Search results for: concentration risk

Authors: Despoina Andrioti Bygvraa, Ida-Maja Hassellöv, George Charalambous

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Exhaust gas cleaning systems, also known as scrubbers, are today widely used to allow for the use of High Sulphur Heavy Fuel Oil and still comply with the regulations limiting sulphur content in marine fuels. There are extensive concerns about environmental consequences, especially in the Baltic Sea, from the wide-scale use of scrubbers, as the wash water is acidic (ca pH 3) and contains high concentrations of toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic substances. The aim of this feasibility study is to investigate the potential adverse effects on seafarers’ health with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of chemical-related health and safety issues in the shipping environment. The project got funding from the Swedish Foundation. The team will extend previously compiled data on scrubber wash water concentrations of hazardous substances and pH to include the use of strong base in closed-loop scrubbers, and scoping assessment on handling and disposing practices. Based on the findings (a), a systematic review of risk assessment will follow to show the risk of exposures, the establishment of the hazardous levels for human health as well as the respective prevention practices. In addition, the researchers will perform (b) a systematic review to identify facilitators and barriers of the crew on compliance with the safe handling of chemicals. The study will run for 12 months, delivering (a) a risk assessment inventory with risk exposures and (b) a course description of safe handling practices. This feasibility study could provide valuable knowledge on how pollutants found in scrubbers should be considered from a human health perspective to facilitate evidence-based informed decisions in future technology- and policy development to make shipping a safer, healthier, and more attractive workplace.

Keywords: health and safety, seafarers, scrubbers, chemicals, risk exposures

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Authors: Allaeddine Athmani, Abdelhacine Gouasmia, Tiago Ferreira, Romeu Vicente

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Seismic vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings is a fundamental issue even for moderate to low seismic hazard regions. This fact is even more important when dealing with old structures such as those located in Annaba city (Algeria), which the majority of dates back to the French colonial era from 1830. This category of buildings is in high risk due to their highly degradation state, heterogeneous materials and intrusive modifications to structural and non-structural elements. Furthermore, they are usually shelter a dense population, which is exposed to such risk. In order to undertake a suitable seismic risk mitigation strategies and reinforcement process for such structures, it is essential to estimate their seismic resistance capacity at a large scale. In this sense, two seismic vulnerability index methods and damage estimation have been adapted and applied to a pilot-scale building area located in the moderate seismic hazard region of Annaba city: The first one based on the EMS-98 building typologies, and the second one derived from the Italian GNDT approach. To perform this task, the authors took the advantage of an existing data survey previously performed for other purposes. The results obtained from the application of the two methods were integrated and compared using a geographic information system tool (GIS), with the ultimate goal of supporting the city council of Annaba for the implementation of risk mitigation and emergency planning strategies.

Keywords: Annaba city, EMS98 concept, GNDT method, old city center, seismic vulnerability index, unreinforced masonry buildings

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Authors: Jake Tempo, Taylor Smithurst, Jen Leah, Skye Waddingham, Amanda Catlin, Richard Cetti

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Introduction: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the gold-standard procedure for removing large or complex renal stones. Many operating positions can be used, and the debate over the ideal position continues. PCNL can be a long procedure during which patients can sustain pressure injuries. These injuries are often underreported in the literature. Interface pressure mapping records the pressure loading between a surface and the patient. High pressures with prolonged loading result in ischaemia, muscle deformation, and reperfusion which can cause skin breakdown and muscular injury. We compared the peak pressure indexes of common PCNL positions to identify positions which may be at high risk of pressure injuries. We hope the data can be used to adapt high-risk positions so that the PPI can be lessened by either adapting the positions or by using adjuncts to lower PPI. Materials and Methods: We placed a 23-year-old male subject in fourteen different PCNL positions while performing interface pressure mapping. The subject was 179 cm with a weight of 63.3 kg, BMI 19.8kg/m². Results: Supine positions had a higher mean PPI (119mmHg (41-137)) compared to prone positions (64mmHg (32-89)) (p=0.046 two tailed t-test). The supine flexed position with a bolster under the flank produced the highest PPI (194mmHg), and this was at the sacrum. Peak pressure indexes >100mmHg were recorded in eight PCNL positions. Conclusion: Supine PCNL positions produce higher PPI than prone PCNL positions. Our study shows where ‘at risk’ bony prominences are for each PCNL position. Surgeons must ensure these areas are protected during prolonged operations.

Keywords: PCNL, pressure ulcer, interface pressure mapping, surgery

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Authors: Pallavi Srivastava, Ajay Singh

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Hematological assay has used for evaluation of blood changes according to its environment. It’s studies employed to evaluate possible eco-toxic risk due to the exposure of chemicals and pesticides in aquatic organisms. Fishes serve as a sensitive bio-indicator, as changes occur in its surrounding environment. The aim of present study has two-folds first we observed that after exposure of two doses of each class of fungicide i.e. 1.11mg/l, 2.23mg/l for Propiconazole and 11.43mg/l, 22.87mg/l for Mancozeb show maximum blood changes. Second we conclude that toxic effects and blood changes induced by Propiconazole is greater than Mancozeb.

