The relationships among the potential causes of a car and motorcycle collision involving turn maneuvers as well as the perception of rear and front turn signal (on/off) configuration is examined in this paper. The investigation has been based on data pooled from the answers of a survey proposed to 136 people, with special regards to the correct detection of indicators aspect. Experimental videos have been realized during the tests campaign, both in urban and suburban areas, using a 360-camera attached to a motorcyclist’s helmet, reproducing vehicular conflicts able to potentially generate crash risks. The detection of the blinker was combined with other factors (e.g. age, gender, location of the test site, presence of the car behind tester vehicles and if the bikers are also habitual car or bike drivers) in a stepwise logistic regression that modelled the odds of detecting the turn signal turned on as a function of all of these factors. The results suggest the existence of a connection between the detection of the turn signal aspect and some of the variables considered (e.g. age, being a cyclist or a car driver and the presence of a protecting car).

Groundwater plays a pivotal role as the largest potable water sources in Bangladesh. However, the quality of the groundwater faces challenges due to xenobiotic compounds in it. Excess amount of arsenic (As) has already been found in groundwater in many parts of Bangladesh. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the water quality and associated human health risk in central Bangladesh. A total of 99 groundwater samples from the central part of Bangladesh were analyzed to assess human health risk due to high level of nitrate (NO3-) and other trace elements i.e. arsenic (As), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn). It was found that NO3- concentration (253.17 mg/L) in the groundwater samples exceeds the recommended guideline value by the WHO (50 mg/L). Moreover, this study area also characterized with elevated concentration of As (19.44 µg/L), Fe (811.35 µg/L), and Mn (455.18 µg/L) in the groundwater. Non-carcinogenic human health risk was calculated by justifying HQ (Hazard Quotient) and HI (Hazard Index) and attributed potential conjunctive human health risks due to NO3-, As, Fe and Mn in the study area. Moreover, high carcinogenic risk was found due to As contamination in the groundwater samples in the study area.

Yogyakarta City is one of the big city which is located in Java Island, Indonesia. Yogyakarta City, including study area (Pleret Sub District), are very prone to earthquake hazards, because close to several active earthquake sources. For example, Sunda Megathrust which often generates a big earthquake which can affect the study area. The Sunda Megathrust extends from north to south and west to east along the Sumatra and Java Islands. Furthermore, an active normal fault called as Opak Fault pass through right in the middle of Study area and divides the study area into east and west zone. Recently, after the devastating earthquake in 2006, the population of the study area increases significantly. As a result, the housing demand is also increasing. However, due to the absence of earthquake building code in the study area, locals tend to build improper new houses. Furthermore, in some part of the mountainous area in the study area, there are some building found in unstable slopes area. Due to this condition, the multi-hazard and risk study needs to be done in Pleret. The increasing of population and improper houses in Pleret Sub-District can lead to amplify the impact. Thus, the main objective of this study is to assess the multi-hazards and risk of earthquake and other related secondary hazards such as ground amplification, liquefaction, and coseismic landslide. The method mainly utilised the geographic information system, remote sensing and was fit up by the outcrop study. The results show that the middle part of the study area has a complex geological structure. It was indicated by a lot of unchartered faults was found in the outcrops. Furthermore, the relatively prone areas to earthquake can be determined. In term of the coseismic landslide, the prone area to the coseismic landslide is located in the east part of the study area in the middle slope of Baturagung Escarpment. The highly potential area of liquefaction is dominated in the central part of the study area. In term of building collapsed probability, the result shows that the safest house based on statistical analysis is the residential house with the building attribute of wood structure, roof cast material, distance more than 15 km from the earthquake source, and located above the Nglanggran Formation. Finally, the multi-hazard and risk analysis show that the middle part of the study area is more vulnerable than the other part of Pleret Sub-District.

This paper examines the effect of chronotype on the delinquent credit card payments and stock market participation through preference channels. Using an online survey of 455 individuals who have been working for 3 to 8 years in companies in mainland China, the results reveal that morningness is negatively associated with delinquent credit card payments. Morningness also indirectly predicts delinquent credit card payments through time preference, but this relationship only exists when individuals’ monthly income is at low and average level. On the other hand, financial risk preference accounts for the effect of morningness on stock market participation. Consequently, an additional finding is that morningness is positively associated with financial risk preference, which contradicts previous finding in the literature. Finally, based on the empirical evidence, we discuss the plausible mechanisms that may drive these relationships and the implications for theory and practice. The current study contributes to the literature by examining the links between circadian typology and particular financial behaviours of experienced workers.

OBJETIVE: This study analyses the views of four groups of healthcare professionals who may play a role in the management of suicidal behaviour. The goal was to identify key factors for suicide prevention in different areas of the healthcare system. METHODOLOGY: Qualitative research was conducted using focus groups made up of different healthcare professionals who participated in the identification, management and prevention of suicidal behaviour. Professionals included were primary care physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists and emergency physicians. RESULTS: ‘Suicide’ was amongst the most relevant terms that came up in discussions most of the times it appeared associated with words such as ‘risk’, ‘danger’ or ‘harm’. In the analysis by categories, the four groups of professionals agreed that interventions in at-risk behaviours are first in importance. Prevention was the second main concern with greater significance among psychiatrists. DISCUSSION: Primary care professionals claim for more time to address patients at risk for suicide and an easier access to and communication with the mental health network. Emergency care professionals have a lack of awareness of their role in the detection of risk for suicide in patients who seek attention at emergency care facilities for reasons of general somatic issues. Mental health care professionals are in high demand in case of self-harm but they would like to receive specific training in dealing with g suicidal behaviour.

Florida geologic units and soils contain a wide range in concentrations of naturally-occurring arsenic. The average range of bulk rock concentrations is 1 to 13.1 mg/kg with concentrations in accessary minerals being over 1,000 mg/kg. Soils contain natural arsenic concentrations of between 0.18 and 2.06 mg/kg with organic-rich soils having the highest concentrations. Anthropogenic sources of arsenic have added about 610,000 metric tons of arsenic into the Florida environment since 1970, thereby increasing background concentrations in soils. The anthropogenic sources of arsenic in soils include: pesticides (used in Florida beginning in the 1890’s), fertilizers, chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood, soil amendments, cattle-dipping vats, chicken litter, sludges from water treatment plants, and others. The default Soil Cleanup Target Level (SCTL) in Florida for arsenic in residential soils is 2.1 mg/kg which is below some naturally-occurring background concentrations in soils and anthropogenic concentrations in agricultural soils. A review of risk considerations shows that adverse health impacts associated with exposure to arsenic is dependent on many factors and that the Florida cleanup levels are very conservative. Exposure to arsenic in soils at concentrations that exceed the Florida residential cleanup level in residential environments does not necessarily pose a meaningful public health risk.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the timing of innovative investment in technology product life cycles using a compound binomial option with management flexibility. Considering the business cycles changes in the macroeconomic will affect consumer purchasing power. The focus is how to evaluate the optimal investment strategy and the project value. It was applied to different product stages (three stages including production innovation, manufacture innovation, and operation innovation) and factored to different risks to build a technology innovation strategy model. An aim of this study is the options premium of the best strategy timing for each innovation stage. Its application of the compound binomial options for the manufacture innovation will only be considered after the execution of the production innovation. The same condition is applied to the operation innovation, which will only be considered after the execution of the manufacture innovation. Then, this paper constructs the dynamic investment sequential decision model, assesses the feasibility of an investment strategy, and makes a decision on the appropriate project value and options premium for each stage under the possible change of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This paper investigates the product life cycle innovation investment topic by using the compound binomial options method and will provide a more flexible strategy decision compared with other trend forecast criteria.

This work analyzes the severity and risk associated with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) message drop out in Detect and Avoid (DAA) function of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). Performance assessment of the Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) ADS-B message implies that in some cases ADS-B fails to update within a specified update interval, which is referred to as drop out in this work. ADS-B is a fundamental surveillance sensor for both class 1 and class 2 DAA systems. Message loss or drop out has been found as one of the common limitations of the ADS-B system. The key feature of this study is incorporating the update rate of real ADS-B data transmitted from the manned aircraft. The data were received from the Grand Forks International Airport, North Dakota. Monte Carlo method has been adopted to resolve encounter scenarios in the presence of drop out. The change in the alert triggered by the UAS DAA in the presence of ADS-B drop out has been investigated. Furthermore, the risk matrices are created to quantify the associated risk with drop out affected alerts. Simulation results depict that both the duration of drop out and DAA look-ahead time affect the alert-triggering function of UAS. With a small look- ahead window and longer duration of drop out, the number of warning alerts increases. Also, alerts are affected more during an overtaking encounter than that of a head-to-head encounter. A system-level analysis is also carried out to recognize the potential reasons behind the ADS-B drop out.

In this study, we examine the relationship of bank level lending and borrowing decisions and the risk preferences on the dynamics of the interbank lending We develop an agent-based model that incorporates individual bank decisions using the temporal difference reinforcement learning algorithm with empirical data of 6600 S. banks. The model can successfully replicate the key characteristics of interbank lending and borrowing relationships documented in the recent literatur A key finding of this study is that risk preferences at individual bank level can lead to unique interbank market structures which are suggestive of the capacity that the market responds to surprising

Although the European reports highlight an increase in community-acquired Legionnaires’ disease cases, the risk of Legionella spp. in private houses is underestimated. In Pisa (Italy) we performed a three-year survey on Legionella presence in 121 buildings with an independent hot water production (IB); 64 buildings with a central hot water production (CB); and 35 buildings with a solar thermal system for hot water production (TB). From all the 220 buildings Legionella spp. was researched in two hot water samples collected either at the recirculation point or at on the first floor and on the last floor, while the potable water quality was analyzed in three cold water samples collected at the inlet from the aqueduct network, at the exit from the autoclave, and at the most remove remote? tap. Legionella pneumophila sg1, Legionella pneumophila sg2-16 and not-pneumophila Legionella species were detected in 26% of the hot water networks, mostly in CB and TB. In these buildings we detected correlations between the presence of Legionella and the total chlorine concentration decrease or/and the increase of the temperature. Cold water resulted free from microbiological hazards, with the exception of Serratia liquefaciens and Enterobacter cloacae isolated at the exit from two different autoclaves. We observed an increase in total microbial counts at 22 and 37°C between the samples collected at the most remote taps compared to the ones collected at the inlet from the aqueduct. The study highlights a condition of potential risk for susceptible categories of population and supports the need for measures of risk assessment and control.

This paper introduces the AltumView Sentinare smart activity sensor for senior care and patient monitoring. The sensor uses an AI chip and deep learning algorithms to monitor the activity of people, collect activity statistics, and notify caregivers when emergencies such as falls are detected. To protect privacy, only skeleton (stick figure) animations are transmitted instead of videos. The sensor is highly affordable, accessible, and versatile. It was a CES 2021 Innovation Award Honoree, and has been selected by Amazon as one of only three fall detection devices integrated into its Alexa Together urgent response service, and has received very positive reviews from Amazon customers. It has also been used in different senior care settings in about ten different countries. The paper presents the main features of the system, the evidences and lessons learned from its practical applications, and future directions.

Objectives To develop and validate a prediction model for 28-day in-hospital mortality among adult patients critically ill with COVID-19 in the UK. Design Observational cohort study. Setting 287 adult critical care units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, of which 260 admitted at least one eligible patient. Participants 10,933 patients with confirmed COVID-19 of whom 10,401 were eligible (excluding 532 patients with a duration of critical care less than 24 hours and 1 patient with unknown 28-day outcome): 8,666 development (March-April 2020) and 1,735 temporal validation (May-August 2020). Main outcome measures 28-day in-hospital mortality from start of critical care. Results Two models were developed using 14 patient level predictors selected from 30 candidate predictors, with and without adjustment for calendar time. In the temporal validation data, the model discrimination was maintained (c index 0.78) but calibration was poor, particularly for the model not adjusted for calendar time (ratio of observed to predicted mortality 0.74 versus 0.88 for the model adjusted for calendar time). Conclusions We developed and validated a prediction model for 28-day in-hospital mortality for patients critically ill with COVID-19. Although absolute predictions were inaccurate due to changing outcomes, the models will support risk-adjustment in analyses and monitoring changes in risk-adjusted outcome over time.

Enhancing residents' purchasing intention of prepared dishes is crucial for the sustainable development of the prepared dishes industry. Understanding how residents' cognition influences their purchasing intentions can provide valuable insights for developing and refining industry policies. Based on the theory of distributed cognition, this study utilizes questionnaire data from urban residents in Beijing and Shanghai, and employs Structural Equation Modeling to explore the influence of cognition on the continuous purchasing intention of Chinese urban residents towards prepared dishes. The study results reveal that: (1) individual and geographical power significantly positively impact on residents' continuous purchasing intentions of prepared dishes, while cultural power perception does not have a significant effect. (2) Risk perception partially mediates the effect of personal and geographical power on continuous purchasing intention and fully mediates the effect of cultural power on continuous purchasing intention. Recommendations include: (1) The government should enhance standardization and supervision to create a favorable consumption environment; (2) Enterprises should provide more objective and transparent information to improve residents' knowledge of prepared dishes and establish a good reputation.

Teledermatology, the dermatological consultation and diagnosis via digital communication technologies, has become increasingly important in modern healthcare. The integration of teledermatology into clinical practice has gained significant interest, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous studies have shown the effectiveness and reliability of teledermatology, with high levels of patient satisfaction and diagnostic accuracy. Pathpoint® eDerma is a cloud-based dermatology platform that aims to streamline the documentation and management of dermatological conditions. It offers several clinical benefits, including faster diagnosis, reduced unnecessary procedures, improved access to care, and cost savings. The platform follows a comprehensive risk management plan and complies with safety regulations. It undergoes regular recertification and reviews to ensure its safety and effectiveness. The clinical evaluation of eDerma confirms its ability to deliver significant clinical benefits while effectively mitigating risks. The benefit-risk ratio of eDerma is highly acceptable, supporting its use in clinical settings to enhance dermatological care.

