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The development of the digital society in the light of the world-s sustainable development is uneven. The intensity of ICT processes for different groups of households varies greatly. The immersion of the population into the digital environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in an extreme social situation and self-isolation with the ensuing political, social and economic consequences has not yet been properly studied by the scientists and practitioners. In this regard, it is proposed to analyze the relationship b...

Grasslands, some of the most important resources of mountain areas, have been and are subject to changes, both in time and in space, under the action of natural and/or anthropogenic factors. In this context, the research aims, in the first stage, to identify and quantify the areas of grasslands subject to changes, both through surface losses and gains, and in the second stage, to establish the general direction of changes, at regional level. As a case study, the area of the Banat Mountains, from southwest Romania,...

Every year, cities are becoming more populated and urban traffic more intense. Urban air quality is deteriorating and causes for pollution are being sought and solutions to improve the quality of life in urban areas. Atmospheric deposits, vehicles, traffic and de-icing products are the main sources of snow pollution in cities. Snow, located near roads and streets with intense traffic, is a very useful tool for identifying the risks of traffic-related metals in the environment. In many countries, in winter, they us...

The increase of the population also involve the increase of the consumption of raw materials. This requires the diversification and development of industrial processes in closed semi-enclosed or open spaces. The carrying out of human activities of an industrial nature involves the accidental use, handling or presence of explosive substances such as methane. The presence of this gas in closed or semi-closed spaces can generate explosion phenomena. The dynamics of methane discharge in closed enclosures, industrial o...

Turkish delight (lokum) is a sweet product originating in Turkey made from sugar, food flavors and starch. The delights dates back more than 300 years and is one of the oldest sweets in the world. Technologies have evolved and with them the demands of consumers have also diversified. People are in search for everything new and healthy in terms of nutrition, this being the reason for the development of a new kind of Turkish delight. The aim of this study is to analyze the physico-chemical and sensorial properties o...

Green building materials are gaining attention for achieving carbon neutrality in civil engineering. To reduce CO2 emissions from cement, using low-cement or cement-free materials with local supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is promising. Blended cements with SCMs enhance long-term strength, but low-clinker blends often have low early strength. To address this, understanding the hydration of ordinary Portland cement is crucial. While C3S has been studied, the role of C3A, the most reactive component of c...

The largest aluminum factory in Eastern Europe is located near Slatina. Before Romania acceded to the EU in 2007, many environmental protection rules were omitted in this area. The paper analyzes the water table pollution along the Olt River for about 15 km. There are considered the tributary flows on the river, the concentration of discharged pollutants, and the pumping regime from the catchment front. It is built at about 500 m from the river, on the left bank, parallel to the river, and consists of 44 wells, of...

In order to reduce the impact of agricultural activity on global warming and promote sustainable land management, it is necessary to implement management practices that reduce GHG emissions from agriculture. Conventional soil tillage produces favorable conditions for the growth of seeds and plants, but it is an energy and labor-intensive method that alters the soil to an unfavorable condition, while reduced soil tillage decrease the use of energy resources, GHG emissions from the soils, and improves the soil quali...

A constantly growing demand for fossil fuels in the world and its contribution to climate changes is putting intense pressure on various energy consumers in different industries. Thus, agricultural producers come under close scrutiny and face a difficult challenge of switching to a sustainable mode of production that would ameliorate detrimental effects on greenhouse gas emissions. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature and contribute to the current body of knowledge by analyzing the consumption of ener...

Achieving profitable crop production milestones hinges on the establishment of a robust soil fertility program. Such programs demand foresight and meticulous planning. To ensure the profitability and efficiency of wheat cultivation, it is imperative to provide the right amount of essential plant nutrients precisely when and where the crop requires them. The application rates of fertilizers hold little significance if these vital nutrients are not distributed at the appropriate locations and times. Wheat, in partic...

The areas occupied by permanent grasslands constitute one of the most important ecosystems of the Earth, occupying almost half of it. The use of land covered by grasslands and climate changes are the main stressors of grass communities and implicitly of grassland ecosystems. Its multifunctionality (food source for ruminants, insect habitat, means of soil and water conservation, as well as outdoor activities, etc.) is gradually affected, thus diminishing the mentioned functions. The purpose of this paper is to anal...

Geomagnetic storms cause disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere, which differ in their spectral composition at different latitudes. The study of local spectral characteristics, both via remote sensing and ground-based data, provides valuable information on the dynamic processes in the Earth's magnetosphere and the longitudinal propagation of the corresponding disturbances. The local spectral characteristics of the moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm that occurred March 13-14, 2022, are obtained. A time series of da...

