The quality of underground waters in the Timiș-Bega interfluve, downstream from Timișoara

Although they observe a low percentage among the total water resources, underground waters represent an important water delivery source, for the population and various human activities. Because the water in the analyzed area is largely delivered by underground sources, their quality is especially important. For the qualitative evaluation of the underground waters, during summer 2012, 85 water samples from various sources were collected and analyzed in the field, and during autumn another 21 water samples were collected, which were then analyzed in the laboratory. The determination of some drink water quality evaluation parameters highlights the following aspects: most analysed samples had ammonium concentrations over the maximum admissible limit, a consequence of agricultural and animal breeding activities; approximately 50% of the collected samples observed dissolved oxygen under the established limit admissible for drinking water; the nitrate concentration exceeded the maximum admissible limit in over 50% of the samples collected from wells and decreased parallel to the depth increase; pH values agree with the active legal requirements, and the values obtained in the electric conductivity determination, are registered overall under the maximum admissible value, higher with the samples collected from wells. Thus, in the analyzed area, the underground water quality is „affected” by high ammonium concentrations and low dissolved oxygen values

The influence of some chemical indices of soils on earthworm abundance (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) in conditions of organic and mineral fertilization

This paper presents data obtained by researching the influence of organic fertilizers (bovine manure in dose of 20 t/ha) and chemical fertilizers (N120P120) on earthworm dynamics in soil, under aspect of individuals number and biomass, within the wheat and maize cultures, on a luvic phaeozem soil (FAO System). It was observed that in wheat culture was identified an earthworm number and a biomass larger than in the maize culture, regardless the fertilization type. The chemical fertilization negatively influenced both the earthworm number and their biomass, in both plant cultures. The organic fertilization positively influenced the earthworm activity, their number and biomass significantly increasing. In this case there was noticed a superior activity of earthworms in the wheat culture against the maize. The statistical study made by regression and correlation methods for the data recorded in the control variant showed that the chemical parameters of soil nitrogen index, potassium and pH manifest by the recorded values in the experimental variants a positive influence on earthworms’ number and biomass. For the variant with chemical fertilization (N120P120), the same factors have positive influences on the earthworms’ number, the same tendency being observed regarding the biomass too. In the case of organic fertilization it was observed both for the earthworm number and biomass a positive influence of the analyzed factors pH, nitrogen index and potassium. The factor phosphorous manifested a negative influence on earthworms’ dynamics

The quality of underground waters in the Timiș-Bega interfluve, downstream from Timișoara

Although they observe a low percentage among the total water resources, underground waters represent an important water delivery source, for the population and various human activities. Because the water in the analyzed area is largely delivered by underground sources, their quality is especially important. For the qualitative evaluation of the underground waters, during summer 2012, 85 water samples from various sources were collected and analyzed in the field, and during autumn another 21 water samples were collected, which were then analyzed in the laboratory. The determination of some drink water quality evaluation parameters highlights the following aspects: most analysed samples had ammonium concentrations over the maximum admissible limit, a consequence of agricultural and animal breeding activities; approximately 50% of the collected samples observed dissolved oxygen under the established limit admissible for drinking water; the nitrate concentration exceeded the maximum admissible limit in over 50% of the samples collected from wells and decreased parallel to the depth increase; pH values agree with the active legal requirements, and the values obtained in the electric conductivity determination, are registered overall under the maximum admissible value, higher with the samples collected from wells. Thus, in the analyzed area, the underground water quality is „affected” by high ammonium concentrations and low dissolved oxygen values

Ecotoxicological assessment of the effect of some new organic-mineral fertilizers on Eisenia foetida earthworms

