Hazard Factors Research Articles

Evaluation of Natural Fire Hazard Factors of the Forest Area in the Kostanay Region

Evaluation of Natural Fire Hazard Factors of the Forest Area in the Kostanay Region

A novel framework for multiple thermokarst hazards risk assessment and controlling environmental factors analysis on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Due to the influence of climate warming, the degradation of permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has become evident. The formation of thermokarst hazards induced by the degradation of ice-rich permafrost has a significant impact on infrastructure construction and local ecology; therefore, it is necessary to assess its risk. Currently, high-precision and harmonized assessment tools for multiple thermokarst hazards risk assessment are lacking, and the mechanisms governing the environmental interactions of thermokarst hazards have not been fully clarified. In this study, a novel multiple thermokarst hazards risk assessment framework was proposed by combining stacking machine learning and potential environmental factors to assess the risk of thermokarst hazards in the Yangtze River source region (YRSR). In addition, model performance was improved by model optimization. Finally, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the controlling environmental factors for the thermokarst hazards in the YRSR. The results show that slope and precipitation contribute the most to the modeling accuracy of thermokarst lakes and thaw slumps, respectively. Model optimization improved the base model modeling accuracy by approximately 2 % ∼ 7 %, with XGBoost having the highest sensitivity to model optimization and the highest modeling accuracy. In terms of the ensemble strategy, the stacking model and ensemble model significantly improved the risk mapping accuracy, and the stacking model was better than the ensemble model, with accuracies of 92.39 % and 93.36 % for thermokarst lakes and thaw slumps, respectively. Compared with previous results, the results of this study are more representative of the YRSR. Finally, via SEM, terrain factors and soil factors were identified as controlling environmental factors for the risk of thaw slumps and thermokarst lakes, respectively. This study proposes a high-precision risk assessment method for thermokarst hazards in permafrost regions, and contributes to a deeper understanding of the interaction mechanisms between thermokarst hazards and environmental factors.

Assessment of male creatinine levels and fecundity in couples planning pregnancy: a national cohort study in China.

Is there an association between male creatinine levels and time to pregnancy (TTP) in couples planning pregnancy? Low and high male creatinine concentrations were associated with reduced couple fecundity. Abundant evidence suggests male creatinine dysfunction is associated with infertility in males with kidney diseases. However, the association of preconception creatinine levels with reduced fecundity among general reproductive-aged couples lacks evidence from an in-depth population study. Based on the population-based cohort study from the National Free Preconception Check-up Projects, 4023204 couples were recruited and met the inclusion criteria from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017. They were planning pregnancy and were followed up every 3 months until achieving pregnancy as detected by gynaecological ultrasonography or were followed up for 1 year for the analysis of TTP. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CI for creatinine deciles. Restricted cubic spline regression was adopted for the dose-response relationship of creatinine with HRs. R statistical software was used for data analysis. Of the included participants, 2756538 (68.52%) couples successfully conceived. The median male serum creatinine was 81.50 μmol/l. Compared with the reference group (78.00-81.49 μmol/l) including the median creatinine, fecundity in the first (≤64.89 μmol/l), second (64.90-69.99 μmol/l), third (70.00-73.99 μmol/l), and tenth (≥101.00 μmol/l) deciles decreased by 8%, 5%, 2%, and 1%, respectively (Decile 1 Adjusted HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.91-0.92; Decile 2 Adjusted HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.95-0.96; Decile 3 Adjusted HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97-0.99; Decile 10 Adjusted HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99). An inverse-U-shaped association was consistently presented among males such that non-inferiority for fecundity was shown when creatinine was in the 81.66-104.90 μmol/l range (P for non-linearity < 0.001). For males over 40 years old, the risk of fecundity impairment was more obvious and the recommended range of creatinine levels for TTP was reduced and more narrow, compared with that for younger males. Not including the time couples spend preparing for pregnancy before enrolment would lead to an overestimation of fecundity; additionally some couples place pregnancy plans on hold due to special emergencies, which would not have been recognized. Due to the lack of information regarding semen quality, psychological factors, sexual intercourse frequencies, and hazardous environmental factors, we could not adjust for these factors. Some variates were self-reported and dichotomized, which were prone to bias. Direct variables reflecting muscle mass and impaired kidney function were lacking. Thus, extrapolation should be done with caution. Male creatinine is associated with couples' fecundity and the relationship varied by age. This study provides a better understanding of the potential implications and significance of different creatinine levels and their association with the clinical significance regarding couples' fecundity. This research has received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81872634), the Basic Research Funds of Central Public Welfare Research Institutes of China (Grant No. 2023GJZ03), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC1000307), and the Project of National Research Institute for Family Planning (Grant No. 2018NRIFPJ03), People's Republic of China. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. N/A.

