Literatura científica selecionada sobre o tema "District des Minimes"

We describe a distinct new species of Hemiphyllodactylus from a sacred grove near Humma in Ganjam District of Odisha state, eastern India. Hemiphyllodactylus minimus sp. nov. is the smallest member of the genus and can be diagnosed from all peninsular Indian congeners by its small body size (SVL ≤32.2 mm, n=11), having 15–18 dorsal scales and eight or nine ventral scales at mid-body contained within one longitudinal eye diameter, nine or ten precloacal pores separated by 4–6 poreless scales from a series of six or seven femoral pores on each thigh in males, lamellar formula of manus 2222 and of pes 2332 & 2333, as well as subtle colour pattern differences. Additionally, the new species is 16.0–22.7 % divergent from all other peninsular Indian Hemiphyllodactylus in uncorrected ND2 sequence data. The new species is the first member of the genus described from Odisha state and also the first Hemiphyllodactylus known from < 100 m asl. The discovery of Hemiphyllodactylus minimus sp. nov. from a low elevation coastal locality in the Eastern Ghats open ups the possibilities that the genus could be more widespread than currently understood and potentially harbour many more distinct undescribed lineages. Therefore, dedicated fine-scale sampling efforts are needed to uncover the true diversity and distribution of Hemiphyllodactylus in the region.

The occurrence and spread of insecticide resistance has had a negative effect on the efficacy of insecticide–based tools and is distributed worldwide, including the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). This study aims to determine the insecticide susceptibility of malaria and dengue vectors in malaria and dengue hotspots on the Thai–Myanmar border. Mosquito larvae and pupae were obtained from water sources from December 2019 to April 2020 in Tha Song Yang District, Tak province, western Thailand. WHO bioassay susceptibility tests were conducted with three classes of insecticides to evaluate the knockdown and mortality rates of Anopheles and Aedes aegypti female adults. V1016G and F1534C kdr mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel of Ae. aegypti were identified using a multiplex PCR. A total of 5764 female mosquitoes were bioassayed in this study, including Anopheles spp. (92.63%) and F1 Ae. aegypti (7.37%). After 24 h of observation, An. minimus s.l. (n = 3885) and An. maculatus s.l. (n = 1138) in Suan Oi (SO) and Tala Oka (TO) were susceptible to pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates (except bendiocarb) with 98–100% mortality (MR). Resistance to bendiocarb was detected with a mortality rate of 88.80%, 88.77%, and 89.92% for An. minimus s.l. (n = 125, 125) and An. maculatus s.l. (n = 66), respectively. The first generation of Ae. aegypti adult females were suspected of resistance to deltamethrin (n = 225, MR = 96.89%) and confirmed resistance to permethrin (n = 200, MR = 20.00%). V1016G and F1534C mutations were detected in three genotypes, heterozygote and homozygote forms. The correlation between the kdr alleles and deltamethrin resistance was significant. In conclusion, bendiocarb resistance was found in primary malaria vectors, An. minimus s.l. and An. maculatus s.l. F1 Ae. aegypti population was pyrethroids-resistant, associated with kdr alleles. Therefore, molecular analysis should be conducted to gain insights into the mechanism of insecticide resistance. Routine malaria vector control programmes, such as fogging implementation in hotspot villages to induce Aedes resistance available in peri–domestic sites, are questionable.

The decision in New Health New Zealand Inc v South Taranaki District Council is the most recent legal development in the New Zealand debate about fluoridation of public water supplies. That decision centred on the interpretation of s 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the right to refuse medical treatment. The Court held that the fluoridation in question was legal, and reached a limited definition of medical treatment that did not encompass fluoridation. This article analyses the reasoning leading to that interpretation, concluding that the decision is problematic and that the definition of s 11 needs to be remedied. The use of the wording of s 11 to limit the definition of medical treatment was inappropriate, as was the policy reasoning used to support that limitation. The structure of the reasoning exacerbated these issues and adhered too closely to the reasoning in United States cases. Furthermore, the application of a de minimis threshold was conducted without adequate scrutiny, and such a threshold should not be applied to s 11.

Abstract This study aims to identify the demand estimation of passengers regarding the operational railway of Maros-Barru line. The new railway is expected to attract passengers using public transport from origin to destination. The existing condition of Maros-Barru majority used private vehicle as the choice and minibus with fragmented line. The new construction railway provided by the government services the passengers through Maros-Barru. The demand for the railway plays an important role in describing the potential passengers of each region. The non-working trips with flexible time for the trip are the main focus of this study. The potential passengers using the origin-destination (O/D) matrix are used. The analysis uses the growth factor of the population and forecasts demand according to OD data. The high trip based on OD estimation result showed that Pangkep was at the first position followed by Maros and ended with Barru. This result indicates that Pangkep has a high demand according to the forecasting passenger which is located in the middle regency instead of Maros and Barru that close to the Capital area. The high trip occurred for the total not only for the Origin trip but also Destination trip. Hence, the population growth of the district on Pangkep is the most compared to other districts in other regions.

An entomological study was conducted at Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna district to identify the species and breeding sites of mosquitoes. Adult mosquitoes were collected using collecting net, human bait, light trap and larvae were collected by ladle spoon, mug, dipper, and pipette from rail junction, bazar, house, cattle shed, rice field, sugarcane field, rice mill, paper mill, drains etc. A total of 2647 mosquito samples including 1426 larvae and 1221 adult mosquitoes were collected from these places. Seven species of larva and eight species of adult mosquitoes under two genera were identified. The recorded genera for both larvae and adults were Culex (Cx.) and Anopheles (An.). The collected species for larvae were Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. epidesmus, Cx.tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. mimulus, Cx. sinensis, An. vagus and An. minimus. The collected species for adults were Cx. epidesmus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx.tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. mimulus, Cx. sinensis, Cx. pallidothorax, An. vagus and An. minimus. Among the collected larva, Culex was found most prevalent (85.7%) than Anopheles (14.3%). Same as larva, adult Culex mosquitoes was found most prevalent (84.4%) than Anopheles (15.6%). Cx. quinquefasciatus (33.5%) found highest among the larval prevalence, in contrast, Cx. epidesmus (36.2%) was dominant among adults. On the other hand, An. vagus was the most dominant species in both larval and adult surveillance (8.1% and 9.9%, respectively). Both the larva and adult Culex mosquitoes were found more prevalent in households (20.3% and 41.2%, respectively), whereas density of Anopheles larva was found highest in rice fields (20.6%) and those of adults were concentrated in households (39.5%). The result of this study will help us to develop a sustainable control measures for the mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases in the study areas as well as other areas of the country. Res. Agric. Livest. Fish. Vol. 10, No. 2, August 2023: 199-206

This study aims to determine the pattern of nest selection in bat species inhabiting the Bangkang Gale-gale Cave in Prabu Village, Pujut District, Central Lombok Regency, and Tanjung Ringgit Giant Cave in Sekaroh Village, Jerowaru District, East Lombok Regency. Nests are an important component of bat life. Most types of bats live in colonies in nesting and foraging for food. This research method is descriptive exploratory by mapping cave zones, making squares, analyzing the richness and abundance of bat species at each bat nesting site. The results showed that the nest selection pattern in Gale-gale Cave, namely: Rhinolopus acuminatus, Rhinopoma microphylum, and Rhinolopus simplex were in the same group in zone / zone I. Whereas Chaerephon plicata could be found inhabiting zone / zone II, and Hipposideros ater. saevus inhabit zone / zone III. The pattern of nest selection in the Giant Cave Tanjung Ringgit, Macroglossus minimus and Eonycteris spelaea was found in both zone zone II and zone III caves. Hipposideros ater saevus and Hipposideros diadema are in the same group, namely on the border between zone II and zone III, namely the left and right sides of zone III, or not far from the water source in the cave ± 2 m above the water source, and Rosettusa amplxicaudatus inhabit zone / zone III Giant Cave Tanjung Ringgit.

