Hasil untuk "Special types of environment"

S. S. Kolomiiets, M. I. Romashchenko, A. S. Sardak

The important role of gases in the planetary energy-mass exchange of the lithosphere with the atmosphere is determined, and attention is focused on the multifaceted mechanisms of gas exchange, especially under non-isothermal soil conditions. The conceptual principles of involving gases in ensuring the thermodynamic availability of plant nutrition, which emphasize the role of gases in a heterogeneous soil system, which is characterized by the presence of trapped air bubbles, are based on experimental data. Trapped soil air bubbles in the soil environment play the role of a distributed energy source when interacting with the thermodynamic parameters of the environment - temperature, atmospheric pressure and soil moisture content. The reaction of the soil capillary potential to a daily dynamics of external thermodynamic parameters has the nature of a self-oscillating process with a significant amplitude of the thermodynamic availability of the pore solution for plants. This turns the trapped air bubbles into centers of thermodynamic disequilibrium (CTD), acid centers of a certain strength (AC) and ecotone centers of soil biota. Thermodynamic accessibility is determined by the dynamics of soil heterogeneity, i.e. its energy saturation with surface types of energy, as well as by increasing matter mobility and intertransitions of different categories of soil absorption capacity. The functional parameters of the soil are determined by the gas composition of the soil atmosphere, where a special role belongs to carbon dioxide (CO2), as the main factor in maintaining soil homeostasis. Emphasis is placed on the fact that under natural conditions of soil functioning, the composition of the smallest bubbles is enriched with oxygen and nitrogen, and most importantly, the size of these bubbles becomes close to nanoradii, which gives them abnormal properties. Using the example of nanotechnologies with various gases, the possibility of targeted control of soil processes to increase the productivity and quality of plant products and ameliorative improvement of soils has been proven. The conclusion about the extremely high potential of integrating nanobubble technologies into ameliorative agriculture when using modern drip irrigation technologies has been made.

Tomasz Kubiak, Karol Ciesielski

Encapsulation of lubricating agents has many advantages, as it helps to protect them from external factors, oxidation and degradation, can support their controlled and prolonged release, and also preserves the environment from accidental contamination with these substances. In our experiments various types of thermo-responsive, paraffin wax capsules capable of safely transporting liquid and semi-solid lubricants were designed, fabricated and tested. Lubricating oils were primarily encapsulated inside hemispherical wax shells closed with special caps, but also in wax spherocylinders and two-compartment structures. Greases were protected with wax coatings with the thickness ranging from 0.187 to 0.774 mm. The payload release from our core–shell capsules occurred not only due to the exerted mechanical force but also in a controlled manner upon prolonged contact with a heated surface. The wax shells of the capsules lying on the plate, whose temperature was increased at a rate of 0.025°C/s, began to melt gradually, starting from ≈55.5 °C. This temperature-triggered lubricant liberation can be useful when, for example, a machine element becomes excessively hot due to friction. The wax itself also has lubricating properties, so the crushed or melted coating cannot be treated as waste, but only as an additional factor supporting lubrication. The practical applications of our wax capsules were demonstrated with five examples.

Ivana Hostová

The essay introduces the topic of the study of the animal in literature with a special focus on Slovak poetry. After briefly outlining the field in which research of literature meets research of nature, animals, plants, and the environment of human and non-human animals, it discusses a few examples from Slovak literature. Animal studies, posthumanism, and other fields of critical research which abolish the boundary between culture and nature, redefine the identity of the human element and see it as part of a network in which agency is a feature shared by various entities. Removing the human from the top of the hierarchy calls for a revision of such notions as consciousness or free will and a more intense focus on the “non-human” actors – i.e. agential entities which share with the human some of their features, but differ in others. The essay provides an overview of the types of literary texts which have inspired interdisciplinary research of literature and nature in the past few decades (environmental and ecoliterate texts, cli-fi), outlines the research field and its aims and provides a brief overview of some of the relevant theoretical approaches and recent publications.