This qualitative study explores supplier selection criteria from the perspectives of procurement professionals across diverse industries. Supplier selection is crucial for organizational efficiency and performance, influenced by factors beyond traditional cost considerations. The research aims to uncover nuanced criteria such as quality assurance, supplier reliability, innovation capability, sustainability practices, strategic alignment, relational dynamics, and risk management strategies. These criteria reflect a shift towards holistic evaluation frameworks that integrate economic, social, and environmental dimensions in procurement decision-making. Methodologically, the study employed semi-structured interviews with 30 procurement professionals, ensuring depth and diversity in perspectives. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes and patterns, illuminating the complexities and strategic importance of supplier selection processes. Findings highlight the strategic role of suppliers in driving innovation, enhancing supply chain resilience, and supporting organizational goals. Moreover, the study underscores the significance of sustainable sourcing practices, ethical considerations, and effective supplier relationships in fostering long-term partnerships and mitigating operational risks. Practical implications suggest that organizations should adopt integrated approaches to supplier selection, leveraging data-driven insights and technological advancements to optimize decision-making. By prioritizing strategic alignment, fostering collaborative partnerships, and implementing robust risk management strategies, organizations can navigate uncertainties, capitalize on market opportunities, and sustain competitive advantage.

This article explores the application of machine learning techniques, specifically focusing on ensemble methods like Random Forests, for detecting fraudulent activities in digital financial transactions. Highlighting the evolution from traditional statistical approaches to modern machine learning models, it underscores the effectiveness of Random Forests in handling the inherent challenges of imbalanced datasets typical in fraud detection scenarios. Using a Kaggle dataset of credit card transactions, the study optimizes Random Forest parameters through rigorous parameter tuning, achieving significant improvements in model performance metrics such as Area Under the Curve (AUC). The findings underscore the critical role of machine learning in enhancing fraud detection capabilities, emphasizing the ongoing evolution and future potential of these methodologies in financial risk management.

Manufacturing firms need to streamline their initiatives in line with 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030 as a means for improving performance. This research adapts SDG’s goals 8 decent job and economic growth’ as a measure of performance, in examine the effect of corporate sustainability strategies on performance of manufacturing firms. Census sampling technique was used in cross sectional survey of 900 multi-industry managers from one hundred and fifty (150) manufacturing firms in Kano, Nigeria. A five Likert scale, well-structured questionnaire was used in collecting data, analysed by Structural Equation Modelling SEM PLS Package. The study shows positive and significant effect of eco-efficiency, and positive and insignificant effect of both legitimation and risk mitigation strategies on performance respectively. The study concluded that the positive and significant effects of eco efficiency initiatives could be due to benefits derived from total quality management system, energy monitoring, and process safety management reflected in sustainability oriented visionary leadership of the managers. The positive and insignificant effects of legitimation initiatives could be as a result of huge spending on sustainability reporting, and corruption. The positive and insignificant effect of risk mitigation could be due to pro-activeness of the firms’ managers in tackling risk through sustainability oriented visionary leadership. The study recommended firms should adopt conservative eco-efficiency initiatives for improving performance and stop adopting extroverted legitimation and introverted risk mitigation strategies as both have no significant effect on performance. Future researchers should use longitudinal research design using financial metrics adopting the same independent variables in other economic sectors.

The dynamic and unpredictable nature of modern supply chains necessitates the development of resilient systems capable of withstanding various disruptions. This qualitative study examines the impact of collaborative practices on supply chain resilience, providing an in-depth analysis of their contributions to the robustness and adaptability of supply chains. Through extensive interviews with industry professionals, including supply chain managers, logistics coordinators, and strategic planners, the study identifies key collaborative practices—such as information sharing, joint decision-making, and coordinated response strategies—that significantly enhance resilience. These practices facilitate proactive risk management, improve response times during disruptions, and foster innovation through shared knowledge and resources. Thematic analysis of the collected data reveals that strong relationships among supply chain partners and integrated approaches that leverage each participant's strengths are crucial for effective risk mitigation and recovery. Additionally, the study underscores the role of technology in enabling real-time information sharing and decision-making, which are essential for effective collaboration. The findings highlight the importance of investing in robust collaborative networks and adopting supportive technologies to enhance communication and coordination. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by offering a nuanced understanding of how strategic implementation of collaborative practices can build more resilient supply chains. It provides practical recommendations for businesses seeking to improve their resilience, emphasizing the qualitative aspects of collaboration and its impact on supply chain management. Overall, this study presents a comprehensive exploration of how collaboration can bolster supply chain resilience, offering valuable insights for practitioners and scholars focused on creating stable and sustainable supply chain operations in the face of growing uncertainties.

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is a critical aspect of contemporary business operations, necessitated by the complex and interconnected nature of global supply chains. This qualitative research delves into the intricacies of SCRM through in-depth interviews with industry experts, aiming to unravel the multifaceted nature of supply chain risks and the strategies employed for mitigation. Key themes emerged, including the diverse sources of risks encompassing operational, financial, environmental, and geopolitical factors, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to risk management. Challenges such as limited visibility, resource constraints, and organizational silos were identified, underscoring the importance of addressing these barriers to enhance SCRM effectiveness. Strategies for risk mitigation encompassed technological investments for enhanced visibility and predictive capabilities, collaboration and information sharing among supply chain partners, and the integration of sustainability principles into risk management practices. Leadership, organizational culture, and continuous learning emerged as critical factors in driving effective SCRM practices, emphasizing the need for proactive and adaptable approaches to navigate evolving risks. Overall, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on SCRM by providing valuable insights for practitioners and academics, and underscores the importance of holistic and proactive approaches to enhance supply chain resilience and agility in today's dynamic business environment.

The use of chemical pesticides in agriculture contributes to soil, water and air pollution, biodiversity loss and can harm non-target species. The European Commission has already established a Harmonized Risk Indicator to quantify the progress in reducing the risks linked to pesticides. Therefore, there is an increasing need to promote biopesticides or so-called low-risk pesticides (LRP). Extract from Melaleuca alternifolia – tea tree oil (TTO) is known for its antiseptic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Tea tree oil has been extensively studied in pest management as well as in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry and there are already products based on its active substances on the market. This review focuses on the overall evaluation of tea tree oil in terms of effectiveness and safety as a biopesticide for the first time. The collected data can be an added value for further evaluation of tea tree oil in terms of the authorization extension as a fungicide in 2026.

This study investigates the factors influencing consumers' intentions to purchase overseas travel packages via social media in Thailand, with a focus on consumer trust and perceived risks. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative and quantitative research techniques. In the qualitative phase, the Fuzzy Set Delphi Method was applied to gather expert consensus from 19 participants. For the quantitative phase, a survey was conducted among 600 individuals who had experience purchasing overseas travel packages on social media in Thailand. First-order and second-order confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the relationships between eight identified factors: social media influencer, e-WOM, trust, perceived risk, brand image, rating review, personal attitude, and destination image. The results indicate that trust and perceived risk are the most significant factors affecting purchase intention. Trust plays a crucial role in customers' decision-making processes, while perceived risk influences their tendency to avoid purchasing packages if the risk is perceived as high. The insights gained from this study contribute to the understanding of factors influencing purchase intentions for overseas travel packages through social media in Thailand, providing valuable information for travel agencies to develop effective marketing strategies.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the risk factors for acute pancreatitis (AP) and its impact on outcomes in Polish children treated for ALL. Methods: The study group included 2303 children who received intensive chemotherapy for ALL. The group was subdivided into patients with at least one episode of AP and those who did not develop AP following treatment for ALL. Results: The cumulative incidence of AP in the study group was 4.08%. Older age was an independent risk factor for AP development (OR 1.05; 95%CI: 1.006 – 1.098; p=0.03). The overall mortality related to AP was 2.13%. The probabilities of disease-free survival (p-DFS) and event-free survival (p-EFS) were 0.84 vs. 0.86, log-rank: p=0.65 and 0.75 vs. 0.80, log-rank: p=0.12, respectively in both subgroups. A total of 22 out of 94 patients (23.4%) with AP were re-exposed to asparaginase (ASP) during the subsequent phases of the treatment. Only one re-exposed to ASP patient (4.5%) developed a second episode of AP. There were no significant differences in p-DFS and p-EFS between patients re-exposed and not re-exposed to asparaginase (0.78 vs. 0.86, log-rank p=0.27 and 0.63 vs. 0.79, log-rank p=0.09 respectively). Conclusions: The incidence of AP in children with ALL is low and related to the patient’s age. AP development doesn’t seem to impact p-DFS and p-EFS in children with ALL. The recurrence of AP following re-exposure to asparaginase in patients with ALL and a history of AP is low (4.5%). Re-exposure to asparaginase after the first episode of AP doesn’t improve either p-DFS or p-EFS in children with ALL.

CD4 count recovery is the main goal for an HIV patient who initiated ART. Some patients respond positively to ART and attain CD4 count recovery, some patients might fail to recover their CD4 count due to non-adherence, treatment resistance, and virological failure, leading to HIV-related complications and death. The purpose of this study is to find the determinants of death in patients who failed to recover their CD4 count after initiating antiretroviral therapy. The data used in this study was obtained from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where 2528 HIV-infected patients with a baseline CD4 count of 200 cells/ were initiated on ART. We used a Fine-Gray sub-distribution hazard and cumulative incidence function to estimate potential confounding factors of death, where CD4 count recovery was a competing event for failure due to death. Patients who were not suffering from tuberculosis were 1.33 times at risk of dying before attaining CD4 count recovery [aSHR 1.33; 95% CI (0.96-1.85] compared to those who had no tuberculosis. Rural patients had a higher risk of not recovering and leading to death [aSHR 1.97; 95%CI (1.57-2.47)] than those from urban areas. The patient’s tuberculosis status, viral load, regimen, baseline CD4 count, and location were significant contributors to death before CD4 count recovery. Intervention programs targeting HIV testing in rural areas for early ART initiation and promoting treatment adherence are recommended.

Background: Autonomic balance measurement (ABM) is a valuable tool in clinical practice for assessing the functioning of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls involuntary bodily functions. Here we summarize the current understanding of the utility of autonomic balance measurement in clinical practice. Methods: A narrative review of relevant literature was conducted, focusing on studies investigating the use of autonomic balance measures in various clinical settings. Results: ABM holds potential benefits in clinical practice, including aiding in diagnosing autonomic dysfunction, monitoring treatment efficacy, and predicting potential health complications. ABM can be crucial for diagnosing various conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (Heart failure, arrhythmias, and hypertension), neurological disorders (Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetic neuropathy), in sports medicine athletes can undergo ABM to optimize training regimens, enhance performance, assessing the impact of training stress, preventing overtraining, and promoting overall well-being and probably to assess potential health risks, in metabolic syndromes ABM can aid in the early detection of autonomic neuropathy, a diabetes-related complication, allowing for timely intervention and better management of the disease, and psychiatric disorders (Anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder). In addition, ABM can be helpful in monitoring of treatment efficacy, by tracking changes in autonomic balance, clinicians can assess if treatments for conditions impacting the autonomic nervous system are effective. ABM can also be helpful in predicting outcomes by facilitating early recognition of future health complications in certain populations. However, limitations exist, including non-specificity, variability in measurements, and limited evidence for routine use in specific clinical settings. Conclusion: Incorporating autonomic balance measurement into routine clinical assessments provides a more comprehensive understanding of a patient's health. It complements traditional diagnostic methods, offering additional insights into the body's regulatory mechanisms. While autonomic balance measurement offers potential benefits, careful interpretation and consideration of its limitations are crucial for its effective use in clinical practice. ABM remains a valuable and versatile tool in clinical practice for a deeper understanding of the autonomic nervous system, enabling early detection, targeted interventions, and improved management of various medical conditions across different specialties.

Alternative fertilizations are essential to minimize the deteriorating effects of chemical fertilizers on soil and water quality/health. Accordingly, the present work investigated the effects of combined organic-inorganic fertilization (COIF) on wheat and rice yields, soil nutrients, and soil Cd accumulation. Hence, seven different treatments were set up: control (CK); conventional fertilization (CF); optimized fertilization (OF); organic fertilizer replacing 25% (T1) and 50% (T2) of OF; and organic nitrogen (N) replacing 25% (M1) and 50% (M2) of OF-N. Overall, significant increases occurred in the yields of COIF crops. Compared with the CF, the highest wheat and rice yields happened in M1 treatment (approximately by18.5%) (P < 0.05). COIF slightly alleviated soil acidification, and improved the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the study soils. Besides, COIF treatments significantly increased the contents of total phosphorus, total potassium, available phosphorus, and available potassium by 6.35 to 16.9 %, 3.17 to 10.9 %, 5.53 to 28.7 %, and 2.6 to 12 %, respectively (P <0.05). Nevertheless, negligible increases took place in Cd content of COIF soils compared with the CK. Altogether, our results concluded on 25% replacement of OF-N by organic N (M1) to effectively improve the fertility/ecological sustainability of the study soils.

The contribution of readymade garment (RMG) industry is immense behind the rapid development of some countries with emerging economies. This industry is empowering these countries to provide employment opportunities for millions of people. However, the health as well as safety issues of the workers in this industry are often ignored, particularly in these developing countries. In recent times, because of the several undesirable and obnoxious conditions that exist in their working environments, they are vulnerable to various health related problems which are increasing at a staggering rate. The main purpose of this paper is to assess and prioritize the major health related problems faced by these garment workers in these countries where the economy is flourishing. In addition, the main hazards responsible for these health perils are also quantified. Data were collected from three different garment factories situated in different locations of Bangladesh. Thirty workers from each factory rated the frequency and severity of 14 health related issues. The health risks were then assessed and prioritized through risk priority number (RPN). Afterwards, three experts provided their opinion on the main hazards prevalent in the workplace of almost every garment factory in this country. These hazards were grouped into four main classes which are: 1) Physical 2) Ergonomic 3) Chemical and 4) Psychological hazards. The main classes were later divided into sub classes also. Best-worst method (BWM) was then applied to analyze these hazards by assessing their relative weights depending on the experts’ judgement. The results showed that the health issues faced by the workers in three different garment factories varied to some extent. The results obtained from the experts’ opinion indicated that physical hazards in the workplace are the most detrimental ones whereas the chemical hazards were the least harmful.

