Search results for: lead poisoning prevention

Authors: Ofosuhene O. Apenteng, Noor Azina Ismail

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Recently tourism is a major foreign exchange earner in the World. In this paper, we propose the mathematical model to study the impact of tourists on the spread of HIV incidences using compartmental differential equation models. Simulation studies of reproduction number are used to demonstrate new insights on the spread of HIV disease. The periodogram analysis of a time series was used to determine the speed at which the disease is spread. The results indicate that with the persistent flow of tourism into a country, the disease status has increased the epidemic rate. The result suggests that the government must put more control on illegal prostitution, unprotected sexual activity as well as to emphasis on prevention policies that include the safe sexual activity through the campaign by the tourism board.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, mathematical transmission modeling, tourists, stability, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 386

Authors: Sammy Xiaoyan Ying

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Professional skepticism remains one of the most important and controversial topics in auditing. This study examines the influence of client cooperativeness and fraud risk on judgments of professional skepticism among Chinese entry-level auditors in the context of evaluation of client-provided audit evidence. Given that the essence of auditors’ PS rests on distrust of clients, this study invokes trust-related theories from psychological and cultural perspectives. Specifically, invoking psychology theories of trust concerning positive relationship between risk and distrust, this study hypothesizes that professional skepticism is likely to be positively associated with client fraud risk. The results support the hypothesis and show that lower (higher) levels of client fraud risk lead to lower (higher) levels of professional skepticism. Furthermore, drawing on analysis of relationship between cooperation and trust, with particular reference to guanxi dynamics in the Chinese culture, this study hypothesizes that professional skepticism is likely to be negatively associated with client cooperativeness. The results support the hypothesis and show that higher (lower) levels of client cooperativeness lead to lower (higher) levels of professional skepticism. The findings may assist audit firms and auditing educators in improving training and education programs and enhancing entry-level auditors’ abilities to maintain professional skepticism. Also, practitioners and regulators may benefit from increasing awareness of psychological factors in influencing professional skepticism.

Keywords: audit judgment, Chinese culture, entry-level auditor, professional skepticism

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Authors: Sundus Ayyaz, Saad Rehman, Usman Qamar

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Software Architecture is the basic structure of software that states the development and advancement of a software system. Software architecture is also considered as a significant tool for the construction of high quality software systems. A clean design leads to the control, value and beauty of software resulting in its longer life while a bad design is the cause of architectural erosion where a software evolution completely fails. This paper discusses the occurrence of software architecture erosion and presents a set of methods for the detection, declaration and prevention of architecture erosion. The causes and symptoms of architecture erosion are observed with the examples of prescriptive and descriptive architectures and the practices used to stop this erosion are also discussed by considering different types of software erosion and their affects. Consequently finding and devising the most suitable approach for fighting software architecture erosion and in some way reducing its affect is evaluated and tested on different scenarios.

Keywords: software architecture, architecture erosion, prescriptive architecture, descriptive architecture

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Authors: Ronita Singh, Yaman Pattanaik, Soham Lalwala

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In today’s highly competitive business environment, every organization is striving towards lean manufacturing systems to achieve lower Production Lead Times, lower costs, less inventory and overall improvement in supply chains efficiency. Based on the similar idea, this paper presents the practical application of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool and ECRS (Eliminate, Combine, Reduce, and Simplify) technique in the receipt section of the material management center of an oil refinery. A value stream is an assortment of all actions (value added as well as non-value added) that are required to bring a product through the essential flows, starting with raw material and ending with the customer. For drawing current state value stream mapping, all relevant data of the receipt cycle has been collected and analyzed. Then analysis of current state map has been done for determining the type and quantum of waste at every stage which helped in ascertaining as to how far the warehouse is from the concept of lean manufacturing. From the results achieved by current VSM, it was observed that the two processes- Preparation of GRN (Goods Receipt Number) and Preparation of UD (Usage Decision) are both bottle neck operations and have higher cycle time. This root cause analysis of various types of waste helped in designing a strategy for step-wise implementation of lean tools. The future state thus created a lean flow of materials at the warehouse center, reducing the lead time of the receipt cycle from 11 days to 7 days and increasing overall efficiency by 27.27%.

Keywords: current VSM, ECRS, future VSM, receipt cycle, supply chain, VSM

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Authors: A. V. Chandewar, Sanjay Bais

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Backgound: In India, drugs of herbal origin have been used in traditional systems of medicines such as Unani and Ayurveda since ancient times. WHO limit for Escherichia coli is 101/gm cfu, for Staphylococus aureus 105/gm cfu, and for Pseudomonas aeruginosa 103/gm cfu and for Salmonella species nil cfu. WHO mentions maximum permissible limits in raw materials only for arsenic, cadmium, and lead, which amount to 1.0, 0.3, and 10 ppm, respectively. Aim: The main purpose of the investigation was to document evidence for the users, and practitioners of marketed haematinic herbal formulations. In the present study haematinic herbal formulations marketed in Yavatmal India were determined for the presence of microbial and heavy metal content. Method: The investigations were performed by using specific medias and atomic absorption spectrometry. Result: The present work indicates the presence of heavy metal contents in herbal formulations selected for study. It was found that arsenic content in formulations was below the permissible limit in all formulations. The cadmium and lead content in six formulations were above the permissible limits. Such formulations are injurious to health of patient if consumed regularly. The specific medias were used to determining the presence of Escherichia coli 4 samples, Staphylococcus aureus 3 samples, and P. aeruginosa 4 samples. The data indicated suggest that there is requirement of in process improvement to provide better quality for consumer health in order to be competitive in international markets. Summary/Conclusion: The presence of microbial and heavy metal content above WHO limits indicates that the GMP was not followed during manufacturing of herbal formulations marketed in India.