This paper examines sustainability reporting trends of 50 NZX-listed companies, focusing on their effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. As sustainability reporting remains largely voluntary, unregulated, and inconsistent, this study investigates the current status quo in ESG/sustainability reporting in New Zealand. As a result, it provides managerial advice on what currently constitutes effective sustainability reporting. This paper of qualitative nature explores reporting practices across five key crit...

The problem is actual when slope stabilizations are implemented, when the strengthening systems and re-slopes cannot secure road traffic. There are three main reasons for the problem: climate changes, insufficient funds for strengthened infrastructure and implementation by companies without experience in geotechnical construction. A half-tunnel is used in the presence of a retaining wall, which needs to be integrated into the structure of the new facility. For environmental reasons and traffic safety requirements,...

Restrictions on the planet's carbon footprint are becoming a motivating measure to limit the use of fossil fuels in the European Union. One of the measures to decarbonize the economy is to reduce the use of hydrocarbon fuels (oil, gas, coal). Increasing the potential for hydrogen use in energy is a key point in the conversion of fuels into energy. How the concentration of hydrogen is reflected in the gas supply is an analysis that the energy sector must consider to determine the safe operation and quality of opera...

Climate change affects everyday life, especially extremely high temperatures and longterm droughts alternating with intense rainfall. Changes in rainfall distribution and increasing temperatures force farmers to adapt to new conditions. In our contribution, we compared temperature deviations from the climatic normal and the percentage of precipitation from the climatic normal. For the complexity of the data comparison, a 60- year normal was created for 81 stations in Slovakia. Data interpolation created maps were ...

In this study, we aim to demonstrate the change in the topography of the sea floor as a result of the sedimentation of rivers. The study area is the Divjaka Bay, bounded to the north by the delta of the Shkumbin River and to the south by the delta of the Seman River, on the Adriatic coast of Albania. The method used is the Integrated Satellite Bathymetric Surveying method. The monitoring period extends from 2017 to 2020, based on 4 monitoring campaigns. The longitudinal bathymetric profile extends northsouth, in p...

Habitat fragmentation is a significant threat to biodiversity conservation and the establishment of protected areas has been proposed as one of the main strategies for mitigating its impacts. Romania has established numerous Natura 2000 sites to protect habitats and species of European importance, but their effectiveness remains unclear. In Romania, the Natura 2000 network was established in 2007. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sites of Community Importance (SCI), part of Natura 2000 network in R...

Water erosion is one form of physical soil degradation. As a result of climate change, global warming and changes in the distribution of atmospheric precipitation are also taking place in Slovakia. In the southern, warmer regions, snowfall decreases during the winter at the expense of rain precipitation. During the winter period outside the main crop growing season, arable land is often without a vegetation cover to protect the soil structure from the action of the kinetic energy of falling rain. For this reason, ...

From a lithological point of view, the studied territory - Central Heating System of Rovinari is made up of deposits and in the depression quaternary deposits are found, belonging to the holocene (gravel and sand). In the Jiu - Motru River the deposits contain 4-6 layers of lignite, of low thickness, so the area was affected by coal extraction. From the point of view of the hydrographic network, except those of the lower order, the waters passing through the region belong to the basin of Jiu and Tismana. These wat...

Evaluation of explosion-proof protected electrical equipment in scope of certification is extremely important considering the risk of explosion that has to be minimized in order to ensure life safety and health of workers and to prevent damaging of property and the environment, as well as free movement of goods when they meet the essential safety requirements at European level. Electrical equipment that operates in potentially explosive atmosphere, have characteristics specially designed for operation in this area...

In this study, magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) mortars reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and graphene were prepared and analyzed. The lower CO2 footprint of MOC in comparison with the production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) predestines MOC-based materials to be an environmentally sustainable alternative to OPC. However, the wider spread of MOC is hindered by its low water resistance. The combined influence of MWCNT and graphene as 1D and 2D carbon nanomaterials on properties of MOC morta...

Climatic variability from year to year and even within the same growing season has a significant impact on the composition of the grapes and the resulting wines. This study covered several vineyards along a 400-km route in western Romania to empirically describe the influence of climate on berry concentration in titratable acidity (TA), pH and anthocyanins of two wine varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc) during 2021-2022 growing seasons. The results showed that at a sugar level of 23o Brix total solu...

Several organizations warn of the increase in temperature and the associated extreme climatic conditions for life on Earth. The aim of this article is to point out the influence of climatic conditions on the development of walnut (Juglans regia L.) in the spring months (11.5. - 18.6.) in the years 2018 - 2019, which were above-normal to temperature-normal (compared to the climatic normal 1991 - 2020) and in the years 2021 - 2022, which were below normal temperatures. The impact of the amount of precipitation was a...