Background: Healthcare workers are exposed to several hazardous chemicals in the workplace that can result in numerous adverse health effects. Several published studies from many different countries have documented the presence of metabolites from antineoplastic drugs in the urine of healthcare workers and demonstrated contaminated working surfaces with these agents. This study is a literature review that aims to compare the prevalence and degree of exposure to cyclophosphamide (CP), ifosfamide (IFO), and methotrexate (MTX) in physicians, nurses, and pharmacists in the hospital setting. Methods: An extensive search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, HINARI, OARE, and Science Direct where applicable research about healthcare workers and antineoplastic drugs exposure were identified. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords: occupational exposure, antineoplastic drugs (cytotoxic drugs, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, methotrexate), hazardous chemicals, healthcare workers (healthcare professionals, nurses, pharmacists, physicians), hospital setting, and adverse health outcomes were used. Thereafter, relevant articles from 2000 to 2020 were selected to perform this literature review. Results: Review of literature demonstrated that cyclophosphamide was the most prevalent contaminant in the hospital setting. Additionally, pharmacists are among the group of healthcare workers with the highest prevalence of antineoplastic agents in urine samples while nursing stations had the highest rate of surface contamination. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to develop a system to monitor and detect the pathway of environmental exposure to antineoplastic drugs in the healthcare setting, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing protective measures. Well designed studies focusing on improving the standard safety precautions is a priority to protect healthcare workers.

Anastomotic Leakage (AL) remains the main cause of post-esophagectomy morbidity and mortality. Early detection can avoid sepsis and reduce morbidity and mortality. This study evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of the NUn-score and its components as early detectors of AL. This single centre observational cohort study included all esophagectomies from 2010-2020. C-reactive Protein (CRP), Albumin (Alb) and White cell count (WCC) were analyzed and Nun-scores calculated. Area under the curves (AUC) were used to assess their predictive accuracy. Seventy-four of the 668 patients (11%) developed an AL. CRP and the NUn-score proved to be good diagnostic accuracy tests on POD2 (CRP AUC:0,859; Nun-score AUC:0,869) and POD4 (CRP AUC:0,924; Nun-score AUC:0,948). A 182mg/L CRP cut-off on POD4 yielded a 87% sensitivity, 88% specificity, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 98% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 47,7%. A Nun score cut-off>10 resulted in 92% sensitivity, 95% specificity, 99% NPV and 68% PPV. Albumin and WCC have limited value in the detection of post-esophagectomy AL. Elevated CRP and a high NUn score on POD4 provide a high accuracy to predict AL after esophageal cancer surgery. Their high negative predictive value allows to select patients who can safely proceed with enhanced recovery protocols.

Myotonic dystrophy is a hereditary disorder with systemic involvement. The Italian Neuro-Cardiology Network (INCN-RNC) is a unique collaborative experience involving neurology units combined with cardio-arrhythmology units. The INCN facilitates the creation of integrated neuro-cardiac teams in Neuromuscular Disease Centers for the management of cardiovascular involvement in the treatment of MD1.

The study examines the return performance and resilience to market volatility of the recently introduced Environment, Social/Sustainable, and Governance (ESG) weight-tilted Hang Seng Index (HSIESG) compared to its parent, the Hang Seng Index (HSI). The ESG-infused index has a higher mean return and lower return volatility than the parent index, although the differences are statistically and economically insignificant, a result consistent with the high correlation between the two index returns. Most important, the ESG weighted-tilted index is more resilient to volatility spikes than the parent index and therefore has lower downside risks. The overall results show that stocks with high ESG ratings are less susceptible to trading pressures triggered by volatility-induced turnovers. The paper contributes to the literature by providing significant incremental information on the emerging market for ESG-related equity products in Hong Kong.

In contrast to its traditional form, in which large, powerful companies were solely and exclusively responsible for supplies, manufacturing, and distribution, the supply chain has undergone substantial change over the past half-century. Today, nearly all supply chain processes are outsourced, thanks to the efforts of innovative, modern companies. The degree of risk associated with contemporary supply chains is greater than the majority of supply chain managers acknowledge, according to an accumulation of studies, analysts, and news outlets. Vulnerabilities within the supply chain remain a significant challenge for numerous organizations. Inadequate management of these risks—which include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, cyber assaults, the credit crisis, pandemic scenarios, and war—could lead to significant declines in profitability, productivity, revenue, competitive advantage, and other metrics. Concerns regarding the risk assessment of the supply chain remain unresolved. The objective of this article is to present a risk evaluation framework that can be effectively implemented in the assessment of supply chain risks. This study makes a fundamental contribution to the body of knowledge by providing supply chain managers with a practical instrument for assessing their processes, irrespective of the mathematical underpinnings or the diverse variables employed in risk assessment. A case study from an automotive EMS production is used to compare the outcomes of multiple aggregation methods; the conclusions are then validated by risk and FMEA specialists from the same factory.

This study addresses the escalating threat of data theft ransomware, a form of cyberattack that exfiltrates sensitive information from victim networks and demands ransom for its non-disclosure. Unlike traditional crypto-ransomware, data theft ransomware leverages various infiltration techniques to gain unauthorized access and control over critical data assets. The study introduces a novel Moving Target Defense (MTD) framework, specifically designed for the Windows operating system environment, to counter these sophisticated attacks. MTD increases the unpredictability of the system by dynamically altering its configurations, thereby disrupting the adversary's ability to execute successful attacks. Our research includes the development and empirical evaluation of the MTD framework, demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing ransomware operational capabilities through quantitative analysis, qualitative observations, and statistical significance testing. We also explore the challenges and complexities involved in implementing MTD in real-world scenarios and propose strategies to overcome these barriers. The study concludes with recommendations for future research directions and the potential of MTD in enhancing cybersecurity defense mechanisms.

The construction industry is notable contributors to atmospheric dust particulate emissions. The particulate matter (PM) produced in construction processes contains a range of chemically hazardous substances, posing significant health risks (HR) to individuals. The occupational health hazards research in construction has become a focal point of interest internationally. Initiated in the early 2000s, there has been a growing demand within the construction research community for the creation of a unified PM database that encapsulates a wide array of construction activities. Previous studies have endeavored to establish a PM database for various construction contexts, yet they have fallen short in thoroughly addressing the diversity of construction materials and the levels of toxic substances (TS) within the PM. This study validates the proof of value that HR associated with construction processes can be measured using PM and TS datasets generated from various work processes using a variety of construction materials. This was accomplished through a semi-automated Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based plugin, which streamlines the assessment of occupational HR in construction projects alongside ongoing work processes. To validate the practicality of the Health Risk Index (HRI) determination via this BIM plugin, a case study on a real renovation project was executed. This system provides construction supervisors with a tool to visually assess the HR of daily operations, thereby facilitating the adoption of preemptive measures to protect the health of construction workers.

In the present work, a study has been carried out on the contamination of heavy metals in urban dust deposited on the roads of the city of Cartagena (Spain), in order to know the content of metals such as Ni, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr and Cu. Likewise, the possible relationship of the concentration of heavy metals with the color of the sample, level of magnetism and traffic density was studied. Contamination was evaluated using several indices such as contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), geoacumulation index (Igeo), pollutant load index (PLI) and ecological risk index (RI). A total of 88 samples were taken in the urban area of Cartagena, and the metals were determined by acid digestion and measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentration of heavy metals in urban dust from Cartagena was Zn (672 mg/kg) > Cu (248.9 mg/kg) > Pb (227 mg/kg) > Cr (82.7 mg/kg) > Ni (47.7 mg/kg) > Cd (4.1 mg/kg). Contamination levels were high in Pb, Zn, Cd and Cu, according to environmental indices. A correlation was found between magnetism and metal concentration, which was repeated for all metals except Cd. Dark-colored samples contained higher metal concentrations than light-colored samples. Meanwhile, streets with medium and low traffic intensity were found to have higher concentrations of heavy metals. This study's objective was to identify pollution hotspots caused by heavy metals in dust in the urban ecosystem of Cartagena city.

In this paper, we investigate a financial market in which asset prices evolve based on a multi-dimensional Brownian motion process and a multi-dimensional Poisson process with different credit and deposit rates We proceed to evaluate European options by establishing upper and lower hedging prices through a transition to a suitable auxiliary market. Additionally, we address the minimization of shortfall risk and no-arbitrage price bounds in incomplete markets within this framework.

This article combines the traditional definition of portfolio risk with minimum spanning tree based “interconnectedness risk" to improve the equal risk contribution portfolio performance. We use betweenness centrality to measure an asset’s importance in a market graph (network). After filtering the complete correlation network to a minimum spanning tree, we calculate the centrality score and convert it to a centrality heuristic. We develop an adjusted variance-covariance matrix using the centrality heuristic, to bias the model to assign peripheral assets in the minimum spanning tree higher weights. We test this methodology using the constituents of the S&P 100 index. The results show that the centrality equal risk portfolio can improve upon the base equal risk portfolio returns, with a similar level of risk. We observe that during bear markets, the centrality-based portfolio can surpass the base equal risk portfolio risk.

Background: This study, conducted in October 2017 at two Canadian universities, aimed to explore the relationships between gender expression, protective coping strategies, alcohol saliency, and high-risk alcohol use. Methods: Validated scales were employed to assess these variables using survey data. Multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between these factors and high-risk drinking. Results: The study revealed significant associations between high-risk drinking and androgynous gender roles (OR=1.58, 95% CI: 1.19-2.10) as well as among self-reported males (OR=2.21; 95% CI: 1.77-2.75). Additionally, protective behavioral strategies were inversely related to high-risk drinking (OR=0.95; 95% CI: 0.94-0.96), while higher alcohol saliency exhibited a positive correlation with high-risk drinking (OR=1.12; 95% CI: 1.11-1.14). Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of considering gender, alcohol saliency beliefs, and protective behavioral strategies in the development and refinement of interventions aimed at reducing high-risk alcohol use on Canadian campuses.

This comprehensive review delves into the intricate relationship between Sodium-GlucoseCo-Transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and AF, highlighting the multifaceted actions of thesedrugs and their significant cardiovascular benefits. Mechanisms: SGLT2 inhibitors inducesubstantial hemodynamic changes, impacting blood pressure, adipose tissue function, andinflammation. They enhance glycemic control while potentially reducing oxidative stress andinflammation, and they modulate atrial electrophysiology, collectively contributing to the reductionof AF risk. Clinical Evidence: This review synthesizes a wealth of clinical evidence,drawing from observational studies and randomized controlled trials, consistently demonstratinga correlation between SGLT2 inhibitors, particularly dapagliflozin and empagliflozin, anda decreased risk of AF. This protective effect is most pronounced in patients with type 2 diabetesand heart failure, underscoring their potential as therapeutic agents for high-risk populations.Potential Benefits: SGLT2 inhibitors offer a spectrum of potential benefits, includingsubstantial reductions in AF risk, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes and heart failure.These drugs have consistently demonstrated benefits in reducing heart failure hospitalizations,cardiovascular mortality, and stroke risk, which indirectly contribute to better AF management.Furthermore, SGLT2 inhibitors exhibit renoprotective properties by slowing theprogression of chronic kidney disease and reducing albuminuria, offering substantial benefitsfor AF patients with comorbid kidney disease. Metabolic improvements involving weight loss,blood pressure reduction, and favorable changes in lipid profiles contribute to enhanced cardiovascular health and reduced AF risk. Originally designed for diabetes management, thesemedications offer a holistic approach to AF risk reduction, particularly in patients with type 2diabetes and heart failure.

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have gained increased significance within the restaurant industry during the pandemic, there is a lack of understanding of how customers’ perceived risks influence their dining intentions for effective crisis response. This study investigates the relationship between perceived CSR, restaurant image, and dining intentions during the crisis. In addition, the study examines three types of perceived risks (quality, health, and environmental) associated with restaurants and their influence on perceived CSR, restaurant image, and dining intentions during this period. The results demonstrate that perceived CSR positively impacts a restaurant’s image and concurrently reduces perceived risks among consumers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Furthermore, perceived health risks have a negative influence on customers’ dining intentions. This study offers valuable insights into the theoretical foundations and managerial implications of CSR’s effects and risk management, particularly in the context of future pandemics within the restaurant industry.

This study delves into heterosexual identity-behavior discordance, exploring the interaction between sexual identification and behavior in U.K. Analyzing representative 2010 data from the British population (N=12,472), the research categorizes participants into different groups: nonheterosexual, concordant heterosexual, and three discordant heterosexual categories (closeted, experimenters, and desisters). These groups were compared in terms of sociodemographics, attitudes towards sexuality, risk behaviors and health indicators. Discordance was associated with permissive social attitudes, including behaviors such as adultery and one-night stands, and with increased substance abuse and risky sexual behaviors, especially among the closeted. Surprisingly, physical and mental health of discordant heterosexuals was similar to concordant heterosexuals, in contrast to the poorer health of nonheterosexuals. Due to the significant variations in lifestyles and health indicators among different groups, this study highlights the importance of providing targeted services and interventions.

