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BACKGROUND: With the advancement of urbanization, the original hydrological environment of the city is damaged. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to solve the problems in urban water ecological environment in urbanization based on the construction concept of the sponge city. METHODS: First, through the analysis of waterlogging caused by urbanization, the construction of the sponge city is proposed, and the function and landscape architecture scheme of the sponge city are introduced. Then, in order to achieve the comprehensive control goal of the sponge city, according to related disciplines and experimental methods, the sponge city is evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively from the aspects of environment, resources, security, system and ecology. Finally, the mosquito problem caused by the sponge city landscape is studied from the residents’ subjective feelings through the questionnaire survey. RESULTS: The results show that 60%residents think that the mosquito problem in the residential areas has a “very large” and “relatively large” impact, which has a serious impact on the physical and mental health of residents in the community; female residents are more vulnerable to the interference of mosquitoes; in the residential areas built for 5–10 years, the residents have the strongest feeling of mosquitoes. CONCLUSIONS: This exploration provides a reference for studying the health risk analysis of residents under the construction of sponge city.

This paper presents a political ecological analysis of the drivers and impacts of Green Revolution technologies – including improved seeds, chemical fertiliser and other agrochemicals – in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. We identify national government, foreign investment and philanthro-capital as key drivers in shaping both narratives and uptake of Green Revolution technologies at the local level. Drawing from interviews and focus groups, our findings demonstrate that Green Revolution technologies deliver a range of negative local-level socio-ecological impacts, including increasing the overall costs of production, as well as exacerbating poverty and inequality amongst farmers. Our findings demonstrate the disconnection between claims that Green Revolution technologies increase food security and income, and lived experiences of farmers.

The colloid-chemical aspects of soaking and liming processes of raw hides processing in the elastic leather production for shoe uppers have been studied. The comparative ecological analysis of soaking and liming processes in the elastic leather materials production is carried out. It is shown that low-waste soaking and liming technology in terms of the physical and chemical properties of the semi-finished leather materials provides lower consumption of environmentally damaging reagents compared to the current technology, namely sodium sulfides and calcium hydroxide by 2.9 and 4.2 times and reducing the total processing time by 2.3 times and electricity costs by 1.7 times. The obtained limed semi-finished product on a set of structurally sensitive indicators is instantiated by higher structure stability. According to the study of the extracted organic unstructured components oxidation degree of the dermis in working solutions and plumping of the limed semi-finished product, deeper structural changes of the skin obtained by the current technology were established due to higher calcium hydroxide consumption and processing time of the semi-finished product. Developed environmentally friendly low-waste technology provides leather for the shoe uppers with increased yield by 3.9%, which meet the requirements of DSTU 3115-95. The obtained elastic leather is characterized by higher strength, absence of loose grain defect and break of leather. Gentle plumping of the limed semi-finished product provides the leather formation with a higher yield area and, accordingly, raw hides efficient use. It is established that according to the complex of ecological and technological indicators the low-waste technology of soaking and liming processes has significant advantages over the current technology in the elastic leather for shoe uppers manufacturing.

The rivers flowing from the north-eastern slope of the Greater Caucasus are among the rivers that flow directly into the Caspian Sea. Sludge, sand, various suspended solids, organic compounds, mineral salts, etc. in river water. both naturally and through irrigation. As a result of multi-year irrigation, agro-irrigation horizons of different thicknesses are formed by the accumulation in the soil of water-derived organic and mineral compounds. Significant changes in the mechanical composition of the soil occur due to the accumulation of materials here. First of all, the amount of small fractional physical activity increases, geophysical and geochemical processes change. The density of the soil increases, the reclamation condition deteriorates, the drainage capacity weakens, and the air and water regime are negatively affected. During the research, the hydrological features of the area rivers, feeding regime, areas irrigated by the rivers, ecological analysis of the river and canal waters and the complex of physical-geographical factors causing it were studied. Key words:water supply, water consumption, irrigated areas, canal water, ecological analysis of river water, physical-geographical factors

Eco-efficiency is a new concept of environmental analysis seeking to improve products, processes and manufacturing materials. The eco-efficiency analysis gives the opportunity to find the most effective solution with the lowest environmental burden in the bottle forming process. For this purpose, the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) technique of environmental management was used to evaluate selected stages of the bottle forming process. The analysis was carried out using the Eco Indicator 99 method using the SimaPro software.