The aim of this research was to establish the influence of physico-chemical (biometric) characteristics and climate changes in different cultivation areas on three sweet cherry varieties: Van, Stella and Rubin, on the perception of food (fruit) quality. Several parameters (size, weight, soluble solids content, sugars, pH, firmness, dry matter) were measured and statistically processed using analysis of variants[15]. The results showed that the Van cultivar produced heavier fruits and the large diameter was above t...

With the development of concrete technology, the polypropylene fibers have been extensively used in concrete structures for property and durability enhancement. The polypropylene fibers have significantly low cost compared to steel, the use of macro polypropylene fiber could achieve a similar level of reinforcement in concrete at a half price of using steel. The article focuses on the influence of polypropylene fibres of concrete properities. The aim is to compare the basic material properties of concretes with th...

Concrete is a building material composed of aggregate, cement and water. Aggregate forms a filler, cement, after mixing with water, creates crystals that connect the aggregate with a firm and flexible bond. Cement slurry gradually loses its plasticity and begins to solidify and harden, until it finally turns into cement stone. Quartz sand is most often used as aggregate. Concrete is a building material composed of aggregate, cement and water. Aggregate forms a filler, cement, when mixed with water, forms crystals ...

As a member of the European Union, Romania must take measures to reduce CO2 emissions, in order to achieve the objective of Europe becoming the first neutral continent in terms of controlling carbon emissions. The paper analyzes the influence of ventilation systems with heat recovery in the process of dimensioning the heating systems related to buildings, both from the perspective of the calculation of heat requirement for sizing the equipment and the annual energy requirement for charging. The analysis simulates ...

Water pollution and climate change are two of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time, and their interconnection is increasingly evident. Water pollution and climate change are interconnected in various ways. The release of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, is a significant driver of global warming. These gases contribute to the greenhouse effect, leading to rising global temperatures, which, in turn, affect water resources. Warmer temperatures exacerbate water ...

The energy sector is particularly important in the Romanian economy, both in terms of its size and in terms of the impact of developments in this sector on other branches of the economy. Developments in the energy sector, particularly in the electricity sector, also have social implications. As a result, the energy regulation institutions have been heavily involved in this area, using all the instruments at its disposal, both from a competition and a state aid perspective: investigation of possible infringements o...

From a geological point of view, Dobrogea presents a wide variety of rocks specific to all three major petrological categories. Plutonic magmatic rocks are found especially in the Macin Mountains, in the form of granites or granodiorites, rarely diorites. Basaltic volcanic igneous rocks are mainly found in the Niculi?el Hills. Metamorphic rocks outcrop in the South of Tulcea County as Micaschists, on the border with Constan?a County, in the well-known Altan-Tepe mining area, but also isolated, to the Southwest of ...

The method of fundamental solutions is a meshless method that belongs to the Trefftz class of numerical methods. The method needs only the boundary to be defined using the set of boundary collocation nodes; it is mathematically effortless to program. One of the imperfections in the context of MFS is the fictitious boundary without any rigorous definition. The other fact that MFS suffers from is the nature of the characteristic matrix that is non-symmetric and fully populated. This issue is overcome by adopting the...

The main scientific problem to which the study is devoted is to determine the relationship between such aspects of the quality of life of the population as: environmental quality, economic inequality and digitalization of households. The relationship between the three studied areas of household life is dictated by the processes of digital transformation, the formation of a green economy, while the phenomena of population differentiation by income is increasing. Nonparametric correlation coefficients were calculate...

Computer simulation has a significant application in the field of metallurgy. It is primarily an issue that deals with the issue of casting. The simulation of casting and solidification makes visible the foundry phenomena that take place in the gating system and the casting when the mold is filled with liquid metal and during its solidification. The article deals with the design of the gating system and the simulation of the filling and solidification of a real casting made of ductile iron. In the next production ...

Kosovo has significant reserves of coal, where their exploitation began in 1922, coal is a mixture of organic mineral material produced by a natural process of growth and decay, or an accumulation of debris both vegetal and mineral with some sorting and stratification. Based on the geological map, the Kosovo Basin is mainly a tectonic area filled with tertiary sediments. Old rocks represent the Basin area, in the west Paleozoic age and in the east by Upper Cretaceous sediments. In the Coal Basin of Kosovo, along w...

The Dniprovsko-Buzky liman is a semi-enclosed water body located in the lower part of the mouth area (estuary) of the Dnipro and the Pivdennyy Bug. The studied liman is located within a tectonic depression that is characterized by asymmetric slopes. The northern slope of the depression is steeper and characterized by a predominance of positive tectonic movements. The southern slope is very gentle, and negative tectonic movements take place within it. The specified tectonic conditions determine the lithological, mo...

Global heating is happening at an unprecedented speed. As a result, both human society and natural ecosystems are facing significant challenges. Numerous tools and policies are being implemented both for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Substantial amount of funding has been pledged by international governments and private corporations to support these efforts. One of particularly promising tools that tends to gain popularity for addressing climate change are Nature-based Solutions. These tools can be use...

