Search results for: manual for assessing safety hardware

Authors: Farah Fazlinda Binti Mohamad, Ahmad Saifizul Abdullah, Mohamed Rehan Karim , Jamilah Mohamad, Siti Hikmah Musthar

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Road safety is an important issue in Malaysia. It become important as it is discussed widely throughout printed and electronic media. Most of the news portrays on road accident and fatalities have increased the concern of everyone. This issue affects everyone's life as everyone shares the roads. The most vulnerable victims are the road user who uses the roads every day. It is appalling when World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in every 100,000 of population in Malaysia, 23 fatalities recorded due to road accident alone. This figure is quite alarming and requires serious attention. Furthermore, research by Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research concluded that that speeding has contributed to 60% of all road accident in the country. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the factors that influence road users’ speeding behaviour on selected roads in Peninsular Malaysia. To achieve this, set of questionnaires has distributed to 500 respondents on selected roads in Peninsular Malaysia. The respondents came from various demographic backgrounds in order to have a fair opinion on the issue. Using descriptive analysis, the results have indicated that psychological factors such as emotion and attitude of road user are the prominent factors that influence the road user’s speeding behaviour. Furthermore, the results have shown that male road users were dominant in speeding compared to female, which led to increased vulnerability to road injuries and fatalities. These findings are very useful in order for us to understand road users’ driving behaviour. Relevant authorities should also revise the existing countermeasures and find ways to reduce road accident. Engineers and road experts could cooperate in designing new road specifications for the road user. Nevertheless, it is important to comprehend this speeding issue and factors associated with it. Each road user should take this matter seriously and responsibly as road safety is a responsibility of all.

Keywords: countermeasures, psychological, road safety, speeding

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Authors: Winncy Du, Jeremy Nguyen, Harpinder Dhillon, Reinardus Justin Halim, Clayton Haske, Trent Hughes, Marissa Ortiz, Rozy Saini

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Stroke often causes death or cerebro-vascular (CV) brain damage. Most patients with CV brain damage lost their motor control on their limbs. This paper focuses on developing a reliable, safe, and non-invasive EEG-based robot-assistant stroke rehabilitation system to help stroke survivors to rapidly restore their motor control functions for their limbs. An electroencephalogram (EEG) recording device (EPOC Headset) and was used to detect a patient’s brain activities. The EEG signals were then processed, classified, and interpreted to the motion intentions, and then converted to a series of robot motion commands. A six-axis articulated robot (AdeptSix 300) was employed to provide the intended motions based on these commends. To ensure the EEG device, the computer, and the robot can communicate to each other, an Arduino microcontroller is used to physically execute the programming codes to a series output pins’ status (HIGH or LOW). Then these “hardware” commends were sent to a 24 V relay to trigger the robot’s motion. A lookup table for various motion intensions and the associated EEG signal patterns were created (through training) and installed in the microcontroller. Thus, the motion intention can be direct determined by comparing the EEG patterns obtaibed from the patient with the look-up table’s EEG patterns; and the corresponding motion commends are sent to the robot to provide the intended motion without going through feature extraction and interpretation each time (a time-consuming process). For safety sake, an extender was designed and attached to the robot’s end effector to ensure the patient is beyond the robot’s workspace. The gripper is also designed to hold the patient’s limb. The test results of this rehabilitation system show that it can accurately interpret the patient’s motion intension and move the patient’s arm to the intended position.

Keywords: brain waves, EEG sensor, motion control, robot-assistant stroke rehabilitation

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Authors: Ismail Karaca, Ridvan Saracoglu, Omer Soner

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Fuzzy Logic, an advanced method to support decision-making, is used by various scientists in many disciplines. Fuzzy programming is a product of fuzzy logic, fuzzy rules, and implication. In marine science, fuzzy programming for ships is dramatically increasing together with autonomous ship studies. In this paper, a program to support the decision-making process for ship navigation has been designed. The program is produced in fuzzy logic and rules, by taking the marine accidents and expert opinions into account. After the program was designed, the program was tested by 46 ship accidents reported by the Transportation Safety Investigation Center of Turkey. Wind speed, sea condition, visibility, day/night ratio have been used as input data. They have been converted into a risk factor within the Fuzzy Logic Designer application and fuzzy rules set by marine experts. Finally, the expert's meteorological risk factor for each accident is compared with the program's risk factor, and the error rate was calculated. The main objective of this study is to improve the navigational safety of ships, by using the advance decision support model. According to the study result, fuzzy programming is a robust model that supports safe navigation.

Keywords: calculation of risk factor, fuzzy logic, fuzzy programming for ship, safety navigation of ships

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Authors: S. K. Balashanmugam, Padmavati Manchikanti, S. R. Subramanian

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The question of legal liability over injury arising out of the import and the introduction of GM food emerges as a crucial issue confronting to promote GM food and its derivatives. There is a greater possibility of commercialized GM food from the exporting country to enter importing country where status of approval shall not be same. This necessitates the importance of fixing a liability mechanism to discuss the damage, if any, occurs at the level of transboundary movement or at the market. There was a widespread consensus to develop the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and to give for a dedicated regime on liability and redress in the form of Nagoya Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on the Liability and Redress (‘N-KL Protocol’) at the international context. The national legal frameworks based on this protocol are not adequately established in the prevailing food legislations of the developing countries. The developing economy like India is willing to import GM food and its derivatives after the successful commercialization of Bt Cotton in 2002. As a party to the N-KL Protocol, it is indispensable for India to formulate a legal framework and to discuss safety, liability, and regulatory issues surrounding GM foods in conformity to the provisions of the Protocol. The liability mechanism is also important in the case where the risk assessment and risk management is still in implementing stage. Moreover, the country is facing GM infiltration issues with its neighbors Bangladesh. As a precautionary approach, there is a need to formulate rules and procedure of legal liability to discuss any kind of damage occurs at transboundary trade. In this context, the proposed work will attempt to analyze the liability regime in the existing Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 from the applicability and domestic compliance and to suggest legal and policy options for regulatory authorities.

