Protection Mission Research Articles

Intra-family violence: identification and ways forward

For many professionals, coercive control is still a new concept. Yet all caregivers should be familiar with it, in order to be aware of and understand domestic violence. This article, based on the experience of a nursery nurse, looks at the ways in which such violence can be identified, particularly during maternal and child protection missions.

Evaluating the Impact and Awareness of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme in Bihar

The Ayushman Bharat Scheme, India's largest health insurance initiative, was launched in 2018 with the goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage as outlined in the National Health Policy 2017. This scheme comprises two components: the National Health Mission, which focuses on strengthening health services and promoting awareness in rural and urban areas, and the National Health Protection Mission, which provides free treatment up to Rs. 5 lakhs for 50 crore individuals from economically disadvantaged families. A survey conducted in four districts of Bihar—Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, and Khagaria—revealed that rural areas have a higher registration rate (58%) compared to urban areas (37%). Social media (31%) and newspapers (21%) are the primary sources of information about the scheme, while gender participation is relatively balanced, with 44% women and 56% men registered. Despite these positive indicators, issues such as paperwork, Aadhaar card problems, and lack of information hindered some from registering. The scheme received an average rating of 3.83 out of 5, reflecting general satisfaction and strong trust (97%) among respondents, though no respondents had yet used the card. To improve the scheme’s reach and effectiveness, it is recommended to increase awareness through targeted social media and newspaper campaigns, simplify the registration process, expand information dissemination, address technical issues, and encourage active usage of the Ayushman Bharat card.

Toxicity reference values (TRVs) for force health protection: Gap identification and TRV prediction

The mission of the Force Health Protection (FHP) program of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), sustaining the readiness of warfighters, relies on determinations of acceptable levels of exposure to a wide array of substances that USAF personnel may encounter. In many cases, exposure details are limited or authoritative toxicity reference values (TRVs) are unavailable. To address some of the TRV gaps, we are integrating several approaches to generate health protective exposure guidelines. Descriptions are provided for identification of chemicals of interest for USAF FHP (467 to date), synthesis of multiple TRVs to derive Operational Exposure Limits (OpELs), and strategies for identifying and developing candidate values for provisional OpELs when authoritative TRVs are lacking. Rodent bioassay-derived long-term Derived No Effect Levels (DNELs) for workers were available only for a minority of the substances with occupational TRV gaps (19 of 84). Additional occupational TRV estimation approaches were found to be straightforward to implement: Tier 1 Occupational Exposure Bands, cheminformatics approaches (multiple linear regression and novel nearest-neighbor approaches), and empirical adjustment of short term TRVs. Risk assessors working in similar contexts may benefit from application of the resources referenced and developed in this work.

A grounded theory-based qualitative approach for examining local implementation of public health policies during crises

BackgroundCOVID-19′s emergence questions the agility of health policy deployment in a context of urgency. This exceptional pandemic offers a unique Implementation Science study opportunity. It reveals how actors adapt, coordinate, and mitigate an unknown global threat to safeguard populations from an initially mysterious virus. Limited research has explored how involved players act and adapt their practices to fulfil health protection missions during a global health crisis. Bridging the gap between public policy expectations and achievements requires a methodology for stakeholder identification and implementation practice description. ObjectiveFocusing on COVID-19 management in France's second-largest region, we investigate ministerial recommendation implementation and the emergence of new links, coordination modes, and practices. MethodsDue to the novel subject, we adopted grounded theory. Initial documentary data collection identifies stakeholders for subsequent interviews. Open-ended coding of collected discourse enables content analysis. ResultsFindings reveal a crisis-driven re-evaluation of stakeholder relationships. This research identifies three levels of implementation of health policies at the local level (administrative, organizational and operational) and reveals different types of coordination specific to each of these levels. Our results provide insights on how to better coordinate and implement healthcare policies in a period of crisis. Recommendations include real-life simulations of large-scale crises. ConclusionOur work establishes a methodological foundation for analysing coordination dynamics. Future research could compare these findings with other unpredictable health emergencies, such as episiotomic veterinary health crises.•The first step of the method is to analyse the guidelines of health policy implementation during the Covid-19 crisis and to identify the main stakeholders in charge of the local health policy implementation.•The second step consists of interviewing these stakeholders using a co-constructed sample and structural coding of their speech to reveal the forms of coordination between stakeholders.

