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The proceedings contain 360 papers. The topics discussed include: comparison of three methods assessing spirometry bronchodilator responsiveness in children;the quality of spirometry testing: a systematic review;airflow severity in asthma minimally affects within-session oscillometry variability;corrected normative multiple breath washout data in pre-school aged children;prevalence and predictors of tidal expiratory-flow-limitation in healthy adolescents/young adults;impact of change of significant bronchodilator response definition;volume-dependence of reactance as a measure of ventilation inhomogeneity;mechanisms of impaired gas exchange following hospitalization for severe COVID-19;increased shunt and dead space in recovered COVID-19 pneumonitis patients;airway hyperresponsiveness detection in atopic asthma using exhaled nitric oxide;increased conductive ventilation heterogeneity following exposure to coal-mine fire smoke;accuracy of transcutaneous carbon dioxide monitoring during sleep studies;and effect of hematopoietic stem cell transplant on small airways function.
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The social uprising in Colombia since 2019 and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated tensions re-vealing unusual territorial disputes. This article presents socio-spatial processes derived from the transformations induced by extractivism in the departments of Cesar and La Guajira, emphasizing the role of social mobilization. The ob-jective is to expose dynamics that reflect the territorialization of production relations. The intention that directed the in-vestigation was to capture guidelines that allow interpreting emerging conditions in regional environments impacted by extractivism. For this, official indicators were used, press monitoring and cartographic analysis of satellite images were carried out. It was concluded that there is a diverse ar-ticulation of social actors that arise from the existing territo-rial dynamics and challenge the bases of the extractivist mo -del. With this perspective, we reflect on the role of territorial planning in the face of the urgency of new alternatives that imply overcoming the current socio-environmental crisis derived from transnational mining.
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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many countries see coal as the easiest solution to their energy sector challenges, despite the consequences for climate goals. Several countries of the European Union started to re-evaluate their coal policies vis-à-vis the current energy crisis and, although such a change is expected to be short-term in nature, it nevertheless has negative consequences for the Union's 2050 climate goal. However, most of the EU countries did not revise their phase-out goals. This paper examines Slovakia as a country that embarked on a coal phase-out trajectory only a few years before the pandemic broke out and stayed firmly on this path despite benefits stemming from the continued use of domestic coal. Domestic coal used to be considered a safeguard of energy security in Slovakia, especially after the 2009 gas crisis. However, a decision was made in 2018 to phase out coal by 2023, and this has not changed despite increased focus on domestic energy sources as energy security guarantors during the current energy crisis. This paper explains the decision in favour of a coal phase-out and its support vis-à-vis the energy crisis using the concept of ‘financial Europeanisation', which stresses the importance of EU funds for the development of the domestic policies of EU member states. While the expected funds serve as a catalyst for the coal phase-out needed to reach climate goals, short-term advantages of revising a coal phase-out were outweighed by long-term benefits provided by EU funds.
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The Svalbard archipelago is a centre of global research on climate change and also an example of a rapidly changing Arctic area with tourism replacing the traditional mining industry. We compared the different development paths of the Norwegian (Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund) and Russian settlements (Barentsburg and Pyramida) on Spitsbergen as part of the Svalbard archipelago using demographic and socio-economic data until 2022 when available, but not focusing on the impacts of COVID-19 and changing geopolitics after 2022. We analysed strategy documents produced by Norway and Russia and by organisations connected to Svalbard. The analysis continued by scrutinising the statistical data available to ascertain if this supported the strategic goals outlined in the documents. Data collection was by direct enquiry to national statistical bureaus, agencies and institutions in Norway and Russia. Secondary data were collected from media publications and social media accounts. Statistics Norway provided very detailed data on demographics and industrial structure, turnover, investments and comprehensive statistics on employees by industry on Norwegian settlements on Svalbard. The results revealed disparities in socio-economic development, striking differences in data availability and in transparency between the Norwegian and Russian settlements. The population in the Norwegian settlements continued to grow during the period 1990–2022 with an increasing number of foreign nationals, and the population in the Russian settlements decreased by 85% at the same time period. The Norwegian settlements exemplify a diversified economy with a growing private sector, and the Russian settlements continued to rely on the town-forming Russian state unitary coal mining enterprise, Trust Arktikugol. While Svalbard presented a prime example of open data and transparency in the environmental sciences, the socio-economic and demographic statistics were lagging behind. Several practical proposals are presented for improved data collection on the Svalbard settlements.
