Ekološki prihvatljivi protoci rijeka

Povećanje globalne eksploatacije vodnih resursa dovelo je do značajnog narušavanja slatkovodne biološke raznolikosti i raznih usluga koje pružaju rijeke. U mnogim mjestima, rijeke su potpuno prestale teći. Socio-ekonomske posljedice, a i samo narušavanje slatkovodnih sustava, često za rezultat ima duboke posljedice: ljudi su danas mnogo više ovisni o prirodnim riječnim uslugama nego što su bili prije i to tek postaje jasno i uočljivo nakon što se rijeka već degradira. Kao odgovor na to, tijekom posljednjih desetljeća u svijetu je razvijen koncept zaštite okoliša uz primjenu ekološki prihvatljivih protoka. Prihvatljivi ekološki protok je, sagledano, količina vode koja se štiti te teče niz rijeku kako bi se održalo željeno stanje same rijeke. Drugim riječima, ekološki prihvatljivi protok može se opisati kao određena kvantiteta i kvaliteta vode te vrijeme koje je potrebno da se održi ušče ekosustava i sami ljudski životni uvjeti koji upravo ovise o tim ekosustavima. Kako je i sam koncept uznapredovao, došlo je do značajnog razvoja u samom pristupu procjene ekološki prihvatljivih protoka u okolišu

Sudjelovanje javnosti u postupcima zaštite okoliša

Konvencija o pristupu informacijama, sudjelovanju javnosti u odlučivanju i pristupu pravosuđu u pitanjima okoliša usvojena je 25. lipnja 1998. godine u gradu Aarhusu u Danskoj u okviru Gospodarske komisije Ujedinjenih naroda za Europu (ENECE). Stupila je na snagu 30. listopada 2011. godine nakon prikupljenih ratifikacija, a trenutno sadržava 47 stranaka. Republika Hrvatska također je potpisnica Arhuške konvencije od dana kada je Konvencija i usvojena. Upravo se tim dokumentom utvrđuju prava u vezi s okolišem kao pouzdana osnova za uključivanje građana u politike okoliša te se potvrđuje obveza prema budućim generacijama. Arhuška konvencija svojevrsni je putokaz kako se održivi razvoj može postići jedino uključivanjem svih sudionika u društvu te je ujedno spona između odgovornosti tijela javne vlasti i zaštite okoliša, jer je usmjerena na demokratsku suradnju javnosti s tijelima javne vlasti čime utire put novom postupku sudjelovanja javnosti u dogovaranju i provedbi međunarodnih sporazuma. Da bi se to postiglo javnost treba biti informirana i osviještena, a trebala bi se se uključiti i kod donošenja odluka, zbog čega je sama Konvencija izuzetno važan pravni alat

Analysis of Trends and Challenges of a Worldwide Solid Waste Management with Emphasis on Covid-19 Pandemic - A Review

Low collection coverage, lack of a safe and appropriate destination for all generated waste and pollution caused by inadequate waste disposal procedures are probably one of the most significant threats in the current decade (2021-2030). At the beginning of 2020, a new and unforeseen challenge emerged - the COVID-19 pandemic. This article provides a brief overview of the state of waste management in the world, identifying significant challenges that arose during the pandemic. As the situation changed daily in all regions of the world, many local authorities were obliged to react urgently and adjust the current way of waste management. People\u27s habits have changed and the mandatory wearing of protective masks has increased the daily amount of plastic waste worldwide by approximately 21 000+ tons. This represented an additional burden for already under capacitated waste management systems. Also, waste collected from households in many parts of the world had to be treated as medical waste due to the COVID-19 positive people. There was a drastic increase in the daily amount of generated medical waste due to this, which in some cases was up to 6 times higher than usual