Keywords: commercialization, food safety, FSSAI, genetically modified foods, India, liability

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Authors: Paula C. Latorre Arroyo, Andrea C. Latorre Arroyo

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In the present society, children are exposed to and impacted by technology from very early on in various ways. Artificial intelligence (AI), in particular, directly affects them, be it positively or negatively. The concept of artificial intelligence is commonly defined as the technological programming of computers or robotic mechanisms with humanlike capabilities and characteristics. These technologies are often designed as helpful machines or disguised as handy tools that could ultimately steal private information for illicit purposes. Children, being one of the most vulnerable groups due to their lack of experience and knowledge, do not have the ability to recognize or have the malice to distinguish if an apparatus with artificial intelligence is good or bad for them. For this reason, as a society, there must be a sense of responsibility to regulate and monitor different types of uses for artificial intelligence to protect children from potential risks that might arise. This article aims to investigate the many implications that artificial intelligence has in the lives of children, starting from a home setting, within the classroom, and, ultimately, in online spaces. Irrefutably, there are numerous beneficial aspects to the use of artificial intelligence. However, due to its limitless potential and lack of specific and substantial regulations to prevent the illicit use of this technology, safety and privacy concerns surface, specifically regarding the youth. This written work aims to provide an in-depth analysis of how artificial intelligence can both help children and jeopardize their safety. Concluding with resources and data supporting the aforementioned statement.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, children, privacy, rights, safety

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Authors: Kiurski S. Jelena, Kecić S. Vesna, Oros B. Ivana, Ranogajec G. Jonjaua

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The paper represents the dependence of ammonia concentration on microclimate parameters and photocopying shop circulation. The concentration of ammonia was determined during 8-hours working time over five days including three sampling points of a photocopying shop in Novi Sad, Serbia. The obtained results pointed out that the room temperature possesses the highest impact on ammonia release. The obtained ammonia concentration was in the range of 1.53 to 0.42ppm and decreased with the temperature decreasing from 24.6 to 20.7 °C. As the detected concentrations were within the permissible levels of The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and The Health and Official Gazette of Republic of Serbia, in the range of 35 to 200ppm, there was no danger to the employee’s health in the photocopying shop.

Keywords: ammonia, emission, indoor environment, photocopying procedure

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Authors: Deepak Singh

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AI technology is rapidly being integrated into the healthcare system, bringing many ethical and social implications. This literature review examines the various aspects of this phenomenon, focusing on the ethical considerations of using AI in healthcare, such as how it might affect patient autonomy, privacy, and doctor-patient relationships. Furthermore, the review considers the potential social implications of AI in Healthcare, such as the potential for automation to reduce the availability of healthcare jobs and the potential to widen existing health inequalities. The literature suggests potential benefits and drawbacks to using AI in healthcare, and it is essential to consider the ethical and social implications before implementation. It is concluded that more research is needed to understand the full implications of using AI in healthcare and that ethical regulations must be in place to ensure patient safety and the technology's responsible use.

Keywords: AI, healthcare, telemedicine, telehealth, ethics, security, privacy, patient, rights, safety

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Authors: Gift Udoh, Diane S. Rohlman, Benjamin Sindt

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BACKGROUND: There is concern regarding the widespread use of pesticides and impacts on public health. Farmers in Nigeria frequently apply pesticides, including organophosphate pesticides which are known neurotoxicants. They receive little guidance on how much to apply or information about safe handling practices. Pesticide poisoning is one of the major hazards that farmers face in Nigeria. Farmers continue to use highly neurotoxic pesticides for agricultural activities. Because farmers receive little or no information on safe handling and how much to apply, they continue to develop severe and mild illnesses caused by high exposures to pesticides. The project aimed to reduce pesticide exposure among rural farmers in Nigeria by identifying hazards associated with pesticide use and developing and pilot testing training to reduce exposures to pesticides utilizing the hierarchy of controls system. METHODS: Information on pesticide knowledge, behaviors, barriers to safety, and prevention methods was collected from farmers in Nigeria through workplace observations, questionnaires, and interviews. Pre and post-surveys were used to measure farmer’s knowledge before and after the delivery of pesticide safety training. Training topics included the benefits and risks of using pesticides, routes of exposure and health effects, pesticide label activity, use and selection of PPE, ways to prevent exposure and information on local resources. The training was evaluated among farmers and changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were collected prior to and following the training. RESULTS: The training was administered to 60 farmers, a mean age of 35, with a range of farming experience (<1 year to > 50 years). There was an overall increase in knowledge after the training. In addition, farmers perceived a greater immediate risk from exposure to pesticides and their perception of their personal risk increased. For example, farmers believed that pesticide risk is greater to children than to adults, recognized that just because a pesticide is put on the market doesn’t mean it is safe, and they were more confident that they could get advice about handling pesticides. Also, there was greater awareness about behaviors that can increase their exposure (mixing pesticides with bare hands, eating food in the field, not washing hands before eating after applying pesticides, walking in fields recently sprayed, splashing pesticides on their clothes, pesticide storage). CONCLUSION: These results build on existing evidence from a 2022 article highlighting the need for pesticide safety training in Nigeria which suggested that pesticide safety educational programs should focus on community-based, grassroots-style, and involve a family-oriented approach. Educating farmers on agricultural safety while letting them share their experiences with their peers is an effective way of creating awareness on the dangers associated with handling pesticides. Also, for rural communities, especially in Nigeria, pesticide safety pieces of training may not be able to reach some locations, so intentional scouting of rural farming communities and delivering pesticide safety training will improve knowledge of pesticide hazards. There is a need for pesticide information centers to be situated in rural farming communities or agro supply stores, which gives rural farmers information.