In Pakistan, bats are one of the dominant mammals that play an important role in the ecosystem in terms of pollination, seed dispersal, and control of pest insects. Bats have also played an im-portant role in the emergence and transmission of zoonotic pathogens; however, most current studies focus on viral pathogens, not potential bacterial pathogens. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence and antibiotic profiling of Staphylococcus (S.) aureus in oral and rectal samples from bats captured in northern Pakistan and to determine the factors associated with in-fection. Two hundred individual bats of five species: Pipistrellus javanicus (n = 17), Pipistrellus pipistrellus (n = 10), Rhinopoma microphyllum (n = 48), Rousettus leschenaultii (n = 124), and Scotophilus kuhlii (n = 1) were captured for non-lethal collection of oral and rectal samples to iso-late S. aureus. Bats were sampled from three sites: a natural cave, a man-made castle, and an an-imal shed, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. Oral (n = 200) and rectal (n = 200) swabs were collected from each individual bat using sterile cotton swabs specifically for use in bacteriological studies. Each isolate of bacteria was identified by using phenotypic tests and con-firmed as S. aureus based on PCR assay. Out of a cumulative four hundred samples, 80 swabs were positive for S. aureus including 47 rectal and 33 oral swabs. Prevalence of S. aureus infection varied significantly among species, with Rousettus leschenaultii exhibiting the highest prevalence (n = 77; 37.90%). In addition to bat species, prevalence varied significantly among habitats but not between sex, age class, or reproductive status. This study confirmed the occurrence of S. aureus in oral and rectal microbiota of bats in Pakistan. Importantly, S. aureus isolates showed resistance to tetracycline, gentamicin, and erythromycin and carried resistant genes such as TetK, TetM, Erma, and aacA-D. In this regard, efforts should be taken to educate the local communities on how to minimize exposure to an antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogen through contact with bats while simultaneously increasing the awareness of protecting bats as a vital component of our ecosystem.

Subway construction is often in a complex natural and human-machine operating environment, and that complicated setting leads to subway construction more prone to safety accidents, which can cause substantial casualties and monetary losses. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the safety risks of subway construction. The existing literature on the identification and assessment of subway construction safety risks(SCSR) is susceptible to the influence of subjective factors. Moreover, although existing studies have explored the interrelationships between different risks, these studies usually analyze the interrelationships of single risks, lack the study of risk chain transfer relationships, and fail to find out the key path of risk transfer. Therefore, this paper innovatively combines text mining, association rules and complex networks to deep mine subway construction safety incident reports and explore risk transfer process. Firstly, it uses text mining technology to identify subway construction safety risk; Then, association rules are introduced to explore the causal relationships among safety risk; Finally, the key safety risk and important transfer paths of subway construction safety accidents (SCSA) are obtained based on the complex network model. Research results show that (a) improper safety management, unimplemented safety subject responsibilities, violation of operation rules, non-perfect safety responsibilities system and insufficient safety education and training are the key safety risk in SCSA; (b) two shorter key risk transfer paths in the subway construction safety network can be obtained: insufficient safety education and training→lower safety awareness→violation of operation rules→safety accidents; insufficient safety checks or hidden trouble investigations→violation of operation rules→safety accidents; (c) in the process of risk transfer, the risk can be controlled by controlling the key nodes or cutting off the transfer path. The results of the study provide new ideas and methods for SCSR identification and influence element mining, which help safety managers propose accurate subway construction safety risk control measures.

Drinking water, in addition to the best-known chemical and biological agents, contains radionuclides of both natural and artificial origin, which can contribute significantly to the overall effective dose received by the population. The Italian Decree Law 28/2016, implementing 2013/51/EURATOM Directive, establishes the activities for risk management and the parameter values for different radionuclides activity concentrations. In addition to the institutions involved, annually the National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ISIN), publishes the monitoring reports of environmental radioactivity in Italy, including radioactivity in drinking water. The purpose of the study was to integrate ISIN reports with 2018 to 2020 data by collecting measurements performed by institutional laboratories to obtain a more complete information and adding, for the Campania region, some data not yet published. This new updated report was not significantly different from ISIN’s one, meaning that those publications are nevertheless extremely representative of the radioactivity in Italian drinking water. However, the study allowed to obtain a more detailed data also including measurements not considered in ISIN reports, for instance, radon-222 activity concentrations. This may be of great usefulness for all radiation protection stakeholders in order to ensure environmental protection, pollution prevention and the population safety.

Rapid proliferation of traditional gold mining sites in Kédougou a Southeast region in Senegal, led to mass population migration from the neighboring West African countries and rapid expansion of small mining villages with poor hygiene and sanitation conditions. An outbreak of hepatitis E was reported in 2014 with several cases of febrile jaundice among traditional mine workers. In this study, we analyzed both HEV IgM and IgG seroprevalence and the associated risk factors of infection by testing any suspected case and contacts collected from February 2012 to November 2014. RNA-negative sera from suspected cases and contacts were tested for anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG. A total of 799 sera were collected from 290 suspected cases, 470 contacts and 39 individuals with missing information. The median age of the cohort study was 19 years (1-88 years) with a male/female sex-ratio of 1.9. We found an overall prevalence of 43.68% (332/760) of anti-HEV IgM and 38.15% (290/760) of anti-HEV IgG sera. Our data provide new insights into the HEV epidemiology and point to the crucial need to estimate the disease’s burden in Kédougou and assess the viral mechanisms driving the disease’s severity in pregnant women.

Prior research has extensively examined the relationship between religion and accrual-based earnings management. However, there is currently little research in the relationship between religion and real (non-accrual) earnings management, especially in Europe. This paper aims to fill this research gap and examines whether and how the effect of religion could be linked with firms’ real earnings management activities. Four hypotheses are developed and tested with our results providing indications that the degree of overall religiosity is negatively and significantly associated with real earnings management. Furthermore, when investigating the effects of different religions in Europe, Christianity and Islam have the opposite impact on firms’ real earnings management activities. Overall, our paper indicates that in European countries, the religious environment can mitigate firms’ manipulations on earnings.

Aspartame is the methyl-ester of the aspartate-phenylalanine dipeptide. Over time it became a very popular artificial sweetener. However, since its approval by the main food safety agencies, several concerns have been raised related to neuropsychiatric effects and neurotoxicity, due to its ability to activate glutamate receptors, as well as carcinogenic risks by increased production of reactive oxygen species. Within this review we critically evaluated reports concerning the safety of aspartame. Some studies evidenced subtle mood and behavioral changes upon daily high-dose intake below the admitted limit. Epidemiology studies also evidenced associations between daily aspartame intake and higher predisposition for malignant diseases like non-Hodgkin lymphomas and multiple myelomas, particularly in males, but association by chance still could not be excluded. While the debate over the carcinogenic risk of aspartame is ongoing, it is clear that its use may pose some dangers in peculiar cases, such as patients with seizures or other neurological diseases; it should be totally forbidden for patients with phenylketonuria, and reduced doses or complete avoidance are advisable during pregnancy. It would be also highly desirable for every product containing aspartame to clearly indicate on the label the exact amount of the substance and some risk warnings.

Olive oil, as the main source of polyphenols in the Mediterranean diet pattern, is mentioned to show remarkable postprandial bioactivity, contributing to the reduction of cardiometabolic risk factors. In recent years, the consumption of refined olive oil, instead of other olive oil classes, led to a reduced intake of polyphenols from the usual diet. This controlled, human nutritional intervention inves-tigated whether the enhancement of refined olive oil with orange peel extract may modulate postprandial lipemia, glycemia and oxidative stress, in individuals at cardiometabolic risk. In a cross-over framework, 21 participants aged 30-65 years, who met the eligibility criteria, received a fat and carbohydrated meal of mashed potatoes, homogenized with refined olive oil (50 mL) or the functional olive oil, enhanced with 10% orange peel extract, intervening a washout week. Blood draws were performed in fasting, 30min, 1.5h and 3h after the meal intake. Plasma lipids, glucose, uric acid and total plasma antioxidant capacity according to FRAP method, were measured at each timepoint. A significant reduction of LDL-cholesterol was observed, 1.5 h and 3 h after the func-tional meal intake, compared to non-significant changes after the control meal (p <0.05). No other statistically significant interactions were detected to the remaining biomarkers (p> 0.05). Further investigation is needed for safer conclusions about the postprandial modulation of cardiometabolic risk factors, by the functional olive oil, enhanced with orange peel extract.

Background Dietary guidelines typically recommend limiting the intake of fresh red meat, yet evidence linking red meat consumption with adverse health outcomes is inconsistent. Objective To assess the level of evidence from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses and analyze the association between high consumption of red meat and cancer risk and adverse health outcomes. Methods Eight databases were searched to collect systematic reviews and meta-analyses from database inception to December 2022. Two independent reviewers screened and extracted data and used the AMSTAR 2 tool to evaluate methodological quality of the included studies. Meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 17.0. Results A total of 18 studies were included, of which 5 were rated as high quality, 4 as medium quality, 6 as low quality, and 3 as extremely low quality. Of the 9 SRs/MAs included, primary studies with overlap were identified, and 14 studies were eventually included. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with the lowest intake of red meat, the highest intake of red meat was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07-1.37), gastric cancer (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.18-1.59), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (OR 1.10.95% CI 1.02-1.19), stroke (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03-1.20), type 2 diabetes (RR 1.19 95% CI 1.04-1.37), and ischemic heart disease (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.06-1.12), as well as a negative effect on total cholesterol (WMD 0.264, 95% CI 0.144-0.383), triglycerides (WMD -0.181, 95% CI -0.349 to -0.013), low-density lipoprotein (WMD 0.198, 95% CI 0.065-0.330), and high-density lipoprotein (WMD -0.065, 95% CI -0.109 to -0.020). However, the associations with breast cancer (RR 1.05 95% CI 1.00-1.11), glycemic control (WMD 0.040, 95% CI 0.049-0.129), and changes in body weight status [overweight (β 0.89, 95% CI 0.48-1.64); obesity (β 1.06, 95% CI 0.30-3.71)] were not significant. Conclusions This comprehensive umbrella review suggests that high consumption of red meat may increase the risk of colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and that reducing red meat intake is a key modifiable dietary factor for reducing risk. However, there was no significant correlation with breast cancer, kidney stones, age-related eye disease or changes in body weight.

The 2022-2023 Chilean summer showed increased temperatures and similar burned area, compared to the 2016-2017 season, where more than 500,000 hectares were compromised, mainly in the rural areas. After a brief review, it is revealed that the effects of forest fires on soil and hydrological properties are barely debated in Chile. Here, we showed a climatological analysis where temperature records in the 2016-2017 season were unusual, as well as another unexpected increase in the summer of 2022-2023, resulting in high-severity fires known as ‘mega-fires’ or “storm-fires”. Mega-fires affect forest plantations and native forests mainly from 33º S (Maule Region) to 39º S (Los Ríos Region) and they are expected to become frequent due to climate change, moving from the north to the south. We present an overview of the influence of wildfires on soil components in the most affected areas (inland, Coastal, and Andes ranges), their hydrological impacts, and potential erosion risk due to high winter precipitation. We propose several management practices that could help to prevent or mitigate these events, including pre-and post-fire interventions, such as afforestation and seeding, selective logging, mulching, erosion barriers, soil preparation, and dam monitoring. We argue that any effective plan in fire-prone and affected areas should include a combination of actions taken at the hillslope scale at integral ecosystem management, whose effectiveness should be monitored and verified regionally at the watershed scale.

Wastes from social economic activities had great impact on water quality thereby limiting water usability for domestic purposes. Sewages discharge from people activities, usually consist of undesirable concentrations of soluble chemicals that infiltrate into the surrounding surface and underground water, and then constitute health risk to the populace. In order to investigate the concentration characteristics and health risk for the local residents in Nandong Underground River Watershed (NURW), eleven common heavy metals in the water body analysis were conducted. Health risk assessment (HRA) was taken to analyze eleven heavy metals of 84 water samples from surface and underground waters in NURW: 36 samples underground water and 48 samples surface water. Our results showed that the heavy metals concentration order is that of Fe > Al > Mn > Zn > As > Cd > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cu > Hg. Correlation analysis indicates that these eleven metal elements have certain similarity on material source and migration transformation. The health risks for local residents exposed to metal elements in the water of NURW mainly from carcinogenic risk (10−6～10−4 a−1) through drinking way, and the health risk of heavy metals exposed to children through drinking way was much higher than adults. The maximum exposing health risks of Cr in both underground and surface water were higher than the recommendation standard (5.0×10-5 a-1) from ICRP, and all the values over the standard (5.0×10-6 a-1) recommended by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Dutch Ministry of Construction and Environment and the British Royal Society. The results of health risk assessment shows that Cr in the water of NURW was the mainly source of carcinogenic risk for the local residents, following by Cd and As. Consequently, it is necessary to control the three carcinogenic metals when the water was used as drinking water source.

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the behavior of tourists and their intention to travel after certain natural disasters or social unrest. The aim of the research was to establish the influence of psychological profiles of tourists on their decision to choose a tourist destination, using three psychographic techniques BFI-10 (Big Five Inventory), AIO (Activities, Interests, Opinions), and VALS 2 (Values and lifestyle), and a freely determined six-level scale of risk and tourist attractiveness of the imagined destinations. By analyzing the results through structural modeling-path analysis, it was determined that almost all psychographic orientations derived from lifestyles negatively perceive destinations with a high degree of risk and attractiveness, while with the VALS 2 technique, only members of the action orientation tend to accept the risk and challenge of visiting high-risk destinations. The results of the research have a degree of innovation in the application of the combination of the mentioned models, as well as in the theoretical and applied aspects in supplementing the building and strategic planning of the future business.

