Disaster Circumstances Research Articles

Analysis of wound infections among pediatric patients following the 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquakes.

On February 6, 2023, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 occurred consecutively in Turkey and Syria. This study aimed to investigate the predisposing factors for wound infection (WI) and the microbiological characteristics of wounds after earthquake-related injuries. This descriptive study evaluated pediatric patients' frequency of WI, and the clinical and laboratory parameters associated with the development of WI were investigated. The study included 180 patients (91 female). The mean age of the patients was 123.9 ± 64.9months and 81.7% (n = 147) of them had been trapped under rubble. Antibiotic treatment to prevent WI had been administered to 58.8% (n = 106) of all patients. WI was observed in 12.2% (n = 22) of the cases. In patients who developed WI, the incidence of exposure to a collapse, crush syndrome, compartment syndrome, multiple extremity injury, fasciotomy, amputation, peripheral nerve injury, thoracic compression, blood product use, intubation, and the use of central venous catheters, urinary catheters, and thoracic tubes were more frequent (p < 0.05). The need for blood product transfusion was associated with the development of WI (OR = 9.878 [95% CI: 2.504-38.960], p = 0.001). The negative predictive values of not developing WI at values of white blood cell count of < 11,630/mm3, creatine kinase < 810U/L, potassium < 4.1mEq/L, ALT < 29 U/L, AST < 32 U/L, and CRP < 45.8mg/L were 93.7%, 96.8%, 90.8%, 93.3%, 100%, and 93.5%, respectively. Gram-negative pathogens (81%) were detected most frequently in cases of WI. Seventy-five percent of patients were multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant. This study leans empirical approach of our disaster circumstances. In cases with risk factors predisposing to the development of WI, it may be rational to start broad-spectrum antibiotics while considering the causative microorganisms and resistance profile to prevent morbidity.

Microgrids and distribution system resilience assessment: A multi-objective robust-stochastic optimization approach considering social behavior using a deep learning modeling

In this paper, a new multi-objective two-stage robust-stochastic (MOTSRS) optimization approach for assessing microgrids and distribution system resilience is proposed. A novel approach based on deep learning is presented to model social behavior, specifically Social Reactions to Disasters (SRDs), in assessing microgrid and distribution system resilience. It is initially demonstrated that the proposed robust-stochastic approach is efficient for assessing the resilience of microgrids and distribution systems. A new resilience criterion is also proposed to be used for sensitivity analyses at the conservative level of the model. Subsequently, the effect of SRDs on system resilience is investigated through a supervised deep regression method. First, a large dataset is generated through a proposed nested Monte Carlo simulation. A numerical feature and five binary social behavior features are included in the dataset. Next, a feedforward neural network is utilized to predict the load during both normal and disaster circumstances based on the six features. The proposed supervised deep regression model with mean squared errors between 2e-5 and 2e-6 is capable of predicting electrical load during normal and disaster events. It is concluded that the resilience metrics of MGs, as well as expected operation costs and regret values, are influenced by the SRD effect.

Towards Effective Evacuation Procedures in Disaster Management (Dm): Simulation Modelling and Governance Strategies

Natural catastrophes and disasters may cause the destruction of infrastructure and personal property. In order to reduce the effects of such tragedies, the effectiveness of the evacuation procedures is essential. Effective evacuation procedures, however, also depend on governance issues in addition to technical aspects like infrastructure and communication. This paper intends to review on how governance, and evacuation protocols relate to emergency preparedness and disaster management (DM). Thus, this study explores the use of agent-based and social force theory in developing evacuation simulation models that incorporate evacuation governance strategies. Practitioners and policymakers can better understand the elements that determine the effectiveness of evacuation procedures and create more efficient methods for disaster management and emergency response by modelling human behaviour in disaster circumstances. The policy is an illustration of how governance elements can be integrated into evacuation procedures and guidelines for effective DM. Thus, the expected result for this study emphasises the significance of governance for policymakers and practitioners in the execution of evacuation procedures.

