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Image edge detection plays a crucial role in image analysis and recognition. However, when dealing with color images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), there are certain limitations, such as large operations, multiple noise sources, easy distortion, and missing information in edge detection. To address these shortcomings, this study proposes a UAV color image edge detection method based on an enhanced fireworks algorithm. In this method, the color image pixels of the UAV are represented using quaternions. The explosion amplitude formula of the fireworks is divided into two categories based on the mean value of the number of fireworks explosions. For each category, an explosion formula is proposed, and the explosion mutation operator of the fireworks algorithm is improved accordingly. By applying the proposed algorithm, the preliminary edges of a UAV color image are obtained. Additionally, a novel approach for color image edge refinement is introduced. This approach involves classifying the edge points based on their degree of attachment, which leads to the formation of the edges in a UAV color image. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm proposed in this study offers several advantages, including fast calculation, strong denoising capability, and high-quality edge detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firework displays are an integral part of festivals. Kerala is a host of innumerable firework displays. Perchlorate is used as an oxidizer in fireworks. Water samples and soil samples collected after firework display in selected sites of Kerala were analyzed using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Both soil and water samples after the firework display were found to be contaminated with perchlorate. Average perchlorate in soil ranges from below detectable limits to 20451.14 ppb and in water from below detectable limits to 7.23 ppb. Perchlorate in soil was found to be maximum on the third day after the fireworks display. The present study gives an awareness of the perchlorate contamination resulting from the fireworks display in Kerala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, aerial fireworks commonly used for celebrations in Taiwan were analyzed. These fireworks have propellant components, which are stored under varying humidity and temperature conditions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the Vent Sizing Package 2 (VSP2) were used to assess the relationship between microscale heat transfer and temperature as well as thermal runaway in an adiabatic environment. Thermodynamic methods, namely the Friedman, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, and ASTM E698, were used to analyze the safety and latent thermal hazards of aerial fireworks. DSC experiments confirmed the high solubility of potassium nitrate (KNO3), which enables it to readily dissolve in K+ and NO 3 - . Increasing the relative humidity and exposure time caused the surface of the oxidizer to dissolve, resulting in the reduction of the second exothermic peak and, in turn, incomplete combustion and launch failure. The results obtained using the ASTM E698 method revealed that when the samples were soaked in deionized (DI) water, their apparent activation energy increased considerably from 45.78 to 153.68 kJ mol−1, reflecting a decrease in the temperature sensitivity of the gunpowder in the fireworks. To reduce the reactivity of the gunpowder and minimize the thermal hazard associated with fireworks, a large amount of water must be added. However, the experiment performed using VSP2 showed that when the humidity increased, the adiabatic exothermic onset temperature was delayed. The maximum temperature of the original sample was the highest. The maximum reaction rate of the samples stored at a relative humidity of 40% was shorter than that of other samples, and that of the samples soaked in DI water was the longest. Regarding the relationship between pressure rise rate and temperature, (dP/dt)max can be used to determine whether the propulsion capacity of a firework during ignition is sufficient. When DI water was added, the propulsion capacity decreased, and fireworks could not be ignited. The samples stored at a relative humidity of 40% had higher pressure than did the original sample. The samples soaked in DI water had lower pressure than did the original sample. These results indicate that increasing humidity affects temperature and pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fireworks are composed of flammable and explosive materials, and during manufacture, transportation, and related processes, these materials are susceptible to static electricity, impact, friction, and explosion degradation, causing fire- and explosion-related accidents. Sorbitan monooleate (SPAN-80) is a widely used emulsifier in emulsion explosives. This study used differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis to characterise the propellant reaction kinetics in fireworks to explore the safety effects of emulsifiers on propellants. Additionally, the intensity of the thermal decomposition reaction of the propellant after the addition of the emulsifier was compared. Simulation models were used to simulate the thermal hazards of propellants and emulsified propellants. The results reveal that the emulsifier affected the decomposition process of the propellant, and the presence of the emulsifier reduced the sensitivity of the propellant. This paper also outlines the thermal hazard parameters of fireworks by using a thermokinetic model, which can serve as a reference for related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fireworks industries of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, are centuries-old, unorganized cottage industries. The goal of the current study was to evaluate how psychosocial stress of fireworks workers of Bengal had changed during the COVID-19 pre-pandemic and during pandemic period, and to determine the underlying causes of it. 152 male fireworks workers of varying ages were chosen for this purpose. To measure the psychosocial stress of fireworks employees, the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) based on Karasek's Demand-Control Model was used. A shortened Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire (SRRQ- Holmes and Rahe, 1967) was followed to measure the life change value. The socioeconomic status related to psychosocial stress was also measured along with food habits. After analyzing psychosocial factors and outcomes, it was determined that financial condition and job stability of fireworks workers worsened notably during pandemic. There were prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and lack of health awareness among them. Though, they were benefitted by different government schemes, low income and job stress led to increased psychosocial stress during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of pyrotechnic compositions based on aromatic compounds and/or their salts in combination with pyrotechnic oxidizers possess a distinct feature: when being pressed into a tube and ignited, they burn, emitting a loud whistling noise. Such pyrotechnic effects have been known for over 100 years and are widely used for military and civil applications. The presented paper includes variable examples of pyrotechnic whistle compositions, their properties, and application examples. Additional information is provided on historical facts associated with the invention of the pyrotechnic whistles and the current state of knowledge of the whistling mechanism from both chemical and physical standpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fire inside a pyrotechnic store can lead to simultaneous initiation of the stored articles, regardless of their risk category, producing a shockwave caused by the released gas pressure. In fact, several accidents have occurred throughout history in pyrotechnic stores. This indicates the high risk posed by pyrotechnics due to their flammability. Due to the lack of global or European legislation on guidelines for the design of pyrotechnic stores and associated risk assessment, the present research aims to analyze the consequences of a fire inside pyrotechnic stores and to establish globally possible effective prevention and protection measures in order to reduce explosion risk and avoid future accidents. The observed consequences and the reflected pressure (pressure measured when the wave is incident perpendicularly on the transducer) measured during fire tests inside a pyrotechnic store indicated the need to minimize the potential occurrence of fires. The limitation of the maximum permissible load, considering the volume of the store (kg/m3), reduces consequence severity in the event of an accident. However, the maximum permissible levels should be so low as to make their use for retail sales of pyrotechnic products unviable. The solution is the use of automatic fire detection and extinguishing systems with a high cooling capacity in order to prevent the spread to nearby packaging by rapid detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The religious festivals like Diwali, Ganesh chaturthi, Dusshera, Durga puja are celebrated with a lot of fanfare. These festivals are characterised by mega festivities with high value gifting, spending enormous money on loud and bright fireworks. Pollution has been one of the biggest side effects of these celebrations with fireworks being one of the major contributors. Crackers and fireworks are found to be the chief sources of air pollution during Diwali festival. Consumers enjoy fireworks and often use them as means to display their wealth and happiness during festivals. At the other side, it is a position of environmental pollution. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute instructed to manufacture green crackers. Green crackers has less chemical composition. Its smog level is low. Many fireworks industries started to produce green crackers. They faced lot of problems in manufacturing green crackers. In Virudhunagar district, crackers are manufactured only in Sivakasi. In other taluks, whole sale and retail sales of crackers take place. In India, as per National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) report 2022-2023, 1085 fireworks have registered for manufacturing green crackers out of which 90 per cent of the units are located in and around Sivakasi. Hence, 1085 units are considered as population units for fireworks manufacturers. The population is fed into Yamunae formula and samples size determined is 292 at 95 per cent level of significance. Hence, Census survey method has been used. The present study focused focuses on the problems faced by the manufacturers of green crackers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fireworks industry (FI), many accidents and explosions frequently happen due to human error (HE). Human factors (HFs) always play a dynamic role in the incidence of accidents in workplace environments. Preventing HE is a main challenge for safety and precautions in the FI. Clarifying the relationship between HFs can help in identifying the correlation between unsafe behaviors and influential factors in hazardous chemical warehouse accidents. This paper aims to investigate the impact of HFs that contribute to HE, which has caused FI disasters, explosions, and incidents in the past. This paper investigates why and how HEs contribute to the most severe accidents that occur while storing and using hazardous chemicals. The impact of fireworks and match industry disasters has motivated the planning of mitigation in this proposal. This analysis used machine learning (ML) and recommends an expert system (ES). There were many significant correlations between individual behaviors and the chance of HE to occur. This paper proposes an ML-based prediction model for fireworks and match work industries in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. For this study analysis, the questionnaire responses are reviewed for accuracy and coded from 500 participants from the fireworks and match industries in Tamil Nadu who were chosen to fill out a questionnaire. The Chief Inspectorate of Factories in Chennai and the Training Centre for Industrial Safety and Health in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India, significantly contributed to the collection of accident datasets for the FI in Tamil Nadu, India. The data are analyzed and presented in the following categories based on this study's objectives: the effect of physical, psychological, and organizational factors. The output implemented by comparing ML models, support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and Naïve Bayes (NB) accuracy is 86.45%, 91.6%, and 92.1%, respectively. Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) has the optimal classification accuracy of 94.41% of ML models. This research aims to create a new ES to mitigate HE risks in the fireworks and match work industries. The proposed ES reduces HE risk and improves workplace safety in unsafe, uncertain workplaces. Proper safety management systems (SMS) can prevent deaths and injuries such as fires and explosions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The categories of "amateur" and "professional" remain central in studies on the sociology of nineteenth-century science. This article joins a growing body of literature that points out the complicated and intersecting connections between these two groups and how blurred the boundaries could be. This study focuses on pyrotechny, the art of fireworks, a field of far more obvious importance in the nineteenth century than it is today. Firework displays were mounted by artisan firework makers, who by the end of the century had become industrialists, and by military specialists, usually artillerymen. They had also become a common amateur pursuit. Across the nineteenth century, the art was transformed by the introduction of new materials, and the key discoveries were the work of enthusiasts who did not seek to profit financially from their discoveries. In this sense, they too were amateurs, although some had a scientific education. This article asks how they were able to make such major contributions to the field, and it situates them within networks that often crossed the boundaries between those who made fireworks for a living, or who studied them in military contexts, and those who were simple enthusiasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Control Theory & Applications / Kongzhi Lilun Yu Yinyong is the property of Editorial Department of Control Theory & Applications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Fireworks are often used to celebrate holidays and events. With novel designs and availability, there is potential for blast and burn injuries that can impact livelihood and function. This study aims to describe and analyse firework-related burns in adults across New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Methods: A retrospective statewide review was performed from January 2010 to December 2020 at the adult burns units. All firework-related burn injuries older than 18 years that attended or were referred to the burns unit were included. Results: There were 203 patients with a firework-related burn injury. The male to female ratio was 4:1 with an average age of 32.2 years. Men were 5.2 years younger than women (31.2 vs 36.4, p = 0.010). Men were more likely to have firework-related injuries on non-holidays, whereas women were more likely on holidays (p = 0.050). Men were more likely to operate fireworks after consuming alcohol resulting in burns than women (34.4% vs 12.5%, p = 0.007). Sparklers were more common amongst women, whereas fireworks had higher proportions amongst men (p = 0.009). The most common site of injury was the hands. The most frequent type of injury was a mid-dermal burn (61.6%), followed by superficial (25.2%), and full thickness (13.2%) respectively. The operative rate was 17.7% with a mean total length of stay of 2.2 days (range: 1–12). Conclusions: Firework-related burns have distinct patterns of use and injuries amongst men and women. Alongside legislation, awareness of the potential hazards for shopgood fireworks such as sparklers is critical for future prevention campaigns. Level of evidence: Level III, Risk/Prognostic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the conflict between, on the one hand, the Swedish police and law enforcement and, on the other, supporters, football clubs, and the organization of Swedish Elite Football. The core of this conflict is the introduction of a new structure for maintaining order, referred to as the Condition Ladder (Villkorstrappan), aimed at addressing disturbances and pyrotechnics in the stands. The aim of this article is to chart and analyse the impact of the Condition Ladder on Swedish football culture. The methods are media analysis, analysis of police documents and interviews. The study confirms previous findings regarding the role of the media in public discourse, but also indicates that the previously negative media image of the supporter culture has changed into a more positive view. The study shows that the new restrictions create conflicts and tensions between the involved actors when these actors are to handle risk elements in Swedish supporter culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual search is greatly affected by the appearance rate of given target types, such that low-prevalence items are harder to detect, which has consequences for real-world search tasks where target frequency cannot be balanced. However, targets that are highly representative of a categorically defined task set are also easier to find. We hypothesized that targets that are highly representative are less vulnerable to low-prevalence effects because an observer's attentional set prioritizes guidance toward them even when they are rare. We assessed this hypothesis by first determining the categorical structure of "prohibited carry-ons" via an exemplar-naming task, and used this structure to assess how category representativeness interacted with prevalence. Specifically, from the exemplar-naming task we selected a commonly named (knives) and rarely named (gas cans) target for a search task in which one of the targets was shown infrequently. As predicted, highly representative targets were found more easily than their less representative counterparts, but they also were less affected by prevalence manipulations. Experiment 1b replicated the results with targets matched for emotional valence (water bottles and fireworks). These findings demonstrate the powerful explanatory power of theories of attentional guidance that incorporate the dynamic influence of recent experience with the knowledge that comes from life experience to better predict behavioral outcomes associated with high-stakes search environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sources