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Search results for: DANGEROUS MATERIALS
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Determination of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables using QuEChERS sample preparation method
PublicationThe intensive development of agriculture means that more and more toxic organic and inorganic compounds are entering the environment. Because of their widespread use, environmental stability, selective toxicity and bioaccumulative capability, pesticides belong to the most hazardous substances contaminating the environment. They are particularly dangerous in fruits and vegetables, because they are one of the reasons why people are...
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Pesticides in the Environment
PublicationApplied all over the world, pesticides are some of the most dangerous pollutants of the environment becauseof their mobility and ability to accumulate in the environment and their consequent long-term adverseeffects on living organisms in general and human health in particular. For these reasons, it is essential tomonitor and analyze pesticide residues in the environment. This entry discusses the classification of pesticidesas...
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Wyznaczenie obciążeń na poszycie okrętu wywołanych uderzeniem fal i uderzeniem w lód i ich wpływ na bezpieczeństwo okrętu
PublicationThe main problem is the vessels rather accurate determination of the hydrodynamic loads so-called hydroelasticity outside . This can be done by theoretical analysis , computer simulation or by experiment. This gives the hydrodynamic pressure distribution on the walls of the ship's hull and also on the walls of marine vessels .The most dangerous are the impact of extreme storm waves , the impact of the wharf and the impact zone...
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HCI-Based Wireless System for Measuring the Concentration of Mining Machinery and Equipment Operators
PublicationMaintaining stable and reliable working conditions is a matter of vital importance for various companies, especially those involving heavy machinery. Due to human exhaustion, as well as unpredicted hazards and dangerous situations, the personnel has to take actions and wisely plan each move. This paper presents a human–computer interaction (HCI)-based system that uses a concentration level measurement function to increase the safety...
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A universal method for the identification of genes encoding amatoxins and phallotoxins in poisonous mushrooms
PublicationABSTRACT Background. As the currently known diagnostic DNA targets amplified in the PCR assays for detection of poisonous mushrooms have their counterparts in edible species, there is a need to design PCR primers specific to the genes encoding amanitins and phallotoxins, which occur only in poisonous mushrooms. Objective. The aim of the study was testing of PCR-based method for detection of all genes encoding hepatotoxic cyclic...
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Impact of the Artificial Strait in the Vistula Spit on the Hydrodynamics of the Vistula Lagoon (Baltic Sea)
PublicationIn the Vistula Lagoon, storm surges are induced by variable sea levels in the Gulf of Gdańsk and wind action. The rising of the water level in the southern part of the basin, exceeding 1.0 m above mean sea level, can be dangerous for the lowland area of Żuławy Elbląskie, causing the inundation of the polders adjacent to the lagoon. One of the potential possibilities to limit the flood risk is to decrease the water level in the...
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Analysis of Ferroresonance Mitigation Effectiveness in Auxiliary Power Systems of High-Voltage Substations
PublicationFerroresonance in power networks is a dangerous phenomenon, which may result in overcurrents and overvoltages, causing damage to power equipment and the faulty operation of protection systems. For this reason, the possibility of the occurrence of ferroresonance has to be identified, and adequate methods need to be incorporated to eliminate or reduce its effects. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of ferroresonance...
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Long-term comparative evaluation of an acoustic climate in selected schools before and after the acoustic treatment
PublicationThe results of long-term continuous noise measurements in two selected schools are presented in the paper. Noise characteristics were measured continuously there for approximately 16 months. Measurements started eight months prior to the acoustic treatment of the school corridors of both schools. An evaluation of the acoustic climates in both schools, before and after the acoustic treatment, was performed based on comparison of...
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Determination of organophosphorus and organonitrogen pesticides in water samples
PublicationPesticides are among the most dangerous environmental pollutants because of their stability, mobility and long-term effects on living organisms. Their presence in sources of drinking water, essential to life, is a particular danger. In water, these compounds can undergo transformations, leading to the production of substances of even greater toxicity. Legal regulations are in force, stipulating the highest permissible level of...
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Comparison of PM10 concentration in Gdansk and London using electron microscopy
PublicationParticulate matter (PM) has been considered as one of the most dangerous elements of air pollution. Multiply analytical methods are employed to identify the composition of particles present in the air. The theoretical part of this work is a description of different research centres all over the world where particulate matter is being analyzed using various techniques. The purpose of this project is to analyze and compare particles...