Keywords: pesticide exposure, pesticide safety, nigeria, rural farming, pesticide education

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Authors: Dilshad Ali Mohammed, Ziyad Nayef Shamsulddin Aldoski, Millet Salim Mohammed

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The increase in levels of traffic congestion along urban signalized arterials needs efficient traffic management. The application of traffic signal coordination can improve the traffic operation and safety for a series of signalized intersection along the arterials. The objective of this study is to evaluate the benefits achievable through actuated traffic signal coordination and make a comparison in control delay against the same signalized intersection in case of being isolated. To accomplish this purpose, a series of eight signalized intersections located on two major arterials in Duhok City was chosen for conducting the study. Traffic data (traffic volumes, link and approach speeds, and passenger car equivalent) were collected at peak hours. Various methods had been used for collecting data such as video recording technique, moving vehicle method and manual methods. Geometric and signalization data were also collected for the purpose of the study. The coupling index had been calculated to check the coordination attainability, and then time space diagrams were constructed representing one-way coordination for the intersections on Barzani and Zakho Streets, and others represented two-way coordination for the intersections on Zakho Street with accepted progression bandwidth efficiency. The results of this study show great progression bandwidth of 54 seconds for east direction coordination and 17 seconds for west direction coordination on Barzani Street under suggested controlled speed of 60 kph agreeable with the present data. For Zakho Street, the progression bandwidth is 19 seconds for east direction coordination and 18 seconds for west direction coordination under suggested controlled speed of 40 kph. The results show that traffic signal coordination had led to high reduction in intersection control delays on both arterials.

Keywords: bandwidth, congestion, coordination, traffic, signals, streets

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Authors: Matthew Yeager, Christopher Willy, John Bischoff

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The conceptualization and design phases of a system lifecycle consume a significant amount of the lifecycle budget in the form of direct tasking and capital, as well as the implicit costs associated with unforeseeable design errors that are only realized during downstream phases. Ad hoc or iterative approaches to generating system requirements oftentimes fail to consider the full array of feasible systems or product designs for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to: initial conceptualization that oftentimes incorporates a priori or legacy features; the inability to capture, communicate and accommodate stakeholder preferences; inadequate technical designs and/or feasibility studies; and locally-, but not globally-, optimized subsystems and components. These design pitfalls can beget unanticipated developmental or system alterations with added costs, risks and support activities, heightening the risk for suboptimal system performance, premature obsolescence or forgone development. Supported by rapid advances in learning algorithms and hardware technology, sensors and sensor systems have become commonplace in both commercial and industrial products. The evolving array of hardware components (i.e. sensors, CPUs, modular / auxiliary access, etc…) as well as recognition, data fusion and communication protocols have all become increasingly complex and critical for design engineers during both concpetualization and implementation. This work seeks to develop and utilize a non-deterministic approach for sensor system design within the multi-attribute tradespace exploration (MATE) paradigm, a technique that incorporates decision theory into model-based techniques in order to explore complex design environments and discover better system designs. Developed to address the inherent design constraints in complex aerospace systems, MATE techniques enable project engineers to examine all viable system designs, assess attribute utility and system performance, and better align with stakeholder requirements. Whereas such previous work has been focused on aerospace systems and conducted in a deterministic fashion, this study addresses a wider array of system design elements by incorporating both traditional tradespace elements (e.g. hardware components) as well as popular multi-sensor data fusion models and techniques. Furthermore, statistical performance features to this model-based MATE approach will enable non-deterministic techniques for various commercial systems that range in application, complexity and system behavior, demonstrating a significant utility within the realm of formal systems decision-making.

Keywords: multi-attribute tradespace exploration, data fusion, sensors, systems engineering, system design

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Authors: Hadiza Kabir Bako, Munir Abba Dandago

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The fright of food-borne diseases as a result of animal health across the globe is creating the need for origin confirmation, safety of food and method of identification of food produce within the supply chain. In this paper, we investigated two commercial and one backyard poultry farm; live poultry, poultry meat and egg. We propose various implementation options for the poultry traceability system with respect to trace and track, and food recall and withdrawal requirements. With the intention that farmers, Investors or Regulatory agencies would find it useful for the Nigerian poultry sector and we highlight the future needs and challenges that lie ahead in the two most significant system of poultry production in Nigeria: the commercial poultry and backyard breeding.

Keywords: farm, food safety, food traceability, poultry

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Authors: Demelash Kassaye

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The Ethiopia case study reveals a unique model of community policing that has developed from a particular political context in which there is a history of violent political transition, a political structure characterized by ethnic federalism and a political ideology that straddles liberal capitalism and democracy on the one hand, and state-led development and centralized control on the other. The police see community policing as a way to reduce crime. Communities speak about community policing as an opportunity to take on policing responsibilities themselves. Both of these objectives are brought together in an overarching rhetoric of community policing as a way of ‘mobilizing for development’ – whereby the community cooperate with the police to reduce crime, which otherwise inhibits development progress. Community policing in Amhara has primarily involved the placement of Community Police Officers at the kebele level across the State. In addition, a number of structures have also been established in the community, including Advisory Councils, Conflict Resolving Committees, family police and the use of shoe shiner’s and other trade associations as police informants. In addition to these newly created structures, community policing also draws upon pre-existing customary actors, such as militia and elders. Conflict Resolving Committees, Community Police Officers and elders were reported as the most common first ports of call when community members experience a crime. The analysis highlights that the model of community policing in Amhara increased communities’ access to policing services, although this is not always attended by increased access to justice. Community members also indicate that public perceptions of the police have improved since the introduction of community policing, in part due to individual Community Police Officers who have, with limited resources, innovated some impressive strategies to improve safety in their neighborhoods. However, more broadly, community policing has provided the state with more effective surveillance of the population – a potentially oppressive function in the current political context. Ultimately, community policing in Amhara is anything but straightforward. It has been a process of attempting to demonstrate the benefits of newfound (and controversial) ‘democracy’ following years of dictatorship, drawing on generations of customary dispute resolution, providing both improved access to security for communities and an enhanced surveillance capacity for the state. For external actors looking to engage in community policing, this case study reveals the importance of close analysis in assessing potential merits, risks and entry points of programming. Factors found to be central in shaping the nature of community policing in the Amhara case include the structure of the political system, state-society relations, cultures dispute resolution and political ideology.

