Key Factor In Safety Research Articles

The role of nutrition in mild traumatic brain injury rehabilitation for service members and veterans.

Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (DOD) acknowledge that nutrition may be a modifier of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) sequelae. Military clinicians are considering nutritional supplements and dietary interventions when managing patients with mild TBI. Therefore, clinicians should be familiar with the current evidence for nutritional interventions in mild TBI and special considerations related to the military lifestyle. This narrative review aims to summarize the existing evidence surrounding the role of special diets and select nutrients in mild TBI outcomes, gut microbiota changes, and special considerations for Service members and Veterans recovering from mild TBI. We conducted a literature review in PubMed and Google Scholar limited to nutritional interventions and nine topics with primary focus on mild TBI, although we included some articles related to moderate-to-severe TBI where relevant: 1) ketogenic diet, 2) Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet, 3) omega-3 fatty acids, 4) creatine, 5) vitamin D, 6) weight management, 7) gut microbiota, 8) caffeine, and 9) alcohol. We summarized key findings and safety factors where appropriate for each intervention. We also identified nutritional supplement safety and operational rations considerations and areas in need of further research. Preclinical studies and early human trials suggest that the specific nutrients and diets discussed in the current article may offer neuroprotection or benefit during mild TBI rehabilitation. Omega-3 fatty acids, creatine, and vitamin D are generally safe when taken within recommended guidelines. More evidence is needed to support nutritional recommendations for enhancing neuroprotection and mitigating mild TBI symptoms in humans. The DOD's Warfighter Nutrition Guide recommends a whole food diet rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, micronutrients, probiotics, and fiber to optimize long-term health and performance.

Surface Crystal and Degradability of Shape Memory Scaffold Essentialize Osteochondral Regeneration.

The minimally invasive deployment of scaffolds is a key safety factor for the regeneration of cartilage and bone defects. Osteogenesis relies primarily on cell-matrix interactions, whereas chondrogenesis relies on cell-cell aggregation. Bone matrix expansion requires osteoconductive scaffold degradation. However, chondrogenic cell aggregation is promoted on the repellent scaffold surface, and minimal scaffold degradation supports the avascular nature of cartilage regeneration. Here, a material satisfying these requirements for osteochondral regeneration is developed by integrating osteoconductive hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a chondroconductive shape memory polymer (SMP). The shape memory function-derived fixity and recovery of the scaffold enabled minimally invasive deployment and expansion to fill irregular defects. The crystalline phases on the SMP surface inhibited cell aggregation by suppressing water penetration and subsequent protein adsorption. However, HAp conjugation SMP (H-SMP) enhanced surface roughness and consequent cell-matrix interactions by limiting cell aggregation using crystal peaks. After mouse subcutaneous implantation, hydrolytic H-SMP accelerated scaffold degradation compared to that by the minimal degradation observed for SMP alone for two months. H-SMP and SMP are found to promote osteogenesis and chondrogenesis, respectively, in vitro and in vivo, including the regeneration of rat osteochondral defects using the binary scaffold form, suggesting that this material is promising for osteochondral regeneration.

The use of building information modelling (BIM) in the management of construction safety: The development towards automation hazard identification and assessment

The construction industry faces safety management challenges that impact its reputation and workforce well-being. Despite existing safety regulations, safety violations persist, necessitating innovative solutions. This thesis explores the potential of Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a tool to improve safety practices throughout the project lifecycle. A literature review identifies key safety factors and BIM features, revealing their interconnections and potential for synergistic improvements. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with 55 construction professionals from diverse regions revealed that over 45% of respondents reported positive outcomes from BIM implementation in their projects. A comprehensive framework is developed to integrate BIM-based safety improvement strategies into various project phases, providing practical guidelines and recommendations for construction professionals to enhance safety practices effectively and efficiently. The research emphasizes the significance of BIM adoption in the construction industry, promoting better safety outcomes and elevating safety management practices. The proposed framework offers valuable insights for stakeholders, encouraging the widespread adoption of BIM technology and its seamless integration with safety practices for improved project safety and overall construction efficiency.