Objectives. To determine the barriers that hinder early seeking of medical care among Minia’s myocardial infarction patients.Methods. The study was based on individual interviews with 207 men and women with a first confirmed myocardial infarction (MI), admitted to the coronary care units of hospitals in Minia city in the period from April 1 to August 30, 2014. Data was collected via structured questionnaire and patient medical charts. The delay was evaluated by assisting patients to triangulate time of symptom onset and time of professional health care by placing both times in context of daily activities that participants could easily remember.Results. The median (25th, 75th percentiles) delay time was 4 (2, 10) h. Only 32.8% of patients arrived within 2 hours of symptoms onset. Variables that significantly predicted prehospital delay time were patient’s misinterpretation of nature of pain with OR 8.98 (95% CI) (3.97–20.32), illiteracy 7.98 (2.77–22.95), age (>65) 5.07 (1.57–16.29), and pain resistance behavior 4.61 (2.04–10.41).Conclusions. Interventions to decrease prehospital delay must focus on improving public awareness of acute myocardial infarction symptoms and increasing their knowledge on early treatment benefits.

The purpose of this study was to improve the teacher's ability to develop minimum completeness criteria through mentoring for elementary school teachers in Bojongkerta, South Bogor District, Bogor City. The method used in this research is Action Research which consists of 2 (two) cycles, and each cycle consists of: Planning, Implementation, Observation, and Reflection. Based on the results of action research that Mentoring can Improve Teachers' Ability in Developing Minimum Completeness Criteria for Teachers at SDN Bojongkerta, South Bogor District, Bogor City. Furthermore, the researcher recommends: (1) Principals who have the same difficulty can apply Mentoring to improve the ability to develop Minimum Completeness Criteria for Guided Teachers. (2) In order to obtain maximum results, intensive and sustainable individual assistance can be applied. This research can provide benefits, especially: (1) For teachers, an effective method can be found in compiling minimum criteria for completeness, (2) for school principals to increase their role as supervisors so that they can improve teacher abilities, (3) for schools to determine the direction of learning achievement in learning. one school year.

Daugelis Lietuvoje esančių šilumos tiekimo tinklų sumontuoti pagal 1988 m. normas SNiP 2.04.14–88 [1]. Formaliai šios normos galioja ir dabar. Jose minimos šilumos izoliuojamosios medžiagos yra gerokai blogesnių savybių, negu naudojamos dabar. Be to, nuo 1998 m. pasikeite šiluminės energijos ir medžiagų kainos, kurios tiesiogiai veikia ekonomiškai tikslingą izoliacijos storį. Todėl tyrimų tikslas buvo šis: įvertinant šilumos tiekimo trasų įrengimo ir eksploatacijos energijos ir finansines sąnaudas, nustatyti įvairių tipų trasų optimalias vamzdynų apšiltinimo šilumines varžas, apskaičiuoti optimalius apšiltinimo storius ir parengti duomenis naujoms normoms sudaryti. Apskaičiavimai buvo atliekami įvairaus skersmens antžeminėms, bekanalėms ir kanalinėms šilumos tiekimo trasoms. Visų šių trasų šilumos nuostoliai į aplinką buvo apskaičiuoti pagal literatūros [2] skyriuje 9 pateiktas metodikas. Esant fiksuotam trasos vamzdynų skersmeniui, tam tikro trasos paklojimo būdo optimalus energetiniu požiūriu sprendimas buvo nustatomas fiksuojant minimalias sumines energijos sąnaudas priklausomai nuo trasos vamzdynų šilumines izoliacijos šilumines varžos. Vamzdynų optimalaus šiltinimo apskaičiavimai buvo atliekami dviem būdais: Įvertinant tik energijos sąnaudas. Įvertinant ekonominius rodiklius, t.y. įvertinant energijos, darbo ir medžiagų kainas. Pirmajame tyrimų etape skaičiuota pagal energijos sąnaudas. Buvo įvertinamos tik energijos sąnaudos ir neįvertinama energijos, darbo bei medžiagų kaina. Nustatant optimalias vamzdynų apšiltinimo šilumines varžas buvo įvertinamos energijos sąjiaudos: trasai įrengti; eksploatuoti; bendrosios sąjiaudos, t.y. energijos sąnaudų suma trasai įrengti ir eksploatuoti. Optimalios šiluminės varžos buvo nustatomos grafiniu būdu pagal minimalias bendrąsias energijos sąnaudas. Autoriaus nuomone, skaičiavimai pagal energijos sąnaudas yra daug sudėtingesni ir mažiau tikslūs negu skaičiavimai pagal ekonominius rodiklius. Todėl, esant pakankamai stabiliai ekonominei situacijai rinkoje, reiktų labiau pasitiketi skaičiavimais pagal ekonominius rodiklius. Antrajame tyrimų etape buvo atlikti vamzdynų optimalaus apšiltinimo apskaičiavimai įvertinant ekonominius rodiklius. Apskaičiavimų rezultatai apie įvairaus tipo šilumos tiekimo trasų apšiltinimo optimalius storius pateikiami 4, 5, 6 pav. Sulyginus 5 ir 6 paveiksluose pateiktus duomenis nustatyta, kad didelio skersmens vamzdynų, didėjant jų skersmeniui (daugiau kaip 400 mm), mažėja optimalus šiluminės izoliacijos storis. Analogiški normų duomenys Suomijoje [4] ir Danijoje [5] rodo, kad didėjant skersmeniui, izoliacijos storis neturėtų mažėti. Šį mūsų nustatytą dėsningumą lemia maža energijos arba didelė šilumos izoliuojamųjų medžiagų kaina. Todėl kanalinių trasų vamzdynams buvo atlikti papildomi apskaičiavimai, kuriuose energijos kaina padidinta iki 0,3 Lt/kWh ir iki 0,45 Lt/kWh, o šilumos izoliuojamosios medžiagos kaina buvo fiksuota ir lygi 480 Lt/m3. Šių apskaičiavimų duomenys pateikti 7 pav. Jie rodo, kad aukščiau nustatytas dėsningumas (6 pav.), kai didesnio kaip 400 mm skersmens vamzdynų izoliacijos storiai yra mažesni palyginti su mažesnio skersmens vamzdynų apšiltinimo izoliacijos storiais, didinant energijos kainą po truputį išnyksta. Analogiški rezultatai gaunami ir mažinant šilumos izoliuojamosios medčziagos kainą, kai energijos kaina yra fiksuota. Todėl, esant dabartinems energijos ir šilumos izoliuojamųjų medžiagų kainoms, apšiltinti didelio skersmens vamzdynus didesnio negu pateikta (6 pav.) storio izoliacija ekonomiškai tikslinga tik naudojant pigesnes šilumos izoliuojamąsias medžiagas. Šiame straipsnyje pateikti tyrimų rezultatai buvo gauti atlikus Lietuvos Respublikos ūkio ministerijos finansuojamus darbus. Šių darbų koordinatorius—Lietuvos Respublikos ūkio ministerijos Energetikos vystymo departamento Energetikos strategijos skyrius. Išvados: Antžeminių trasų vamzdynų apšiltinimo optimalūs storiai priklausomai nuo izoliuojamo vamzdžio skersmens turėtų atitikti 4 pav. pateiktus duomenis. Palyginti su dabar naudojamo normatyvo SNiP 2.04.14–88 [1] norminiais šilumos nuostoliais, šiuos silumos nuostolius reikėtų mažinti nuo 1,2 iki 1,7 karto atsižvelgiant į vamzdžio skersmens ir šildalo vidutinę temperatūrą. Bekanalių trasų vamzdynų apšiltinimo optimalūs storiai atsižvelgiant į izoliuojamo vamzdžio skersmenį turėtų atitikti 5 pav. pateiktus duomenis. Palyginti su SNiP 2.04.14–88 [1] norminiais šilumos nuostoliais, šiuos šilumos nuostolius reikėtų mažinti nuo 1,2 iki 1,8 karto atsižvelgiant į vamzdžio skersmenį ir šildalo vidutinę temperatūrą. Nepraeinamuose kanaluose esančių šilumos tinklų vamzdynų apšiltinimo optimalūs storiai, atsižvelgiant į izoliuojamo vamzdžio skersmenį, turėtų atitikti (6 pav.) pateiktus duomenis. Palyginti su SNiP 2.04.14–88 [2] norminiais šilumos nuostoliais, šiuos šilumos nuostolius reikėtų mažinti apie 1,7 karto.