Keywords: hematological assay, fungicides, bio-indicator, eco-toxic risk

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Authors: Domingos Viegas, Miguel Almeida, Carmen Rocha, Ilda Novo, Yolanda Luna

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Forest fires along the more than 1200km of the Spanish-Portuguese border are more and more frequent, currently achieving around 2000 fire events per year. Some of these events develop to large international wildfire requiring concerted operations based on shared information between the two countries. The fire event of Valencia de Alcantara (2003) causing several fatalities and more than 13000ha burnt, is a reference example of these international events. Currently, Portugal and Spain have a specific cross-border cooperation protocol on wildfires response for a strip of about 30km (15 km for each side). It is recognized by public authorities the successfulness of this collaboration however it is also assumed that this cooperation should include more functionalities such as the development of a common risk information system for transboundary fire events. Since Portuguese and Spanish authorities use different approaches to determine the fire risk indexes inputs and different methodologies to assess the fire risk, sometimes the conjoint firefighting operations are jeopardized since the information is not harmonized and the understanding of the situation by the civil protection agents from both countries is not unique. Thus, a methodology aiming the harmonization of the fire risk calculation and perception by Portuguese and Spanish Civil protection authorities is hereby presented. The final results are presented as well. The fire risk index used in this work is the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI), which is based on meteorological data. The FWI is limited on its application as it does not take into account other important factors with great effect on the fire appearance and development. The combination of these factors is very complex since, besides the meteorology, it addresses several parameters of different topics, namely: sociology, topography, vegetation and soil cover. Therefore, the meaning of FWI values is different from region to region, according the specific characteristics of each region. In this work, a methodology for FWI calibration based on the number of fire occurrences and on the burnt area in the transboundary regions of Portugal and Spain, in order to assess the fire risk based on calibrated FWI values, is proposed. As previously mentioned, the cooperative firefighting operations require a common perception of the information shared. Therefore, a common classification of the fire risk for the fire events occurred in the transboundary strip is proposed with the objective of harmonizing this type of information. This work is integrated in the ECHO project SpitFire - Spanish-Portuguese Meteorological Information System for Transboundary Operations in Forest Fires, which aims the development of a web platform for the sharing of information and supporting decision tools to be used in international fire events involving Portugal and Spain.

Keywords: data harmonization, FWI, international collaboration, transboundary wildfires

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Authors: Hoda M. Eid, Abir Nachar, Farah Thong, Gary Sweeney, Pierre S. Haddad

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Caffeic acid methyl ester (CAME) and caffeic ethyl esters (CAEE) were previously reported to potently stimulate glucose uptake in cultured C2C12 skeletal muscle cells via insulin-independent mechanisms involving the activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In the present study, we investigated the effect of the two compounds on the translocation of glucose transporter GLUT4 in L6 skeletal muscle cells. The cells were treated with the optimum non-toxic concentration (50 µM) of either CAME or CAEE for 18 h. Levels of GLUT4myc at the cell surface were measured by O-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (OPD) assay. The effects of CAME and CAEE on GLUT1 and GLUT4 protein content were also measured by western immunoblot. Our results show that CAME and CAEE significantly increased glucose uptake, GLUT4 translocation and GLUT4 protein content. Furthermore, the effect of the two CA esters on two insulin-sensitive cell lines: H4IIE rat hepatoma and 3T3-L1 adipocytes were investigated. CAME and CAEE reduced the enzymatic activity of the key hepatic gluconeogenic enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, they exerted a concentration-dependent antiadipogenic effect on 3T3-L1 cells. Mitotic clonal expansion (MCE), a prerequisite for adipocytes differentiation was also concentration-dependently inhibited. The two compounds abrogated lipid droplet accumulation, blocked MCE and maintained cells in fibroblast-like state when applied at the maximum non-toxic concentration (100 µM). In addition, the expression of the early key adipogenic transcription factors CCAAT enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBP-β) and the master regulator of adipogenesis peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) were inhibited. We, therefore, conclude that CAME and CAEE exert pleiotropic benefits in several insulin-sensitive cell lines through insulin-independent mechanisms involving AMPK, hence they may treat obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, GLUT4, Akt, AMPK.

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Authors: Ouerdia Benbelkacem Belouanas

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Heterotrophic denitrification has been proven to be one of the most feasible processes for removing nitrate from waste water and drinking water. In this process, heterotrophic bacteria use organic carbon for both growth and as an electron source. Underground water pollution by nitrates become alarming in Algeria. A survey carried out revealed that the nitrate concentration is in continual increase. Studies in some region revealed contamination exceeding the recommended permissible dose which is 50 mg/L. Worrying values in the regions of Mascara, Ouled saber, El Eulma, Bouira and Algiers are respectively 72 mg/L, 75 mg/L, 97 mg/L, 102 mg/L, and 158 mg/L. High concentration of nitrate in drinking water is associated with serious health risks. Research on nitrate removal technologies from municipal water supplies is increasing because of nitrate contamination. Biological denitrification enables transformation of oxidized nitrogen compounds by a wide spectrum of heterotrophic bacteria into harmless nitrogen gas with accompanying carbon removal. Globally, denitrification is commonly employed in biological nitrogen removal processes to enhance water quality. The study investigated the valorization of a vegetable residue as a carbon source (dates nodes) in water treatment using the denitrification process. Throughout the study, the effect of inoculums addition, pH, and initial concentration of nitrates was also investigated. In this research, a natural organic substance: dates nodes were investigated as a carbon source in the biological denitrification of drinking water. This material acts as a solid substrate and bio-film carrier. The experiments were carried out in batch processes. Complete denitrification was achieved varied between 80 and 100% according to the type of process used. It was found that the nitrate removal rate based on our results, we concluded that the removal of organic matter and nitrogen compounds depended mainly on initial concentration of nitrate. The effluent pH was mainly affected by the C/N ratio, where a decrease increases pH.

Keywords: biofilm, carbon source, dates nodes, heterotrophic denitrification, nitrate, nitrite

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Authors: Ruwaida Abdul Rasid, Kevin J. Hughes, Peter J. Henggs, Mohamed Pourkashanian

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Heightened concerns over the amount of carbon emitted from coal-related processes are generating shifts to the application of biomass. In co-gasification, where coal is gasified along with biomass, the biomass may be fed together with coal (co-feeding) or an independent biomass gasifier needs to be integrated with the coal gasifier. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the biomass introduction methods in coal co-gasification. This includes the evaluation of biomass concentration input (B0 to B100) and its gasification performance. A process model is developed and simulated in Aspen HYSYS, where both coal and biomass are modeled according to its ultimate analysis. It was found that the syngas produced increased with increasing biomass content for both co-feeding and independent schemes. However, the heating values and heat duties decreases with biomass concentration as more CO2 are produced from complete combustion.