Pristup pouzdanom načinu određivanja hemijske stabilnosti jednobaznih baruta primenom metode mikrokalorimetrije

Introduction/purpose: Gunpowder is a type of explosive material (EM), a mixture of chemical compounds capable of releasing their potential energy in a very fast exothermic chemical reaction. This paper investigates the single base gunpowder samples. Methods: Microcalorimetry (MC), or heat flow calorimetry (HFC), is the only modern method that monitors the direct cause of autoignition - the rate of heat release, which is a key factor for gunpowder storage explosive safety. It is based on high-sensitivity calorimeters which allow monitoring of chemical reactions at low speeds. The microcalorimeter "TAM III" was used and the method given by the NATO standard STANAG 4582. A very reliable result was obtained on the chemical stability of the observed single base gunpowder samples, as well as an assessment of its behavior in the next 10 years. Results: The thermal activity of gunpowder depends on several factors, the most important of which are: chemical composition, size and shape of the gunpowder grain, the degree of decomposition of the gunpowder, storage conditions, etc. Namely, it is a much more exact and consistent indicator of the chemical stability of gunpowder compared to the critical diameter. Conclusion: The MC method should be used both for monitoring the chemical stability of gunpowder during storage and for the prediction of the service life of gunpowder.

Ranking Road Safety Hazardous Location: A Case Study of Chhorepatan–Machhapuchhre Viewpoint Road Section

The importance of road safety, involving pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers adhering to rules and strategies to prevent accidents and fatalities, is emphasized, especially in Nepal, where road fatalities remain a pressing issue. The study focuses on the Chhorepatan – Machhapuchhre Viewpoint Road Section, which faces increasing traffic density and hazards. It proposes a six-stage methodological framework, incorporating the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and field surveys, to rank hazardous locations based on safety parameters, resulting in a Safety Hazardous Index (SHI). The research aims to identify and prioritize key safety factors by correlating SHI values with crash records, potentially serving as a model for assessing road sections in similar conditions.

Improving patient safety governance andsystems through learning from successes andfailures: qualitative surveys andinterviews with international experts.

Patient harm is a leading cause of global disease burden with considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic impacts for individuals, families, and wider society. Large bodies of evidence exist for strategies to improve safety and reduce harm. However, it is not clear which patient safety issues are being addressed globally, and which factors are the most (or least) important contributors to patient safety improvements. We aimed to explore the perspectives of international patient safety experts to identify: (1) the nature and range of patient safety issues being addressed, and (2) aspects of patient safety governance and systems that are perceived to provide value (or not) in improving patient outcomes. English-speaking Fellows and Experts of the International Society for Quality in Healthcare participated in a web-based survey and in-depth semistructured interview, discussing their experience in implementing interventions to improve patient safety. Data collection focused on understanding the elements of patient safety governance that influence outcomes. Demographic survey data were analysed descriptively. Qualitative data were coded, analysed thematically (inductive approach), and mapped deductively to the System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes framework. Findings are presented as themes and a patient safety governance model. The study was approved by the University of South Australia Human Research Ethics Committee. Twenty-seven experts (59% female) participated. Most hailed from Africa (n = 6, 22%), Australasia, and the Middle East (n = 5, 19% each). The majority were employed in hospital settings (n = 23, 85%), and reported blended experience across healthcare improvement (89%), accreditation (76%), organizational operations (64%), and policy (60%). The number and range of patient safety issues within our sample varied widely with 14 topics being addressed. Thematically, 532 textual segments were grouped into 90 codes (n = 44 barriers, n = 46 facilitators) and used to identify and arrange key patient safety governance actors and factors as a 'system' within the System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes framework. Four themes for improved patient safety governance were identified: (1) 'safety culture' in healthcare organizations, (2) 'policies and procedures' to investigate, implement, and demonstrate impact from patient safety initiatives, (3) 'supporting staff' to upskill and share learnings, and (4) 'patient engagement, experiences, and expectations'. For sustainable patient safety governance, experts highlighted the importance of safety culture in healthcare organizations, national patient safety policies and regulatory standards, continuing education for staff, and meaningful patient engagement approaches. Our proposed 'patient safety governance model' provides policymakers and researchers with a framework to develop data-driven patient safety policy.