Keywords: community policing, community, militias, ethiopia

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Authors: Rihab Gamaoun, Cynthia El Hage, Laura Ruiz, Erin Prosk, Antonio Vigano

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Introduction: Santé Cannabis (SC), a Canadian medical cannabis-specialized group of clinics based in Montreal and in the province of Québec, has served more than 5000 patients seeking cannabis-based treatment prescription for medical indications over the past five years. Within a research frame, data on the use of medical cannabis products from all the above patients were prospectively collected, leading to a large real-world database on the use of medical cannabis. The aim of this study was to gather information on the profiles of both patients and prescribed medical cannabis products at SC clinics and to assess the safety of medical cannabis among Canadian patients. Methods: Using a retrospective analysis of the database, records of 2585 patients who were prescribed medical cannabis products for therapeutic purposes between 01-November 2017 and 04-September 2019 were included. Patients’ demographics, primary diagnosis, route of administration, and chemovars recorded at the initial visits were investigated. Results: At baseline: 9% of SC patients were female, with a mean age of 57 (SD= 15.8, range= [18-96]); Cannabis products were prescribed mainly for patients with a diagnosis of chronic pain (65.9% of patients), cancer (9.4%), neurological disorders (6.5%), mood disorders (5.8 %) and inflammatory diseases (4.1%). Route of administration and chemovars of prescribed cannabis products were the following: 96% of patients received cannabis oil (51% CBD rich, 42.5% CBD:THC); 32.1% dried cannabis (21.3% CBD:THC, 7.4% THC rich, 3.4 CBD rich), and 2.1% oral spray cannabis (1.1% CBD:THC, 0.8% CBD rich, 0.2% THC rich). Most patients were prescribed simultaneously, a combination of products with different administration routes and chemovars. Safety analysis is undergoing. Conclusion: Our results provided initial information on the profile of medical cannabis products prescribed in a Canadian population and the experienced adverse events over the past three years. The Santé Cannabis database represents a unique opportunity for comparing clinical practices in prescribing and titrating cannabis-based medications across different centers. Ultimately real-world data, including information about safety and effectiveness, will help to create standardized and validated guidelines for choosing dose, route of administration, and chemovars types for the cannabis-based medication in different diseases and indications.

Keywords: medical cannabis, real-world data, safety, pharmacovigilance

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Authors: Rajender Dahiya

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Investigation outcomes of major process incidents have been consistent for decades and validate that the causes and consequences are often identical. The debate remains as we continue to experience similar process incidents even with enormous development of new tools, technologies, industry standards, codes, regulations, and learning processes? The objective of this paper is to investigate the most common causes of major industrial incidents and reveal industry challenges and best practices to prevent such incidents. The author, in his current role, performs audits and inspections of a variety of high-hazard industries in North America, including petroleum refineries, chemicals, petrochemicals, manufacturing, etc. In this paper, he shares real life scenarios, examples, and case studies from high hazards operating facilities including key challenges and best practices. This case study will provide a clear understanding of the importance of near miss incident investigation. The incident was a Safe operating limit excursion. The case describes the deficiencies in management programs, the competency of employees, and the culture of the corporation that includes hazard identification and risk assessment, maintaining the integrity of safety-critical equipment, operating discipline, learning from process safety near misses, process safety competency, process safety culture, audits, and performance measurement. Failure to identify the hazards and manage the risks of highly hazardous materials and processes is one of the primary root-causes of an incident, and failure to learn from past incidents is the leading cause of the recurrence of incidents. Several investigations of major incidents discovered that each showed several warning signs before occurring, and most importantly, all were preventable. The author will discuss why preventable incidents were not prevented and review the mutual causes of learning failures from past major incidents. The leading causes of past incidents are summarized below. Management failure to identify the hazard and/or mitigate the risk of hazardous processes or materials. This process starts early in the project stage and continues throughout the life cycle of the facility. For example, a poorly done hazard study such as HAZID, PHA, or LOPA is one of the leading causes of the failure. If this step is performed correctly, then the next potential cause is. Management failure to maintain the integrity of safety critical systems and equipment. In most of the incidents, mechanical integrity of the critical equipment was not maintained, safety barriers were either bypassed, disabled, or not maintained. The third major cause is Management failure to learn and/or apply learning from the past incidents. There were several precursors before those incidents. These precursors were either ignored altogether or not taken seriously. This paper will conclude by sharing how a well-implemented operating management system, good process safety culture, and competent leaders and staff contributed to managing the risks to prevent major incidents.

Keywords: incident investigation, risk management, loss prevention, process safety, accident prevention

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Authors: Philippa Sambevski

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian women. The incidence of breast cancer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women is lower than for non-indigenous women. However, the mortality rate for ATSI women is higher. The participation rate of ATSI women in BreastScreen Australia is below the general population. In this thematic literature review, the author collates viable strategies to increase breast screening rates among culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and provide culturally competent care. Barriers to accessing BreastScreen for ATSI women include language or communication limits, isolation, and a lack of culturally sensitive information. Culturally competent strategies require healthcare workers with an appropriate cultural and social background, clear messages, and the embedding of cultural respect within healthcare organisations. Cultural safety is determined by partnering with local indigenous groups, recognising the consumer experience, and allowing people to raise their concerns. The corresponding academic poster identifies strategies for healthcare workers to provide culturally competent care in a BreastScreen setting.