Road traffic accidents have become ‘hidden epidemics’ across the world and have posed a substantial health and economic burden to many developing nations. In 2006, Ghana spent US$ 165 million (1.6% of GDP) on accident management. On average, five (5) people die and several others are injured on the country’s roads daily. In about 95% of road traffic crashes in the country, human factors have been implicated. Available evidence indicates that the casualty rate is on the rise in many parts of the country. However, little attempts have been made to understand the individual and situational determinants of road traffic crashes among drivers and pedestrians. Employing a qualitative research methodology, this research investigated drivers and pedestrians’ opinions about their traffic risk perception, attitudes and behaviour and their relationship with motor vehicle crashes with the overall goal of identifying and describing the proximal and distal factors of accident causation in the Manya Krobo area. Two sub-studies make up the content of the present research: The first study explored the individual and situational determinants of aberrant driving and traffic crashes among commercial drivers of passenger-carrying minibuses. Challenging working conditions, road rage behaviours, inadequate driver training, bad road infrastructure and equipment, and passenger distractions were among the reasons described for dangerous driving. Other motivations were risk-taking propensity, fatalism, and ineffective traffic law enforcement. In the second study, pedestrian road use attitudes and behaviour as well as their travel experiences in relation to pedestrian-vehicular crash involvements were investigated. The major behaviours reported to be influencing pedestrian-vehicle crashes included pedestrian-unfriendly road infrastructure, nearness of stores and supermarkets to major roads, risky pedestrian road use behaviour, aberrant driving, street hawking, parental negligence, and general disinterest in pedestrian law enforcement. Given the importance these findings may have for central government, road planners, and safety officials; discussions have been made and recommendations for accident countermeasures have been put forward. Keywords: Ghana; Pedestrians; Commercial drivers; Risk perception; Attitude; Behaviour; Streethawking; Driving apprenticeship

This study aims to develop an integrated methodology for finding water leaks in a water distribution network. The integrated methodology is formed from SCADA System, Customer Information System (CIS), and Geographic Information System. The methodology is based on forming district-metered areas (DMA) and sub-DMAs in pressure zones by isolation of the network. Leaking spots in the network are localised by step testing within the DMA. With leak noise loggers leaking spots are localized with an increased accuracy and finally pinpointed by ground microphones. Minimum night flows are observed from the SCADA system before and after the repairs of the leaks to calculate physical water loss percentage in the DMA. Monthly non-revenue water percentage is calculated using the data obtained from SCADA and CIS. With a buffer analysis on the water distribution network data, the benefit of the leak noise loggers is maximized and the working time with the ground microphones are minimized. The methodology is applied in two different DMAs in Antalya water distribution network with different characteristics. In the first DMA, only the developed methodology is applied and a decrease of 19.2% is achieved in physical water losses. In the second DMA, pressure reduction is added to the methodology and a decrease of 4.9% is achieved.

Notre thèse analyse le rapport entre pratiques sociales d’intégration d’immigrés, modèles d’installation et processus de transformation de la morphologie urbaine dans deux études de cas qui se prêtent à une comparaison stimulante. D’un côté, nous avons le cas de l’émigration italienne interne vers un pole industriel de la banlieue métropolitaine milanaise (Sesto San Giovanni); de l’autre côté, celui de l’émigration italienne internationale dans une agglomération des bassins miniers wallons (La Louvière). Il s’agit de deux contextes d’insertion fort différents du point de vue de la morphologie sociale et de l’organisation territoriale, qui profilent des espaces hybrides entre rural et urbain en profonde et rapide transformation, à cause des flux massifs de la main d’œuvre immigrée. Ces différences nous permettent de mettre à l’épreuve de l’analyse comparée les conceptions sociologiques et les parcours historiques de l’intégration, du tissu sociale qui en est à la base, de la citoyenneté, de la construction d’identités collectives, afin de dépasser les dichotomies stéréotypées entre rural/urbain, tradition/modernité, intégration/conflit, migration interne/internationale.

La thèse développe une analyse parallèle des deux études de cas en suivant un fil argumentatif unitaire, qui s’ouvre avec une enquête sur les flux migratoires et les contextes d’accueil des migrations. Dans les deux premiers chapitres nous avons analysé le contexte économique, social et territorial dans lequel s’inscrivent les processus migratoires. Pour le cas belge, nous avons analysé le cycle de l’industrie charbonnière, le processus de dépopulation de la Wallonie et les mécanismes qui règlent les flux, c'est-à-dire une migration contractée par les deux gouvernements. En ce qui concerne le cas milanais, nous avons tracé les contours de la très rapide urbanisation, qui a conduit toute une série de communes limitrophes à Milan à entrer dans l’orbite métropolitaine et à se qualifier comme des pôles périphériques.

Après avoir tracé les contours du cadre général, nous avons fait face, dans la deuxième partie, à la question plus spécifique du logement et des formes d’installations. Pour le cas louviérois, nous avons reconstruit les conditions de logement et la très difficile confrontation des premiers immigrés avec le monde du travail charbonnier, l’absence d’une initiative publique dans le secteur du logement jusqu’en 1954, faiblement compensé par l’initiative patronale, et la phase suivante des années 1950, qui a mené à la stabilisation des immigrés dans la région. De Sesto San Giovanni nous avons reconstruit la transition complexe vers la périphérie métropolitaine, à partir des installations rurales jusqu’aux politiques publiques locales et nationales de construction de grands ensembles, en soulignant comment cette intervention urbanistique était au centre d’un débat très vif sur l’aménagement du territoire, qui a débouché sur la création d’institutions administratives régionales. Dans la dernière partie de la recherche nous avons plutôt approfondi les aspects sociaux et culturels des parcours d’installation et d’intégration dans les deux tissus urbains. C’est en cette partie que nous avons utilisé davantage les sources orales, afin d’analyser les perceptions de soi, les mécanismes de construction de l’identité sociale et donc tous les changements que la migration, le rencontre avec la ville et l’industrie ont entraîné dans les organisations familiales, dans les perspectives de vie, les aspirations et les projets des migrants. À partir de l’analyse de ces parcours, dans le chapitre conclusif nous avons interrogé quelques catégories historiques et sociologiques classiques des études migratoires: d’abord le sens d’appartenance à la communauté d’origine et le développement d’un sens d’identité nationale, ensuite le processus de formation d’une solidarité de classe, qui dans les deux contextes a pris des formes sensiblement distinctes surtout par rapport aux différences dans la mémoire de l’expérience migratoire.

Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

碩士
育達商業技術學院
企業管理所
96
This study aims to get information on the degree of employee satisfaction and awareness regarding the minimum wage escalation. The respondents of the study are employees of small restaurants around the vicinity of universities and colleges business district in Miaoli. The results derived from statistical data indicated that there are different variables which had impact on employee satisfaction, awareness and various opinions towards the minimum wage escalation.