and variation trend of ambient air pollutants, the duration of pollution process and the conditions for decontamination were analyzed in this essay based on the ambient air pollutants data, PM2.5 source analysis data and meteorological factors in Nanchong City during 2014 to 2019. The results indicated that the concentrated discharge of fireworks on New Year’s Eve was the main reason for the sharp deterioration of the ambient air quality. PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations increased significantly after fireworks were set off, and the peak value appeared at about 02:00 on the Lunar New Year’s Day, but the value of PM2.5/PM10 did not change significantly. The concentration of SO2 in gaseous pollutants was slightly affected by fireworks, while NO2, CO and O3 were not affected basically. Having been affected by fireworks, the concentrations and percentages of K+, Cl- and Mg2+ of the water-solubility ions in PM2.5 significantly increased at the 0.01 level. Meanwhile, the concentrations and percentages of the metal elements, including Cu, Pb, Mg, Al, K and Ba, significantly increased at the 0.05 level. Restricted to the topography and meteorological factors, the duration of the pollution was prolonged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fireworks have long been a problem in Hawaii despite restrictions on their use. They cause accidents and high levels of noise and air pollution and are accompanied by admissions to hospitals from accidents and breathing difficulties. There was some initial success in reducing injuries and particulate concentrations after the implementation of the permit requirements from New Year of 2012, but the recent years of 2022 and 2023 have witnessed elevated air pollution at New Year. It seems unlikely that this arises from weather conditions as a random forest analysis suggests that the effects of local climate are quite small, and particulate pollution at New Year arises from fireworks. The pollution does not seem related to the purchase of the permitted 5000 firecrackers. Locally, there is suspicion that injury and pollution more likely arises from illegally purchased aerial fireworks. Regulatory authorities have found it difficult to estimate the quantity of illegal fireworks, and preventing their import has proved a difficult task. Such problems mean that it is important to enhance our understanding of local environmental problems caused by fireworks and improve compliance with the regulations, without diminishing enjoyment of the New Year celebration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fear of firework noises and other loud, sudden noises (noise reactivity) is a significant problem for many dogs and may have a negative effect on both welfare and, in severe cases, the life expectancy of dogs. A wide range of behavior traits, including fear-related behaviors, have high heritability estimates in dogs. The aim of this study was to estimate genomic heritability for fear of fireworks and loud noises in dogs. Results: A genomic heritability estimate was performed based on genome-wide SNPs from standard poodles with records of fear of fireworks and noise reactivity. The study was based on questionnaires answered by owners, who also volunteered to return a cheek swab from their dog for DNA analyses. SNP-based heritability was estimated to be 0.28 for firework fear and 0.16 for noise reactivity. We also identified an interesting region on chromosome 17 that was weakly associated with both traits. Conclusions: We have estimated low to medium genomic heritabilities for fear of fireworks and noise reactivity in standard poodles. We have also identified an interesting region on chromosome 17, which harbors genes that have been shown to be involved in different psychiatric traits with anxiety components in humans. The region was associated with both traits; however, the association was weak and need further verification from other studies. Plain English summary: The prevalence of fear of fireworks and loud noises is very high in many dog ​​breeds and can be a serious problem for both the dogs and the owners. A genetic study of fear of fireworks and fear of other loud noises was conducted on standard poodles. The study was based on owner questionnaires, where the dog owners scored their dogs' degree of fearfulness from 1 (not fearful) to 5 (very fearful). We estimated genomic heritabilities of 28% for fear of fireworks and 15% for noise reactivity. We also identified a region on chromosome 17 with a possible association with the two traits. This genomic region contains genes of interest in human anxiety-related disorders. Genomic studies in dog breeds where the individuals with and without fear-associated phenotypes can be clearly distinguished, based on owner records, may provide opportunities for the implementation of methods for genomic selection for those fear-associated traits. The results of this study may be helpful for standard poodle breeders in their selection of breeding animals, which ultimately will contribute to better animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ontology, presentation of the world clearly, is a conceptualized and formalized model of knowledge. Knowledge interpretation is subjective, organizations or individuals have different expressions the same knowledge, i.e., ontology heterogeneity. It has arisen as a challenge on the Semantic Web (SW). Ontology meta-matching (OMM) technology can map two body of knowledge in the same domain effectively, and then ontology heterogeneity is addressed. The OMM is generally considered as a nonlinear global optimization problem to achieve alignment. As one of the meta-heuristic algorithms, fireworks algorithm (FA) has a distinct advantage in convergence speed and optimization precision. However, the population size of FA is usually not fixed during the exploitation and exploration process. The sparks are generated by the interaction and cooperation between fireworks, and are larger than the number of fireworks. This search behavior leads that the computational memory is costly. In paper, a novel compact fireworks algorithm (CFA) is proposed to reduce the memory consumption of FA. In CFA the distribution of populations is represented by a probabilistic model, i.e., virtual populations, and two operators are proposed to simulate the process of fireworks explosion and update disturbance vector respectively. The initialization has a great influence on the exploitation and exploration of meta-heuristic algorithm. In addition, a group of high quality initialization can often improve the optimization ability of the algorithm. In paper a novel heuristic initialization strategy (HIS) is designed to obtain a better set of initial population by introducing concept of accurateness, pseudo-weight and barycenter. In addition, HIS is more suitable for higher dimensional decision space of ontology meta-matching by a more convenient coding scheme. Finally, a non-reference matching optimization model, maximal confidence alignment model (MCAM), is proposed to evaluate the quality of alignment. In the experiment, the benchmark track of Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI) is used. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods, and the memory consumption of CFA reduces by 52.5% than FA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fireworks displays have been linked to serious health concerns, particularly in infants and children. Outdoor displays in large, recurring festivals such as state fairs thus may threaten local air quality, particularly given the proximity of fairgrounds to substantial, nearby residential populations. Here, we identify state fairs with known firework displays and assess their impact on air quality in nearby communities. We assessed the impact of three large, recurring festivals on PM2.5 levels in nearby communities. Overall, our multi-year analysis failed to identify measurable increases in PM2.5 concentrations during festival days at air quality monitoring sites within 4–10 km of the fairgrounds, even when data were filtered by wind direction. Results suggest that firework displays from such festivals are unlikely to violate PM2.5 air quality standards in communities near the fairgrounds. The results suggest that identifying a potential air pollution signal associated with fireworks is challenging, particularly in urban fairgrounds where air quality is impacted by multiple local and distant pollution sources. Local impacts may yet be identified in future studies if air quality is monitored closer to the fairgrounds and if the fireworks pyrotechnic content is known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building an effective algorithm model for large key power equipment has very important research significance and application value. Aiming at the typical operating state characteristics of large generators and taking the temperature changes as the main research indicators, the improved fireworks algorithm was used to optimize the process neural network, and the key data characteristics were studied based on the machine experiment and actual operation data of a 300 MW generator so as to find the variation and development trends of the maximum temperature rise caused by negative-sequence current. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the neural network model suitable for large generators established in this paper was verified by test functions and experiments. On this basis, the calculation method was applied to different working conditions, component materials, and heating positions of the generator. Moreover, the temperature-rise prediction results of the structural components for the generator rotor were obtained, and the optimization scheme of the slot wedge material given, which provide a reference for temperature-rise research and the selection of component materials for large generators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is renowned as a place of celebrations. Festivals commemorate not only the change of the seasons but also the harvest, peace, and the birthdays of saints, gurus, prophets, as well as gods and goddesses. When it comes to their religious beliefs, Indians are noted for having a varied range of customs, including fasting, abstinence, and other behaviours. One of the biggest Hindu holidays, Diwali, takes place every year between October and January. The Hindu holidays of Navratri, Dussehra, Durga Puja, and Diwali all fall during these months. A significant amount of dry garbage is produced during and after these festival days. Due to the lack of disposal space during holidays like Diwali and other overlooked issues like extensive firecracker burning, especially in the late hours, which is a substantial producer of aerosols, black carbon (BC), organics, and trace gases, the amount of dry trash increases. It was discovered that frequent sparkler use was connected to incidents of short-term air quality impairment. An afternoon following Diwali in every year, the Indo-Gangetic Plain experiences an increase in air pollution levels that make it difficult to breathe. On Friday, Delhi had its worst post-Diwali air quality in five years due to a deadly concoction of poisonous gases from firecrackers and stubble. To calculate the impact of Diwali on Delhi's air quality, we used hourly data on PM 2.5 particle content from last three years 2020 to 2022. By estimating the Diwali influence on air quality using the event study method and a difference-in-difference regression framework, we improve on previous research. According to the findings, Diwali is associated with a marginal but statistically significant rise in air pollution. In different parts of Delhi, the impact varies. This is the first causal estimate of the air pollution caused by igniting Diwali firecrackers that we are aware of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Mechanical Engineering is the property of Editorial Board of China Mechanical Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Air pollution is a major public health threat that is associated with asthma, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and all-cause mortality. Among the most important acute air pollution events occurring each year are celebrations involving fireworks, such as the 4th of July holiday in the United States. In this community-engaged study, academic partners and residents collaborated to collect indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentration measurements in the disadvantaged city of Santa Ana, California, using low-cost AtmoTube sensor devices before, during and after the July 4th firework