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Poland is a big user of fossil fuels for electricity and heat production. The most important fossil fuel is hard, brown coal and the Polish energy system is based on this source. However, the world has begun to decarbonize the climate and reduce the carbon dioxide and methane which are the main gasses impacting climate change. The main aim of this paper was to recognize changes in Polish coal sector. We focused our attention to the economic situation and employment in coal sector in Poland. The time rage included 1989–2020 and the prognosis 2021–2025. The Polish coal sector faced dramatic changes. The number of hard coal mines decreased from 70 in 1990 to 21 in 2020. In the same timeframe, the prices for hard coal increased from 12.37 PLN/dt to 313.27 PLN/dt. The employment decreased from more than 350 thousand to less than 100 thousand people in hard coal mines. The decrease changes are the effect of strict policies of the European Union. The economic situation of Polish hard coal mines is rather poor. Polish mines achieved negative economic results due to the effect of poor management. We used advanced statistics, including the Augmented Dickey–Fuller test (ADF), to measure the stationarity of analyzed time series. We also used Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models and conducted a prognosis. Our research proved that the time series describing the hard coal economic situation were not stationary. The Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models confirmed big changes in Polish coal sector economic results. The elaborated prognosis of variables proved that the price of hard coal will increase in 2021–2025. Moreover, the economic situation will be worse. Our analysis confirmed that global trends of the hard coal sector were influenced by the European Union (EU) energy policy and closing down the mines. The economic situation of Polish hard coal sector worsened.
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Coal energy landscapes have changed dramatically over the last decades, including geographic shifts in production and consumption, technological changes that have reduced labour demand and led to relatively new mining practices (e.g. invasive mountain-top approaches), changed economic footprints, a shutdown of capacities or a complete end of mining in many regions with massive impacts on regional and local economies, community well-being, social capital, et cetera. Then the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia´s invasion of Ukraine have fundamentally affected the global economy, disrupted energy markets, and shattered existing estimates about development trends, challenging the progress and speed of the low-carbon energy transition and coal phase-out. This article provides a brief reflection on the changing landscapes of coal and their possible futures, and serves as an introduction to the Special Issue of Moravian Geographical Reports on "The death of coal in the energy transition? Regional perspectives”.
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SESSION TITLE: Autoimmune Diseases Gone Wild: Rare Cases of Pulmonary Manifestations SESSION TYPE: Rapid Fire Case Reports PRESENTED ON: 10/18/2022 01:35 pm - 02:35 pm INTRODUCTION: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a complex entity related to autoimmune dysfunction and inflammation that can cause mass-like lesions and fibrosis of a variety of organs, including pancreas and/or lungs. IgG4-RD in the lung can have diverse clinical and radiographic presentations. We present a case of suspected IgG4-RD that manifested as idiopathic pancreatitis and interstitial lung disease that mimicked coal workers' pneumoconiosis. CASE PRESENTATION: A 72 year-old male with a decades-long coal mining history and a presumptive diagnosis of coal-worker's pneumoconiosis was admitted to the hospital for necrotizing pancreatitis. There was no evidence of gallstones, elevated triglycerides, history of alcohol use or medication known to precipitate pancreatitis. Two years prior, a presumptive diagnosis of coal-worker's pneumoconiosis had been reached largely on the basis of history and chest imaging (Figure 1) showing a progressive massive pulmonary fibrosis pattern. His hospital course was protracted and complicated by nosocomial COVID-19 treated with remdesivir and a 10-day course of dexamethasone. He then had persistent hypoxemia that worsened after dexamethasone was discontinued. Empiric high-dose methylprednisolone was given and the hypoxemia improved dramatically. However, the hypoxemia and pancreatitis repeatedly worsened with significant dose decrease. Inpatient CT chest showed worsening interstitial reticulation and ground-glass opacities superimposed on prior fibrosis (Figure 2). Serum IgG subclass levels were checked;IgG4 and IgG4:IgG ratio were mildly elevated at 93mg/dL and 0.09, respectively. In the setting of idiopathic pancreatitis, pulmonary fibrosis, and steroid-sensitive hypoxemia, he was diagnosed with probable IgG4-RD involving pancreas and lungs. An association between inhaled occupational exposures and development of IgG4-RD has been observed. To confirm the diagnosis of pulmonary IgG4-RD, a tissue biopsy will be necessary. He is now discharged from hospital on a long steroid taper. DISCUSSION: A serum IgG4 level >125mg/dL or an IgG4:total IgG ratio >0.08 support the diagnosis, as does clinical response to steroids. However, these criteria are nonspecific and will be in the normal range in a substantial minority of cases. Lymphocytes and a predominance of IgG4-positive plasma cells infiltrating fibrotic tissue in involved organs are pathologic hallmarks of IgG4-RD. Lung involvement in patients with pancreatitis due to IgG4-RD is common and likely under recognized. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary involvement in IgG4-RD can show a wide array of radiographic patterns, but that seen in this case with pseudotumor and fibrosis is among the most commonly reported. Given the overlap in risk factors and radiographic appearance between IgG4-RD and pneumoconiosis, vigilance for IgG4-RD is warranted. Reference #1: Hirano K., Kawabe T., Komatsu Y., et al. High-rate pulmonary involvement in autoimmune pancreatitis. Internal Medicine Journal. 