Main Source Research Articles

Three Decades of Groundwater Drought Research: Evolution and Trends

In most parts of the world, groundwater is the main source of their water supply, particularly during periods of drought when surface water is scarce. As a result, groundwater drought is among the most worrying problems of our time. In order to shed light on the diversity of scientific productions related to this theme, this analysis was conducted on 151 publications, 76 sources, and 469 authors using version 4.3.1 of Rstudio’s Bibliometrix tool. The clusters and keyword occurrence analysis reveals a research trend towards the use of advanced technologies and a more holistic approach that takes into account the complexity of hydrological systems. The use of drought indices to characterize and monitor groundwater drought, as well as satellite products and their assimilation into Land Surface Models are among the adopted solutions. This was endorsed through a summary of the five most cited publications in this field. The results also highlighted the performance of Chinese institutions in analyzing the various aspects related to this topic, as well as a lack of international collaboration between research structures. In conclusion, this study has enabled us to present the evolution and trends in scientific research and helped to specify the main emerging themes and future areas of research related to groundwater drought.

Hybrid Nano-platforms, and Silica Nano-hole Particles Intended for Enhanced Energy Modes: Light Scattering Studies Towards Lasers Developments

In this short review, it was communicated about the design and synthesis of optical active nanoplatforms for Light Scattering studies highlighting holed nanoarchitectures as main sources of potential additional resonances and enhanced phenomena. In this context, the nanoplatforms were based on varied materials such as silicon compounds, silica, modified organosilanes, Nobel metals, and organic materials as well; such molecular and polymeric spacers, chromophores, etc. By this manner it was discussed how it could be recorded Enhanced Light Scattering signalling from hybrid nanoplatforms and nano-Hole particles; from where it was produced constructive wavelengths with a consequent amplification. In this context it was afforded to the discussion of examples of Laser Light Scattering properties and optical approaches already developed. In addition it was showed new developments within nano-optics to be considered for further studies and applications. And, in this direction it was considered the study from single nanoplatforms towards higher sized modified surfaces and 3D substrates. In this manner, it was leaded to the design of nano-optical resonators as well as nano-arrays resonators. Thus, it was evaluated varied materials to incorporate and evaluate for the next generation of nano-optical platforms by controlling Nano-chemistry and beyond for targeted photo-physics. The variable materials showed differences between varied modes of resonances and expected performances.

Ellagic acid and its main sources of consumption and benefits in cardiovascular diseases

Ellagic acid and its main sources of consumption and benefits in cardiovascular diseases

Issues in Startup Development: Assessment of Problems of Growth and Financing

Relevance. Startups are an integral part of the modern economy and business, and their creation and development represent an important contribution to the economic growth and innovative development of the country. At the same time, the startup system in Russia has not yet been fully developed ‒ there are problems with their number, successful activities, and financing of startups. There are many sources of financing for startups, but it is often difficult for young entrepreneurs to find the necessary resources to implement their business idea. This may lead to the inability to launch a startup or to difficulties in its development. Therefore, studying the issues of financial support for a startup is relevant for many people starting their own business, as well as for investors, venture funds and large companies that can provide significant support for startup entrepreneurs. The purpose of the study is to analyze and evaluate the problems of growth, development and financing of startups. Objectives: analyze the startup business market; consider niches of the startup market and assess its growth trends; identify sources, main directions and problems of financing startups. Methodology. During the scientific research, empirical, theoretical, statistical and graphical methods were used. Results. The theoretical aspects of startup business were studied, the startup market was analyzed, the main sources of startup financing were identified, as well as the associated problems of growth and financing of startup business. Conclusions. The startup system has not yet been fully developed in Russia. Russia is still losing in terms of the total number of startups and the number of startups per 1 million people. The business areas in which startup developers operate are very diverse. The creation and successful development of startups depends on many factors, including financial security. The article discusses the problems of financing startups. The viability of startup developments in the Russian Federation in recent years has been strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sanctions imposed against the country. However, the main factor remains the lack of financial resources.