BackgroundPolicy responses to the Global Financial Crisis emphasized wide-ranging fiscal austerity measures, many of which have been found to negatively impact health outcomes. This paper investigates change in patterns of mortality at local authority level in England (2010–11 to 2017–18) and the relation with fiscal austerity measures.MethodsData from official local authority administrative records are used to quantify the gap between observed deaths and what was anticipated in the 2010-based subnational population projections. Regression analyses are used to explore the relation between excess deaths, austerity and wider process of population change at local authority level.ResultsWe estimate 231 707 total excess deaths, the majority of which occurred since 2014–15 (89%) across the majority of local authorities (91%). Austerity is positively associated with excess deaths. For working age adults, there is a clear gradient to the impact of austerity, whereas for older adults, the impact is more uniform.ConclusionsFiscal austerity policies contributed to an excess of deaths for older people and widened social inequalities for younger populations. These results call for an end to all austerity measures and require further research into areas with the highest total excess deaths as a priority following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ecological data are collected over vast geographic areas using digital sensors such as camera traps and bioacoustic recorders. Camera traps have become the standard method for surveying many terrestrial mammals and birds, but camera trap arrays often generate millions of images that are time-consuming to label. This causes significant latency between data collection and subsequent inference, which impedes conservation at a time of ecological crisis. Machine learning algorithms have been developed to improve the speed of labelling camera trap data, but it is uncertain how the outputs of these models can be used in ecological analyses without secondary validation by a human. Here, we present our approach to developing, testing and applying a machine learning model to camera trap data for the purpose of achieving fully automated ecological analyses. As a case-study, we built a model to classify 26 Central African forest mammal and bird species (or groups). The model generalizes to new spatially and temporally independent data (n = 227 camera stations, n = 23,868 images), and outperforms humans in several respects (e.g. detecting ‘invisible’ animals). We demonstrate how ecologists can evaluate a machine learning model's precision and accuracy in an ecological context by comparing species richness, activity patterns (n = 4 species tested) and occupancy (n = 4 species tested) derived from machine learning labels with the same estimates derived from expert labels. Results show that fully automated species labels can be equivalent to expert labels when calculating species richness, activity patterns (n = 4 species tested) and estimating occupancy (n = 3 of 4 species tested) in a large, completely out-of-sample test dataset. Simple thresholding using the Softmax values (i.e. excluding ‘uncertain’ labels) improved the model's performance when calculating activity patterns and estimating occupancy but did not improve estimates of species richness. We conclude that, with adequate testing and evaluation in an ecological context, a machine learning model can generate labels for direct use in ecological analyses without the need for manual validation. We provide the user-community with a multi-platform, multi-language graphical user interface that can be used to run our model offline.

Although many studies have examined gender and racial discrepancies in STEM participation, few have considered variation in the gendered construction of STEM across racial spaces. We applied a cultural psychological perspective to investigate whether variation in conceptions of gender identity across African American and European American settings resonates with variation in gendered constructions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains across predominantly white institutions (PWIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We further examined implications of engagement with virtual STEM departments across these school categories. In Study 1, independent coders rated website images as less masculine, and evaluated website climates more favorably, for physics and biology departments at HBCUs relative to PWIs. In Studies 2 and 3, we used these website images as stimuli in within- and between-subjects experiments. Participants gave more positive ratings for sense of belonging and perceived climate in response to images from physics departments at HBCUs than at PWIs; women rated physics departments at PWIs as higher in masculinity than those at HBCUs. We replicated these patterns in Study 3, and also found that lower sense of belonging due to exposure to images from PWI physics departments predicted less interest in pursuing STEM fields among women only. We discuss implications of our findings for understanding and addressing gender discrepancies in STEM participation.

