, at a night-time firework display at the Dragon School,5 and various other settings), interspersed with commentary from Oxford students and members of staff. There were also general shots of the city and University. The programme famously ended with an aerial helicopter shot pulling away from Tolkien as he stands alone on the walls of Merton College looking out over Christ Church meadow. It is, however, filled with now very familiar scenes in the visual record of Tolkien. For example, there is his description of the writing down of the first line of The Hobbit (02:46–03...

The Impacts of Online Communities in the Perspective of Institutional Marketing

Social web promotes word-of-mouth communication on products and services. The use of social media in marketing for educational institutions is important, considering that education is a public good and marketing its products or services can enhance their good name and proceeds. Social media sites are basically related to collaboration among communities, community formation, and bridging communities. These communities are interlinked, and a member made comments either favorable or unfavorable on diverse shared posts and play an important role for brand image. In an institution of education, the phenomenon of social media marketing is new and has rarely been taken to inspect. The present research is conducted to inquire the influence of online communities on institutional online marketing. The main objective of the current study is to examine the impact of student online communities on university online promotional activities This study examines the influences of community attachment, community involvement, perceived benefits and perceived cost in order to explore in what way these concepts influence university online marketing or promotional activities Using social exchange theory as theoretical fireworks and based on the data collected from online communities, this study made evident that community attachment and perceived benefits are the significant factors that positively influence community members to support university online promotional activities. Furthermore, study limitations and future directions are also discussed.

An annual epidemiological analysis of ocular trauma

Objective To analyse epidemiological data of ocular trauma in a year. Methods The data of 707 eyes of 692 consecutive cases with ocular trauma from Jul. 2016 to Jun. 2017 were collected. The injury causes, injury types and visual acuities were analyzed. Results Of 692 cases, there were 562 men and 130 women, the ratio of male and female was 4.32∶1. All cases aged 3 months-90 years, the average age was (32.43±19.60) years, and the most common age group was 36-60 years. The ocular trauma occurred mostly in January with 71 cases (10.26%). On average, there were (57.67±6.33) patients per month. The main occupation of ocular trauma was farmer which included 210 cases (30.35%). The most common injury cause was iron fragment(81 cases, 11.71%), which followed by falling down (76 cases, 10.98%) , fireworks (68 cases, 9.83%), woods and bamboos (59 cases, 8.53%), fighting (58 cases, 8.38%). There were 693 eyes (98.02%) with mechanical ocular injuries and 14 eyes (1.98%)with non-mechanical ocular injuries.The differences in vision acuity<0.05 of eyes with ocular contusion, ocular-perforating injury or rupture of eye ball between admission and discharge were statistically significant (χ2=7.913, 14.043, 21.263; P=0.007, 0.000, 0.000). Conclusion In the annual ocular trauma, mainly is male middle - aged young adult. Ocular trauma mostly occurred in January. Most of the patients are farmers.The type of injury is mainly mechanical ocular trauma. After treatment, vision can be improved. Key words: Trauma, ocular; Analysis, epidemiologic, annual

University – industry collaboration in R&amp;D: the role of labor market rigidity

We investigate how R&amp;D university – industry collaboration (R&amp;D UIC) is influenced by labor market rigidity. While it is well‐established that an educated and skilled workforce will facilitate R&amp;D UIC, another aspect of these alliances has been under‐researched: the role of labor market rigidity, in particular the difficulties employers face in hiring and firing workers. We hypothesize that the size of the R&amp;D labor pool in a country will encourage R&amp;D UIC, and that the ease with which employers are legally allowed to hire and fire will directly and indirectly influence R&amp;D UIC. Integrating data from various sources, we test our model on a sample of 73 countries for which information on the size of the R&amp;D labor pool and labor market regulations are available. We also conduct a robustness test using a different proxy for R&amp;D labor pool on a larger sample of 109 countries. Results confirm the strong link between a country's R&amp;D labor pool and R&amp;D UIC, as well as direct negative impacts of hiring and firing rigidity and an indirect negative impact of hiring rigidity. The findings have implications for managers, policy makers, and researchers of R&amp;D collaboration between universities and industry.