Association of the panimmune-inflammatory value (PIV) with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients: a propensity score matching retrospective study.

The panimmune-inflammatory value (PIV) is a novel inflammatory indicator. However, its role in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) remains unclear. Our goal was to explore the predictive value of PIV for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in MHD patients. In this retrospective cohort study, 507 patients receiving MHD between November 2017 and December 2022 were enrolled. The PIV value was calculated as follows: neutrophil count × monocyte count × platelet count/lymphocyte count. Patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the median PIV. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for imbalances in baseline information between groups. Kaplan‒Meier curves, Cox regression, the Fine‒Gray competing risk model, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves were used to analyze the relationship between PIV and mortality. By the end of follow-up, 126 deaths had occurred, 91 of which were due to cardiovascular disease. The Kaplan‒Meier curves demonstrated that MHD patients with higher PIV levels had a poorer prognosis for all-cause death (p = 0.019). PIV levels were linked to all-cause death in multivariate Cox proportional risk regression (HR = 1.76; 95% CI 1.14, 2.72; p = 0.011). The Fine‒Gray model revealed a greater cumulative incidence of cardiovascular death in the higher PIV group (p = 0.035). PIV levels were linked to cardiovascular mortality in the Fine‒Gray competing risk model (HR = 2.06; 95% CI 1.25, 3.42; p = 0.005). The RCS revealed a nonlinear relationship between PIV and mortality risk (p < 0.05). Using 63years of age as the threshold, we observed a multiplicative interaction effect between age and PIV for all-cause mortality (p = 0.006). In MHD patients, PIV is an independent hazard factor for cardiovascular-related mortality and all-cause mortality.

Flood risk decomposed: Optimized machine learning hazard mapping and multi-criteria vulnerability analysis in the city of Zaio, Morocco

Urban flood risk mapping has become crucial for effective mitigation and urban planning. This study assesses and maps flood risk in the city of Zaio, Morocco, using machine learning and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to overcome data scarcity challenges. We employed the Random Forest (RF) model with nine flood conditioning factors for flood hazard and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for vulnerability assessment. To enhance RF model performance, we compared three hyperparameter tuning techniques: Bayesian Optimization (RF-BO), Genetic Algorithm (RF-GA), and Grid Search (RF-GS). RF-BO demonstrated superior accuracy in flood hazard modelling. Flood vulnerability was assessed using AHP, incorporating social and physical factors. The final flood risk map was produced by combining the RF-BO hazard model with the AHP vulnerability assessment. Results indicate that flood hazard in Zaio is significantly affected by factors such as topography and distance to rivers. Moreover, areas with high population density closer to rivers, especially in the south-western residential area, were found to be more exposed to flood risk. The findings highlight the utility of ML models, MCDA, and hyperparameter optimization in urban flood risk mapping, enabling the identification of high-risk urban areas that should be prioritized for flood protection efforts. This approach proves especially valuable in ungauged regions with limited hydrological data.