Digital elevation model cell size effect on erosion‐deposition simulation using the unit stream power erosion and deposition model in the dry‐hot valley region of Southwest China

AbstractGully erosion is the main source of sediment in watersheds, and the assessment of soil erosion and deposition in gully systems is very important for land utilization and watershed management. Soil erosion and sediment transport are multiscale, and the digital elevation model (DEM) is one of the most important means to study the scale effect of soil erosion and deposition. To clarify the effect of DEM cell size on soil erosion and deposition in gullies, a series of DEMs with cell sizes of 0.5, 0.7, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 m were generated based on detailed field measurements in dry‐hot valley region. Meanwhile, the unit stream power erosion and deposition (USPED) model was chosen to simulate soil erosion and deposition in this study. The results showed that cell size can greatly influence the average slope and aspect of the DEMs, while the accuracy and average elevation of the DEMs were only affected intensively when the cell size exceeds 3 m. As for the spatial distribution pattern of soil erosion and deposition, the increase of the DEM cell size could cause a concentration of soil erosion and deposition in main channels while weakening the occurrence on hillslopes, and the spatial proximity of soil erosion and deposition would not change with the DEM cell size. The highly positive correlation in simulation results for soil erosion and deposition was primarily observed in DEM cell sizes range of 0.5 to 2 m and from 3 to 5 m. Meanwhile, a slight increase in DEM cell size would significantly affect the simulated results of soil erosion and deposition based on the USPED model when DEM cell size ranged from 0.5 to 0.7 m, whereas the change in DEM cell size would not affect the simulation results when DEM cell size was greater than 0.7 m.

Hygienic assessment of aluminum intake in the adult population of Western Siberia

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, research has demonstrated the potential for adverse effects of aluminium on human health. However, there has been a lack of information regarding aluminum intake among different population groups in Western Siberia, thus emphasizing the significance of this study.
 AIM: To estimate aluminum intake by food consumption in the adult population of Western Siberia.
 MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 2019–2020 in the Omsk region. Dietary aluminum intake was assessed in 421 adult residents (177 men and 244 women) of the region using a food frequency questionnaire. The sample was similar to the general population of the region in terms of gender, age, and place of residence. The aluminum content in 160 food samples was determined earlier.
 RESULTS: The median daily intake of aluminum was 4.77 mg/day (3.679; 6.118). No differences in the aluminum intake was observed either by age (р=0.619) or by gender (р=0.334). The main dietary sources of aluminum were beverages (48.5%), vegetables (18.4%), and bakery (11.1%). Among single food products the main sources of aluminium were tea (45.5%), bread (6.7%) and cucumbers (5.3%).
 The proportion of aluminum consumed through vegetables tends to increase with age, whereas the opposite trend is observed for confectionery consumption.
 CONCLUSION: The dietary consumption of aluminum among the adult population in the Omsk region did not exceed the permissible levels. There were no variations in aluminum intake between men and women across different age groups. The primary source of aluminum in the diet of the Omsk region population is plant-based food.

Airport Microgrid and Its Incorporated Operations

This paper presents the development of an airport bipolar DC microgrid and its interconnected operations with the utility grid, electric vehicle (EV), and more electric aircraft (MEA). The microgrid DC-bus voltage is established by the main sources, photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell (FC), via unidirectional three-level (3L) boost converters. The proposed one-cycle control (OCC)-based current control scheme and quantitative and robust voltage control scheme are proposed to yield satisfactory responses. Moreover, the PV maximum power point tracking (MPPT) with FC energy-supporting approach is developed to have improved renewable energy extraction characteristics. The equipped hybrid energy storage system (HESS) consists of an energy-type battery and a power-type flywheel; each device is interfaced to the common DC bus via its own 3L bidirectional interface converter. The energy-coordinated operation is achieved by the proposed droop control. A dump load leg is added to avoid overvoltage due to an energy surplus. The grid-connected energy complementary operation is conducted using a neutral point clamped (NPC) 3L three-phase inverter. In addition to the energy support from grid-to-microgrid (G2M), the reverse mcrogrid-to-grid (M2G) operation is also conductible. Moreover, microgrid-to-vehicle (M2V) and vehicle-to-microgrid (V2M) bidirectional operations can also be applicable. The droop control is also applied to perform these interconnected operations. For the grounded aircraft, bidirectional microgrid-to-aircraft (M2A)/aircraft-to-microgrid (A2M) operations can be performed. The aircraft ground power unit (GPU) function can be preserved by the developed microgrid. The MEA on-board facilities can be powered by the microgrid, including the 115 V/400 Hz AC bus, the 270 V DC bus, the switched-reluctance motor (SRM) drive, etc.