The Evolution of Zoos as Conservation Institutions: A Summary of the Transition from Menageries to Zoological Gardens and Parallel Improvement of Mammalian Welfare Management

Zoological institutions, which were once exclusively for entertainment, are now leaders of wildlife conservation. This centuries-long transition was punctuated by key milestones that reformed wild animal exploitation into a mission of protection. Modern zoos perform ex situ activities to preserve natural resources, which are enabled by the housing of wild species. Zoo-managed animals facilitate new scientific knowledge, public education, and strategic breeding to maintain genetic diversity. Prioritizing animal welfare management is a key advancement for modern zoos, as it lessens stress and improves quality of life. Environments enriched with sensory stimuli promote naturalistic behaviors and provide opportunities for instinctual activities like foraging and hunting. This increases resiliency by reducing stress and boredom. However, such approaches only benefit welfare when appropriately matched to the animal. Behavioral responses to environmental cues reflect how animals experience their environment, and properly documenting them informs management decisions. Other modern advancements include enclosure designs, research initiatives, public education programs, species-specific staff training, and collaborative population management among zoos. This review chronicles the milestones that shaped the role of modern zoological institutions in species and habitat preservation. It also discusses opportunities for the continued evolution of welfare management practices, which is fundamental information for zoo employees and stakeholders.

Hydrogel and aerogel‐based flame‐retardant polymeric materials: A review

AbstractHydrogels are multifunctional engineering materials best known for their promising characteristics such as toughness, flexibility, water absorption capacity, and porosity. These features can support fire protection missions. Application of hydrogels as flame‐retardant materials is receiving much attention, such that several research and industrial projects have been devoted to design, manufacturing, and optimization of flame‐retardant hydrogels—taking a unique position among advanced multifunctional materials and strategies. Likewise, aerogels (derived from gels) due to their porous structure filled with a gas, usually air, rather than water in the case of hydrogels, have shown superior thermal insulation potential. Correspondingly, they have been used in fire and flame protection applications. In this work, the flame‐retardant hydrogels and aerogels along with mechanisms underlying their flame retardancy are reviewed. Besides classifying and interpreting the open literature on flame‐retardant hydrogels and aerogels, challenging aspects of future developments ahead of these advanced materials are highlighted.Highlights Briefly overviewed general features of hydrogels including synthesis and applications. Briefly overviewed principles of flame retardancy and flame‐retardant polymers. Reviewed and classified flame‐retardant hydrogels and aerogels as advanced materials. Summarized the latest advancements in flame‐retardant hydrogels and aerogels. Highlighted future fire protection by flame‐retardant hydrogels and aerogels.

Environmental information disclosure and the investment-cash flow sensitivity

Purpose- In 2008 China issued the Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental Information. Using the introduction of this environmental policy, this paper examines how the environmental information disclosure quality affects a firm's access to capital markets. In particular, the relationship is investigated between the environmental disclosure quality and the investment-cash flow sensitivity, a measure of a firm's financial constraints, before and after the implementation of the policy. Methodology- The content analysis is used to construct the measure of environmental disclosure quality. First of all, the contents of both qualitative and quantitative environmental disclosures are analyzed with respect to the following ten areas reported in firms' annual reports: (1) corporate investment in environmental protection, (2) government financial support related to environmental control, (3) tax reductions related to environmental programs, (4) lawsuits, settlements, penalties, and rewards related to environmental protection, (5) emissions and pollution reduction implementation, (6) certifications of environmental programs, (7) firm environmental protection missions and goals, (8) firm environmental protection plans and strategies, (9) bank loans related to environmental protection, and (10) other environmental-related information. And then, different points are assigned based on the disclosure quality for each of the ten disclosure areas and aggregated to obtain an overall disclosure score. Univariate and regression tests are used to examine the relationship between environmental information disclosures and investment-cash flow sensitivity. Findings- A negative association is found between a firm's environmental disclosure quality and the investment-cash flow sensitivity after the policy was implemented, while no such association is found before the policy implementation. Furthermore, the observed reduction in investment-cash flow sensitivity tends to be stronger for firms in high-polluting industries. Conclusion- Given the environmental policies in emerging markets are often viewed with great doubts, our findings suggest that government environmental policy plays an important role in firm's access to capital markets. Keywords: Environmental information disclosure, investment-cash flow sensitivity, government policy, asymmetric information, financial constraints JEL Codes: G18, G30, G32

Renal Clearable Mo-Based Polyoxometalate Nanoclusters: A Promising Radioprotectant against Ionizing Irradiation.