Keywords: toxicological standardization, heavy metals, microbial contamination, haematinic herbal formulations

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Authors: Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, Zaeem Sheikh Abdul Wadudi Haruna

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This article aims to explore the crucial link between counter-terrorism efforts and the preservation of human security. As acts of terrorism continue to pose significant threats to societies worldwide, it is imperative to develop effective strategies that mitigate risks while safeguarding the rights and well-being of individuals. This paper discusses key aspects of counter-terrorism and human security, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach that integrates intelligence, prevention, response, and resilience-building measures. By highlighting successful case studies and lessons learned, this article provides valuable insights for policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and practitioners in their quest to address terrorism and foster human security.

Keywords: human security, risk mitigation, terrorist activities, civil liberties

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Authors: Ayse Arslan

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One of the important elements underpinning a conscious design is the degree of toxicity in communication. This study explores the mechanisms and strategies for identifying toxic content by avoiding dark patterns. Given the breadth of hate and harassment attacks, this study explores a threat model and taxonomy to assist in reasoning about strategies for detection, prevention, mitigation, and recovery. In addition to identifying some relevant techniques such as nudges, automatic detection, or human-ranking, the study suggests the use of major metrics such as the overhead and friction of solutions on platforms and users or balancing false positives (e.g., incorrectly penalizing legitimate users) against false negatives (e.g., users exposed to hate and harassment) to maintain a conscious design towards fairness.

Keywords: AI, ML, algorithms, policy, system design

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Authors: Amir Shafiee Kisomi, Mehrdad Mofidi

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Nowadays, fuel cells as a promising alternative for power source have been widely studied owing to their security, high energy density, low operation temperatures, renewable capability and low environmental pollutant emission. The nanoparticles of core-shell type could be widely described in a combination of a shell (outer layer material) and a core (inner material), and their characteristics are greatly conditional on dimensions and composition of the core and shell. In addition, the change in the constituting materials or the ratio of core to the shell can create their special noble characteristics. In this study, a fast technique for the fabrication of a Pd-Co/G/GCE modified electrode is offered. Thermal decomposition reaction of cobalt (II) formate salt over the surface of graphene/glassy carbon electrode (G/GCE) is utilized for the synthesis of Co nanoparticles. The nanoparticles of Pd-Co decorated on the graphene are created based on the following method: (1) Thermal decomposition reaction of cobalt (II) formate salt and (2) the galvanic replacement process Co by Pd2+. The physical and electrochemical performances of the as-prepared Pd-Co/G electrocatalyst are studied by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), and Chronoamperometry (CHA). Galvanic replacement method is utilized as a facile and spontaneous approach for growth of Pd nanostructures. The Pd-Co/G is used as an anode catalyst for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media. The Pd-Co/G not only delivered much higher current density (262.3 mAcm-2) compared to the Pd/C (32.1 mAcm-2) catalyst, but also demonstrated a negative shift of the onset oxidation potential (-0.480 vs -0.460 mV) in the forward sweep. Moreover, the novel Pd-Co/G electrocatalyst represents large electrochemically active surface area (ECSA), lower apparent activation energy (Ea), higher levels of durability and poisoning tolerance compared to the Pd/C catalyst. The paper demonstrates that the catalytic activity and stability of Pd-Co/G electrocatalyst are higher than those of the Pd/C electrocatalyst toward ethanol oxidation in alkaline media.

Keywords: thermal decomposition, nanostructures, galvanic replacement, electrocatalyst, ethanol oxidation, alkaline media

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Authors: Olatokunbo Yakeem

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Human trafficking is a crime against gross violations of human rights. Trafficking in persons is a severe socio-economic dilemma that affects the national and international dimensions. Human trafficking or modern-day-slavery emanated from slavery, and it has been in existence before the 6ᵗʰ century. Today, no country is exempted from dehumanizing human beings, and as a result, it has been an international issue. The United Nations (UN) presented the International Protocol to fight human trafficking worldwide, which brought about the international definition of human trafficking. The protocol is to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. The trafficking protocol has a link with transnational organised crime rather than migration. Over a hundred and fifty countries nationwide have enacted their criminal and panel code trafficking legislation from the UN trafficking protocol. Sex trafficking is the most common type of exploitation of women and children. Other forms of this crime involve exploiting vulnerable victims through forced labour, child involvement in warfare, domestic servitude, debt bondage, and organ removal for transplantation. Trafficking of women and children into sexual exploitation represents the highest form of human trafficking than other types of exploitation. Trafficking of women and children can either happen internally or across the border. It affects all kinds of people, regardless of their race, social class, culture, religion, and education levels. However, it is more of a gender-based issue against females. Furthermore, human trafficking can lead to life-threatening infections, mental disorders, lifetime trauma, and even the victim's death. The study's significance is to explore why the root causes of women and children trafficking in Nigeria are based around poverty, entrusting children in the hands of relatives and friends, corruption, globalization, weak legislation, and ignorance. The importance of this study is to establish how the national, regional, and international organisations are using the 3P’s Protection, Prevention, and Prosecution) to tackle human trafficking. The methodology approach for this study will be a qualitative paradigm. The rationale behind this selection is that the qualitative method will identify the phenomenon and interpret the findings comprehensively. The data collection will take the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews through telephone and email. The researcher will use a descriptive thematic analysis to analyse the data by using complete coding. In summary, this study aims to recommend to the Nigerian federal government to include human trafficking as a subject in their educational curriculum for early intervention to prevent children from been coerced by criminal gangs. And the research aims to find the root causes of women and children trafficking. Also, to look into the effectiveness of the strategies in place to eradicate human trafficking globally. In the same vein, the research objective is to investigate how the anti-trafficking bodies such as law enforcement and NGOs collaborate to tackle the upsurge in human trafficking.