Growth performance and reproductive qualities of breeder snails (Archachatina marginata) fed different sources of protein

This experiment was conducted to compare the effects of different protein sources on the growth and reproductive performances of breeder snails, as protein sources are the main requirement for fast growth and development of cells for reproduction. Soya bean meal (SBM), cottonseed meal (CSM), and groundnut cake (GNC) were fed to the breeder snails. The snails were eight (8) months old with an initial average weight of 98.93g, and the experiment lasted for 12 weeks. Sixty (60) Archachatina marginata breeder snails were randomly selected and divided into 4 groups of fifteen (15) snails per treatment which were replicated three (3) times in each of the groups. The parameters examined were growth performance, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and reproductive characteristics. Data collected were analyzed by the use of a one-way analysis of variance and significant means were separated with the Duncan Multiple Ranged Test at a 5% level of probability using SAS, 2011 [10]. The study revealed that soya bean meal (SBM) supports higher final body weight, body weight gain, and percentage fertility, while soya bean meal and cottonseed meal had higher percentage hatchability. However, no significant (P>0.05) differences were recorded in the final shell circumference, shell circumference gain, final shell length, and shell length gain. It was concluded that compounded feed with soya bean meal as the main protein source abetted fast growth and better productive performance.

Source Apportionment of PM10 as a Tool for Environmental Sustainability in Three School Districts of Lecce (Apulia)

Air pollution is a great threat to the sustainable development of the world; therefore, the improvement of air quality through the identification and apportionment of emission sources is a significant tool to reach sustainability. Single particle analysis, by means of a scanning electron microscope equipped with X-ray energy dispersive analysis (SEM-EDS), was used to identify the morphological and chemical properties of the PM10 particles in order to identify and quantify the main emission sources in three areas of Lecce, a city in the Apulia region of southern Italy. This type of characterization has not yet been performed for the Lecce site, but it is of particular importance to identify, based on the shape of the particles, the natural sources from the anthropogenic sources that are responsible for the serious health effects of the inhabitants. Three primary schools located in peripheral areas of the city were chosen for the sampling: “School 1” (A site), “School 2” (B site), and “School 3” (C site) to carry out a study of the air quality. The A site is characterized by a greater presence of calcium sulphates probably due both to construction activities present during sampling and to reactions between Ca particles and the sulfur present in the atmosphere. At the C site, there is a relative numerical abundance of different groups of particles that present, in the EDS spectrum, an enrichment in sulfur. At the B site, the number of particle groups is intermediate compared to that of the other two sites. With the source apportionment technique, ten emission sources were identified: combustion, soot, industry, soil, carbonates, sea salt, calcium sulfates, SIA, biological particles, and others. In PM10, the three sites are more affected by the soil source, with an effect greater than 60%.