Pufferfish (Tetraodontidae) inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea can represent an emerging public health risk due to the possible accumulation of marine neurotoxins (TTXs and STXs) in their tissues. In this study, the presence of pufferfish species in the Strait of the Sicily (Lampedusa Island, Italy) was investigated using a Citizen Science (CS) approach involving local fishermen. A sub-group of specimens collected were sent to the National reference Laboratory on Marine Biotoxins for de-termining the presence of TTXs using a validated HILIC-MS/MS method on fish tissue. The STXs presence was also screened in some specimens. Overall, 56 specimens, identified as Sphoeroides pachygaster (Müller &Troschel, 1848) were collected. Data on specimen total length, body weight, fishing method, catch area (with relative depth temperature and salinity) were analyzed and compared with the S. pachygaster records reported in Guardone et al. (2018), which were appro-priately updated until 2022. All the analysed tissues were found to be negative for both TTXs and STXs. The key role of the CS in monitoring potentially toxic marine species was proved. Outcomes from this study, the first investigating the toxicity of S. pachygaster in Italian waters, may provide useful data for the proper assessment of this emerging risk

Elders have a higher rate of return visits to the emergency department (ED) than other patients. It is critical to understand the risk factors for return visits to the ED by elders. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with return visits to the ED by elders. This study retrospectively reviewed the hospital charts of elders who return visits to the ED within 72 hours after discharge. The risk factors identified in the Triage Risk Screening Tool were applied in this study. Of the elders discharged from the ED, 8.64% made a return visit to the ED within 72 hours. The highest revisit rate occurred within 24 hours after discharge. Factors associated with return ED visits within 24 hours by elders were difficulty walking and having discharge care needs. Factors associated with ED return visits within 24–48 hours were cognitive impairment and polypharmacy. Difficulty walking, having discharge care needs and hospitalization within the past 120 days were associated with return visits made within 48–72 hours following discharge. Identifying the reasons for return visits to the ED and providing a continuous review of geriatric assessment and discharge planning could reduce unnecessary revisits.

The report [1] shows that in many European cities the sewer system is older than 40 years, potentially reducing their ability to cope with more intense pluvial flooding [2] addition to climate change, urbanization is an important factor increasing the flooding risk, as it increases of impervious surfaces. Flash floods are particularly troublesome, causing not only the overloading of drainage systems [3], but also urban transport disruption, affecting human health, and contributing to pollution due to untreated sewage discharges [4]. Pluvial floods in urban areas are caused by short-duration precipitation, high intensity and on small scale. Such rainfall is difficult to predict and does not always apply to catchment areas. In Poland, heavy rainfall lasts relatively short, from a few minutes to a few, at most, several hours [5]. The method of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank the importance of criteria characterizing exposure in urban areas. The ranking is based on expert judgements. The article focuses on exposure which is one of the components of risk. Geographical Information System (GIS) is integrated with Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to evaluate exposure of urban area on pluvial floods.

The uniqueness of each system stems from the fact that the risks of disasters are specific and that their presence and manifestation are not universal and the same for every country. Just as no country is the same in all other segments, their disaster risk management systems are unequal. The paper describes the systems in four different countries, through observation and comparison of four areas of activity that are implemented in dealing with disasters. First of all, in the paper, the legal basis and institutional frameworks on which these systems rest in each of the countries were considered – starting from the international level and guidelines given at international conferences, to all by-laws and local disaster activity plans. It was considered how each of the states implements risk mitigation activities and how it increases preparedness for them. When the system recognizes risks, their probability and the frequency of their occurrence, activities are planned to prepare the country and every individual in it for a potentially unwanted event. Differences in the ways of mitigating risks and preparing all elements of the system and protected values for disasters are presented. The third element of action in the event of disasters concerns the response. In this segment, questions are raised regarding institutional solutions in the system, division of responsibilities, the priority of response and mobilization of resources at all levels. The last phase, the one that occurs after the disaster, and that is the recovery from it, depends on the reaction. In the paper, it was discussed how in the end, when a disaster occurs and when damage to the population, environment, material and other goods occurred, how each of the states implements reconstruction, i.e. how it recovers - whether that recovery was previously well planned or whether ad hoc solutions are applied.

Spatial approach based on the deformation measurement of volcanic dome and crater rim is key to evaluate the activity of a volcano, such as Merapi volcano where associated disaster risk is regularly taking lives. Within this framework, this study aime to detect localized deformation and change in the summit area that has occurred concomitantly with the dome growth and explosion reported. The methodology was focused on two sets of data, one LiDAR-based dataset of 2012 and one UAV-dataset of 2014. The results show that during the period 2012-2014, the crater walls are 100 m to 120 m high above the crater floor at its maximum (North to East-South-East sector), while the West and North sector presents a topographic range of 40 to 80 m. During the period 2012 – 2014, the evolution of the crater rim around the dome is generally stable (no large collapse). The opening of a new vent on the surface of the dome has displaced an equivalent volume of 2.04 E+04 m3 corresponding to a maximum -9 m (+/- 0.9 m) vertically. This concludes that during the period 2012 – 2014 when the dome of Merapi experienced phreatic or phreatomagmatic explosions, the topography around the dome rose. This rise does not seem to be related to large wall collapses, and it is likely that modification in the subsurface have triggered those changes.

Lipoproteins are important cardiovascular (CV) risk biomarkers. This study aimed to investigate the associations of lipoprotein subclasses with micro- and macrovascular biomarkers to better understand how these subclasses relate to atherosclerotic CV diseases. One hundred fifty-eight serum samples from the EXAMIN AGE study, consisting of healthy individuals and CV risk patients, were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to quantify lipoprotein subclasses. Microvascular health was quantified by measuring retinal arteriolar and venular diameters. Macrovascular health was quantified by measuring carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Nineteen lipoprotein subclasses showed statistically significant associations with retinal vessel diameters and nine with PWV. These lipoprotein subclasses together explained up to 26% of variation (R²=0.26, F(29,121)=2.80, p<0.001) in micro- and 12% (R²=0.12, F(29,124)=1.70, p=0.025) of variation in macrovascular health. High-density (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as well as triglycerides together explained up to 13% (R²=0.13, F(3,143)=8.42, p<0.001) of micro and 8% (R²=0.08, F(3,145)=5.46, p=0.001) of macrovascular variation. Lipoprotein subclasses seem to reflect micro- and macrovascular end organ damage more precisely as compared to only measuring HDL-C, LDL-C and triglycerides. Further studies are needed to analyse how the additional quantification of lipoprotein subclasses can improve CV risk stratification and CV disease prediction.

Decision-making is a complex process of selecting an option from the given choices by analyzing the background information like risk, loss, and gain within the alternative options presented. It has been observed in earlier studies that people are prompt to make less rational decisions when choices are given in a language less known to them. Therefore, to understand the effect of languages on decision-making, we have questioned native Hindi speakers in French and English. French being the foreign language, and English as their second language. Thus, this effect of a non-native language brings to light the important role that the native language plays routinely in judgment and decision-making. In this paper, we developed a Neuropsychological assessment to decipher the effects on decision-making between choices when given in foreign language and second language in comparison with the native language of an individual, which is termed as foreign language effect(Fle). We have explored various possible situations to understand the foreign language effect(Fle) in decision-making and does this change translates when the decision is to be made in the second language. Our study concludes that the Foreign language is least affected by the intuitive biases, followed by the second language, and the native language is most affected by it.

Recent work on heavy metal pollution in Manila Bay suggests elevated concentration in the surface sediments. It is critical to identify the sources of these heavy metals to effectively rehabilitate the bay. Our study investigated the sources of the heavy metal pollution that ended up in Manila Bay and the risks associated with these toxic metals based on a recent survey conducted. Surface sediment samples with higher heavy metal concentrations were found in the upper to middle parts of the bay while lower concentrations were in the southeast areas. Multivariate analyses such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and Pearson correlation analysis were used to identify the sources of the heavy metals. The heavy metal pollution in Manila Bay is attributed to several rivers draining northeast of Manila Bay, particularly the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System (MMORS) which is cited as one of the 30 dirtiest river systems in the world. The ecological risks associated with heavy metals in the sediments found higher incidences of toxicity in north and middle parts of Manila Bay. Cu and Cr posed the highest risks of toxicities than any other heavy metals. Based on our analysis, the counterclockwise water gyre of the bay can explain the distribution and ecological risks associated with the heavy metals as supported by the findings of the PCA. Given the high priority by the Philippine government to rehabilitate the bay, our study strongly shows that efforts to restore the ecological status of Manila Bay will only succeed if the pollution from major rivers draining to it will be properly addressed.

Aiming the characterization of road dusts on the surrounding villages of an active mine and to assess metal(loids) bioaccessible fractions, a dust samples survey was undertaken. To achieve these objectives, pseudototal element concentration, mineralogical composition, Enrichment factor and in vitro extraction UBM assay for both gastric (G) and gastrointestinal (GI) phases, were determined. Results obtained revealed that arsenic represents the higher risk to humans, with mean pseudototal values higher than the maximum reference value range. Enrichment factor points to As significant to very high enrichment in all villages. Particles enriched in As, Ca, Fe, Cu, Al, Ti were identified by SEM-EDS in weathered agglomerates, linked to mine wastes and long-distance transport, both by wind and/or traffic. Arsenic bioaccessibility fraction (%BAF) presents low values in the studied samples, possibly due to low Fe complexes solubility with adsorbed As, limiting arsenic release and reducing its bioaccessibility. Concentrations of Cd bioaccessible G and GI phases are within the reference values range, while for Cu are above and for Pb are lower, than reference value range. Results show that the pseudototal fraction risk is overestimated when comparing to BAF (bioaccessible fraction), nevertheless, total G and GI risk are above the carcinogenic target risk (1.00E-06) in most samples. Carcinogenic risk of the bioaccessible contaminants shows that As is the element that represents higher risk for developing cancer over a lifetime, being ingestion the main risk route.

This paper investigates the dynamic tail dependence risk between BRICS economies and world energy market in the context of the COVID-19 financial crisis of 2020, to determine optimal investment decisions based on risk metrics. For this purpose, the study employs a combination of novel statistical techniques ranging from Markov Switching, GARCH and Vine copula. Using a dataset consisting of daily stock and world crude oil prices; we find high probability of transition between lower and higher volatility regimes. Furthermore, our results based on the C-Vine copula confirm the existence of two types of tail dependence: - symmetric tail dependence between South Africa and China; South Africa and Russia; and lower tail dependence between South Africa and India; South Africa and Brazil; South Africa and Oil. For the purpose of diversification in these markets, we formulate an asset allocation problem using C-vine copula-based returns and optimize it using Particle Swarm algorithm with a rebalancing strategy. The results show an inverse relationship between the risk contribution and asset allocation of South Africa and oil market supporting the existence of lower tail dependence between them. This suggests that when South African stocks are in distress, investors tend to shift their holdings in oil market. Similar results are found between China and oil. In the upper tail, South African asset allocation is found to have an inverse relationship with that of Brazil, Russia and India suggesting that these three markets might be good investment destinations when things are not good in South Africa and vice-versa.

Understanding tourist behaviour during and after major tourism crises is essential to help destinations recover. The COVID-19 pandemic, a period of uncertainty and risk, makes it relevant to assess factors that influence travel intentions. There has been little research on tourist behaviour during health crises and, in particular, on perceived health risk and uncertainty effects on travel intentions. This study was carried out during the first months of the pandemic in Brazil and aims to investigate the role of health risk perception and intolerance of uncertainty on travel intentions for 2020 and 2021. We applied an online survey to 1,150 Brazilian participants from March to May of 2020. Our findings indicate that perceived COVID-19 severity, perceived probability of contracting it, and expected pandemic duration are significant predictors of travel intentions for both years. This paper sheds new light on tourist behaviour in the context of global health crises.

This article focuses on the issue of motor oils used in the engines of off-road mobile machinery (NRMM), more specifically tractors. The primary goal of the paper is to determine the appropriate replacement interval for these oils. The physical properties of the examined samples were first determined by conventional instruments. Furthermore, the concentration of abrasive metals, contaminants, and additive elements were measured using an optical emission spectrometer. Lastly, the content of water, fuel, glycol, and the products of oxidation, nitration, and sulphation were determined by using infrared spectrometry. The measured values were compared to the limit values. Based on the processing and evaluation of these analyses, the overall condition of the oils was assessed and subsequently the optimal exchange interval of the examined oils was determined. In addition, a risk analysis of the outage was performed. Due to the high yields of crops, farmers can lose a significant amount of product when a tractor is not functioning during the harvest period. This loss for calculated in the paper.