“Crisis situations of the recovery period” represent a feature of the legal regulation of the transition from the wartime period to the provision of military security during the wartime period

One of the postulates of systems theory is the tendency of any system to seek a stable state and avoid chaos. Stability is associated with overcoming crises, which are considered obstacles to development. Crises can serve various functions: destructive, threatening the viability of the system; destructive, leading to further development; and crises that are merely disruptions of equilibrium. In the context of transitioning from repelling armed aggression to ensuring military security in the post-war period, it is appropriate to describe the crisis phenomena and situations of the recovery period, which encompass the real crises of the recovery period. Special attention should be paid to the classification of crises, modeling their development, establishing crisis communications and decision- making in crisis conditions, developing state policy and crisis response strategies, as well as devising methods for crisis prevention. Situation centers play a key role in forecasting the security situation, preparing stabilization operations, and coordinating the actions of various security and defense structures. Their tasks include conveying decisions to personnel and the local population, organizing management and interaction, informing about the development of events, and controlling the execution of decisions. The centers also collect and analyze operational information for timely response to crisis situations. In legal science, the concept of a “crisis of the recovery period” is not widespread, but it may be useful for describing emergencies in the post-war period. The definition of such crises should consider the specific impacts of hazardous factors on national interests. The modern concept of national security of Ukraine envisages the integration of various security sectors, including economic, political, social, and legal aspects. According to legislation, the national security system in the recovery period should be an organized set of entities united by common goals and tasks regarding the protection of national interests. These entities participate in military-civil relations, coordinate their actions, and develop crisis response strategies.

보건·의료계열 종사자의 정신적 웰빙을 저해하는 산업안전 유해요인 분석 - 의사, 간호사, 의료기사를 중심으로

The industrial safety of health and medical workers who struggling on the front lines of diseases and disasters to protect public health and life, is threatened by working environment hazard factors that damage health. Despite they are exposing to hazard factors and accumulating mental well-being risks frequently, the social discussions and national efforts for their health were insufficient due to complacent perceptions that “They would be safe from occupational diseases and industrial accidents because of the working environment characteristic that set as medical work”. Korean society needs to enhance the importance of industrial safety because if the mental well-being risk of health and medical workers is not healed in proper time, the deterioration of work engagement can harm personal health and patient life and threat public health and cause a national crisis. Therefore, this study analyzed occupational safety hazard factors that hinder health and medical worker's mental well-being focusing on doctor, nurse, medical technician based on Rutter's ‘Cumulated Risk Model’ that explaining the more accumulate of exposure to simultaneous risk factors, the greater ripple effect of human's internalization and externalization problem. The multiple regression analysis were performed with SPSS Statistics 29.0 for 749 health and medical workers who attended the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey published by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Research. As a result, the health and medical worker's mental well-being were hindered whey they exposure to occupational safety hazard factors, emotional labor and quantitative labor intensity were finally verified as occupational safety hazard factors that threatened the mental well-being of them. Based on the results, this study suggested ① services and policies to effectively counter occupational safety hazard factors that hinder the health and medical worker's mental well-being, ② prevention and solution plan about exposure problem to occupational safety hazard factors, ③ customized strategies to promote health and medical workers' mental well-being.

Effect of production factors on the relative telomere length of ICR mice

Currently, the issues of studying the quantitative assessment of the isolated effects of physical and chemical occupational factors of low intensity, severity and intensity of the labor process on the telomere relative length (TRL) are relevant in order to establish the mechanisms of development of premature aging. The aim is to evaluate the effect of isolated exposure to low–intensity physical and chemical occupational factors on the relative length of telomeres in an animal experiment. Material and methods. ICR mice (n = 65) are distributed in equal numbers into 3 test groups (exposure to vibration, noise, chemical exposure) and 1 control group (contained in comfortable conditions and not exposed to these factors). The duration of the experiment was 90 days, samples for DNA isolation from the striated muscle tissue of ICR mice thigh were taken on days 0, 30, 60 and 90. TRL was measured using real time PCR. Results and discussion. The results of the study indicate a significant shortening of TRL on the 90th day in the control group compared to the initial indicators, which may indicate the general processes of aging of animals. A long (90-day) stay of ICR mice in conditions simulating the isolated influence of various occupational hazard factors (vibration, noise, chemicals) operating at a level of 1.5 MAC, MPL, was accompanied by unidirectional dynamics of TRL. The chemical factor has the greatest impact on TDC (a decrease in TDT relative to the value of the control group is noted on the 30th, 60th and 90th days of the experiment), the physical factor causes a shortening of TDT after 60 and 90 days. Conclusions. Further study of the isolated influence of occupational factors on the TRL change in model organisms will contribute to the establishment of mechanisms that prevent the development of pathological processes in workers under conditions of production hazards.