Keywords: children, Nigeria, trafficking, women

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Authors: Shigenori Togashi, Kei Takenaka

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We developed new processes which can collect and detect rapidly airborne pathogens such as the avian flu virus for the pandemic prevention. The fluorescence antibody technique is known as one of high-sensitive detection methods for viruses, but this needs up to a few hours to bind sufficient fluorescence dyes to viruses for detection. In this paper, we developed a mist-labeling can detect substitution viruses in a short time to improve the binding rate of fluorescent dyes and substitution viruses by the micro reaction process. Moreover, we developed the rapid detection system with the above 'mist labeling'. The detection system set with a sampling bag collecting patient’s breath and a cartridge can detect automatically pathogens within 10 minutes.

Keywords: viruses, sampler, mist, detection, fluorescent dyes, microreaction

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Authors: Chongtham Jiten, K. Chandramani Singh, Radhapiyari Laishram

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Nanocrystalline powders of the lead-free piezoelectric material, tantalum-substituted potassium sodium niobate (K0.5Na0.5)(Nb0.9Ta0.1)O3 (KNNT), were produced using a Retsch PM100 planetary ball mill by setting the milling time to 15h, 20h, 25h, 30h, 35h and 40h, at a fixed speed of 250rpm. The average particle size of the milled powders was found to decrease from 12nm to 3nm as the milling time increases from 15h to 25h, which is in agreement with the existing theoretical model. An anomalous increase to 98nm and then a drop to 3nm in the particle size were observed as the milling time further increases to 30h and 40h respectively. Various sizes of these starting KNNT powders were used to investigate the effect of milling time on the microstructure, dielectric properties, phase transitions and piezoelectric properties of the resulting KNNT ceramics. The particle size of starting KNNT was somewhat proportional to the grain size. As the milling time increases from 15h to 25h, the resulting ceramics exhibit enhancement in the values of relative density from 94.8% to 95.8%, room temperature dielectric constant (εRT) from 878 to 1213, and piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) from 108pC/N to 128pC/N. For this range of ceramic samples, grain size refinement suppresses the maximum dielectric constant (εmax), shifts the Curie temperature (Tc) to a lower temperature and the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transition (Tot) to a higher temperature. Further increase of milling time from 25h to 40h produces a gradual degradation in the values of relative density, εRT, and d33 of the resulting ceramics.

Keywords: perovskite, dielectric, ceramics, high-energy milling

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Authors: Kalangi Rodrigo

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The term Neuroecology elucidates the study of customizable variation in cognition and the brain. Subject marked the birth since 1980s, when researches began to apply methods of comparative evolutionary biology to cognitive processes and the underlying neural mechanisms of cognition. In Archaeology and Anthropology, we observe behaviors such as social learning skills, innovative feeding and foraging, tool use and social manipulation to determine the cognitive processes of ancient mankind. Depending on the brainstem size was used as a control variable, and phylogeny was controlled using independent contrasts. Both disciplines need to enriched with comparative literature and neurological experimental, behavioral studies among tribal peoples as well as primate groups which will lead the research to a potential end. Neuroecology examines the relations between ecological selection pressure and mankind or sex differences in cognition and the brain. The goal of neuroecology is to understand how natural law acts on perception and its neural apparatus. Furthermore, neuroecology will eventually lead both principal disciplines to Ethology, where human behaviors and social management studies from a biological perspective. It can be either ethnoarchaeological or prehistoric. Archaeology should adopt general approach of neuroecology, phylogenetic comparative methods can be used in the field, and new findings on the cognitive mechanisms and brain structures involved mating systems, social organization, communication and foraging. The contribution of neuroecology to archaeology and anthropology is the information it provides on the selective pressures that have influenced the evolution of cognition and brain structure of the mankind. It will shed a new light to the path of evolutionary studies including behavioral ecology, primate archaeology and cognitive archaeology.