Current Disaster Triage Methods in Mass Casualty Incidents

Introduction:Triage in a disaster scenario centers around doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. There are a variety of triage systems, and to this date there is no US national endorsement of one system because triage is a dynamic procedure and there is no fixed rule for it. The Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START); Sort, Assess, Life-saving interventions, Treatment/Transport (SALT); Sacco; CareFlight; JumpSTART; and Pediatric Triage Tape (PTT) triage systems are discussed with emphasis on how they perform.Method:There are approximately 20 adult and two pediatric triage systems that exist for primary disaster triage. The focus is on six primary triage systems. A literature search was performed using textbooks and original research.Results:A basic assignment to immediate, delayed, minimal, or expectant can sort a large group of casualties in a matter of minutes, but improper category assignment can lead to under-triage or over-triage.When assessed by a trained paramedic arriving at a Level 1 pediatric trauma center, SALT was found to be the most accurate triage system at 59% compared to JumpSTART, CareFlight, and TriageSieve. All triage systems exhibited under-triage rates of at least 33% and SALT had the highest over-triage rate at 6%. In another study, the START triage system was found to be 85% sensitive and 86% specific in predicting critical injury in designated trauma patients.Conclusion:Mass casualty incidents are unfortunately becoming more common as the increasing numbers of violent attacks produce an overwhelming number of victims. One triage process may not work in all disasters, but first responders should be trained to evaluate for the most critical patients in a sea of evolving patient presentations. Furthermore, randomized, controlled trials in real-world conditions are nearly impossible to perform given the specific circumstances of disasters.

Critical Qualitative Inquiry as an Avenue for Critical Public Policy Knowledge and Change

The broad goal of this special issue of Qualitative Inquiry is to demonstrate how critical qualitative inquiry (CQI) can facilitate the performance of justice-oriented public policy by conceptualizing movement beyond the logic of policy as prescription. The articles demonstrate the multiple possibilities generated through CQI for rethinking ethical perspectives, discourse practices, and forms of inclusion and policymaking processes, as well as research methods. Furthermore, authors in this special issue illustrate ways that CQI can lead to reconceptualizations of conventional research practices, knowledge and perspectives that dominate fields of study, and forms of communication and activism with policymakers. Finally, some of the authors literally use recent pandemic and environmental disaster circumstances to call for rethinking the ethics and actions that ground CQI.

Morska przygoda polskich pielgrzymów: relacja i alegoria (Vita maior sancti Stanislai, caput 49)

This article presents the narrative strategy employed by Wincenty z Kielc (Kielczy) in Vita maior sancti Stanislai, a text written shortly after the canonization of St. Stanisław. Its aim was to strengthen the cult of the Kraków bishop; the tales of miracles performed by the holy martyr were supposed to sound credible. They were also intended to incline readers (listeners) to pious reflection of a more general kind. At the hands oWincenty, a realistic tale of the dangers of a journey by sea undertaken by Piotr, a relative of the hagiographer, is transformed into allegory. The author, well‑versed in Dominican sermonizing, aims to convince readers that in what seem banal events, the „power and greatness of God” are manifested. God works through the mediation of St. Stanisław in what was for contemporary Poles the exotic circumstances of a maritime disaster.

Enhancement of cellular networks via an improved clustering technique with D2D communication for mission-critical applications

In disasters, whether natural or man-made, establishing a wireless network to recover the damaged or destroyed cellular network infrastructure is very important to save lives. Network throughput and power consumption are critical factors when designing such a wireless network. It is essential to ensure that the network can connect all people with the optimum ability to handle information traffic while utilizing less energy. The conventional clustering (CC) technology with D2D communication has enhanced the efficiency and power consumption of a wireless network. In disaster circumstances, however, using CC continues to be a challenge in ensuring that all user devices (UEs) can join the cluster. In this respect, this paper presents an approach termed Cluster Formation and Cluster Head Selection (CFACHS) to ensure that all UEs in the area affected have joined a cluster. CFACHS also targets enhancing the wireless network performance in terms of its throughput and power consumption. CFACHS partitions each cluster into two groups named Main Cluster (MC) with its Main Cluster Head (MCH) and a Sub-Cluster (SC) with its Sub-Cluster Head (SCH). In order to route the information, an algorithm named MCHs multi-hop routing path has been developed and implemented. Extensive simulation experiments were conducted using MATLAB to compare the performance of CFACHS with CFACHS without-SC and CC in terms of the network’s capacity and power consumption. The results reveal that CFACHS was advantageous in minimizing network power consumption, increasing power efficiency by 27.97% and 25.54% sequentially. Also, CFACHS enhanced network capacity by 7.8125% and 11.875%, respectively.