This research paper is mainly aimed to elaborate the initial risk management and measures which government of Pakistan took towards Novel Corona Virus (COVID-2019). This initial response and planning was devised after the early outbreak of COVID-2019 in Wuhan, China in early time of January 2020. Pakistan devised a comprehensive plan that not to evacuate their student from Wuhan, China. The government of Pakistan in compliance with the National Institute of Health (NIH) devised and documented comprehensive plans such as the flight operations postponed related to Umerah pilgrims, which were intended to go to sacred places of KSA (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The process of visa, immigration policy totally changed and the government of Pakistan notified it officially that, no new visas of visit, student, and business would be issued in due course of uncertainty due to COVID-2019. The government of Pakistan also announced medical emergency and notified through the country’s provinces the process of testing and treatment of COVID-2019. The government of Pakistan also allocated funds for medical supplies and named out the particular country’s best laboratories. The government of Pakistan also locked down all the cities with the emergency announcement that people should stay inside the home in quarantine or self-isolation. NIH (The National Institute of Health) played a vital role in executing the planning to cope with COVID – 2019). The National Institute of Health responded as “The Centre for Disease Control”. In aid to the government, the national army of Pakistan responded in a proactive manner towards planed execution. The medical corps of Pakistan army dedicated themselves to treat the suspected patients of COVID – 2019. Due to plans, policies being documented, implemented in such a way productive way that from February 28, 2020 to till date there is not much critical situation and issues are not present. There are much productive results as there is not much boom in a rise of COVID-2019 patients. This lockdown under the authority of the provinces resulted in fruitful outcomes. Background: On January 02, 2020, authorities of the People Republic of China elaborated that they have encountered with a novel type of infectious viral disease 2019. Later on January 12, the authorities from China elaborated the related sequence of Corona Virus diseases 2019 names as COVID – 2019. When COVID-2019 being identified in Wuhan, Hubei China, as an early response the Government of Pakistan in support of the National Institute of Health (Field Epidemiology & Disease Surveillance Division) published a health advisory about novel coronavirus. Methods: According to Global Health Security Index, Pakistan is ranked as 105th country among 195 countries in GHS index. Overall Score of Pakistan is 35.5. The score of Early Detection and Reporting for Epidemics of Potential International Concern is 41.7. A Graphical depiction of the COVID-19 cases placed until April 10, 2020 as well as a graph trend line of recovered as well as death rate is also depicted. According to the graphical facts of Government of Pakistan and World meters, the recovery rate of COVID-19 is about 98 percent and 2.1 percent death rate is reported against the total cases. Trend analysis with line graph was drawn based on available data from official dashboard web portal of the government of Pakistan and worldometers.info. Data figures were incorporated from March to August 18, 2020 in MS Excel and then subsequently deployed to draw trend analysis from managing risk to recovery. Results: The line graph showed a slowdown in the COVID-19 cases and high rate of recoveries from COVID-19 in Pakistan. On March 11, 2020, there were 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in Pakistan. No death was recorded in very first seven days, on March 18, 2020 only two deaths were reported. On August 18, 2020, there were 272128 recoveries, 6201 deaths, total confirmed cases 290445, and total test were 2340072 in Pakistan. As a results, we can report that due to early measures taken by government of Pakistan no mass scale destruction in terms of death and cases been recorded in Pakistan. Conclusions: To till date, the government of Pakistan tried its level best to minimize the coronavirus cases as much as they can. However, the ending of the potential attack of an outbreak would depend upon the well organized and coordinated approach at all levels such as true directed decisions, fully preparedness, as well implementation and evaluation of continuous decisions. As the recovery rate of the cases is 98 percent and merely death rate is 2.1 percent, concluded that in future it would be a good sign to stop the potential outbreak. Also, lock down as well as precautionary measurement taken by the provincial governments resulted a decline number of COVID-19 cases in the country. Another good sign is that merely 4 percent population of Pakistan is of more than 60 years of old it can be concluded that there are less chances of mass death due to outbreak of COVID-19.

COVID-19 appeared as an infectious disease of global health emergency and the highest public health concern of 21st century for this world due to its high-speed of spread across the globe. The disease started as one single case to a cluster of cases in Wuhan, China (Dec 2019) and within few months with its continuous upsurge of cases spreading globally which has created enormous threat and tension across the global Public health care field. Most significantly to share the fact that, this disease caused high level of Risk Group mortality, high morbidity, health care services burden, panic anxiety, mental trauma and tension, social and economic insecurity, which also collectively surfaced by diverse range of social reaction and political pressure across the world. Also with the appearance of new and unknown pathogenesis of the disease has created the most and significant attention and concern for the scientific community and political leaders as well. The disease also varies much with its pattern of virus, sign, symptoms, characteristics including its epidemiological and public health response (like prevention strategy, diagnoses, case management, treatment pattern) across the countries. However, this variance is comparatively less rather even more in commonality while it comes to basic public health prevention interventions like frequent hand washing, wearing face mask, maintaining social/physical distancing (2 - 6 meter in between), individual isolation and community quarantine for suspected exposure and lockdown in community areas where cases are identified. These are with the most commonly practiced public health interventions to deal with this disease in majority of the epicenters across countries. Also with the progress of the disease with its diverse categorical appearance of sign symptoms which are uniquely portraying this disease is more of a kind of COVID-19 syndrome than as COVID-19. Moreover, various factors including socio economic status, health status, population dynamics, health system and infrastructure, health behavioral pattern, nutrition and food habit and access to information and knowledge made this viral disease one of the historically counted on expensive disease of the modern world to fight for. Specially to mention here, the case fatality rate distinctively vary with the population dynamics and the health system infrastructure and ability factors which have already created clear evidence as explained in this paper how these factors are uniquely distinguished and different from country to country. Apart from the contextual differences, the various kind of ongoing preventive measures (like prevention, diagnosis and treatment) learnt every day from the emerging characteristics and pattern of this viral disease which are most commonly practiced across countries with a variance. According to the Public health prevention practice and interventions, the total world is connected and learning from each other’s public health experiences to fight for the virus. However, the world communities are eagerly waiting to see the result and outcome of the ongoing therapeutics and vaccine trial initiated in several countries, the people of the world are quite optimistic and hopeful that, global scientific community will be able to invent some miraculous and magic solution in upcoming months which ultimately will free the world from this most terrifying COVID-19 pandemic of 21st century.

Purpose: To explore the influence of education and other factors on an athlete’s decision to return to sport post-concussion injury, and whether general risk-taking tendencies are related to return to sport post-concussion decisions in these athletes. Participants and Methods: A self-administered electronic survey was designed to examine their decision-making process when faced with scenario-based questions regarding returning to sport post-concussion injury. Students from the Health Sciences and Medicine Faculty at Bond University were invited to participate. Participants were allocated to a concussion education or non-education group prior to commencement of questionnaire via the random generator on Qualtrics software function. The risk propensity scale was used to assess the risk aversion of each participant. Results: Sixteen respondents were randomized evenly to education and non-education groups. Seven (43.8%) had previously received concussion education training prior to completing the questionnaire, with one (14%) choosing to return to sport in the scenario-based questions. The education group reported two (25%) respondents return to sport, while three (75%) respondents out of four returned to sport with no education or previous concussion training. Influential factors that impacted the decision whether to return to sport or not included: game importance, concussion severity and symptoms, and various internal and external factors. Finally, there was a divergence in results from the risk propensity scale when deciding to return to sport and general risk-taking propensities. Conclusion: This study identified several influential factors including game importance, concussion severity and symptoms which play a significant role in the return to sport decisions post-concussion injury.

At least one ultrasound is recommended to predict fetal growth restriction and low birthweight earlier in pregnancy. However, in low-income countries imaging equipment and trained manpower are scarce. Hence, we developed and validated a model and risk score to predict low birthweight using maternal characteristics during pregnancy, for use in resource limited settings. We conducted a prospective cohort study among 379 pregnant women in South Ethiopia. A step-wise multivariable analysis was done to develop the prediction model. To improve clinical utility, we developed a simplified risk score to classify pregnant women at high- or low-risk of low birthweight. The accuracy of the model was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) and calibration plot. We evaluated the clinical impact of the model using a decision curve analysis across various threshold probabilities. Age at pregnancy, underweight, anemia, height, gravidity, and presence of comorbidity remained in the final multivariable prediction model. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) of the model was 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.78 to 0.88). The decision curve analysis shows the model provides a higher net benefit across ranges of threshold probabilities. In general, this study showed the possibility of predicting low birthweight using maternal characteristics during pregnancy. The model could help to identify those at higher risk of having a low birthweight baby. This feasible prediction model would offer an opportunity to reduce obstetric-related complications and thus improving the overall maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 accounts for more than 14,000 deaths worldwide. However, little is known about the host genetics interaction with infection and COVID-19 progression. To better understand the role of host genetics, we review the current literature, aggregate readily available genetic resources, and provide some updated analysis relevant to COVID-19 and associated phenotypes. Using the unrelated individuals in UK Biobank (total n = 337,579 across 5 populations), we aggregate human leukocyte antigen and ABO blood type frequencies. We find significant and consistent risk reduction of blood group O reported in Zhao et al. and encourage broad sharing of ABO blood type frequencies that are readily accessible across COVID-19 with mild, moderate, and severe/critical symptoms for robust inferences at https://tinyurl.com/abo-covid19. In addition, we generate polygenic risk scores (PRSs) weights for 29 blood measurements, including clinically relevant haematological measurements for COVID-19, such as lymphocyte count and percentage. Focusing on the 8 most COVID-19 clinically relevant blood measurements, we performed PRS-PheWAS analysis across 44 disease antigen measurements (n = 6,643 unrelated individuals in White British group), infectious diseases and acute respiratory infections (n = 20,928 cases and 349,000 controls across 3 population groups) and deaths (n = 1,846 cases and 368,082 controls), recorded in hospital inpatient record and death registry data, respectively, in UK Biobank, and find host genetic PRS associations with disease risk. Taken together, we anticipate these resources (https://github.com/rivas-lab/covid19) will aid in improving our understanding of host genetic risk factors playing a role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease severity.

Research subjects of this study are four representative locations in the industrial complex, in the city of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (∑16PAHs), humus and pH were determined. The main objective of the paper is to determine the concentration levels, to assess the probable sources of PAHs contamination in soil and groundwater and to determine the ecological risk. The ∑16PAHs in soil (at depths of 30 cm, 100 cm, 200 cm, 300 cm and 400 cm) ranged from 0.99 to 2.24 mg/kg, from 0.34 to 0.46, from 0.24 to 0.32, from 0.13 to 0.27 and from 0.13 to 0.47, with mean values of 1.70 mg/kg, 0.40 mg/kg, 0.28 mg/kg, 0.20 mg/kg and 0.26 mg/kg, respectively. The ∑16PAHs in groundwater ranged from 0.23 to 4.50 mg/m³, with a mean value of 1.42 mg/m³. Surface soil and groundwater are heavily contaminated. All values of ∑PAHs in soil layers were lower in the depths of the soil. Factor analysis indicates three sources of contamination, i.e. principal component (PC) PC1 (pyrogenic), PC2 (petrogenic) and PC3 (biomass), with 52.39%, 26.14% and 8.46% of the total variance, respectively. ∑PAH and PAHs indicate high ecological risk for most PAHs, which decreases with soil depth.

Road dust resuspension, especially the particulate matter fraction below 10 µm (PM10), is one of the main air quality management challenges in Europe. Road dust samples were collected from representative streets (suburban and urban) of the city of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. PM10 emission factors (mg veh-1 km-1) ranging from 49 (asphalt) to 330 (cobble stone) were estimated by means of the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency method. Two road dust fractions (< 0.074 mm and from 0.0074 to 1 mm) were characterised for their geochemical, mineralogical and morphological properties. In urban streets, road dusts reveal the contribution from traffic emissions, with higher concentrations of e.g. Cu, Zn, and Pb. In the suburban area, agriculture practices likely contributed to As concentrations of 180 mg kg-1 in the finest road dust fraction. Samples are primarily composed of quartz, but also of muscovite, albite, kaolinite, microcline, Fe-enstatite, graphite and amorphous content. Particle morphology clearly shows the link with natural and traffic related materials, with well-formed minerals and irregular aggregates. The hazard quotient suggests a probability to induce non-carcinogenic adverse health effects in children by ingestion of Zr. Arsenic in the suburban street represents a human health risk of 1.58 x 10-4.

Framed in a context with an emerging economy and with a high percentage of school failure, this study aimed to identify the factors that turn students with socioeconomic disadvantages into resilient students. Two questions guided the research: Can resilience be supported in students in adverse socioeconomic situations? What factors influence building resilient students? A cross-sectional study was carried out from 2011 to 2015 in Chile, using a multilevel logistic regression model with three levels, considering the hierarchical data structure. The behavior of 63100 to 76400 sampled students was analyzed. Results show five relevant factors in building resilience: self-efficacy in language, minor aggressions and violence perceived by students, norms and values of the establishment, interest in study, and self-efficacy. Some risk factors identified were an atmosphere of less respect and trust, engagement in physical education activities and good performance in carrying them out. These results could orient educational leaders interested in supporting the educational community in order to improve the academic success of disadvantaged students.

Because of the widespread use of bisphenol analogues (BPs) as the alternatives to bisphenol A (BPA), they have attracted considerable attention for health risk in aquatic ecosystems. The occurrence and distribution of six BPs were researched in soluble phase (< 5 kDa), colloidal phase (5 kDa to 1 µm) and suspended particulate matter (SPM > 1 µm) in a water diversion project of Nanjing, China. Except for bisphenol Z, all BPs were detected in the two or three phases, the total concentrations of detected BPs were 161-613 ng/L, 5.19-77.2 ng/L and 47.5-353 ng/g for the soluble phase, colloidal phase and SPM, respectively. Among the detected compounds, BPA still the dominant BPs in the soluble and colloidal phases, followed by BPS, while BPAF was the major contaminant in SPM, followed by BPA. The mean contribution proportions of colloids were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than SPM, suggesting that colloids have an obvious impact on regulating BPs’ environmental behaviors. In terms of spatial distribution, although the water diversion project could reduce the pollution levels of BPs, which might further affect the ecological security of the Yangtze River.

Owing to the widespread use of bisphenol analogues (BPs) as bisphenol A (BPA) alternatives, they have been recognized to constitute a health risk for aquatic ecosystems. The occurrence and distribution of six BPs were investigated in the truly dissolved phase (< 5 kDa), colloidal phase (5 kDa to 1 µm) and suspended particulate matter (SPM > 1 µm) in a water diversion project of Nanjing, China. With the exception of bisphenol Z, all BPs were detected in at least two phases, the total concentrations of detected BPs were 161-613 ng/L, 5.19-77.2 ng/L and 47.5-353 ng/g for the truly dissolved phase, colloidal phase and SPM, respectively. Among the detected compounds, BPA still the dominant BPs in the truly dissolved phase and colloidal phase, followed by BPS, while BPAF was the major contaminant in SPM, followed by BPA. The mean contribution proportions of colloids were 1-2 orders of magnitude greater than that of SPM, suggesting that colloids play an important role in regulating the environmental behaviors of BPs. In terms of spatial distribution, although the water diversion project could reduce the pollution levels of BPs, which might further affect the ecological security of the Yangtze River.

Many pilot-based initiatives have been developed to promote awareness and use of climate information services among vulnerable smallholder farmers in Africa through million-dollar investments. However, despite their experimental nature, these pilot projects have been successful in raising participating farmers’ awareness and use of climate information services and they can inform transferrable good practices. Through a systematic literature review approach, this review sought to understand ways in which these past pilot projects have contributed to climate risk management in the context of smallholder farming and the factors that led to their success. Results showed that climate information services main contribution to climate risk management has been through facilitating farm level decision making. Factors that led to success of the pilots include: use of downscaled information; building institutional partnerships to add value to climate information; involving farmers through the co-designing and co-developing process; face-to-face way of communication; embedding pre-seasonal workshops in the activities of local institutions for sustainability; using diversity of communication channels to enhance reach among others. These factors can be borrowed as good practices to inform future efforts focused on increasing adoption of climate information services among a wider population beyond pilot project reach.