Keywords: aspen HYSYS, biomass, coal, co-gasification modelling, simulation

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Authors: Achsania Hendratmi, Nisful Laila, Fatin Fadhilah Hasib, Puji Sucia Sukmaningrum

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This study aims to compare and see the differences between Islamic bank in Indonesia and Islamic bank in Malaysia using RGEC method (Risk Profile, Good Corporate Governance, Earnings, and Capital). This study examines the comparison in business and social performance of eleven Islamic banks in Indonesia and fifteen Islamic banks in Malaysia. This research used quantitative approach and the collections of data was done by collecting all the annual reports of banks that has been created as a sample over the period 2011-2015. The test result of the Independent Samples T-test and Mann-Whitney Test showed there were differences in the business performance of Islamic Bank in Indonesia and Malaysia as seen from the aspect of Risk profile (FDR), GCG, and Earnings (ROA). Also, there were differences of business and social performance as seen from Earnings (ROE), Capital (CAR), and Sharia Conformity Indicator (PSR and ZR) aspects.

Keywords: business performance, Islamic banks, RGEC, social performance

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Authors: Phayong Thepaksorn

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The objective of this study was to assess whether living in proximity to a roofing fiber cement factory in southern Thailand was associated with physical, mental, social, and spiritual health domains measured in a self-reported health risk assessment (HRA) questionnaire. A cross-sectional study was conducted among community members divided into two groups: near population (living within 0-2 km of factory) and far population (living within 2-5 km of factory)(N=198). A greater proportion of those living far from the factory (65.34%) reported physical health problems than the near group (51.04 %)(p=0.032). This study has demonstrated that the near population group had higher proportion of participants with positive ratings on mental assessment (30.34%) and social health impacts (28.42%) than far population group (10.59% and 16.67 %, respectively) (p<0.001). The near population group (29.79%) had similar proportion of participants with positive ratings in spiritual health impacts compared with far population group (27.08%). Among females, but not males, this study demonstrated that a higher proportion of the near population had a positive summative score for the self-HRA, which included all four health domain, compared to the far population (p <0.001 for females; p=0.154 for males). In conclusion, this self-HRA of physical, mental, social, and spiritual health domains reflected the risk perceptions of populations living in the vicinity of the roofing fiber cement factory. This type of tool can bring attention to population concerns and complaints in the factory’s surrounding community. Our findings may contribute to future development of self-HRA for HIA development procedure in Thailand.

Keywords: cement dust, health impact assessment, risk assessment, walk-though survey

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Authors: Laidson P. Gomes, Cristina T. Andrade, Eduardo M. Del Aguila, Cameron Alexander, Vânia M. F. Paschoalin

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Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide prepared by the N-deacetylation of chitin. In this study, the physicochemical and antibacterial properties of chitosan nanoparticles, produced by ultrasound irradiation, were evaluated. The physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles were determined by dynamic light scattering and zeta potential analysis. Chitosan nanoparticles inhibited the growth of E. coli. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were lower than 0.5 mg/mL, and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were similar or higher than MIC values. Confocal laser scanning micrographs (CLSM) were used to observe the interaction between E. coli suspensions mixed with FITC-labeled chitosan polymers and nanoparticles.

Keywords: chitosan nanoparticles, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, confocal microscopy, antibacterial activity

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Authors: Chi-Chang Lin, Jian-Rong Wu, Jiun-Yan Chiu

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Myopia, ubiquitous symptom that is necessary to correct the eyesight by optical lens struggles many people for their daily life. Recent years, younger people raise interesting on using contact lens because of its convenience and aesthetics. In clinical, the risk of eye infections increases owing to the behavior of incorrectly using contact lens unsupervised cleaning which raising the infection risk of cornea, named ocular keratitis. In order to overcome the identification needs, new detection or analysis method with rapid and more accurate identification for clinical microorganism is importantly needed. In our study, we take advantage of Raman spectroscopy having unique fingerprint for different functional groups as the distinct and fast examination tool on microorganism. As we know, Raman scatting signals are normally too weak for the detection, especially in biological field. Here, we applied special SERS enhancement substrates to generate higher Raman signals. SERS filter we designed in this article that prepared by deposition of silver nanoparticles directly onto cellulose filter surface and suspension nanoparticles - gold nanostars (AuNSs) also be introduced together to achieve better enhancement for lower concentration analyte (i.e., various bacteria). Research targets also focusing on studying the shape effect of synthetic AuNSs, needle-like surface morphology may possible creates more hot-spot for getting higher SERS enhance ability. We utilized new designed SERS technology to distinguish the bacteria from ocular keratitis under strain level, and specific Raman and SERS fingerprint were grouped under pattern recognition process. We reported a new method combined different SERS substrates can be applied for clinical microorganism detection under strain level with simple, rapid preparation and low cost. Our presenting SERS technology not only shows the great potential for clinical bacteria detection but also can be used for environmental pollution and food safety analysis.

Keywords: bacteria, gold nanostars, Raman spectroscopy surface-enhanced Raman scattering filter

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Authors: Wan-Ling Chang, Hsiu-Ju Huang, Jui-Hsiu Chang

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In 2004, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Taiwan launched ‘An Arrangement on Working Holiday Scheme’ with 15 countries including New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Britain, Australia and others. The aim of the scheme is to allow young people to work and study English or other foreign languages. Each year, there are 30,000 Taiwanese youths applied for participating in the working holiday schemes. However, frequent accidents could cause huge medical expenses and post-delivery fee, which are usually unaffordable for most families. Therefore, this study explored the relationship among perceived risk toward working holiday, insurance product knowledge, brand image and insurance purchase intention for Taiwanese youths who plan to apply for working holiday. A survey questionnaire was distributed for data collection. A total of 316 questionnaires were collected for data analyzed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples T-test, one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, regression analysis and hierarchical regression methods of analysis and hypothesis testing. The results of this research indicate that perceived risk has a negative influence on insurance purchase intention. On the opposite, product knowledge has brand image has a positive influence on the insurance purchase intention. According to the mentioned results, practical implications were further addressed for insurance companies when developing a future marketing plan.

