Search results for: warehouse failure risk

Authors: Lennart Dimberg, Lala Joulha Ian

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Introduction: Overweight (BMI 25-30) and obesity (BMI 30+) have consistently been associated with cardiovascular (CV) risk and death since the Framingham heart study in 1948, and BMI was included in the original Framingham risk score (FRS). Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) poses a serious threat to the patient's life. In addition to BMI, several other indices of overweight have been presented and argued to replace FRS as more relevant measures of CV risk. These indices include waist circumference (WC), waist/hip ratio (WHR), sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), and sagittal abdominal diameter to height (SADHtR). Specific research question: The research question of this study is to evaluate the interrelationship between the various body measurements, BMI, WC, WHR, SAD, and SADHtR, and which measurement is strongly associated with MI and death. Methods: In 1993, 1,000 middle-aged Caucasian, randomly selected working men of the Swedish Volvo-Renault cohort were surveyed at a nurse-led health examination with a questionnaire, EKG, laboratory tests, blood pressure, height, weight, waist, and sagittal abdominal diameter measurements. Outcome data of myocardial infarction over 28 years come from Swedeheart (the Swedish national myocardial infarction registry) and the Swedish death registry. The Aalen-Johansen and Kaplan–Meier methods were used to estimate the cumulative incidences of MI and death. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare BMI with the other four body measurements. The risk for the various measures of obesity was calculated with outcomes of accumulated first-time myocardial infarction and death as odds ratios (OR) in quartiles. The ORs between the 4th and the 1st quartile of each measure were calculated to estimate the association between the body measurement variables and the probability of cumulative incidences of myocardial infarction (MI) over time. Double-sided P values below 0.05 will be considered statistically significant. Unadjusted odds ratios were calculated for obesity indicators, MI, and death. Adjustments for age, diabetes, SBP, and the ratio of total cholesterol/HDL-C and blue/white collar status were performed. Results: Out of 1000 people, 959 subjects had full information about the five different body measurements. Of those, 90 participants had a first MI, and 194 persons died. The study showed that there was a high and significant correlation between the five different body measurements, and they were all associated with CVD risk factors. All body measurements were significantly associated with MI, with the highest (OR=3.6) seen for SADHtR and WC. After adjustment, all but SADHtR remained significant with weaker ORs. As for all-cause mortality, WHR (OR=1.7), SAD (OR=1.9), and SADHtR (OR=1.6) were significantly associated, but not WC and BMI. However, after adjustment, only WHR and SAD were significantly associated with death, but with attenuated ORs.

Keywords: BMI, death, epidemiology, myocardial infarction, risk factor, sagittal abdominal diameter, sagittal abdominal diameter to height, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio

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Authors: Maysoon Khalil Askar

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The delineation of possible areas of corrosion along the external face of an underground oil pipeline in Trunk line of Al- Garraf oil field was investigated using the horizontal electrical resistivity profiling technique and study the contribution of pH, Moisture Content in Soil and Presence chlorides, sulfates and total dissolve salts in soil and water. The test sites represent a physical and chemical properties of soils. The hydrogen-ion concentration of soil and groundwater range from 7.2 to 9.6, and the resistivity values of the soil along the pipeline were obtained using the YH302B model resistivity meter having values between 1588 and 720 Ohm-cm. the chloride concentration in soil and groundwater is high (more than 1000 ppm), total soulable salt is more than 5000 ppm, and sulphate range from 0.17% and 0.98% in soil and more than 600 ppm in groundwater. The soil is poor aeration, the soil texture is fine (clay and silt soil), the water content is high (the groundwater is close to surface), the chloride and sulphate is high in the soil and groundwater, the total soulable salt is high in ground water and finally the soil electric resistivity is low that the soil is very corrosive and there is the possibility of the pipeline failure. These methods applied in the study are quick, economic and efficient for detecting along buried pipelines which need to be protected. Routine electrical geophysical investigations along buried oil pipelines should be undertaken for the early detection and prevention of pipeline failure with its attendant environmental, human and economic consequences.

Keywords: soil resistivity, corrosion, cathodic protection, chloride concentration, water content

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Authors: Ashenafi Sileshi Etefa, Bezawit Worku Yenealem

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Micro-insurance is a relatively new concept that is just being introduced in Ethiopia. For an agrarian economy dominated by small holder farming and vulnerable to natural disasters, mainly drought, the need for an Index-Based Micro Insurance (IBMI) is crucial. Since IBMI solves moral hazard, adverse selection, and access issues to poor clients, it is preferable over traditional insurance products. IBMI is being piloted in drought prone areas of Ethiopia with the aim of learning and expanding the service across the country. This article analyses the demand of IBMI and the barriers to demand and finds that the demand for IBMI has so far been constrained by lack of awareness, trust issues, costliness, and the level of basis risk; and recommends reducing the basis risk and increasing the role of government and farmer cooperatives.

Keywords: agriculture, index based micro-insurance (IBMI), drought, micro-finance institution (MFI)

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Authors: Nadia Obaed, Lexi Frankel, Amalia Ardeljan, Denis Nigel, Anniki Witter, Omar Rashid