Epidemiological characteristics of pediatric ocular trauma in Cangzhou, Hebei

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of pediatric ocular trauma in Cangzhou, Hebei. Methods The data of 295 eyes of 281 pediatric with ocular trauma in Cangzhou from August 2011 to August 2016 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Results Among 281 pediatrics, 226 (80.42%) cases were boys, and 55 (19.58%) cases were girls. The age was 10 months -17 years, mean (7.37±4.38) years. The most common cause of injuries was blunt objects such as toy guns and stone in 89 eyes (30.17%), 79 eyes were hit by sharp instruments (26.78%), fireworks in 48 eyes (16.27%), fall on the ground in 16 eyes(5.42%), and causes unknown (14 eyes, 4.75%) (χ2=61.575, P=0.010). In this case series, non-mechanical ocular trauma accounted in 39 eyes (13.22%), and mechanical ocular trauma accounted in 256 eyes (86.78%), of which closed globe injuries in 153 eyes (51.86%), open globe injuries in 103 eyes (34.92%). In mechanical ocular trauma, closed globe injuries were prone to boys, open globe injuries were prone to girls, and the difference in gender were significant between types of ocular trauma (χ2=4.410, P=0.041). Open globe injuries were more common occurred in infants and school children, closed globe injuries were more common occrued in preschool child and early youth, and the difference in type of ocular trauma in different age groups was significant (χ2=12.310, P=0.006). The admission time was 1 hour-47.5 days after injury. Conclusion Pediatric ocular trauma are prone to boys. The most common cause of injuries is blunt objects, such as toy guns and stone. Blunt ocular trauma is the most common type. Key words: Ocular trauma, pediatric; Characteristics

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of pediatric ocular trauma

Objective To analyze clinical characteristics and causes of pediatric ocular trauma. Methods A retrospective study. Data of 39 eyes of 35 children with ocular trauma was collected. The gender, involved eye, causes, site and extent of injury, initial visual acuity, surgical management, postoperative complications and treatment results were observed. Results Of all the pediatric patients, 26 cases were boys, and 9 cases were girls. The age was 5-18 years. Classification of ocular trauma: thermal burn injuries in 1 eye ( 2.6%), open globe injuries in 35 eyes (89.7%), and closed globe injuries in 3 eyes (7.7%). The most common cause of injuries was sharp toll (25.6%), followed by fireworks (20.5%), traffic accidents (15.4%), blunt objects (15.4%), stick (7.7%), crush (2.6%), dog bites (2.6%), fall on the ground (2.6%) and causes unknown (7.7%). The visual acuity improved in 28 eyes (71.8%), remained unchanged in 9 eyes (23.1%), and decreased in 2 eyes (5.1%) after treatment. The follow-up time was 6-48 months. Conclusion Pediatric ocular trauma is prone to boys, and gives priority to perforating injuries. Sharp object injury is the most common cause for open-globe injury. Key words: Ocular trauma, pediatric; Characteristics; Result, treatment

Assessing human exposure to PM10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during fireworks displays

The “Loy Krathong” festival is a major annual Thai event that includes firework displays. It takes place on the evening of the full moon in the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar. Since fireworks are widely considered a major source of PAHs, it is considered reasonable to expect a significant increase in PAH levels during this event. The overall PAH profile at the six air quality observatories operated by the Pollution Control Department (PCD), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), showed that the Kingdom of Thailand's atmosphere was dominated by 5–6-ring PAHs during the firework display period. A significant increase in ΣPAHs (153%) was observed during firework displays. A statistical analysis coupled with the application of diagnostic binary PAH ratios was conducted to determine whether the detected increase in PAH congeners during the festival period was due to firework combustion or whether it was a coincidental effect caused by vehicular exhausts, long-range atmospheric transportation, photolysis and chemical degradation. The average incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values of adults and children living in Bangkok as estimated by three different TEQs for ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation exposure pathways were greatly lesser than the US EPA baseline, further highlighting that the cancer risk of bonfire night falls into the ‘‘acceptable level’’ range.

