Roya Mortazavi The important role of bioaerosols in both human health and in atmospheric sciences has been highlighted by many worldwide incidences that occurred in the last two decades. The global incidence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003, China, (Zhong et al. 2003), H1N1 influenza epidemic in 2009, Mexico, and California (USA) (Van Kerkhove et al. 2011), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2013, Saudia Arabia (Hageman 2020), the 2019 pandemic Covid-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, China (Rothan and Byrareddy 2020), and the ongoing threat of bio-terror attack by the deliberate release of agents such as anthrax or smallpox (Taylor, Lai, and Nasir 2012), further emphasize the necessity of having a more holistic critical views on the significance of bioaerosols. It calls for the fundamental, coherent, and standardized research toward execution of the role of bioaerosols, including its interactions with other molecules, exposure, and its mechanism of action. Bioaerosols are simply defined as biological airborne particles that are temporally and spatially directly released into the atmosphere from all types of environments, including soil, freshwater, and oceans. They may originate from plants, animals, or microorganism (live/ dead bacteria, fungi and viruses) or comprise their byproducts such as fungal spores, plant pollen, various fragments and excretions (Humbal, Gautam, and Trivedi 2018). The complexity, and diversity of bioaerosols composition/shapes are also reflected into its size, which range from 0.001 to 100 μm (Kim, Kabir, and Jahan 2018). Bioaerosols form a complex mixture of particulate matter (PM) with chemical aerosols (e.g., inorganic and organic components) (Jahne et al. 2015) which impact the atmospheric chemistry and physics. They can influence the global climate system and precipitation through different mechanisms such as scattering and absorbing radiation (Després et al. 2012), cloud micro physical processes by acting as ice nuclei (Vali et al. 1976), and cloud condensation nuclei (FröhlichNowoisky et al. 2016). The dispersion and transport of bioaerosols through atmospheric long distances movement (Maki et al. 2019; Meola, Lazzaro, and Zeyer 2015; Peter et al. 2014) also generate an increase in diversity of genetic poll with the potential of the evolvement and alteration of the ecosystem’s dynamic (Burrows et al. 2009). The spread and exposure to airborne pathogen may have adverse impact on agriculture and human public health (Humbal, Gautam, and Trivedi 2018). The main categories of diseases associated with exposure to bioaerosols are: i) acute toxic effects, ii) infectious diseases, iii) respiratory diseases, and iv) cancer. Respiratory inflammation and sensitivities (i.e., asthma) are triggered and developed upon exposure to the microbial and their cellular components (e.g., pollen and fungal allergens and lipopolysaccharide) (Beck, Young, and Huffnagle 2012; Rohr et al. 2015), microorganism-derived molecules (endotoxins, membrane lipopolysaccharides shed by Gram-negative bacteria) and fungal mycotoxins (Braun-Fahrländer et al. 2002; Jie et al. 2011). Exposure to bioaerosols occurs in indoor environment as well as in diverse industrial occupational activities such as waste sorting, composting, and recycling industry (Van Tongeren, Van Amelsvoort, and Heederik 1997; Wikuats et al. 2020); detergent industry (Schweigert, Mackenzie, and Sarlo 2000); agricultural and food processing activities (Sandiford, Tee, and Taylor 1994); and in the livestock industry. In accord to high level exposure, elevated prevalence of respiratory symptoms and airway inflammation have been documented in industrial workers (Papageorgiou et al.
Christian Müller, V. Burlaka, Judith Flügge
et al.
Abstract. Crystalline rock formations, which are considered potential host rock formations for geological repositories in Germany, often exhibit fractures that complicate the generation of safety assessment models. To quantify the criteria outlined in the Ordinance on Repository Safety Requirements accurately, it is necessary to take these fractures into account and to consider both intact rock and rock mass properties in numerical models. The consideration of fractures in numerical models is a challenge due to the complex three-dimensional nature of the fractures. In the literature, various methods to approach this challenge are documented, but the combination of assumptions and simplifications often associated with these methods can lead to significant uncertainties in numerical calculations. To address this challenge, we evaluated the suitability of various modelling approaches in fractured media, based on criteria such as accuracy, computational efficiency, ease of implementation, and suitability for specific types of problems. Comparative calculations (benchmarks) are used to develop the corresponding numerical models based on previously defined generic models that contain fractures. In this way, it is possible to clarify the influence of different numerical approaches on modelling results, thus providing a basis for assessing the modelling uncertainties required in the safety case. We would like to give an overview of two R&D projects, SUSE (Safety analyses for repository systems in crystalline rocks) and PRECODE (Investigating the impacts of mining activities at great depths on the integrity of crystalline rock in the context of high-level radioactive waste disposal). SUSE addresses hydraulic problems, specifically groundwater flow in fractured crystalline rock. Analysing groundwater flow direction and rate is crucial to assess the transport of radionuclides in the geosphere, as they are most likely to be transported by groundwater. Different approaches were tested, such as approaches that consider the fractures in an explicit manner and approaches that try to upscale the heterogeneous fracture properties, and were compared with each other via benchmark cases. The cases specified differ mainly in the number of fractures considered (single fracture and fracture network) and the physical processes to be simulated (fluid flow and solute transport). PRECODE, on the other hand, focuses on mechanical problems, specifically the mechanical integrity of the geological barrier. The integrity must be shown by demonstrating that the dilatant strength and expected fluid pressure do not exceed the strength of the host rock. Different approaches were tested, such as approaches that explicitly represent fractures using discontinuum and continuum methods as well as upscaling approaches that consider only the integral strength of a rock mass, and were compared with each other via benchmark cases. The assumed cases differ mainly in the respective scale considered, such as borehole, tunnel, and repository scales. Overall, this research provides insight into the challenges and best practices for modelling fractures in geological repositories and for improving the safety of high-level radioactive waste disposal.
