Protection Requirements Research Articles

Fire-Retardant Flexible Foamed Polyurethane (PU)-Based Composites: Armed and Charmed Ground Tire Rubber (GTR) Particles.

Inadequate fire resistance of polymers raises questions about their advanced applications. Flexible polyurethane (PU) foams have myriad applications but inherently suffer from very high flammability. Because of the dependency of the ultimate properties (mechanical and damping performance) of PU foams on their cellular structure, reinforcement of PU with additives brings about further concerns. Though they are highly flammable and known for their environmental consequences, rubber wastes are desired from a circularity standpoint, which can also improve the mechanical properties of PU foams. In this work, melamine cyanurate (MC), melamine polyphosphate (MPP), and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) are used as well-known flame retardants (FRs) to develop highly fire-retardant ground tire rubber (GTR) particles for flexible PU foams. Analysis of the burning behavior of the resulting PU/GTR composites revealed that the armed GTR particles endowed PU with reduced flammability expressed by over 30% increase in limiting oxygen index, 50% drop in peak heat release rate, as well as reduced smoke generation. The Flame Retardancy Index (FRI) was used to classify and label PU/GTR composites such that the amount of GTR was found to be more important than that of FR type. The wide range of FRI (0.94-7.56), taking Poor to Good performance labels, was indicative of the sensitivity of flame retardancy to the hybridization of FR with GTR components, a feature of practicality. The results are promising for fire protection requirements in buildings; however, the flammability reduction was achieved at the expense of mechanical and thermal insulation performance.

Application of the screening method for estimating COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness using routine surveillance data: Germany's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, July 2021 to March 2023.

The screening method represents a simple, quick, and practical tool for estimating vaccine effectiveness (VE) using routine disease surveillance and vaccine coverage data, even if these data cannot be linked. In Germany, where notification data, laboratory testing data, and vaccine coverage data cannot be linked due to strict data protection requirements, the screening method was used to assess COVID-19 VE continuously between July 2021 and March 2023. During this period, when Delta and Omicron variants circulated, VE estimates were produced in real-time for different age groups and clinical outcomes. Here we describe the country's overall positive experience using the screening method, including its strengths and limitations, and provide practical guidance regarding a few issues, such as case definition stringency, testing behaviour, and data stratification, that require careful consideration during data analysis and the interpretation of the results.

Numerical Protection Analysis of Shen Xiu Intangible Cultural Heritage Based on Software Definition Technology

The role of numerical protection analysis in the digital protection of Shen Xiu's intangible culture has changed the numerical value of Shen Xiu's intangible culture and made the digital protection of Shen Xiu's intangible culture a hot spot. However, in the process of numerical protection of intangible culture in Shen Xiu, there are some problems, such as poor digital collection effect and small amount of digital processing data. The main reason is that the traditional way of oral transmission and heart-to-heart transmission limits the development of digital numerical protection of intangible culture in Shen Xiu. Therefore, this paper proposes a digital protection method for Shen Xiu's intangible culture based on software-defined technology and plans the characteristics of Shen Xiu's intangible culture with different values. First of all, the data of Shen Xiu intangible culture in Shen Xiu are collected by software-defined technology, and the data of different values are summarized by software-defined technology, and the numerical division of Shen Xiu intangible culture is carried out according to the characteristics of Suzhou embroidery, leaving common characteristics. Then, according to the software-defined technology, the protective communication of numerical protection is carried out to promote the integration of the characteristics of Shen Xiu's intangible culture. The results of numerical protection analysis show that software-defined technology can improve the numerical extraction level of Shen Xiu intangible culture, promote the development of digital numerical protection of Shen Xiu intangible culture by using software-defined technology, and meet the requirements of numerical protection of Shen Xiu intangible culture.

The impact of treated wastewater irrigation on strawberry development, fruit quality parameters, and microbial and chemical contaminant transfer: A health risk assessment