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with a lifetime risk of one in eight of all women in the United States. Although breast cancer is prevalent throughout the world, the uneven distribution in incidence and mortality rates is shaped by the variation in population structure, environment, genetics and known lifestyle risk factors. Furthermore, the bacterial profile in healthy and cancerous breast tissue differs with a higher relative abundance of bacteria capable of causing DNA damage in breast cancer patients. Previous bacterial infections may change the composition of the microbiome and partially account for the environmental factors promoting breast cancer. One study found that higher amounts of Staphylococcus, Bacillus, and Enterobacteriaceae, of which Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a part, were present in breast tumor tissue. Based on E. coli’s ability to damage DNA, it is hypothesized that there is an increased risk of breast cancer associated with previous E. coli infection. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between E. coli infection and the incidence of breast cancer. Holy Cross Health, Fort Lauderdale, provided access to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) compliant national database for the purpose of academic research. International Classification of Disease 9th and 10th Codes (ICD-9, ICD-10) was then used to conduct a retrospective analysis using data from January 2010 to December 2019. All breast cancer diagnoses and all patients infected versus not infected with E. coli that underwent typical E. coli treatment were investigated. The obtained data were matched for age, Charlson Comorbidity Score (CCI score), and antibiotic treatment. Standard statistical methods were applied to determine statistical significance and an odds ratio was used to estimate the relative risk. A total of 81286 patients were identified and analyzed from the initial query and then reduced to 31894 antibiotic-specific treated patients in both the infected and control group, respectively. The incidence of breast cancer was 2.51% and present in 2043 patients in the E. coli group compared to 5.996% and present in 4874 patients in the control group. The incidence of breast cancer was 3.84% and present in 1223 patients in the treated E. coli group compared to 6.38% and present in 2034 patients in the treated control group. The decreased incidence of breast cancer in the E. coli and treated E. coli groups was statistically significant with a p-value of 2.2x10-16 and 2.264x10-16, respectively. The odds ratio in the E. coli and treated E. coli groups was 0.784 and 0.787 with a 95% confidence interval, respectively (0.756-0.813; 0.743-0.833). The current study shows a statistically significant decrease in breast cancer incidence in association with previous Escherichia coli infection. Researching the relationship between single bacterial species is important as only up to 10% of breast cancer risk is attributable to genetics, while the contribution of environmental factors including previous infections potentially accounts for a majority of the preventable risk. Further evaluation is recommended to assess the potential and mechanism of E. coli in decreasing the risk of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, escherichia coli, incidence, infection, microbiome, risk

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Authors: Shahla Rostamirad

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Purpose: Giardiasis is a widespread infection in humans caused by Giardia lamblia. The prevalence of this parasite among children in Isfahan of Iran is unknown. This study intended to estimate Giardia lamblia infection prevalence and identify possible associated risk factors in a healthy pediatric population living in the Isfahan, a metropolitan city of Iran. Methods: Between September 2010 and March 2012, 1448 stool sample from children with clinical manifestation that refer to clinical lab in Isfahan city for stool examination were collected and analyzed. About 1218 samples were positive for parasitic disease. All of samples were examined and diagnosed by direct examination and formalin-ether concentration of stools. Results: A total of 1218 positive cases were analyzed in this study. The findings showed that 92.5% of patients were infected by protozoa and 7.5 percent with helminth infection. The highest and lowest rate of infection belongs to Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica with 75% and 1.1%, respectively. Other infection cases were included of Blastocystys hominis 9.9%, E. coli 6.5%, H. nana 1.3%, Enterobious vermicolaris 4% and Ascaris lumbricoides 2.2% percent. The population studied revealed a gender distribution of 53.2% male and 46.8% female. Age distribution was 57.3% between 0-5 years and 42.7% between 6-15 years.The prevalence was higher among children aged 0-5 years (57.8%), than among older children (42.2%). Conclusion: The prevalence of protozoan parasite, especially Giardiasis, in children residing in the region of Isfahan is high. Several risk factors were associated with this prevalence and highlight the importance of parents' education and sanitation conditions in the children's well being. The association between Giardia lamblia and H. pylori seems an important issue deserving further investigation in order to promote prevention or treatment strategies. Other risk factor include presence of Helicobacter pylori infection, living in houses with own drainage system and reported household, pet contact, especially with cat and dog.

Keywords: Giardia duodenalis, prevalence, risk factors, children, Isfahan, Iran

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Authors: Maryam Nabati, Mahmood Moosazadeh, Ehsan Soroosh, Hanieh Shiraj, Mahnaneh Gholami, Ali Ghaemian

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Background: Reported effects of obesity on the extent of angiographic coronary artery disease(CAD) have beeninconsistent. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between the indices of obesity and otheranthropometric markers with the extent of CAD. Methods: This study was conducted on 1008 consecutive patients who underwent coronary angiography. Bodymass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) wereseparately calculated for each patient. Extent, severity, and complexity of CAD were determined by the Gensini andSYNTAX scores. Results: According to the results, there was a significant inverse correlation between the SYNTAX score with BMI(r = − 0.110; P < 0.001), WC (r = − 0.074; P = 0.018), and WHtR (r = − 0.089; P = 0.005). Furthermore, a significant inversecorrelation was observed between the Gensini score with BMI (r = − 0.090; P = 0.004) and WHtR (r = − 0.065; P =0.041). However, the results of multivariate linear regression analysis did not show any association between theSYNTAX and Gensini scores with the indices of obesity and overweight. On the other hand, the patients with anunhealthy WC had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) (P = 0.004) and hypertension (HTN) (P < 0.001) compared to the patients with healthy values. Coexistence of HTN and DM was more prevalent in subjects with anunhealthy WC and WHR compared to that in those with healthy values (P = 0.002 and P = 0.032, respectively). Conclusion: It seems that the anthropometric indices of obesity are not the predictors of the angiographic severityof CAD. However, they are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular risk factors and higher risk profile.

Keywords: body mass index, BMI, coronary artery disease, waist circumference

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Authors: Menoka Bal, David Bryde

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Sustainability in supply chain has become a topic of great interest and is linked to the assumption that a more sustainable the supply chain is the more the supply chain can perform better. The aim of this paper is to identify the different key aspects of the sustainable supply chain management. This paper will also identify the practices that are required to fulfill the demands of sustainability and, therefore, contributing to improve the sustainability performance. As part of this, the authors will identify how these different practices of implementing to achieve Sustainability in Supply Chain. This paper is conceptual in nature. This paper identifies some of the key categories which are of high importance for the sustainable management of supply chains. These key categories are: Managing the Supply Chain Risk, Improving the Supply Chain Performance, Managing the Supply Chain Value, Making the Supply Chain Leaner, Managing the Supply Chain Relationship. Through in-depth analysis, this paper aims to develop a theory of integrated management process that is most appropriate for sustainability assessment in supply chain.