Sayyid Ali Dalbari, Majid Khorsandi, Alborz Mohaqiq Garfami

Today’s mankind have a great place for their natural resources and environment. Special rulings, in Islamic jurisprudence, have been obligated on natural resources such as pastures and forests. The study of the possibility of endowment of these God-given riches is one of the important issues of jurisprudence about forests and pastures. The study of the possibility of Waqf (Arabic: اَلْوَقْف, endowment of property) of this God-given wealth is one of the important issues of jurisprudence about forests and pastures. This study by using library sources and using descriptive, analytical and comparative methods is going to answer this question of the possibility of endowment of pastures and forests by natural, legal persons and Islamic ruler in Imamiyya (Arabic: اِمامیَّه, Romanized: Imāmiyya) and Hanafi (Arabic: حَنَفِية, Romanized: Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English) jurisprudence as the most popular religion of the people of the Sunnah or Ahl as-Sunnah. It is provided a fatwa (legal ruling) on the correctness (validity) of the endowment of pastures and forests in absolute or conditional form by a logical classification and comparison of the evidence of each of the mentioned types and the way is paved for the implementation of this type of endowment in the community. The endowment of pastures and forests, according to the findings of this research, is permissible based on both religions for natural persons in case of ownership (take possession). It is permissible, with the permission of the ruler, the endowment of these resources by the Islamic ruler and legal persons, but this endowment in Hanafi jurisprudence by the mentioned individuals is not permitted without obtaining

soraya zangeneh

IntroductionToday various indicators have been introduced to explain the status of a civilization, but the most important indicator is the ability to contain a crisis or manage a crisis. At different times, crises, natural disasters, and epidemics are an inevitable fact in the whole world. In addition to causing extensive and sometimes irreparable damages, crises hinder organizational goals and delay the achievement of organizational mission. As cultural and educational institutions, public libraries are not immune from the damage of crises, and various events such as floods, earthquakes, political unrest, epidemics, etc., with the negative impact of libraries, cause the stagnation of these centers. In the current research, only the crisis caused by the coronavirus or COVID-19 is considered and the consequences of the emergence of this disease on library services are investigated. Literature ReviewSome researchers have investigated the role of groups, non-profit communities or institutions that cooperate with libraries in the COVID-19 crisis. Among these studies is the research of Kim, Choi & Jung (2020). Some studies have also been done focusing on the role of librarians in the COVID-19 crisis. Okike (2020) has examined the role of librarians in information dissemination during the COVID-19 crisis. In April 2020, the Royal Public Library Advisory Association of Georgia published an article entitled Recommendations for Library Services During the Covid-19 Pandemic, in which useful information regarding the requirements of the work environment and crisis management in libraries has been explained. Some researchers also studied the measures and services of libraries and information centers. Erich (2020) by examining 41 public, academic, and specialized libraries in Romania, measured the condition of these libraries, and how they reacted and adapted to the COVID-19 crisis. The review of previous studies shows that overcoming the crisis and its management has always been the concern of researchers and organizations, and this issue has been much more important in the case of the emerging, sudden, and surprising crisis of COVID-19 because there is little experience about this disease. MethodologyThe present research was carried out in an exploratory way and with the method of observation and narrative review of researchers' works, search and observation of the performance, activities, and actions of public libraries in Iran and the world in facing the Corona crisis, and because this method emphasizes non-experientiality, therefore the researcher only searched and observed the environment and conditions without manipulating the variables. In order to obtain information and collect data required for research, two citation databases, Web of Science and Scopus, Google Scholar and Google databases, and three internal databases, Maghiran, Noormags, and comprehensive humanities portal with the keywords "crisis", "Crisis Management", "COVID-19", "Coronavirus", "Public Libraries" and their English equivalents were searched by the researcher. In addition, more than 15 websites or library portals were also checked. In terms of the time frame of the publications of the last year (late 2019 to 2020) when the coronavirus appeared in this time frame, the content was studied and reviewed. ResultsSince the types of crises and the effects they have on societies are different, therefore, it is not possible to propose the same strategic measures to manage or deal with them. The measures used for floods, fires, or earthquakes are not the answer to the problems caused by the Corona crisis. Some experts have presented a general model for crisis management, and some have presented special models for a specific crisis due to the differences between crises. The Shobari model (2015), the Leechat model, the model of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the model provided by the National Defense Organization were examined in this research. The cycle of crisis management includes the four stages of preparation, prevention, confrontation, and reconstruction. These steps are present in all models of crisis management. Therefore, the researcher has also used these basic steps to design the crisis management model of COVID-19. Also, this model is defined and designed in three phases before the crisis, during the crisis, and after the crisis. ConclusionThe basic benefits and values in the management of the COVID-19 crisis and its goal and purpose for libraries and information centers are to meet the information needs and satisfaction of users. Therefore, in this research, an attempt was made to present a complete model in accordance with the current state of public libraries by examining the dimensions of this problem. This model was designed and presented in three phases before the crisis, at the beginning of the crisis, and after the crisis. In all three stages of the COVID-19 crisis management model presented in this research, the element of information plays the first and very important role. With sufficient information and its proper management by information science specialists and librarians, the critical situation can be controlled to a large extent. Regarding the model presented in the current research, it can be said that this model is a conceptual model because it symbolically presents a mental image of a series of concepts related to the disease of COVID-19 in public libraries. This model has organized almost all the information of the past researches and while reflecting the fundamental aspects of crisis management, it has summarized the differentiating activities and measures regarding the COVID-19 disease, and in the form of a fully functional template that is in line with the current conditions of the library, has provided the public services of our country.