Keywords: breast screen, closing the gap, Australia, cultural safety, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

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Authors: Mi-Hye Hwang, Young Min Son, Kichan Lee, Bang-Hun Hyun, Byeong Yeal Jung

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Botulism is a paralytic disease of human beings and animals caused by neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. The neurotoxins are genetically distinguished into 8 types, A to H. Ingestion of performed toxin, usually types B, C, and D, have been shown to produce diseases in most cases of cattle botulism. Vaccination is the best measure to prevent cattle botulism. However, the commercially available toxoid-based vaccines are difficult and hazardous to produce. We produced recombinant protein using gene of heavy chain domain of botulinum toxin B of which binds to cellular receptor of neuron cells and used as immunogen. In this study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of botulism vaccine composed of recombinant types B. Safety test was done by National Regulation for Veterinary Biologicals. For efficacy test, female ICR mice (5 weeks old) were subcutaneously injected, intraperitoneally challenged, and examined the survival rates compared with vaccination and non-vaccination group. Mouse survival rate of recombinant types B vaccine was above 80%, while one of non-vaccination group was 0%. A vaccine composed of recombinant types B was safe and efficacious in mouse. Our results suggest that recombinant heavy chain receptor binding domain can be used as an effective vaccine candidate for type B botulism.

Keywords: botulism, livestock, vaccine, recombinant protein, toxin

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Authors: Wi Sung Yoo, Seung Woo Lee, Youn Kyoung Hur, Sung Hwan Kim

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Large-scale construction projects are continuously increasing, and the need for tools to monitor and evaluate the project success is emphasized. At the construction industry level, there are limitations in deriving performance evaluation factors that reflect the diversity of construction sites and systems that can objectively evaluate and manage performance. Additionally, there are difficulties in integrating structured and unstructured data generated at construction sites and deriving improvements. In this study, we propose the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to enable performance evaluation that reflects the increased diversity of construction sites and the unstructured data generated, and present a model for measuring performance by the derived indicators. The comprehensive performance of a unit construction site is assessed based on 6 areas (Time, Cost, Quality, Safety, Environment, Productivity) and 26 indicators. We collect performance indicator information from 30 construction sites that meet legal standards and have been successfully performed. And We apply data augmentation and optimization techniques into establishing measurement standards for each indicator. In other words, the KPI for construction site performance evaluation presented in this study provides standards for evaluating performance in six areas using institutional requirement data and document data. This can be expanded to establish a performance evaluation system considering the scale and type of construction project. Also, they are expected to be used as a comprehensive indicator of the construction industry and used as basic data for tracking competitiveness at the national level and establishing policies.

Keywords: key performance indicator, performance measurement, structured and unstructured data, data augmentation

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Authors: Taleb Hosni Abderrahmane, Berga Abdelmadjid

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The development of numerical analysis and its application to geomechanics problems have provided geotechnical engineers with extremely powerful tools. One of the most important problems in geotechnical engineering is the slope stability assessment. It is a very difficult task due to several aspects such the nature of the problem, experimental consideration, monitoring, controlling, and assessment. The main objective of this paper is to perform a comparative numerical study between the following methods: The Limit Equilibrium (LEM), Finite Element (FEM), Limit Analysis (LAM) and Distinct Element (DEM). The comparison is conducted in terms of the safety factors and the critical slip surfaces. Through the results, we see the feasibility to analyse slope stability by many methods.

Keywords: comparison, factor of safety, geomechanics, numerical methods, slope analysis, slip surfaces

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Authors: Ladda Her, Juntip Kanjanasilp, Ratree Sawangjit, Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk

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Cough is the common symptom of the respiratory tract infections or non-infections; the duration of cough indicates a classification and severity of disease. Herbal medicines can be used as the alternative to drugs for relief of cough symptoms from acute and chronic disease. Eucalyptus was used for reducing cough with evidences suggesting it has an active role in reduction of airway inflammation. The present study aims to evaluate efficacy and safety of eucalyptus for relief of cough symptom in respiratory disease. Method: The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, CINAHL, Springer, Science direct, ProQuest, and THAILIS databases. From its inception until 01/02/2019 for randomized control trials. We follow for the efficacy and safety of eucalyptus for reducing cough. Methodological quality was evaluated by using the Cochrane risk of bias tool; two reviewers in our team screened eligibility and extracted data. Result: Six studies were included for the review and five studies were included in the meta-analysis, there were 1.911 persons including children (n: 1) and adult (n: 5) studies; for study in children and adult were between 1 and 80 years old, respectively. Eucalyptus was used as mono herb (n: 2) and in combination with other herbs form (n: 4). All of the studies with eucalyptus were compared for efficacy and safety with placebo or standard treatment, Eucalyptus dosage form in studies included capsules, spray, and syrup. Heterogeneity was 32.44 used random effect model (I² = 1.2%, χ² = 1.01; P-value = 0.314). The efficacy of eucalyptus was showed a reduced cough symptom statistically significant (n = 402, RR: 1.40, 95%CI [1.19, 1.65], P-value < 0.0001) when compared with placebo. Adverse events (AEs) were reported mild to moderate intensity with mostly gastrointestinal symptom. The methodological quality of the included trials was overall poor. Conclusion: Eucalyptus appears to be beneficial and safe for relieving in respiratory diseases focus on cough frequency. The evidence was inconclusive due to limited quality trial. Well-designed trials for evaluating the effectiveness in humans, the effectiveness for reducing cough symptom in human is needed. Eucalyptus had safety as monotherapy or in combination with other herbs.

