Spatio-temporal analysis of Romania's rural population access to sanitation services in the context of EU accession

This paper analysis the disparities between Romanian Counties regarding the spatio-temporal evolution of rural population acces to sanitation services for pre-accession period (2003-2006) and the first two years since Romania is part of the EU-27 (2007-2008) highlighting positive or negative changes occurred in this period. Romanian counties were mapped and divided into five typological classes,using multivariate analysis such as hierarchical cluster analysis method. Each class has different values of rural population served by waste collection services related to the Romania average (expressed in standard deviations). Limited access to sanitation services from rural areas lead to uncontrolled waste disposal. Despite improvement of public access to sanitation services in rural areas compared to 2003 most of population still lack access to waste collection services in 2008. In this context, implementation of the acquis communautaire on municipal waste management is difficult to achieve in rural territory

MODIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS USING KANBAN METHOD AND GROWTH IN PRODUCTION LEVEL

The Kanban method is based on the principle of taking over the tasks by the team members as they become available (pull system), and not on the placement of the tasks without their being requested by the person to execute them (push system).Using the Kanban method, components are manufactured only when needed, so extra components are eliminated. As there is no extra production, waste cuts and scrap are reduced

ELIMINATION OF LOSSES USED LEAN MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES AND KAIZEN PHILOSOPHY

Lean manufacturing is today one of the most successful production strategies for improving competitiveness. To achieve success, a healthy production system based on solid concepts and philosophies is also required. Thus, it has been decided to adopt and accelerate the Lean Manufacturing concept on every site. The Kaizen or "Continuous Improvement by Involving All" method is a teamwork methodology used to systematically solve problems and apply improvement solutions

STRUCTURAL - FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE SOIL LEVEL MACHINE

The soil leveling machine is of half – carried type and it works, as unit, with the wheeled tractor (or caterpillar tractor). The leveling plane is established by the rear wheels of the tractor and by the wheels of the hind train of the machine. The positive and negative soil dislevelments are given against the leveling plane. In the paper there are established the displacements of the mechanism for the automatic working regime, in which the cutting blade is execution element

Epidemic dispersion of HIV and HCV in a population of co-infected Romanian injecting drug users

Co-infections with HIV and HCV are very frequent among people who inject drugs (PWID). However, very few studies comparatively reconstructed the transmission patterns of both viruses in the same population. We have recruited 117 co-infected PWID during a recent HIV outbreak in Romania. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on HIV and HCV sequences in order to characterize and compare transmission dynamics of the two viruses. Three large HIV clusters (2 subtype F1 and one CRF14_BG) and thirteen smaller HCV transmission networks (genotypes 1a, 1b, 3a, 4a and 4d) were identified. Eighty (65%) patients were both in HIV and HCV transmission chains and 70 of those shared the same HIV and HCV cluster with at least one other patient. Molecular clock analysis indicated that all identified HIV clusters originated around 2006, while the origin of the different HCV clusters ranged between 1980 (genotype 1b) and 2011 (genotypes 3a and 4d). HCV infection preceded HIV infection in 80.3% of cases. Coincidental transmission of HIV and HCV was estimated to be rather low (19.65%) and associated with an outbreak among PWID during detention in the same penitentiary. This study has reconstructed and compared the dispersion of these two viruses in a PWID population. © 2017 Paraschiv et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Salt efflorescence in historic wooden buildings

Efflorescence and subflorescence are frequent phenomena occurring in buildings of porous inorganic materials such as bricks, stone, and concrete. Since the above phenomena have detrimental effects, they were the subject of detailed physicochemical investigations. Efflorescence on wooden material was commonly observed on collection artefacts treated with preservatives such as inorganic salts or organic pesticides. Occurrence of efflorescence in historical wooden buildings was less studied although it could cause serious conservation concerns. This paper describes an examination of chemical and mineralogical composition of salt efflorescence in wooden buildings. In situ analysis by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was followed by investigation of plain efflorescence by infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis. Quantitative analysis of purified efflorescence was performed by plasma atomic emission spectrometry, ion chromatography and absorption spectrophotometry. In addition, depth-profiling of characteristic ions in wood was performed. The objects of study were a series of log houses of the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum in Trondheim, Norway. It was found that the efflorescence in these buildings includes a series of metal ions, the most abundant being Al3+, Mg2+, Zn2+, K+, Na+, and Fe2+. In addition the ammonium ion is present in a large amount. The single detected anion is sulfate. Actually, the efflorescence consists of a mixture of simple and double sulfate salts of alum and Tutton’s compound types. Identified Tutton’s compounds are mohrite ((NH4)2Fe(SO4)2·6H2O), ammonium zinc sulfate hexahydrate ((NH4)2Zn(SO4)2·6H2O)), and boussingaultite ((NH4)2Mg(SO4)2·6H2O)). Among the alums, both tschermigite (NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O), and potassium alum (KAl(SO4)2·12H2O)) were detected. The composition of efflorescence suggests that the wooden material was treated with a blend of sulfate salts ((NH4)2SO4, Al2(SO4)3·18H2O, MgSO4·7H2O, FeSO4·7H2O, ZnSO4·7H2O, and Na2SO4·10H2O)) for protection against fire and biological degradation. The efflorescence appeared as a consequence of water leakage through the roof that led to the dissolution of the salts contained in the wood, followed by evaporation and salt crystallization at the surface in the form of double sulfate salts. Although the occurrence of efflorescence in this case was accidental, a natural and more frequent cause of efflorescence could be the deliquescence of inorganic preservatives impregnated in the wood

Homocysteine Electrochemistry at a Mercury Electrode in the Presence of Nickel Ions

Hcy gives rise to a series of voltammetric peaks in the presence of Ni2+ and under the conditions of cathodic stripping voltammetry, as follows: A) cathodic reaction of mercury thiolate (with a Ni2+-dependent peak potential); B and C) catalytic Ni2+ reduction peaks; E) catalytic hydrogen evolution; G) Hcy-assisted anodic reaction of mercury; F) Hcy-catalyzed anodic reaction of Ni(0).This paper reveals some differences between Hcy and Cys behavior under these conditions and points out possible applications for Hcy determination in the presence of Cys.<

Carbonaceous materials for single-use sensors. Quality assessment by electrochemical impedance spectrometry

An overview of achievements and prospects of electrochemical impedance spectrometry (EIS) application for characterizing the surface of the carbon paste electrode (CPE) is emphasized. Several guidelines are pointed out and illustrated by preliminary experimental result