Keywords: Neuroecology, Archaeology, Brain Evolution, Cognitive Archaeology

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Authors: Michael Williams

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The ability to control a flowing well is of the utmost important. During the kill phase, heavy weight kill mud is circulated around the well. While increasing bottom hole pressure near wellbore formation, the damage is increased. The addition of high density spherical objects has the potential to minimise this near wellbore damage, increase bottom hole pressure and reduce operational time to kill the well. This operational time saving is seen in the rapid deployment of high density spherical objects instead of building high density drilling fluid. The research aims to model the well kill process using a Computational Fluid Dynamics software. A model has been created as a proof of concept to analyse the flow of micron sized spherical objects in the drilling fluid. Initial results show that this new methodology of spherical objects in drilling fluid agrees with traditional stream lines seen in non-particle flow. Additional models have been created to demonstrate that areas of higher flow rate around the bit can lead to increased probability of wash out of formations but do not affect the flow of micron sized spherical objects. Interestingly, areas that experience dimensional changes such as tool joints and various BHA components do not appear at this initial stage to experience increased velocity or create areas of turbulent flow, which could lead to further borehole stability. In conclusion, the initial models of this novel well control methodology have not demonstrated any adverse flow patterns, which would conclude that this model may be viable under field conditions.

Keywords: well control, fluid mechanics, safety, environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Keith T. S. Tung, Frederick K. Ho, Rosa S. Wong, Camilla K. M. Lo, Wilfred H. S. Wong, C. B. Chow, Patrick Ip

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Objectives: Underage drinking is an important public health problem both locally and globally. Conventional prevention/intervention relies on unidirectional knowledge transfer such as mail leaflets or health talks which showed mixed results in changing the target behaviour. Previously, we conducted a school internet-based intervention which was found to be effective in reducing alcohol use among adolescents, yet the underlying mechanisms have not been properly investigated. This study, therefore, examined the mechanisms that explain how the intervention produced a change in alcohol drinking behaviours among Chinese adolescent as observed in our previous clustered randomised controlled trial (RCT) study. Methods: This is a cluster randomised controlled trial with parallel group design. Participating schools were randomised to the Internet intervention or the conventional health education group (control) with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Secondary 1–3 students of the participating schools were enrolled in this study. The Internet intervention was a web-based quiz game competition, in which participating students would answer 1,000 alcohol-related multiple-choice quiz questions. Conventional health education group received a promotional package on equivalent alcohol-related knowledge. The participants’ alcohol-related attitude, knowledge, and perceived behavioural control were self-reported before the intervention (baseline) and one month and three months after the intervention. Results: Our RCT results showed that participants in the Internet group were less likely to drink (risk ratio [RR] 0.79, p < 0.01) as well as in lesser amount (β -0.06, p < 0.05) compared to those in the control group at both post-intervention follow-ups. Within the intervention group, regression analyses showed that high quiz scorer had greater improvement in alcohol-related knowledge (β 0.28, p < 0.01) and attitude (β -0.26, p < 0.01) at 1 month after intervention, which in turn increased their perceived behavioural control against alcohol use (β 0.10 and -0.26, both p < 0.01). Attitude, compared to knowledge, was found to be a stronger contributor to the intervention effect on perceived behavioural control. Conclusions: Our internet-based intervention has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the risk of underage drinking when compared with conventional health education. Our study results further showed an attitude to be a more important factor than knowledge in changing health-related behaviour. This has an important implication for future prevention/intervention on an underage drinking problem.

Keywords: adolescents, internet-based intervention, randomized controlled trial, underage drinking

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Authors: Hyekyung Woo, Gwihyun Kim

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mHealth, which encompasses mobile health technologies and interventions, is rapidly evolving in various medical specialties, and its impact is evident in oncology. This review describes current trends in research addressing the integration of mHealth into the management of breast cancer by examining evaluations of mHealth and its contributions across the cancer care continuum. Mobile technologies are perceived as effective in prevention and as feasible for managing breast cancer, but the diagnostic accuracy of these tools remains in doubt. Not all phases of breast cancer treatment involve mHealth, and not all have been addressed by research. These drawbacks in the application of mHealth to breast cancer management call for intensified research to strengthen its role in breast cancer care.

Keywords: mobile application, breast cancer, content analysis, mHealth

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Authors: Anastasia Poliakova

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Harmful algal bloom (HAB) is a known negative phenomenon that is caused both by natural factors and anthropogenic influence. HABs can result in a series of deleterious effects, such as beach fouling, paralytic shellfish poisoning, mass mortality of marine species, and a threat to human health, especially if toxins pollute drinking water or occur nearby public resorts. In South China, the problem of HABs has an ultimately important meaning. For this study, we used a 1.5 m sediment core LAX-2018-2 collected in 2018 from the Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve (109°03´E, 20°30´N), Guangdong Province, South China. High-resolution coastal environment reconstruction with a specific focus on the HABs history during the last ca 2500 yrs was attempted. Age control was performed with five radiocarbon dates obtained from benthic foraminifera. A total number of 71 dinoflagellate cyst types was recorded. The most common types found consistently throughout the sediment sequence were autotrophic Spiniferites spp., Spiniferites hyperacanthus and S. mirabilis, S. ramosus, Operculodinium centrocarpum sensu Wall and Dale 1966, Polysphaeridium zoharyi, and heterotrophic Brigantedinium ssp., cyst of Gymnodinium catenatum and cysts mixture of Protoperidinium. Three local dinoflagellate zones LAX-1 to LAX-3 were established based on the results of the constrained cluster analysis and data ordination; additionally, the middle zone LAX-2 was derived into two subzones, LAX-2a and LAX-2b based on the dynamics of toxic and heterotrophic cysts as well as on the significant changes (probability, P=0.89) in percentages of eutrophic indicators. The total cyst count varied from 106 to 410 dinocysts per slide, with 177 cyst types on average. Dinocyst assemblages are characterized by high values of the dost-depositional degradation index (kt) that varies between 3.6 and 7.6 (averaging 5.4), which is relatively high and is very typical for the areas with selective dinoflagellate cyst preservation that is related to bottom-water oxygen concentrations.