V. A. Plotnikov, O. A. Shamina

The article substantiates the relevance of media design through the disclosure of the main trends in the development of the media industry: the growth of the media and entertainment industry market; the development of digital technologies. The concepts of “project”, “media”, “media project” are revealed. The interpretations of the concept of “media project” used by other authors are listed and analyzed. The main components of any project are revealed, namely the goal, deadlines and resources. The features of media projects are revealed: they can be oriented both to the market of goods and to the market of services; when developing them, it is necessary to find a balance between economic expediency and social mission; the result of a media project is that the media product is consumed in free time, that is, in leisure hours; the media product must be entertaining to some extent, due to the impact of the consumption economy; the media project is planned and implemented in conditions of: special dynamism and a high degree of uncertainty of the external environment, and also media convergences. The authors propose to introduce a new classification feature and types of media projects: “by media industry sector”: traditional, network, transmedia. The authors have identified a contradiction expressed in the fact that the quality of a media project does not guarantee the quality of a media product in a global sense — from the point of view of the intellectual development of society. The tendency of decreasing the quality of media products is revealed in detail and justified. Trends in the consumption of media products are considered: the media are becoming more and more entertaining; strengthening the primacy of the function of satisfying consumer requests before the function of education and upbringing; consumer expectations are simplified.

Chiara Ponti

The digitalisation of the building process is increasingly present on the world scene. The methodology that leads to 3D models of construction projects and buildings is called BIM (Building Information Modelling). This methodology has the great advantage of associating different types of information (spatial, temporal, structural, etc.) with the three-dimensional model, thus making it possible to create an information system that can be shared between the various stakeholders involved in the design and construction process of a building. The BIM model also becomes the basis for the development of the so-called Digital Twins, models that integrate information on the use of the building over time and provide important analysis tools for maintenance planning. The surveying methodologies for the creation of BIM most widely used today are photogrammetry and laser scanner surveying. In both cases, the product of the survey are point clouds, i.e. sets of measured points that contain information on the position of the surveyed elements and possibly their colour. Point clouds are an extremely suitable product for BIM, as they are already three-dimensional and can be queried. However, in the case of large buildings or environments with special features, surveys with traditional static lasers (on tripods) can require long time. For this reason, in recent years, the world of topographic surveying has adopted innovative instruments that allow data to be acquired in motion, thus reducing scanning and processing times, the SLAM laser scanners. Stonex has developed a solution that combines precise sensors with a robust SLAM algorithm to produce clean, and accurate point clouds easily usable for BIM creation: the new SLAM X120GO laser scanner. This system features a 360° rotating LiDAR head capable of generating a point cloud coverage of 360° x 270°. In combination with IMU data and the SLAM algorithm, it is able to obtain high-precision threedimensional point cloud data of the surrounding environment without light and GPS. Equipped with three 5MP cameras to generate a horizontal 200°FOV and vertical 100°FOV, it can synchronously obtain texture information and produce colour point clouds and partial panoramic images. Both features are very useful in the BIM authoring phase. With a range of 120 m, the X120GO is suitable for working both indoors and outdoors, even in challenging environments, allowing the survey of an entire building to be completed with a single instrument. The X120GO has an integrated structure that makes it easy to move around the scanning environment. Thanks to the GOapp Android application, you can manage the scanner and observe the creation of the point cloud in real time. Once the start button is pressed, the X120GO can begin operations immediately, making data acquisition efficient and convenient. During data acquisition, the X120GO is also able to collect control point coordinates, which can then be combined with known points to georeference scans.