AbstractThis chapter analyzes the impact of climate change and variability on food security of rural households in the central highlands of Ethiopia taking Basona Werana district as a case study site. Data were obtained from 123 households selected using simple random sampling from three agro ecological zones. Key informant interviews and focus group discussion (FDG) were used to supplement the data obtained from household survey. The monthly rainfall and temperature data are for 56 points of 10 × 10 km grids reconstructed from weather stations and meteorological satellite observations, which cover the period between 1983 and 2016. Standardized rainfall anomaly (SRA), linear regression (LR), and coefficient of variation (CV) are used to examine inter-annual and intra-annual variability of rainfall. Annual and seasonal rainfalls show decreasing trends over the period of observation. The decreasing trends in annual and March–May (Belg) rainfall totals exhibit statically significant decreasing trends at p = 0.05 level. Kiremt (June–September) shows statically significant decreasing trends at p = 0.1 level. Mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures show statically significant increasing trends at p = 0.05 level. More than 80% of households perceived that the climate is changing and their livelihoods (crop and livestock production) are impacted. The district belongs to one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change and variability in the country where large proportions of households (62%) are under different food insecurity classes. Results suggest that local level investigations are useful in developing context-specific climate change adaptation.

Abstract This study was carried out in two villages, Kizapala and Kazole, of the Mkuranga District, in the Coast Region of Tanzania. The objective of the study was to establish the role of cassava as an adaptation crop to the changing climate and household food security. Primary data were obtained using household questionnaires and different participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques which included focus group discussions (FGDs), key informants and expert meetings. Secondary data were collected through a literature review, whereas temperature and rainfall data from 1984 to 2014 was obtained from the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA). In each village, a sample size of 10% of all households was interviewed. Findings showed that 96% of respondents from Kazole village and 90% from Kizapala linked climate change with major climatic extreme events such as prolonged droughts and occasional abnormal floods. Analysis of temperature data for the last 30 years (1984-2014) revealed that temperature had significantly risen by a correlation coefficient of R² = 0.4936 for maximum and R² = 0.777 for minimum temperature. The field survey results closely correlated with findings from the analysis of TMA rainfall and temperature data. Findings revealed a decline in crop production which resulted in food shortages and livelihood insecurity in the study villages. The respondents in both villages consider cassava as a crop that is least affected by climate and environmental extremes, thus serves to ensure food availability and security in their households. As a result, growing cassava should be considered as an adaptation strategy to climate change and variability now and in the future. Improving cassava production, processing, marketing and value chain infrastructures is, therefore, crucial for enhancing sustainable adaptation in the district.

Abstract The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted identification and monitoring of vector populations as an important component of global vector-borne disease surveillance efforts. EO and RVF map data could play a crucial role in identifying risk locations for mosquito-borne diseases globally on the basis of habitat and climate variables. EO and RVF map data are also useful for measuring or mapping a range of environmental parameters that help determine mosquito vector occurrence and abundance and the rate of development of mosquito-borne parasites and pathogens in mosquito vectors. The EO and RVF map data have been sufficiently high spatial and temporal resolution, applied research could develop weather-based and environment-based forecasting of high-risk locations and time periods for mosquito-borne diseases using statistical models. The maps generated by this project indicate and outline the RVF risk areas associated with surface water ponding, mosquito breeding, and cattle grazing for a test area in Senegal. This strategy could include the following recommendations to effectively mitigate the exposure of cattle to RVF, and thus to minimise infection risk for humans: establish a joint communication strategy by integrating information of the forecasted risk bulletins into the National Information System of Surveillance of Epidemics used by the Ministry of Livestock in Senegal and the Headquarters of the Directorate of Veterinary Services of Senegal and its local representatives in rural districts, relocate livestock grazing areas away from risk zones, with warning signs in local languages posted near the ponds to inform breeders to keep their animals at least 500 m away from the ponds, and issue regular bulletins so the Directorate of Veterinary Services of Senegal can organise and optimise vaccination campaigns in the riskiest zones.

This chapter looks at the impact of segregated housing and schools on the performance of Black children on tests of academic skills, finding them lagging far behind White children. It shows that majority-Black school districts receive significantly less funding for education than majority-White districts. It then discusses in detail the 1973 Supreme Court case of San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez, brought by Demetrio Rodriguez and other Hispanic parents of children in the Edgewood district of San Antonio, Texas, whose schools received less funding than majority-White districts because of state laws that based school funding largely on property taxes. Statistics showed that poor and largely Hispanic and Black districts with low property values could not match the funding of affluent White districts. The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 against this challenge, with Justice Lewis Powell writing for the majority in stating that Texas (and other states) need provide minority students only with “the basic minimal skills” to participate in civic affairs, with a passionate dissent by Justice Thurgood Marshall. The chapter then returns to Detroit, where Black students came in last in the nation in test scores; more than two-thirds could not even grasp fundamental skills in reading and arithmetic. This barrier to advanced education and good jobs stems from the systemic racism that places Black children far behind Whites in school readiness, raising the question: How can Blacks catch up with Whites when they start so far behind?

Egypt spends a lot of hard currency annually to import nut fruits (almond- walnut and pistachio) to apply market needs of these crops especially in Ramadan month. It is known that there are wide uncultivated areas in Sinai despite of its suitability for cultivation. Cultivating nut trees can share in development of Sinai. There are scarcity of these trees in Egypt in spite of the relevance of environmental conditions for growing almond trees in different regions. Since the last 25 years I and a group of scientists studied the possibility of achieving self sufficiency of almond by cultivating in Sinai Peninsula and different regions after carrying out climatic, economical, water requirements, nutrition and genetic studies. Many fruit trees require cold temperatures during the winter to overcome their seasonal dormancy.() Most fruit species that evolved in temperate or cool subtropical climates have such chilling requirements that need to be fulfilled each winter to achieve homogeneous and simultaneous flowering and regular crop yields. Coldness. (). Monthly historical data of minimum temperature from Central laborator for Agricultural climate of four districts were analyzed in order to determine the changes in minimum temperature from October to February during the period from 2001 to 2010. Understanding monthly temperature changes from October to February during the period 2001–2010 was the first step in carrying out this study. The highest minimum temperature was found during 2010 year during the studied period in the October month for all districts except in November and December, the highest minimum temperature was observed in the year of 2009. Saint Catherine district was the lowest minimum temperature in all months during the studied period. Understanding average monthly temperature trends of the studied time serious from 2001 to 2010 was the second step in carrying out this study. October month was the highest values of minimum temperature and January was the lowest value of minimum temperature at the four districts. The highest and lowest values for temperature were found in Ras Sudr and Saint Catherine respectively. The third step in carrying out this study is to understanding the annual trend of minimum temperature for the period 2001–2010 at the Suez, Ras Sudr, El Tur and Saint Catherine districts. Data shows the average annual minimum temperature at the four districts during the years from 2001 up to 2010 and it can be observed that, Ras Sudr district has the highest average annual minimum temperature while Saint Catherine has the lowest one among the studied districts. It can be concluded that the carried out climatic studies, estimate the irrigation water requirements of almond trees and genetic studies help in solving the problem of achieving self sufficiency of almond fruits through expansion of cultivating almond trees in Egypt.

During COP26, India made commitments regarding generation of 50% of its electricity from non-fossil fuel resources by year 2030, which includes utilization of renewable energy sources. Keeping in view of the rapidly growing energy demand, the current study explore the exploitable solar and biomass power potential in the state of Punjab, India. This work discusses the potential and feasibility analysis of solar-biomass hybrid energy system for power generation in all districts of Punjab. Solar energy potential and biomass generation estimation have been identified using various parameters like global solar radiation, sunshine hours, solar suitable land area, surplus biomass, heating values, and feed rate. Simulations for feasibility analysis were performed on System Advisor Model using data available for all the districts. The renewable output of the study is estimated in terms of capacity potential (MW) and exploitable electricity potential (MWh) for the state of Punjab. The study showed that Rupnagar district has the maximum solar potential (i.e., 69.03 MW) among all the districts of Punjab due to huge availability of wasteland area whereas, Jalandhar district has the minimum solar potential (i.e., 0.23MW) in Punjab due to less availability of wasteland area. Similarly, Sangrur districts produces huge amount of biomass (6838.23 kt/yr) while Nawanshahr produces least amount of biomass power. In the end, the study concluded that the electricity potential for both technologies and its capability to fulfil entire electricity demand of the state.