Keywords: insurance product knowledges, insurance purchase intention, perceived risk, working holiday

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Authors: Nnadi Ezekiel Oluwaseun Ejiofor

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The foundation of this study is the identification of risk variables and their implications on abandoned construction projects in Nigeria. The study's particular goals are to pinpoint the risk factors that lead to the abandonment of public building projects in Nigeria. This study used a hybrid research design that included case studies and descriptive survey research methods. Professionals who work directly in the built environment and are employed by Ministries and Departmental Agencies (MDAs), the public sector, or the private sector are the study's target demographic. This study used a descriptive survey and case study research design to gather data. Nigeria is experiencing a high rate of project abandonment due to housing deficit issues. Factors contributing to this include The study reveals factors contributing to public project abandonment in Abuja FCT include poor cashflow 4.96, inconsistent government policies 4.89, lack of accountability, high corruption, incompetent contractors, non-availability of building materials, lack of utilities, wrong materials, infrastructural facilities, poor planning, and undefined contracts. The study reveals that abandoned projects have a huge impact on the construction industry, such as wastage of resources with a mean value of 3.35, distrust of economic growth, 3.28, and so on. The study found a significant relationship between risk factors and public building construction in Abuja through a T-test value of 0.037, rejecting the null hypothesis and indicating a positive correlation.

Keywords: cost, tetfund, construction projects, public university

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Authors: Shan-Hong Ying, Ying-Fang Wang

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A surrogate approach was deployed for assessing exposures of multiple chemicals at the selected working area of coating processes and applied to assess the exposure concentration of similar exposed groups using the same chemicals but different formula ratios. For the selected area, 6 to 12 portable photoionization detector (PID) were placed uniformly in its workplace to measure its total VOCs concentrations (CT-VOCs) for 6 randomly selected workshifts. Simultaneously, one sampling strain was placed beside one of these portable PIDs, and the collected air sample was analyzed for individual concentration (CVOCi) of 5 VOCs (xylene, butanone, toluene, butyl acetate, and dimethylformamide). Predictive models were established by relating the CT-VOCs to CVOCi of each individual compound via simple regression analysis. The established predictive models were employed to predict each CVOCi based on the measured CT-VOC for each the similar working area using the same portable PID. Results show that predictive models obtained from simple linear regression analyses were found with an R2 = 0.83~0.99 indicating that CT-VOCs were adequate for predicting CVOCi. In order to verify the validity of the exposure prediction model, the sampling analysis of the above chemical substances was further carried out and the correlation between the measured value (Cm) and the predicted value (Cp) was analyzed. It was found that there is a good correction between the predicted value and measured value of each measured chemical substance (R2=0.83~0.98). Therefore, the surrogate approach could be assessed the exposure concentration of similar exposed groups using the same chemicals but different formula ratios. However, it is recommended to establish the prediction model between the chemical substances belonging to each coater and the direct-reading PID, which is more representative of reality exposure situation and more accurately to estimate the long-term exposure concentration of operators.

Keywords: exposure assessment, exposure prediction model, surrogate approach, TVOC

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Authors: Pangkaj Kumar Mahanta, Md. Rafizul Islam

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The rapid growth of the population causes a substantial amount of increase in household waste all over the world. Waste management is becoming one of the most challenging phenomena in the present day. The most environmentally friendly final disposal process of waste is sanitary landfilling, which is practiced in most developing countries. However, in Southeast Asia, most of the final disposal point is an open dump site. Due to the ignominy of proper management of waste and monitoring, the surrounding environment gets polluted more by the open dump site in comparison with a sanitary landfill. Khulna is 3rd largest metropolitan city in Bangladesh, having a population of around 1.5 million and producing approximately 450 tons per day of Municipal Solid Waste. The Municipal solid waste of Khulna city is disposed of in Rajbandh open dump site. The surrounding air is being polluted by the gas produced in the open dump site. Also, the open dump site produces leachate, which contains various heavy metals like Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Mercury (Hg), Strontium (Sr), etc. Leachate pollutes the soil as well as the groundwater of the open dump site and also the surrounding area through seepage. Moreover, during the rainy season, the surface water is polluted by leachate runoff. Also, the plastic waste flowing out from the open dump site through various drivers pollutes the nearby environment. The health risk assessment associated with heavy metals was carried out by computing the chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard index (HI) via different exposure pathways following the USEPA guidelines. For ecological risk, potential contamination index (Cp), Contamination factor (CF), contamination load index (PLI), numerical integrated contamination factor (NICF), enrichment factor (EF), ecological risk index (ER), and potential ecological risk index (PERI) were computed. The health risk and ecological risk assessment results reveal that some heavy metals possess strong health and ecological risk. In addition, the child faces higher harmful health risks from several heavy metals than the adult for all the exposure pathways and media. The conversion of an open dump site into a sanitary landfill and a proper management system can reduce the problems associated with an open dump site. In the sanitary landfill, the produced gas will be managed properly to save the surrounding atmosphere from being polluted. The seepage of leachate can be minimized by installing a compacted clay layer (CCL) as a baseline and leachate collection in a sanitary landfill to save the underlying soil layer and surrounding water bodies from leachate. Another important component of a sanitary landfill is the conversion of plastic waste to energy will minimize the plastic pollution in the landfill area and also the surrounding soil and water bodies. Also, in the sanitary landfill, the bio-waste can be used to make compost to reduce the volume of bio-waste and proper utilization of the landfill area.