Method for detecting road defects using images obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles

With road defects being a key factor in traffic accidents, driver safety, vehicle condition and travel speed, they need to be promptly repaired. The defects include cracks, ruts and potholes on the road surface, and if not repaired in due time, they grow in size very quickly. There are various methods that are used to detect road defects, one of which is a computer vision method. Typically, digital cameras are installed on cars and then the resulting set of images from a given section of the road is processed. This article proposes a technique for obtaining images using unmanned aerial vehicles, which provides the required amount of data to assess the road condition on lengthy road sections. A technique for identifying road cracks and estimating parameters defined in the road traffic regulations is proposed. As a result of the studies, real images are obtained and processed using the method proposed herein, showing high performance and accuracy and indicating the possibility of its future practical uses.

Embedded 3D reconstruction of dynamic objects in real time for maritime situational awareness pictures

Assessing the security status of maritime infrastructures is a key factor for maritime safety and security. Facilities such as ports and harbors are highly active traffic zones with many different agents and infrastructures present, like containers, trucks or vessels. Conveying security-related information in a concise and easily understandable format can support the decision-making process of stakeholders, such as port authorities, law enforcement agencies and emergency services. In this work, we propose a novel real-time 3D reconstruction framework for enhancing maritime situational awareness pictures by joining temporal 2D video data into a single consistent display. We introduce and verify a pipeline prototype for dynamic 3D reconstruction of maritime objects using a static observer and stereoscopic cameras on an GPU-accelerated embedded device. A simulated dataset of a harbor basin was created and used for real-time processing. Usage of a simulated setup allowed verification against synthetic ground-truth data. The presented pipeline runs entirely on a remote, low-power embedded system with ∼\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\sim $$\\end{document}6 Hz. A Nvidia Jetson Xavier AGX module was used, featuring 512 CUDA-cores, 16 GB memory and an ARMv8 64-bit octa-core CPU.

Transcranial direct current stimulation with functional magnetic resonance imaging: a detailed validation and operational guide.

Introduction: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique used to modulate human brain and behavioural function in both research and clinical interventions. The combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with tDCS enables researchers to directly test causal contributions of stimulated brain regions, answering questions about the physiology and neural mechanisms underlying behaviour. Despite the promise of the technique, advances have been hampered by technical challenges and methodological variability between studies, confounding comparability/replicability. Methods: Here tDCS-fMRI at 3T was developed for a series of experiments investigating language recovery after stroke. To validate the method, one healthy volunteer completed an fMRI paradigm with three conditions: No-tDCS, Sham-tDCS, Anodal-tDCS. MR data were analysed with region-of-interest (ROI) analyses of the electrodes and reference site. Results: Quality assessment indicated no visible signal dropouts or distortions in the brain introduced by the tDCS equipment. After modelling scanner drift, motion-related variance, and temporal autocorrelation, we found that functional MR sensitivity was not degraded or adversely affected by the tDCS set-up and stimulation protocol across conditions in grey matter and in the three ROIs. Discussion: Key safety factors and risk mitigation strategies that must be taken into consideration when integrating tDCS into an fMRI environment are outlined. To obtain reliable results, we provide practical solutions to technical challenges and complications of the method. It is hoped that sharing these data and Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) will promote methodological replication in future studies, enhancing the quality of tDCS-fMRI application, and improve the reliability of scientific results in this field. Conclusions: Our method and data provide a technically safe, reliable tDCS-fMRI procedure to obtain high quality MR data. The detailed framework of the SOP systematically reports the technical and procedural elements of our tDCS-fMRI approach, which can be adopted and prove useful in future studies.