Ethical Challenges Experienced by Healthcare Workers Delivering Clinical Care during Health Emergencies and Disasters: A Rapid Review of Qualitative Studies and Thematic Synthesis

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed several ethical challenges worldwide. Understanding care providers’ experiences during health emergencies is key to develop comprehensive ethical guidelines for emergency and disaster circumstances. Objectives: To identify and synthetize available empirical data on ethical challenges experienced by health care workers (HCWs) providing direct patient care in health emergencies and disaster scenarios that occurred prior to COVID-19, considering there might be a significant body of evidence yet to be reported on the current pandemic. Methods: A rapid review of qualitative studies and thematic synthesis was conducted. Medline and Embase were searched from inception to December 2020 using “public health emergency” and “ethical challenges” related keywords. Empirical studies examining ethical challenges experienced by frontline HCWs during health emergencies or disasters were included. We considered that ethical challenges were present when participants and/or authors were uncertain regarding how one should behave, or when different values or ethical principles are compromised when making decisions. Outcome: After deduplication 10,160 titles/abstracts and 224 full texts were screened. Twenty-two articles were included, which were conducted in 15 countries and explored eight health emergency or disaster events. Overall, a total of 452 HCWs participants were included. Data were organized into five major themes with subthemes: HCWs’ vulnerability, Duty to care, Quality of care, Management of healthcare system, and Sociocultural factors. Conclusion: HCWs experienced a great variety of clinical ethical challenges in health emergencies and disaster scenarios. Core themes identified provide evidence-base to inform the development of more comprehensive and supportive ethical guidelines and training programmes for future events, that are grounded on actual experiences of those providing care during emergency and disasters.

Design methods and manufacturing techniques applicable in constructing dynamically scaled airplane models

The article describes methods and techniques intended for designing and manufacturing scaled airplane models applicable in experimental flight testing. Reduced model with resized geometric dimensions should be constructed in such way to preserve similarity of its structural properties with properties of the real aircraft. Having kept the similarity of weight, stiffness and aerodynamic load distribution and maintaining properly scaled values of thrust-to-weight and wing loading ratios we can prepare scaled model showing in-flight features identical to the real airplane.A series of measuring and technological activities have to be undertaken to develop full CAD model mapping airframe geometry and structure of the real aircraft. The process chain includes measuring, design and technological activities. The development of the geometry model includes: scanning outer geometry of the real airframe, development of the surface geometry model in the CAD environment and then introducing inner geometry items which together with outer skin face make a completely assembled model of the aircraft. For the needs of constructing scaled model the full-size CAD model has to be reduced. The structure of that resized model do not have to be the same as the real one. Materials and structural elements can be quite different but after assembling them the similarity of static and dynamic structural effects should be proved. Within the manufacturing phase there are some necessary stages like preparing molds for laminating components, milling solid elements, assembly of structural components, surface finishing of the model-body surface. The final model was subjected to a load test in a special test stand to check its deformability under specific load. In the same way the numerical static analysis of the full-size FEM model was conducted. The distribution of static displacement results obtained in both cases were compared. The other way of checking structural properties of the scaled model is comparable analysis of resonant vibrations. However, in this case, vibration measurements were not carried out and model verification stopped on a comparative analysis of construction mass distribution.The procedure and results were elaborated on the example of the Tu-154M aircraft, of which the reduced model was developed in the Faculty of Mechatronics, Armament and Aerospace of the Military University of Technology (FMA MUT Warsaw, PL). Constructing and testing dynamically scaled model is one of many tasks solved in the framework of complex research project, of which the general purpose was to give numerical and experimental results useful in explaining the circumstances of the Smolensk disaster.

