BACKGROUND Greenhouse workers are exposed to organic dusts, and they are thereby at risk of developing airway disorders. This study aims to measure personal endotoxin exposure, assess respiratory symptoms and measure fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) among female flower farm workers in Ethiopia. METHODS A cross-sectional study involving female workers (n = 248) from four flower farms was...

The methodology proposed in the paper applies artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to the modeling and control of some climate variables within a greenhouse. The nonlinear physical phenomena governing the dynamics of temperature and humidity in such systems are, in fact, difficult to model and control using traditional techniques. The paper proposes a framework for the development of soft co...

Cities profoundly alter biological communities, favoring some species over others, though the mechanisms that govern these changes are largely unknown. Herbivorous arthropod pests are often more abundant in urban than in rural areas, and urban outbreaks have been attributed to reduced control by predators and parasitoids and to increased susceptibility of stressed urban plants. These hypotheses...

In Sweden, the number of datacenters establishments are steadily increasing thanks to green, stable and affordable electricity, free air cooling, advantageous energy taxes and well-developed Internet fiber infrastructures. Even though datacenters use a lot of energy, the waste heat that they create is seldom reused. A possible cause is that this waste heat is often low grade and airborne: it is...

The conservation of insect pollinators is drawing attention because of reported declines in bee species and the 'ecosystem services' they provide. This issue has been brought to a head by recent devastating losses of honey bees throughout North America (so called, 'Colony Collapse Disorder'); yet, we still have little understanding of the cause(s) of bee declines. Wild bumble bees (Bombus spp.)...