Keywords: reconstruction of palaeoenvironment, harmful algal blooms, anthropogenic influence on coastal zones, South China Sea

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Authors: Nattapol Pourprasert, Siriwan Manowan

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This study aims to find out what budget problems Thailand is facing with and how the results from the comparison between the budgeting reform by Thailand and the reforms by OECD member countries can be used for carrying out budgeting reform of Thailand. The findings from the study on the budget problems that Thailand is facing with reveal that the budgeting system of Thailand lacks of the assessment for the cost-effectiveness of the expenditure of borrowed money and budgets in order to determine whether the expenses are worth the taxes collected from people or not. This is because most popularity policies have unlimited budgets which can lead to the financial risks. Also, these policies create great tax burdens for the descendants in the future and affect the fair distribution of incomes but the Parliament of Thailand never considers these facts. The findings from the comparison between Thai budgeting reform and those by OECD member countries manifest that the traditional budgeting system of Thailand is the department-based budgeting, which is still used without being changed or adjusted in order to fit the new administrative regimes. This traditional budgeting system suggests that a department is responsible for budgeting tasks. Meanwhile, in OECD member countries, budgeting reforms are carried out simultaneously with the reforms of civil service systems so that they are driven in the same directions. The budgeting reforms that rely only on the analyses on economic or technical dimension can hardly lead to success. The budgeting systems of OECD member countries are designed to deal with the unique problems that each of the member countries is facing with rather than adopting the modern system developed by other countries. The budgeting system that has a complicated concept and practice has to be implemented under a flexible strategy so that the departments that implement it can learn about and adjust itself to the system. Continuous and consistent development and training for staff members are also necessary.

Keywords: budgeting reforms, Thailand, OECD member countries, budget problems

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Authors: Jose A. Diaz-Olivares, Nafise Mahdavian, Farhad Abtahi, Kaj Lindecrantz, Abdelakram Hafid, Fernando Seoane

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Despite new recommendations and guidelines for the evaluation of occupational risk assessments and their prevention, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are still one of the biggest causes of work activity disruption, productivity loss, sick leave and chronic work disability. It affects millions of workers throughout Europe, with a large-scale economic and social burden. These specific efforts have failed to produce significant results yet, probably due to the limited availability and high costs of occupational risk assessment at work, especially when the methods are complex, consume excessive resources or depend on self-evaluations and observations of poor accuracy. To overcome these limitations, a pervasive system of risk assessment tools in real time has been developed, which has the characteristics of a systematic approach, with good precision, usability and resource efficiency, essential to facilitate the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in the long term. The system allows the combination of different wearable sensors, placed on different limbs, to be used for data collection and evaluation by a software solution, according to the needs and requirements in each individual working environment. This is done in a non-disruptive manner for both the occupational health expert and the workers. The creation of this solution allows us to attend different research activities that require, as an essential starting point, the recording of data with ergonomic value of very diverse origin, especially in real work environments. The software platform is here presented with a complimentary smart clothing system for data acquisition, comprised of a T-shirt containing inertial measurement units (IMU), a vest sensorized with textile electronics, a wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) and thoracic electrical bio-impedance (TEB) recorder and a glove sensorized with variable resistors, dependent on the angular position of the wrist. The collected data is processed in real-time through a mobile application software solution, implemented in commercially available Android-based smartphones and tablet platforms. Based on the collection of this information and its analysis, real-time risk assessment and feedback about postural improvement is possible, adapted to different contexts. The result is a tool which provides added value to ergonomists and occupational health agents, as in situ analysis of postural behavior can assist in a quantitative manner in the evaluation of work techniques and the occupational environment.

Keywords: ergonomics, mobile technologies, risk assessment, smart textiles

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Authors: Mousa Saleh Daoud

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Rickets is a condition that affects the development of bones in children. It causes soft bones, which can become bowed or curved, this bending and curvature is evident in the age of Walking. The most common cause of rickets is dietary deficiency of vitamin D or Lack of exposure to sunlight or both together. The link between vitamin D and rickets has been known for many years and is well understood by doctors and scientists. If a child does not get enough of the vitamin D, the bones cannot form hard outer shells. This is why they become soft and weak. This study was conducted on children who reviewed by our medical clinic between the years 2011-2013. The study included 400 children, aged between one and six years. 11 children had clear clinical manifestations of rickets of varying degrees and all of them due to lack of vitamin D except for one case of rickets resistant to vitamin D. 389 cases ranged between natural and deficiency in vitamin D without clinical manifestations of Rickets.