A User-Friendly Tool to Increase Awareness about Impacts of Human Daily Life Activities on Carbon Footprint

In recent decades, climate change has demanded more and more attention. Consumers have the power to influence the carbon footprint of goods and services through their purchasing decisions, but to do this they need to learn more. To address this need, it is necessary to develop online questionnaires able to make people aware of which activities have a greater environmental impact in their daily lives. Focusing on this goal, we formulated two tools for quantifying an individual’s carbon footprint over a year. The innovativeness of these tools lies in being user-friendly and providing online open access to compilers, as well as using specific emission factors for the reference context. Specifically, we focused on the main emission sources: gas and electricity consumption, mobility, food, and waste. During these last years, the tools have been proposed to Italian students at different levels of education and to employees of Italian and international companies. The responses from 3260 users revealed an average annual direct carbon footprint per capita of about 5600 kg CO2-eq, which, integrated with the estimate of indirect emissions, provides an estimate in good agreement with the value provided by the Italian National Inventory of greenhouse gases. With the developed tools, people are able to observe which sectors have the greatest impact and consequently are stimulated to emit less by adopting more sustainable behaviors.

Tire noise prediction based on transfer learning and multi-modal fusion

Vehicle traffic noise has become an important factor in urban noise pollution. With the increase in the number of new-energy vehicles, the current situation of tire/road noise as one of the main noise sources of automobiles is becoming increasingly prominent. Tire noise prediction is the basis for optimizing the design of low-noise tires, providing a reference basis for tire design with low-noise performance. This paper used deep learning methods to predict the noise performance of TBR radial tires. We obtained descriptive statistical features of tire structure and tread pattern images as input to the model, and used measured tire/road noise as output, then we constructed a multi-modal tire noise dataset. Comparing the prediction performance of three pre-trained transfer models such as Resnet18, VGG16, and Inception V3 on the tire pattern images, the Resnet18 had the best prediction effect. Resnet18 was selected as a feature extractor to extract image features, which fuse with the tire structural features at the feature level. The experiment constructed the TLMF-TRNP model to predict tire noise. The experimental results of the TLMF-TRNP model indicated that RMSE, MAE, and R2 were 0.1337, 0.0948, and 0.9864 respectively, achieving ideal prediction accuracy on a small-scale tire noise dataset and controlling the absolute error of the test tires within ±0.4 dB effectively. An accurate tire noise prediction model will provide a theoretical basis for tire design with low noise tires.

Ensemble projections of climate and streamflow in a typical basin of semi-arid steppes in Mongolian Plateau of 2021–2100

The Kherlen River is the main water source for Hulun Lake, the largest lake in northern China. Due to reduced inflow from the Kherlen River, Hulun Lake experienced rapid shrinkage at the beginning of the 21st century, posing a serious threat to the ecological security of northern China. However, there is still a significant lack of projections regarding future climate change and its hydrological response in the Kherlen River basin. This study analyzed the projected climate and streamflow changes in the Kherlen River basin, a vital yet vulnerable international semi-arid steppes type basin. A combination of multi-model ensemble projection techniques, and the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was employed to examine the spatio‒temporal changes in precipitation, temperature, streamflow, and the associated uncertainties in the basin. The temperature (an increase of 1.84–6.42 °C) and the precipitation (an increase of 15.0–46.0 mm) of Kherlen River basin are projected to increase by 2100, leading to a rise in streamflow (1.08–4.78 m3 s−1). The upstream of the Kherlen River exhibits remarkable increasing trends in precipitation, which has a dominant influence on streamflow of Kherlen River. Noteworthy increases in streamflow are observed in April, August, September, and October compared to the reference period (1971–2000). These findings suggest a partial alleviation of water scarcity in the Kherlen River, but also an increased likelihood of hydrological extreme events. The projected temperature increase in the Kherlen River basin exhibits the smallest uncertainty, while more pronounced uncertainties are found in precipitation and streamflow. The spread among the results of CMIP6 models is greater than that of CMIP5 models, with lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values for temperature, precipitation, and streamflow.