The reuse of treated wastewater (TWW) in agriculture is an important alternative technology for reducing freshwater demand and improving soil physicochemical and biological properties. According to the Jordanian national water policy for 2023–2040, freshwater allocated for irrigation in Jordan's agriculture will be decreased and replaced with TWW. The purpose of this study was to investigate how irrigation with TWW influenced strawberry performance as a model for annual plants, namely, the impact on soil, plants, productivity, heavy metals and microbial contamination. Strawberry plants were irrigated with TWW, surface water (SW), and blended water (BW), as contrasted to domestic tap water (DW). Irrigation with TWW, SW, and BW raised the electrical conductivity, total organic compounds%, total nitrogen%, P, and K in the substrate; the rise in salinity, which is one of the most important abiotic stresses, was related to Cl buildup in the substrates, which has a detrimental influence on plant growth, development, and productivity. The heavy metal hazard index values in strawberry fruits were less than one in all treatments, suggesting that the heavy metal level in strawberry fruits did not exceed the requirement for health protection from serious risk. However, microbial contamination by fecal bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Enterococci spp. and human pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus spp. increased by TWW irrigation, for example E. coli population increased from 1.8 × 102 in DW-irrigated fruits to 2.8 × 103 colony forming unit per gram in TWW-irrigated fruits, which may pose health risks. Accordingly, it is possible to conclude that TWW, SW, and BW can be used to irrigate strawberries, but it must be washed before consumption.

Mechanical and failure characteristics of novel tailorable architected metamaterials against crash impact

The mechanical properties of cellular materials cannot be on-demand tuned after manufacture, and the crashworthiness of existing tailorable metamaterials is often limited. To combine desirable and tailorable crashworthiness with ease of manufacture, novel tailorable architected metamaterials that can be flexibly assembled using discrete modules are proposed in this study. The specimens are manufactured by 3D printing method, and matched finite element analysis is conducted using ABAQUS. The proposed metamaterials achieve specific energy absorption and the maximum efficiency respectively 76.1% and 39.9% larger than the existing self-locked systems. Moreover, the metamaterials exhibit critical failure characteristics such as omnidirectional self-locking capability and imperfection insensitivity. Furthermore, 3D expansion capability allows them to adapt to complex protective requirements. Finally, impact experiments have been conducted on a complex-shaped metamaterial specimen made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to showcase all the aforementioned advantages. This research paves new avenues for designing high-performance and multifunctional protective structures.

A Novel Method for Removal of Dual Decaying DC Offsets to Enhance Discrete Fourier Transform-Based Phasor Estimation

This paper presents a novel method for the removal of dual decaying DC offsets (DDCOs) to enhance discrete Fourier transform-based phasor estimation. The method proposed in this paper uses the sum of even samples and the sum of odd samples from the input signal to remove the AC components, thereby precisely estimating the primary and secondary DDCOs. The fluctuations induced by DCCOs present in the output of traditional DFT methods are eliminated by using the estimated DCCOs. The performance of the method was evaluated in terms of both mathematical-generated signals and fault current signals from a 154 kV Korean overhead transmission system. PSCAD/EMTDC was used to generate fault current signals at various fault distances and angles. The results show that the proposed method can estimate the phasor of the fundamental frequency component accurately regardless of the primary and secondary DCCOs. The paper concludes by describing the hardware implementation in a prototype unit that considers the real-world requirements of power system protection.

Study of the thermal/thermodynamic performance of a bionic flat heat pipe designed to integrate thermal management and bearing capacity

When a hypersonic vehicle is flying at high speed, its rudder wing is subjected to severe aerodynamic thermal loads. In this paper, to meet thermal protection and load-bearing requirements during flight, a novel structure that integrates thermal management and carrying capacity is designed. A novel bionic flat heat pipe structure for integrating thermal management and bearing capacity requirements is designed using a beetle sheath wing as a biological template, and the thermal and mechanical performance of the structure is analysed. The interior consists of a 6061 aluminium bionic core covered with a nickel foam wick, and water is used as the working fluid. Ground tests are performed to verify the accuracy of the simulation results. The results show that the bionic flat heat pipe structure has a superior isotherm and bearing capacity, and the experimental data and finite analysis model results are in good agreement.

Analysis of the current state of the developement in the area of secured routes (via ferratas) in Slovakia

Analysis of the current state of the developement in the area of secured routes (via ferratas) in Slovakia

Risk management in software development in the field of information protection

In the context of increasing digitalization of sea and river transport, the immersion of the entire transport infrastructure in the digital environment, the volume of information flows serving the transport process is increasing, and the requirements for information protection are increasing in conditions of an aggressive external information environment. In the digital environment, a software product must not only serve the document flow of transport chains, but also ensure its confidentiality. Automation of transport facilities (ships, platforms, berths, warehouses) management increases their potential vulnerability from unauthorized access to control systems; the latter must be taken into account in servicing programs, increasing their size (for example, there is a need to fragment coherent information blocks and their alternative routing). This, in turn, increases the risk of errors in the software products themselves and significantly complicates their structure. Risks of failures (including confidentiality violations) during the software operation that implements information exchange can entail significant material and reputational losses for the developer. If the developer is legally and functionally involved in the industry, such losses can and should be considered among the general range of risks in water transport. An important aspect of risk management, which until recently was practically not considered in a quantitative aspect within the framework of mathematical models, is the joint consideration of losses when a risk situation occurs and the developer’s costs associated with reducing the likelihood of such occurrences; the latter may entail a reduction in the total expected losses, formalized as the corresponding mathematical expectation. As a result, risk management can be formulated in terms of mathematical programming problems with different (discrete or continuous) sets of constraints and with different properties of objective functions.

