Risk Mitigation Measures Research Articles

Commodity risk assessment of Prunus domestica plants from Ukraine.

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by plants of Prunus domestica grafted on Prunus cerasifera imported from Ukraine, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by Ukraine. All pests associated with the commodity were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this opinion. One quarantine pest (Lopholeucaspis japonica), two protected zone quarantine pests (Erwinia amylovora and Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni) and one non‐regulated pest (Eotetranychus prunicola) that fulfilled all relevant criteria were selected for further evaluation. For these four pests, the risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from Ukraine were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For the selected pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The degree of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni being the pest most frequently expected on the imported plants. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated with 95% certainty that between 9,870 and 10,000 bundles (consisting of 10 plants each) per 10,000 would be free from Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni.

Commodity risk assessment of Berberis thunbergii potted plants from Turkey.

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High‐risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by potted plants (2–3 years old) of Berberis thunbergii produced in nurseries and imported into the EU from Turkey, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by the NPPO of Turkey. The relevance of any pest for this Opinion was based on evidence following defined criteria. Two species, the EU‐quarantine pest Bemisia tabaci and the non‐regulated pest Malacosoma parallela, fulfilled the relevant criteria and were selected for further evaluation. For these pests, the risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from Turkey were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For these pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The estimated degree of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with B. tabaci being the pest most frequently expected on the imported plants. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated, with 95% certainty, that between 9,928 and 10,000 plants per 10,000 would be free of B. tabaci. The role of Berberis thunbergii as possible host of Puccinia spp. is discussed in the body of the opinion.

FELASA-AALAS Recommendations for Biosecurity in an Aquatic Facility, Including Prevention of Zoonosis, Introduction of New Fish Colonies, and Quarantine.

FELASA and AALAS established a joint working group to advise on good practices for the exchange of fish for research. In a first manuscript, the working group made recommendations for health monitoring and reporting of monitoring results. The focus of this second related manuscript is biosecurity in fish facilities. First, we define the risk of contamination of personnel by zoonotic pathogens from fish or from system water, including human mycobacteriosis. Preventive measures are recommended, such as wearing task-specific personal protective equipment. Then we discuss biosecurity, highlighting the establishment of biosecurity barriers to preserve the health status of a facility. A functional biosecurity program relies on integration of the entire animal facility organization, including the flow of staff and animals, water treatments, and equipment sanitation. Finally, we propose 4 steps for introducing new fish colonies: consideration of international trade and national restrictions; assessing risk according to fish source and developmental stage; establishing quarantine barriers; and the triage, screening, and treatment of newly imported fish. We then provide 3 realistic sample scenarios to illustrate practical biosecurity risk assessments and mitigation measures based on considerations of health status and quarantine conditions.

Agility and Sustainability: A Qualitative Evaluation of COVID-19 Non-pharmaceutical Interventions in the UK Logistics Sector.

BackgroundThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 triggered a chain of public health responses that radically changed our way of living and working. Non-healthcare sectors, such as the logistics sector, play a key role in such responses. This research aims to qualitatively evaluate the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented in the UK logistics sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe conducted nine semi-structured interviews in July-August 2020 and May-June 2021. In total 11 interviewees represented six companies occupying a range of positions in the UK's logistics sector, including takeaway food delivery, large and small goods delivery and home appliance installation, and logistics technology providers. Thematic analysis was completed using NVivo12. Codes relevant to NPIs were grouped into themes and mapped deductively onto an adapted Hierarchy of Control (HoC) framework, focusing on delivery workers. Codes relevant to the implementation process of NPIs were grouped into themes/subthemes to identify key characteristics of rapid responses, and barriers and facilitators.ResultsHoC analysis suggests the sector has implemented a wide range of risk mitigation measures, with each company developing their own portfolio of measures. Contact-free delivery was the most commonly implemented measure and perceived effective. The other implemented measures included social distancing, internal contact tracing, communication and collaboration with other key stakeholders of the sector. Process evaluation identified facilitators of rapid responses including capacity to develop interventions internally, localized government support, strong external mandates, effective communication, leadership support and financial support for self-isolation, while barriers included unclear government guidance, shortage of testing capacity and supply, high costs and diversified language and cultural backgrounds. Main sustainability issues included compliance fatigue, and the possible mental health impacts of a prolonged rapid response.ConclusionsThis research identified drivers and obstacles of rapid implementation of NPIs in response to a respiratory infection pandemic. Existing implementation process models do not consider speed to respond and the absence or lack of guidance in emergency situations such as the COVID-19. We recommend the development of a rapid response model to inform the design of effective and sustainable infection prevention and control policies and to focus future research priorities.