Orthodoxy, evidence and action: Labour rights at the World Bank

Created in 1944 jointly with the IMF as one of the Bretton Woods twins, the World Bank shifted its focus to financing projects in developing countries in the 1950s. In the 1980s it became a strong proponent of structural adjustment policies that had major consequences for employment and working conditions. It only belatedly acknowledged its impact on labour and formulated policies on these issues in recent years. With the growth of other sources of finance the Bank’s pre-eminent role has lessened, but it remains the world’s largest and most influential development finance institution On the level of its official discourse and policy stances on employment and workers’ rights, the Bank has come a long way over the past fifteen years. In 2003, it launched a ‘flagship report’ which, at the height of murderous attacks against organised labour in Colombia, lauded the country for having embraced the ‘deregulation experience’ by dismantling protections for workers1. In 2018, if all goes according to announced plans, the Bank will make it obligatory for its projects to comply with a nine-page labour standard that, among other provisions, requires that borrowers ‘will not discriminate or retaliate against project workers who participate or seek to participate in … workers’ organisations … or alternative mechanisms’2. The World Bank has by no means made a complete about-face on policies for decent work, workers’ rights and its own responsibility to ensure they are respected. However, there has been a gradual shift within the Bank away from the approach, still dominant until the 2008-2009 global economic crisis, that job creation is an automatic byproduct of economic growth as long as governments do not interfere unduly in the free market. Additionally and importantly, the Bank has reversed its earlier stance that as an ‘economic’ institution, it has no reason or mandate to pay attention to the treatment of workers in the activities it finances. The belief that unregulated labour markets are a necessary ingredient for achieving high rates of investment and growth was given a distinctly enhanced status within the Bank when, in October 2003, it launched the first edition of Doing Business. Labour was one of five policy areas singled out in the report as priorities for deregulatory action to make countries more investment friendly. Doing Business published a ‘Hiring and Firing Workers’ indicator (the name was later changed to ‘Employing Workers Indicator’: EWI), which gave best scores to countries having the lowest minimum wages, longest working hours and least protections against dismissal. Within weeks of the launch of Doing Business, the Bank’s country offices began actively encouraging governments in developing and transition countries to emulate low-regulation model countries in the region, or in other regions, by slashing workers’ protections. In some cases, improving the EWI was made a ‘benchmark’ for measuring progress in meeting loan conditions. In 2007, the World Bank awarded its ‘Reformers Club’ prize to the Republic of Georgia because ‘reforms … have catapulted Georgia from a ranking of 112 to 37th place in the World Bank Group’s 2007 global rankings on the regulatory ease of doing business’3. The most substantial ‘progress’ was in labour reforms, thanks to action Georgia had taken in 2006 to abolish most labour regulations, including all protections against dismissal. IMF staff followed their Bank colleagues by incorporating EWI assessments and comparisons as well as recommendations for weakening labour protections in numerous Article IV Consultation reports. The fact that economic studies attempting to make the link between weak labour regulations and high GDP or employment growth gave highly inconsistent results, such that the link was essentially unproven, seems not to have disturbed the IFIs at this point. ResistancetotheDoingBusinessapproach Pressure for the IFIs to halt their policy of espousing extensive labour market deregulation began in the trade union movement shortly after the launch of Doing Business, spread to the ILO and then to several governments. In October 2007, the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Congressman Barney Frank, held a hearing on the EWI and its uses. Frank roundly condemned the Bank for its promotion of weakened protections for working people. The Bank finally paid heed to the pressure in 2009, the year...

A Fireworks Display of Library Instruction

Instructing students on how to use the library and the databases in one setting, especially when there is only 50 minutes, can be extremely overwhelming for the students and instructor. This session covered tips that can be used in the interview process with the professor, creating a flipped classroom or blended instruction opportunities to enhance the learning process ( including pre or post-session), as well as demonstrating guides for assisting students in database searching techniques. Finally, the session ended with ways to get buy-in from professors about tutorials and guides used outside the lessons.