Keywords: sustainability, risk management, value management, project performance, supply chain management

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Authors: Puji Sucia Sukmaningrum, Achsania Hendratmi, Noven Suprayogi, Muhammad Madyan

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Theoretically, Islamic banks in Indonesia and Malaysia not necessarily aware to the interest rate fluctuation, since they don’t use interest-based instruments. Both countries use dual banking system in which Islamic and conventional banking system are exist. This situation makes the profit-sharing level of the Islamic banks will be indirectly affected by the interest rate fluctuation from the conventional banks system. One of the risk management tools for anticipating the risk of interest rate fluctuation is gap management, which has purpose to narrow the difference between Rate Sensitive Asset (RSA) and Rate Sensitive Liability (RSL). This formed gap will give the information about the risk potential in Islamic banks which respect to the fluctuation on the interest rate. This study aims to determine the position of the gap formed at Islamic Maybank Indonesia and Islamic Maybank Malaysia, and analyze the difference in the formation of gap based on the period of sensitivity. This study is a quantitative research with comparative study using sensitivity gap analysis, independent sample t-test, and Mann-Whitney method. The data being used was secondary data from Maturity Profile contained in the Annual Financial Report of Islamic Maybank Indonesia and Islamic Maybank Malaysia from 2011 to 2015 period. The result shows that, cumulatively the formation of the gap was negative gap. From the results of independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney, the formation of the gap in Islamic Maybank Indonesia and Islamic Maybank Malaysia for a period of sensitivity of ≤ 1 month and >1-3 months show a significant difference, while the period of sensitivity >3-12 months does not. The result shows, even though Indonesia and Malaysia using same dual banking systems, the gap values are different. The difference in debt policy between Indonesia and Malaysia also affecting the gap sensitivity in debt. In can be concluded that each country needs an appropriate gap management to support its Islamic banking performance specifically.

Keywords: assets and liability management, gap management, interest rate risk, Islamic bank

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Authors: Rory Brown, Jessica Daniels, Babatunde Oremule, William Tsang, Sadie Khwaja

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Introduction: Dentures are common and are an intervention for both physical and psychological symptoms associated with tooth loss. However, the humble denture can cause morbidity and mortality if swallowed or aspirated. Numerous case reports document complications including hollow viscus perforation, fistula formation and airway compromise. The purpose of this review was to examine the literature documenting cases of swallowed or aspirated dentures over the past ten years to investigate factors that contribute to developing complications. Methods: A Medline literature search was performed to identify cases of denture ingestion or aspiration for over ten years. Data was collected to include patient, appliance and temporal factors that may contribute to developing complications including hollow viscus perforation, fistula formation, abscess, bowel obstruction, necrosis, hemorrhage and airway obstruction. The data was analyzed using observational and inferential statistics in the form of Chi-Squared and Pearson correlation tests. Results: Eighty-five cases of ingested or aspirated dentures were identified from 77 articles published between 1/10/2009 and 31/10/2019. Fourteen articles were excluded because they did not provide sufficient information on individual cases. Complications were documented in 37.6% of patients, and 2 cases resulted in death. There was no significant difference in complication risk based on patient age, hooked appliance, level of impaction, or radiolucency. However, symptoms of greater than 1-day duration are associated with an increased risk of complication (p=0.005). Increased time from ingestion or aspiration to removal is associated with an increased risk of complications, and the p-value remains significant up to and including day 4 (p=0.017). Conclusions: With denture use predicted to rise complications from the denture, ingestion and aspiration may become more frequent. We have demonstrated that increased symptom duration significantly increases the risk of developing complications. Additionally, we established the risk of developing complications is significantly reduced if the denture is removed with four days of aspiration or ingestion. By actively intervening early when presented with a case of swallowed or aspirated dentures, we may be able to reduce the morbidity associated with this unassuming device.

Keywords: aspiration, denture, ingestion, endoscopic foreign, body removal, foreign body impaction

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Authors: Feng Ji Mervin Goh, Edmund Chee Jian Pua, Stuart Alexander Cook

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Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common cause of heart failure. Genetic mutations account for 50% of DCM cases with TTN mutations being the most common, accounting for up to 25% of DCM cases. However, the genetic architecture underlying Asian DCM patients is unknown. We evaluated 68 patients (female= 17) with DCM who underwent follow-up at the National Heart Centre, Singapore from 2013 through 2014. Clinical data were obtained and analyzed retrospectively. Genomic DNA was subjected to next-generation targeted sequencing. Nextera Rapid Capture Enrichment was used to capture the exons of a panel of 169 cardiac genes. DNA libraries were sequenced as paired-end 150-bp reads on Illumina MiSeq. Raw sequence reads were processed and analysed using standard bioinformatics techniques. The average age of onset of DCM was 46.1±10.21 years old. The average left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular diastolic internal diameter (LVIDd), left ventricular systolic internal diameter (LVIDs) were 26.1±11.2%, 6.20±0.83cm, and 5.23±0.92cm respectively. The frequencies of mutations in major DCM-associated genes were as follows TTN (5.88% vs published frequency of 20%), LMNA (4.41% vs 6%), MYH7 (5.88% vs 4%), MYH6 (5.88% vs 4%), and SCN5a (4.41% vs 3%). The average callability at 10 times coverage of each major gene were: TTN (99.7%), LMNA (87.1%), MYH7 (94.8%), MYH6 (95.5%), and SCN5a (94.3%). In conclusion, TTN mutations are not common in Singaporean DCM patients. The frequencies of other major DCM-associated genes are comparable to frequencies published in the current literature.