Influence of different factors on the value of the rail wear rate

The article deals with the study of the influence of train operating modes on the uphill and downhill sections with radii less than 450 m, as well as the influence of railway superstructure design in curved sections on the wear rate of rolling stock wheel flanges and rails. The aim of the research is to reduce the wear that occurs between the wheel flanges of the rolling stock and the rails. Rail joints have been found to be the main shock source in the dynamic interaction between the railway and the rolling stock. There is unstable motion within the transition curves and at the joints of the curved rail on the curved track sections. This is accompanied by abrupt lateral rail wear in the joint area between the trailing and facing rails in the direction of train movement. It has been found that reducing the weight of the trains leads to a reduction in intensive lateral rail wear on curved track sections and can reach the following percentages: in curves with a radius of up to 300 m: up to 33% uphill, up to 55% downhill; in curves with a radius of 300 m to 450 m: up to 32.9% uphill, up to 26.3% downhill; in curves with a radius of 450 m: up to 3.2% uphill, up to 17.6% downhill. On the uphill and downhill sections, reducing the height and adjusting to the speed limit in percentage gives a positive result from 4.7% to 53.59%.

The passive margin of the southern São Francisco paleocontinent, metamorphic record and implications for the assembly of West Gondwana: Evidence from the Lima Duarte Nappe, Ribeira Orogen (SE Brazil)

In this contribution, we report new P-T (pressure–temperature) and U-Pb zircon geochronological data from the Lima Duarte Nappe and basement rocks from the Mantiqueira Complex, Central Ribeira Orogen, southeastern Brazil, highlighting their relevance to the understanding of the West Gondwana assembly. The lower metasedimentary sequence of the Lima Duarte Nappe records a passive margin environment, with a majority of Paleoproterozoic detrital zircon grains, with probable main source rocks located in the São Francisco paleocontinent. The upper foreland sequence of the Lima Duarte Nappe has a prevalence of Tonian-Cryogenian detrital zircon grains, absent in the lower passive margin sequence and source rocks were most likely in a magmatic arc developed during the convergence between the São Francisco and the Paranapanema paleoplates. Zircon rims from the Lima Duarte passive margin and foreland sequences, and zircon grains from an amphibolite of the Lima Duarte Nappe record granulite facies metamorphism at ca. 560–590 Ma (Th/U ratio < 0.1). Similar ages are recorded by CL-dark zircon rims and overgrowths in orthogneisses of the Mantiqueira Complex and are interpreted to reflect basement reworking. Metapelitic metatexites from the foreland sequence record granulite facies peak metamorphism at ∼ 780–800 °C and 8–9.5 kbar in the sillimanite-rutile stability field, constrained by phase equilibrium modeling. Rutile inclusions in garnet record minimum peak temperatures of ∼ 750 °C. The retrograde mineral assemblage in the matrix is marked by the disappearance of rutile and the presence of ilmenite and mineral compositions re-equilibrated at upper amphibolite facies. Late Tonian (ca. 850–750 Ma) metamafic rocks within the Mantiqueira and Juiz de Fora complexes might record an extensional intraplate mafic magmatism episode that culminated with the establishment of the passive margin at the south of the São Francisco paleocontinent. The Lima Duarte metasedimentary sequence along with the Canastra and Carrancas groups (western and southern portions of the Brasília Orogen, respectively) represent a Tonian proximal passive margin environment, developed at the margin of the São Francisco paleocontinent. The Lima Duarte Nappe metasedimentary units and the orthogneisses of the Mantiqueira Complex record Ediacaran syn-collisional metamorphism related to the Araçuaí-Ribeira Orogenic System.

One to twelve-month-ahead forecasting of MODIS-derived Qinghai Lake area, using neuro-fuzzy system hybridized by firefly optimization.