Redesigning Workplaces by Bridging the Gap Between Analysis and Action

Abstract. The step from hazard analysis to developing risk-mitigating measures is crucial to improving working conditions but has been scarcely researched to date. We qualitatively investigated protocols of analytical workshops in 33 organizational units that followed a prior hazard analysis with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ, N = 7,257 employees). There was a high degree of agreement between the COPSOQ results and those of the workshops. However, no measures were developed for approximately one-third of the identified work-design problems. A content analysis of the measures revealed the complex interrelationship between the work characteristics, as minimizing one risk factor seems to go hand in hand with the need to redesign others as well. The measures were often simple, indicating either that minimizing psychosocial risks is rather easy, or that the participants within the workshops did not have the authority to develop more complex measures. We discuss the implications to support future psychosocial risk management.

Status and future development of Heating and Current Drive for the EU DEMO

The European DEMO is a pulsed device with pulse length of 2 hours. The functions devoted to the heating and current drive system are: plasma breakdown, plasma ramp-up to the flat-top where fusion reactions occur, the control of the plasma during the flat-top phase, and finally the plasma ramp-down. The EU-DEMO project was in a Pre-Concept Design Phase during 2014-2020, meaning that in some cases, the design values of the device and the precise requirements from the physics point of view were not yet frozen. A total of 130 MW was considered for the all phases of the plasma: in the flat top, 30 MW is required for neoclassical tearing modes (NTM) control, 30 MW for burn control, and 70 MW for the control of thermal instability (TI), without any specific functions requested from each system, Electron Cyclotron (EC), Ion Cyclotron (IC), or Neutral Beam (NB) Injection. At the beginning of 2020, a strategic decision was taken, to consider EC as the baseline for the next phase (in 2021 and beyond). R&D on IC and NB will be risk mitigation measures. In parallel with progresses in Physics modelling, a decision point on the heating strategy will be taken by 2024. This paper describes the status of the R&D development during the period 2014-2020. It assumes that the 3 systems EC, IC and NB will be needed. For integration studies, they are assumed to be implemented at a power level of at least 50 MW. This paper describes in detail the status reached by the EC, IC and NB at the end of 2020. It will be used in the future for further development of the baseline heating method EC, and serves as starting point to further develop IC and NB in areas needed for these systems to be considered for DEMO.

A Strong Sustainability Framework for Digital Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Introducing the Eco-Sufficiency Perspective

The intensifying effects of climate change are becoming one of the main threats to cultural heritage, posing risks of degradation or destruction. Climate change is bringing complexity and uncertainty to ensuring the resilience of cultural heritage, and among risk mitigation measures digitalisation is regarded as a promising tool. However, the infrastructure required for the digitalisation process exerts significant pressures on the environment contributing to climate deterioration. To address these issues, this contribution developed a strong sustainability framework for the preservation of cultural heritage through digitalisation, for minimising environmental impacts and maximising the potential of preservation. To construct the framework, a literature review was conducted on efficiency and sufficiency concepts and existing approaches to sustainability of digitalisation in cultural heritage. To test the potential application and feasibility of the framework in driving environmental sustainability efforts within cultural heritage organisations, the case study of the Finnish Heritage Agency was analysed. The results showed that the understanding of the sustainability of digitalisation is not fully developed. Strong sustainability is hardly applied in practice, even though an inherent tendency for sufficiency especially in the appraisal stage was identified. It was highlighted that extensive stakeholder networks are required for advancing the sustainability of digital preservation. Ultimately, re-examining current practices and realigning stakeholders would be required for addressing the current challenges.