Among the many factors affecting the average life expectancy and mortality of the population, along with the effective services of the health care system, an important place is occupied by the ecological condition of the environment, in particular, the quality of the security of its resources for human health. Providing the population with safe, clean, drinking water is one of the most important factors in the world and among them in Georgia. According to the data of the World Health Organization, almost 2 billion...

A study of the bioregion paradigm reveals that bioregions can be diverse. A bioregion is a construct of the human mind that evolves to resist the continued destruction of wild systems in an effort to restore ecological balance. Latvia has a diverse landscape, relatively rich biological diversity and cultural heritage, which provides a solid foundation for the creation of potential bioregions. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal and other documents offer solutions to make our farming more ...

Consumers are changing their food preferences in favor of healthier foods that have a beneficial effect on health and that embrace sustainable consumption patterns. To meet the demand of modern consumers, the food sector is undergoing a major revolution as more and more new products are appearing on the market. This trend has encouraged the food industry to develop a new category of food products, which is 'functional foods-, characterized by the presence of one or more bioactive compounds having beneficial effect...

The work analyzes the rights of future generations in a perspective of solidarity within Italian-European environmental law, in a similar way to what was done in the German legal system. The analysis is conducted through a survey of the Italian-European regulatory framework, also with specific reference to the objectives of European social policies and through the jurisprudential comparative analysis with the legal system of the Federal Republic of Germany. In particular, with specific reference to a recent enviro...

Materials and technical equipment, especially their external parts, are inherently subjected to the electrification process during their use. The electrification process of the materials and external parts of the equipment, especially the non-conductive ones, is responsible for the generation, through specific mechanisms, of significant amounts of electrostatic charges. The electrostatic charges generated as a result of the electrification process on the materials and external parts of the technical equipment used...

Pursuing sustainability in a rapidly changing global landscape has necessitated a paradigm shift in economic models. At the forefront of this transformation is the Circular Economy, characterized by the continuous reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing of products and materials, which has gained prominence as a means to address pressing environmental challenges while fostering economic growth. This research explores the interplay between the circular economy, innovation, investment, and social responsibility. These...

Urban green infrastructure has historically been used for aesthetical purposes, making landscapes visually pleasant. More recently the green infrastructure in urban and sub- urban areas has started to be applied to help solve a broad range of problems that city dwellers are facing. These problems include natural disasters, overheating, excessive flows rainwater, biodiversity decline and food insecurity among others. Thus, implementation of green infrastructure as Nature-based Solutions has become increasingly popu...

Safety culture and the environment are closely linked. In companies, they are very often managed together within the HSE department. In most major industrial accidents that have had a catastrophic impact on the environment one of the causes has been a poor safety culture. The very definition of safety culture originated in the investigation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. Another example of an accident caused by a poor safety culture was the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010, which ...

The paper presents the cover of soils, their characteristics and the way of use according to the fertility and favorability of the soils identified in the Remetea Mare locality in Timis county. For this, a series of analyzes and field observations were carried out as well as comparisons of the initial data taken from previous studies and researches. Soil profiles were dug, 14 soil samples were collected in a disturbed structure to determine the main physico-mechanical, chemical and water indices, after which the d...

The number of transport units in cities is increasing every year. This trend contributes to air pollution problems in many rapidly urbanizing countries. Various heavy metals and other chemical elements, including aluminum, have been related to air quality degradation. Poor air quality affects people, especially young children, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses, causing health problems and aggravating existing problems. The aim of the research is to find out which parts of the city of Jelgava have the ...

A comparative assessment of the amount of protein and anti-nutritional substances in the green mass of amaranth during the growth and development of the crop was carried out. It has been established that the content of nutritional and anti-nutritional components depends on the phase of plant development. The largest amount of oxalic and phytic acids, mg%: 79 and 156, respectively, was contained at the beginning of flowering of amaranth, tannins 75 mg% - at the beginning of budding, nitrates 7.4 mg% - at the beginn...

This article presents the rheological study of protease and asparaginase enzymes on dough obtained from white flour used for biscuits. Using alveographic method and falling number method we were able to determine the rheological characteristics of the dough used for biscuits and monitor the effects in the flour and finished products of protease and asparaginase enzymes taking into account different dosages. The technological process of preparing biscuits and crackers using protease and asparaginase becomes more he...

Climate change may increase the frequency and severity of floods in many regions of the world, including Poland and Slovakia. Crises may be caused by, among others: increased rainfall, rapid melting of snow, river floods, and floods in urban areas. The article focuses on the problems occurring in Poland and Slovakia, which will have to adapt their infrastructure and policies to cope with the changing climate and increased flood risk. The article concerns aspects of crisis management using geo-informatic tools in f...