Ecotoxicity tests provide a direct measure of the bioavailability of toxicants and help to establish linkages between site contamination and adverse ecological effects. There are more current laboratory test methods outlined, but it is very important the major advantages/disadvantages of each of them. The present paper uses as research methodology the OECD Guideline for testing of chemicals no. 207 which meets the most criteria expected for ecotoxicological testing. Earthworms Eisenia foetida (Savigny, 1826) had been exposed for 14 days to a geometrical series range of concentrations of the test substances (organic-mineral fertilizers L-200-Hum and SH-120). The performed study showed that the fertilizer L-200-Hum determined lower earthworm mortality comparing to SH-120 for all tested concentration levels and the fertilizer L-200-Hum positively influenced the earthworm rate of biomass accumulation. DL 50 it was established to be the concentration 4 g for the SH-120 fertilizer at the end of the test (14 days)

Organic agriculture of Romania as compared with other countries of European Union

The paper presents a case study aiming to highlight the present state of the organic agriculture in Romania as compared with other European countries with the goal to warn about its level, much under other countries taken in study. Several indicators have been considered: certified organic crop areas, certified organic crop productions and yields from fully converted areas, certified organic livestock, certified production of organic animal products, number of certified registered operators processing and importing products issued from organic farming. The results of study showed that for all studied indicators Romania reported data with lower values as compared with the other analyzed European states, and for most of items our country has no data to report. This study distinguishes on the one hand the low representation of organic agriculture in Romania as component of sustainable agriculture, and on the other hand demonstrates the lack or the inefficacy of instruments of the specialized institution of the Romanian state to collect and centralize data referring to several items which characterize the level of organic agriculture in Romania

Attention Patterns Detection using Brain Computer Interfaces

The human brain provides a range of functions such as expressing emotions, controlling the rate of breathing, etc., and its study has attracted the interest of scientists for many years. As machine learning models become more sophisticated, and bio-metric data becomes more readily available through new non-invasive technologies, it becomes increasingly possible to gain access to interesting biometric data that could revolutionize Human-Computer Interaction. In this research, we propose a method to assess and quantify human attention levels and their effects on learning. In our study, we employ a brain computer interface (BCI) capable of detecting brain wave activity and displaying the corresponding electroencephalograms (EEG). We train recurrent neural networks (RNNS) to identify the type of activity an individual is performing

Chemical relationships in earthworm casts of two urban green spaces indicate the earthworm contribution to urban nutrient cycles

Due to the earthworms' implications in nutrient cycles through their burrowing and casting activity, earthworms are worth considering when urban biogeochemical cycles are analysed. Several chemical parameters and their relationships were analysed in earthworm casts of two urban parks, namely the pH, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (Nt), plant available phosphorus (P), plant available potassium (K), and calcium water soluble (Ca). It was statistically significantly found that the TOC, Nt, P and K are reciprocally determined in the earthworm casts: 74.4% of the pH variability is co-determined by the N, P, K, TOC, and Ca contents; 95.9% of the Nt variability is co-determined by the pH, P, K, TOC, and Ca contents; 95.4% of the P variability is co-determined by the pH, N, K, TOC, and Ca contents; 94.5% of the K variability is co-determined by the pH, N, P, TOC, and Ca contents; 86.6% of the TOC variability is co-determined by the pH, N, P, K, and Ca contents. This study revealed the complexity of the chemical relationships inside earthworm casts, their reciprocal dependencies, and highlighted the complexity of the earthworms' contribution to biogeochemical cycles in urban areas. Our findings propose earthworms as indicators of the integrative conservation management of urban ecosystems

Attention Patterns Detection Using Brain Computer Interfaces

This publication was published in the Proceedings of the Annual ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2020). The human brain provides a range of functions such as expressing emotions, controlling the rate of breathing, etc., and its study has attracted the interest of scientists for many years. As machine learning models become more sophisticated, and biometric data becomes more readily available through new non-invasive technologies, it becomes increasingly possible to gain access to interesting biometric data that could revolutionize Human-Computer Interaction. In this research, we propose a method to assess and quantify human attention levels and their effects on learning. In our study, we employ a brain computer interface (BCI) capable of detecting brain wave activity and displaying the corresponding electroencephalograms (EEG). We train recurrent neural networks (RNNS) to identify the type of activity an individual is performing