Keywords: rickts, bone metabolic diseases, vitamin D, child

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Authors: Nourhan Elshenawi

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Net Neutrality (NN) is the principle of treating all online data the same without any prioritization of some over others. A research gap in current scholarship about “violations of NN” and the subsequent ethical concerns paves the way for the following research question: To what extent violations of NN entail ethical concerns and implications for Internet stakeholders? To answer this question, NR is examined using the two major action-based ethical theories, Kantian and Utilitarian, across the relevant Internet stakeholders. First some necessary IT background is provided that shapes how the Internet works and who the key stakeholders are. Following the IT background, the relationship between the stakeholders, users, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and content providers is discussed and illustrated. Then some violations of NN that are currently occurring is covered, without attracting any attention from the general public from an ethical perspective, as a new term Net Regularity (NR). Afterwards, the current scholarship on NN and its violations are discussed, that are mainly from an economic and sociopolitical perspectives to highlight the lack of ethical discussions on the issue. Before moving on to the ethical analysis however, websites are presented as digital entities that are affected by NR and their happiness is measured using functionalism. The analysis concludes that NR is prone to an unethical treatment of Internet stakeholders in the perspective of both theories. Finally, the current Digital Divide in the world is presented to be able to better illustrate the implications of NR. The implications present the new Internet divide that will take place between individuals within society. Through answering the research question using ethical analysis, it attempts to shed some light on the issue of NR and what kind of society it would lead to. NR would not just lead to a divided society, but divided individuals that are separated by something greater than distance, the Internet.

Keywords: digital divide, digital entities, digital ontology, internet ethics, internet law, net neutrality, internet service providers, websites as beings

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Authors: James D. Beauchemin

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Introduction: The incarceration of people with mental illness and substance use disorders is a major public health issue with social, clinical, and economic implications. Yoga participation has been associated with numerous psychological benefits; however, there is a paucity of research examining impacts of yoga with incarcerated populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of a six-week yoga intervention on several mental health-related variables, including emotion regulation, body awareness, and warnings of substance relapse among incarcerated females. Methods: This study utilized a pre-post, three-arm design, with participants assigned to intervention, therapeutic community, or general population groups. A between-group analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted across groups to assess intervention effectiveness using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Scale of Body Connection (SBC), and Warnings of Relapse (AWARE) Questionnaire. Results: ANCOVA results for warnings of relapse (AWARE) revealed significant between-group differences F(2, 80) = 7.15, p = .001; np2 = .152), with significant pairwise comparisons between the intervention group and both the therapeutic community (p = .001) and the general population (p = .005) groups. Similarly, significant differences were found for emotional regulation (DERS) F(2, 83) = 10.521, p = .000; np2 = .278). Pairwise comparisons indicated a significant difference between the intervention and general population (p = .01). Finally, significant differences between the intervention and control groups were found for body awareness (SBC) F(2, 84) = 3.69, p = .029; np2 = .081). Between-group differences were clarified via pairwise comparisons, indicating significant differences between the intervention group and both the therapeutic community (p = .028) and general population groups (p = .020). Implications: Study results suggest that yoga may be an effective addition to integrative mental health and substance use treatment for incarcerated women and contributes to increasing evidence that holistic interventions may be an important component for treatment with this population. Specifically, given the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders, findings revealed that changes in body awareness and emotion regulation might be particularly beneficial for incarcerated populations with substance use challenges as a result of yoga participation. From a systemic perspective, this proactive approach may have long-term implications for both physical and psychological well-being for the incarcerated population as a whole, thereby decreasing the need for traditional treatment. By integrating a more holistic, salutogenic model that emphasizes prevention, interventions like yoga may work to improve the wellness of this population while providing an alternative or complementary treatment option for those with current symptoms.

Keywords: wellness, solution-focused coaching, college students, prevention

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Authors: Dêivisson Alves Anjos, Blenda Fonseca Aires Teles, Queitiane Castro Costa

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Fire is one of the biggest dangers for factories, warehouses, mills, among other places, causing unimaginable damage, because besides the material damage also directly affects the lives of workers who are likely to suffer death or very serious consequences. This protection of the lives of these people should be taken seriously, always seeking safety. Thus investment in security and monitoring equipment must be high, so you can prevent or reduce the impacts of a possible fire. Our device, made in PIC micro controller monitors the temperature and the presence of gas in the environment, it sends the data via Bluetooth device to a developed in LabVIEW interface saves these data continuously and alert if the temperature exceeds the allowed or some gas is detected. Currently the device is in operation and can perform several tests, as well as use in different areas for which you need anti-fire protection.

Keywords: pic, bluetooth, fire, temperature, gas, LabVIEW

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Authors: Silvia Elias

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The 'Femme Fatale' figure has become synonymous with a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms captivate her lovers into bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them to compromise or downfall. Originally, a Femme Fatale typically uses her beauty to lead men to their destruction but in modern literature, she represents a direct attack on traditional womanhood and the nuclear family as she refuses to abide by the pillars of mainstream society creating an image of a strong independent woman who defies the control of men and rejects the institution of the family. This research aims at discussing the differences and similarities between the femme fatale and the New Woman and how they are perceived by the audience. There is often confusion between the characteristics that define a New Woman and a Femme Fatale since both women desire independence, challenge typical gender role casting, push against the limits of the patriarchal society and take control of their sexuality. The study of the femme fatale remains appealing in modern times because the fear of gender equality gives life to modern femme fatale versions and post-modern literary works introduce their readers to new versions of the deadly seductress. One that does not fully depend on her looks to destroy men. The idea behind writing this paper was born from reading David Mamet's two-character play Oleanna (1992) and tracing the main female protagonist/antagonist's transformation from a helpless inarticulate girl into a powerful controlling negotiator who knows how to lead a bargain and maintain the upper hand.

