Vol 31, No 2 (2023)

The research is devoted to an urgent modern problem: the identification of temperature factors that limit the distribution and survival of plants in the mountainous conditions of the Northern Urals. The article’s aim is to determine the air temperature in four altitudinal zones of the southern part of the Northern Urals (Sverdlovsk region 59º30´N, 59º15´E) and to identify regression relationships of the obtained temperature data with control temperature data from the nearest meteorological station. Registration of air temperatures was carried out from May to September 2019 around the clock, every two hours in the mountain forest zone (at an altitude of 460 and 640 m above sea level) under the canopy of Siberian stone pine forests, in the zone of subalpine woodlands with elements of mountain forest tundra (820 m above sea level) and on a plateau in the mountain tundra zone (1030 m above sea level). It has been established that the change in air temperature at different altitude levels and at the nearest meteorological station (far from 60 km, at an altitude of 202 m above sea level) occurs relatively synchronously. Difference between average daily temperatures at altitudes of 460, 640, 820 and 1030 m above sea level and the control data of the meteorological station is 2.2, 3.0, 4.7 and 5.1ºC respectively. For all altitude levels, a reliable close straight-line relationship between average daily air temperatures and meteorological station data has been established. The altitudes of 460, 640, 820 and 1030 m above sea level correspond to the coefficients of determination ( R 2) equal to 0.96, 0.95, 0.92 and 0.88. The relationship of the minimum temperatures of the corresponding altitude levels with the control data is also quite high ( R 2 is not lower than 0.7). With the help of the identified relationships and the obtained regression equations, it is possible to retrospectively restore the dynamics of the thermal regime according to the meteorological station data for mountain habitats of different altitudes in the southern part of the Northern Urals over a long period. Including extreme critical temperatures, which act as factors limiting the resettlement and survival of plants and determine the ecosystem biodiversity.

The research presents the problem of liquidation of dumps of substandard raw materials of zeolite-containing rocks of the Holinsky deposit, measures for the reclamation of disturbed lands. The most effective way to restore ecosystems is renaturation. Time intervals of succession are considered. Renaturation of disturbed lands consists of 6 stages. Possible dominant plants for the proposed options are considered in detail: Stipa lessingiana, Poa platensis, Festuca valesiaca, Poa angustifolia, Elytrigia intermedia, Artemisia vulgaris, Trifolium pratense , Trifolium repens, Agropyron desertorum.

It is shown that the restrictions of interpersonal communication, the introduction of additional requirements to working conditions in the period 2020-2022 in connection with COVID-19, due to the increased risk of getting sick, had a stressful effect on the population. First of all, this concerned employees of those professional groups who, in the course of work, come into contact with a large number of the population (customers, buyers). Representatives of these professional groups, during the pandemic, as a rule, continued to work in the workplace. The purpose of the study: to assess the working conditions and adaptation of personnel of trade organizations in different periods: 2012 and 2021 (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic). The objects of the study were large non-food trade organizations. The working conditions of employees of trade organizations were assessed in accordance with the Guidelines for the Hygienic Assessment of Factors of the Working Environment and the labor process, as well as the method of interviewing employees about their own working conditions. A computerized questionnaire developed by the Leningrad Psychoneurological Research Institute named after V.M. Bekhterev was used to assess neuropsychiatric maladaptation (ONPD). The survey was conducted in 2012 and 2021 - before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of respondents were women (about 70%) with various experience in this profession. A total of 66 people were interviewed. The working conditions of trade workers (sellers) in 2012 and in 2021 are similar and are harmful to the second degree. During the 2020-2021 pandemic, the working hours in trade organizations have changed: new rules have been introduced during the working day, new work processes have been organized (introduction of remote technologies, constant monitoring of the health of employees and customers by logging the health status of employees, visual inspection and remote temperature measurement). A comparative analysis of the assessment of neuropsychiatric maladaptation showed that during the pandemic and concomitant restrictions aimed at minimizing contacts between people, 31.0% of employees had psychoemotional discomfort, expressed in asthenic symptoms (15.1%), the appearance of depressive moods (15.1%). In 2021, workers significantly (p ≤ 0.05) exceeded the average values on the A scale (asthenia): 37.0±6.2 and 56.7±9.6; and there was an upward trend on the D scale (depression). This indicates that the forced conditions of restriction of social contacts that have arisen in the last two years have a negative impact on the processes of adaptation and mental comfort of employee

State observation networks of the state of environment include a complex of stationary, route and sub torch observation posts. Stationary observation posts are a fairly expensive structure that used equipment of a certain accuracy. Modern technological development allows to create devices of small dimensions with a unified output interface, having a measurement error comparable to the error of equipment used in stationary observation posts or less. Therefore, this paper proposes the concept of creating a device, which, in particular, may be converted into an atmospheric air monitoring device. Currently, environmental and emission control issues remain relevant. The purpose of the study, the facet of which is revealed in this work, is to organize a monitoring network for the analysis of atmospheric air pollution. The work contains a list of priorities for the organization of the device, its main functions. The result is a structural diagram of the central component of the device, called “Heart” and an additional component - “Expansion Board”, that describes the main necessary nodes for the operating of the device. The working element of the instrument is sensors of substances with different operating principle. In addition, there are described a way to ensure nonvolatile device and organization of a unite interface of data transmission within it. A short list of tasks for which the proposed device is directed is presented.

During the maintenance of private vehicles, a stream of consumer waste is generated in the form of containers with engine oil residues. When choosing methods for handling such waste, it is necessary to have quantitative indicators of the tare weight and the volume of engine oil remaining after use. Containers contaminated with motor oils during disposal, neutralization and disposal due to the emission of oil residues create increased risks of man-made impact on environmental objects. The purpose of the study is to determine the volume of motor oil remaining after emptying under various conditions. Viscosity, temperature, runoff angle of engine oil was taken into account as changing conditions. Laboratory studies made it possible to establish that when disposing containers made of HDPE (from 1 to 30 liters), in which engine oil was placed, the waste may contain from 1.5 to 15% of oil products. The smaller the tare volume, the higher the percentage of oil product residues in relation to the tare weight. It is proposed to use K 1 indicators to assess the emission of oil products from containers during its disposal, which allows quantifying the volume of engine oil that can enter the environment during disposal or disposal.

The use of industrial waste as concrete aggregates solves the problem of recycling these wastes and simultaneously reduces the volume of natural stone materials extraction and, consequently, decreases the environment load associated with their extraction. The special military operation caused a large amount of concrete and brick scrap from the emergency buildings demolition. To substantiate the possibility of recycling the mentioned construction wastes by means of their application as concrete aggregates, the authors have reviewed research works in this area, made a plan of the experiment, determined physical and mechanical characteristics of rubble from the studied materials and cement concrete on its basis. The results of the experiment have been analyzed and conclusions about possibility to use concrete and bricks scrap as aggregates in concrete have been formulated.