Lakes, as the main sources of surface water, are of great environmental and ecological importance and largely affect the climatic conditions of the surrounding areas. Lake area fluctuations are very effective on plant and animal biodiversity in the areas covered. Hence, accurate and reliable forecasts of ​lake area might provide the awareness of water and climate resources and the survival of various species dependent on area fluctuations. Using machine learning methods, the current study numerically predicted area fluctuations of ​China's largest lake, Qinghai, over 1 to 12months ahead of lead time. To this end, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor images were used to monitor the monthly changes in the area of ​the lake from 2000 to 2021. Predictive inputs included the MODIS-derived lake area time latency specified by the autocorrelation function. The data was divided into two periods of the train (initial 75%) and test (final 25%), and the input combinations were arranged so that the model in the test period could be used to predict 12 scenarios, including forecast horizons for the next 1 to 12months. The adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was utilized as a predictive model. The firefly algorithm (FA) was also used to optimize ANFIS and improve its accuracy, as a hybrid model ANFIS-FA. Based on evaluation criteria such as root mean square error (RMSE) (477-594 km2) and R2 (88-92%), the results confirmed the acceptable accuracy of the models in all forecast horizons, even long-term horizons (10months, 11months, and 12months). Based on the normalized RMSE criterion (0.095-0.125), the models' performance was reported to be appropriate. Furthermore, the firefly algorithm improved the prediction accuracy of the ANFIS model by an average of 16.9%. In the inter-month survey, the models had fewer forecast errors in the dry months (February-March) than in the wet months (October-November). Using the current method can provide remarkable information about the future state of lakes, which is very important for managers and planners of water resources, environment, and natural ecosystems. According to the results, the current approach is satisfactory in predicting MODIS-derived fluctuations of Qinghai Lake area and has research value for other lakes.

Convergence of dominant forms of investment capital in the development of socio-economic systems

The object of this study is the dominant forms of investment capital and their convergence according to the stages of development of socio-economic systems. Any evolution has certain stages. The development of socio-economic systems is no exception. All processes and phenomena in the world, including development, occur cyclically and are interconnected with the stages of natural, social, and economic processes. According to the theory of economic cycles, such phenomena as the development of the socio-economic system, its crisis and innovations have a close relationship. Industrial revolutions became a vivid example of changes in the socio-economic development of complex systems. One of the main sources of financing for each stage of the industrial revolution is investment capital, which can be part of industrial, private, financial, banking, or intellectual capital. Depending on the signs of social relations, social system, etc. can take their forms. Each of the stages of the industrial revolution is preceded by appropriate conditions that are associated with certain historical conditions at a specific moment in time. Considering the dominant forms of investment capital according to the stages of the industrial revolution, the reasons for their change should be noted. The process of convergence of investment capital is considered here. One of the indicators that characterizes the efficiency of investment capital is its mobility or immobility. A number of macroeconomic factors affect the mobility of investment capital. Considering the world structure of direct foreign investments, the main directions of their utilization have been indicated. The model of the convergence of the dominant forms of investment capital in the logistics system is presented in accordance with the stage of the industrial revolution and the features that accompany it

Performance analysis of high-spectral-resolution lidar with/without laser seeding technique for measuring aerosol optical properties

High-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) is a powerful tool for aerosol measurements. With/without laser seeding technique in the transmitted laser, the HSRL can be distinguished as the single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) HSRL or the multi-longitudinal-mode (MLM) HSRL, and the Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with periodic transmittance function can be used as the spectral discriminator in both the SLM HSRL and MLM HSRL. To in-depth knowledge of the respective advantages of the SLM HSRL and MLM HSRL for measuring aerosol optical properties, the working principle, optimal parameter setting, and detection performance of the SLM HSRL and MLM HSRL are analyzed and discussed in detail, respectively. The working principle of the SLM HSRL and MLM HSRL indicate that the effective transmittance of MZI is the important parameter of data retrieval, the main source of retrieval uncertainties, and the key factor of MZI optical path difference (OPD) settings. To ensure that the MZI can achieve the preferable separation for aerosol Mie scattering signals and molecular Rayleigh scattering signals, the optimal OPDs of MZI are set at 165 mm and 1000 mm in the SLM HSRL and MLM HSRL from the aspects of the effective transmittance of MZI and the spectral discrimination ratio (SDR). Besides, to analyze the influence of frequency difference and divergence angle for the detection performance of HSRL, the effective transmittance of MZI and SDR are simulated and the results show that the MLM HSRL has higher requirements for the environmental parameters and the echo beam collimation than the SLM HSRL. Moreover, the HSRLs with SLM and MLM transmitted lasers are constructed in Xi'an for measuring aerosol optical properties. The preliminary measurement results show that the range square corrected signal (RSCS) of Rayleigh channel is smaller than that of Mie channel in both the SLM HSRL and MLM HSRL, while the difference between RSCS of Rayleigh channel and RSCS of Mie channel in the SLM HSRL is larger than that in the MLM HSRL, and the detection range of the SLM HSRL is lower than that of the MLM HSRL.