Psychosocial support by rescuers and volunteers in the circumstances of natural disasters

The potential of natural disasters to cause direct and indirect damage to human health is great. Recognizing the hazards of natural disasters and effective disaster risk management at the national and local levels, as well as a focus on preventive action, are necessary. The efforts of rescue teams (professionals) and volunteers (nonprofessionals) who provide psycho-social assistance in the circumstances of natural disasters should be aimed at re-establishing a satisfactory and acceptable physical, mental, psychological, social and economic condition of the individuals and the community. However, severe events have consequences for the mental health of rescuers and volunteers. Preparing rescuers and volunteers is the initial support activity. Maintaining the psychological well-being of rescuers and volunteers is also achieved through self-care activities. According to the guidelines of the Reference Center for Psychosocial Support, in order to ensure continuous maintenance of the psychological well-being of rescuers and volunteers, the organization that hires them must carry out support activities prior, during and after the response to the accident. In this regard, the way of treatment of rescuers engaged in the protection and rescue system was analyzed.

A Multi-Objective Optimization Model for Relief Facility Location in Crisis Conditions

This research was conducted to study the issue of relief facility location hierarchically by consideration of possible road closure during the crisis conditions, road safety, and arrival time of relief facilities under disaster circumstances. High costs are allocated for facilities deployment in a suitable location to meet the demands of injured people. Therefore, location-allocation of emergency facility should be considered in a way to use them for long-term periods. To this end, the extant research designed a multi-objective optimization model to minimize the pre-disaster costs including costs of facilities deployment and road use, and to minimize the post-disaster costs such as cost transportation in-network roads. Moreover, the innovative part of the studied model in this research examined the road safety and reduction in time taken to have critical facilities in affected areas. To investigate the functional accuracy of the mathematical model, a numerical example with small dimensions was solved using CPLEX Solver, and required sensitivity analysis was described. As the facility location-allocation is an NP-hard issue, two meta-heuristic algorithms were used to solve numerical representations in real dimensions to examine numerical analyses effectively. Results showed that the dragonfly algorithm had the highest efficiency compared to other developed algorithms. The obtained results can be considered as an efficient managerial tool in management organizations involved in the crisis.

Contour- and Texture-based analysis for victim identification in forensic odontology

PurposeForensic dentistry is the application of dentistry in legal proceedings that arise from any facts relating to teeth. The ultimate goal of forensic odontology is to identify the individual when there are no other means of identification such as fingerprint, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), iris, hand print and leg print. The purpose of selecting dental record is for the teeth to be able to withstand decomposition, heat degradation up to 1600 °C. Dental patterns are unique for every individual. This work aims to analyze the contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic dental images for person identification.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve an accurate identification of individuals, the missing tooth in the radiograph has to be identified before matching of ante-mortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) radiographs. To identify whether the missing tooth is a molar or premolar, each tooth in the given radiograph has to be classified using a k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) classifier; then, it is matched with the universal tooth numbering system. In order to make exact person identification, this research work is mainly concentrate on contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction for person identification. This work aims to analyze the contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic images for individual identification. Then, shape matching of AM and PM images is performed by similarity and distance metric for accurate person identification.FindingsThe experimental results are analyzed for shape and feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic dental images. From this analysis, it is proved that the higher hit rate performance is observed for the active contour shape extraction model, and it is well suited for forensic odontologists to identify a person in mass disaster situations.Research limitations/implicationsForensic odontology is a branch of human identification that uses dental evidence to identify the victims. In mass disaster circumstances, contours and dental patterns are very useful to extract the shape in individual identification.Originality/valueThe experimental results are analyzed both the contour shape extraction and texture feature extraction of both radiographic and photographic images. From this analysis, it is proved that the higher hit rate performance is observed for the active contour shape extraction model and it is well suited for forensic odontologists to identify a person in mass disaster situations. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for individual identification of both radiographic and photographic images with a view to accurate identification of the person.