Abdolali Oveisi Kahkha, Ali Teymouri

Extended AbstractBefore the advent of linguistics, metaphor was considered only a feature of literary language, especially poetry, which had little to do with other linguistic forms. But cognitive studies of metaphor have changed this traditional view.In this research, after introducing the cognitive approach to metaphor, a conceptual metaphor in the History of Jahangosha is examined. There are many conceptual metaphors in the History of Jahangosha Jovini including concepts of agree, calamity, annihilation, negligence, doubt, luck and happiness, religion, guidance, and forgiveness which are manifested with the target areas of egg, whip, sword, sleep, fire, darkness, Homa, candle, light, and skirt. In these metaphors, Jovini has used almost identical mapping between two domains of organ and purpose. The reason for this is the conditions prevailing in the author’s time. Jovini also used the four elements of water, soil, wind, and fire in materializing abstract concepts. The reason for this can be considered the Mongol invasion because the Mongol invasion brought nothing but destruction.One of the new theories in cognitive linguistics is the concept of ‘conceptual metaphor’. In this theory, linguistic knowledge is not separate from thinking and cognition. According to cognitive linguists, meaning is based on conventional conceptual constructions. In this way, semantic constructions, like other cognitive domains, reflect the mental categories that human beings have shaped through their experiences. In Likoff and Johnson's research, it has been emphasized that metaphor is a fundamental element in our categorization of the outside world and our thought processes” (as cited in Safavi, 2013, p. 367).By applying this theory, one can measure the metaphorical mentality and attitude of a person about various matters, and by examining the various concepts that are conceptualized with a central mapping, one can find out his intellectual and metaphorical system. “Scientists believe that man subconsciously seeks to find commonalities in heterogeneous subjects in order to understand things on the basis of these commonalities” (ibid., p. 325). The processes of human thought are largely metaphorical. This is what is meant when it is said that the conceptual system of man is metaphorically organized and defined in metaphorical language. Metaphors appear precisely in the form of linguistic expressions that are present in the human conceptual system (Likoff & Johnson, 2020, p. 12). The cognitive linguistic perspective believes that metaphorical concepts are based on a variety of human experiences, including correlation in experience, different types of non-objective similarities, common biological and cultural roots, and possibly many others. Metaphors have implications that reveal or highlight them and integrate certain aspects of our experiences. A metaphor may be the only possible way to reveal and coherently organize aspects of our experiences. Metaphors may create realities for us, especially social realities. So, metaphors can be a guide for our next actions. Instead, actions increase the power of metaphors to consolidate our experiences. From this perspective, metaphors can be predictors who realize themselves (Likaf & Johnson, 2017, p. 259).In this research, the author intends to examine the conceptual metaphors in the History of Jahangisha. The concepts that are included in the form of metaphorical definitions are those that correspond to the natural forms of experience. Issues such as love, time, attitude, understanding, discussion, work, happiness, health, dominance, status, and moral principles are natural forms of experience in culture. These are concepts that need to be defined metaphorically because our daily practices are not clear enough.Every culture must provide a more or less successful way of interacting with its environment in order to be able to accept and change that environment. In addition, every culture must define social reality in which people have roles that are meaningful to them and through which they can function socially. Social reality, defined by culture, affects the kind of perception of material reality. Much of our social reality can be understood in metaphorical terms. Therefore, it can be said that metaphor is basically a social necessity. Metaphor is not formed in the mind of an individual alone but is the nature of a collective metaphor. After it is necessarily formed in the society, it is expressed due to the need of the speaker for this kind of discipline, and the purpose of its application is to create a special space in the mind of the listener. An atmosphere that has very strong cognitive and emotional aspects can bring the listener's mind closer to the speaker's mind and create a common ground. In this case, it can be said that the use of metaphors goes beyond the scope of an immediate need and its purpose is to open a way to the themes that the metaphorist seeks to convey to the listener. Therefore, making the concepts that are in the heart of life tangible is one of the main necessities in any society, because by metaphorically defining the concepts, they can be made from abstract to objective and tangible and provide the way for the realization of these concepts. In the History of Jahangisha Jovini, there are many conceptual metaphors, including concepts, calamity, annihilation, negligence, doubt, luck and fortune, religion, guidance, and forgiveness, which are manifested in the target areas of egg, whip, sword, sleep, fire, darkness, Homa, candle, light, and skirt. In these metaphors, Jovini has used almost identical mapping between the two domains of origin and purpose, and the reason for this is the conditions prevailing in the author's time.