Structural Equation Modeling of Food Safety Standard in the Cassava Industry in Thailand

Food safety is becoming more important in Thailand, especially when the country officially joins the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in the year 2015. In this study, key food safety factors and their associated items were mainly extracted from the two international food safety standards: the HACCP and the GMP standards. The questionnaire survey was used to collect data from cassava manufacturers for the exploratory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling. The analysis results revealed seven key factors in enhancing food safety standards: 1) Management, 2) Man, 3) Environment, 4) Material-Related, 5) Method, 6) Machine, and 7) Raw Material. The structural equation modelling results revealed causal relationships among the seven key factors. It was found that the Management factor is the most important factor in enhancing food safety standard in Thailand as it influences all other factors, both directly and indirectly. Management should, hence, set up realistic food safety policies, assign appropriate safety responsibility to the lower levels, and provide adequate necessary resources to improve food safety in the cassava industry.

Polishing behaviour of asphalt surface course containing recycled materials

Skid resistance is a key road safety factor indicating the provided friction of a pavement’s surface, which deteriorates over its service life mainly due to traffic polishing. Hence, the polishing behaviour of a pavement’s surface course is important for the provided road safety. For this reason, there have been many studies related to the assessment of polishing behaviour of asphalt mixtures. Besides, during the last decades the introduction of recycled materials in pavements has increased in order to face environmental challenges. However, investigations regarding the surface course are mainly centred around aspects of structural performance of the recycled materials. Contrariwise, it appears that the investigation for the provided skid resistance of asphalt mixtures containing recycled materials is limited. On these grounds, the present study investigates skid resistance performance through the polishing behaviour of asphalt mixtures containing recycled materials under the effect of traffic, simulated by the Wehner/Schulze machine. The investigated mixtures include conventional Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA), as well HMA containing varying contents of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) material or recycled rubber in the form of Crumb Rubber (CR) originating from waste tyres. Analysis results demonstrate that the friction level of the tested asphalt mixtures containing RAP or CR is slightly lower than the conventional ones, but their overall performance seems to present an almost similar trend under the polishing effect. Generally, the study suggests a methodological approach towards the assessment of the skid resistance potentials for asphalt mixtures of a surface course that contain the investigated recycled materials, in an effort to act as a precursor for the enrichment of the related knowledge gap.

Setting the Tone in the Operating Room: a Model Guided By Emotions as Social Information Theory

Team communication in the operating room is considered a key patient safety factor although communication failures continue to be exceedingly common. The attending surgeon is largely responsible for setting and modifying the tone of the operating room team. Existing literature suggests that the tone of the operating room may affect quality of communication, psychological safety, and ultimately, patient safety. Using Emotions as Social Information theory as a framework, we present a model which explains how emotional expression of the attending surgeon may be processed by other members of the operating room team to influence their behaviour. In response to the attending surgeon, the interaction of team members’ behaviours produces (either through setting, maintaining or altering) the tone of the operating room which influences quality of communication. The model discusses contextual factors of the operating room (i.e. role, shared mental models, hierarchy, cultural norms, and team familiarity) to explain how the observer, that is, the operating room staff observing the behaviour of the attending surgeon, understands and processes information relayed by the attending surgeon. These contextual factors interact to produce the observers’ affective reaction and inferences, in varying weights, about the situation at hand to shape their behaviour. We propose several directions for future research to advance team communication: expansion and empirical studies of the proposed model, investigation of how individual behaviours interact to produce tone, factors related to surgeon emotions, and how behaviours feedback into the proposed model to shape future behaviours.

Assessment of the Perspective Ratios in Rail Crossings as an Important Evaluation Factor of Rail Crossings