In response to diffused ionizing radiation damage throughout the body caused by nuclear leaks and inaccurate radiotherapy, radioprotectants with considerable free radical scavenging capacities, along with negligible adverse effects, are highly regarded. Herein, unlike being performed as toxic chemotherapeutic drug candidates, molybdenum-based polyoxometalate nanoclusters (Mo-POM NCs) were developed as a non-toxic potent radioprotectant with impressive free radical scavenging capacities for ionizing radiation protection. In comparison to the clinically used radioprotectant drug amifostine (AM), the as-prepared Mo-POM NCs exhibited effective shielding capacity by virtue of their antioxidant properties resulting from a valence shift of molybdenum ions, alleviating not only ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage but also disruption of the radiation-sensitive hematopoietic system. More encouragingly, without trouble with long-term retention in the body, ultra-small sized Mo-POM NCs prepared by the mimetic Folin-Ciocalteu assay can be removed from the body through the renal-urinary pathway and the hepato-enteral excretory system after completing the mission of radiation protection. This work broadened the biological applications of metal-based POM chemotherapeutic drugs to act as a neozoic radioprotectant.

Ayushman Bharat: An Account of Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders toward Universal Health Coverage

Abstract Ayushman Bharat Program was started by the Government of India as an ambitious scheme to provide financial protection to families across the country. The program also envisions to upgrade the existing grassroots level health system and converting the existing subhealth centers into health and wellness centers which would cater to a range of services based on the principle of comprehensive primary healthcare. The program is believed to bring in changes in the country however the same is not devoid of criticism owing to several of the reasons built into it. Thus, there are applauses in some parts and by certain sections of the society and there is criticism as well. The program can be made successful with the involvement of several stakeholders with their pertinent contributions and participation. The program is also said to bring in positive changes in the much-awaited universal health coverage arena however there are still some criticism on this. As the program is rightly said as the National Health Protection Mission thus it is expected that the insurance sector can contribute positively by risk pooling among the beneficiaries. The health system, both public and private, are the key pillars in the program as they would render critical health services to the masses who would otherwise access the health services at their doorstep. The nongovernmental organizations and the civil society organizations, being the proximate part of the society, can disseminate the message and bring about positive changes in their concerned communities. The state government has a pivotal role to play on many fronts, be it implementation or financial contribution. The political parties, both in power and in opposition as well, should come in one tune to make the program successful. The health-care providers and the pharmaceutical industry also play an important role as they are directly involved in the service provision. Most importantly the common citizen should also act proactively and be aware of the benefits of such schemes which would ultimately bring about fruition in the program. This opinion paper takes into account the roles and responsibilities of all these stakeholders in implementing such a grand program in the country with a focus on universal health coverage.

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One of the most important operational properties of cars is directional stability, which affects road safety. Especially dangerous is the entry of multi-axle heavy trucks, whose stability is currently assessed using probabilistic methods of reliability theory. The consequence of this approach is the static uncertainty of the support system (undercarriage), which does not allow to accurately determine the normal reactions on the wheels of multi-axle cars. The classic layout of a combat wheeled vehicle, especially when performing tasks within the city limits, is insufficient maneuverability. The most common armored personnel carrier in the National Guard is the BTR 70 and its modifications. The minimum turning radius along the track of the front outer wheel is 12.6 m. The design of two rotating two-axle platforms will reduce this indicator. Also, such a design will allow, especially in the conditions of urban development, to place a two-platform combat vehicle with the letter "�" or "V" to cover personnel from a threatening direction. And the construction of two machines with such a configuration will provide all-round protection of personnel during combat missions or public order protection missions. The use on four-axle cars of front and rear two-axle rotary platforms with a balance suspension of the leading axles provides (in contrast to the traditional design of the chassis) resistance against skidding at any position of the center of mass and has a higher course stability compared to cars with a traditional chassis part. Thus, the study of the stability of four-axle vehicles with two two-axle rotary platforms is an urgent problem and needs further study.

Sustainability assessment of wastewater reuse in a Portuguese military airbase

The current water-scarcity crisis that is being felt in Europe, namely in the southern region, has leveraged the development and implementation of national and regional water management plans. These policies aim to promote efficient wastewater reuse in industrial and urban sectors. Thus, stakeholders are now seeking strategies to enhance the sustainability of their wastewater treatment processes. The present work details the evaluation of the wastewater treatment methods used at an Air Force Base located in Portugal. In addition, this study also intended to determine how wastewater reuse can be implemented and add value to the environmental protection mission of the military airbase. Hence, an assessment of wastewater treatment practices was carried out, considering primary and secondary treatments. The chemical, physical, and biological indicators of samples collected over two consecutive years were analyzed to determine trends and fluctuations. The results revealed that the overall effectiveness of nutrient removal is low due to the oversized nature of the treatment plant, the age of the facility, and the composition of the wastewater. The effluent produced meets standards for non-potable reuse and could be used on base for aircraft maintenance and the cleaning of facilities. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of the plant could be improved by implementing a more advanced tertiary wastewater treatment to decrease the concentration of undesired compounds (e.g., total nitrogen), enabling the reuse of water in a broader range of activities.