celebration, while also examining July 4th data extracted from the PurpleAir sensor network across over a hundred other cities in southern California. Average outdoor PM2.5 concentrations on July 4th were found to be three-to-five times higher than baseline, with hourly concentrations exceeding 160 μg/m3. Outdoor averages were roughly 30% to 100% higher than indoor levels. The most polluted cities exhibited 15-times higher PM2.5 levels compared with the least contaminated cities and were often those where household-level fireworks were legal for sale and use. Race/ethnicity was found to be the leading predictor of July 4th-related air pollution across three counties in southern California, with greater PM2.5 being associated with higher proportions of Hispanic residents and lower proportions of White residents. The findings from this study underscore the importance of environmental justice as it relates to firework-related air pollution exposure, and the critical role city- and county-level firework policies play in determining exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of fireworks has been strengthened during the Spring Festival in 2022 compared with that in 2021 in Linyi, a central city in the North China Plain. Online measurements of the chemical components of PM2.5 were conducted during the Spring Festival in 2021–2022 to assess the influence of fireworks burning (FB) on air quality. Remarkable achievements have been made in improving air quality during FB period (FBP) in 2021–2022 attributing to the stringent regional emission reduction measures, fireworks control, and favorable meteorological conditions with the concentrations of PM2.5, water-soluble ions, and carbonaceous aerosols decreasing by 73.6%, 78.8%, and 73.5%, respectively. The PM2.5 concentrations increased by 96.3% during FBP compared with those during non-FB period (NFBP) in 2021, while the opposite phenomenon was observed in 2022 with PM2.5 concentrations decreasing by 56.2% because of the favorable meteorological condition during FBP in 2022. As indicators of FB, the Cl−, K+, and Mg2+ concentrations showed an increasing trend during FBP compared with that during NFBP, both in 2021 and 2022, but had little effect on other components. The contribution of FB to PM2.5 decreased from 68.4% in 2021 to 15.7% in 2022 based on the relative ratio method, indicating the various measures conducted by all districts and counties in Linyi helped achieve near zero fireworks emissions by 2022. Besides, the contribution of FB to PM2.5 showed a straight-line upward trend from 19:00 on New Year's Eve, reached its peak (76.1%) at 3:00 on Lunar New Year's Day, while the highest value was only 35.0% during FBP in 2022, indicating the implementation of fireworks ban measures in Linyi achieved a good effect on pollution peak cutting. This study has emphasized the necessity of FB restricting during special holidays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harris Hawks optimization (HHO) is a swarm optimization approach capable of handling a broad range of optimization problems. HHO, on the other hand, is commonly plagued by inadequate exploitation and a sluggish rate of convergence for certain numerical optimization. This study combines the fireworks algorithm’s explosion search mechanism into HHO and proposes a framework for fireworks explosion-based HHo to address this issue (FWHHO). More specifically, the proposed FWHHO structure is comprised of two search phases: harris hawk search and fireworks explosion search. A search for fireworks explosion is done to identify locations where superior hawk solutions may be developed. On the CEC2014 benchmark functions, the FWHHO approach outperforms the most advanced algorithms currently available. Moreover, the new FWHHO framework is compared to four existing HHO and fireworks algorithms, and the experimental results suggest that FWHHO significantly outperforms existing HHO and fireworks algorithms. Finally, the proposed FWHHO is employed to evolve a kernel extreme learning machine for diagnosing COVID-19 utilizing biochemical indices. The statistical results suggest that the proposed FWHHO can discriminate and classify the severity of COVID-19, implying that it may be a computer-aided approach capable of providing adequate early warning for COVID-19 therapy and diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum weighted set k-covering problem (MWKCP) is a fundamental optimization problem, which depicts the application scenario of resource-constrained environment and user preference selection. In this paper, the mathematical formulation of MWKCP is given for the first time. Then, a novel master-apprentice evolutionary algorithm (MAE) is proposed for solving this NP-hard optimization problem. In order to make MAE applicable to MWKCP, a path re-linking operator is designed as the mutual learning process of two individuals, and a bare bones fireworks algorithm with explosion amplitude adaptation is adopted as the self-learning stage. Experimental results on 150 classical instances show that the proposed algorithm performs best among all competitors including an exact solver and three heuristic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present Anthropocene, wild animals are globally affected by human activity. Consumer fireworks during New Year (NY) are widely distributed in W‐Europe and cause strong disturbances that are known to incur stress responses in animals. We analyzed GPS tracks of 347 wild migratory geese of four species during eight NYs quantifying the effects of fireworks on individuals. We show that, in parallel with particulate matter increases, during the night of NY geese flew on average 5–16 km further and 40–150 m higher, and more often shifted to new roost sites than on previous nights. This was also true during the 2020–2021 fireworks ban, despite fireworks activity being reduced. Likely to compensate for extra flight costs, most geese moved less and increased their feeding activity in the following days. Our findings indicate negative effects of NY fireworks on wild birds beyond the previously demonstrated immediate response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract Air quality was measured before, during, and after a 4th of July fireworks display in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota using a mix of low-cost sensors (CO, CO2, and NO) for gases and portable moderate cost instruments for particle measurements (PM2.5, lung deposited surface area, and number weighted particle size distributions). Meteorological conditions—temperature, humidity, and vertical temperature profile were also monitored. Concentrations of particles and most gaseous species peak between 10 pm and midnight on July 4th, decrease in the middle of the night but increase again and by between 6 and 7 am reach concentrations as high or higher than during fireworks. This overnight increase is likely due to a temperature inversion trapping emissions. Between 10 pm and midnight on July 4th the measures of particle concentration increase by 180–600% compared to the same period on July 3rd. Particle size distributions are strongly influenced by fireworks, shifting from traffic-like bimodal distributions before to a nearly unimodal distribution dominated by a large accumulation mode during and after. The shape of the size distribution measured during the early morning peak is nearly identical to that observed during fireworks, suggesting that the early morning peak is mainly due to trapped fireworks emissions not early morning traffic. Gaseous species are less strongly influenced by fireworks than particles. Comparing measurements made between 10 pm and midnight on July 4th and the same period on July 3rd, the concentration of CO increases 32% while the CO2 increases only 2% but increases by another 15% overnight. The NO concentration behaves oddly, decreasing during fireworks, but then recovering the next morning, more than doubling overnight. Our measurements of CO, NO, and PM2.5 are compared with those made at the nearest (~ 2 km away) Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Air Monitoring Station. Their NO results are quite different from ours with much lower concentrations before fireworks, a distinct peak during, followed by a strong overnight increase and an early morning peak somewhat similar in shape and concentration to ours. These differences are likely due mainly to malfunction of our low-cost NO sensor. Concentrations of CO and PM2.5 track ours within 25% but peak shapes are somewhat different, which is not unexpected given the spatial separation of the measurements. Article highlights Low-cost and moderate-cost sensors are used to monitor the impact of a 4th of July fireworks display on local air quality. Particle concentrations and size are more strongly influenced by fireworks than are concentrations gaseous pollutants. Particle size distributions produced by fireworks are distinctly different from those associated with urban traffic sources.

To study chemical characteristics, sources and formation mechanisms of PM 2.5 during the Spring Festival (SF), 39 elements, 9 water–soluble ions (WSIs) and 8 fractions of carbonaceous species in PM 2.5 and PM 10 at two sites in Kunming were investigated. The results indicated that the average mass concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 10 were 61.03 ± 25.11 and 80.48 ± 30.08 μg/m3 in the urban area, and 18.96 ± 4.66 and 56.76 ± 21.69 μg/m3 in the suburban area, respectively. Concentrations of PM 2.5 peaked significantly on the Chinese New Year (NYE) and the Lantern Festival (LF) in the urban area. Compared to the previous day of NYE, Ba and Sr concentrations increased by 22.1 and 39.2 times in urban areas, and by 6.5 and 8.3 times in suburban areas. The sum of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium (SNA) accounted for 82.03% and 60.38% of WSIs in urban and suburban areas, respectively. The most abundant carbonaceous species in urban and suburban areas were OC3 and EC1. According to the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) calculation, secondary formation (41.76%) was the predominant sources of PM 2.5 , and the contribution of fireworks to PM 2.5 was 9.06%. The formation of secondary organic carbon (SOC) occurred through heterogeneous reactions. SNA was derived from heterogeneous reaction and photochemical reaction. [Display omitted] • Ba, Sr and K concentrations were significantly elevated during the spring festival. • Fireworks burning have more notable influences on air quality in mountainous cities. • The emission of fireworks is accompanied by a transitory increase in ozone concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrotechnics are among the energetic materials that have wide applications in various military and civilian fields. Thermal behavior and thermal stability are the very important properties of pyrotechnics. The thermal stability of a pyrotechnic shows the scope of application as well as safety. Thermal analysis methods such as TGA, DTA, and DSC are used to obtain information on the thermal behavior and thermal stability of pyrotechnics. The first review in the field of thermal analysis of pyrotechnics was published by P.G. LAYE and E.L. CHARSLEY in Thermochimica Acta Journal in 1987. The results of thermal analysis of pyrotechnics containing molybdenum trioxide, lead oxides, nitrates, perchlorates and chlorates, dichromates and chromates have been reviewed and discussed in mentioned paper. Over time, investigating the thermal behavior of pyrotechnics can be useful for scientists in this scientific field. It is possible to consider various divisions for pyrotechnics based on the type of fuel, type of oxidizer, etc. In the present paper, the results of the thermal behavior of pyrotechnics are reviewed and discussed based on the type of metallic fuel including the common metals aluminum, magnesium, and Al–Mg alloy (magnalium). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