OBJECTIVE: To identify academic factors pertaining to college students, calendar timing, and particular moments that are uniquely associated with elevated likelihood of prescription stimulant misuse (intentions and actual behavior) in daily life. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 297 freshmen and sophomores at a large public university in the U.S. in 2017–2019. METHODS: Participants completed survey measures during lab visits and ecological momentary assessment procedures in daily life. Hypotheses were tested using multilevel models that accounted for the nested data and demographic covariates. RESULTS: Student, calendar-based, and momentary academic factors were uniquely associated with stimulant misuse intentions in daily life. Real-time academic events, beyond the proportion of academic events experienced, emerged as a robust predictor of misuse behavior. Within-person links between real-time momentary predictors and misuse behavior were moderated by finals week timing. CONCLUSIONS: Findings offer implications for prevention and intervention strategies for college students at risk for prescription drug misuse.

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) have been an arguable risk factor for COVID-19 diseases because they could upregulate Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) expression, facilitating SARS-CoV2 entry to the lungs. Several retrospective clinical studies, however, found no such effect. Here, we explore how the use of ACEIs and ARBs links to COVID-19 across all countries of the world. Methods: Data on the availability of ACEIs and ARBs for 200 countries and on the number of cases and number of deaths per country by 28 December 2020 were extracted from WHO and Worldometer website, respectively. Data on life expectancy at age 65 years as a measure of ageing were from WHO and on Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (GDP PPP) and the percentage of urbanization were from the World Bank. Excel and SPSS v 26 software were used for statistical analyses. Results: In linear regression and logistic conditional regression analysis, GDP correlates with COVID-19 prevalence (rho = 0.66, p > 0.001) and deaths from COVID-19 (rho = 0.55, p < 0.001) while urbanization and life expectancy do not when GDP influence is controlled for. After statistically removing the effects of GDP on the prevalence and mortality from COVID-19, we found that countries without ACEI and ARB availability had lower COVID-19 cases and deaths (p < 0.02). Conclusions: Our study based on the global data contradicts findings of most published clinical studies at regional levels. We found that GDP positively correlates with prevalence of and mortality related to COVID-19. ACEI and ARB use increases COVID-19 infectivity and mortality.

Objectives: As COVID-19 spread across the United States, and most rapidly in skilled nursing homes, public health departments developed policies to mitigate the spread. Concerns grew over whether this spread linked to nursing home quality. Design: We collected data on nursing home quality, staffing, and COVID-19 cases from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. Demographic data was sourced from Long Term Care Focus. Settings and Participants: The analysis used cross-sectional data from 1,025 California skilled nursing homes including quality ratings and confirmed COVID-19 cases between May 17, 2020 and August 23, 2020. Methods: The dependent variable was confirmed COVID-19 cases among residents. The primary independent variables were Overall Rating and Health Inspection Rating, while also including nursing home beds, patient race composition, ownership and geographic classification. Results: 5-Star Overall Rating, 5-Star Health Inspection Rating, and a lower count of health inspection deficiencies each predicted a lower likelihood of having a confirmed COVID resident case (p

The ecological analysis of 31 algae and cyanobacteria indicators assessed the water quality of the Changchun drinking water Xinlicheng Reservoir by using bio-indication methods. The water was fresh, low alkaline, low-saline, middle oxygenated, with reached nutrients and organic pollution and mesotrophic to eutrophic. Statistics reveal significant variables that impacted algal diversity were nutrients, water quality was low to the middle polluted Class II-III. The indices of saprobity and WESI show the high self-purification capacity and low-toxicity impact. We revealed potential threatening species of cyanobacteria. The improving water quality from 2007 up to now has been revealed.

Background: A gastroschisis incidence decline has recently been reported in Liaoning, China, from 2006-2015; we suspect that this decline could be associated with the fall in industrial manufacturing activities. Methods: The outcome variable, gastroschisis incidence, was from a previous publication. The industrial manufacturing activities were measured by relative job participation and production in the primary and secondary economic sectors, and the corresponding data were collected in 14 cities from 2005 to 2015. The general linear model and a random-effect Poisson regression model were performed to assess the association and time-series trend of gastroschisis with the manufacturing activities. Results: The relative job participation in the first economic sector was marginally associated with gastroschisis incidence in 2006 (p=0.070), but more significantly associated (Beta=-0.040; p=0.014) in the cross-sectional and time-series analysis with one-year lag in the outcome variable. Conclusion: The gastroschisis incidence decline in Liaoning is likely due to the reduced job participation in manufacturing and heavy industry, which might be an indication of reduced risk exposure associated with the industrial manufacturing activities.