Timotej Gruden, Nenad B. Popović, Kristina Stojmenova et al.

Autonomous vehicles are expected to take complete control of the driving process, enabling the former drivers to act as passengers only. This could lead to increased sickness as they can be engaged in tasks other than driving. Adopting different sickness mitigation techniques gives us unique types of motion sickness in autonomous vehicles to be studied. In this paper, we report on a study where we explored the possibilities of assessing motion sickness with electrogastrography (EGG), a non-invasive method used to measure the myoelectric activity of the stomach, and its potential usage in autonomous vehicles (AVs). The study was conducted in a high-fidelity driving simulator with a virtual reality (VR) headset. There separate EGG measurements were performed: before, during and after the driving AV simulation video in VR. During the driving, the participants encountered two driving environments: a straight and less dynamic highway road and a highly dynamic and curvy countryside road. The EGG signal was recorded with a proprietary 3-channel recording device and Ag/AgCl cutaneous electrodes. In addition, participants were asked to signalize whenever they felt uncomfortable and nauseated by pressing a special button. After the drive they completed also the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) and reported on their overall subjective perception of sickness symptoms. The EGG results showed a significant increase of the dominant frequency (DF) and the percentage of the high power spectrum density (FSD) as well as a significant decrease of the power spectrum density Crest factor (CF) during the AV simulation. The vast majority of participants reported nausea during more dynamic conditions, accompanied by an increase in the amplitude and the RMS value of EGG. Reported nausea occurred simultaneously with the increase in EGG amplitude. Based on the results, we conclude that EGG could be used for assessment of motion sickness in autonomous vehicles. DF, CF and FSD can be used as overall sickness indicators, while the relative increase in amplitude of EGG signal and duration of that increase can be used as short-term sickness indicators where the driving environment may affect the driver.

Stojanović Vladimir, Mijatov Maja, Dunjić Jelena et al.

Ecotourism is a nature-based type of tourism, especially represented within protected areas. No matter the fact, just like the other selective types of this sector, ecotourism might affect the environment. In a process of writing the Visitor Management Plan in the Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve (SNR) in 2019, one part of the study was related to general projection of the ecotourism development impact on eco-educational paths within this SNR. The research was conducted throughout November 2019, in the form of interviews. The sample obtained 12 experts for nature protection, who stated their attitudes on three important topics: tourism in protected areas in general, tourism in the Gornje Podunavlje SNR and ecotourism within three concrete sites: Karapandža, Štrbac and Bestrement.

Nodari Vakhania, Frank Werner

We consider the problem of scheduling <i>n</i> jobs with identical processing times and given release as well as delivery times on <i>m</i> uniform machines. The goal is to minimize the makespan, i.e., the maximum full completion time of any job. This problem is well-known to have an open complexity status even if the number of jobs is fixed. We present a polynomial-time algorithm for the problem which is based on the earlier introduced algorithmic framework blesscmore (“branch less and cut more”). We extend the analysis of the so-called behavior alternatives developed earlier for the version of the problem with identical parallel machines and show how the earlier used technique for identical machines can be extended to the uniform machine environment if a special condition on the job parameters is imposed. The time complexity of the proposed algorithm is <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>O</mi><mo>(</mo><mi>γ</mi><msup><mi>m</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mi>n</mi><mo form="prefix">log</mo><mi>n</mi><mo>)</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> can be either <i>n</i> or the maximum job delivery time <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>q</mi><mo movablelimits="true" form="prefix">max</mo></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>. This complexity can even be reduced further by using a smaller number <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>κ</mi><mo><</mo><mi>n</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> in the estimation describing the number of jobs of particular types. However, this number <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>κ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> becomes only known when the algorithm has terminated.