Disasters, which are an unusual situation, disrupt the life order of the society, cause large amounts of loss of life and property, and directly or indirectly affect health. Earthquakes cause the most destruction among natural disasters. The fact that earthquakes of the same magnitude have different results in different regions and under different conditions is significantly related to the level of development of countries. There are many active faults in Turkey, which is located on the Alpine-Himalayan belt, which is an important earthquake belt of the world. February 6, 2023, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 centered in Kahramanmaraş Pazarcık district and 7.6 magnitude centered in Elbistan affected 11 provinces. 16% of the country's population resides in the region affected by the earthquake, approximately 80 thousand people were injured, and 51 thousand people died. Implementation of minimum health care standards in disasters can reduce disaster-related morbidity and mortality. This compilation study was carried out with the aim of examining the structure of the disaster and emergency organization within the scope of health services and the delivery of health services after the earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Kahramanmaraş, Pazarcık and Elbistan districts. It is thought that this study will contribute to the development and implementation of minimum health services in case of earthquake.

Abstract This study employs an archetype-based modeling approach to estimate and analyze the urban scale cooling load profile of high-rise buildings in the Marina district of Lusail City, Qatar. Since the Marina district is a newly built district, the building typology and geometric characteristics are considered the main criteria for the selection of representative archetypes of the district. Three high-rise building archetypes are developed using EnergyPlus software to represent the available building stocks in the district, which are residential, commercial, and mixed-use. Required data for the input parameters are collected from various sources such as the Lusail City GSAS 2 Star Rating Guidelines, which define the minimum requirements in the region, ASHRAE 90.1, and ASHRAE 62.1 standards, along with user surveys when available. Detailed cooling load profiles of the three building archetypes are obtained in EnergyPlus, which enables aggregating the cooling loads to obtain the cooling load profile of the Marina district at various time resolutions. The cooling load profiles obtained after the simulation of each building archetype model in EnergyPlus are validated with real building cooling loads measured in the case study area. The developed cooling load profiles in this study can inform district cooling facilities for an optimal design and operation of the plant, reveal the energy-saving potential of buildings, and aid in defining cost allocations or billing strategies for end users without the need for the installation of zone-level submeter to each apartment unit. This study further contributes to the establishment of a representative building archetype library for hot and arid climate zones. Thus, the building archetype models produced for the Marina district in this study are also applicable to other regions with similar building types and climatic characteristics.

The University of Iowa Power Plant operates utility generation and distribution for campus facilities, including electricity, steam, and chilled water. It is desirable to evaluate the optimal load combination of boilers, engines and chillers to meet the demand at minimal cost, particularly for future demand scenarios. An algorithm is under development which will take into account the performance of individual units as part of the mix which ultimately supplies the campus and determine the degree that each should be operating to most efficiently meet demand. The algorithm will be part of an integrated simulation tool which is specifically designed to apply traditional optimization techniques for a given (both current and possible) circumstance. The second component is to couple the algorithm with accurate estimates and historical data through which expected demand could be predicted. The process will be able to account for theoretical circumstances which will be highly beneficial for strategic planning. It is also necessary to determine the unique operating characteristics of the system components. The algorithm will rely upon performance curves of individual system components (boiler, chiller, etc) and those must be developed and refined when possible using the most accurate information from experimental testing and commissioning or manufacturer supplied data. The heuristics that will be examined include combinatorial approach, a gradient-based incremental method, and simulated annealing.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the issue of studying the peculiarities of growth, productivity of pine plantations of Khrenovsky forest, and the evaluation of artificial pine plantations. Khrenovskoy Forest is a well-known forestry and biological monument of nature, which is located in the Bobrovsky district of the Voronezh region. Here, in the form of an island massif with an area of about 40 thousand hectares, artificial and natural stands of scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) grow compactly on the sands and sandy loams on the territory of three local forestry districts (Khrenovskoy, Bragninsky and Vislinsky). The main feature of the forest is its location, namely, it is located on the border of the forest-steppe and steppe zone, on the left bank the Bityug River, away from large industrial enterprises and highways. Historically, the Khrenovskoy forest is a unique object for the study of single- and multi-age, single- and multi-tiered plantings of artificial and natural origin with a predominance in the composition of scots pine. In the work it is proposed to use trial areas laid on plots with smooth relief and minimal loss of trees and shrubs. There are more than 200 trees of the main breed on the test sites, the width of the test area was taken as the distance between the extreme rows of the strip plus half the width of the aisle on both sides.

In this paper, we propose an innovative approach for the real-time optimal control of district heating networks during anomalous conditions. We aim at minimizing the maximum thermal discomfort of the connected users after a pipe breakage by an integrated and centralized management of the user control-valves. Our control strategy uses a gradient-based optimizer driven by discrete adjoint sensitivities, which makes it fast and nearly insensitive to the problem dimensions. We tested the proposed approach by simulating a set of different malfunctions in the Turin District heating network and by analyzing the building temperature field during the optimizer convergence history. Compared to the control strategy in use today, we observe that our approach flattens the temperature field and eliminates discomfort peaks, bringing a considerable increase of the minimum user temperature which ranges from a minimum of 1.8 °C to a maximum of 15.4 °C. Furthermore, our optimization strategy allows for superior results to what is achievable conventionally with an 85 % increase of the pumping head, making back-up pumping devices a non-necessary investment.

In District Heating (DH), a large number of buildings are heated from a central source by conveying steam or hot water through a network of insulated pipes. Waste-to-Energy (WTE) signifies the controlled combustion of municipal solid wastes to generate electrical and thermal energy in a power plant. Both technologies have been developed simultaneously and are used widely in Europe. In the United States, however, WTE is used principally for the generation of electricity. The advantages of district heating using WTE plants are: overall fuel conservation, by increasing the thermal efficiency of WTE, and overall reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. The purpose of this study was to examine the current situation of district heating in the U.S. and determine the potential for applying DH to existing WTE plants. A preliminary evaluation was conducted of DH application at two WTE facilities in Connecticut: the Wheelabrator Bridgeport and the Covanta Preston facilities. Using a Canadian methodology, the minimal distribution heating network costs for Bridgeport were estimated at about $24 million dollars for providing heat to a surrounding area of one square mile and the DH revenues at $6.8 million.

As cities grow and develop, urban planners face an increasing challenge to create more sustainable and environment friendly communities. The Kopparlunden district in Västerås, Sweden, is no exception, with plans underway to transition the area to a more sustainable neighborhood. To assist this effort, this paper presents a simple grey box modeling approach to predict the heat demand of eight buildings in the area. As the city transforms from a historical industrial district to a mixed district with residential buildings, shops, and offices, the model will allow urban planners to predict their new heat demand. The model is calibrated using a genetic algorithm, then validated using real historical data. The results show a good accuracy of the model and highlight the importance of increasing the insulation efficiency of the walls in the modelled buildings. The model can be used to predict the heat demand variations, with minimum error of 2.49 kW and up to 16.6 kW for large buildings. The model highlights the importance of energy modeling for urban development projects and shows its significance as a tool to aid in decision-making towards sustainable and more efficient urban areas.

Abstract The continuous increase of variable renewable energy and fuel cost requires steam turbine power plants to operate with high flexibility. Furthermore, the reduction in electricity price is forcing many existing and new district heating power plants to further optimize the heat production to maintain a sustainable business. This situation leads to low pressure steam turbines running at very low volume flow for an extended time. In this work, a case study of an existing 30 MWel district heating power plant located in Europe is presented. The customer request was the removal of the steam turbine last two stages along with the condenser to maximize steam delivery for district heating operations. However, based on the experience gained by GE on low load during the last years, the same heat production has been guaranteed without any significant impact on the existing unit, excluding any major modification of the plant layout such as last stage blading and condenser removal. Making use of the latest low flow modeling, the minimum cooling flow through the low-pressure turbine has been reduced by more than 90% compared to the existing unit. Optimization of the hood spray system and logic will reduce trailing edge erosion during low load operation leading to a significant extension in the last stage blade lifetime. These modifications, commercialized by GE as the Advanced Low Load Package (ALLP), provide a cheap, flexible and effective solution for the customer. With today’s knowledge, GE has the capability to guarantee low load operation minimizing the mass flow through the low-pressure turbine to the minimum required for safe operation. As a benefit to the customer, this option allows a gain in operational income of about 1.5 M€ per year.