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Identification of safety hazards and their sources in tram transport
PublicationBoth in Poland and in most countries of the European Union, the tram infrastructure is extensively expanding. Contemporary low-floor trams are constructed according to different technical assumptions than typical railway vehicles or high floor trams. In Poland such vehicles rides often on lines designed according to standards developed to the classical vehicles. At the same time, the intensity of road traffic and the number of...
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Real-time simulator of agricultural biogas plant
PublicationThis article presents a real-time simulator of an agricultural biogas plant. The project contains biogas and biomass circuits simulation, as well as heating circuit simulation with a complete control system and visualization interface of the whole process. The software tool used to simulate the plant work is CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), which enables a user to create and test simulation objects based on fundamental physical...
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Case Study of Stray Current Corrosion of Tall Ship Mast
PublicationNowadays, in the present technical civilization there are numerous complex technical systems that may generate various hazards. Large transport units like ships can be considered as the most dangerous systems. Therefore, it is important to eliminate all possible hazards, especially for ship crewmembers. Destruction of ship structural components caused by vast corrosion is one of these hazards. Usually, its activity leads to a decrease...
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Application of polymer element in reduction of temporary steel grandstand vibrations
PublicationThe numerical analysis focused on reduction of vibrations of a temporary steel scaffolding grandstand has been conducted in this paper. These types of structures are regularly subjected to dynamic loads which, in conjunction with light and quite slender structural members, may induce dangerous vibrations. To increase their safety, temporary steel grandstands are usually strengthened with the diagonal stiffeners of tubular cross...
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Trust triggers and barriers in intercultural teams
PublicationIntercultural teams are more and more popular nowadays — they constitute a serious challenge in terms of effective cooperation and trust building, however. The article presents the potential problems that can affect intercultural cooperation and stresses the power of trust in cultural diversity conditions. The ten-factor model of intercultural team trust is presented. The main aim was to answer the questions: what are the differences...
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Pounding between high-rise buildings with different structural arrangements
PublicationEarthquake-induced structural pounding has led to significant damages during previous earthquakes. This paper investigates the effect of pounding on the dynamic response of colliding high-rise buildings with different structural arrangements. Three 3-D buildings are considered in the study, including 5-storey building, 7-storey building and 9-storey building. Three pounding scenarios are also taken into account, i.e. pounding between...
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Pedestrian safety management using the risk-based approach
PublicationThe paper presents a concept of a multi-level pedestrian safety management system. Three management levels are distinguished: strategic, tactical and operational. The basis for the proposed approach to pedestrian safety management is a risk-based method. In the approach the elements of behavioural and systemic theories were used, allowing for the development of a formalised and repeatable procedure integrating the phases of risk...
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Ship weather routing optimization with dynamic constraints based on reliable synchronous roll prediction
PublicationShip routing process taking into account weather conditions is a constrained multi-objective optimization problem and it should consider various optimization criteria and constraints. Formulation of a stability-related, dynamic route optimization constraint is presented in this paper. One of the key objectives of a cross ocean sailing is finding a compromise between ship safety and economics of operation. This compromise should...
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Badania eksperymentalne modelu zbiornika stalowego na stole sejsmicznym = Experimental study on steel tank model using shaking table
PublicationCylindrical steel tanks are very popular structures used for storage of products of chemical and petroleum industries. Their safety and reliability is really crucial because any failure may have serious consequences. Earthquakes are the most dangerous and also the most unpredictable dynamic loads acting on such structures. On the other hand, rockburst-induced ground motions are usually considered to be less severe due to lower...
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Numerical crash analysis of the cable barrier
PublicationSafety barriers are used to increase road safety. Their basic task is to prevent the errant vehicle from getting off the road in places which are potentially dangerous for vehicle passengers. Barriers, which are used on European roads, must fulfill the requirements of EN 1317 standards by passing appropriate crash tests. Because of their high cost, numerical simulations are increasingly used to evaluate the properties of safety...