Keywords: ecological risk, health risk, open dump site, sanitary landfill

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Authors: Masaki Ohno, Cervinia Manalo, Tetsuji Okuda, Satoshi Nakai, Wataru Nishijima

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Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have been widely used for desalination to purify water for drinking and other purposes. Although at present most RO membranes have no resistance to chlorine, chlorine-resistant membranes are being developed. Therefore, direct chlorine treatment or chlorine washing will be an option in preventing biofouling on chlorine-resistant membranes. Furthermore, if particle accumulation control is possible by using chlorine washing, expensive pretreatment for particle removal can be removed or simplified. The objective of this study was to determine the effective hypochlorite washing condition required for controlling biofilm formation and inorganic particle accumulation on RO membrane in a continuous flow channel with RO membrane and spacer. In this study, direct chlorine washing was done by soaking fouled RO membranes in hypochlorite solution and fluorescence intensity was used to quantify biofilm on the membrane surface. After 48 h of soaking the membranes in high fouling potential waters, the fluorescence intensity decreased to 0 from 470 using the following washing conditions: 10 mg/L chlorine concentration, 2 times/d washing interval, and 30 min washing time. The chlorine concentration required to control biofilm formation decreased as the chlorine concentration (0.5–10 mg/L), the washing interval (1–4 times/d), or the washing time (1–30 min) increased. For the sample solutions used in the study, 10 mg/L chlorine concentration with 2 times/d interval, and 5 min washing time was required for biofilm control. The optimum chlorine washing conditions obtained from soaking experiments proved to be applicable also in controlling biofilm formation in continuous flow experiments. Moreover, chlorine washing employed in controlling biofilm with suspended particles resulted in lower amounts of organic (0.03 mg/cm²) and inorganic (0.14 mg/cm²) deposits on the membrane than that for sample water without chlorine washing (0.14 mg/cm² and 0.33 mg/cm², respectively). The amount of biofilm formed was 79% controlled by continuous washing with 10 mg/L of free chlorine concentration, and the inorganic accumulation amount decreased by 58% to levels similar to that of pure water with kaolin (0.17 mg/cm²) as feed water. These results confirmed the acceleration of particle accumulation due to biofilm formation, and that the inhibition of biofilm growth can almost completely reduce further particle accumulation. In addition, effective hypochlorite washing condition which can control both biofilm formation and particle accumulation could be achieved.

Keywords: reverse osmosis, washing condition optimization, hypochlorous acid, biofouling control

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Authors: Maria Neagu

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This paper presents the heat and mass driven natural convection succession in a Darcy thermally stratified porous medium that embeds a vertical semi-infinite impermeable wall of constant heat flux and concentration. The scale analysis of the system determines the two possible maps of the heat and mass driven natural convection sequence along the wall as a function of the process parameters. These results are verified using the finite differences method applied to the conservation equations.

Keywords: finite difference method, natural convection, porous medium, scale analysis, thermal stratification

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Authors: Rebeca V. Tholen, Elaine Bundy

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Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is considered the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is considered the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease (ESLD). The effects of alcoholism can cause irreversible liver damage, cirrhosis and subsequent liver failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant occurs in 20-50% of patients and increases the risk for recurrent cirrhosis, organ rejection, and graft failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant has been identified as a problem among liver transplant recipients at a large urban academic transplant center in the United States. Transplantation will reverse the complications of ESLD, but it does not treat underlying alcoholism or reduce the risk of relapse after transplant. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a High-Risk Alcoholism Relapse (HRAR) Scale to screen and identify patients at high-risk for alcohol relapse after receiving an LT. Methods: The HRAR Scale is a predictive tool designed to determine the severity of alcoholism and risk of relapse after transplant. The scale consists of three variables identified as having the highest predictive power for early relapse including, daily number of drinks, history of previous inpatient treatment for alcoholism, and the number of years of heavy drinking. All adult liver transplant recipients at a large urban transplant center were screened with the HRAR Scale prior to hospital discharge. A zero to two ordinal score is ranked for each variable, and the total score ranges from zero to six. High-risk scores are between three to six. Results: Descriptive statistics revealed 25 patients were newly transplanted and discharged from the hospital during an 8-week period. 40% of patients (n=10) were identified as being high-risk for relapse and 60% low-risk (n=15). The daily number of drinks were determined by alcohol content (1 drink = 15g of ethanol) and number of drinks per day. 60% of patients reported drinking 9-17 drinks per day, and 40% reported ≤ 9 drinks. 50% of high-risk patients reported drinking ≥ 25 years, 40% for 11-25 years, and 10% ≤ 11 years. For number of inpatient treatments for alcoholism, 50% received inpatient treatment one time, 20% ≥ 1, and 30% reported never receiving inpatient treatment. Findings reveal the importance and value of a validated screening tool as a more efficient method than other screening methods alone. Integration of a structured clinical tool will help guide the drinking history portion of the psychosocial assessment. Targeted interventions can be implemented for all high-risk patients. Conclusions: Our findings validate the effectiveness of utilizing the HRAR scale to screen and identify patients who are a high-risk for alcohol relapse post-LT. Recommendations to help maintain post-transplant sobriety include starting a transplant support group within the organization for all high-risk patients. (ESLD). The effects of alcoholism can cause irreversible liver damage, cirrhosis and subsequent liver failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant occurs in 20-50% of patients, and increases the risk for recurrent cirrhosis, organ rejection, and graft failure. Alcohol relapse after transplant has been identified as a problem among liver transplant recipients at a large urban academic transplant center in the United States. Transplantation will reverse the complications of ESLD, but it does not treat underlying alcoholism or reduce the risk of relapse after transplant. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a High-Risk Alcoholism Relapse (HRAR) Scale to screen and identify patients at high-risk for alcohol relapse after receiving a LT. Methods: The HRAR Scale is a predictive tool designed to determine severity of alcoholism and risk of relapse after transplant. The scale consists of three variables identified as having the highest predictive power for early relapse including, daily number of drinks, history of previous inpatient treatment for alcoholism, and the number of years of heavy drinking. All adult liver transplant recipients at a large urban transplant center were screened with the HRAR Scale prior to hospital discharge. A zero to two ordinal score is ranked for each variable, and the total score ranges from zero to six. High-risk scores are between three to six. Results: Descriptive statistics revealed 25 patients were newly transplanted and discharged from the hospital during an 8-week period. 40% of patients (n=10) were identified as being high-risk for relapse and 60% low-risk (n=15). The daily number of drinks were determined by alcohol content (1 drink = 15g of ethanol) and number of drinks per day. 60% of patients reported drinking 9-17 drinks per day, and 40% reported ≤ 9 drinks. 50% of high-risk patients reported drinking ≥ 25 years, 40% for 11-25 years, and 10% ≤ 11 years. For number of inpatient treatments for alcoholism, 50% received inpatient treatment one time, 20% ≥ 1, and 30% reported never receiving inpatient treatment. Findings reveal the importance and value of a validated screening tool as a more efficient method than other screening methods alone. Integration of a structured clinical tool will help guide the drinking history portion of the psychosocial assessment. Targeted interventions can be implemented for all high-risk patients. Conclusions: Our findings validate the effectiveness of utilizing the HRAR scale to screen and identify patients who are a high-risk for alcohol relapse post-LT. Recommendations to help maintain post-transplant sobriety include starting a transplant support group within the organization for all high-risk patients.