off fireworks during the Spring Festival (SF) is a traditional practice in China. However, because of its environmental impact, the Chinese government has banned this practice completely. Existing evaluations of the effectiveness of firework prohibition policies (FPPs) lack spatiotemporal perspectives, making it difficult to comprehensively assess their effects on air quality. Consequently, this study used remote sensing technology based on aerosol optical depth and multiple variables, compared nine statistical learning methods, and selected the optimal model, transformer, to estimate daily spatiotemporal continuous PM 2.5 concentration datasets for Tianjin from 2016 to 2020. The overall model accuracy reached a root mean square error of 15.30 μg/m³, a mean absolute error of 9.55 μg/m³, a mean absolute percentage error of 21.07%, and an R2 of 0.88. Subsequently, we analysed the variations in PM 2.5 concentrations from three time dimensions–the entire year, winter, and SF periods–to exclude the impact of interannual variations on the experimental results. Additionally, we quantitatively estimated firework-specific PM 2.5 concentrations based on time-series forecasting. The results showed that during the three years following the implementation of the FPPs, firework-specific PM 2.5 concentrations decreased by 52.70%, 49.76%, and 86.90%, respectively, compared to the year before the implementation of the FPPs. Spatially, the central urban area and industrial zones are more affected by FPPs than the suburbs. However, daily variations of PM 2.5 concentrations during the SF showed that high concentrations of PM 2.5 produced in a short period will return to normal rapidly and will not cause lasting effects. Therefore, the management of fireworks needs to consider both environmental protection and the public's emotional attachment to traditional customs, rather than simply imposing a blanket ban on fireworks. We advocate improving firework policies in four aspects–production, sales, supervision, and control–to promote sustainable development of the ecological environment and human society. [Display omitted] • Transformer showed the highest PM 2.5 estimation accuracy among nine models. • Firework-specific PM 2.5 in Tianjin substantially decreased after fireworks ban. • The impact of fireworks ban on PM 2.5 reduction is greater in urban areas. • High concentration of PM 2.5 from intensive fireworks dropped sharply in one day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diwali is a five-day festival celebrated every year with lamp illumination and bursting of firecrackers in India. Considering the present situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rajasthan government im- posed a ban on firecrackers during the five-day festivities in the year 2020 to tackle air pollution caused by the emission of harmful pollutant gases from their burning. This paper has assessed the concentration of PM10, PM2.5, CO and SO2 pollutants, which are released from fireworks in large amounts in the environment during the Diwali festival. Seven air quality monitoring stations viz. Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Pali and Udaipur in Rajasthan state were selected to examine the effect of a ban on the use of firecrackers during the Diwali festival. The analysis was done by comparing the mean concentrations of baseline data and Diwali day data of 2019 and 2020. The results depict that the firecracker ban helped in declining the concentrations of all the air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, CO and SO2) taken into consid- eration, which significantly improved the ambient air quality of Rajasthan during the Diwali festival, and it is suggested that such regulations should be implemented from time to time to improve the quality of air and human health effectively.

As one of the main stakeholders, active football fans have a strong impact on clubs. The aim of this paper is to show how this impact creates conflicts with other stakeholders and affects club policy. In order to do so, stakeholder theory is used and 27 expert interviews with German representatives of all important stakeholders were conducted. The main fields of conflict identified were: (1) the handling and punishment of pyrotechnics; (2) the possibility of allowing active fans to influence elections; and (3) the overall commercialization. However, some of the conflicts are strongly interlinked and should not be considered separately. As tensions often arise because of conflicts of interest and a lack of dialogue between different stakeholders, it seems important for clubs to act as a mediator and to encourage these stakeholders to engage in dialogue. The joint dialogue should also develop joint long-term solutions for recurring conflict topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated a simple fabrication methodology of free-standing polymer composite film firework that sparkles, provides colour display and moderate sound, yet is less polluting. The polymer composite film fireworks are composed of magnesium boride (MgB2), sodium nitrite (NaNO2) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). This study also suggested that a flammable, explosive powder composition can be made of two very common inorganic precursors, mainly NaNO2 and MgB2. This is the first report demonstrating composite film fireworks with new flammable composition using metal boride as a primary precursor, which can also be used in conventional fireworks fabrication, replacing the traditional fuel, mainly gunpowder. The film fireworks were free from charcoal, sulphur, metal powder and paper. Therefore, they substantially lower the odour and COx, NOx emissions and minimize the substantial trash generated when burned. Most importantly, film firework's minimum ignition temperature and exothermic decomposition temperature are much higher than the ambient temperature; hence are safe to handle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fireworks algorithm is a novel swarm intelligence optimization framework which focuses on the potential of collaboration among multiple subpopulations with independent search ability. Although it has been proved to perform excellently in many tasks, the collaborative mechanism of fireworks is still quite undeveloped. In this paper, a theoretical model of fireworks algorithm based on search space partition is proposed, analyzed and implemented. The local search of each firework is replaced by covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy for efficient exploitation. A coordination strategy inspired from Voronoi diagram is proposed to approximate the theoretical model for stable global exploration. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm not only outperforms previous variants of fireworks algorithm significantly, but also achieves competitive results compared with state‐of‐the‐art evolutionary algorithms, which are intensively fine‐tuned on the objective functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]