Keywords: cough, eucalyptus, cineole, herbal medicine, systematic review, meta-analysis

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Authors: E. M. D. Akuoko, Eliana Vasquez Osorio, Marcel Van Herk, Marianne Aznar

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Radiotherapy is an integral part of treatment for many patients with breast cancer. However, side effects can occur, e.g., fibrosis or erythema. If patients at higher risks of radiation-induced side effects could be identified before treatment, they could be given more individual information about the risks and benefits of radiotherapy. We hypothesize that breast density is correlated with the risk of side effects and present a novel method for automatic evaluation based on radiotherapy planning CT scans. Methods: 799 supine CT scans of breast radiotherapy patients were available from the REQUITE dataset. The methodology was first established in a subset of 114 patients (cohort 1) before being applied to the whole dataset (cohort 2). All patients were scanned in the supine position, with arms up, and the treated breast (ipsilateral) was identified. Manual experts contour available in 96 patients for both the ipsilateral and contralateral breast in cohort 1. Breast tissue was segmented using atlas-based automatic contouring software, ADMIRE® v3.4 (Elekta AB, Sweden). Once validated, the automatic segmentation method was applied to cohort 2. Breast density was then investigated by thresholding voxels within the contours, using Otsu threshold and pixel intensity ranges based on Hounsfield units (-200 to -100 for fatty tissue, and -99 to +100 for fibro-glandular tissue). Volumetric breast density (VBD) was defined as the volume of fibro-glandular tissue / (volume of fibro-glandular tissue + volume of fatty tissue). A sensitivity analysis was performed to verify whether calculated VBD was affected by the choice of breast contour. In addition, we investigated the correlation between volumetric breast density (VBD) and patient age and breast size. VBD values were compared between ipsilateral and contralateral breast contours. Results: Estimated VBD values were 0.40 (range 0.17-0.91) in cohort 1, and 0.43 (0.096-0.99) in cohort 2. We observed ipsilateral breasts to be denser than contralateral breasts. Breast density was negatively associated with breast volume (Spearman: R=-0.5, p-value < 2.2e-16) and age (Spearman: R=-0.24, p-value = 4.6e-10). Conclusion: VBD estimates could be obtained automatically on a large CT dataset. Patients’ age or breast volume may not be the only variables that explain breast density. Future work will focus on assessing the usefulness of VBD as a predictive variable for radiation-induced side effects.

Keywords: breast cancer, automatic image segmentation, radiotherapy, big data, breast density, medical imaging

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Authors: Shivani Dhande, Sanjiv Choudhary, Adarshlata Singh

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Introduction: Early age of onset of baldness has marked psychological impact on personality. Combination therapies have better efficacy than monotherapy in androgenetic alopecia. Although medical, surgical treatment and cosmetic aids are available for treatment of pattern baldness, medical is first preferred the line of treatment. Although only 5% topical minoxidil is USFDA approved, 10% is available in India since 2007. Efficacy of tablet finasteride is well established in male pattern baldness. 5% topical minoxidil is effective and safe in female pattern baldness. There is a role of saw palmetto in regrowth of scalp hair. With this background research was undertaken to study efficacy and safety of topical minoxidil 10% + tab. Finesteride (1mg) + dermaroller in male pattern baldness and topical minoxidil 5% + cap. Saw palmetto (320 mg) + dermaroller in female pattern baldness. Methods and Materials: It was a randomized uncontrolled evaluator blind study consisting of total 21 patients, 15 of male pattern baldness and 6 of female pattern baldness within 20-35 yrs of age were enrolled. Male patients had Hamilton grade 2-4 MPB and females had Ludwig grade 2 FPB. Male patients were treated with Tab Finesteride 1mg once daily + 10% topical Minoxidil 1ml twice daily for 6 months. Female patients were treated with Cap. Saw palmetto 320 mg once daily + 5% topical Minoxidil twice daily for 6 months. In both male & female patients dermaroller therapy was used once in 10 days for 4 sittings followed by once in 15 days for next 5 months. Blood pressure and possible side effects were monitored in every follow up visits. Pre and post treatment photographs were taken. Assessment of hair growth was done at baseline and at the end of 6 months. Patients satisfactory grading scale and Physician assessment of hair growth scale were used to assessing the results. Trichoscan was done for assessment of hair-shaft diameter and density. Pre and post treatment photographs and Trichoscan hair growth analysis (by diameter and density) was done by physician (dermatologist) not directly involved in this study (evaluator blind). Result: This combination therapy showed moderate response in female pattern alopecia and good to excellent results in male pattern alopecia at the end of 6 months. During therapy none of the patients showed side effects like hypotension, headache and loss of libido, hirsuitism. Mild irritation due to crystal deposition was noted by 3 patients. Conclusion: Effective and early treatment using combination therapy with higher percent of Minoxidil for rapid hair growth is necessary in initial period since it will boost up the self-confidence in patients leading to better treatment compliance. Subsequent maintenance of hair growth can be done with lower concentration. No significant side effects with treatment are observed in both group of patients.

Keywords: androgenetic alopecia, dermaroller, finasteride, minoxidil, saw palmetto

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Authors: Jernice S. Y. Tan

Abstract:

Introduction: Reliability within and between testers is vital to ensure the accuracy of any motor assessment instrument. However, reliability checks of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) age band 3 using multiple testers assigned to different MABC-2 tasks for the same group of participants are uncommon. Multiple testers were not stated as a choice in the MABC-2 manual. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the inter- and intra-tester reliability for using multiple testers to administer the test protocols of MABC-2 age band 3. Methods: Thirty volunteered adolescents (n = 30; 15 males, 15 females; age range: 13 – 16 years) performed the eight tasks in a randomised sequence at three different test stations for the MABC-2 task components (Manual Dexterity, Aiming and Catching, Balance). Ethics approval and parental consent were obtained. The participants were videotaped while performing the test protocols of MABC-2 age band 3. Five testers were involved in the data collection process. They were Sports Science graduating students doing their final year project and were supervised by experienced motor assessor. Inter- and intra-tester reliability checks using intra-class coefficient (ICC) were carried out using the videotaped data. Results: The inter-tester reliability between the five testers for the eight tasks ranged from rᵢcc = 0.705 to rᵢcc = 0.995. This suggests that the average agreement between them was considered good to excellent. With the exception of one tester who had rᵢcc = 0.687 for one of the eight tasks (i.e. zip-zap hopping), the intra-tester reliability within each tester ranged from rᵢcc = 0.728 to rᵢcc = 1.000, and this also suggested good to excellent consistency within testers. Discussion: The use of multiple testers with good intra-tester reliability for different test stations is feasible. This method allows several participants to be assessed concurrently at different test stations and saves overall data collection time. Therefore, it is recommended that the administering of MABC-2 with multiple testers should be extended to other age bands ensuring the feasibility of such method for other age bands.