Academics are under constant pressure to optimize their time. Formatting requirements imposed on academics by journals or editors during initial manuscript submission may waste precious time, energy, and financial resources, especially if a paper is desk-rejected, and even more so when there are multiple rejections. Formatting, which does not reflect a manuscript’s academic quality, should not be a requirement during initial submission, but only after a paper has passed peer review and been approved for publication. Several publishers offer a formatting-free option during initial submission, allowing academics to optimize their time and energy.
Naxieli Santiago-De La Rosa, Griselda González-Cardoso, J. J. Figueroa-Lara
et al.
ABSTRACT Biomass burning is a common agricultural practice, because it allows elimination of postharvesting residues; nevertheless, it involves an inefficient combustion process that generates atmospheric pollutants emission, which has implications on health and climate change. This work focuses on the estimation of emission factors (EFs) of PM2.5, PM10, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) of residues from burning alfalfa, barley, beans, cotton, maize, rice, sorghum, and wheat in Mexico. Chemical characteristics of the residues were determined to establish their relationship with EFs, as well as with the modified combustion efficiency (MCE). Essays were carried out in an open combustion chamber with isokinetic sampling, following modified EPA 201-A method. EFs did not present statistical differences among different varieties of the same crop, but were statistically different among different crops, showing that generic values of EFs for all the agricultural residues can introduce significant uncertainties when used for climatic and atmospheric pollutant inventories. EFs of PM2.5 ranged from 1.19 to 11.30 g kg−1, and of PM10 from 1.77 to 21.56 g kg−1. EFs of EC correlated with lignin content, whereas EFs of OC correlated inversely with carbon content. EFs of EC and OC in PM2.5 ranged from 0.15 to 0.41 g kg−1 and from 0.33 to 5.29 g kg−1, respectively, and in PM10, from 0.17 to 0.43 g kg−1 and from 0.54 to 11.06 g kg−1. CO2 represented the largest gaseous emissions volume with 1053.35–1850.82 g kg−1, whereas the lowest was CH4 with 1.61–5.59 g kg−1. CO ranged from 28.85 to 155.71 g kg−1, correlating inversely with carbon content and MCE. EFs were used to calculate emissions from eight agricultural residues burning in the country during 2016, to know the potential mitigation of climatic and atmospheric pollutants, provided this practice was banned. Implications: The emission factors of particles, short-lived climatic pollutants, and atmospheric pollutants from the crop residues burning of eight agricultural wastes crops, determined in this study using a standardized method, provides better knowledge of the emissions of those species in Latin America and other developing countries, and can be used as inputs in air quality models and climatic studies. The EFs will allow the development of more accurate inventories of aerosols and gaseous pollutants, which will lead to the design of effective mitigation strategies and planning processes for sustainable agriculture.
Where the unique natural water resource is groundwater, the attention and the susceptibility of local communities and authorities to groundwater quality degradation risks can be so high to determine relevant problems to waste management, especially for landfills in operation or to be realised. A multi-methodological approach was suggested with the purpose to clarify the role of landfill leakage on groundwater quality degradation. The selected study area (SSA) hosts some landfills in a narrow portion of a wide and deep coastal karstic aquifer, for these characteristics to be considered a case of high hydrogeological complexity and vulnerability. News concerning nitrate and secondly iron groundwater concentration anomalously high caused concern in the population and strong local opposition to landfills. The multi-methodological approach includes: the hydrogeological site characterization; the chemical study and the multi-isotope characterization of groundwater and leachate; the land use analysis and the estimation of nitrogen contributions deriving from fertilizers; the mineralogical study of groundwater suspended particles to define the role of natural soil substances. The hydrogeological site characterisation highlighted the local peculiarities of the aquifer. The chemical study was used to define geochemical features, groundwater and leachate characteristics and their macroscopic mixing. The environmental isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen were used to investigate the groundwater origin, the most relevant geochemical reactions, the existence of groundwater-leachate mixing, and the sources of anthropogenic NO3-. The land use analysis highlighted quantity and type of used fertilizers permitting to compare these with groundwater in terms of isotopic signature. The mineralogical study demonstrated the role of suspend natural particles due the presence of terre rosse (red or residual soils) in groundwater. The approach confirmed that there are not the groundwater quality degradation effects of landfills, contributing to reassure population and institutions, simplifying the waste management.
Ana I. Pereira, Florentina Abreu, David Silva
et al.
Abstract A Lean company is always in a journey of continuous improvement and innovation. Every process, procedure and/or tool are critically studied in order to highlight problems and satisfy the customers’ needs without any waste. In the studied Lean company there are many production support tools that were developed as a temporary solution to solve a specific problem but, frequently, remain definitive and became themselves a problem. Examples of these tools are Standard Work Sheets (SWS) and Control and Fabrication Instructions (CFI) that demand updated, easy access and trustworthy information. Improving these tools (e.g. by automatizing) is an opportunity for a company to become more competitive. The SWS and CFI are indispensable tools for Process Engineering and have implications on product quality and productivity. The development process of SWS and CFI involves many human resources, resulting in a long task that is susceptible to the introduction of errors. By including the process of documentation for all shifts, it facilitates the coworkers training and reduces both variability and irregularity. Currently, the SWS in the studied company is not automatically performed and articulated with the updated real time knowledge of CFI, production quantities and assembly lines coworkers’ availability. This generates inefficient resources utilization. The objective of this paper is to present an undergoing project that intends to automate the SWS and CFI development process and to facilitate their integration with other company systems information.