Lichens from the Zemplínske vrchy Mts and Physcia leptalea new to Slovakia

We present the results of lichenological survey in the area of Zemplínske vrchy Mts in this paper. The study area is underexplored regarding lichens and there are not many published resources on lichens. In total thirty-five localities were investigated and 68 lichen species were identified. Fifteen species of them are evaluated in the Red list of lichens of Slovakia. From interesting findings, Cladonia crispata, Graphis scripta, Lecanora conizaeoides and Flavoparmelia caperata are discussed here. Physcia leptalea is reported for the first time for the area of Slovakia

Analytical solution of conductor tensile force in asymmetrical spans used in overhead power lines and substations with influence of tension insulators

Introduction. Designing electrical substations involves analyzing the horizontal tensile force in flexible tension conductors under varying temperatures. These temperature changes affect the conductor’s length and forces. Problem. Existing methods for calculating horizontal tensile force in conductors often focus on symmetric spans or require complex finite element modeling (FEM), which is impractical for routine substation design. Asymmetric spans with tension insulators present a more complex challenge that current solutions do not adequately address. Purpose. Universal analytical solution and algorithm for calculating the horizontal tensile forces in conductors in asymmetric spans with tension insulators used in power substations or short overhead power line spans. The solution is designed to be easily implementable in software without requiring complex tools or extensive FEM. Methodology. The methodology involves deriving an analytical solution based on the catenary curve formed by the conductor between attachment points at different heights. The analysis includes calculating the conductor’s length for a given tensile force and using a state change equation to determine forces under new temperature conditions. Validation is performed using FEM calculations. Results. The proposed solution was validated against FEM models with varying height differences (5 m and 15 m) and conductor temperatures (–30 °C, –5 °C, +80 °C). The results showed a minimal error (less than 0.15 %) between the analytical solution and FEM results, demonstrating high accuracy. Originality. This paper presents a novel analytical solution to the problem of calculating tensile forces in asymmetric spans with tension insulators. Unlike existing methods, our solution is straightforward and easily implementable in any programming language. Practical value. The solution is practical for routine design tasks in electrical substations or short overhead power lines. Especially in power substations, accurate tensile forces are needed not only for mechanical design and sag calculations but also for calculating the dynamic effects of short-circuit currents. References 23, tables 4, figures 3.Вступ. Проєктування електричних підстанцій включає аналіз горизонтальної сили, що розтягує, в гнучких натяжних провідниках при різних температурах. Ці зміни температури впливають на довжину провідника та сили. Проблема. Існуючі методи розрахунку горизонтальної сили, що розтягує, у провідниках часто орієнтовані на симетричні прольоти або вимагають складного моделювання методом скінченних елементів (FEM), що непрактично для звичайного проєктування підстанцій. Асиметричні прольоти з натяжними ізоляторами є складнішим завданням, яке існуючі рішення не вирішують належним чином. Мета. Універсальне аналітичне рішення та алгоритм розрахунку горизонтальних сил, що розтягують, у проводах несиметричних прольотів з натяжними ізоляторами, що застосовуються на силових підстанціях або коротких прольотах повітряних ліній електропередачі. Рішення розроблено таким чином, щоб його можна було легко реалізувати в програмному забезпеченні, не вимагаючи складних інструментів або моделювання методом FEM. Методика передбачає отримання аналітичного рішення на основі контактної кривої, утвореної провідником між точками кріплення на різній висоті. Аналіз включає розрахунок довжини провідника для заданої розтягуючої сили і використання рівняння зміни стану для визначення сил в нових температурних умовах. Перевірка здійснюється з використанням розрахунків методом FEM. Результати. Запропоноване рішення було перевірено на моделях FEM з різною різницею висот (5 м та 15 м) та температурою провідника (–30 °C, –5 °C, +80 °C). Результати показали мінімальну помилку (менше 0,15 %) між аналітичним рішенням та результатами FEM, демонструючи високу точність. Оригінальність. У цій статті представлено нове аналітичне рішення задачі розрахунку зусиль, що розтягують, у несиметричних прольотах з натяжними ізоляторами. На відміну від існуючих методів, наше рішення є простим та легко реалізованим будь-якою мовою програмування. Практична цінність. Вирішення практично для рутинних завдань проєктування електричних підстанцій або коротких повітряних ліній електропередачі. Точні сили, що розтягують, необхідні, особливо на силових підстанціях, не тільки для механічного проєктування та розрахунку провисання, але і для розрахунку динамічних ефектів струмів короткого замикання. Бібл. 23, табл. 4, рис. 3

What Do Fact Checkers Fact-check When?