Keywords: adolescents, MABC, motor assessment, motor skills, reliability

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Authors: S. Karthikeyan, Naveen Bindra

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Introduction: To update ourselves and understand the concept of latest electronic formats available for Health care providers and how it could be used and developed as per standards. The idea is to correlate between the patients Manual Medical Records keeping and maintaining patients Electronic Information in a Health care setup in this world. Furthermore this stands with adapting to the right technology depending upon the organization and improve our quality and quantity of Healthcare providing skills. Objective: The concept and theory is to explain the terms of Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Personal Health Record (PHR) and selecting the best technical among the available Electronic sources and software before implementing. It is to guide and make sure the technology used by the end users without any doubts and difficulties. The idea is to evaluate is to admire the uses and barriers of EMR-EHR-PHR. Aim and Scope: The target is to achieve the health care providers like Physicians, Nurses, Therapists, Medical Bill reimbursements, Insurances and Government to assess the patient’s information on easy and systematic manner without diluting the confidentiality of patient’s information. Method: Health Information Technology can be implemented with the help of Organisations providing with legal guidelines and help to stand by the health care provider. The main objective is to select the correct embedded and affordable database management software and generating large-scale data. The parallel need is to know how the latest software available in the market. Conclusion: The question lies here is implementing the Electronic information system with healthcare providers and organisation. The clinicians are the main users of the technology and manage us to ‘go paperless’. The fact is that day today changing technologically is very sound and up to date. Basically the idea is to tell how to store the data electronically safe and secure. All three exemplifies the fact that an electronic format has its own benefit as well as barriers.

Keywords: medical records, digital records, health information, electronic record system

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Authors: G. Shahzadi, A. Soulaimani

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This research work aims to identify the physical parameters of the constitutive soil model in the design of a rockfill dam by inverse analysis. The best parameters of the constitutive soil model, are those that minimize the objective function, defined as the difference between the measured and numerical results. The Finite Element code (Plaxis) has been utilized for numerical simulation. Polynomial and neural network-based response surfaces have been generated to analyze the relationship between soil parameters and displacements. The performance of surrogate models has been analyzed and compared by evaluating the root mean square error. A comparative study has been done based on objective functions and optimization techniques. Objective functions are categorized by considering measured data with and without uncertainty in instruments, defined by the least square method, which estimates the norm between the predicted displacements and the measured values. Hydro Quebec provided data sets for the measured values of the Romaine-2 dam. Stochastic optimization, an approach that can overcome local minima, and solve non-convex and non-differentiable problems with ease, is used to obtain an optimum value. Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Differential Evolution (DE) are compared for the minimization problem, although all these techniques take time to converge to an optimum value; however, PSO provided the better convergence and best soil parameters. Overall, parameter identification analysis could be effectively used for the rockfill dam application and has the potential to become a valuable tool for geotechnical engineers for assessing dam performance and dam safety.

Keywords: Rockfill dam, parameter identification, stochastic analysis, regression, PLAXIS

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Authors: Ana Lucia Molina

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Introduction: Fine motor skills refer to the use of the hands and coordination of the small muscles that control the fingers. A deficiency in fine motor skills is as important as a change in global movements, as fine motor skills directly affect activities of daily living. Fine movements are involved in some functions, such as motor control of the extremities, sensitivity, strength and tonus of the hands. A growing interest in the effects of non-invasive neuromodulation, such as transcranial stimulation technologies, through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), has been observed in the scientific literature, with promising results in fine motor rehabilitation, as it provides modulation of the corresponding cortical activity in the area primary motor skills of the hands in both hemispheres (according to the International System 10-20, corresponding to C3 and C4). Objectives: to carry out a literature review about the effects of TMS on the cortical motor area corresponding to hand motricity. Methodology: This is a bibliographic survey carried out between October 2022 and March 2023 at Pubmed, Google Scholar, Lillacs and Virtual Health Library (BVS), with a national and international database. Some books on neuromodulation were included. Results: 28 articles and 5 books were initially found, and after reading the abstracts, only 14 articles and 3 books were selected, with publication dates between 2008 and 2022, to compose the literature review since it suited the purpose of this study. Conclusion: TMS has shown promising results in the treatment of fine motor rehabilitation, such as improving coordination, muscle strength and range of motion of the hands, being a complementary technique to existing treatments and thus providing more potent results for manual skills in activities of daily living. It is important to emphasize the need for more specific studies on the application of TMS for the treatment of manual disorders, which describe the uniqueness of each movement.

Keywords: transcranial magnetic stimulation, fine motor skills, motor rehabilitation, non-invasive neuromodulation

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Authors: Altayeb Abdalla Ahmed

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Skeletal phenotype is a product of a balanced interaction between genetics and environmental factors throughout different life stages. Therefore, interlimb proportions are variable between populations. Although interlimb proportion indices have been used in anthropology in assessing the influence of various environmental factors on limbs, an extensive literature review revealed that there is a paucity of published research assessing interlimb part correlations and possibility of reconstruction. Hence, this study aims to assess the relationships between upper and lower limb parts and develop regression formulae to reconstruct the parts from one another. The left upper arm length, ulnar length, wrist breadth, hand length, hand breadth, tibial length, bimalleolar breadth, foot length, and foot breadth of 376 right-handed subjects, comprising 187 males and 189 females (aged 25-35 years), were measured. Initially, the data were analyzed using basic univariate analysis and independent t-tests; then sex-specific simple and multiple linear regression models were used to estimate upper limb parts from lower limb parts and vice-versa. The results of this study indicated significant sexual dimorphism for all variables. The results indicated a significant correlation between the upper and lower limbs parts (p < 0.01). Linear and multiple (stepwise) regression equations were developed to reconstruct the limb parts in the presence of a single or multiple dimension(s) from the other limb. Multiple stepwise regression equations generated better reconstructions than simple equations. These results are significant in forensics as it can aid in identification of multiple isolated limb parts particularly during mass disasters and criminal dismemberment. Although a DNA analysis is the most reliable tool for identification, its usage has multiple limitations in undeveloped countries, e.g., cost, facility availability, and trained personnel. Furthermore, it has important implication in plastic and orthopedic reconstructive surgeries. This study is the only reported study assessing the correlation and prediction capabilities between many of the upper and lower dimensions. The present study demonstrates a significant correlation between the interlimb parts in both sexes, which indicates a possibility to reconstruction using regression equations.