Keywords: heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy, genetics, next-generation sequencing

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Authors: Benjamin J. Kuo, Silvia D. Vaca, Joao Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci, Catherine A. Staton, Linda Xu, Michael Muhumuza, Hussein Ssenyonjo, John Mukasa, Joel Kiryabwire, Lydia Nanjula, Christine Muhumuza, Henry E. Rice, Gerald A. Grant, Michael M. Haglund

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Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is disproportionally concentrated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with the odds of dying from TBI in Uganda more than 4 times higher than in high income countries (HICs). The disparities in the injury incidence and outcome between LMICs and resource-rich settings have led to increased health outcomes research for TBIs and their associated risk factors in LMICs. While there have been increasing TBI studies in LMICs over the last decade, there is still a need for more robust prospective registries. In Uganda, a trauma registry implemented in 2004 at the Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH) showed that RTI is the major contributor (60%) of overall mortality in the casualty department. While the prior registry provides information on injury incidence and burden, it’s limited in scope and doesn’t follow patients longitudinally throughout their hospital stay nor does it focus specifically on TBIs. And although these retrospective analyses are helpful for benchmarking TBI outcomes, they make it hard to identify specific quality improvement initiatives. The relationship among epidemiology, patient risk factors, clinical care, and TBI outcomes are still relatively unknown at MNRH. Objective: The objectives of this study are to describe the processes of care and determine risk factors predictive of poor outcomes for TBI patients presenting to a single tertiary hospital in Uganda. Methods: Prospective data were collected for 563 TBI patients presenting to a tertiary hospital in Kampala from 1 June – 30 November 2016. Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) was used to systematically collect variables spanning 8 categories. Univariate and multivariate analysis were conducted to determine significant predictors of mortality. Results: 563 TBI patients were enrolled from 1 June – 30 November 2016. 102 patients (18%) received surgery, 29 patients (5.1%) intended for surgery failed to receive it, and 251 patients (45%) received non-operative management. Overall mortality was 9.6%, which ranged from 4.7% for mild and moderate TBI to 55% for severe TBI patients with GCS 3-5. Within each TBI severity category, mortality differed by management pathway. Variables predictive of mortality were TBI severity, more than one intracranial bleed, failure to receive surgery, high dependency unit admission, ventilator support outside of surgery, and hospital arrival delayed by more than 4 hours. Conclusions: The overall mortality rate of 9.6% in Uganda for TBI is high, and likely underestimates the true TBI mortality. Furthermore, the wide-ranging mortality (3-82%), high ICU fatality, and negative impact of care delays suggest shortcomings with the current triaging practices. Lack of surgical intervention when needed was highly predictive of mortality in TBI patients. Further research into the determinants of surgical interventions, quality of step-up care, and prolonged care delays are needed to better understand the complex interplay of variables that affect patient outcome. These insights guide the development of future interventions and resource allocation to improve patient outcomes.

Keywords: care continuum, global neurosurgery, Kampala Uganda, LMIC, Mulago, prospective registry, traumatic brain injury

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Authors: Dweepabiswa Bagchi, D. V. Senthilkumar

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Numerous studies have typically demonstrated the devastation of invasions on an isolated ecosystem or, at most, a network of dispersively coupled similar ecosystem patches. Using such a simplistic 2-D network model, one can only consider dispersal coupling and inter-species trophic interactions. However, in a realistic ecosystem, numerous species co-exist and interact trophically and non-trophically in groups of 2 or more. Even different types of dispersal can introduce complexity in an ecological network. Therefore, a more accurate representation of actual ecosystems (or ecological networks) is a complex network consisting of motifs formed by two or more interacting species. Here, the apropos structure of the network should be multiplex or multi-layered. Motifs between different patches or species should be identical within the same layer and vary from one layer to another. This study investigates three distinct ecological multiplex networks facing invasion from one or more external species. This work determines and quantifies the criteria for the increased extinction risk of these networks. The dynamical states of the network with high extinction risk, i.e., the danger states, and those with low extinction risk, i.e., the resistive network states, are both subsequently identified. The analysis done in this study further quantifies the persistence of the entire network corresponding to simultaneous changes in the strength of invasive dispersal and higher-order trophic and non-trophic interactions. This study also demonstrates that the ecosystems enjoy an inherent advantage against invasions due to their multiplex network structure.

Keywords: increased ecosystem persistence, invasion on ecosystems, multiplex networks, non-trophic interactions

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Authors: Ali A. Al-Jazaairry, Tahsin T. Sabbagh

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One of the important concerns within the field of geotechnical engineering is the presence of cavities in soils. This present work is an attempt to understand the behaviour of strip footing subjected to inclined load and constructed on cavitied soil. The failure mechanism of strip footing located above such soils was studied analytically. The capability of analytical model to correctly expect the system behaviour is assessed by carrying out verification analysis on available studies. The study was prepared by finite element software (PLAXIS) in which an elastic-perfectly plastic soil model was used. It was indicated, from the results of the study, that the load carrying capacity of foundation constructed on cavity can be analysed well using such analysis. The research covered many foundation cases, and in each foundation case, there occurs a critical depth under which the presence of cavities has shown minimum impact on the foundation performance. When cavities are found above this critical depth, the load carrying capacity of the foundation differs with many influences, such as the location and size of the cavity and footing depth. Figures involving the load carrying capacity with the affecting factors studied are presented. These figures offer information beneficial for the design of strip footings rested on underground cavities. Moreover, the results might be used to design a shallow foundation constructed on cavitied soil, whereas the obtained failure mechanisms may be employed to improve numerical solutions for this kind of problems.