2006;36(1):58–61. doi: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2006.01009.x Reference #2: Kamisawa T, Zen Y, Pillai S, Stone JH. IgG4-related disease. Lancet. 2015 Apr 11;385(9976):1460-71. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60720-0. Epub 2014 Dec 4. PMID: 25481618. Reference #3: de Buy Wenniger, L. J., Culver, E. L., & Beuers, U. (2014). Exposure to occupational antigens might predispose to IgG4-related disease. Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 60(4), 1453–1454. https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.26999 DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Jordan Minish, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Robert Ousley, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Meagan Reif, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Derek Russell, source=Web Response
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This paper refers to the current energy situation in the European Union (EU) countries with a particular focus on energy produced from renewable energy sources and coal – sources that provide opportunities for balancing the energy of the region. The strengths and weaknesses of coal mining in Poland were also identified, along with its opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). Innovative and sustainable development based on the Triple Helix Model (THM), as well as the Open innovation (OI) concept and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles were identified as opportunities for its sustainable development. The combination of these solutions should enable sustainable development of the industry, preserving its economic and social importance and reducing its negative impact on the environment. The use of new clean technologies in the operation and combustion of coal should reduce emissions of harmful substances into the environment. Intensive and government-supported cooperation between the scientific and research community and industry should significantly facilitate these processes. Another aspect important for the changes to be introduced is the social factor, for which the current situation represents an opportunity to preserve jobs in the mining industry, but also a challenge for its sustainable development. These seemingly mutually exclusive elements should form the basis of a new opening for Polish and European mining as an innovative industry based on knowledge and preserving the basic principles of ESG. The paper also outlines the most significant challenges facing the Polish mining industry on its way to innovative development. The article provides a new and relevant to the current reality perspective on the Polish mining industry in the context of the entire EU, for which the current geopolitical situation forces the necessity of setting a new direction of development. The geopolitical changes that have recently taken place in the global economy such as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic and the armed conflict within Ukraine have caused very great turbulence in the energy market. Enthusiasm and uncritical adoption of green concepts in the EU has caused, along with the reduction of gas and coal imports from Russia, turbulence in the energy market. This situation has created a great opportunity for the development of the mining industry in Poland, which has not yet managed, following the example of other EU countries, to extinguish the industry. In order to take advantage of this opportunity and obtain a permanent place in the energy mix in the EU, it is necessary to rapidly develop the mining industry in a sustainable manner based on innovative solutions.
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The sharp decline in fossil fuel demand related to the Covid-19 pandemic put in evidence some of the impacts that can be created by the energy transition. By putting into conversation the literature on economic decline in extractive regions and debates on stranded fossil fuel assets, this paper presents the case of the region of Cesar, Colombia, which in 2020 experienced a 33% decline in coal production and an unexpected idling of some of its largest coal mines. We identify various economic impacts for workers, communities, and local governments caused by the structural crisis faced by this activity. Eight challenges identified can be of relevance to other coal-dependent regions in the Global South. We argue that in such regions, many of the impacts recognized by the literature on the Global North are exacerbated. More importantly, additional challenges of a decline in coal pro-duction, particularly the precariousness of local economies based on high levels of informal and low value-added activities, the role of coal companies in social spending, and limited available data and institutional capacity, increase the risk of coal regions becoming stranded.
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In order to quickly and accurately collect the massive commodities and corresponding transaction data of large-scale e-commerce platforms, and improve the ability of data analysis and mining, this paper proposes a platform commodity information collection system based on splash technology. The system prerenders the javascript code in the product page, combined with the Scrapy crawler framework, to realize a system that quickly and effectively collects product data from different platforms, and uses “mobile phone” as the retrieval keyword to verify the designed system, respectively. The experimental results show that the system can effectively collect up to 60,000 comments and 6,000 system requests. Conclusion. The platform commodity information collection system based on splash technology has certain application value and promotion for the commodity data collection of different platforms of e-commerce.