This report presents detailed histograms of data from the Regulated Substances Library (RSL) developed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). RSL data are provided for state and IDOT region, IDOT district, and county spatial subsets to examine the spatial variability and its relationship to thresholds defining natural background concentrations. The RSL is comprised of surficial soil chemistry data obtained from rights-of-way (ROW) subsurface soil sampling conducted for routine preliminary site investigations. A selection of 22 inorganic soil analytes are examined in this report: Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Hg, Ni, K, Se, Na, Tl, V, and Zn. RSL database summary statistics, mean, median, minimum, maximum, 5th percentile, and 95th percentile, are determined for Illinois counties and for recognized environmental concern, non-recognized environmental concern, and de minimis site contamination classifications.

A panel of 32 reviewers analyzed the Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) of same sample of 29 districts for the second year of implementation of the 2013 California Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Using the same four questions as the Year 1 report, the Year 2 analysis also addresses the key differences between first and second-year LCAPs. Key findings from the Year 2 LCAPs review include: (1) similarly weak responses to the needs of ELs by LEAs in Year 2; (2) some improvement in clarity about services provided to ELs in some areas, though most evidence was weak; (3) minimal attention to the new English Language Development Standards; (4) minimal investment in teacher capacity building to address EL needs; (5) lack of attention to coherent programs, services and supports for ELs and failure to address issues of program and curriculum access; (6) weak engagement of ELs’ parents in LCAP process and content of LCAP plans; (7) poor employment of EL data to inform LCAP goals and weak use of EL indicators as an LCAP accountability component; (8) lack of specificity in describing district services and site allocations for supplemental and concentration funding; and (9) difficulty identifying the coherence of responses of EL needs in year 2 LCAPs. Overall, the analysis of the 29 LCAPs continue to signal a weak response to EL needs. The authors reassert the urgency of the recommendations in the Year 1 report, offer additional specific recommendations for the state, county offices of education, and districts, and call upon the state to reaffirm the equity commitment in the LCFF design.

California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), signed into law in 2013, centers equity as a key to increased and improved services for three targeted student subgroups, including English Learners (ELs), low-income students, and foster youth. As a component of LCFF, districts develop Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) to specify their goals and strategies for using LCFF funds for equity and continuous improvement purposes. The California Model Five by Five Grid Placement Report (Spring 2017 Dashboard) included the Five by Five Placement Grid, a key function of which is to identify the needs of diverse ELs. The Dashboard and the LCAPs are two policy mechanisms with great promise in combining school finance and accountability reform to promote equity and coherent state-wide. In this report, Lavadenz and colleagues review the EL policy context and examine the connection between the two contemporary policy mechanisms in California, namely the Year 4 LCAP and the California Department of Education’s Accountability Model (Spring 2017 Dashboard). The authors use a sample of 26 California school districts with high numbers/percentages of ELs and conclude that California’s current accountability system diminishes the urgency to respond to educational needs of the English Learner subgroup and undermines the equity intent of the LCFF. Few promising practices and assets-based approaches were identified in the LCAPs, and there is minimal mention of metrics focused on EL outcomes. The authors provide recommendations at state, county office of education and district levels.

This report presents a statistical analysis of the Regulated Substances Library (RSL) developed by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The RSL is comprised of surficial soil chemistry data obtained from rights-of-way subsurface soil sampling conducted for routine preliminary site investigations. The 3.7-million-record RSL database is compared with four independent studies of inorganic soil constituents of naturally occurring soils in Illinois. A selection of 22 inorganic soil analytes are examined in this study: Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Hg, Ni, K, Se, Na, Tl, V, and Zn. RSL database summary statistics, mean, median, minimum, maximum, 5th percentile, and 95th percentile, are determined for Illinois counties and for recognized environmental concern, non-recognized environmental concern, and de minimis site contamination classifications. The RSL database at a 95% confidence level is compared with current and proposed thresholds for defining naturally occurring soil concentrations for the selected analytes. The revised thresholds proposed by Cahill in 2017 are predominantly larger than the current standards found in the Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives rules and are in better agreement with observed distributions of soil concentrations for both naturally occurring and RSL soils. A notable exception is antimony (Sb), for which Cahill proposed a reduced threshold similar in magnitude to the median for many Illinois Department of Transportation districts.

This US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, technical report details the pilot deployment, accuracy evaluation, and best practices of the citizen-science, coastal-image monitoring program CoastSnap. Despite the need for regular observational data, many coastlines are monitored infrequently due to cost and personnel, and this cell phone-image-based approach represents a new potential data source to districts in addition to providing an outreach opportunity for the public. Requiring minimal hardware and signage, the system is simple to install but requires user-image processing. Analysis shows the CoastSnap-derived shorelines compare well to real-time kinematic and lidar-derived shorelines during low-to-moderate wave conditions (root mean square errors [RMSEs] <10 m). During high-wave conditions, errors are higher (RMSE up to 18 m) but are improved when incorporating wave run-up. Beyond shoreline quantification, images provide other qualitative information such as storm-impact characteristics and timing of the formation of beach scarps. Ultimately, the citizen-science tool is a viable low-cost option to districts for monitoring shorelines and tracking the evolution of coastal projects such as beach nourishments.

The Manhattan Engineer District previously used the 191-acre Niagara Falls Storage Site (NFSS) in Niagara County, New York, to store radioactive residues and wastes from uranium (U) ore processing. At present, management practices will determine whether enhanced evapotranspiration rates produced by hybridized shrub willow cuttings planted in 2016 will affect groundwater hydrology. Two shrub willow varieties were planted in an approximately one-half acre area to examine growth performance along a U impacted sanitary sewer line. Additionally, control plots will compare the effectiveness of shrub willows to unplanted areas. Observations of the planted area after 18 months showed success of shrub willow growth with increasing biomass. Chemical analysis from tree tissue samples of the field study showed no significant uptake of U or thorium (Th) to date. A greenhouse study conducted in parallel to the field study tested the willows under controlled greenhouse conditions and evaluated their ability to grow and accumulate contaminants under controlled conditions. Results from the greenhouse study demonstrated that U accumulation was minimal. Thus, this study demonstrates that the shrub willows are not accumulators of U or Th, an advantageous characteristic that implies stabilized contaminants in the soil and no translocation of U into the aboveground biomass.