Tetiana Sukalenko

The article deals with the study of the peculiarities of linguistic expression of the category of assessment, which as a universal language category operating at different language levels, plays an important role in the choice of native speakers and, consequently, culture, language means of information and is equally important for mental processes of perception, comprehension and acceptance or non-acceptance of this information. The publications in the scientific literature on various aspects of the study of the category of evaluation in terms of language have been reviewed. The analysis of the peculiarities of verbalization of the category of evaluation is carried out on the material of fictional and dramatic discourse, which is a productive language environment for studying the category of evaluation, because through verbalized national-cultural ideas and stereotypes are reflected the conceptual and linguistic pictures of the world. First of all, this category is manifested in the language and characteristics of the characters. Special attention is paid to the characters of a (chynovnyk, pan, a pani, a panna and a cossack, verbalized in the fictional and dramatic discourse of the XIX century. Evaluative characteristics, which are the elements of language modeling of fictional images, served as a basis for distinguishing the following types of evaluation: positive and negative evaluation in the structure of the text narrative, neutral evaluation, hidden positive evaluation, author's evaluation, evaluation by other characters. A positive evaluation in the language of fiction is shown by the linguistic means of creating the character of a cossack. Negative assessment was found in the linguistic means of creating the image of the pan (landlord), the images of the pani and panna are ambivalent. Evaluation is present both in the language of the characters and in the author's characteristics or comments. The object of evaluation in the fictional and dramatic genres can be both internal and external characteristics of the characters, and external characteristics are often marked by positive evaluation, while internal features have either negative or ambivalent evaluation characteristics. It was found that the ways of realization of positive or negative evaluation in the language of fiction are quite diverse. They depend on the literary and fictional methods, the creative manner of the writer and reflect his worldview.

Maria Dudãu, Maria Dudãu, Elena Codrici et al.

Caveolae are membrane microdomains described in many cell types involved in endocytocis, transcytosis, cell signaling, mechanotransduction, and aging. They are found at the interface with the extracellular environment and are structured by caveolin and cavin proteins. Caveolae and caveolins mediate transduction of chemical messages via signaling pathways, as well as non-chemical messages, such as stretching or shear stress. Various pathogens or signals can hijack these gates, leading to infectious, oncogenic and even caveolin-related diseases named caveolinopathies. By contrast, preclinical and clinical research have fallen behind in their attempts to hijack caveolae and caveolins for therapeutic purposes. Caveolae involvement in human disease is not yet fully explored or understood and, of all their scaffold proteins, only caveolin-1 is being considered in clinical trials as a possible biomarker of disease. This review briefly summarizes current knowledge about caveolae cell signaling and raises the hypothesis whether these microdomains could serve as hijackable “gatekeepers” or “gateways” in cell communication. Furthermore, because cell signaling is one of the most dynamic domains in translating data from basic to clinical research, we pay special attention to translation of caveolae, caveolin, and cavin research into clinical practice.

hamdollah sojasi qeidari, hamid kheirabadi, hamide mahmoodi et al.

The sense of local belonging is a factor that alters a space into a place of special sensory and behavioral characteristics for individuals. The sense of belonging represents public perception of an environment and more or less conscious feelings about a place; however, there are several factors that weaken the sense of belonging, one of which is the insecurity resulted from vandalism. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between rural vandalism and weakening the sense of belonging among the peripheral rural areas of Birjand County. In this study, descriptive-analytical research method was used to investigate the problem. The population of the study consisted of 13 suburban villages of Birjand County. The sample was composed of 191 people determined based on Cochran’s formula with an error rate of 0.07%. The results showed there are three types of rural vandalism in suburban villages of Birjand County, included: violating cultural norms, rubbery and demolition, and infraction. The main reason contributing to vandalism was the weak law enforcement. Overall, deprivation of settlements in suburban Birjand, compared to the central areas, along with ethnic and cultural diversity have led to "spatial boredom" of the population and occasionally their confrontation with it. This issue, on the one hand, reflects the low quality of life and poor welfare of the residents and, on the other hand, it calls for the special attention of the planning system to achieve "local acceptability" among the residents.

Min Sun Kim

In modern medical environment, death rates of newborn babies, children, and adolescents have decreased while the survival rate of life-threatening diseases has increased drastically. The relative 5 year survival rates of pediatric cancer have increased to over 80% in 21st century, however, the prognosis of certain types of pediatric cancer still remains unfavorable, causing patients and families face physical, psychosocial, and spiritual challenges due to complications as well as intensive treatments such as stem cell transplantation. Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) is a specific system with a philosophy of care to respond to psychosocial and spiritual needs of patients and families as well as control pain and symptoms offered in order to satisfy unique and special needs of children and adolescents living with life-threatening disease, to ensure health-related human rights of children and adolescents. Essential elements of PPC, communication with the child or adolescent patient and family, pain and symptom control and care for the time of death and bereavement have been described.