The impact of digital PET on radiation protection requirements in PET\\CT facilities

The impact of digital PET on radiation protection requirements in PET\\CT facilities

Magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 study on adsorption of methyl orange on nanoparticles

Magnetic core–shell Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by sol–gel method. Based on the characterization and experimental results, the adsorbent was found to have an average particle size of approximately 120 nm, a pore size range of 2–5 nm and superparamagnetic properties. It exhibited electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions during adsorption of methyl orange (MO). The adsorption of MO on the magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles exhibited pseudo-second-order kinetics, the adsorption process is a spontaneous endothermic adsorption process, which conforms to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. he maximum amount of MO was adsorbed at pH = 2, T = 45 °C and t = 30 min, and the highest adsorption capacity was 182.503 mg/g; The unit adsorption capacity of the Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles still reached 83% of the original capacity after 5 cycles, so the material was reusable and met the requirements of environmental protection. This study reveals the great potential of magnetic mesoporous nanoparticles for removal of dyes from wastewater.

THE PLIGHT OF SOUTH AFRICAN WHISTLE-BLOWERS: SEARCHING FOR EFFECTIVE PROTECTION

Daily reports in the media about the extent of corruption in South Africa and the plight of whistle-blowers who dare to report it demonstrates the inadequacy of protective measures in South Africa. The murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran saw other whistle-blowers go into hiding, fearing for their own safety, and calls for urgent measures to be implemented to ensure the physical safety of whistle-blowers. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) contains measures that could be implemented to protect the physical safety of whistle-blowers. Currently, the only legislation specifically protecting whistle-blowers in South Africa is the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA), which only protects against detriment in the workplace. A number of other statutes provide a measure of protection, but they are fragmented and by no means adequate. A legal comparison with the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland and the United States of America (US) may provide guidelines for reform in South Africa. The UK is currently debating the Protection for Whistleblowing Bill (Bill 27) in the House of Lords to improve protection for whistle-blowers. This Bill proposes to sever the required link to employment so that any person reporting wrongdoing will be protected if certain requirements are met. Bill 27 also establishes the Office of the Whistleblower, which has wide-ranging powers to protect whistle-blowers. The Irish Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022 was amended to broaden the definition of “worker” to include persons not previously protected and to establish an Office of the Commissioner similar to the Office of the Whistleblower in Bill 27, although with limited power. Neither the UK nor Ireland requires whistle-blowers to report in good faith; the focus is on the message instead of the messenger. Financial rewards for whistle-blowers in the US have proved to be highly successful and could be implemented in South Africa. It is recommended that physical protection of whistleblowers be prioritised, that a Whistle-Blowers’ Office with wide-ranging powers be established, that protection be extended to persons outside the employment relationship, that whistle-blowers be rewarded for reporting on wrongdoing in prescribed circumstances, that the burden of proof be reversed and that the good faith requirement for protection be dropped.

Increased black carbon (soot) accumulation during the Anthropocene in a less-developed region of Xinjiang, northwestern China

Records of environmental changes at regional or continental scales in less-developed regions may aid clarification of the onset of the Anthropocene. A sediment core was collected from Bosten Lake in Xinjiang Province, northwestern China, to investigate historical variations of combustion indicators of black carbon (BC), char and soot and to reflect human influences over the past 150 years. Results show that a rapid increase in soot fluxes (over 1.5 times on average) happened after 1950, consistent with the Great Acceleration period as well as establishment of the People's Republic of China, following a rapidly developing economy. Soot flux peaked around the 1960, coincident with wasteland reclamation in Xinjiang Province, decreasing after the year 2000 owing to environmental protection requirements such as desulfurization. Average char/soot ratios before and after 1950 were 0.56 and 0.37, respectively, such low ratios suggest a predominant contribution of soot from long-range transport, while the industrialization in China since the 1950 s may have caused further reduction in the ratios. Sedimentary soot deposition flux in less-developed areas thus recorded key anthropogenic activities occurring in China and supports the onset of the Anthropocene in the mid-20th century, as proposed by the Anthropocene Working Group.