Keywords: alcoholism, liver transplant, quality improvement, substance abuse

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Authors: Michael Scott Evans, Andrew Smith

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The feeling of fatigue at work could potentially have devastating consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the well-established objective indicator of fatigue – the Fatigue Risk Index (FRI) calculator used by the rail industry is an effective indicator to the number of safety incidents, in which fatigue could have been a contributing factor. The study received ethics approval from Cardiff University’s Ethics Committee (EC.16.06.14.4547). A total of 901 safety incidents were recorded from a single British rail franchise between 1st June 2010 – 31st December 2016, into the Safety Management Information System (SMIS). The safety incident types identified that fatigue could have been a contributing factor were: Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD), Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) activation, Automatic Warning System (AWS) slow to cancel, failed to call, and station overrun. From the 901 recorded safety incidents, the scheduling system CrewPlan was used to extract the Fatigue Index (FI) score and Risk Index (RI) score of all train drivers on the day of the safety incident. Only the working rosters of 64.2% (N = 578) (550 men and 28 female) ranging in age from 24 – 65 years old (M = 47.13, SD = 7.30) were accessible for analyses. Analysis from all 578 train drivers who were involved in safety incidents revealed that 99.8% (N = 577) of Fatigue Index (FI) scores fell within or below the identified guideline threshold of 45 as well as 97.9% (N = 566) of Risk Index (RI) scores falling below the 1.6 threshold range. Their scores represent good practice within the rail industry. These findings seem to indicate that the current objective indicator, i.e. the FRI calculator used in this study by the British rail franchise was not an effective predictor of train driver’s FI scores and RI scores, as safety incidents in which fatigue could have been a contributing factor represented only 0.2% of FI scores and 2.1% of RI scores. Further research is needed to determine whether there are other contributing factors that could provide a better indication as to why there is such a significantly large proportion of train drivers who are involved in safety incidents, in which fatigue could have been a contributing factor have such low FI and RI scores.

Keywords: fatigue risk index calculator, objective indicator of fatigue, rail industry, safety incident

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Authors: Sergey V. Vinogradov

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Coastal communities are presently facing increased vulnerabilities due to rising sea levels and shifts in global climate patterns, a trend expected to escalate in the long run. To address the needs of government entities, the public sector, and private enterprises, there is an urgent need to thoroughly investigate, assess, and manage the present and projected risks associated with coastal flooding, including storm surges, sea level rise, and nuisance flooding. In response to these challenges, a practical approach to evaluating storm surge inundation risks has been developed. This methodology offers an integrated assessment of potential flood risk in targeted coastal areas. The physical modeling framework involves simulating synthetic storms and utilizing hydrodynamic models that align with projected future climate and ocean conditions. Both publicly available and site-specific data form the basis for a risk assessment methodology designed to translate inundation model outputs into statistically significant projections of expected financial and operational consequences. This integrated approach produces measurable indicators of impacts stemming from floods, encompassing economic and other dimensions. By establishing connections between the frequency of modeled flood events and their consequences across a spectrum of potential future climate conditions, our methodology generates probabilistic risk assessments. These assessments not only account for future uncertainty but also yield comparable metrics, such as expected annual losses for each inundation event. These metrics furnish stakeholders with a dependable dataset to guide strategic planning and inform investments in mitigation. Importantly, the model's adaptability ensures its relevance across diverse coastal environments, even in instances where site-specific data for analysis may be limited.

Keywords: climate, coastal, surge, risk

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Authors: Greg Zimmerman

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Background: Major depression is a common illness that affects millions of people globally. It is the leading cause of disability and is projected to become the number one cause of the global burden of disease by 2030. Many of those who suffer from depression also suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Acupuncture has been shown to help depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in reducing the risk of IBS in patients with depression. Methods: We enrolled patients diagnosed with depression through the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Propensity score matching was used to match equal numbers (n=32971) of the acupuncture cohort and no-acupuncture cohort based on characteristics including sex, age, baseline comorbidity, and medication. The Cox regression model was used to compare the hazard ratios (HRs) of IBS in the two cohorts. Results: The basic characteristics of the two groups were similar. The cumulative incidence of IBS was significantly lower in the acupuncture cohort than in the no-acupuncture cohort (Log-rank test, p<0.001). Conclusion: The results provided real-world evidence that acupuncture may have a beneficial effect on IBS risk reduction in patients with depression.