The Estação Biológica Santa Lúcia (EBSL) is one of the oldest reserves in Brazil, used as a research site since 1939 by the naturalist Augusto Ruschi. It is an Atlantic Forest fragment, and its fauna and flora have been studied throughout the years. However, its chiropteran fauna remains virtually unknown. Here, we aim to provide a bat species list for EBSL. We installed mist-nets over 19 nights from mid-2009 to mid-2010, with a sampling effort of 20 875.5 m2.h. We captured 204 specimens, from two families and 22 species. Ecological analysis reveals a medium to high diversity, heavily dominated by frugivorous species. The collector’s curve and the estimative of species richness suggests that the chiropteran fauna at EBSL remains partially unknown, and we encourage further inventories.

Relevance. The multifaceted intersectoral problem of human security in contact with mercury has gained global significance in the twentieth century, it is relevant today. Considerable attention is paid to the environmental and hygienic aspects of mercury hazards in the field related to the production and disposal of waste containing Hg. The Aim of the Research. Analyze the data of own research on mercury content in the environment in connection with the management of mercury-containing waste and justify a set of preventive environmental and hygienic, technological and organizational measures to improve safety, public health and improve the environment in the region and the country in general. Materials and Methods. Sampling, sample preparation and determination of mercury content in environmental facilities and bioassays were performed according to MI “Methodical instructions for the determination of mercury in biological material, air, drinking water, food products and the environment.” The concentration of mercury was measured by the method of AAS “cold steam” on the upgraded device “Yulia-2M”. The mercury content in soil and air at the spontaneous dump of mercury lamps in Odessa region, on the border of the sanitary protection zone and in the air of the working zone of the enterprise for utilization of mercury lamps was studied. For sample preparation, chemically pure nitric acid (56%) was used, to reduce mercury during the analysis of chemically pure tin (II) chloride. Results and Conclusions. Mercury lamps have been shown to be hazardous to the environment and human health without proper disposal. Mercury lamps should be collected and disposed of as hazardous waste not only in industrial facilities but also in the general public. The formation of spontaneous unauthorized landfills of mercury lamps is unacceptable. The problem of environmental monitoring needs to be addressed at the state level with the mandatory involvement of specialists in the field of hygiene, toxicology and analytical chemistry of heavy metals in cases of violations to assess the level of danger and make informed decisions on approaches to elimination of mercury sources. Key Words: mercury, mercury lamps, ecology.

The article analyzes the fauna and ecology of phytonematodes of wheat and wild-growing cereal plants in Uzbekistan. Common methods in phytohelminthology were used to study the fauna of nematodes.As a result of studies in plants and root soil of wheat and wild grasses, 237 species of nematodes belonging to 2 subclasses, 8 orders, 12 suborders, 16 superfamilies, 36 families, 43 subfamilies and 83 genera were registered.Also, in the ecological analysis, the registered nematodes were distributed according to ecological groups as follows: pararisobionts - 51 species, eusaprobionts - 18, devisaprobes - 63, nonspecific parasites - 84, true parasites - 21 species.It was noted that the found parasitic nematodes were few in number, but the identification of a high density of their populations would cause a serious threat to wheat.

The article provides a bioecological analysis of 106 species belonging to 23 genera of the Fabaceae Lindl. Family growing on the summer pastures of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Each species is assigned to a certain life form according to the system of K. Raunkier and I. G. Serebryakov, the classification of the life forms of legumes in relation to water and substrate is given, as well as the distribution along the belts, geographical elements and types of areas.