Chemical Substance Exposure of Some Cleaning Workers in Korea: Focusing on Inhalation Exposure

This study aimed to prevent health damage caused by chemical exposure among cleaning workers who use cleaning agents and disinfectants in facility management and kitchen areas. We analyzed 5 years of measurement data (2016–2020) for cleaning workers across various industries in Korea, and conducted an exposure survey and health risk assessment for the two most frequently measured substances (i.e., 2-butoxyethanol and sodium hydroxide) and representative substances generated by their combined use (i.e., chlorine and chloroform). The findings indicate that when chlorine was generated by mixing hypochlorite-based disinfectants (e.g., bleach) with acidic cleaners containing substances such as nitric, hydrochloric, or citric acid, the risk index for chlorine gas (based on the 95th percentile exposure values) was 5.65 in the facility management cleaning industry, exceeding the acceptable threshold of 1. Because of the high usage and exposure frequency of cleaning and disinfecting agents and the common practice of mixing multiple products to enhance cleaning efficacy, it is necessary to manage hazardous risk factors by providing education on appropriate working methods, supplying personal protective equipment, and installing ventilation systems for these workers. Further research on the health risk assessment of combined chemical use is needed.

Guide DNA dephosphorylation-modulated Pyrococcus furiosus Argonaute fluorescence biosensor for the detection of alkaline phosphatase and aflatoxins B1

Foodborne hazardous factors pose a significant risk to public health, emphasizing the need for the development of sensitive and user-friendly detection strategies to effectively manage and control these risks in the food supply chain. Pyrococcus furiosus argonaute (PfAgo)-based biosensing approaches have been extensively explored due to its built-in signal amplification. However, the property that PfAgo is a DNA-guided DNA endonuclease has enabled almost all the existing PfAgo-based reports to be used for the detection of nucleic acids. To lend PfAgo toolbox to extended non-nucleic acid detection, we systematically investigated the mechanism characteristic of PfAgo′ preference for guide DNA (gDNA) and proposed a gDNA dephosphorylation-modulated PfAgo sensor for the detection of non-nucleic acid targets. Our results indicated that PfAgo exhibits preference for 5′-phosphorylated gDNA at a specific ratio of PfAgo to gDNA concentration. Leveraging this PfAgo′ preference and the dephosphorylation activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ALP could be detected as low as 2.7 U/L. Furthermore, the PfAgo was coupled with immunolabelled ALP to develop a PfAgo-based fluorescence immunosensor, which achieves aflatoxins B1 detection with a detection limit of 29.89 pg/mL and exhibits satisfactory recoveries in wheat and maize samples. The developed method broadens the application scope of PfAgo toolbox, and provides a simple, sensitive, and universal detection platform for a variety targets.

Urban flooding simulation and flood risk assessment based on the InfoWorks ICM model: A case study of the urban inland rivers in Zhengzhou, China.