Preliminary RAMI analysis of CRAFT cryogenic system

The Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) is a large scientific device in China's 13th Five-Year Plan. The RAMI (reliability, availability, maintainability, and inspectability) analysis method is used to control the technical risk of the CRAFT cryogenic system, which can better guarantee the stable operation of the CRAFT system. Functional breakdown is performed first to understand the functions of the CRAFT cryogenic system, and then IDEFØ diagram is used to describe the hierarchical structure and relationship between each function in the cryogenic system.A preliminary RAMI analysis of 200W@4.5 K helium refrigerator system with the main function of DF1 was carried out. Failure mode, effect and criticality analysis was used to identify and evaluate the failure mode of 200 W helium refrigerator. A criticality chart of the failure mode was drawn based on the evaluation results. For the failure modes with medium and high risks in the initial criticality chart, there was no high risk after risk mitigation measures were taken.The logical basis of the reliability block diagram was obtained from the structural relationship between each function described in the IDEF0 diagram. Based on these logical structures, a reliability block diagram composed of components that implement basic functions was drawn. Input reliability data to calculate the reliability and inherent availability of the main function DF1.The results of Reliability block diagram analysis showed that the inherent availability can be greatly improved after taking improvement measures such as preparing spare parts to reduce the mean time to repair. Reliability was also greatly improved when measures such as regular inspection and maintenance were taken to reduce the failure rate.

Quantitative Ground Risk Assessment for Urban Logistical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Based on Bayesian Network

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been used for the delivery of medical supplies in urban logistical distribution, due to its ability to reduce human contact during the global fight against COVID-19. However, due to the reliability of the UAV system and the complex and changeable operation scene and population distribution in the urban environment, a few ground-impact accidents have occurred and generated enormous risks to ground personnel. In order to reduce the risk of UAV ground-impact accidents in the urban logistical scene, failure causal factors, and failure modes were classified and summarized in the process of UAV operation based on the accumulated operation data of more than 20,000 flight hours. The risk assessment model based on the Bayesian network was built. According to the established network and the probability of failure causal factors, the probabilities of ground impact accidents and intermediate events under different working conditions were calculated, respectively. The posterior probability was carried out based on the network topology to deduce the main failure inducement of the accidents. Mitigation measures were established to achieve the equivalent safety level of manned aviation, aiming at the main causes of accidents. The results show that the safety risk of the UAV was reduced to 3.84 × 10−8 under the action of risk-mitigation measures.

Reducing the Risk of Healthcare Associated Infections from Legionella and Other Waterborne Pathogens Using a Water Management for Construction (WMC) Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) Tool.

Construction activities in healthcare settings potentially expose building occupants to waterborne pathogens including Legionella and have been associated with morbidity and mortality. A Water Management for Construction—Infection Control Risk Assessment (WMC-ICRA) tool was developed addressing gaps in building water management programs. This enables healthcare organizations to meet the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188 referenced in numerous guidelines and regulations. A WMC-ICRA was modeled after the ICRA required for prevention and control of airborne pathogens to reduce the risk of healthcare associated infections. The tool allows users to evaluate risk from waterborne pathogen exposure by analyzing construction activities by project category and building occupant risk group. The users then select an appropriate level of risk mitigation measures. Technical aspects (e.g., water age/stagnation, flushing, filtration, disinfection, validation testing), are presented to assist with implementation. An exemplar WMC-ICRA tool is presented as ready for implementation by infection prevention and allied professionals, addressing current gaps in water management, morbidity/mortality risk, and regulatory compliance. To reduce exposure to waterborne pathogens in healthcare settings and improve regulatory compliance, organizations should examine the WMC-ICRA tool, customize it for organization-specific needs, while formulating an organizational policy to implement during all construction activities.

Why Did the Taliban Win (Again) in Afghanistan?