This study aimed to investigate the airborne release of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) as a result of the dry heat cooking of some meats using charcoal grilling and pan broiling methods. Three types of meat, beef sirloin, pork belly, and duck, were chosen and cooked in a temporary building using the above methods. Air samples were collected in Thermosorb-N cartridges, which were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed for NDMA using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography–fluorescence detection, respectively. Overall, the charcoal grilling method showed higher average NDMA concentrations than the pan broiling method for all types of meat. The highest average concentration was observed for charcoal-grilled beef sirloin (410 ng/m3) followed by pork belly, suggesting that meat protein content and cooking duration are important determinants of NDMA formation. Cancer risk assessment showed that the charcoal grilling of such meats can pose an additional cancer risk for restaurant customers.

Modern portfolio theory claims that diversification into non-correlated or negatively correlated activities reduces the overall risk of a portfolio. Considering the total income of a bank as a portfolio of interest income and non-interest income, this paper investigates how the variability of interest income and non- interest income, and covariance between interest income and non-interest income influence the various risk factors of banks. We set out a study in the Indian context. We have extracted data for the period 2005-2017 and employed an extended version of Ridge, Lasso and Elastics Net regression to take care of multi-collinearly in our data. We have considered 10-fold cross-validation techniques to get optimal values of tuning parameters for Ridge, Lasso, and Elastics Net regression (which is a convex combination of ridge and the LASSO). We have compared different regression techniques by comparing RMSE and R2. We observe that non-interest income is positively correlated with interest income in the Indian context, but it does stabilize variance, idiosyncratic risk & market risk (Beta) of Indian Banks.

Nanoparticles of graphene and carbon nanotubes are attractive materials for improvement of mechanical and barrier properties and functionality of biodegradable polymers for food packaging applications. However, the increase of the manufacture and consumption increases the probability of exposure of human and environment to such nanomaterials, this rising questions about the risks of nanomaterials since they can be toxic. For a risk assessment, it is crucial to know whether airborne nanoparticles of graphene and carbon nanotubes can be released from nanocomposites into the environment at their end-life, or they remain embedded in the matrix. In this work the release of graphene and carbon nanotubes from the poly(lactic) acid nanocomposite films were studied for the scenarios of: (i) biodegradation of matrix polymer at the disposal of wastes; and (ii) combustion and fire of nanocomposite wastes. Thermogravimetric analysis in air atmosphere, TEM, AFM and SEM were used to verify the release of nanoparticles from nanocomposite films. The three factors model was applied for the quantitative and qualitative risk assessment to the release of graphene and carbon nanotubes from nanocomposite wastes for these scenarios. Safety concern is discussed in respect to the existing regulations for nanowastes stream.

Philip Morris International (PMI) has developed the Population Health Impact Model (PHIM) to quantify, in the absence of epidemiological data, the effects of marketing a candidate modified risk tobacco product (cMRTP) on the public health of a whole population. Various simulations were performed to understand the harm reduction impact on the U.S. population over a 20-year period under various scenarios. The overall reduction in smoking attributable deaths (SAD) over the 20-year period was estimated as 934,947 if smoking completely went away and between 516,944 and 780,433 if cMRTP use completely replaces smoking. The reduction in SADs was estimated as 172,458 for the World Health Organization (WHO) 2025 Target and between 70,274 and 90,155 for the gradual cMRTP uptake. Combining the scenarios (WHO 2025 Target and cMRTP uptake), the reductions were between 256,453 and 268,796, depending on the cMRTP effective dose. These results show how a cMRTP can reduce overall population harm additionally to existing tobacco control efforts.

This case study is the first to be developed in the Middle East region to describe the timeline of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic events in Qatar along with the features of the implemented Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) activities. It sought to describe how the performed ERC strategy particularly during the first days (then over the course of the following phases) of the outbreak might have contributed to the authorities’ credibility, public trust, and outbreak control measures despite the overwhelming uncertainty. All of the relevant news stories during the period 24 Sep 2012 to 17 Mar 2014 were retrieved from a local daily, then were analyzed and interpreted before they were compiled and matched with the issued press releases, records of response activities and the public reactions along the course of the epidemic timeline. Despite the prevailing uncertainty, the health authorities’ early preparedness to the epidemic and its commitment to a proactive and open ERC strategy since the first days of the outbreak favored the authorities’ credibility and allowed for the quick initiation of the national response efforts during the course of the outbreak. However, there was some pitfalls as the print media reported some conflicting messages and paternalist approach during the early phases of the epidemic. Reliance solely on the print media is an acknowledged limitation to this study. Yet, it might be useful for emergency planners regarding what communication challenges to expect during the first days of a novel virus or similar threats.

Surgical smoke is produced by energy-based surgical instruments. The airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from surgical smoke may have potential health risk. This study aimed to evaluate the evidence for the harmful effects on the operating theater staff. An internationally recognized evaluation model of health risk assessment (HRA) was adapted to preliminarily assess the health risks caused by VOCs in surgical smoke. Results of HRA indicated that non-carcinogenic risk indexes of VOCs did not exceed one, indicating that these pollutants didn't cause significant non-carcinogenic harm to the health of the operating theater staff. But the cancer risk indexes exposed to formaldehyde and benzene all exceed 10-5, which was higher than the suggested value of USEPA (10-6) and might cause potential harm to the health of the operating theater staff. Long-term exposure of such surgical smoke will be harmful to the health of the operating theater staff and have a great risk of cancer.

The paper discusses how joint damage and deterioration affect the seismic response of existing reinforced concrete frames with sub-standard beam-column joints. The available simplified modeling techniques are critically reviewed to propose a robust, yet computationally efficient technique for simulating the nonlinear behavior of substandard beam-column joints. Improvements over the existing models include simulation of the cyclic deterioration of joint stiffness and strength as well as pinching in the hysteretic response, implemented considering a deteriorating hysteretic rule. A fibre-section forced-based inelastic beam-column element is developed; considering improved material models and fixed-end rotation due to bond failure, rebars-slip and inelastic extension, to simulate the deteriorating cyclic behavior of existing pre-cracked beam-column members. For the assessment of frames with substandard exterior beam-column joints, a nonlinear model for the exterior joint is developed and validated through a full-scale quasi-static cyclic test performed on a substandard T-joint connection. The proposed model allows considering structural performance in risk assessment while accounting for true inelastic mechanisms at the joints.

Background: Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are pro-inflammatory biomarkers that quantify clinical and subclinical inflammation in cardiac ischemia in cardiac inflammation and disease. Adiponectin is an anti-inflammatory marker associated with good health. The susceptibility of periodontitis patients to cardiovascular events needs to be evaluated. Objective: This study aims to assess the levels of biomarkers in periodontitis patients with and without acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to controls. Material and methods: Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory analytes were examined by collecting unstimulated saliva from three groups (n = 20/each): healthy individuals, individuals with stage III periodontitis, and post-myocardial infarction patients with stage III periodontitis. The samples were collected within 48 hours of AMI. Results: Adiponectin levels were significantly lower in patients with periodontitis with and without AMI compared to controls, while CRP and MIP-1α were significantly higher in patients with periodontitis with and without AMI compared to controls. The highest titers for MIP-1α and CRP were detected among patients with periodontitis with and AMI. Conclusion: Our study provides evidence of the association between periodontitis and salivary analytes that occur in tandem with cardiovascular disease. The lower levels of Adiponectin and higher levels of CRP and MIP-1α in patients with periodontitis indicate that this condition is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The findings emphasize the importance of early detection and intervention for periodontitis patients to prevent cardiovascular events.

Patients with Peripheral-artery-disease (PAD) are prone to risks of major-adverse-limb-events (MALE), and major-adverse-cardiovascular-events (MACE). CHA2DS2-VASc is a prognostic score for Atrial fibrillation stroke risk, however, no study exists that evaluated its predictability for MALE and MACE in PAD patients. In this study, patients with PAD were stratified into four risk groups based on CHA2DS2-VASc score. Cox-proportional hazards models,10-fold cross-validation and Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were utilized to evaluate the predictability of CHA2DS2-VASc for predicting MALE, MACE, and MALE+MACE. Kaplan-Meier analysis estimated the survival-probability of risk-groups. CHA2DS2-VASc was found to be a significant predictor of MACE (hazard ratio (95% confidence interval; P) = 3.47 (0.99 - 12.18; 0.052), 4.12 (1.19 - 14.14; 0.024), and 5.06 (1.48 – 17.28; 0.009), for moderate-, high- and very-high-risk groups, respectively, while for MALE and MALE+MACE significance was achieved only for high-risk group. MACE demonstrated AUC > 0.8, good-discrimination (c-index > 0.8) and good-calibration. However, MALE and MALE+MACE models failed to achieve good performances. Based on all findings, CHA2DS2-VASc could potentially serve as a risk stratification score for predicting MACE in patients with PAD but failed to qualify as a good predictor for MALE.

In the event of an abrupt sunlight reduction scenario there is a time window that occurs between when food stores would likely run out for many countries (~6 months or less) and ~1 year when resilient foods are scaled up. A promising temporary resilient food is leaf protein concentrate (LPC). Although it is possible to extract LPC from tree biomass (e.g. leaves and needles), neither the yields nor the toxicity of the protein concentrates for humans from the most common tree species has been widely investigated. To help fill this knowledge gap, this study uses high-resolution mass spectrometry and an open source toolchain for non-targeted screening of toxins on five common North American coniferous species: Western Cedar, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Western Hemlock, and Lodgepole Pine. The yields for LPC extraction from the conifers ranged from 1% to 7.5%. The toxicity screenings confirm that these trees may contain toxins that can be consumed in small amounts and additional studies including measuring the quantity of each toxin are needed. The results indicate that LPC is a promising candidate to be used as resilient food, but future work is needed before LPCs from conifers can be used as a wide-scale human food.

This qualitative study explores the challenges and successes in supplier development from the perspectives of procurement managers across diverse industries. Through in-depth interviews, key themes emerged, highlighting the critical role of communication, trust, performance measurement, capacity building, risk management, innovation, regulatory compliance, and technology integration in supplier relationship management. Procurement managers emphasized the importance of clear, continuous communication and trust-building activities to align objectives and foster collaborative partnerships. Performance measurement was crucial for evaluating and improving supplier performance, supported by capacity-building initiatives to enhance supplier capabilities. Risk management strategies focused on identifying and mitigating risks, while compliance efforts aimed to ensure adherence to industry standards. Innovation and technological integration were pivotal for driving efficiency and competitiveness, enabling faster time-to-market and improved product quality. Cultural sensitivity and relationship strengthening emerged as essential for navigating diverse cultural contexts and enhancing partnership effectiveness. Overall, the findings underscored positive outcomes including enhanced quality, cost efficiencies, and increased resilience within supply chains. This research contributes valuable insights into effective supplier management practices, emphasizing the strategic importance of supplier development initiatives for sustainable growth and competitive advantage in today's dynamic business environment.

In today's globalized economy, supply chain disruptions present significant challenges, impacting businesses' operational continuity and efficiency. This study delves into the ways businesses navigate these disruptions, with a particular emphasis on qualitative insights into risk management practices. The complexity and interconnectivity inherent in modern supply chains make them vulnerable to a broad spectrum of disruptions, ranging from natural disasters and geopolitical conflicts to technological failures and pandemics. Effective supply chain risk management requires a structured approach to identifying potential risks, evaluating their likelihood and potential impact, and formulating robust mitigation strategies. Employing a qualitative research methodology, this study gathers in-depth insights from semi-structured interviews with supply chain managers, industry experts, and executives. The findings underscore the necessity of proactive risk identification and comprehensive assessment processes. Advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, are highlighted as crucial tools for enhancing visibility and responsiveness within supply chains. Strategies such as diversifying suppliers and maintaining safety stock emerge as vital components of risk mitigation, ensuring supply continuity in the face of disruptions. Strong relationships with suppliers are pivotal, facilitating better information sharing and collaborative problem-solving. Leadership commitment to risk management and fostering a culture of resilience within organizations is also critical. Training programs and simulation exercises are identified as effective means of preparing employees to handle disruptions. Furthermore, adherence to regulatory compliance and a focus on sustainability are integral to maintaining long-term stability and reducing the risk of future disruptions.

This study explores the multifaceted role of culture in supply chain collaboration, focusing on how cultural differences shape communication, trust-building, negotiation, conflict resolution, risk management, and ethical standards. Utilizing a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 supply chain professionals from diverse cultural backgrounds and industries. The findings reveal that high-context cultures favor indirect communication and nuanced information exchange, which can lead to misunderstandings with partners from low-context cultures who prefer direct and explicit communication. Trust-building practices vary significantly, with high uncertainty avoidance cultures emphasizing formal agreements and procedural rigor, while low uncertainty avoidance cultures prioritize personal relationships and demonstrated reliability. Negotiation strategies also diverge, reflecting the underlying values of collectivism versus individualism, impacting the tactics and outcomes of supply chain negotiations. Conflict resolution approaches differ, with high power distance cultures favoring hierarchical and mediated solutions, and low power distance cultures preferring direct and egalitarian methods. The study highlights the need for adaptability to cultural changes and the development of cultural intelligence as essential competencies for managing cross-cultural supply chains. Additionally, cultural differences in risk management approaches and governance mechanisms affect the coordination and resilience of supply chains, while varying ethical standards influenced by cultural norms necessitate culturally sensitive strategies for promoting corporate social responsibility. The insights gained from this research underscore the importance of understanding and leveraging cultural differences to build stronger, more productive supply chain relationships, contributing to the broader literature on culture and supply chain management and offering practical implications for enhancing global supply chain collaboration.