A Strength-based Approach to Exploring Factors that Contribute to Resilience Among Children and Youth Impacted by Disaster

AbstractChildren and youth are among the most vulnerable to the detrimental effects of disaster due to their unique physical, cognitive and psychological life stage. Despite their increased vulnerability, children and youth also demonstrate resilience when faced with the adverse circumstances of disasters, and can act as important catalysts for change in their families and communities. This article discusses research conducted with eighty-three children and youth (five to seventeen years) who experienced the 2013 flood in Alberta, Canada. A mixed-methods approach was utilised. The Child and Youth Resilience Measure was used to examine the factors that contribute to resilience post-disaster, including individual, care-giver and contextual factors. In-depth qualitative interviews further examined the specific ways in which individual, caregiver and contextual factors contribute to higher levels of resilience. Findings reveal that despite numerous post-flood challenges, children and youth had higher than average levels of resilience. The findings demonstrate that high levels of resilience are associated with individual factors, specifically peer support and caregiver factors, namely caregiver psychological support. We discuss the implications of these findings for social work policy and practice, and for understanding the factors that best support the resiliency processes and overall recovery of children and youth following disaster.

Safe hubs during earthquakes and emergency events

In circumstances of disasters like earthquakes, acts of war, etc., that may threaten the lives of people out on the streets of crowded cities around the world, 'Safe Hubs' aims to help these people as much as possible during panic events. In this way, we are able to protect and transfer them through underground tunnels into open areas outside the city's zone. The number and size of the tunnels depends on the population number and availability of underground spaces for each city. Cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta, and many others around the world have high-rise buildings and skyscrapers as well as remarkable ways of facing natural disasters like earthquakes. The city of Melbourne in Australia will be used in this study to implement the project. This research highlights the innovative design of 'safe hubs' as one of the effective solutions to save as many lives as possible in the crowded cities.

Balans privatnog i profesionalnog života nastavnog osoblja na visokoškolskim ustanovama u uslovima pandemije virusa Covid 19

The issue of work-life balance of teaching staff at higher education institutions is becoming more interesting for the researchers due to complexity in responsibilities of teachers which include not only teaching and preparation of lectures, but primarily scientific research and scientific papers writing, as well as various administrative and managerial duties (vice deans, department chiefs, etc.). This topic is getting importance not only in regard to women in higher education teaching positions, but to overall attracting and retaining talent This complex problem has been particularly evident in disaster circumstances such as the COVID-19 virus pandemic. This paper studies attitudes (in the form of interviews) of teaching staff -teaching assistants, lecturers (languages), assistant professors, associate professors and full professors towards the achieved work-life balance during period of working from home during the lockdown imposed in Serbia from March, to May when the most higher education institutions returned to semi-regular ways of operations on the example of the School of Engineering Management from Belgrade, the Republic of Serbia. Even though the sample is small, it can be concluded that all levels of teaching staff have had difficulties in maintaining work-life balance during the work from home, especially the ones with children of school age.

The Investigative Study on the Small-sized Isolation Device: regarding of the isolation performance and function test In Emergency Disaster Circumstances

The first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was reported in Korea in 2015, after a Korean man from Bahrain tested positive for the infection. After first eruption, there were numbers of secondary infectees and whole country were frightened. At the time, isolated ambulances were available but few, and there was no specific way to prevent contamination during transfer. Therefore, Seoul National University Hospital and the University of Seoul developed isolation units and air filters. Four years after the MERS outbreak, this study measured the differential pressure inside and outside the small isolation units based on the differential pressure and air flow derived from simulation and testing, and proposed minimum values for virus leakage and internal sealing. A performance evaluation and testing method for the transfer equipment is proposed. The critical function of the small isolated transport equipment was defined and selected as an evaluation item; performance evaluation was carried out by simulating a real-world case. The results provide the proper pressure configuration of positive and negative pressure inside the segregation feeder; the clear criteria for the HEPA filter; and the performance criteria for the segregation feeder and air purifier.