In this study is made an ecological analysis of the species composition, structure of the helminth community and the invasion degree of Bufo bufo in different habitats in the National Park «Smolny» (Republic of Mordovia, Russia). In 2018–2019, they were collected in five biotopes with different spawning water bodies. Nine helminth species were found, including five Trematoda species and four Chromadorea (Nematoda) species. There are two groups of species. The first of them develops on terrestrial nematodes Rhabdias bufonis, Oswaldocruzia filiformis, Oxysomatium brevicaudatum, rather common, regardless of the habitat, with a high degree of invasion and dominating in the helminth community. The species of the second group develop in aquatic nematode Cosmocerca ornata, as well as trematodes which are rarer, locally and with a low infection rate. They are typical parasites of green frogs (genus Pelophylax). The diversity of helminthes and the structure of their component community depend on the type, nature of the spawning water body and the presence of green frogs. Individuals of B. bufo, spawning in stagnant water bodies where green frogs live, have a more diverse helminth species composition, because there are helminths of the second group, whose development is related to the aquatic environment. The structure of their community is more complex. Bufo bufo, when using flowing water bodies without green frogs for spawning, has a depleted helminth composition and a simplified structure of their community. The obtained results have demonstrated the influence of one allotopic amphibian species on the formation of helminth community of another species under conditions of temporary syntopic occurrence.

Background: Although many studies have provided evidence for all-cause mortality attributed to extreme temperature across India, few studies have provided a systematic analysis of the association between all-cause mortality and temperature. Objective: To estimate the risk associated with heat waves during two major heat waves of Nagpur occurred in 2010 and 2014. Methods: The association between temperature and mortality was measured using a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) and the attributable deaths associated with the heat waves with forward perspective in the DLNM framework. Results: From the ecological analysis, we found 580 and 306 additional deaths in 2010 and 2014, respectively. Moving average results also gave similar findings. DLNM results showed that the relative risk was 1.5 for the temperature above 45 °C; forward perspective analysis revealed that the attributable deaths during 2010 and 2014 were 505 and 376, respectively. Results from different methods showed that heat waves in different years had variable impacts for various reasons. However, all the results were consistent during 2010 and 2014; there were 30% and 14% extra-mortalities due to heat comparing to non-heat wave years. Conclusion: We strongly recommend the city Government to implement the action plans based on this research outcome to reduce the risk from the heat wave in future.

Onosma is a genus with numerous taxonomical challenges, a wide range of morphologically similar species described only with uncertain and indistinct morphological characteristics and interspecific ...

S R Resumen Se analiza la implementacion de un REI codisciplinar en el profesorado de matematicas como primera etapa de formacion inicial que permita dar respuesta a las necesidades de las nuevas reformas curriculares para la Nueva Escuela Secundaria de la provincia de Rio Negro (NESRN), Argentina, atendiendo a los dispositivos didacticos disponibles desde la teoria antropologica de lo didactico (TAD). Este analisis abarca, no solo la descripcion del recorrido realizado, sino tambien el analisis ecologico de las condiciones y restricciones que emergieron a lo largo de su implementacion en la formacion de profesores durante sus dos ediciones. Palabras-clave : Teoria antropologica de lo didactico. Abstract Analysis of the implementation of a co-disciplinary SRP in the professorship of mathematics as the first stage of the initial training to meet the needs of new curricular reforms for the Nueva Escuela Secundaria de la provincia de Rio Negro (NESRN), Argentina, regarding the didactic devices available from the anthropological theory of the didactic (ATD). This analysis covers not only the description of the course, but also the ecological analysis of the conditions and constraints that emerged from its implementation in the teacher education during its two editions. Keywords : Anthropological theory of the didactic.

Aims To investigate trends in the prescription of oral anticoagulants (OACs) and antiplatelet agents for atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and results Prescription data for 450 518 patients with AF from 3352 General Practices in England, was obtained from the GRASP-AF registry, 2009–2018. Annualized temporal trends for OAC and antiplatelet prescription were reported according to eligibility based on stroke risk (CHADS2 or CHA2DS2-VASc scores ≥1 or >2, respectively). From 2009 to 2018, the prevalence of AF increased from 1.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5–1.7%] to 2.4% (2.3–2.5%), and for those with AF the proportion prescribed OAC increased from 47.6% to 75.0% (P-trend < 0.001; relative risk 1.57, 95% CI 1.55–1.60) and for antiplatelet decreased from 37.4% to 9.2% (P-trend < 0.001). In early-years (2009–2013), eligible patients aged ≥80 years were less likely to be prescribed OAC than patients aged Conclusion Between 2009 and 2018, in England, the use of OAC for stroke prophylaxis in AF increased, with DOAC accounting for over half of OAC uptake in 2018. Despite a reduction in the OAC-prescription gap, a new paradox exists relating to DOAC prescription for the elderly and those at higher risk of stroke.