It is currently necessary to solve several bottlenecks in railway infrastructure. This is important because it is needed to improve railway infrastructure to be faster, safer and of high quality. Rail crossings on railway lines are also a significant bottleneck. There are still many rail crossings and a high number of accidents in many countries of the European Union. The issue of rail crossings must be addressed because many rail crossings reduce the flow of road and railway traffic. However, it is about the safety of transportation, as several serious and fatal traffic accidents have happened at rail crossings. Many times, the perspective ratios of the rail crossings are a significant problem and the main cause of traffic accidents. Therefore, it is important to propose a certain methodological procedure for the assessment of the perspective ratios in rail crossings. The main contribution goal is to briefly describe the development of the rail crossings number according to security devices and analyze the factors influencing the rail crossing potential and restrictive elements factors of the rail crossings as a matter of priority. Great emphasis is placed on the perspective ratios as a key safety factor. The heuristic procedure of the perspective ratios determination is presented within the proposals. Subsequently, there are analyzed the perspective ratios at the selected rail crossing with the light protection device and to assess whether these ratios are safe for the given crossing in the event of the light protection device failure. The rail crossing in the Czech Republic has been selected as a representative on railway line no. 196 from České Budějovice to Horní Dvořiště in the empirical part of the research. The rail crossing has been analyzed in terms of its characteristics and parameters and has been assessed as complying with legal regulations.

Modeling and Analysis of Thermal Behaviour for Brake Discs

Abstract Focusing strictly to the braking assembly system, it is an important key factor for safety, does not matter if it can be found on cars, motorcycles, planes or bicycles. The principal aspect is to transform the energies that act on the system, which are kinetic and potential, then leads to a speed decrease of the vehicle until it stops. The purpose of this paper is to analyze five possible variants of the geometry of the brake disc, each geometry being different from the other. Because for a more efficient release of heat, the five chosen geometries of the discs have on their surface vanes, holes, in order to remove heat from their surface. For the actual making of the discs, the chosen models were made and designed in the CATIA V5 design program. The next step in this work was to perform analyzes and simulations for the selected disks. At the same time, the material chosen for them was considered. The 3D models were imported into the ANSYS analysis program, where individual analyzes were performed for each brake disc, and a comparison was made between the values of each one.

Identification and Analysis of the Impurities for Triethylboron by GC‐MS Method

AbstractThe detection and separation of impurities are crucial for the quality control of triethylboron. While the purity of triethylboron is the key factor for ballistic performance, impact accuracy, and storage safety. This work will explore a modified gas chromatography‐mass spectrometer method to detect and separate the impurities in synthesized triethylboron. They are identified as CH3CH2OCH2CH3, (CH3CH2)3B, (CH3CH2O)3B, CH3CH2CH2CH2B(CH3CH2)2 and (CH3CH2)3O3B3. Further, optimized GC conditions are demonstrated to quantify the synthesized triethylboron accurately and determine its purity. The purity of triethylboron is 96.39 % via a normalization method with high accuracy (RSD=0.05 %). The optimized GC conditions were as follows: a hydrogen flame ionization detector, nitrogen as carrier gas whose pathway was installed with a water trap and an oxygen trap, an HP‐5 capillary column (30 m×0.32 mm×0.25 μm) with the column temperature of 60 °C, an inlet temperature of 120 °C, the detector temperature of 150 °C, and an injection volume of 0.6 μL. This work demonstrates a simple and precise method to analyze the synthesized triethylboron and its impurities.

Validation of a Light EEG-Based Measure for Real-Time Stress Monitoring during Realistic Driving.

Driver’s stress affects decision-making and the probability of risk occurrence, and it is therefore a key factor in road safety. This suggests the need for continuous stress monitoring. This work aims at validating a stress neurophysiological measure—a Neurometric—for out-of-the-lab use obtained from lightweight EEG relying on two wet sensors, in real-time, and without calibration. The Neurometric was tested during a multitasking experiment and validated with a realistic driving simulator. Twenty subjects participated in the experiment, and the resulting stress Neurometric was compared with the Random Forest (RF) model, calibrated by using EEG features and both intra-subject and cross-task approaches. The Neurometric was also compared with a measure based on skin conductance level (SCL), representing one of the physiological parameters investigated in the literature mostly correlated with stress variations. We found that during both multitasking and realistic driving experiments, the Neurometric was able to discriminate between low and high levels of stress with an average Area Under Curve (AUC) value higher than 0.9. Furthermore, the stress Neurometric showed higher AUC and stability than both the SCL measure and the RF calibrated with a cross-task approach. In conclusion, the Neurometric proposed in this work proved to be suitable for out-of-the-lab monitoring of stress levels.