The paper explores the long-term developments and dynamics in Afghanistan, which enabled the Taliban to capture the state in August 2021. It suggests that the Taliban’s success was enabled by the failure of the international intervention to build legitimate authority in Afghanistan. Three factors contributed to this failure: First, different actors that were part of the intervention in the country pursued competing agendas, especially with the ‘War on Terror’ undermining human rights and state-building. Second, a gap between the Afghan internationally supported state and its citizens evolved and grew larger over time, especially due to the risk mitigation measures applied. Third, day-to-day interactions that ordinary people in Afghanistan had with the state were often perceived as corrupt and extractive, making it difficult for the state to convey that it was working in the interest of its citizens.

Commodity risk assessment of Malus domestica plants from Turkey.

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by dormant grafted plants, rootstocks, budwood and scions of Malus domestica imported from Turkey, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by Turkey. All pests associated with the commodities were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this opinion. Three quarantine pests (Anoplophora chinensis, Lopholeucaspis japonica and tomato ringspot virus), one protected zone quarantine pest (Erwinia amylovora) and eight non‐regulated pests (Calepitrimerus baileyi, Cenopalpus irani, Cicadatra persica, Diplodia bulgarica, Hoplolaimus galeatus, Malacosoma parallela, Pratylenchus loosi and Pyrolachnus pyri) that fulfilled all relevant criteria were selected for further evaluation. For E. amylovora, special requirements are specified in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. Based on the information provided in the dossier, the specific requirements for E. amylovora were not met. For Anoplophora chinensis, special measures are specified in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2012/138. The exporting country does meet the requirement for a certificate regarding plants for planting that originate from Turkish provinces other than Istanbul. For the 10 remaining selected pests, the risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from Turkey were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For the selected pests an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The degree of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with D. bulgarica being the pest most frequently expected on the imported plants. The expert knowledge elicitation indicated with 95% certainty that between 9,863 and 10,000 bundles (consisting of 10 or 25 plants each) per 10,000 would be free from D. bulgarica.

Commodity risk assessment of Jasminum polyanthum unrooted cuttings from Uganda.

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation EU/2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by unrooted cuttings of Jasminum polyanthum that are imported from Uganda, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by the NPPO of Uganda. The relevance of any pest for this opinion was based on evidence following defined criteria. Six species, two EU‐regulated pests (Bemisia tabaci, non‐European populations and Scirtothrips dorsalis) and four EU non‐regulated pests (Coccus viridis, Diaphania indica, Pulvinaria psidii and Selenaspidus articulatus), fulfilled all relevant criteria and were selected for further evaluation. For these pests, the risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from Uganda were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For these pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The estimated degree of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with B. tabaci and S. dorsalis being the pests most frequently expected on the imported plants. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated, with 95% certainty, that between 9,950 and 10,000 plants per 10,000 would be free of B. tabaci.

Commodity risk assessment of Acer palmatum plants grafted on Acer davidii from China.

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by 2‐year‐old bare rooted plants for planting of Acer palmatum grafted on rootstocks of Acer davidii imported from China to the EU, taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by China. All pests associated with the commodity were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this Scientific Opinion. Twenty‐two pests that fulfilled all relevant criteria were selected for further evaluation. For 20 pests, the risk mitigation measures described in the technical dossier from China were evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For these pests, an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. While the estimated degree of pest freedom varied among pests, Lopholeucaspis japonica was the pest most frequently expected on the commodity. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated, with 95% certainty, that 9,336 or more bare rooted plants per 10,000 will be free from L. japonica. For Anoplophora chinensis and Anoplophora glabripennis, the Panel considers that China applies the relevant measures as specified in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2012/138 and Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/893.