Adaptive Personalized Randomized Response Method Based on Local Differential Privacy

Aiming at the problem of adopting the same level of privacy protection for sensitive data in the process of data collection and ignoring the difference in privacy protection requirements, the authors propose an adaptive personalized randomized response method based on local differential privacy (LDP-APRR). LDP-APRR determines the sensitive level through the user scoring strategy, introduces the concept of sensitive weights for adaptive allocation of privacy budget, and realizes the personalized privacy protection of sensitive attributes and attribute values. To verify the distorted data availability, LDP-APRR is applied to frequent items mining scenarios and compared with mining associations with secrecy konstraints (MASK), and grouping-based randomization for privacy-preserving frequent pattern mining (GR-PPFM). Results show that the LDP-APRR achieves personalized protection of sensitive attributes and attribute values with user participation, and the maxPrivacy and avgPrivacy are improved by 1.2% and 4.3%, respectively, while the availability of distorted data is guaranteed.

The Search for a Balance between the Principles of Freedom of Economic Activity and Environmental Protection in German Constitutional Law

This paper examines how the Federal Republic of Germany, being one of the most powerful economies and a state with the highest sustainability ratings in the European Union, finds a balance between environmental protection requirements and economic freedom. The article focuses on the provisions of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany and the constitutional jurisprudence of the German Constitutional Court.

Urban aspects of selecting lands for municipal solid waste disposal facilities

The article discusses the main approaches to the selection of a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities, taking into account urban planning features. According to the analysis and theoretical studies, the selection of a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities implies an interdisciplinary study and design of the territory, planned for development. The main objectives of the study include environmental protection requirements, building codes and regulations, sanitary and hygienic, engineering-environmental and urban planning rules. The paper analyses the main aspects of organising a land plot for municipal waste disposal facilities. The greatest attention is paid to the study of the regulatory framework in the field of urban planning in terms of determining the legal status of territories for the location of municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The paper develops an interdisciplinary model for studying the criteria of selecting a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The necessary industrial regulations, defining the composition of requirements for the selection of a land plot for municipal solid waste disposal facilities, which should be improved taking into account urban development, are highlighted.

A novel and dynamic land use/cover change research framework based on an improved PLUS model and a fuzzy multiobjective programming model

Spatial reconstruction and scenario simulation of historical processes and future trends of land use/cover change (LUCC) can help to reveal the historical background of land conversion and the spatial distribution of future land. Moreover, there is a close relationship between the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use/cover and changes in different ecosystem services (ESs). Using this relationship to simulate future land use scenarios is important. In this study, an LUCC dynamic analysis framework (LSTM-PLUS-FMOP) was constructed based on a deep learning time series forecasting model (LSTM), a parallelized urban land use simulation (PLUS) model and a fuzzy multiobjective programming (FMOP) model. The PLUS model was used to analyze the driving mechanism of land expansion and explore the land conversion pattern. In addition, three land conversion scenarios were established: natural land expansion (NLE), economic development priority (EDP) and regional sustainable development (RSD). The FMOP model and the relationship between LUCC and ES were used to perform a spatial simulation of land conversion. The uncertainty parameters in the model were treated by intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IFSs). This study applied the constructed framework to the Yellow River Basin of Shaanxi Province (YRB-SX). The results showed that (1) from 2000 to 2020, the cropland area of the YRB-SX continuously decreased by 12.67 × 104 ha, while the built-up area continuously increased by 28.25 × 104 ha. The net reduction in woodland and grassland area was 13.90 × 104 ha. (2) The relative error range of land prediction using the LSTM model was 0.0003– 0.0042. This model had better accuracy than the Markov chain prediction model. (3) The cropland area decreased by 0.26% (NLE), 0.85% (EDP) and 1.68% (RSD) under the three scenarios. The built-up area increased by 25.01%, 32.76% and 14.72%, respectively. The RSD scenario followed the principles of ecological protection and spatial constraints, which mitigated the degradation of the ecosystem to some extent. This coupled simulation framework will help to obtain land allocation schemes that meet the requirements of ecological protection and provide solutions for rational land management.