Multivariate Analytic Technique for Forensic Human Identification based on Dual Cross Patterns of Hand Radiographs

In recent times, the necessity for personal identification systems has increased due to several accidents. Under circumstances of human-made and natural disasters, it is not possible to employ a traditional biometric system. Hence, biometric radiographs of the skull, hands, and teeth are good replacement methods to identify victims. The fundamental intent of the research is to acquire a novel approach for identifying missing and anonymous individuals based on Dual Cross Pattern (DCP) features of hand radiographs. The suggested technique has contains two major steps: feature extraction and classification of the feature vectors. In this paper, an effort is made to find the most adequate classifier between the Classification Tree (CT), Feed forward Neural Network (FNN), Multiclass Support Vector Machine (m-SVM), and k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) based on the accuracy of retrieval of 10 adult subjects from the dataset of 300 right-hand radiographs. The classification results attained from simulation and discriminant analysis on a small primary database are encouraging.

Using ANN in emergency reconstruction projects post disaster

The purpose of this study is to avoid delays and cost changes that occur in emergency reconstruction projects especially in post disaster circumstances. This study is aimed to identify the factors that affect the real construction period and the real cost of a project against the estimated period of construction and the estimated cost of the project. The case study is related to the construction projects in Iraq. Thirty projects in different areas of construction in Iraq were selected as a sample for this study. Project participants from the projects authorities provided data about the projects through a data collection distributed survey made by the authors. Mathematical data analysis was used to construct a model to predict change in time and cost of the projects before the start of the construction. The artificial neural networks analysis was selected as a mathematical approach. The most important factors identified leading to schedule delays and cost increase were contractor failure, redesigning of designs/plans and change orders, security issues, selection of low-price bids, weather factors, and owner failures. The use of the ANN model for such a problem is expected to be an effective method for modeling this complicated phenomenon.

Designing an efficient blood supply chain network in crisis: neural learning, optimization and case study

In recent years, attention to blood supply chain in disaster circumstances has significantly increased. Disasters, especially earthquakes, have adverse consequences such as destruction, loss of human lives, and undermining the effectiveness of health services. This research considers a six-echelon blood supply chain which consists of donors, blood collection centers (permanent and temporary), regional blood centers, local blood centers, regional hospitals, and local hospitals. For the first time, we considered that helicopters could carry blood from regional hospitals to local hospitals and return injured people that cannot be treated in local hospitals to regional hospitals due to the limited capacity. In addition to the above, different transportations with limited capacities regarded, where the optimal number of required transportations equipment determined after the solution process. This research aims to avoid the worst consequences of a disaster using a neural-learning process to gain from past experiences to meet new challenges. For this aim, this article considers three objective functions that are minimizing total transportation time and cost while minimizing unfulfilled demand. The model implemented based on a real-world case study from the most recent earthquake in the Iran–Iraq border which named the deadliest earthquake of 2017. Based on our results, we learned how to design an efficient blood supply chain that can fulfill hospitals blood demand quickly with the lowest cost using simulation and optimization processes. Moreover, we performed in-depth analyses and provided essential managerial insights at last.

The need for dried plasma - a national issue.

Recent studies have demonstrated that early transfusion of plasma or RBCs improves survival in patients with severe trauma and hemorrhagic shock. Time to initiate transfusion is the critical factor. It is essential that transfusion begin in the prehospital environment when transport times are longer than approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Unfortunately, logistic constraints severely limit the use of blood products in the prehospital setting, especially in military, remote civilian, and mass disaster circumstances, where the need can be most acute. US military requirements for logistically supportable blood products are projected to increase dramatically in future conflicts. Although dried plasma products have been available and safely used in a number of countries for over 20 years, there is no dried plasma product commercially available in the United States. A US Food and Drug Administration-approved dried plasma is urgently needed. Considering the US military, disaster preparedness, and remote civilian trauma perspectives, this is an urgent national health care issue.