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Estimation of smokers' exposure to mercury from combustible tobacco products, based on the approach used in food consumers’ exposure estimation
PublicationSmoking has been known to mankind for centuries, but it is only in recent decades that much attention has been paid to the harmfulness of this habit. Mercury inhalation is particularly dangerous in this respect and smoking creates extremely favorable conditions for the emission and targeted delivery of this element into the lungs. Despite this fact, a lack of a clear method for estimating the exposure of tobacco consumers to mercury...
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Machine learning approach to packaging compatibility testing in the new product development process
PublicationThe paper compares the effectiveness of selected machine learning methods as modelling tools supporting the selection of a packaging type in new product development process. The main goal of the developed model is to reduce the risk of failure in compatibility tests which are preformed to ensure safety, durability, and efficacy of the finished product for the entire period of its shelf life and consumer use. This kind of testing...
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Human awareness versus Autonomous Vehicles view: comparison of reaction times during emergencies
PublicationHuman safety is one of the most critical factors when a new technology is introduced to the everyday use. It was no different in the case of Autonomous Vehicles (AV), designed to replace generally available Conventional Vehicles (CV) in the future. AV rules, from the start, focus on guaranteeing safety for passengers and other road users, and these assumptions usually work during normal traffic conditions. However, there is still...
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Analysis of Reasons of Accidents Between Cyclists and Public Transport Vehicles in Cities
PublicationIn European cities, a bicycle is now or is systematically becoming an equal means of transport. Unfortunately, the growth of bicycle traffic is associated with an increase in the number of accidents involving cyclists. Some of these accidents, are events with cyclists and public transport vehicles - and therefore means of transport, which together are to constitute a serious alternative to a car. Although the share of these kind...
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Investigation of the antimicrobial potential and microbiota of bee pollen and bee bread derived from Polish apiaries
PublicationThe phenomenon of resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics is becoming one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. At the same time, the number of new antibiotics introduced into clinical practice is decreasing. This creates the need to search for new, effective, non-antibiotic methods of combating and preventing infectious diseases. Over the last two decades, there has been renewed interest in the antimicrobial potential...
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A Method of Fast and Simultaneous Calibration of Many Mobile FMCW Radars Operating in a Network Anti-Drone System
PublicationA market for small drones is developing very fast. They are used for leisure activities and exploited in commercial applications. However, there is a growing concern for accidental or even criminal misuses of these platforms. Dangerous incidents with drones are appearing more often, and have caused many institutions to start thinking about anti-drone solutions. There are many cases when building stationary systems seems to be aimless...
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Forewarned Is Forearmed: Machine Learning Algorithms for the Prediction of Catheter-Induced Coronary and Aortic Injuries
PublicationCatheter-induced dissections (CID) of coronary arteries and/or the aorta are among the most dangerous complications of percutaneous coronary procedures, yet the data on their risk factors are anecdotal. Logistic regression and five more advanced machine learning techniques were applied to determine the most significant predictors of dissection. Model performance comparison and feature importance ranking were evaluated. We identified...
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Monitoring of Ship Operations in Seaport Areas in the Sustainable Development of Ocean–Land Connections
PublicationThe paper is devoted to underlining the important role of monitoring systems in the sustainable development of seaport areas—sensitive ocean–land connections exposed to the harmful effects of multimodal transport. The study concerns the existing monitoring possibilities of the environmental factors and ship traffic near port infrastructure. The main aim of the study is presenting the example of solutions, supporting the sustainable...
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Arsenic-Based Warfare Agents: Production, Use, and Destruction
PublicationSince the beginning of time, civilizations have looked for more creative ways to dominate and defeat their enemies. The rapid development of the chemical industry just before the Second World War started the era of modern chemical weapon production based on poisons, including toxic arsenic compounds. This paper provides a detailed overview of the production, usage and destruction of this dangerous chemical weapon. Milestones include:...
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The Immunogenic and Immunoprotective Activities of Recombinant Chimeric T. gondii Proteins Containing AMA1 Antigen Fragments
PublicationToxoplasmosis, one of the most common parasitoses worldwide, is potentially dangerous for individuals with a weakened immune system, but specific immunoprophylaxis intended for humans is still lacking. Thus, efforts have been made to create an efficient universal vaccine for both animals and humans to overcome the shortcomings of currently used treatment methods and protect all hosts against toxoplasmosis. The current work represents...