Noise and low‐frequency sound levels due to aerial fireworks and prediction of the occupational exposure of pyrotechnicians to noise

This study investigated the actual situation of noise and low-frequency sounds in firework events and their impact on pyrotechnicians. Data on firework noise and low-frequency sounds were obtained at a point located approximately 100 m away from the launch site of a firework display held in "A" City in 2013. We obtained the data by continuously measuring and analyzing the equivalent continuous sound level (Leq) and the one-third octave band of the noise and low-frequency sounds emanating from the major firework detonations, and predicted sound levels at the original launch site. Sound levels of 100-115 dB and low-frequency sounds of 100-125 dB were observed at night. The maximum and mean Leq values were 97 and 95 dB, respectively. The launching noise level predicted from the sounds (85 dB) at the noise measurement point was 133 dB. Occupational exposure to noise for pyrotechnicians at the remote operation point (located 20-30 m away from the launch site) was estimated to be below 100 dB. Pyrotechnicians are exposed to very loud noise (>100 dB) at the launch point. We believe that it is necessary to implement measures such as fixing earplugs or earmuffs, posting a warning at the workplace, and executing a remote launching operation to prevent hearing loss caused by occupational exposure of pyrotechnicians to noise. It is predicted that both sound levels and low-frequency sounds would be reduced by approximately 35 dB at the remote operation site.

Направления по сохранению устойчивых лесов правобережья реки Волги

Forest ecosystems of the right bank of Volga. The increase of human activities. The decline of forest ecosystem stability. Typological diversity of the forests of the coastal zone and coastal areas. A complex of environmental protection measures to preserve the diversity and stability of vegetation: cutting of plantings, the regulation of recreational power on the coastal forests, protection of forests against diseases, pests, silvicultural and fire work. Improvement of coastal areas. The drought of the summer of 2010 and withering of birch stands, infection of oak forests by entomologic insects. Projected forest plantations of the Volga region, depending on soil conditions. Deforestation of steep slopes, gullies and ravines systems. Mixed and complex forest stands are effective. The bushy plants improves the soil protection role of forest communities. Conservation of trustworthy undergrowth of oak, linden, pine, larch, birch. Phytocenosis of Siberian larch on brown forest soil. Preparation of soil for planting. Meadow-improving development of erosion lands, hydraulic engineering measures. The type of forest conditions in the study area - fresh oak forest (D2), at least - moist complex subor (C3). Data of ground survey of areas and satellite images. Databases of abundance and distribution of flora, fauna, and information technology.&#x0D;

Variational principles with generalized distances and the modelization of organizational change

This paper has a twofold focus. The mathematical aspect of the paper shows that new and existing quasimetric and weak -distance versions of Ekeland’s variational principle are equivalent in the sense that one implies the other, and so are their corresponding fixed-point results. The practical aspect of the paper, using a recent variational rationality approach of human behaviour, offers a model of organizational change, where generalized distances model inertia in terms of resistance to change. The formation and breaking of routines relative to hiring and firing workers will be used to illustrate the obtained results.

Water-soluble ions and carbon content of size-segregated aerosols in New Delhi, India: direct and indirect influences of firework displays.

The particle size distribution and water-soluble inorganic ion (WSII) and carbonaceous species in size-segregated aerosols, Dp<0.95, 0.95<Dp<1.5, 1.5<Dp<3.0, 3.0<Dp<7.2, and 7.2<Dp<10μm, were investigated during Diwali firework displays in New Delhi, India. The firework activity had the maximum contribution to the mass loading of PM0.95 (786μg/m3) followed by PM0.95-1.5 (216μg/m3) with all other three fractions accounting to a total of 214μg/m3. The percentage contributions of WSII to the total mass of aerosols were highest in first two size fractions (39 and 40%, respectively), compared to other fractions. The firework marker ion (Mg2+, Cl-, and K+) mass concentration shows higher values in PM0.95 during Diwali compared to before Diwali period. The mass size distribution of particles, NH4+, K+, Cl-, SO42-, Mg2+, and NO3-, also showed changes on the Diwali night compared to previous and after days. The high Cl-/Na+ (5.6) and OC/EC (3.4) ratio of PM0.95 can be used as the indicators of firework displays. The lowering of mixing height on Diwali night to 50m compared to before (277mts) and after (269mts) Diwali period further concentrated the aerosols in ambient atmosphere. Therefore, the firework display not only released the gaseous or elemental constituent but also influenced the temperature profile and both put together result in high aerosol concentrations, WSII, OC, and BC contents in ambient atmosphere. The alveolar, respirable, and inhalable fractions accounted for 64.6, 90.8, and 97.8%, respectively, of the total PM10 mass. People stay exposed to such high pollution level in short span of 6-8h and experience adverse health impacts due to high mass concentrations and the chemical components of fine aerosols.