Construction of CuO nanoparticles decorated In2O3 hierarchical structure for ultrasensitive and rapid trace detection formaldehyde at low temperature

The reasonable build of a highly efficient formaldehyde (HCHO) gas sensor with excellent performance and low concentration detection ability is an urgent requirement for environmental surveillance and human health protection. Herein, a HCHO sensing structure composed of nanoflower In2O3/CuO self-assembly was fabricated using a facile solvothermal route and characterized accordingly. The gas-sensing test data exhibited that the 3 wt% In2O3/CuO sensor presented remarkable HCHO detection performance with a large response value (Ra/Rg = 231.2, 100 ppm), which is around 4 times larger than that bare In2O3 sensor. The optimum operating temperature decreases from 260 ℃ to 140 ℃. Meanwhile, the 3 wt% In2O3/CuO sensor displayed shorter response and recovery times (9 and 17 s), outstanding selectivity, better moisture resistance, recyclability and strong stability. It is commendable that the sensor has achieved ppb level detection for HCHO. The brilliant sensing properties were ascribed to the formation of more active sites with the 3 wt% In2O3/CuO flower-like hierarchical structure. Besides, the gas-sensing improvement mechanism of the composite was explored in detail through the analysis of band structure, adsorption energy and total density of states. Thus, 3 wt% In2O3/CuO sensor open up a new perspective for detecting trace amounts of HCHO gas.

Fragmentation of Key Biodiversity Areas highlights attention to human disturbance patterns

Faced with a global biodiversity crisis, we need to concentrate our collective efforts on safeguarding Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), which serve as essential habitats for the world's threatened species. Clarifying the disturbance and protection requirements of KBAs is vital to the global persistence of biodiversity, which is not yet clear. Here, we evaluated the extent and severity of human disturbance in KBAs. Specifically, we analyzed the spatial patterns of disturbance and their potential effects on habitats. Roughly a quarter of terrestrial KBAs are challenged by crop production and urban construction activities, especially in Europe. The mean Human Footprint Index (HFI) for KBAs worldwide is 12.3, indicating a high level of human disturbance. On average, 62 % of each KBA is identified as Human Threatened Areas, signifying intense human impacts on these areas. 57 % of KBAs are subdivided by human disturbance, which can lead to substantial habitat fragmentation and loss of connectivity compared to other forms of disturbance. The halving of mean patch size and the tripling of the perimeter-area ratio for active habitats in KBAs provide evidence of the difficulties faced in conserving these areas. More importantly, increased coverage of Protected Areas fails to reduce HFI in KBAs, indicating some deficiencies in current protection systems. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of focusing on disturbance patterns for more impactful interventions, which potentially offer new pathways to mitigate adverse habitat impacts in post-2020 biodiversity conservation efforts.

P20 Clinical metagenomics from cell-free DNA: overview and lessons learned from 4 years as a clinical metagenomics provider

Abstract Background Clinical metagenomics emerges more and more from academic research to clinical practice. Here, we share an overview of the field of clinical metagenomics on cell-free DNA found in the blood of patients with severe infections and share a few learning points regarding the implementation as a routine lab service and CE-IVD marked software running in the cloud. Methods We use next-generation sequencing of cell-free DNA to digitally determine relevant pathogens from patients with systemic infections in blood and other bodily fluids using our CE-IVD marked DISQVER diagnostic platform. Until now we have collected microbial data from several thousand samples within 4 years of routine service. Results The set up of the DISQVER test is within the regulatory framework of CE-IVD marking of software as a service (SaaS) and ISO 13485 accreditation. This brings practical implications on database quality, software lock-in/development/testing, change and risk management, technical documentation, requiring substantial resources. Also the wetlab process runs within tightly defined and controlled QM boundaries, pre-set by extensive analytical validations. We clinically validated our test for pathogen identification from blood within 8 clinical trials for intensive care medicine, haematology and coinfection in COVID-19, showing 2- to 3-fold higher identification rates for pathogens in comparison to standard of care blood culture. Furthermore, several case reports/ case series from different clinical backgrounds, frequently with difficult to diagnose pathogens, have been published. From the analysis of our routine processes with several thousand samples, we could show that the turn-around time of our mNGS process is very fast and can detect more species than blood culture. In particular, the relatively high proportion of fungi and dsDNA viruses indicates superiority of the method compared with the standard diagnostic pathway. Conclusions To bridge the gap between academic research and clinical implementation, many aspects of regulatory, technical and data protection requirements need to be addressed. Within the timeframe of commercial availability DISQVER from cell-free DNA found in the blood of infected patients is increasingly becoming a useful tool for infection diagnostics.