Keywords: acupuncture, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, national health insurance research database, real-world evidence

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Authors: Bernard Polednik, Adam Piotrowicz, Lukasz Guz, Marzenna Dudzinska

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Transportation is considered to be responsible for increased exposure of road users – i.e., drivers, car passengers, and pedestrians as well as inhabitants of houses located near roads - to pollutants emitted from vehicles. Accurate estimates are, however, difficult as exposure depends on many factors such as traffic intensity or type of fuel as well as the topography and the built-up area around the individual routes. The season and weather conditions are also of importance. In the case of inhabitants of houses located near roads, their exposure depends on the distance from the road, window tightness and other factors that decrease pollutant infiltration. This work reports the variations of particle concentrations along a selected road in Lublin, Poland. Their impact on the exposure for road users as well as for inhabitants of houses located near the road is also presented. Mobile and fixed-site measurements were carried out in peak (around 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.) and off-peak (12 a.m., 4 a.m., and 12 p.m.) traffic times in all 4 seasons. Fixed-site measurements were performed in 12 measurement points along the route. The number and mass concentration of particles was determined with the use of P-Trak model 8525, OPS 3330, DustTrak DRX model 8533 (TSI Inc. USA) and Grimm Aerosol Spectrometer 1.109 with Nano Sizer 1.321 (Grimm Aerosol Germany). The obtained results indicated that the highest concentrations of traffic-related pollution were measured near 4-way traffic intersections during peak hours in the autumn and winter. The highest average number concentration of ultrafine particles (PN0.1), and mass concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) in fixed-site measurements were obtained in the autumn and amounted to 23.6 ± 9.2×10³ pt/cm³ and 135.1 ± 11.3 µg/m³, respectively. The highest average number concentration of submicrometer particles (PN1) was measured in the winter and amounted to 68 ± 26.8×10³ pt/cm³. The estimated doses of particles deposited in the commuters’ and pedestrians’ lungs within an hour near 4-way TIs in peak hours in the summer amounted to 4.3 ± 3.3×10⁹ pt/h (PN0.1) and 2.9 ± 1.4 µg/h (PM2.5) and 3.9 ± 1.1×10⁹ pt/h (PN0.1) or 2.5 ± 0.4 µg/h (PM2.5), respectively. While estimating the doses inhaled by the inhabitants of premises located near the road one should take into account different fractional penetration of particles from outdoors to indoors. Such doses assessed for the autumn and winter are up to twice as high as the doses inhaled by commuters and pedestrians in the summer. In the winter traffic-related ultrafine particles account for over 70% of all ultrafine particles deposited in the pedestrians’ lungs. The share of traffic-related PM10 particles was estimated at approximately 33.5%. Concluding, the results of the particle concentration measurements along a road in Lublin indicated that the concentration is mainly affected by the traffic intensity and weather conditions. Further detailed research should focus on how the season and the metrological conditions affect concentration levels of traffic-related pollutants and the exposure of commuters and pedestrians as well as the inhabitants of houses located near traffic routes.

Keywords: air quality, deposition dose, health effects, vehicle emissions

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Authors: C. L. Wu, W. W. Tseng

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From the National Health Insurance (NHI) system was introduced in Taiwan in 2000, there have been some problems in transformed small-scale hospitals, such as mobility of patients, shortage of nursing staff, medical pipelines breaking fire compartments and insufficient fire protection systems. Due to shrinking of the funding scale and the aging society, fire safety in small-scale hospitals has recently given cause for concern. The aim of this study is to determine fire risk index for small-scale hospital through a systematic approach The selection of fire safety mitigation methods can be regarded as a multi-attribute decision making process which must be guaranteed by expert groups. First of all, identify and select safety related factors and identify evaluation criteria through literature reviews and experts group. Secondly, application of the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process method is used to ascertain a weighted value which enables rating of the importance each of the selected factors. Overall, Sprinkler type and Compartmentation are the most crucial indices in mitigating fire, that is to say, structural approach play an important role to decrease losses in fire events.

Keywords: Fuzzy Delphi Method, fuzzy analytic hierarchy, process risk assessment, fire events

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Authors: Mahnoosh Aliahmadi, Akbar Esmaeili

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This study synthesized new modified imaging nanocapsules (NCs) of gallium@deferoxamine/folic acid/chitosan/polyaniline/polyvinyl alcohol (Ga@DFA/FA/CS/PANI/PVA) containing Morus nigra extract by selenium nanoparticles prepared from Lactobacillus acidophilus. Se nanoparticles were then deposited on (Ga@DFA/FA/CS/PANI/PVA) using the impregnation method. The modified contrast agents were mixed with M. nigra extract, and their antibacterial activities were investigated by applying them to L929 cell lines. The influence of variable factors including surfactant, solvent, aqueous phase, pH, buffer, minimum Inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), cytotoxicity on cancer cells, antibiotic, antibiogram, release and loading, stirring effect, the concentration of nanoparticle, olive oil, and thermotical methods was investigated. The structure and morphology of the synthesized contrast agents were characterized by zeta potential sizer analysis (ZPS), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental section was conducted and monitored by response surface methods (RSM) and MTT conversion assay. Antibiogram testing of NCs on Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria was successful, and the MIC=2 factor was obtained with a less harmful effect.

Keywords: imaging contrast agent, nanoparticles, response surface method, Lactobacillus acidophilus, selenium

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Authors: Aly Kassem, Eman Sapet, Eman Abdelbaset, Hosam Mahmoud

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Objective: Hypertension is an important public health challenge being one of the most common worldwide disease-affecting human. Our aim is to study the clinical characteristics, therapeutic regimens, treatment compliance, and risk factors in a sector of of hypertensive patients at Sohag City. Subject and Methods: A cross sectional study; conducted in Sohag city; it involved 520 patients; males (45.7 %) and females (54.3 %). Their ages ranged between 35-85 years. BP measurements, BMI, blood glucose, Serum creatinine, urine analysis, serum Lipids, blood picture and ECG were done all the studied patients. Results: Hypertension presented more between non-smokers (72.55%), females (54.3%), educated patients (50.99%) and patients with low SES (54.9%). CAD presented in (51.63%) of patients, while laboratory investigations showed hyperglycaemia in (28.7%), anemia in (18.3%), high serum creatinine level in (8.49%) and proteinuria in (10.45%) of patient. Adequate BP control was achieved in (49.67%); older patients had lower adequacy of BP control in spite of the extensive use of multiple-drug therapy. Most hypertensive patients had more than one coexistent CV risk factor. Aging, being a female (54.3%), DM (32.3%), family history of hypertension (28.7%), family history of CAD (25.4%), and obesity (10%) were the common contributing risk factors. ACE-inhibitors were prescribed in (58.16%), Beta-blockers in (34.64%) of the patients. Monotherapy was prescribed for (41.17%) of the patients. (75.81%) of patients had regular use of their drug regimens. (49.67%) only of patients had their condition under control, the number of drugs was inversely related to BP control. Conclusion: Hypertensive patients in Sohag city had a profile of high CV risks, and poor blood pressure control particularly in the elderly. A multidisciplinary approach for routine clinical check-up, follow-up, physicians and patients training, prescribing simple once-daily regimens and encouraging life style modifications are recommended. Anti hypertensives, hypertension, elderly patients, risk factors, treatment compliance.