Keywords: axial load, cavity, inclined load, strip footing

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Authors: Ernest Nweke

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The work of Professional Accountants and Corporate governance are synonymous and cannot be divorced from each other. Organizations, profit and non-profit alike cannot implement sound corporate practices without inputs from Professional Accountants. In today’s dynamic corporate world, good corporate governance practice is a sine qua non. More so, following the corporate failures of the past decades like Enron and WorldCom, governments around the world, including Mongolia are becoming more proactive in ensuring sound corporate governance mechanisms. In the past fifteen years, the Mongolian government has taken several measures to establish and strengthen internal corporate governance structures in firms. This paper highlights the role of professional accountants and auditors play in ensuring that good corporate governance mechanisms are entrenched in listed companies in Mongolia. Both primary and secondary data are utilized in this research. In collection of primary data, Delphi method was used, securing responses from only knowledgeable senior employees, top managers, and some CEOs. Using this method, a total of 107 top-level company employees and executives randomly selected from 22 companies were surveyed; maximum of 5 and minimum of 4 from each company. These companies cut across several sectors. It was concluded that Professional Accountants play key roles in setting and maintaining firm governance. They do this by ensuring full compliance with all the requirements of good and sound corporate governance, establishing reporting, monitoring and evaluating standards, assisting in the setting up of proper controls, efficient and effective audit systems, sound fraud risk management and putting in place an overall vision for the enterprise. Companies with effective corporate governance mechanisms are usually strong and fraud-resilient. It was also discovered that companies with big 4 audit firms tend to have better governance structures in Mongolia.

Keywords: accountants, corporate disclosure, corporate failure, corporate governance

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Authors: T. A. Sakr, Hanaa E. Abd-El-Mottaleb

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Outrigger-braced wall systems are commonly used to provide high rise buildings with the required lateral stiffness for wind and earthquake resistance. The existence of outriggers adds to the stiffness and strength of walls as reported by several studies. The effects of different parameters on the elasto-plastic dynamic behavior of outrigger-braced wall systems to earthquakes are investigated in this study. Parameters investigated include outrigger stiffness, concrete strength, and reinforcement arrangement as the main design parameters in wall design. In addition to being significant to the wall behavior, such parameters may lead to the change of failure mode and the delay of crack propagation and consequently failure as the wall is excited by earthquakes. Bi-linear stress-strain relation for concrete with limited tensile strength and truss members with bi-linear stress-strain relation for reinforcement were used in the finite element analysis of the problem. The famous earthquake record, El-Centro, 1940 is used in the study. Emphasis was given to the lateral drift, normal stresses and crack pattern as behavior controlling determinants. Results indicated significant effect of the studied parameters such that stiffer outrigger, higher grade concrete and concentrating the reinforcement at wall edges enhance the behavior of the system. Concrete stresses and cracking behavior are sigbificantly enhanced while lesser drift improvements are observed.

Keywords: outrigger, shear wall, earthquake, nonlinear

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Authors: Liman Zhao, Jianlong Zhang, Mingman Ren, Chuang Wang, Jian Liu

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Rural migrant children have become a fast-growing population in China as a consequence of the large-scale population flow from rural to urban areas in the context of urbanization. In China, the socioeconomic status of migrant children is relatively low in comparison to non-migrant children. Parents of migrant children often work in occupations with long working hours, high labor intensity, and low pay due to their poor academic qualifications. Most migrant children's parents have not received higher education and have no time to read with their children. The family of migrant children usually does not have a good collection of books either, which leads to these children’s insufficient reading and low reading levels. Moreover, migrant children frequently relocate with their parents, and their needs for knowledge and reading are often neglected by schools, which puts migrant children at risk of academic failure in China. Therefore, the academic achievement of rural migrant children has become a focus of education in China. This study explores the relationship between the educational expectation of rural migrant children and their critical reading competence in general and the moderating effect of the difference between parental educational expectation to their children and the children’s own educational expectation. The responses to a survey from 5113 seventh-grade children in a district of the capital city in China revealed that children who moved to cities in grades 4-6 of primary school performed the best in critical reading, and children who moved to cities after middle school showed the worst performance in critical reading. In addition, parents’ educational expectations of their children and their own educational expectations were both significant predictors of rural migrant children’s reading competence. The higher a child's expectations of a degree and the smaller the gap between parents' expectations of a child's education and the child's own education expectations, the better the child's performance in critical reading.

Keywords: educational expectation, critical reading competence, rural migrant children, moderating effect

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Authors: Dilsad Akal

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Aim: Companies communicate with each other and with their costumers via call centers. Call centers are defined as stressful because of their uncertain working hours, inadequate relief time, performance based system and heavy workload. In literature, this sector is defined as risky as mining sector by means of health and safety. The aim of this research is to enlight the relatively dark area. Subject and Methods: The collection of data for this study completed during April-May 2015 for the two selected call centers in different parts of Turkey. The applied question mostly investigated the health conditions of call center workers. Electromagnetic field measurements were completed at the same time with applying the question poll. The ratio of employee accessibility noted as 73% for the first call center and 87% for the second. Results: The results of electromagnetic field measurements were as between 371 V/m-32 V/m for the first location and between 370 V/m-61 V/m for the second. The general complaints of the employees for both workplaces can be counted as; inadequate relief time, inadequate air conditioning, disturbance, poor thermal conditions, inadequate or extreme lighting. Furthermore, musculoskeletal discomfort, stress, ear and eye discomfort are main health problems of employees. Conclusion: The measured values and the responses to the question poll were found parallel with the other similar research results in literature. At the end of this survey, a risk map of workplace was prepared in terms of safety and health at work in general and some suggestions for resolution were provided.