Climate and hydrology are major drivers of ecosystems. They dramatically shape ecosystem structure and function, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Understanding changes in climate, groundwater, and water quality and quantity is central to assessing the condition of park biota and key cultural resources. The Sonoran Desert Network collects data on climate, groundwater, and surface water at 11 National Park Service units in south-ern Arizona and New Mexico. This report provides an integrated look at climate, groundwater, and springs conditions at Saguaro National Park (NP) during water year 2019 (October 2018–September 2019). Annual rainfall in the Rincon Mountain District was 27.36" (69.49 cm) at the Mica Mountain RAWS station and 12.89" (32.74 cm) at the Desert Research Learning Center Davis station. February was the wettest month, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the annual rainfall at both stations. Each station recorded extreme precipitation events (>1") on three days. Mean monthly maximum and minimum air temperatures were 25.6°F (-3.6°C) and 78.1°F (25.6°C), respectively, at the Mica Mountain station, and 37.7°F (3.2°C) and 102.3°F (39.1°C), respectively, at the Desert Research Learning Center station. Overall temperatures in WY2019 were cooler than the mean for the entire record. The reconnaissance drought index for the Mica Mountain station indicated wetter conditions than average in WY2019. Both of the park’s NOAA COOP stations (one in each district) had large data gaps, partially due to the 35-day federal government shutdown in December and January. For this reason, climate conditions for the Tucson Mountain District are not reported. The mean groundwater level at well WSW-1 in WY2019 was higher than the mean for WY2018. The water level has generally been increasing since 2005, reflecting the continued aquifer recovery since the Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project came online, recharging Central Arizona Project water. Water levels at the Red Hills well generally de-clined starting in fall WY2019, continuing through spring. Monsoon storms led to rapid water level increases. Peak water level occurred on September 18. The Madrona Pack Base well water level in WY2019 remained above 10 feet (3.05 m) below measuring point (bmp) in the fall and winter, followed by a steep decline starting in May and continuing until the end of September, when the water level rebounded following a three-day rain event. The high-est water level was recorded on February 15. Median water levels in the wells in the middle reach of Rincon Creek in WY2019 were higher than the medians for WY2018 (+0.18–0.68 ft/0.05–0.21 m), but still generally lower than 6.6 feet (2 m) bgs, the mean depth-to-water required to sustain juvenile cottonwood and willow trees. RC-7 was dry in June–September, and RC-4 was dry in only September. RC-5, RC-6 and Well 633106 did not go dry, and varied approximately 3–4 feet (1 m). Eleven springs were monitored in the Rincon Mountain District in WY2019. Most springs had relatively few indications of anthropogenic or natural disturbance. Anthropogenic disturbance included spring boxes or other modifications to flow. Examples of natural disturbance included game trails and scat. In addition, several sites exhibited slight disturbance from fires (e.g., burned woody debris and adjacent fire-scarred trees) and evidence of high-flow events. Crews observed 1–7 taxa of facultative/obligate wetland plants and 0–3 invasive non-native species at each spring. Across the springs, crews observed four non-native plant species: rose natal grass (Melinis repens), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), crimson fountaingrass (Cenchrus setaceus), and red brome (Bromus rubens). Baseline data on water quality and chemistry were collected at all springs. It is likely that that all springs had surface water for at least some part of WY2019. However, temperature sensors to estimate surface water persistence failed...