Urban flooding intensifies with escalating urbanization. This study focuses on Xiong'er river as the study area and couples a 1D/2D urban flooding model using InfoWorks ICM (Integrated Catchment Modeling). Ten scenarios are set respectively with a rainfall return period of 5a 10a, 20a, 50a, and 100a, alongside rainfall durations of 1 and 24 h. Subsequently, the H-V (hazard-vulnerability) method was applied to evaluate urban flooding risk. Three indicators were selected for each of hazard factors and vulnerability factors. The relative weight values of each indicator factor were calculated using the AHP method. The result shows that (1) flood depth, rate, and duration escalate with longer rainfall return periods, yet decrease as the duration of rainfall increases; (2) as the rainfall return period lengthens, the proportion of node overflow rises, whereas it diminishes with longer rainfall durations, leading to an overall overloaded state in the pipeline network; and (3) the distribution in the research area is mainly low-risk areas, with very few extremely high-risk. Medium to high-risk areas are mainly distributed on both sides of the river, in densely built and low-lying urban areas. This study demonstrates that the model can accurately simulate urban flooding and provide insights for flood analyses in comparable regions.

Investigation on a high-quality health laser light source based on the age of lighting users

The optimal laser spectrum for users of all ages is determined by considering the health implications of laser lighting across different age groups. We present a theoretical calculation model for age-related blue light hazard (BLH) and Circadian Action Factor (CAF), establishing optimization criteria that integrate visual and health factors. Health assessments of white laser light source spectra, obtained from the combination of RGB-LDs, were conducted using BLH and CAF at various illumination color temperatures. Based on our proposed comprehensive optimization criteria, white-light laser sources with high luminous efficacy (LER ≥ 330 lm/W), good color rendering (Ra ≥ 70), and color coordinates within the quadrangle region specified by the ANSI C78.377-2008 standard were obtained. This research provides a theoretical foundation for the personalized design and application of high-quality, healthy laser light sources for users of different ages.

Criteria, Greenhouse Gas, and Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions Factors from Residential Cordwood and Pellet Stoves Using an Integrated Duty Cycle Test Protocol.

Air pollution from residential wood heating (RWH) presents challenges at the intersection of climate and public health. With a revised National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS, at 9 μg/m3) for particulate matter (PM) in the United States (U.S.), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will likely classify new non-attainment areas due primarily to emissions from RWH. Agencies will use emissions factors (EFs) to develop attainment strategies. Many will rely on EPA modeling platforms based on data from the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). The NEI uses RWH EFs based on data from mid-1990's in-situ studies and a speciation profile from a 2001 study of fireplace emissions. The NEI does not include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for this sector, which plays a key role when assessing climate reduction strategies for the buildings sector. Here, we tested seven wood stoves to determine EFs, representing various vintages and control technologies, using a novel test method that reflects in-use operational settings called the Integrated Duty Cycle. The study measured multiple pollutants concurrently: criteria pollutants (particulate matter [PM], CO, and NOx), nonmethane total hydrocarbons (NMTHCs), GHGs, black carbon (eBC), brown carbon (BrC), and multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). We found no significant difference in PM EFs between uncertified and non-catalytic stove technologies. RWH EF results from this study exceeded 2020 NEI RWH EFs for NMTHC and multiple HAPs. Applying our study's EFs to the 2020 NEI suggests that RWH, compared to all other sources, ranks as the 2nd largest source category of formaldehyde; the 3rd largest of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and acrolein; and the 4th largest of Pb emissions. RWH also emits more methane compared to natural gas or oil residential heating, raising questions about substitution of wood as a climate neutral heating fuel. However, compared to uncertified stoves, pellet stove EFs (except toxic metals) were significantly lower (p < 0.01). In summary, RWH appears to be an underestimated source of PM (non-catalytic technology), methane, NMTHC, toxic metals, and other HAPs, which has important implications for climate and public health policy in the U.S. and globally.

Introducing surface adsorption lithium storage mechanism to enhance safety of graphite