Keywords: call center, health and safety, electromagnetic field, risk map

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Authors: Agnieszka A. Malinowska, R. Hejmanowski

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A number of European cities are strongly affected by ground movements caused by anthropogenic activities or post-anthropogenic metamorphosis. Those are mainly water pumping, current mining operation, the collapse of post-mining underground voids or mining-induced earthquakes. These activities lead to large and small-scale ground displacements and a ground ruptures. The ground movements occurring in urban areas could considerably affect stability and safety of structures and infrastructures. The complexity of the ground deformation phenomenon in relation to the structures and infrastructures vulnerability leads to considerable constraints in assessing the threat of those objects. However, the increase of access to the free software and satellite data could pave the way for developing new methods and strategies for environmental risk mitigation and management. Open source geographical information systems (OS GIS), may support data integration, management, and risk analysis. Lately, developed methods based on fuzzy logic and experts methods for buildings and infrastructure damage risk assessment could be integrated into OS GIS. Those methods were verified base on back analysis proving their accuracy. Moreover, those methods could be supported by ground displacement observation. Based on freely available data from European Space Agency and free software, ground deformation could be estimated. The main innovation presented in the paper is the application of open source software (OS GIS) for integration developed models and assessment of the threat of urban areas. Those approaches will be reinforced by analysis of ground movement based on free satellite data. Those data would support the verification of ground movement prediction models. Moreover, satellite data will enable our mapping of ground deformation in urbanized areas. Developed models and methods have been implemented in one of the urban areas hazarded by underground mining activity. Vulnerability maps supported by satellite ground movement observation would mitigate the hazards of land displacements in urban areas close to mines.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, open source geographic information science (OS GIS), risk assessment on urbanized areas, satellite interferometry (InSAR)

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Authors: Sfiso Radebe

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The design models dealing with flawless composite structures are in abundance, where the mechanical properties of composite structures are assumed to be known a priori. However, if the worst case scenario is assumed, where material defects combined with processing anomalies in composite structures are expected, a different solution is attained. Furthermore, if the system being designed combines in series hybrid elements, individually affected by material constant variations, it implies that a different approach needs to be taken. In the body of literature, there is a compendium of research that investigates different modes of failure affecting hybrid metal-composite structures. It covers areas pertaining to the failure of the hybrid joints, structural deformation, transverse displacement, the suppression of vibration and noise. In the present study a system employing a combination of two or more hybrid power transmitting elements will be explored for the least favourable dynamic loads as well as weight minimization, subject to uncertain material properties. Elastic constants are assumed to be uncertain-but-bounded quantities varying slightly around their nominal values where the solution is determined using convex models of uncertainty. Convex analysis of the problem leads to the computation of the least favourable solution and ultimately to a robust design. This approach contrasts with a deterministic analysis where the average values of elastic constants are employed in the calculations, neglecting the variations in the material properties.

Keywords: convex modelling, hybrid, metal-composite, robust design

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Authors: Tahmina Akhter

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In the present work, we make a study of the repercussions of the pandemic generated by Covid-19 in the real estate market, this disease has affected almost all sectors of the economy across different countries in the world, including the real estate markets. This documentary research, basically focused on the years 2021 and 2022, as we seek to focus on the strongest time of the pandemic. We carried out the study trying to take into account the repercussions throughout the world and that is why the data we analyze takes into account information from all continents as possible. Particularly in the US, Europe and China where the Covid-19 impact has been of such proportions that it has fundamentally affected the housing market for middle-class housing. In addition, a risk has been generated, the investment of this market, due to the fact that companies in the sector have generated losses in certain cases; in the Chinese case, Evergrande, one of the largest companies in the sector, fell into default.

Keywords: COVID-19, real estate market, statistics, pandemic

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Authors: Ashiqul Amin Khan, Mohsin Ul Amin Khan

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The aim of this research is to find the relationship between good governance and shareholder wealth maximisation. The concept of good governance has become more objective in nature over time through various regulations, professionalisation, and practices. This has led to a number of methods for scoring and ranking corporate governance practices. Since shareholder wealth maximisation remains the key corporate goal for managers and governors alike, the effect of good governance in increasing the value of corporations is commented to be an important aspect. In measuring the value relevance of good governance, statistical measures of various yields of listed companies in the UK have been used in this research. Yields reflect required returns on investments from different investment tenets. Historical yields, calculated using historical fundamental data of such companies, reflect expected yields to a great extent. These yields, in turn, reflect the expected risk premium and growth associated with the stocks of the companies. Using fundamental data, the yields have been adjusted to reflect the risk premium required by the investors along various value paradigms. Good governance should naturally lead to lower required risk premium since good corporate governance provided assurance to the investors in terms of sustainability of future performance and desired financial conduct. This, in turn, increases the wealth of stockholders. The findings of this research confirm such nature of the relationship between good governance and value of the company in the long run.

Keywords: corporate governance, good governance practices, short-termism, shareholder value relevance, wealth maximisation, yield

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Authors: Yuchao Yao

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As two of the main characteristics of Chinese demographic trends, increasing divorce rates and decreasing fertility rates both shaped the population structure in the recent decade. Figuring out to what extent can be having a child make a difference in the divorce rate of a couple will not only draw a picture of Chinese families but also bring about a new perspective to evaluate the Chinese child-breeding policies. Based on China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) Data 2010-2018, this paper provides a systematic evaluation of how children influence a couple’s marital stability through a series of empirical models. Using survival analysis and propensity score matching (PSM) model, this paper finds that the number and age of children that a couple has mattered in consolidating marital relationship, and these effects vary little over time; during the last decade, newly having children can in fact decrease the possibility of divorce for Chinese couples; the such decreasing effect is largely due to the birth of a second child. As this is an inclusive attempt to study and compare not only the effects but also the causality of children on divorce risk in the last decade, the results of this research will do a good summary of the status quo of divorce in China. Furthermore, this paper provides implications for further reforming the current marriage and child-breeding policies.