Identification of Key Psychosocial Safety Factors when Working Remotely: A Three-Step Research Methodology Proposal

Identification of Key Psychosocial Safety Factors when Working Remotely: A Three-Step Research Methodology Proposal

Situational Awareness – Key Safety Factor For The Officer Of The Watch

One of the main causes of many maritime accidents are errors caused by the human element. Analysis of many maritime accidents at sea shows that situational awareness is one of the most important safety factors. The purpose and objective of this paper is to define the concept, importance and application of situational awareness throughout history until today. It also aims to highlight the high level of situational awareness as an important safety factor possessed by the Officer of the Watch and the overall importance of the same in the maritime domain. It is important to define the role of International Maritime Organization and the World Health Organization in relation to seafarer regulations and situational awareness. To identify the prevalence of low situational awareness as a root cause of accidents through the analysis of statistical data. To demonstrate the consequences of low situational awareness among ship’s crew through examples of tragic maritime accidents, along with identifying human and organizational factors that significantly reduce situational awareness. By defining the role and application of maritime training and modern technological solutions in the efforts to prevent maritime accidents and improve the situational awareness of ship officers. The questionnaire was conducted with the aim of collecting data on the importance of situational awareness from the experienced mariners as a target group. The questionnaire also aimed to obtain more detailed information about the effectiveness offered by modern technological solutions to improve situational awareness. Based on the collected information, arguments and assertions about situational awareness as an important safety factor for the Officer of the Watch, safety recommendations are presented.

Assessment of Tire Features for Modeling Vehicle Stability in Case of Vertical Road Excitation

Two trends could be observed in the evolution of road transport. First, with the traffic becoming increasingly intensive, the motor road infrastructure is developed; more advanced, greater quality, and more durable materials are used; and pavement laying and repair techniques are improved continuously. The continued growth in the number of vehicles on the road is accompanied by the ongoing improvement of the vehicle design with the view towards greater vehicle controllability as the key traffic safety factor. The change has covered a series of vehicle systems. The tire structure and materials used are subject to continuous improvements in order to provide the maximum possible grip with the road pavement. New solutions in the improvement of the suspension and driving systems are explored. Nonetheless, inevitable controversies have been encountered, primarily, in the efforts to combine riding comfort and vehicle controllability. Practice shows that these systems perform to a satisfactory degree only on good quality roads, as they have been designed specifically for the latter. This could be the cause of the more complicated car control and accidents on the lower-quality roads. Road ruts and local unevenness that impair car stability and traffic safety are not avoided even on the trunk roads. In this work, we investigated the conditions for directional stability, the influence of road and vehicle parameters on the directional stability of the vehicle, and developed recommendations for the road and vehicle control systems to combine to ensure traffic safety. We have developed a refined dynamic model of vehicle stability that evaluates the influence of tire tread and suspensions. The obtained results allow a more accurate assessment of the impact of the road roughness and vehicle suspension and body movements on vehicle stability and the development of recommendations for the safe movement down the road of known characteristics.

Perceived Lighting Uniformity on Pedestrian Roads: From an Architectural Perspective

Lighting uniformity is a key factor in traffic safety, and it could even result in energy savings for light installations. However, highly uniform horizontal road lighting for motorized vehicles may not be optimal for pedestrian roads. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the way in which pedestrians experience road lighting uniformity. Accordingly, we employed a qualitative approach to examine pedestrian road lighting uniformity. Visual analyses were used to exemplify and discuss the perceived uniformity. The case studies were performed on three pedestrian roads with similar light installations. The results show that the experience of road lighting uniformity differs substantially between the three roads. Based on the case studies, there are many aspects that need to be considered beyond the light falling on the horizontal surfaces. This study suggests that the visual experience of road lighting uniformity for pedestrians is difficult to estimate with photometric values because the visual impact of uniformity is highly influenced by the spatial context and landscape.