Epidemiology of Cracker (Fire Works) Injuries in a Tertiary Burn Care Centre

&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Fireworks related burns are one of the causes of recurring incidences of burn injuries every year during festivals. Sporadic events are reported in family and communal celebrations / temple festivals and in funerals. These burns are different from other burns as the burn percentage is not the major burden, but the increasing number of patients with cracker burn injuries with loss of hand function, loss of vision and at times blast injury of the face with major tissue loss and multiple fractures (shattered tissues), which are challenging for the reconstructive surgeon, are major concern. The vulnerable groups are innocent children who sustain injuries due to ignorance, negligence and lack of supervision. These fire cracker burn wounds are to be classified separately as the wounds are more like traumatic wounds than burn wounds. They are also associated with more morbidity than mortality.&lt;sup&gt;(1,2,3)&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt; The management of these wound is multidisciplinary, with involvement of various specialists like paediatricians, ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, orthopaedic surgeons and specialists in rehabilitative medicine along with plastic and reconstructive surgeons.Reconstruction of blast hand and face needs multiple surgeries and prolonged period of physiotherapy and rehabilitation. The effective and appropriate decision made in the acute phase is important to reduce their morbidity.&lt;sup&gt;(4)&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Evaluation of impact factors on PM2.5 based on long-term chemical components analyses in the megacity Beijing, China

Nine years of sampling and analyses of fine particles (PM2.5) were performed in Beijing from 2005 to 2013. Twenty-seven chemical elements and black carbon (BC) in PM2.5 were analyzed in order to study chemical characteristics and temporal distribution of Beijing aerosols. Principle component analysis defined different types of elemental sources, based on which, the influences of a variety of anthropogenic activities including governmental intervention measures and natural sources on air quality were evaluated. For the first time, Ga is used as a tracer element for heating activities mainly using coal in Beijing, due to its correlation with BC and coal combustion, as well as its concentration variation between the heating- and non-heating periods. The traffic restrictions effectively reduced emissions of relevant heavy metals such as As, Cd, Sn and Sb. The expected long-term effectiveness of the steel smelters relocation was not observed due to the nearby relocation with increased capacity. Firework display during every Chinese spring festival season and special events such as the Olympic Games resulted in several times higher concentrations of K, Sr and Ba than other days and thus they were proposed as tracers for firework display. The impacts of all these factors were quantified and evaluated. Sand dust or dust storms induced higher concentrations of geogenic elements in PM2.5 compared to non-dust days. Sustainable mitigation measures, such as traffic restrictions, are necessary to be continued and improved to obtain more “blue sky” days in the future.

Perchlorate contamination in bottled and other drinking water sources of Kerala, southwest coast of India

Perchlorate and chlorate are inevitable components in rocket propellants, fireworks, water treatment, bleaching, textile industry, etc. Knowingly or unknowingly, wide use of these chemicals contaminates drinking water systems. The present study assessed the perchlorate and chlorate contamination of bottled water and other drinking well, tap, bore well, rainwater sources of Kerala and other parts of Peninsular India. Other drinking water samples were collected during the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon from the 14 districts of Kerala and were analyzed for perchlorate and chlorate using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Most of the locally available brands of bottled water were found to be contaminated with perchlorate and chlorate. Mean value of perchlorate was found to be 93.19 ppb, and that of chlorate was 3692.07 ppb, both exceeding the health reference level. The continuous consumption of water with high level of perchlorate content can cause high risk, and the probability of increasing thyroid disorders is high. Perchlorate was detected from well, tap and bore well water samples, and the maximum perchlorate was observed for the pre-monsoon season, whereas the minimum noticed in the monsoon samples. The high concentration of perchlorate detected in groundwater was mainly due to the industrial units and firework manufacturing and display sites.