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The archipelago of Svalbard is a good example of an Arctic locale undergoing rapid changes on multiple levels. This contribution is a joint effort of three anthropologists with up-to-date ethnographic data from Svalbard (mostly Longyearbyen and Barentsburg) to frame and interpret interconnected changes. The processes impacting Svalbard are related to issues such as geopolitical interests, and increasing pressure by the Norwegian government to exercise presence and control over the territory. Our interpretations are based on a bottom-up approach, drawing on experiences living in the field. We identify three great ruptures in recent years – the avalanche of 2015, the gradual phasing out of mining enterprises and the COVID-19 pandemic – and show how they further impact, accelerate or highlight preexisting vulnerabilities in terms of socio-economic development, and environmental and climate change. We discuss the shift from coal mining to the industries of tourism, education, and research and development, and the resulting changed social and demographic structure of the settlements. Another facet is the complexity of environmental drivers of change and how they relate to the socio-economic ones. This article serves as an introductory text to the collection of articles published in Polar Record in 2021/2022 with the overarching theme “changing Svalbard”. Issues discussed range from socio-economic change and its implications for local populations including identity of place, through tourism (value creation, mediation, human–environment relations, environmental dilemmas, balancing contradictory trends), to security and risk perception, and environmental and climate change issues.
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In the present situation, Covid-19 is considered to be an unbeaten global pandemic. In every single fleeting moment, this SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus-2) causes greater damage to our life including the physical world including drastic imbalance of the whole economic condition of any country. The lockdown governed in two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) in the world to control the spreading of the virus poses an undue threat to the industrial sectors including the coal mining sectors that determine the economic growth of the country. With these negative impacts of coronavirus-2 in our life, this present review aims to explore some of the positive influences of the Covid-19 pandemic through the restoration of the environmental system which are otherwise not possible. This quantitative review finds that spreading of the Covid-19 pandemic indirectly improves the air and water quality by reducing the number of vehicles, reduces the CO2, NOx, particulate matter, and other polluting gases emission from coal-based power plants through periodical lockdown in the country. Moreover, the lockdown implemented to minimise the spreading of the Covid-19 significantly reduces the coal dust production from the mining and transportation of coal that indirectly reduces environmental pollution.
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RATIONALE The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted national spirometric surveillance of active and former U.S. coal miners since March 2020. Consequently data collected by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded Black Lung Clinics Program (BLCP) represents the only major source of recent health data on U.S. former coal miners. Using the first available year of national BLCP data we examined associations between mining region and radiographic disease and lung function impairment. METHODS We analyzed pre-bronchodilator spirometry and International Labour Office chest radiograph classifications from miners seen across 15 BLCP grantees from July 1 2020 to June 30 2021. We calculated percent predicted (PP) and lower limits of normal (LLN) for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC ratio. We determined prevalence of patterns of spirometric abnormality (restrictive obstructive/mixed) and moderate to severe impairment (FEV1<70PP). We classified miners who worked the majority of their coal mining career in Kentucky Virginia or West Virginia as Central Appalachian miners. We examined associations between region worked and lung function impairment using logistic regression. RESULTS The 2,891 miners were predominantly non- Hispanic white (98.1%) and male (99.4%) with mean age 66 years (SD9.3). Mean coal mining tenure was 26 years (SD10.7) and 66% (n=1,900) were Central Appalachian miners. Thirty-seven percent had never smoked. Among those with chest radiographs (n=2,464 85%) Central Appalachian miners had a significant three-fold increase in progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) prevalence compared to miners who worked elsewhere in the U.S. (9% vs 3% p<.0001). Smoking history and spirometry were available in 66% (n=1,918). Of these 40% of never-smokers had abnormal spirometry (obstruction/mixed 10%;restriction 30%);among ever-smokers, 54% had abnormal spirometry (obstruction/mixed 27%;restriction 27%). Abnormal FEV1 was present in 30% of never smokers and 42% of ever-smokers. Mean FEV1PP was significantly lower among Central Appalachian miners compared to miners from other regions. Controlling for age, tenure, and pack-years, Central Appalachian miners had significantly elevated odds of having FEV1 impairment compared to non-Central Appalachian miners (OR 1.31, 95%CI 1.06,1.62). A subanalysis controlling for category of radiographic disease showed that odds of impairment remained elevated among Central Appalachian miners (OR 1.24, 95%CI 0.97,1.60). CONCLUSIONS Controlling for smoking, age, and tenure, former miners who worked most of their career in Central Appalachia have significantly increased odds of disabling impairment. These findings highlight the important role of HRSA-funded black lung clinics in understanding work-related lung disease among U.S. coal miners.