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Tools for road infrastructure safety management in Poland
PublicationThe objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be systematically identified, assessed, removed and mitigated. There are a number of approaches to road safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC requires EU member states to use four basic tools of road safety infrastructure management. An overview of the methods in these countries...
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Trophic Transfer of Mercury in a Temperate Marine Food Web, Southern Baltic Sea
PublicationMercury (Hg) is considered to be one of the most dangerous global environmental pollutants. The toxicity and bioavailabilityof Hg depend on its chemical form, and the greatest hazard is posed by the organomercurial compounds. Hg is introduced into the human body primarily through the consumption of fish and seafood. Despite numerous studies on Hg in marine organisms, there is still a gap in the knowledge on Hg uptake and...
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Analysis of temporary steel grandstand with different bracing systems exposed to crowd load
PublicationGrandstands are structures which are regularly subjected to dynamic loads generated by crowd motions. It is a dangerous situation when spectators induce rhythmic jumping, dancing, stamping, etc. If the synchronized movement of spectators excites a natural frequency of the structure, resonant response might occur. To avoid such situations, temporary steel grandstands are commonly strengthened using additional elements that create...
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Experimental study on effectiveness of polymer dampers in reduction of structural vibrations
PublicationVibrations of civil engineering structures, generated by dynamic loads, may be very dangerous to the structures themselves as well as may have significant influence on human perception and comfort. A number of different methods have been proposed in order to minimize such situations. This concern newly designed structures as well as those which dynamic properties have to be modified due to problems with excessive vibrations. One...
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Does the Use of Cell Phones and Headphones at the Signalised Pedestrian Crossings Increase the Risk of Accident?
PublicationReduction of the number of fatalities among pedestrians remains a topical issue in Poland. For many years, this percentage has remained at around 30% of all those who were killed on the road. At the same time, there is an increase in the use of electronic devices by pedestrians and cyclists that may affect their perception when crossing the road. This can lead to traffic accidents. In order to investigate the problem, field studies...
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The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in disposable baby diapers: A facile determination method via salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
PublicationIn this paper we demonstrate the development of the extraction procedure of polycyclic aromatic hy- drocarbons from baby diapers along with their quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Apart from covering plastic foil, disposable baby diapers contain sorbents intended to absorb urine and feces. A hygroscopic, adsorptive, and tough-to-homogenize fibrous sorbent, represents an analytical chal- lenge to analytical...
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Evaluation of long‑term immunity and protection against T. gondii after immunization with multivalent recombinant chimeric T. gondii proteins
PublicationToxoplasmosis caused by the opportunistic, cosmopolitan protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasitoses in the world. Although it may prove dangerous or even fatal for immunocompromised individuals, immunoprophylaxis for humans is still nonexistent. Thus, the aim of the current work was to assess the ability of two immunogenic recombinant chimeric T. gondii proteins, SAG2-GRA1-ROP1 (SGR) and SAG1-MIC1-MAG1-GRA2...
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Pedestrian protection, speed enforcement and road network structure the key action for implementing Poland's Vision Zero
PublicationSince 1991 Poland's road safety has been systematically improving with a 60% reduction in road deaths. Despite the progress Poland continues to be one of the European Union' worst performing countries. The country's main road safety problems remain unchanged: dangerous behaviour of road users, underdeveloped system of road safety management and low quality of road infrastructure. This is why subsequent road safety programmes (implemented...
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Experimental study on the effectiveness of polymer dampers in reduction of structural vibrations
PublicationVibrations of civil engineering structures, generated by dynamic loads, may be very dangerous to the structures themselves as well as may have significant influence on human perception and comfort. A number of different methods have been proposed in order to minimize such situations. This concern newly designed structures as well as those which dynamic properties have to be modified due to problems with excessive vibrations. One...
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Simplified Numerical Model for Transient Flow of Slurries at Low Concentration
PublicationRapid transients are particularly dangerous in industrial hydro-transport systems, where solid-liquid mixtures are transported via long pressure pipelines. A mathematical description of such flow is difficult due to the complexity of phenomena and difficulties in determining parameters. The main aim of the study was to examine the influence of the simplified mixture density and wave celerity description on satisfactory reproduction...