Zhonghua Gou

The Special Issue on &ldquo;Human Factors in Green Building&rdquo; addresses the design of indoor environment quality for users&rsquo; needs. The collected papers cover various building types and the research highlights the different needs of users. In working environments, employees&rsquo; stress is the main concern in the workplace design, especially for open plan offices where lack of privacy and over exposure to environmental stress have been reported. In residential environments, residents have great opportunities to adjust their environments to suit their needs; therefore, passive design such as natural ventilation is explored in residential buildings with climates such as cold or humid tropical. In healthcare environments, the papers in this issue are concerned with the needs of patients, especially the older adults who require special care. In learning environments, thermal and visual aspects are investigated for optimal comfort conditions and learning outcomes. The special issue demonstrates insightful critical thinking of indoor environment quality and proposes a new understanding for more practical design solutions. This editorial note is a brief review of the 12 papers, concluding with reflections about design of built environments to meet users&rsquo; needs.

David C. Lee, M. Gallagher, Anjali Gopalan et al.

Abstract Geographic surveillance can identify hotspots of disease and reveal associations between health and the environment. Our study used emergency department surveillance to investigate geographic disparities in type 1 and type 2 diabetes prevalence among adults and children. Using all-payer emergency claims data from 2009 to 2013, we identified unique New York City residents with diabetes and geocoded their location using home addresses. Geospatial analysis was performed to estimate diabetes prevalence by New York City Census tract. We also used multivariable regression to identify neighborhood-level factors associated with higher diabetes prevalence. We estimated type 1 and type 2 diabetes prevalence at 0.23% and 10.5%, respectively, among adults and 0.20% and 0.11%, respectively, among children in New York City. Pediatric type 1 diabetes was associated with higher income (P = 0.001), whereas adult type 2 diabetes was associated with lower income (P < 0.001). Areas with a higher proportion of nearby restaurants categorized as fast food had a higher prevalence of all types of diabetes (P < 0.001) except for pediatric type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes among children was only higher in neighborhoods with higher proportions of African American residents (P < 0.001). Our findings identify geographic disparities in diabetes prevalence that may require special attention to address the specific needs of adults and children living in these areas. Our results suggest that the food environment may be associated with higher type 1 diabetes prevalence. However, our analysis did not find a robust association with the food environment and pediatric type 2 diabetes, which was predominantly focused in African American neighborhoods.

H. Kromhout, E. Symanski, S. M. Rappaport

Amr Allam, Aya Afifi

Nowadays environmental concerns and impending legislation are in favor of non-solvent containing materials and reduction of VO, so In This invention studied the use of polyurethane binder (water-based) as coating film for different types of fabric at different fixation condition with suitable recipes. Research background Using Polyurethane (water-based) to coating a various textile fabrics that adding different properties to fabrics. Research objective Using Polyurethane (water-based) to coating fabrics without organic solvents, harmful to the environment. Polyurethane considered as one of unique polymers that can achieve special and novel effects when applied as a coating material even in form of water-based, that high adhesion to fabrics and improve a physical properties for fabrics such as tear, tensile, elongation, pilling, abrasion.  Research importance Water-based Polyurethane Dispersions make excellent Textile coatings. Suitable grades are inherently flexible, have superior tensile properties, and have excellent abrasion resistance. Waterborne polyurethane dispersions can be used by themselves or in conjunction with acrylic emulsions to reach just the right cost/performance balance for your specific application. All of our waterborne polyurethanes for textile coatings resins can be cross-linked to improve their overall properties for very high performance applications. Methodology Experimental analytical approach Research results Polyurethane composites were studied as coating material for different types of fabrics 100%Cotton, 50/50% Cotton/Polyester blend, 100%Polyester. the physical properties for 100%Cotton, 50/50% Cotton/Polyester blend, 100%Polyester without coating  were tear strength equal (11.37, 8.90 , 22.55 N) respectively, tensile strength equal (250.86, 237.16 , 558.11 N) respectively, elongation at break equal (16.16, 9.59 , 19.4 %) respectively , pilling grade (2,1, 2-3 ) respectively, loss weight after abrasion equal (15, 30.3 , 10.6 %) respectively, fabric weight equal (148, 90, 110  gm./m2) respectively The best recipe was 40/60 % PU/Water, the physical properties for 100%Cotton, 50/50% Cotton/Polyester blend, 100%Polyester coating were tear strength equal (16.37, 13.57, 26.15 N) respectively, tensile strength equal (288, 286, 589 N) respectively, elongation at break equal (18.1, 8.5, 23.4%) respectively , pilling grade (4,4, 4-5) respectively, loss weight after abrasion equal (2.5, 3.2, 2.6%) respectively, fabric weight equal (179, 132, 157 gm./m2) respectively and the fixation condition is at 1800C for 30 Sec. That mean the polyurethane coating improve the physical and fatness properties of various fabrics