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Svalbard’s geographical positioning, environmental characteristics and multinational population make it conducive for considering informality and multinational cooperation in disaster risk reduction and response. Most research examining disaster risks and disasters for Svalbard has focused on Norwegian efforts in and for the main settlement of Longyearbyen, with none covering Svalbard’s second-largest settlement of Barentsburg. This paper addresses this gap by analysing how 21 Barentsburg residents deal with disasters. We conducted semi-structured interviews, visually aided by the revised PRISM (Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure) tool, to examine interviewees’ disaster perceptions, sources for disaster-related information and learning, and formal and informal sources for dealing with disaster risks and disasters. Our findings suggest that, despite being risk-aware, Barentsburg interviewees consider the settlement, and Svalbard as a whole, to be safe. The explanation is their faith in the existing disaster-related mechanisms, made up of both local Russian entities and the Norwegian rescue services, especially Svalbard’s governor (Sysselmesteren). Interviewees rely significantly on Russian and Norwegian informal actors and relationships for disaster-related information. These findings suggest that alongside formal approaches, informality may play a significant role in dealing with disasters in Barentsburg, which itself might serve as a platform for international cooperation.
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Coal is an important basic energy source, widely distributed throughout the world, but resource abundance is uneven. Despite the need to develop and form new energy sources, coal energy maintains its dominant position. However, due to the uneven distribution and non-renewable nature of coal resources, the relationship between the supply and demand of coal resources is tight. The rational exploitation of coal and reducing resource mining wastes are particularly important at the present stage. The original mining method of the Zhangjiamao coal mine resulted in a large waste of coal resources. After replacing the “110 construction method”, the original advanced end-support was canceled, which saved a lot of process time and engineering costs and greatly improved the mine production efficiency. With an average mining depth of +300 m, the working face is in a safe and stable state, and the 110-mining process has little impact on surface subsidence. Its successful application provides a reference experience for other mines to promote resource-saving and efficient mining.
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As indications of ‘overtourism’ appear in the Arctic, tourism presents both management challenges and ethical dilemmas, applicable to broader discussions about sustainability within Polar tourism. I argue that mapping value relations can contribute to ongoing discussions for positive ways forwards and that the concept of degrowth holds promise in redirecting tourism to better serve the local community. Tourism has become the largest employer and most rapidly growing sector in Svalbard, taking over from coal mining. Longyearbyen is a small urban centre but nevertheless is the central hub where almost all tourism passes through. Indeed, tourism is how the majority of human relations with its lands, seas, human and non-human inhabitants will be enabled. This paper is centred on charting the transition of Longyearbyen to a ‘tourist town’. Drawing on local voices from 2013 to 2016 and 2019, I use a value-based analysis to assess the changes experienced in the context of wider systems of value at work in Svalbard.
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This paper is concerned with stable trading between the coal mining and power generation companies in China. Under the current marketized coal and planned electricity price systems, barriers to price shifting between coal and electricity are created and conflicts between the two sectors are aggravated. The stable trading matching between coal mining and power generation companies is not only an effective means to resolve the conflict in the coal trading market, but also a ballast stone for price stabilization and supply guarantees in coal trading. Based on the two-sided matching theory, this paper starts from the micro market preference and matching willingness of coal mining and power generation companies, puts forward the conceptual framework of the pairwise stable matching of both sides, innovates a mechanism for trading between coal mining and power generation companies, and designs a stable trading matching algorithm. The algorithm has certain theoretical innovation significance from the matching problem of non-separable commodities to that of separable commodities considering the trading volume between coal mining and power generation companies. Furthermore, it is a complement and perfection of the existing coal–power trading platform in its transaction mechanism and trading function. The results reveal that the trading relations between coal mining and power generation companies under the stable matching mechanism are resistant to disintegration and that the pairwise stable matching result is sensitive.
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Geopolitical interventions since the end of the 1980s—such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, a decline in the activities of state-owned coal companies, and governmental initiatives to increase tourism activities—have affected the community viability of two main settlements on Svalbard: Barentsburg and Longyearbyen. This paper explores how the residents of these settlements (with different cultural backgrounds) perceive the effects of socioeconomic transitions on community viability. The analysis of qualitative interviews with residents of Barentsburg (n = 62) and Longyearbyen (n = 36) reveals the residents’ perceptions of the pace of the transition and the changing community composition. New types of commercial activities, such as tourism, contribute to local value creation and socioeconomic development but come with concerns grounded in community fluctuation, environmental protection, economic prioritisation, and power relationships. Compared to Longyearbyen, Barentsburg has undergone relatively minor demographic and social changes and remains stable in terms of culture, language, and management practices. We conclude that the viability of Longyearbyen and Barentsburg during the transition was affected by community dynamics and fluctuations, social relationships within and between communities, and local institutional practices.