Recent research suggests that not all fact checking efforts are equal: when and what is fact checked plays a pivotal role in effectively correcting misconceptions. In this paper, we propose a framework to study fact checking efforts using Google Trends, a signal that captures search interest over topics on the world's largest search engine. Our framework consists of extracting claims from fact checking efforts, linking such claims with knowledge graph entities, and estimating the online attention they receive. We use this framework to study a dataset of 879 COVID-19-related fact checks done in 2020 by 81 international organizations. Our findings suggest that there is often a disconnect between online attention and fact checking efforts. For example, in around 40% of countries where 10 or more claims were fact checked, half or more than half of the top 10 most popular claims were not fact checked. Our analysis also shows that claims are first fact checked after receiving, on average, 35% of the total online attention they would eventually receive in 2020. Yet, there is a big variation among claims: some were fact checked before receiving a surge of misinformation-induced online attention, others are fact checked much later. Overall, our work suggests that the incorporation of online attention signals may help organizations better assess and prioritize their fact checking efforts. Also, in the context of international collaboration, where claims are fact checked multiple times across different countries, online attention could help organizations keep track of which claims are "migrating" between different countries

Lichens in area of meteorological and radar station Kojšovská hol’a (Volovec Mountains, se Slovakia)

The Volovec Mts (Volovské vrchy) have insufficiently been investigated area for lichens. Kojšovská hol’a is one of the highest parts in the Volovec Mts. No records of lichens were published from here. Some historical collections need revision. The list of 35 lichen species collected by the authors is presented from the investigated areas. Three interesting and vulnerable lichens are characterised in more details: Cladonia ciliata var. tenuis, Cladonia cornuta and Umbilicaria vellea. The area of Kojšovská hoľa gives further opportunities for new findings

Moving towards universal health coverage: Strengthening the evidence ecosystem for the South African health system

Health policy and systems research (HPSR) guides health system reforms and is essential for South Africa (SA)’s progress towards universal coverage of high-quality healthcare. For HPSR evidence to inform and strengthen health systems, it needs to flow efficiently between evidence producers, evidence synthesisers, evidence processers and disseminators and evidence implementors in an evidence ecosystem. A substantial body of evidence for health systems strengthening is generated in SA, and this informs national and international health system guidelines and guidance. In this manuscript, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the SA Medical Research Council, we apply an evidence ecosystem lens to the SA health system, and discuss its current functioning in support of the achievement of a high-quality health system that is able to achieve universal health coverage. We use three case studies to describe successes, challenges and gaps in the functioning of the evidence ecosystem. The first case study focuses on using evidence to strengthen health-system governance and support for community health worker programmes. The second case focuses on managing the growing epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis, while the third case focuses on social protection, the child support grant and its impact on health. SA scientists are part of global initiatives to strengthen the health-systems evidence ecosystem, specifically through pioneering methods to synthesise evidence and produce evidence-informed guidelines to facilitate evidence use in health-system decision-making. SA institutes of health policy analysis facilitate involvement of evidence producers and synthesisers in the national health system policy-making process. A future priority is to further strengthen national initiatives to translate evidence into policy and practice and to sustain capacity for continuous technical support to health-systems policy development and implementation

Role of handedness-related vestibular cortical dominance upon the vestibular–ocular reflex

Letter to the Editor

Thalassaemia (part 2): Management

The management of thalassaemia with a severe phenotype includes blood transfusion, iron chelation, bone marrow transplantation, prenatal diagnosis and national programmes to co-ordinate these in countries with a high prevalence. If blood transfusion and iron chelation therapy are not administered regularly, as was the case historically and as is still the case in many poorer regions, progressive deterioration occurs, viz. impaired growth and development, hepatosplenomegaly, bony abnormalities, cardiac failure, increased susceptibility to infections and premature mortality. Remarkable progress has been made in the past few decades, which has led to much-improved survival rates. Transfusion therapy has evolved to a hyper-transfusion regimen designed to maintain a physiological haemoglobin level and achieve a post-transfusion haemoglobin of 14 g/dL, which, as a matter of course, necessitated intensification of iron chelation. The development of effective oral iron chelators has led to improved compliance. Exploration of novel therapeutic approaches continues, with several agents under study. The prospect of gene therapy is particularly exciting as it has potential to provide cure on a large scale. Currently, regular blood transfusion and iron chelation therapy remain the cornerstone of management of thalassaemia major

Child health, infant formula funding and South African health professionals: Eliminating conflict of interest

Despite clear evidence of the benefits of exclusive and continued breastfeeding for children, women and society, far too few children in South Africa (SA) are breastfed. One of the major impediments to improving this situation is the continued and aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes (BMSs) and infiltration of the BMS industry into contexts with exposure to health professionals. In this article we, as academics, practitioners and child health advocates, describe contraventions of the regulations that protect breastfeeding in SA and argue that bold, proactive leadership to eliminate conflict of interest in respect of the BMS industry is urgently required, together with far greater investments in proven interventions to promote and support breastfeeding