B. Ainsworth, C. Macera

In this special issue of the Journal of Sport and Health Science entitled Physical Activity and Public Health, 5 papers, 1 commentary, and 1 research highlight discuss efforts using public health approaches to increase physical activity (PA) in global settings. Such efforts are warranted based on the prevalence of adults (23%) worldwide who are insufficiently active at levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This impact is substantial with 6%–10% of all deaths attributed to insufficient PA. Insufficient PA also places adults at increased risk for a myriad of conditions, which include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, bone and joint problems, among others. Steven Blair, known worldwide for his research on PA, aerobic fitness, and health refers to the physical inactivity pandemic as the “biggest public health problem of the 21st Century”. This concern is mirrored by a recent report highlighting global increases in overweight and obesity and the impact on increased mortality and disability related to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, public health governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations have called for stepped up efforts to increase PA on a global scale. Public health approaches to increasing PA often are organized into action plans based on the Ecological Systems Model, a framework used to understand the multiple levels of behavior, social systems, and interactions between people and their environments. In 2006, Sallis et al. presented an ecological model of the 4 domains of active living (recreation, transport, occupation, and household) that recognizes the importance of multiple influences on decisions to be physically active or not. They identify social cultural environments, informational environments, built and natural environments, perceived environments, and policy environments. Social cultural environments relate to the importance of interpersonal modeling, social support, the social climate, and advocacy by individuals and organizations. Informational environments involve information dissemination, counseling, and mass media efforts. Built and natural environments include considerations of climate, open space, air quality, and structures built for PA purposes. Policy environments relate to ordinances and laws that enable active transport, sports and recreation opportunities, and land use. Traditionally, public health approaches have been focused on built, natural, and policy environments; however, all levels of the ecological framework are important in promoting PA in a population setting. The papers in this special issue are organized by this ecological model of active living. In a commentary, Fiona Bull from the WHO discusses the global problems of physical inactivity and presents the 2013–2020 WHO Global Action Plan on Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control designed to reduce physical inactivity by 10% by 2025. She notes that reaching this goal will require leadership and contributions of the academic and scientific community to assist policy makers and practitioners. Two papers focus on the built and natural environment in relation to PA. Gadais et al. identify strengths and gaps in research on PA and the built environment in Canada. They call for innovative research into political and sociocultural spheres of action, one of the gaps identified in the Canadian studies. Solbraa et al. examine associations with objective measures of PA and the built environment, which includes rural communities along the Norwegian coast. They recommend locally customized approaches for walkability, active transport, and commuting. Yıldızer et al. focus on the social cultural environment in exploring relationships between social capital and PA engagement in Turkish adolescents. They discuss the importance of gender and culture on perceptions of social capital and PA in a developing country. Flórez-Pregonero et al. address the policy environment in presenting a feasibility study on the use of pedometers in a U.S. PA surveillance system. They highlight the opportunities and challenges of using pedometers to collect step data in a single state participating in the surveillance system. The last 2 papers focus on the information environment in presenting evaluations of public health projects designed to increase PA in healthcare and population settings, respectively. Beckvid-Henriksson et al. describe a Swedish–Vietnamese project that trained healthcare providers in PA counseling, used mass media to promote PA, and helped to develop a Vietnamese PA plan. Brown et al. share results from an evaluation of mass-media activities associated with a national walking program in the USA. Collectively, the papers presented in this special issue provide a global snapshot of some of the efforts taken to increase PA in different countries. Clearly a public health problem, physical inactivity is largely solvable through population-based research followed by community education, population surveillance, policy actions, and community-wide interventions. As seen with the papers in this special issue on PA and public health, multi-disciplinary team approaches are Peer review under responsibility of Shanghai University of Sport.