The thermal stability of lithiated graphite plays an important role in the thermal safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, a safer graphite anode usually leads to a lower energy density. This article starts from multiple hazardous factors of lithiated graphite when thermal runaway occurs, considering the impact of defects on the electrochemical performance and thermal safety of graphite electrodes. In this study, turbostratic graphite was prepared as the anode for LIBs. The stacking of graphite was altered to form narrow pores and spherical aggregates, and introducing defects. By varying the ball-milling time, the structural changes of different ball-milled graphites were analyzed. The impact mechanism of defect structure on electrode electrochemical performance and safety performance was investigated. The results show that the spherical structure and large specific surface area are beneficial to increase the active sites and delay the self-heating of the battery. The formation of defects and pores increases the adsorption sites, which makes the surface adsorption of Li+ dominant and improves the ion diffusion. In addition, the dominance of surface adsorption and desorption effectively suppresses the problem of graphite flake peeling and intensified thermal runaway caused by graphite phase transition and lithium evolution heat release at high temperature. The thermal safety test was carried out by accelerated calorimeter (ARC), and its thermodynamics and reaction kinetics were quantitatively analyzed. It was proved that the introduction of surface adsorption lithium storage method successfully delayed the thermal runaway of the battery, realizing the balance between high electrochemical performance and high safety.

Systematic Literature Review (SLR): Explorations flood systems theory and appropriate modeling

Urban flood risk assessment conducts a comprehensive evaluation of hazard formative factors, hazard formative environment, hazard-affected bodies, and capabilities for disaster prevention and reduction in order to obtain an accurate assessment of flood risk levels. The current study aimed to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature on engagement outcomes, focusing on high-quality studies Each step of the SLR method and their results are explained in detail in the following subsections using SLR performed. Using the SLR method can help answer the objectives of this research in the form of: What type of modeling to overcome flooding This research uses the SLR method which aims to recognize, review, and evaluate Using bibliometric analysis.To achieve the goal of SLR, the variables of interest are organized based on the general characteristics of the article and the specific parameters used general information about the article includes year of publication, type of analysis (quantitative, qualitative, cartographic or mixed), type and scale of research, and the country or region where the research was conducted. The model consists of three components, including rainfall runoff, river channels, and flooding The flow in the channel was generated with a 1D diffusion wave model, and the outflow on the slope was generated with a 2D model.This article showed the basic steps that need to be followed to conduct SLR This method generates topic-specific existing knowledge, trends, and observed gaps and helps to draw relevant conclusions for policy makers and the scientific community. and the appropriate modeling is Press RRI refers to 2D grid-based fluid dynamics and is a model that combines a hydrological model and a flood model.

Systematic Literature Review (SLR): Explorations flood systems theory and appropriate modeling

Urban flood risk assessment conducts a comprehensive evaluation of hazard formative factors, hazard formative environment, hazard-affected bodies, and capabilities for disaster prevention and reduction in order to obtain an accurate assessment of flood risk levels. The current study aimed to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature on engagement outcomes, focusing on high-quality studies Each step of the SLR method and their results are explained in detail in the following subsections using SLR performed. Using the SLR method can help answer the objectives of this research in the form of: What type of modeling to overcome flooding This research uses the SLR method which aims to recognize, review, and evaluate Using bibliometric analysis.To achieve the goal of SLR, the variables of interest are organized based on the general characteristics of the article and the specific parameters used general information about the article includes year of publication, type of analysis (quantitative, qualitative, cartographic or mixed), type and scale of research, and the country or region where the research was conducted. The model consists of three components, including rainfall runoff, river channels, and flooding The flow in the channel was generated with a 1D diffusion wave model, and the outflow on the slope was generated with a 2D model.This article showed the basic steps that need to be followed to conduct SLR This method generates topic-specific existing knowledge, trends, and observed gaps and helps to draw relevant conclusions for policy makers and the scientific community. and the appropriate modeling is Press RRI refers to 2D grid-based fluid dynamics and is a model that combines a hydrological model and a flood model.

The clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of PD-L1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

To investigate the relationship between the expression of PD-L1 in OSCC and the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients. We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data and prognosis of 381 OSCC patients. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on OSCC tumor specimens, and the expression level of PD-L1 was evaluated according to the combined positive score (CPS). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to identify the effect of PD-L1 expression and clinicopathological features on the prognosis of patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to determine the hazard factors affecting the prognosis of patients. PD-L1 overexpression was significantly associated with cervical lymph node metastasis (p = 0.018), worse clinical stage (p = 0.022), worse tumor differentiation (p = 0.046), and worse depth of invasion (DOI) (p = 0.003). Poorer clinical stage and degree of tumor differentiation were significantly associated with poorer OS and DSS in patients. PD-L1 expression was not associated with prognosis in patients with OSCC. High PD-L1 expression was significantly associated with higher tumor malignancy in OSCC patients. Poorer clinical stage and degree of tumor differentiation were associated with poor prognosis in OSCC patients. Our results may help clinicians develop more appropriate individualized treatment strategies for their patients, thus improving their outcomes.

Exploratory Analysis of Hazard Factors Influencing the Safety Rating of Pedestrian Bridge

Exploratory Analysis of Hazard Factors Influencing the Safety Rating of Pedestrian Bridge

The Gaps Between Institutional and Practical Disaster Risk Management Measures on Coastal Flood Risks in South Korea’s Coastal Communities

Global warming and climate change significantly increase the frequency of coastal floods caused by sea level rise (SLR) as a permanent factor and hydrometeorological hazards as tentative factors. The combined risks will affect coastal communities. South Korea is gradually facing SLR risks, mainly in its southern coastal regions; however, disaster risk reduction (DRR) in coastal regions remains fragmented. This study aimed to investigate the status of DRR for coastal communities in South Korea by looking at government practices and testimonies from residents. This study reviewed DRR-related regulations and documents and collected data from interviews with local government officials, field visits, and informal conversations with residents in six coastal communities. The findings show that the coastal communities were less resilient to coastal floods than to other hazards, such as typhoons and heavy rains, and the potential consequences could be expanded due to demographic challenges, fragmented institutional systems, and low risk awareness. Moreover, this study emphasized the necessity of an integrated approach to reducing the impact of coastal floods caused by both SLR and other factors. It also highlighted the importance of coastal community engagement in local DRR activities through increasing risk awareness and adapting to environmental change based on appropriate risk information disclosure by the government. The impacts of coastal floods triggered by SLR and other hazard factors can be reduced by aligning practical regulatory measures with adaptive strategies and enhancing the disaster resilience of coastal communities.

Assessing the causal effects of Eubacterium and Rumphococcus on constipation: a Mendelian randomized study.

Constipation is affected by a number of risk variables, including cardiovascular disease and growth factors. However, the impacts of gut flora on constipation incidence has not been shown. This work, Single-Variable Mendelian Randomization (SVMR) was utilized to estimate the causal relationship between the Eubacterium genus or Rumphococcus, and constipation. Data for constipation, Eubacterium genus and Rumphococcus were taken from the Integrated Epidemiology Unit (IEU) open GWAS database. Including 218,792 constipation samples, and there were 16,380,466 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) for constipation. The ids of Eubacterium genus and Rumphococcus were sourced from MiBioGen database. The sample count for the Eubacterium genus was 17,380, with 656 SNPs. In addition, the sample size for Rumphococcus was 15,339, with 545 SNPs. The SVMR was performed to assess the risk of Eubacterium genus and Rumphococcus in constipation using weighted median, MR Egger, simple mode, inverse variance weighted (IVW), and weighted mode. Finally, we did a sensitivity analysis that included a heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, and Leave-One-Out (LOO) test to examine the viability of the MR data. The SVMR revealed that the Eubacterium genus and Rumphococcus were causally connected to constipation, with Rumphococcus (P = 0.042, OR = 1.074) as a hazardous factor and Eubacterium genus (P = 0.004, OR = 0.909) as a safety factor. Sensitivity tests then revealed the absence of variability between the constipation and the exposure factors (Eubacterium genus and Rumphococcus). Additionally, there were no other confounding factors and the examined SNPs could only influence constipation through the aforementioned exposure factors, respectively. As a result, the MR results were fairly robust. Our investigation verified the causal links between the Eubacterium genus or Rumphococcus, and constipation, with greater Rumphococcus expression increasing the likelihood of constipation and the opposite being true for the Eubacterium genus.