Dataset Information

GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Method for Assessment of Lake Ecosystems Degradation-Case Study in Romania.

ABSTRACT: In general, the elaboration of the synthesis of water quality in Romania is based on the processing of a large volume of information coming from primary analytical data collected with a constant frequency by the organisms with a specific role in water quality monitoring. This study proposes a novel methodology for multi-criteria analysis aiming to evaluate the degradation state of lake ecosystems. The cornerstone of the newly presented methodology is a geographic information system (GIS) automated tool, involving the assessment of potential degradation sources affecting the watershed that supply the lakes with water. The methodology was tested by performing an analysis on 30 lakes in Romania. The lakes belong to different geographical areas, owing various natural specific conditions and were selected to fit to various types and specific local conditions. The calculation of the WRASTIC-HI (Wastewater-Recreation-Agriculture-Size-Transportation-Industry-Cover-Hazard Index) revealed that, out of 30 lake ecosystems selected as the case study, two lakes were fully degraded, 24 lakes were semi-degraded, and four were in a natural state. The four lakes characterised by a natural state are located in mountainous regions or in the Danube Delta. The results obtained on the selected lakes proved that the proposed index calculation corresponded in all case studies to the real field situation, highlighting thus the accuracy of the assessing process and increased advantages of the assessment's automation.

SUBMITTER: Avram S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8198268 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Method for Assessment of Lake Ecosystems Degradation-Case Study in Romania.

Avram Sorin S Cipu Corina C Corpade Ana-Maria AM Gheorghe Carmen Adriana CA Manta Nicolae N Niculae Mihaita-Iulian MI Pascu Ionuţ Silviu IS Szép Róbert Eugen RE Rodino Steliana S

International journal of environmental research and public health 20210531 11

In general, the elaboration of the synthesis of water quality in Romania is based on the processing of a large volume of information coming from primary analytical data collected with a constant frequency by the organisms with a specific role in water quality monitoring. This study proposes a novel methodology for multi-criteria analysis aiming to evaluate the degradation state of lake ecosystems. The cornerstone of the newly presented methodology is a geographic information system (GIS) automat ...[more]

PMID: 34072948

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The Government of Romania commissioned international technical assistance to help unpacking the causes of arrears in selected public hospitals. Emphases were placed on the governance-related determinants of the hospital performance in the context of the Romanian health system. METHODS:The assessment was structured around a public hospital governance framework examining 4 dimensions: institutional arrangements, financing arrangements, accountability arrangements and correspondence between responsibility and decision-making capacity. The framework was operationalized using a 2-pronged approach: (i) a policy review of broader health system governance arrangements influencing hospital performance; and (ii) a series of 10 casestudies of public hospitals experiencing financial hardship. Data were collected during 2016-2017 through key informant interviews with central authorities and hospital management teams, exhaustive semi-structured questionnaires filled in by hospitals, as well as the review of documentary sources where feasible. RESULTS:Overall, the governance landscape of Romanian public hospitals includes a large number of seemingly modern legislative provisions and management instruments. Over the past 30 years substantial efforts have been made to put in place standardised hospital classification, hospital governance structures, management and service purchasing contracts with key performance indicators, modern reimbursement mechanisms based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), and regulatory requirements for accountability, including internal and external audit. Nevertheless, their application appears to have been challenging for a range of reasons, pointing to the misalignment between the responsibility and decisionmaking capacity given to hospitals in a questionably conducive context. Incoherent policy design, outdated and often disjointed regulatory frameworks, and cumbersome administrative procedures limit managerial autonomy and obstruct efficiency gains. In a context of chronic insufficient funding, misaligned incentives, and overly rigid service procurement processes, hospitals seem to struggle to adjust service baskets to the population's health needs or to overcoming financial hardship. External challenges, combined with the limited strategic, operational, and financial management capacity within hospitals, make it difficult to exhibit good financial and general performance. CONCLUSION:Existing governance arrangements for Romanian public hospitals appear conducive to poor financial performance. The suggested framework for hospital governance assessment has proved a powerful tool for identifying system and hospital-specific challenges contributing to sub-optimal hospital performance.

Project description:Objectives: To assess sleep quality and timing in children with Angelman syndrome (AS) with sleep problems using questionnaires and actigraphy and contrast sleep parameters to those of typically developing (TD) children matched for age and sex. Methods: Week-long actigraphy assessments were undertaken with children with AS (n = 20) with parent-reported sleep difficulties and compared with age and sex matched TD controls. The presence of severe sleep problems was assessed using the modified Simonds and Parraga sleep questionnaire. Sleep hygiene was measured using the Family Inventory of Sleep Habits. Results: Actigraphy and parent-completed sleep diary data indicated that children with AS had significantly earlier bedtimes (p = .003, Cohen d = .47) and poorer sleep efficiency (78%, p = .04, d = .33) than TD children (84%). No significant differences in total sleep time, sleep onset latency or wake after sleep onset were found between the two groups. The expected relationship between later bedtimes and increasing age found for the TD group (p < .001, ?.78) was not evidenced for the AS group (p = .09, ?.39). Considerable inter-individual and night to night variation in actigraphy assessed total sleep time and wake after sleep onset was found for children with AS compared to TD children. Parent report indicated that a greater proportion of children with AS had severe night waking problems compared to TD children (81 versus 5%). No significant differences in sleep hygiene and excessive daytime sleepiness were found between the two groups (p > .05). Conclusions: This study reports the largest objective dataset of sleep quality parameters in children with AS. Sleep quality in this group was characterised by poor efficiency and significant intra- and inter-individual variability that warrants further investigation. This variability should inform assessment and intervention for sleep in children with AS, as averages of total sleep, even across a 7 day period may not capture the difficulties with night waking highlighted by parental questionnaire report.

Project description:Recent attention regarding the impacts of oil and gas development and exploitation has focused on the unintentional release of hydrocarbons into the environment, whilst the potential negative effects of other possible avenues of environmental contamination are less well documented. In the hydrocarbon-rich and ecologically sensitive Mackenzie Delta region (NT, Canada), saline wastes associated with hydrocarbon exploration have typically been disposed of in drilling sumps (i.e., large pits excavated into the permafrost) that were believed to be a permanent containment solution. However, failure of permafrost as a waste containment medium may cause impacts to lakes in this sensitive environment. Here, we examine the effects of degrading drilling sumps on water quality by combining paleolimnological approaches with the analysis of an extensive present-day water chemistry dataset. This dataset includes lakes believed to have been impacted by saline drilling fluids leaching from drilling sumps, lakes with no visible disturbances, and lakes impacted by significant, naturally occurring permafrost thaw in the form of retrogressive thaw slumps. We show that lakes impacted by compromised drilling sumps have significantly elevated lakewater conductivity levels compared to control sites. Chloride levels are particularly elevated in sump-impacted lakes relative to all other lakes included in the survey. Paleolimnological analyses showed that invertebrate assemblages appear to have responded to the leaching of drilling wastes by a discernible increase in a taxon known to be tolerant of elevated conductivity coincident with the timing of sump construction. This suggests construction and abandonment techniques at, or soon after, sump establishment may result in impacts to downstream aquatic ecosystems. With hydrocarbon development in the north predicted to expand in the coming decades, the use of sumps must be examined in light of the threat of accelerated permafrost thaw, and the potential for these industrial wastes to impact sensitive Arctic ecosystems.

Dataset Information

GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Method for Assessment of Lake Ecosystems Degradation-Case Study in Romania.

Publications

GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Method for Assessment of Lake Ecosystems Degradation-Case Study in Romania.

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