Frass generated during the production of black soldier fly larvae is taking the interest of scientists and horticultural producers because it is a material from the biotransformation of organic waste, it has several nutrients that can be used by plants, and its recent focus on its biostimulant capacity. The thermal-composting process is a stabilization that improves physical and chemical properties of treated wastes, allowing better performance in plants compared to its fresh state. In this research, thermocomposted frass was evaluated as a germination substrate for kale seeds (Brassica olerasea). To achieve this, it was evaluated the phytotoxicity in different concentrations on the seeds, and seedlings were grown in a germination substrates mixed with 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% of frass. The treatment with 20% frass showed the highest values of seedling height, stem diameter, number of leaves, length, and width of first true leaf and length and width of cotyledons, reduced the content of phenols and tannins antioxidants but the content of flavonoids increased compared to the control and the rest of mixtures.

Early-life adversity can profoundly impact individual development, yet some demonstrate resilience. Longitudinal studies tracking individuals over extended periods have aided our understanding of resilience and growth following adverse childhood experiences. This paper reviews insights from influential studies like the Kauai Longitudinal Study, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, and the Dunedin Study. It explores key findings on risk and protective factors, adaptation trajectories, and long-term outcomes associated with resilience. Theoretical frameworks and methodological considerations are discussed. The paper examines how this research informs interventions, policies, and support systems for fostering resilience. It highlights the need for diverse samples, integrating biological and environmental factors, and investigating intergenerational impacts. By synthesizing longitudinal research, this paper elucidates complex pathways to resilience and positive development despite early adversity, offering insights for research and supporting vulnerable populations.

Background Popular movement-based injury risk screens have been shown to lack predictive precision, leading to interest in multifactorial models. Furthermore, there is a lack of research regarding injury risk assessment for those currently or planning to be recreationally active. This study aims to provide injury risk insights by analyzing multifactorial injury risk models and as-sociated clinical measures in the U.S. population. Methods Data related to injury, inflammatory markers, physical functioning, body composition, physical activity, and other variables from 21,033 respondents were extracted from NHANES. Odds ratios for self-reported injury were calculated for single predictors and risk models. Case-control and principal component analyses (PCA) were conducted to elucidate confounders and identify risk factor clusters, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to test the precision of a risk factor cluster to identify pain points and functional difficulties. Results Sociodemographic, individual, and lifestyle factors were strongly associated with higher odds of injury. Increases in fibrinogen and C-reactive protein were significantly associated with all risk groups. Membership to the high-risk group (age over 40, obesity, no muscle-strengthening activities, sedentary lifestyle, and low back pain) predicted at least one functional difficulty with 67.4% sensitivity and 87.2% specificity. In the injury group, bone turnover markers were higher, yet confounded by age and there was a significantly higher prevalence of self-reported osteoporosis compared to the control. In males, low testosterone was associated with injury, and higher estradiol was associated with pain and functional difficulties. In females, higher levels of follicle-stimulating hormone were associated with functional difficulties. PCA revealed four high-risk profiles, with markers and activities showing distinct loadings. Conclusion A comprehensive approach to injury risk assessment should consider the nexus of aging, lifestyle, and chronic disease to enhance tailored injury prevention strategies, fostering safe and effective physical activity participation and reducing the burden of musculoskeletal disorders.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality. Traditional approaches to diagnosing and treating CVDs often involve interpretation, which can lead to errors. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning aids the management of CVDs. AI examines amounts of data and identifies patterns offering solutions for disease detection, risk prediction, and patient care. The American Heart Association's 2023 Scientific Sessions (AHA23) showcased studies that highlight AIs potential to revolutionize cardiac healthcare. This article presents a review of these cutting-edge studies exploring how AI is applied in health, the outcomes of these applications, and their implications for clinical practice. The insights gained from this review will contribute to the discussion on AI's role in healthcare and its capacity to enhance outcomes.

This paper performs a comprehensive analysis of the wind energy potential of onshore regions in Greece with emphasis on quantifying the volume risk and the spatial covariance structure. Optimization techniques are employed to derive efficient wind capacity allocation plans (also known as generation portfolios) incorporating different yield aspirations. The generation profile of minimum variance and other optimal portfolios along the efficient frontier are subject to rigorous evaluation using a fusion of descriptive and statistical methods. In particular, principal component analysis is employed to estimate factor models and investigate the spatiotemporal properties of wind power generation, providing valuable insights into the persistence of volume risk. The overarching goal of the study is to employ a set of statistical and mathematical programming tools guiding investors, aggregators and policy makers in their selection of wind energy generating assets. The findings of this research challenge the effectiveness of current policies and industry practices, offering a new perspective on wind energy harvesting with a focus on the management of volume risk.

Chromosomal instability (CIN), defined by variations in the number or structure of chromosomes from cell to cell, is recognized as a distinctive characteristic of cancer, associated with the ability of tumors to adapt to challenging environments. CIN has been recognized as a source of genetic variation that leads to clonal heterogeneity (CH). Recent findings suggest a potential association between CIN and CH with the prognosis of BC patients, particularly in tumors expressing the epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2+). In fact, information on the role of CIN in other BC subtypes, including luminal B BC, is limited. Additionally, it remains unknown whether CIN in luminal B BC tumors, above a specific threshold, could have a detrimental effect on the growth of human tumors, or if low or intermediate CIN levels could be linked to a more favorable BC patient prognosis when contrasted with elevated levels. Clarifying these relationships could have a substantial impact on risk stratification and the development of future therapeutic strategies aimed at targeting CIN in BC. This study aimed to assess CIN and CH in tumor tissue samples from ten patients with luminal B BC, and compared them with established clinicopathological parameters. The results of our study show that luminal B BC patients exhibit intermediate CIN and stable aneuploidy, both of which correlated with lymphovascular invasion. These findings suggest that evaluating CIN, CH and aneuploidy could improve risk stratification, the prediction of clinical outcomes and future therapeutic approaches in luminal B BC patients.

Smoker’s paradox usually refers to the common observation of a favourable outcome of smoker patients in acute myocardial infarction. The interpretation of this phenomenon is still controversial and not fully explained. We aimed at assessing whether smoking could be associated with mortality in a large cohort of prospectively enrolled patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) referred to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). From April 2006 to December 2018 a population of 2456 STEMI patients treated with primary PCI were prospectively enrolled in the MATRIX registry. Ischemic time, clinical, demographics, angiographic data and 1-year follow-up were collected. Among 2546 patients admitted with STEMI 1007 (41%) were current smokers. Smokers were 10 years younger and had lower crude in-hospital and 1-year mortality (1.5% vs 6%, p&lt;0.0001 and 5% vs 11%, p&lt;0.0001), shorter ischemic time (203 [147-299] vs 220 [154-334] minutes, p=0.002) and shorter decision time (60 [30-135] vs 70 [36-170] minutes, p=0.0063). After propensity-matching, age, cardiogenic shock and low TIMI score were associated with in-hospital mortality, while smoking habit was still associated with reduced mortality. Smoking was also associated with reduced death rate at 1-year follow-up (HR 0.54, 95% CI [0.37 - 0.78]; p&lt;0.001). Our data show a protective link between smoking status and mortality in patients with STEMI, the so called “smoker’s paradox”. This could be explained not only by the shorter ischemic time and younger age of the smoking population but also by a specific pathogenetic effect of smoking underlying the onset of STEMI and response to therapies.

Aim: Utilizing the subjective experience of nurse executives who have supervised nurses during a major disaster in a hospital setting, this study aims to describe the subjective experience of nurse executives (NE) who have supervised nurses’ response to major disaster. This paper will focus on strategies to support nursing response to disaster, specifically to strengthen resiliency and the ability to maintain function despite the shock of disaster, including those caused by climate changes. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 hospital-based nurse executives who supervised nurses during some of the worst natural and human-made disasters in different regions of the United States. A phenomenological approach was used to analyze and describe emerging themes from qualitative data. Results: Three Nurse Executives demonstrated theme saturation for mitigation steps to augment traditional disaster readiness activities: 1.) Assessment of Human Infrastructure: Daily Skills Needed During Disaster Response, 2.) Identification and Study of Failure Points & Metrics, 3.) Strengthening Human Infrastructure: Rectifying Deficiencies), and 4.) Monitoring Metrics & Making Corrections During Conventional Periods. Conclusion: Mitigation steps may improve outcomes in hospital function during conventional times; therefore, may improve resiliency and the ability to maintain functions during major disasters, including climate change.

Background: School meals represent a significant supply of nutrients for children in Brazil, especially those in conditions of social vulnerability. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in meals served in public elementary schools in four municipalities in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and assess the risk posed to children's health. Methods: Ninety-six samples were collected from 16 schools, freeze-dried, and subjected to microwave-assisted digestion. The As, Cd, and Pb levels were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The risk assessment was based on calculating each element's hazard quotient (HQ). Results: None of the samples reached or exceeded the tolerable levels for the elements analyzed. Pb was the metal that obtained the most significant result, reaching maximum levels of 39-157 µg.kg-¹. Conclusions: No element exceeded the PTWI proposed by JECFA; thus, the toxic metal content in school meals poses a negligible risk to children´s health.

Lump sum contracts are specific contracts used in the construction industry to give owners financial certainty and decrease risk while incentivizing contractors to finish projects on schedule and within budget. This article discusses the usage of lump sum contracts in construction projects, covering the types of projects appropriate for lump sum contracts, critical considerations for entering a lump sum contract, and the tender and preliminary expenses involved. The article also covers lump sum contracts' benefits and drawbacks and how owners and contractors allocate risk. Finally, the difficulties of implementing lump sum contracts, such as potential disagreements over scope changes and quality issues, are investigated. In general, lump sum contracts can be a valuable tool for managing construction projects, but their execution necessitates careful planning and collaboration to ensure successful completion.

Cardiovascular comorbidity is a common companion of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Recently, a significant link has been found between the HLA-Cw6 allele and a better cardiometabolic profile in these patients. We aimed to check this finding in our setting. Cross-sectional observational study (n: 572 psoriasis patients, 30% with PsA). Different study variables were collected in detail, as well as classic cardiometabolic risk factors. The distribution of the HLA-Cw6 allele and the IFIH1/MDA5 gene variants previously linked to disease risk was determined in the study cohort and stratified according to the cardiometabolic comorbidity. Linear and logistic regression models were constructed to analyze these associations. The study cohort included 309 men and 263 women, mean age 46.7 years (SD 14.5), mean disease duration 19.4 years (SD 14.8). We confirmed the known association between HLA-Cw6 and type I psoriasis (familial, severe, early onset). Psoriasis severity (OR: 2.14), female sex (OR: 1.63), and the IFIH1/MDA5 rs1990760 TT genotype (OR: 1.62) were significantly related to PsA, while HLA-Cw6 resulted protective (OR: 0.65). HLA-Cw6 carriers showed lower waist perimeter, lower BMI, and lower risk of both hypertension (OR: 0.52, p<0.001) and diabetes (OR: 0.36, p<0.001), but these findings were no longer apparent upon adjusted regression models. No IFIH1/MDA5 gene variant was associated with any cardiometabolic risk factor. The influence of HLA-Cw6 on the cardiometabolic risk profile of psoriatic patients seems to be explained by other factors (age, sex, duration of the disease or arthritis) and not by this biomarker itself.

Intermediate CAG expansions in the gene ataxin-2 (ATXN2) are a known risk factor for ALS, but little is known about their role in FTD risk. Moreover, their contribution to the risk and phenotype of patients might vary in populations with different genetic background. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of intermediate CAG expansions in ATXN2 with the risk and phenotype of ALS and FTD in the Spanish population. Repeat-Primed PCR was performed in 620 ALS and 137 FTD patients in three referral centers of Spain to determine the exact number of CAG repeats. In our cohort, ≥27 CAG repeats in ATXN2 was associated with a higher risk of developing ALS (odds ratio [OR] = 2.666 [1.471-4.882]; p = 0.0013), but not FTD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.446 [0.558-3.574]; p = 0.44). Moreover, ALS patients with ≥27 CAG repeats in ATXN2 showed shorter survival rate compared to those with &lt;27 repeats (hazard ratio [HR] 1.74 [1.18, 2.56], p = 0.005), more frequent limb onset (odds ratio [OR] = 2.34 [1.093-4.936]; p = 0.028), as well as family history of ALS (odds ratio [OR] = 2.538 [1.375-4.634]; p = 0.002). Intermediate CAG expansions of ≥27 repeats in ATXN2 are associated with ALS risk, but not with FTD, in the Spanish population. ALS patients carrying an intermediate expansion in ATXN2 show more frequent limb onset, but worse prognosis than those without expansions. In patients carrying C9orf72 expansions, the intermediate ATXN2 expansion might increase the penetrance and modify the phenotype.

The present work provides continuity with studies where currently the industrial market is characterized by a highly variable demand in terms of quantities and flexibility of manufacturing or mass customization, which translates into a more demanding production context in terms of the continuous changes required to the production systems, the effect of which results in an increase in the fatigue subjected to the machines that make up the production systems. On the other hand, current production systems tend to use highly communicative and sensorized cyber-physical systems; these characteristics can be used to integrate them into decision-assisted systems in order to improve the availability of the industrial plant. The assisted system developed focuses on collecting and taking advantage of historical knowledge of industrial plant failures and breakdowns. By ideally integrating the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) methodology and Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) algorithms implemented in a Java application, it is possible to design maintenance plans adjusted to a real and changing operational context of any industrial plant. As a result, faster and more accurate decisions are made, as they are based on data. This article focuses on improving certain aspects of the developed assisted system by adding more value to it by incorporating Fuzzy Logic (FL) techniques. The aim is to improve the way of entering information about risk factors and their relative importance, by incorporating natural language, instead of a numerical score, resulting in increased precision in the calculation of the Risk Priority Number (RPN) of the new cases incorporated into the assisted system.