Opportunities and data requirements for data-driven prognostics and health management in liquid hydrogen storage systems

During the past decade, Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) has become an important set of tools in various areas of industry and academic reliability engineering. PHM consists of a variety of mathematical and computational methods used to support data-driven decision-making to increase the safety, availability, and reliability of complex engineering systems. In particular, PHM can provide crucial insight into reliability and safety design improvements for developing technologies where historical performance and failure data are limited. This is the case of hydrogen fueling and storage technologies. This work presents a high-level approach for designing data-driven PHM applications for bulk liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage systems for hydrogen fueling stations. This paper addresses core aspects of the design, development, and implementation of data-driven PHM applications that can improve the reliability assessment of hydrogen components. The analysis focuses on the relationship between data availability and diagnostic/prognostic capabilities; potential challenges; and integration schemes for current risk mitigation measures. We identify potential condition-monitoring data sources for key components in an LH2 storage system, including storage tanks, piping, and pumps. We determine that the short-term goals for the implementation of data-driven models in PHM frameworks in hydrogen systems should focus on developing adequate data collection and analysis strategies, as well as exploring the effect on reliability, safety, and regulations for hydrogen systems.

The World Organisation for Animal Health - current and potential roles in safe international trade of bees and other insects.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) is the recognised intergovernmental standard-setting organisation for animal health and welfare. The WOAH mandate is to support its members in the prevention of the spread of animal diseases of concern, as listed in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (Terrestrial Code). Once a disease, infection or infestation is listed, national Veterinary Authorities have the obligation regularly to notify WOAH of the presence or absence of the listed disease. In regard to insects, the scope of the Terrestrial Code limits its recommendations to preserving the health of bees (species of the genus Apis, extended to the genus Bombus and to the stingless bees for one disease). However, it does not include standards to mitigate the potential animal health risks associated with the international trade of other insects. A description of the standard-setting process and a review of the history of the standards for bee health highlight the resources and requirements to expand the scope of the Terrestrial Code to include recommendations for animal health risk mitigation measures for the safety of international trade in insects. Any initiative to develop guidance on insect trade should include WOAH in its role as the sole global standard-setting organisation on animal health and welfare matters. This aligns with the WOAH commitment to a One Health approach.

Morphological adjustments of the lower Orba River (NW Italy) since the mid-nineteenth century

A multi-temporal and multi-scale analysis based on historical data collection and review, maps and aerial photograph interpretation, field observations, topographic surveys, and GIS investigations was performed to (i) examine the morphological evolution of lower Orba River since the mid-nineteenth century, (ii) identify its controlling factors, and (iii) correctly interpret ongoing hydrogeomorphic conditions under a river management perspective. The riverbed experienced overall slight and non-homogeneous morphological adjustments, along with some horizontal displacements, up to the early twentieth century (Phase 0). Subsequently, two phases of channel degradation were identified. The first, from the 1920s to the 1950s (Phase 1), is characterized by slight narrowing (12.3%), the beginning of incision, and rare and little lateral migration. The second, between the 1950s and the years around 2010 (Phase 2), displays significant channel incision (mostly from the 1950s to the 1970s, from 0–1 m to 4–5 m), weak narrowing (21.0%), and only minor horizontal displacements. Over the last decade (Phase 3), widespread slight channel widening (3.4%, up to 25.7% at the reach scale) associated with the absence of a generalized bed-level variation trend was observed. The study reach has exhibited a single-thread or transitional channel since the mid-nineteenth century. Channel incision was mainly caused by extensive in-channel sediment extractions primarily carried out between the 1950s and the early 1980s at the reach and catchment scales. The long-term presence of widespread channelization works was recognized as the main reason why overall little riverbed planform adjustments occurred during the whole period investigated. The most recent dynamics were triggered by floods and were interpreted as the river response to human-induced alterations. The riverbed changes that occurred during the twentieth century match the channel adjustments commonly experienced by Italian single-thread and transitional channels as a response to various types of human disturbances. However, the detected morpho-evolutionary phases of the Orba River are only partially in agreement with those reported in the literature for other Italian rivers affected by similar anthropogenic pressures, as some differences exist in timing and magnitude of prevalent channel adjustments. An overall slight potential for channel recovery, priorities for rehabilitation, and the main objectives for the next-decades management were identified. This research provides insights into the medium- and short-term morphological evolution of Italian rivers, and its outcomes represent an essential piece to drive river management towards sustainable and effective river restoration and risk mitigation measures framed within a larger, multidisciplinary, and objective-based context. A wide spectrum of both consolidated and newly developed GIS-based planform metrics was considered to assess the channel morphological evolution in detail, providing an operative reference framework for future investigations.