Keywords: Circe, David, Eve, evolution, feminist, femme fatale, gender, Mamet, new, Odysseus, Oleanna, power, Salome, schema, seduction, temptress, woman

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Authors: L. Musak, J. Valachova, T. Vasicko, O. Osina

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Introduction: Stainless steel is resistant to electrochemical corrosion by passivation. Welders are greatly exposed to welding fumes of toxic metals, which added to this steel. The content of chromium (Cr) in steel was above 11.5%, Ni and Mo from 2 to 6.5%. The aim of the study was the evaluation of occupational exposure to Cr, chromosome analysis and valuation of individual susceptibility polymorphism of gene CCND1 c.870 G>A. Materials and Methods: The exposed group was consisted from 117 welders of stainless steels. The average age was 38.43 years and average exposure time 7.14 years. Smokers represented 40.17%. The control group consisted of 123 non-exposed workers with an average age of 39.74 years and time employment 16.67 years. Smokers accounted for 22.76%. Analysis of Cr in blood and urine was performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS Varian SpectraAA 30P) with electrothermal decomposition of the sample in the graphite furnace. For the evaluation of chromosomal aberrations (CA) was used cytogenetic analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes, gene polymorphism was determined by PCR-RFLP reaction using appropriate primers and restriction enzymes. For statistical analysis was used the Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: The mean Cr level in exposed group was 0.095 mmol/l (0.019 min-max 0.504). No value does exceed the average normal value. The average value Cr in urine was 7.9 mmol/mol creatinine (min 0.026 to max 19.26). The total number of CA was 1.86% in compared to 1.70% controls. (CTA-type 0.90% vs 0.80% and CSA-type 0.96% vs 0.90%). In the number of total CA was observed statistical difference between smokers and non-smokers of exposed group (S-1.57% vs. NS-2.04%, P<0.05). In CCND1 gene polymorphisms was observed the increasing of the total CA with wild-type allele (WT) via heterozygous to the VAR genotype (1.44%<1.82%<2.13%). There was observed a statistically higher incidence of CTA-type aberrations in variant genotypes between exposed and control groups (1.22% vs. 0.59%, P<0.05). Discussion and conclusions: The work place is usually higher source of exposure to harmful factors. Workers need consistently and checked frequently health control. In assessing the risk of adverse effects of metals is important to consider their persistence, behavior and bioavailability. Prolonged exposure to carcinogens may not manifest symptoms of poisoning, but delayed effects may occur, which resulted in a higher incidence of malignant tumors.

Keywords: genotoxicity, chromium, stainless steels, welders

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Authors: Christian Ndubisi Madu, Benjamin C. Ozumba, Ifeanyi E. Madu, Valentine E. Nnadi, Ikenna C. Ezeasor

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The ability to generate power and achieve energy security is one of the driving forces behind the emerging ‘microgrid’ concept. Traditional power supply often operates with centralized infrastructure for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity. The inefficiency and the incessant power outages associated with the centralized power supply system in Nigeria has alienated many users who frequently turn to electric power generator sets to power their homes and offices. Such acts are unsustainable and lead to increase in the use of fossil fuels, generation of carbon dioxide emissions and other gases, and noise pollution. They also pose significant risks as they entail random purchases and storage of gasolines which are fire hazards. It is therefore important that organizations rethink their relationships to centralized power suppliers in other to improve energy accessibility and security. This study explores the energy planning processes and learning taking place at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus as the school lead microgrid feasibility studies in its community. There is need to develop community partners to deal with the issue of energy efficiency and also to create a strategic alliance to confront political, regulatory and economic barriers to locally-based energy planning. Community-based microgrid can help to reduce the cost of adoption and diversify risks. This study offers insights into the ways in which microgrids can further democratize energy planning, procurement, and access, while simultaneously promoting efficiency and sustainability.

Keywords: microgrid, energy efficiency, sustainability, energy security

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Authors: Berk Kiliç

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In the medical and surgical fields, wound care is a critical and expansive industry. Hydrocolloid wound dressings have been introduced and are widely used due to their effectiveness in promoting healing, managing wound fluids, and protecting against infection. Hydrocolloid wound dressings have been introduced as effective solutions, adherence to wound surfaces and infection prevention. it fabricated different hydrocolloid wound dressings with myrrh resin, garlic and sorrel inorder to enhance healing properties. The physical and mechanical properties were evaluated to confirm which one is most suitable as a hydrocolloid wound dressing. it observations show that mirderm solution showed superior wound healing and fluid control properties compared to other prepared solutions. This indicates that “mirderm” could be a viable alternative to standard gauze and some commercial hydrocolloid dressings that do not contain myrrh.

Keywords: wound, hydrocolloid, myrrh, garlic, sorrel

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Authors: Muhammad Wahb

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Physical activity is increasingly recognized as a significant factor in maintaining optimal health and preventing chronic diseases. This research scrutinizes the long-term health benefits of sustained physical activity, employing a systematic review of epidemiological studies and randomized control trials conducted over the past decade. The study illuminates the protective effects of regular physical activity against cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and mental health disorders, with a special focus on the mechanisms involved. Furthermore, the paper provides insights into how public health initiatives can effectively promote physical activity among diverse populations, contributing to improved community health outcomes.