Keywords: anthropometry, correlation, limb, Sudanese

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Authors: Jan Karl, Ondrej Suchy, Eliska Fiserova, Milan Ruzicka

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The evolving electromobility and all the electronics also bring an increase of danger with used Li-batteries. Li-batteries have been used in many industries, and currently many types of the batteries are available. Batteries have different compositions that affect their behavior. In the field of Li-battery safety, there are some areas of little discussion, such as extinguishing of fires caused by Li-batteries as well as toxicity of gaseous compounds released from Li batteries, transport or storage. Technical Institute of Fire Protection, which is a part of Fire Brigades of the Czech Republic, is dealing with the safety of Li batteries. That is the reason why we are dealing with toxicity of gaseous compounds released under conditions of fire, mechanical damage, overcharging and other emergencies that may occur. This is necessary for protection of intervening of fire brigade units, people in the vicinity and other envirnomental consequences. In this work, different types of batteries (Li-ion, Li-Po, LTO, LFP) with different kind of damage were tested, and the toxicity and total amount of released gases were studied. These values were evaluated according to their environmental hazard. FTIR spectroscopy was used for the evaluation of toxicity. We used a FTIR gas cell for continuous measurement. The total amount of released gases was determined by collecting the total gas phase through the absorbers and then determining the toxicants absorbed into the solutions. Based on the obtained results, it is possible to determine the protective equipment necessary for the event of an emergency with a Li-battery, to define the environmental load and the immediate danger in an emergency.

Keywords: Li-battery, toxicity, gaseous toxic compounds, FTIR spectroscopy

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Authors: Karl Bryant Buan, Owaida Macadadaya Jr., Mon Eleazar Nonato, Zeke Andrew Palabrica, Charistabelle Mae Santiago

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This study explored the occupational health risks faced by employees in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, particularly in the Telco Account department of Alorica. The study used a stratified sampling method and a diagnostic tool called Workplace Integrated Safety and Health (WISH) Assessment to measure and evaluate the employees' perception of workplace health and safety. The results showed that more than 50% of call center workers reported feeling emotionally drained, sleep deprived, burnt out, and in need of anxiety or stress medication due to their work. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the perception of employee diversity, specifically in terms of leadership commitment, participation, policies, programs, and practices. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) results revealed that most employees complained of discomfort in their lower back, shoulder, upper back, neck, and hip. The researchers recommended an implementation plan for alternative work set-up, a satisfaction survey for employees, team-building activities or programs, and motivational approaches through benefits, incentives, and rewards.

Keywords: WISH assessment, CMDQ, ANOVA, diverse SOGIESC

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Authors: Yong Cang

Abstract:

RJV001 is a subcutaneous injection containing mutated recombinant Collagenase H (ColH), leading to disruption of collagen matrix in adipose tissue and programmed cell death of adipocytes. Here we reported our clinical investigation of the safety, tolerance and pharmacodynamics of localized RJV001 injection into healthy human abdominal fat tissues (NCT04821648, Arizona Research Center). Investigate the safety, tolerance and clinical pharmacodynamics of subcutaneous RJV001 in humans. In the dose-escalating study, 18 subjects completed the study, 100% female, 78% white, with a mean age of 42[±9.9]. All three tested dose (0.05, 0.075 and 0.15 mg/injection), up to 30 injections, were safe and well-tolerated. Bruising and tenderness to palpation, mild to moderate, were the most frequent local skin reactions but nearly all resolved within 30 days. Additionally, physician-monitored ultrasound measurement showed that a reduction in abdominal fat tissue thickness was consistently observed in Cohort C (0.075, 0.15 mg/injection, 30injections), with a mean reduction of 7.37 [± 2.020] mm. Based on this clinical study, RJV001 has been advanced to phase II clinical studies. In the dose-escalating study, subcutaneously administered RJV001 was safe and well-tolerated in healthy adults up to 0.15 mg/injection, 30 injections. Fat reduction and adipocytolysis were observed by ultrasound measurements and histological analysis for exploratory purposes.

Keywords: fat reduction, mutant collagenase, clinical trial, subcutaneous injection

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Ai Chin Wong, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan Yahaya, Balakrishnan Muniandy

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This study aims to explore the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) using visual signaling principles in learning about the science laboratory safety guide; this study involves students with different spatial ability. There are two types of science laboratory safety lessons, which are Virtual Reality with Signaling (VRS) and Virtual Reality Non Signaling (VRNS). This research has adopted a 2 x 2 quasi-experimental factorial design. There are two types of variables involved in this research. The two modes of courseware form the independent variables with the spatial ability as the moderator variable. The dependent variable is the students’ performance. This study sample consisted of 141 students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted to analyze the collected data. The major effects and the interaction effects of the independent variables on the independent variable were explored using the Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA). Based on the findings of this research, the results exhibited low spatial ability students in VRS outperformed their counterparts in VRNS. However, there was no significant difference in students with high spatial ability using VRS and VRNS. Effective learning in students with different spatial ability can be boosted by implementing the Virtual Reality with Signaling (VRS) in the design as well as the development of Virtual Science Laboratory (ViSLab).

Keywords: spatial ability, science laboratory safety, visual signaling principles, virtual reality

Procedia PDF Downloads 257