Keywords: divorce risk, fertility, China, survival analysis, propensity score matching

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Authors: Clara Luwe, Oliver Harness, Helena Meally, Kim Martin, Alexandra Harrington

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Background: The role of ‘Renal Specialist Podiatrist’ originated in 2022 due to prevailing evidence of patients with diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on haemodialysis (HD) and active ulcerations that were at higher risk of rapid deterioration, foot-related hospital admissions, and lower limb amputations. This role started in April 2022 with the aim of screening all patients on haemodialysis and instigating preventative measures to reduce serious foot related complications. Methods: A comprehensive neurovascular foot assessment was completed to establish baseline vascular status and identify those with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) for all patients on HD. Individual’s foot risk was stratified, advice and education tailored and issued. Identifying all diabetes patients on HD as high-risk for diabetic foot complications. Major Findings: All patients screened revealed over half of the caseload had diabetes, and more than half had a clinical presentation of PAD. All those presenting with ulcerations had a diagnosis of diabetes. Of the presenting ulcerations, the majority of these ulcers predated the renal specialist post and were classified as severe >3 SINBAD Score. Since April’22, complications have been identified quicker, reducing the severity (SINBAD<3 or below), and have improved healing times, in line with the national average. During the eight months of the role being in place, we have seen a reduction in minor amputations and no major amputations. Conclusion: By screening all patients on haemodialysis and focusing on education, early recognition of complications, appropriate treatment, and timely onward referral, we can reduce the risk of foot Diabetic foot ulcerations and lower limb amputations. Having regular podiatry input to stratify and facilitate high-risk, active wound patients across different services has helped to keep these patients stable, prevent amputations, and reduce foot-related hospital admissions and mortality from foot-related disease. By improving the accessibility to a specialist podiatrist, patients felt able to raise concerns sooner. This has helped to implement treatment at the earliest possible opportunity, enabling the identification and healing of ulcers at an earlier and less complex stage (SINBAD <3), thus, preventing potential limb-threatening complications.

Keywords: renal, podiatry, haemodialysis, prevention, early detection

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Authors: Berihun Dachew, Abdullah Mamun, Joemer Maravilla, Rosa Alati

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Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a major cause of maternal and childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, its effect on offspring mental and behavioural disorders is unclear. Aims:The aim of this study was to provide the best scientific evidence regarding the association between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and offspring mental and behavioural problems. Methods: We systematically searched Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAH and PsycINFO databases. A total of 23 studies (11 included in meta-analysis) were identified. A qualitative analysis was conducted by summarizing, comparing, and contrasting the abstracted data for all included studies. For quantitative analysis, relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was used as pooled effect size. Heterogeneity was assessed by measuring Cochran’s Q and I2 test statistics. Results: Of the 23 studies included in this review, 15 studies found that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy had a negative impact for at least one mental or behavioural problem. The pooled effect of 11 studies included in the meta-analysis showed that preeclampsia was associated with increased risk of offspring schizophrenia (RR=1.37; 95% CI, 1.08-1.72). Conclusions: Intrauterine exposure to pre-eclampsia increased the risk of schizophrenia among offspring. However, we found inconclusive finding on the effect of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and other mental and behavioural problems. Further high quality, large sample, mother child cohort studies are needed to further progress this area of research.

Keywords: behavioural disorders, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, mental disorders, offspring

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Authors: Chia-Yi Wu, Jung-Chen Chang, Wen-Yu Hu, Ming-Been Lee

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In nearly all physical health conditions, suicide risk is increased compared to healthy people even after adjustment for age, gender, mental health, and substance use diagnoses. In order to highlight the importance of suicide risk assessment for the inpatients and early identification and engagement for inpatients’ mental health problems, a study was designed aiming at developing a comprehensive psychosomatic nursing engagement (PSNE) model with standardized operation procedures informing how nurses communicate, assess, and engage with the inpatients with emotional distress. The purpose of the study was to promote the gatekeeping role of clinical nurses in performing brief assessment and interventions to detect depression and anxiety symptoms among the inpatients, particularly in non-psychiatric wards. The study will be carried out in a 2000-bed university hospital in Northern Taiwan in 2019. We will select a ward for trial and develop feasible procedures and in-job training course for the nurses to offer mental health care, which will also be validated through professional consensus meeting. The significance of the study includes the following three points: (1) The study targets at an important but less-researched area of PSNE model in the cultural background of Taiwan, where hospital service is highly accessible, but mental health and suicide risk assessment are hardly provided by non-psychiatric healthcare personnel. (2) The issue of PSNE could be efficient and cost-effective in the identification of suicide risks at an early stage to prevent inpatient suicide or to reduce future suicide risk by early treatment of mental illnesses among the high-risk group of hospitalized patients who are more than three-times lethal to suicide. (3) Utilizing a brief tool with its established APP ('The Five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, BSRS-5'), we will invent the standardized procedure of PSNE and referral steps in collaboration with the medical teams across the study hospital. New technological tools nested within nursing assessment/intervention will concurrently be invented to facilitate better care quality. The major outcome measurements will include tools for early identification of common mental distress and suicide risks, i.e., the BSRS-5, revised BSRS-5, and the 9-item Concise Mental Health Checklist (CMHC-9). The main purpose of using the CMHC-9 in clinical suicide risk assessment is mainly to provide care and build-up therapeutic relationship with the client, so it will also be used to nursing training highlighting the skills of supportive care. Through early identification of the inpatients’ depressive symptoms or other mental health care needs such as insomnia, anxiety, or suicide risk, the majority of the nursing clinicians would be able to engage in critical interventions that alleviate the inpatients’ suffering from mental health problems, given a feasible nursing input.

Keywords: mental health care, clinical outcome improvement, clinical nurses, suicide prevention, psychosomatic nursing

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Authors: Iván Rivet, Narges Dialami, Miguel Cervera, Michele Chiumenti

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Process parameters in Additive Manufacturing (AM) play a critical role in the mechanical performance of the final component. In order to find the input configuration that guarantees the optimal performance of the printed part, the process-performance relationship must be found. Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is the selected demonstrative AM technology due to its great popularity in the industrial manufacturing world. A material model that considers the different printing patterns present in a FFF part is used. A voxelized mesh is built from the manufacturing toolpaths described in the G-Code file. An Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) based on the octree strategy is used in order to reduce the complexity of the mesh while maintaining its accuracy. High-fidelity and cost-efficient Finite Element (FE) simulations are performed and the influence of key process parameters in the mechanical performance of the component is analyzed. A robust optimization process based on appropriate failure criteria is developed to find the printing direction that leads to the optimal mechanical performance of the component. The Tsai-Wu failure criterion is implemented due to the orthotropy and heterogeneity constitutive nature of FFF components and because of the differences between the strengths in tension and compression. The optimization loop implements a modified version of an Anomaly Detection (AD) algorithm and uses the computed metrics to obtain the optimal printing direction. The developed methodology is verified with a case study on an industrial demonstrator.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, optimization, printing direction, mechanical performance, voxelization