Keywords: physical activity, long-term health benefits, chronic disease prevention, public health

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Authors: Yifan Lu, Ying Cui, Ying Zhu, Edward S. Lu, Rebecca Zeng, Rohan Bajaj, Raviv Katz, Rongrong Le, Jay C. Wang, John B. Miller

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Purpose: Retinal artery occlusion (RAO) is an ophthalmic emergency that can lead to poor visual outcome and is associated with an increased risk of cerebral stroke and cardiovascular events. Fluorescein angiography (FA) is the traditional diagnostic tool for RAO; however, wide-field swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (WF SS-OCTA), as a nascent imaging technology, is able to provide quick and non-invasive angiographic information with a wide field of view. In this study, we looked for associations between OCT-A vascular metrics and visual acuity in patients with prior diagnosis of RAO. Methods: Patients with diagnoses of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) or branched retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) were included. A 6mm x 6mm Angio and a 15mm x 15mm AngioPlex Montage OCT-A image were obtained for both eyes in each patient using the Zeiss Plex Elite 9000 WF SS-OCTA device. Each 6mm x 6mm image was divided into nine Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) subfields. The average measurement of the central foveal subfield, inner ring, and outer ring was calculated for each parameter. Non-perfusion area (NPA) was manually measured using 15mm x 15mm Montage images. A linear regression model was utilized to identify a correlation between the imaging metrics and visual acuity. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Twenty-five subjects were included in the study. For RAO eyes, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between vision and retinal thickness as well as superficial capillary plexus vessel density (SCP VD). A negative correlation was found between vision and deep capillary plexus vessel density (DCP VD) without statistical significance. There was a positive correlation between vision and choroidal thickness as well as choroidal volume without statistical significance. No statistically significant correlation was found between vision and the above metrics in contralateral eyes. For NPA measurements, no significant correlation was found between vision and NPA. Conclusions: This is the first study to our best knowledge to investigate the utility of WF SS-OCTA in RAO and to demonstrate correlations between various retinal vascular imaging metrics and visual outcomes. Further investigations should explore the associations between these imaging findings and cardiovascular risk as RAO patients are at elevated risk for symptomatic stroke. The results of this study provide a basis to understand the structural changes involved in visual outcomes in RAO. Furthermore, they may help guide management of RAO and prevention of cerebral stroke and cardiovascular accidents in patients with RAO.

Keywords: OCTA, swept-source OCT, retinal artery occlusion, Zeiss Plex Elite

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Authors: Alonso-Cañadas J., Galán-Valdivieso F., Saraite-Sariene L., García-Tabuyo M., Alonso-Morales N.

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Green Public Procurement (GPP) has recently gained attention in the academic and policy arenas since climate change has shown the need to be addressed by both private companies and public entities. Such growing interest motivates this article, aiming to explore the most influential journals, publishers, categories, and topics, as well as the recent trends and future research lines in GPP. Based on the Web of Science database, 578 articles from 2004 to February 2022 devoted to GPP are analyzed using Bibliometrix, an R-tool to perform bibliometric analysis, and Google’s Big Query and Data Studio. This article introduces a variety of findings. First, the most influential journals by far are “Journal of Cleaner Production” and “Sustainability,” differing in that the latter is open access while the former publishes via traditional subscription. This result also occurs regarding the main publishers (Elsevier and MDPI). These features lead us to split the sample into open-access journals and traditional journals to deepen into the similarities and differences between them, confirming that traditional journals exhibit a higher degree of influence in the literature than their open-access counterparts in terms of the number of documents, number of citations and impact (according to the H index). Second, this research also highlights the recent emergence of green-related terms (sustainable, environment) and, parallelly, the increase in categorizing GPP papers in “green” WoS categories, particularly since 2019. Finally, a number of related topics are emerging and will lead the research, such as food security, infrastructures, and implementation barriers of GPP.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, green public procurement, open access, traditional journals

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Authors: Daohong Yang, Xiang Zhang, Lei Li, Wanting Zhou

Abstract:

Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) is a technology that obtains information in the environment for self-positioning and mapping. It is widely used in computer vision, robotics and other fields. Many visual SLAM systems, such as OBSLAM3, employ a constant-speed motion model that provides the initial pose of the current frame to improve the speed and accuracy of feature matching. However, in actual situations, the constant velocity motion model is often difficult to be satisfied, which may lead to a large deviation between the obtained initial pose and the real value, and may lead to errors in nonlinear optimization results. Therefore, this paper proposed a motion model based on acceleration, which can be applied on most SLAM systems. In order to better describe the acceleration of the camera pose, we decoupled the pose transformation matrix, and calculated the rotation matrix and the translation vector respectively, where the rotation matrix is represented by rotation vector. We assume that, in a short period of time, the changes of rotating angular velocity and translation vector remain the same. Based on this assumption, the initial pose of the current frame is estimated. In addition, the error of constant velocity model was analyzed theoretically. Finally, we applied our proposed approach to the ORBSLAM3 system and evaluated two sets of sequences on the TUM dataset. The results showed that our proposed method had a more accurate initial pose estimation and the accuracy of ORBSLAM3 system is improved by 6.61% and 6.46% respectively on the two test sequences.

Keywords: error estimation, constant acceleration motion model, pose estimation, visual SLAM

Procedia PDF Downloads 87