Keywords: anti hypertensives, hypertension, elderly patients, risk factors, treatment compliance

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Authors: Kevin T. Inks

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India’s Brahmaputra River Valley has, since independence, experienced consistent low-intensity guerrilla warfare between ethnic and religious groups. These groups are often organized around perceived ethnic territoriality, and target civilians, communities, and especially migrants belonging to other ethnic and religious groups. Intense flooding and erosion have led to widespread displacement, and disaster relief funds are largely tied to legal land tenure. Displaced residents of informal settlements receive little or no resettlement aid, and their subsequent migration strategies and risk from guerrilla violence are poorly understood. Semi-structured interviews and comprehensive surveys focused on perceptions of risk, efficacy of disaster relief, and migration and adaptation strategies were conducted with households identified as being ‘at-risk’ of catastrophic flooding and erosion in Majuli District, Assam. Interviews with policymakers and government workers were conducted to assess disaster relief efforts in informal settlements, and remote sensing methods were used to identify informal settlement and hydrogeomorphic change. The results show that various ethnic and religious groups have differential strategies and preferences for resettlement. However, these varying strategies are likely to lead to differential levels of risk from guerrilla violence. Members of certain ethnic groups residing in informal settlements, in the absence of resettlement assistance, are more likely to seek out unofficial settlement on land far from the protection of the state and experience greater risk of becoming victims of political violence. As climate change and deforestation are likely to increase the severity of the displacement crisis in the Brahmaputra River Valley, more comprehensive disaster relief and surveying efforts are vital for limiting migration and informal settlement in potential sites of guerrilla warfare.

Keywords: climate, displacement, flooding, India, violence

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Authors: Tizi Hayet, Berrama Tarek, Bounif Nadia

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Phenol and its derivatives are organic compounds utilized in the chemical industry. They are introduced into the environment by accidental spills and the illegal release of industrial and municipal wastewater. Phenols are organic intermediaries that are considered potential pollutants. Adsorption is one of the purification and separation techniques used in this area. Algeria annually produces 131000 tons of fig; therefore, a large amount of fig leaves is generated, and the conversion of this waste into adsorbent allows the valorization of agricultural residue. The main purpose of this present work is to describe an application of a statistical method for modeling and to optimize the conditions of the phenol adsorption from agricultural by-products, locally available (fig leaves). The best experimental performance of phenol elimination on the adsorbent was obtained with: Adsorbent concentration (X₂) = 200 mg L⁻¹; Initial concentration (X₃) = 150 mg L⁻¹; Speed agitation (X₁) = 300 rpm.

Keywords: low-cost adsorbents, adsorption, fig leaves, phenol, factorial design

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Authors: Merab Mamuladze, Mixeil Lejava, Fadiko Abuselidze

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At present, where most of the soils of Georgia have a small contour, the demand for small-capacity technical means, in particular motoblocks, has increased. Motoblocks perform agricultural work for various purposes, where the work process is performed by the operator, who experiences various magnitudes of vibration, impact, noise, and in general, as a result of long-term work production, causes body damage, dynamic load, and respiratory diseases in people. In the scientific paper, the dependence on the vibration of different types of diesel fuel is investigated in the case of five different revolutions in the internal combustion engine. Studies have shown that fuel and engine speed are the only risk factors that contradict the ISO 5349-2(2004) international standard. The experience of four years of work studies showed that 10% of operators received various types of injuries as a result of working with motoblocks. Experiments also showed that the amount of vibration decreases when the number of revolutions of the engine increases, and in the case of using biodiesel fuel, the damage risk factor is 5-10%, and in the case of using conventional diesel, this indicator has gone up to 20%.

Keywords: engine, vibration, biodiesel, high risk factor, working conditions

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Authors: Zohreh Mohammadi, Jan Kaspar, Peter Lohmander, Robert Marusak, Harald Vacik, Ljusk Ola Eriksson

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Storms are important damaging agents in European forest ecosystems. In the latest decades, significant economic losses in European forestry occurred due to storms. This study investigates the problem of optimal harvest planning when forest stands risk to be felled by storms. One of the most applicable mathematical methods which are being used to optimize forest management is stochastic dynamic programming (SDP). This method belongs to the adaptive optimization class. Sequential decisions, such as harvest decisions, can be optimized based on sequential information about events that cannot be perfectly predicted, such as the future storms and the future states of wind protection from other forest stands. In this paper, stochastic dynamic programming is used to maximize the expected present value of the profits from an area consisting of several forest stands. The region of analysis is the Czech Republic. The harvest decisions, in a particular time period, should be simultaneously taken in all neighbor stands. The reason is that different stands protect each other from possible winds. The optimal harvest age of a particular stand is a function of wind speed and different wind protection effects. The optimal harvest age often decreases with wind speed, but it cannot be determined for one stand at a time. When we consider a particular stand, this stand also protects other stands. Furthermore, the particular stand is protected by neighbor stands. In some forest stands, it may even be rational to increase the harvest age under the influence of stronger winds, in order to protect more valuable stands in the neighborhood. It is important to integrate wind risk in forestry decision-making.

Keywords: Czech republic, forest stands, stochastic dynamic programming, wind risk

Procedia PDF Downloads 147