In sociology’s formative period between 1830 and 1930, evolutionary analysis organized much theorizing and research. This line of work ended abruptly in the 1920s but, over the last decades, has come back into the discipline somewhat piecemeal with the reintroduction of more sophisticated stage models of societal evolution, functional analysis, human ecological analysis, and other new lines of evolutionary inquiry outlined in this paper. Our goal is to demonstrate that revitalized paradigms of the past can still be useful with modest reconceptualization, while at the same time new intellectual movements in the other social sciences, especially economics and psychology, incorporating evolutionary ideas from biology provide sociology with an opportunity to develop its own approach to evolutionary analysis that avoids the problems that let to the demise of this line of inquiry in the 1920s, as well as the problems of other social sciences applying their more narrowly focus models to sociological problems. Indeed, sociology can become a leader in the social sciences in developing more sophisticated theoretical and methodological approaches to incorporating biology and evolutionary analysis into the social sciences. When presented in a new, more sophisticated guise, old approaches like functionalism, stage models of societal evolution, and ecological models can be seen as still having a great deal of explanatory power, while revealing a progressive and future orientation that should appeal to all contemporary sociologists. It is time, then, for sociology to remember its past in order to move into the future.

Measures of teaching are used internationally to understand and improve quality in early education with little consideration for ecological validity. In this study, we analyze videos gathered in 58...

Nationwide nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been effective at mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but their broad impact on other diseases remains under-investigated. Here we report an ecological analysis comparing the incidence of 31 major notifiable infectious diseases in China in 2020 to the average level during 2014-2019, controlling for temporal phases defined by NPI intensity levels. Respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal or enteroviral diseases declined more than sexually transmitted or bloodborne diseases and vector-borne or zoonotic diseases. Early pandemic phases with more stringent NPIs were associated with greater reductions in disease incidence. Non-respiratory diseases, such as hand, foot and mouth disease, rebounded substantially towards the end of the year 2020 as the NPIs were relaxed. Statistical modeling analyses confirm that strong NPIs were associated with a broad mitigation effect on communicable diseases, but resurgence of non-respiratory diseases should be expected when the NPIs, especially restrictions of human movement and gathering, become less stringent., Non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to mitigate COVID-19 transmission are likely to have impacted spread of other infectious diseases. Here, the authors investigate changes in the incidence of 31 notifiable infectious diseases using surveillance data from China.

Background: Complete basic immunization for infants in Indonesia is an obligation in an effort to protect infant health. It is one of the important indicators in determining the quality of health services in a certain area. However, the coverage of complete basic immunization in Indonesia in 2017 and 2018 has not been achieved nationally with National Strategic Planning and it has not been achieved the targets of 80% of districts/cities in 2019. Objective: This study aims to analyze the factors correlated to the complete basic immunization coverage of infants in Indonesia in 2017-2019. Methods: Ecological analysis was carried out using secondary data from the report of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia in 2017-2019. Univariate analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and one sample Kolmogorov Smirnov. Bivariate analysis was conducted by correlation test (Pearson and Spearman) and scatter plot. Results: C omplete basic immunization for infants had a significant correlation with the adequacy of midwives at the primary health care in 2017 (r = -0.337). There was significant correlation between poverty and complete basic immunization in 2017 and 2018 (r = -0.362 and r = -0.535). In 2019, active Integrated Service Post (Posyandu) was correlated to the complete basic immunization (r = 0.444). The first neonatal visit was correlated to the complete basic immunization of infants for three consecutive years (2017-2019). Conclusion: Efforts that can be made to increase the coverage of complete basic immunization in Indonesia are increasing the distribution of midwives in Indonesia, increasing the coverage of the first neonatal visit by paying attention to Posyandu cadres, especially in provinces with high poverty rates.