Combustion in a chamber furnace with a tangentially swirling vortex

Relevance. The need to analyze the furnace processes in boiler units with vertical vortex when arranging pulverized coal combustion with the enhancement of environmental parameters through the installation of tertiary blast nozzles. Despite the carbon-free policy in modern power engineering coal remains one of the main sources of energy, so the reconstruction of boiler units in order to reduce harmful emissions is very relevant. Aim. To study aerodynamics and combustion processes of pulverized coal fuel in the furnace chamber of a boiler unit with a tangential arrangement of burner devices using a combustion scheme with tertiary air blowing. Methods. The Eulerian–Lagrangian approach was applied to numerical study of flow characteristics, heat transfer and combustion in a furnace with a tangential burner arrangement. Also, k-ε model of gas turbulence, particle-turbulence interaction, diffusion model of particle dispersion, P-1 radiation modeling method and pulverized coal particle combustion model based on global particle kinetics and experimental data were used for numerical calculations. Results. Based on numerical calculations and analysis, the dependences of combustion product concentrations, temperature, hydrodynamics at combustion of Kuznetsky coal grade D in the furnace chamber with tangential arrangement of burners for brown coal, as well as at installation of tertiary blast nozzles have been obtained. Insufficient redistribution of air between burners and tertiary nozzles is revealed, as for maintenance of stable twist of vertical vortex and accordingly presence of high values of velocities at the outlet of burner devices it is not possible to increase the portion of tertiary air without reconstruction of burners. It is also established that the volume of the furnace chamber below the burners is poorly involved in heat exchange.

Qui Est Au Courant? A Comparison of Sociodemographic Predictors of Knowledge About White-Collar Crime in France and the US

The current study proposes a comparison of sociodemographic correlates of knowledge about white-collar crime in France and the US, and predicts cross-national differences in how white-collar crime information is both obtained and processed. A total of 1,068 participants (536 from the US and 532 from France) answered an online survey that measured their level of familiarity with various aspects of white-collar crime as well as their sociodemographic characteristics. In both countries, age, income, and politically liberal views were positively associated with knowledge about white-collar crime, as was education (in France only). In addition, subjects who used internet news sites as their main source of information were generally better informed than those who relied on other media. On the other hand, conservatives (in the US only), men, younger participants, and social media users were more likely to adhere to white-collar crime myths. These findings imply that knowledge about white-collar crime may be increased by disseminating relevant information to targeted audiences. They also suggest, however, that some segments of the population may not be subject to reasoned persuasion.

Pollution characteristics and health risk assessment of fine particulate matter and its metal elements during Chinese New Year

The Chinese Lunar New Year is a significant festival in China that leads to indoor and outdoor air pollution with distinct characteristics compared to normal times. In this study, indoor and outdoor air samples were collected and analysed to investigate the indoor and outdoor pollution of PM2.5 and its metal elements during the Chinese New Year. The findings reveal that there is a notable positive correlation between indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations during the Chinese New Year, with outdoor concentrations being higher on average. The levels of PM2.5 concentrations indoors and outdoors started to increase on Chinese New Year’s Eve and peaked after the early hours of the Chinese New Year. The total concentrations of six metal elements (Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, Pb and Zn) in indoor and outdoor PM2.5 during the Chinese New Year in 2022 were 738.73 ± 134.93 mg/kg and 1124.38 ± 553.14 mg/kg, respectively. Principal component analysis suggests that the main sources of indoor metal elements were from outdoor combustion sources and human activities, while outdoor sources were fireworks displays and emissions from coal combustion. Based on the U.S. EPA risk assessment carried out, both indoor and outdoor PM2.5 metal elements could pose a carcinogenic risk to adults.