MEMORY OF WATER - WATER AS A MEDIUM OF INFORMATION TRANSFER

Water is one of the five elements that man has been in connection with in a continuous, special and profound way throughout history. By its structure, an angle between atoms, polarity, binding, no doubt it is a fascinating element. Water comes in three aggregate states; it is a universal solvent and, interestingly, a rare substance on Earth whose density is decreased if water temperature is below 4 °C. This is why ice floats on water surface and what makes life possible. Recent very interesting studies have been made that point out the ability of water to store and transfer information. Aquaphotomics studies a so-far unknown world of water in a scientific way. There seems to be an influence on water and its structure through words, music, DNA, etc., via electromagnetic signals. The last four decades gave us an interesting insight through some interesting experiments. This should guide us not just to see the water in its chemical composition, but to see its spatial order of molecules too. Having this knowledge we should examine ourselves, fundamentally, based on the information we share and transmit. All human communication, negative or positive, and human action with and towards water can be reflected in the functioning of the human organism, other living beings, and the ecosystems that they are part of and interfere in

POSSIBILITIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND IMPACTS EVALUATION ACCORDING TO ISO 14001 STANDARD ON THE EXAMPLE OF AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION

Environmental aspects and impacts are important components of the international standard ISO 14001:2004. This standard represents a possible way of introducing an environmental management system in an organization. Environmental management systems help in achieving ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance of the organization. This paper introduces a systematic approach for the determination of environmental aspects, possible ways of their evaluation and deals with potentially adverse environmental impacts of an academic institution on the example of the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Zagreb. As the significant aspects for the Faculty, within the waste management process, the separation and storage of the waste electrical and electronic equipment (including the fluorescent lamps), toners and hazardous chemicals were determined. Additionally, the use of electricity and the use of natural gas for heating purposes of the Faculty were estimated to be normal, according to the European practice

Water-food-energy-health: the importance of environmental sustainability in the circular economy

Water, food, and energy are considered necessary segments to achieve the sustainable development goals. Urbanization, population growth, international trade, economic development and climate change will significantly increase the need for these three segments, which is why it is necessary to focus on equal access to water, food and energy, while adhering to the principles of the circular economy. Water is used along the entire agri-food chain, while the generated energy is needed for the production, transport and distribution of food, as well as for the extraction, pumping, lifting, collection, transport, and treatment of water. Urbanization, industrial development, and the general population of citizens also require gradually more water, as well as land for food production and expansion, which entails the need for more and more energy resources. This results in environmental degradation and impairment of environmental sustainability, which leads to the scarcity of resources and impairment of the health of living organisms. Given the importance of the topic related to the knowledge of biowaste and its management, a survey was conducted to gain insight into whether the general population of citizens is aware that by throwing food, other resources represented in the "water-energy" chain also get wasted, which leads to the disturbance of ecological stability. As expected, the results showed that our society needs further education to be able to manage waste in a sustainable way

Methylated Host Cell Gene Promoters and Human Papillomavirus Type 16 and 18 Predicting Cervical Lesions and Cancer

Change in the host and/or human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA methylation profile is probably one of the main factors responsible for the malignant progression of cervical lesions to cancer. To investigate those changes we studied 173 cervical samples with different grades of cervical lesion, from normal to cervical cancer. The methylation status of nine cellular gene promoters, CCNA1, CDH1, C13ORF18, DAPK1, HIC1, RARβ2, hTERT1, hTERT2 and TWIST1, was investigated by Methylation Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (MSP). The methylation of HPV18 L1-gene was also investigated by MSP, while the methylated cytosines within four regions, L1, 5’LCR, enhancer, and promoter of the HPV16 genome covering 19 CpG sites were evaluated by bisulfite sequencing. Statistically significant methylation biomarkers distinguishing between cervical precursor lesions from normal cervix were primarily C13ORF18 and secondly CCNA1, and those distinguishing cervical cancer from normal or cervical precursor lesions were CCNA1, C13ORF18, hTERT1, hTERT2 and TWIST1. In addition, the methylation analysis of individual CpG sites of the HPV16 genome in different sample groups, notably the 7455 and 7694 sites, proved to be more important than the overall methylation frequency. The majority of HPV18 positive samples contained both methylated and unmethylated L1 gene, and samples with L1-gene methylated forms alone had better prognosis when correlated with the host cell gene promoters’ methylation profiles. In conclusion, both cellular and viral methylation biomarkers should be used for monitoring cervical lesion progression to prevent invasive cervical cancer