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Authors: Guoyu Lin

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This paper explores the role investor sentiment plays in the relationship between analyst forecast dispersion and stock returns. With short sale constraints, stock prices are determined by the optimistic investors. During the high sentiment periods when investors suffer more from psychological bias, there are more optimistic investors. This is the first paper to document that following the high sentiment periods, stocks with the most analyst forecast dispersion are overpriced, earning significantly negative returns, while those with the least analyst forecast dispersion are not overpriced as the degree of belief dispersion is low. However, following the low sentiment periods, both are not overpriced. A portfolio which longs the least dispersed stocks and shorts the most dispersed stocks yields significantly positive returns only following the high sentiment periods. My findings can potentially reconcile the puzzling risk effect and mispricing effect in the literature. The risk (mispricing) effect suggests a positive (negative) relation between analyst forecast dispersion and future stock returns. Presumably, the magnitude of the mispricing effect depends on the proportion of irrational investors and their bias, which is positively related to investor sentiment. During the high sentiment period, the mispricing effect takes over and the overall effect is negative. During the low sentiment period, the percentage of irrational investors is mediate, and the mispricing effect and the risk effect counter each other, leading to insignificant relation.

Keywords: analyst forecast dispersion, short-sale constraints, investor sentiment, stock returns

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Authors: Bencheikh Abdellah

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In this paper, we present a mathematical model dedicated to the simulation breaks bars in a three-phase cage induction motor. This model is based on a mesh circuit representing the rotor cage. The tested simulation allowed us to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model to describe the behavior of the machine in a healthy state, failure.

Keywords: AC motors, squirrel cage, diagnostics, MATLAB, SIMULINK

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Authors: Go Iwashita

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The paper describes how the frequencies of heatstroke occurring in indoor built environment are related to the outdoor thermal environment with big statistical data. As the statistical accident data of heatstroke, the nationwide accident data were obtained from the National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health (NAASH) . The meteorological database of the Japanese Meteorological Agency supplied data about 1-hour average temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, and so forth. Each heatstroke data point from the NAASH database was linked to the meteorological data point acquired from the nearest meteorological station where the accident of heatstroke occurred. This analysis was performed for a 10-year period (2005–2014). During the 10-year period, 3,819 cases of heatstroke were reported in the NAASH database for the investigated secondary/high schools of the nine Japanese representative cities. Heatstroke most commonly occurred in the outdoor schoolyard at a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 31°C and in the indoor gymnasium during athletic club activities at a WBGT > 31°C. The determined accident ratio (number of accidents during each club activity divided by the club’s population) in the gymnasium during the female badminton club activities was the highest. Although badminton is played in a gymnasium, these WBGT results show that the risk level during badminton under hot and humid conditions is equal to that of baseball or rugby played in the schoolyard. Except sports, the high risk of heatstroke was observed in schools houses during cultural activities. The risk level for indoor environment under hot and humid condition would be equal to that for outdoor environment based on the above results of WBGT. Therefore control measures against hot and humid indoor condition were needed as installing air conditions not only schools but also residences.

Keywords: accidents in schools, club activity, gymnasium, heatstroke

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Authors: Mirim Kim, Won-Oak Oh

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify hospitalized children's fall risk factors, fall prevention status and fall prevention strategies recognized by nurses and caregivers of hospitalized children and present an ecological model for fall preventive management in hospitalized children. Method: The participants of this study were 14 nurses working in medical institutions and having more than one year of child care experience and 14 adult caregivers of children under 6 years of age receiving inpatient treatment at a medical institution. One to one interview was attempted to identify their perception of fall preventive management. Transcribed data were analyzed through latent content analysis method. Results: Fall risk factors in hospitalized children were 'unpredictable behavior', 'instability', 'lack of awareness about danger', 'lack of awareness about falls', 'lack of child control ability', 'lack of awareness about the importance of fall prevention', 'lack of sensitivity to children', 'untidy environment around children', 'lack of personalized facilities for children', 'unsafe facility', 'lack of partnership between healthcare provider and caregiver', 'lack of human resources', 'inadequate fall prevention policy', 'lack of promotion about fall prevention', 'a performanceism oriented culture'. Fall preventive management status of hospitalized children were 'absence of fall prevention capability', 'efforts not to fall', 'blocking fall risk situation', 'limit the scope of children's activity when there is no caregiver', 'encourage caregivers' fall prevention activities', 'creating a safe environment surrounding hospitalized children', 'special management for fall high risk children', 'mutual cooperation between healthcare providers and caregivers', 'implementation of fall prevention policy', 'providing guide signs about fall risk'. Fall preventive management strategies of hospitalized children were 'restrain dangerous behavior', 'inspiring awareness about fall', 'providing fall preventive education considering the child's eye level', 'efforts to become an active subject of fall prevention activities', 'providing customed fall prevention education', 'open communication between healthcare providers and caregivers', 'infrastructure and personnel management to create safe hospital environment', 'expansion fall prevention campaign', 'development and application of a valid fall assessment instrument', 'conversion of awareness about safety'. Conclusion: In this study, the ecological model of fall preventive management for hospitalized children reflects various factors that directly or indirectly affect the fall prevention of hospitalized children. Therefore, these results can be considered as useful baseline data for developing systematic fall prevention programs and hospital policies to prevent fall accident in hospitalized children. Funding: This study was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Korea (grant number NRF-2016R1A2B1015455).

Keywords: fall down, safety culture, hospitalized children, risk factors

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