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Application of dispersive liquid - liquid microextraction for determination of pesticides from various chemical groups in water samples
PublicationPesticides are a global risk because they move with the wind, rain and sea currents from other regions, which makes getting to places which were never used before. Their presence was detected in all types of water circulating in the ecosystem, which is an easy source of exposure to life and health of all living organisms. Currently, it is considered one of the most dangerous and toxic pollutants, which fate and function is still...
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Review of Selected Methods for Prediction of Added Resistance in Following Waves
PublicationThe added resistance in waves is a mean value of non-linear, second order reaction of a ship to incoming waves. In the beginning of the 20th century, the experimental methods for investigation of ship hydrodynamics at model scale were developed. They allowed the evaluation of added resistance by measurements in irregular waves (directly) or by measurements in regular waves (in-direct method). The main goal was to find more precise...
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Study on the prevalence of mobile phone use by car drivers – the case of Poland
Publication: Distracted driving is a significant factor affecting road safety and it can occur as a result of using mobile phones while driving. The aim of the current research is to present the prevalence of mobile phone use by Polish car drivers, based on the roadside and online survey. The field study showed that 11.6% of 1867 drivers were using mobile phones while being in motion and 26.1% of 203 drivers when stopped in front of traffic...
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Stormwater runoff in the urbanized coastal basin of Gdańsk Urbanized basin of Gdańsk
PublicationAnthropopressure strongly affects the primal water cycle. Alternation of the natural basins imposes changes of drainage patterns, reduction of bioretention, infiltration and base flow. As a result the overland flow predominates and greater runoff rates flow into storm water collection systems and reservoirs. Moreover changing climatic conditions increase the frequency of rapid extreme weather events. Infrastructures of urban areas...
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Correlation between the number of Pro-Ala repeats in the EmrA homologue of Acinetobacter baumannii and resistance to netilmicin, tobramycin, imipenem and ceftazidime
PublicationAcinetobacter baumannii coccobacilli are dangerous to patients in intensive care units because of their multidrug resistance to antibiotics, developed mainly in the past decade. This study aimed to examine whether there is a significant correlation between the number of Pro-Ala repeats in the CAP01997 protein, the EmrA homologue of A. baumannii, and resistance to antibiotics. A total of 79 multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains...
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Tools for road infrastructure safety management – Polish experiences
PublicationThe objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be systematically identified, assessed, removed and mitigated. There are a number of approaches to road safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC requires EU member states to use four basic tools of road safety infrastructure management. An overview of the methods in these countries...
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Risk Assessment at Unsignalized Intersections Based on Human-Road-Environment-Vehicle System Applying Fuzzy Logic
PublicationThe constant increase in motorization level and traffic density increases risks due to dangerous situations for road participants. Therefore, assessing the accident level of road network elements has been an urgent task over the past decades. However, existing approaches mainly rely on traffic flow parameters and account for dynamic vehicle characteristics. The research aims to design a model accounting for uncertain factors (weather...
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Assessing Tram Infrastructure Safety Using the Example of the City of Gdańsk
PublicationAnalysis of Gdańsk’s tram network statistics shows that incidents are quite frequent (about 650 within 5 years) and mostly involve collisions and crashes. As well as reducing the tram systems’ efficiency and reliability, incidents have a nega-tive effect on road safety. As Polish cities extend their tram networks, they must also ensure that their existing networks are safe. This is to be achieved by conducting safety assessments....
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Experimental study on the seepage flow through the ice jam
PublicationIn light of the observed climate change, there is a need for better understanding of river ice processes for managing water resources in the cold regions. Ice jams produce significant resistance which may cause rise of water level and flooding. The jam resistance is only referred to the roughness of its underside, and this approach lead to exceptional roughness coefficients which has no physical explanation. Number of evidences...
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Design and material selection for a patient transport device in field hospitals
PublicationACKGROUND: A major cause of patient and hospital worker injuries occurs transferring patients between two planes. The main aim of this paper was to propose a design of patient’s lift and transfer apparatus for use in field hospitals. The assumption was to design lightweight, durable and ergonomic device using innovative material. The authors concentrated on partial elimination of manual lifting in order to device could work both...