Banco de la República is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. This is a very significant anniversary and one that provides an opportunity to highlight the contribution the Bank has made to the country’s development. Its track record as guarantor of monetary stability has established it as the one independent state institution that generates the greatest confidence among Colombians due to its transparency, management capabilities, and effective compliance with the central banking and cultural responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution and the Law. On a date as important as this, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República (BDBR) pays tribute to the generations of governors and officers whose commitment and dedication have contributed to the growth of this institution.1 Banco de la República’s mandate was confirmed in the National Constitutional Assembly of 1991 where the citizens had the opportunity to elect the seventy people who would have the task of drafting a new constitution. The leaders of the three political movements with the most votes were elected as chairs to the Assembly, and this tripartite presidency reflected the plurality and the need for consensus among the different political groups to move the reform forward. Among the issues considered, the National Constitutional Assembly gave special importance to monetary stability. That is why they decided to include central banking and to provide Banco de la República with the necessary autonomy to use the instruments for which they are responsible without interference from other authorities. The constituent members understood that ensuring price stability is a state duty and that the entity responsible for this task must be enshrined in the Constitution and have the technical capability and institutional autonomy necessary to adopt the decisions they deem appropriate to achieve this fundamental objective in coordination with the general economic policy. In particular, Article 373 established that “the State, through Banco de la República, shall ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of the currency,” a provision that coincided with the central banking system adopted by countries that have been successful in controlling inflation. In 1999, in Ruling 481, the Constitutional Court stated that “the duty to maintain the purchasing power of the currency applies to not only the monetary, credit, and exchange authority, i.e., the Board of Banco de la República, but also those who have responsibilities in the formulation and implementation of the general economic policy of the country” and that “the basic constitutional purpose of Banco de la República is the protection of a sound currency. However, this authority must take the other economic objectives of state intervention such as full employment into consideration in their decisions since these functions must be coordinated with the general economic policy.” The reforms to Banco de la República agreed upon in the Constitutional Assembly of 1991 and in Act 31/1992 can be summarized in the following aspects: i) the Bank was assigned a specific mandate: to maintain the purchasing power of the currency in coordination with the general economic policy; ii) the BDBR was designatedas the monetary, foreign exchange, and credit authority; iii) the Bank and its Board of Directors were granted a significant degree of independence from the government; iv) the Bank was prohibited from granting credit to the private sector except in the case of the financial sector; v) established that in order to grant credit to the government, the unanimous vote of its Board of Directors was required except in the case of open market transactions; vi) determined that the legislature may, in no case, order credit quotas in favor of the State or individuals; vii) Congress was appointed, on behalf of society, as the main addressee of the Bank’s reporting exercise; and viii) the responsibility for inspection, surveillance, and control over Banco de la República was delegated to the President of the Republic. The members of the National Constitutional Assembly clearly understood that the benefits of low and stable inflation extend to the whole of society and contribute mto the smooth functioning of the economic system. Among the most important of these is that low inflation promotes the efficient use of productive resources by allowing relative prices to better guide the allocation of resources since this promotes economic growth and increases the welfare of the population. Likewise, low inflation reduces uncertainty about the expected return on investment and future asset prices. This increases the confidence of economic agents, facilitates long-term financing, and stimulates investment. Since the low-income population is unable to protect itself from inflation by diversifying its assets, and a high proportion of its income is concentrated in the purchase of food and other basic goods that are generally the most affected by inflationary shocks, low inflation avoids arbitrary redistribution of income and wealth.2 Moreover, low inflation facilitates wage negotiations, creates a good labor climate, and reduces the volatility of employment levels. Finally, low inflation helps to make the tax system more transparent and equitable by avoiding the distortions that inflation introduces into the value of assets and income that make up the tax base. From the monetary authority’s point of view, one of the most relevant benefits of low inflation is the credibility that economic agents acquire in inflation targeting, which turns it into an effective nominal anchor on price levels. Upon receiving its mandate, and using its autonomy, Banco de la República began to announce specific annual inflation targets as of 1992. Although the proposed inflation targets were not met precisely during this first stage, a downward trend in inflation was achieved that took it from 32.4% in 1990 to 16.7% in 1998. At that time, the exchange rate was kept within a band. This limited the effectiveness of monetary policy, which simultaneously sought to meet an inflation target and an exchange rate target. The Asian crisis spread to emerging economies and significantly affected the Colombian economy. The exchange rate came under strong pressure to depreciate as access to foreign financing was cut off under conditions of a high foreign imbalance. This, together with the lack of exchange rate flexibility, prevented a countercyclical monetary policy and led to a 4.2% contraction in GDP that year. In this context of economic slowdown, annual inflation fell to 9.2% at the end of 1999, thus falling below the 15% target set for that year. This episode fully revealed how costly it could be, in terms of economic activity, to have inflation and exchange rate targets simultaneously. Towards the end of 1999, Banco de la República announced the adoption of a new monetary policy regime called the Inflation Targeting Plan. This regime, known internationally as ‘Inflation Targeting,’ has been gaining increasing acceptance in developed countries, having been adopted in 1991 by New Zealand, Canada, and England, among others, and has achieved significant advances in the management of inflation without incurring costs in terms of economic activity. In Latin America, Brazil and Chile also adopted it in 1999. In the case of Colombia, the last remaining requirement to be fulfilled in order to adopt said policy was exchange rate flexibility. This was realized around September 1999, when the BDBR decided to abandon the exchange-rate bands to allow the exchange rate to be freely determined in the market.Consistent with the constitutional mandate, the fundamental objective of this new policy approach was “the achievement of an inflation target that contributes to maintaining output growth around its potential.”3 This potential capacity was understood as the GDP growth that the economy can obtain if it fully utilizes its productive resources. To meet this objective, monetary policy must of necessity play a countercyclical role in the economy. This is because when economic activity is below its potential and there are idle resources, the monetary authority can reduce the interest rate in the absence of inflationary pressure to stimulate the economy and, when output exceeds its potential capacity, raise it. This policy principle, which is immersed in the models for guiding the monetary policy stance, makes the following two objectives fully compatible in the medium term: meeting the inflation target and achieving a level of economic activity that is consistent with its productive capacity. To achieve this purpose, the inflation targeting system uses the money market interest rate (at which the central bank supplies primary liquidity to commercial banks) as the primary policy instrument. This replaced the quantity of money as an intermediate monetary policy target that Banco de la República, like several other central banks, had used for a long time. In the case of Colombia, the objective of the new monetary policy approach implied, in practical terms, that the recovery of the economy after the 1999 contraction should be achieved while complying with the decreasing inflation targets established by the BDBR. The accomplishment of this purpose was remarkable. In the first half of the first decade of the 2000s, economic activity recovered significantly and reached a growth rate of 6.8% in 2006. Meanwhile, inflation gradually declined in line with inflation targets. That was how the inflation rate went from 9.2% in 1999 to 4.5% in 2006, thus meeting the inflation target established for that year while GDP reached its potential level. After this balance was achieved in 2006, inflation rebounded to 5.7% in 2007, above the 4.0% target for that year due to the fact that the 7.5% GDP growth exceeded the potential capacity of the economy.4 After proving the effectiveness of the inflation targeting system in its first years of operation, this policy regime continued to consolidate as the BDBR and the technical staff gained experience in its management and state-of-the-art economic models were incorporated to diagnose the present and future state of the economy and to assess the persistence of inflation deviations and expectations with respect to the inflation target. Beginning in 2010, the BDBR established the long-term 3.0% annual inflation target, which remains in effect today. Lower inflation has contributed to making the macroeconomic environment more stable, and this has favored sustained economic growth, financial stability, capital market development, and the functioning of payment systems. As a result, reductions in the inflationary risk premia and lower TES and credit interest rates were achieved. At the same time, the duration of public domestic debt increased significantly going from 2.27 years in December 2002 to 5.86 years in December 2022, and financial deepening, measured as the level of the portfolio as a percentage of GDP, went from around 20% in the mid-1990s to values above 45% in recent years in a healthy context for credit institutions.Having been granted autonomy by the Constitution to fulfill the mandate of preserving the purchasing power of the currency, the tangible achievements made by Banco de la República in managing inflation together with the significant benefits derived from the process of bringing inflation to its long-term target, make the BDBR’s current challenge to return inflation to the 3.0% target even more demanding and pressing. As is well known, starting in 2021, and especially in 2022, inflation in Colombia once again became a serious economic problem with high welfare costs. The inflationary phenomenon has not been exclusive to Colombia and many other developed and emerging countries have seen their inflation rates move away from the targets proposed by their central banks.5 The reasons for this phenomenon have been analyzed in recent Reports to Congress, and this new edition delves deeper into the subject with updated information. The solid institutional and technical base that supports the inflation targeting approach under which the monetary policy strategy operates gives the BDBR the necessary elements to face this difficult challenge with confidence. In this regard, the BDBR reiterated its commitment to the 3.0% inflation target in its November 25 communiqué and expects it to be reached by the end of 2024.6 Monetary policy will continue to focus on meeting this objective while ensuring the sustainability of economic activity, as mandated by the Constitution. Analyst surveys done in March showed a significant increase (from 32.3% in January to 48.5% in March) in the percentage of responses placing inflation expectations two years or more ahead in a range between 3.0% and 4.0%. This is a clear indication of the recovery of credibility in the medium-term inflation target and is consistent with the BDBR’s announcement made in November 2022. The moderation of the upward trend in inflation seen in January, and especially in February, will help to reinforce this revision of inflation expectations and will help to meet the proposed targets. After reaching 5.6% at the end of 2021, inflation maintained an upward trend throughout 2022 due to inflationary pressures from both external sources, associated with the aftermath of the pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and domestic sources, resulting from: strengthening of local demand; price indexation processes stimulated by the increase in inflation expectations; the impact on food production caused by the mid-2021 strike; and the pass-through of depreciation to prices. The 10% increase in the minimum wage in 2021 and the 16% increase in 2022, both of which exceeded the actual inflation and the increase in productivity, accentuated the indexation processes by establishing a high nominal adjustment benchmark. Thus, total inflation went to 13.1% by the end of 2022. The annual change in food prices, which went from 17.2% to 27.8% between those two years, was the most influential factor in the surge in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Another segment that contributed significantly to price increases was regulated products, which saw the annual change go from 7.1% in December 2021 to 11.8% by the end of 2022. The measure of core inflation excluding food and regulated items, in turn, went from 2.5% to 9.5% between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. The substantial increase in core inflation shows that inflationary pressure has spread to most of the items in the household basket, which is characteristic of inflationary processes with generalized price indexation as is the case in Colombia. Monetary policy began to react early to this inflationary pressure. Thus, starting with its September 2021 session, the BDBR began a progressive change in the monetary policy stance moving away from the historical low of a 1.75% policy rate that had intended to stimulate the recovery of the economy. This adjustment process continued without interruption throughout 2022 and into the beginning of 2023 when the monetary policy rate reached 12.75% last January, thus accumulating an increase of 11 percentage points (pp). The public and the markets have been surprised that inflation continued to rise despite significant interest rate increases. However, as the BDBR has explained in its various communiqués, monetary policy works with a lag. Just as in 2022 economic activity recovered to a level above the pre-pandemic level, driven, along with other factors, by the monetary stimulus granted during the pandemic period and subsequent months, so too the effects of the current restrictive monetary policy will gradually take effect. This will allow us to expect the inflation rate to converge to 3.0% by the end of 2024 as is the BDBR’s purpose.Inflation results for January and February of this year showed declining marginal increases (13 bp and 3 bp respectively) compared to the change seen in December (59 bp). This suggests that a turning point in the inflation trend is approaching. In other Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Perú, and Mexico, inflation has peaked and has begun to decline slowly, albeit with some ups and downs. It is to be expected that a similar process will take place in Colombia in the coming months. The expected decline in inflation in 2023 will be due, along with other factors, to lower cost pressure from abroad as a result of the gradual normalization of supply chains, the overcoming of supply shocks caused by the weather, and road blockades in previous years. This will be reflected in lower adjustments in food prices, as has already been seen in the first two months of the year and, of course, the lagged effect of monetary policy. The process of inflation convergence to the target will be gradual and will extend beyond 2023. This process will be facilitated if devaluation pressure is reversed. To this end, it is essential to continue consolidating fiscal sustainability and avoid messages on different public policy fronts that generate uncertainty and distrust. 1 This Report to Congress includes Box 1, which summarizes the trajectory of Banco de la República over the past 100 years. In addition, under the Bank’s auspices, several books that delve into various aspects of the history of this institution have been published in recent years. See, for example: Historia del Banco de la República 1923-2015; Tres banqueros centrales; Junta Directiva del Banco de la República: grandes episodios en 30 años de historia; Banco de la República: 90 años de la banca central en Colombia. 2 This is why lower inflation has been reflected in a reduction of income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient that went from 58.7 in 1998 to 51.3 in the year prior to the pandemic. 3 See Gómez Javier, Uribe José Darío, Vargas Hernando (2002). “The Implementation of Inflation Targeting in Colombia”. Borradores de Economía, No. 202, March, available at: https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/5220 4 See López-Enciso Enrique A.; Vargas-Herrera Hernando and Rodríguez-Niño Norberto (2016). “The inflation targeting strategy in Colombia. An historical view.” Borradores de Economía, No. 952. https://repositorio.banrep.gov.co/handle/20.500.12134/6263 5 According to the IMF, the percentage change in consumer prices between 2021 and 2022 went from 3.1% to 7.3% for advanced economies, and from 5.9% to 9.9% for emerging market and developing economies. 6 https://www.banrep.gov.co/es/noticias/junta-directiva-banco-republica-reitera-meta-inflacion-3