Co-firing의 위험분석 및 완화방안: 인도네시아 사례로부터

The co-firing program initiative in Indonesia involves mixing a portion of biomass into the coal that is being used for the operation of coal power plants. It is expected that biomass will replace 10% of the coal that currently is being used by 2025. Through robust risk analysis and appropriate mitigation plans, all of the challenges and obstacles that are encountered should be overcome, thereby achieving the desired goals of the renewable policy. This research assesses the risk of co-firing based on the empirical data of the coal powered plants in Indonesia. The two extreme risk factors of co-firing are identified as the discontinuous supply of the required volume of biomass and the low quality of the available biomass. The remaining risk factors, which are classified as moderate, are the technical efficiency, reliability, the cost of the fuel, environmental impact, the management of the Fly Ash Bottom Ash (FABA), and the decreasing quality of the biomass. We found that the greatest challenge in implementing co-firing power plants is not their technical readiness; rather, it is the development of the supply channel, using the advantage of the abundant local biomass potential. As such, risk mitigation measures are needed to sustain the supply of biomass for the long term and to ensure that the biomass is available at a competitive price to ensure that electricity can be supplied at an acceptable price.

Analyzing Russian Media Policy on Promoting Vaccination and Other COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Measures.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in many tangible and intangible losses. To manage the risk of the pandemic and to mitigate its further spread, governments of many countries applied various pandemic risk mitigation measures. Media campaigns played a particularly large role during the pandemic, too. In addition, social media grew in importance because of the spread of technologies and as a result of the increased attention to information about COVID-19. Media information strongly influenced both the public perception of COVID-19 risk and decision-making processes and choices, which people made regarding risk reduction measures during the pandemic. Moreover, media information has had a major impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of various countries' risk management actions. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to investigate the influence of the Russian media on the population's perception of risk, and to address the question about which linguistic and psychological methods they used to shape different media discourses about the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we analyzed media discourses as a part of the case study of COVID-19 risk management in the Russian Federation. The theoretical basis of the study includes mass communication theories. The methodological basis consists of linguo-cognitive analysis of empirical materials for specific political-philosophical, linguistic-publicistic, and sociopsychological functioning.

Improve decision-making process and reduce risks in the energy retrofit of existing buildings through uncertainty and sensitivity analysis

Buildings energy efficiency has a key role in achieving the objectives set in the energy-environment field. In energy renovation, the performance goal is generally defined based on design assessments, supported by simulation tools. However, due to the uncertainty relating to input variables, the actual performance of the building may be different from the expected value. The uncertainty of the input parameters depends on several factors, including insufficient knowledge in the design phase, the actual quality of construction and plant systems, the unpredictability of external climatic conditions, the modes of use of the building by users. To adequately describe the energy behaviour of the building, it is necessary to define a range of variation within which the real performance value occurs. This range is estimated through the Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis (UA/SA), which considers the simulation output as “probabilistic” rather than “deterministic”. In this study, the UA/SA was applied to plan renovation interventions on an energy-intensive public residential building located in the Mediterranean area. The sensitivity analysis has shown that the main parameters affecting the annual energy demand are the efficiency of the cooling system, the set-point temperature and the photovoltaic efficiency. When risk mitigation actions are neglected, the most frequent result is within the range 17,780–19,573 kWh in terms of annual primary energy demand, and the chance to meet the design target is only 22%. Conversely, when appropriate risk mitigation measures are considered for the mentioned parameters, the possibilities to meet the set goal increase to 82%, and the annual primary energy need reduces down to 5489–6446 kWh. Therefore, the UA/SA is a reliable tool to support legislators in meeting the objectives set by the energy policies promoting the attainment of the planned results.