Risk Factors for Recidivism in Nursing Practice: A Criminal Conviction Case Review Cohort Study

<h3>Background</h3> Boards of nursing (BONs) investigate complaints and take disciplinary actions against the licenses of nurses in order to maintain patient safety. For nurses with prior criminal convictions, the potential risks to patient safety have not been formally evaluated. <h3>Objective</h3> This study aims to assess the impact of a nurse's prior criminal conviction(s) on the risk of recidivism in nursing practice and to investigate whether nurses who were disciplined by BONs for a crime but retained an active nursing license posed a subsequent risk to public safety. <h3>Methods</h3> We reviewed Nursys discipline data from 2008–2018 to compare the risk of recidivism for nurses sanctioned for criminal convictions between 2012–2013 and those disciplined for other violations. The type of crimes and disciplinary actions taken by BONs were recoded and analyzed. <h3>Results</h3> The 5-year recidivism rate of nurses who received disciplinary actions for criminal convictions between 2012 and 2013 was 38%, which is comparable to the recidivism rate among nurses in the control group (36%). Overall, among those who had a criminal conviction history yet retained an active license, 4% committed a practice-related violation or crime within the 5-year postdisciplinary period. Three factors correlated with recidivism: (1) committing a crime related to substance use disorder, (2) committing a crime related to nursing practice, and (3) committing multiple crimes. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The majority of nurses who were disciplined by BONs for a criminal conviction and allowed to remain in nursing practice did not receive additional disciplinary actions by BONs for committing subsequent practice-related violations or crimes during the 5-year post disciplinary period. The current study suggests that the licensure and discipline procedures used by BONs in response to criminal convictions help to reduce the risk of patient harm in nursing practice, thereby aligning with their mission of public protection.

Who’s in charge and how does it work? US cybersecurity of critical infrastructure

ABSTRACT The protection of critical infrastructure (water, energy, food supply, healthcare etc.) from cyberattack has moved from a hypothetical concern to a very real one for the United States. Unfortunately, the cybersecurity for such infrastructure is provided by a multiplicity of organisations, inside and outside the US federal government. In this paper, the authors address how the US Department of Homeland Security and US Department of Defense have evolved to address the cyber critical infrastructure protection (CIP) mission and the issues that have emerged in doing so. Presented here is a description of critical infrastructure’s vulnerability to cyberattack, an assessment of relevant cybersecurity efforts by the US government, and consideration of the civilian–military issues involved in finding remedies to the problem of cybersecurity in critical infrastructure.

Redefinisanje položaja civilne zaštite u Evropskoj uniji

As part of the national security system, the civil protection represents a unique management system of organizational, technical, economic and social activities aimed at protecting and saving people, material and cultural assets and the environment, from natural, technical-technological, war and other threats. For a long time, civil protection was understood as part of the policy of "internal security" and was strongly associated with the idea of the inviolability of national sovereignty. Different concepts have been developed at the national level depending on the political system of the country, its capacities, threat perception and historical experience, with the aim of creating an optimal population protection system. The consequences of major natural and anthropogenic disasters have contributed to a change in the understanding of civil protection as a system of exclusive national interest, and cross-border risks and threats have improved international cooperation and coordination on that front. The aim of this paper is to collect relevant scientific theses and research results to encourage further discussion on the future of civil protection. The results of the work should indicate the fact that civil protection is still an important area of national sovereignty. Also, it should point to the necessity of its redefinition and that the European Union civil protection mission speaks for the entire EU project and is one of the most tangible instruments of European solidarity and the process of disaster risk reduction.

Medical Support of the Sinai Multinational Force and Observers: An Update, 2020.

ABSTRACTThe Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai is a 13-nation international peacekeeping organization with the mission to implement the security provisions of the 1979 Egyptian–Israeli Treaty of Peace and continues today after approximately four decades. Despite not having significant changes to its core mission of force health protection, the medical team has recently evolved to face several challenges, with a coronavirus pandemic and a fatal helicopter crash. This article describes the medical challenges and experiences of the medical team from August 2019 to December 2020, highlighting changes from previous years. This article also updates three previous articles on the subject published in Military Medicine in 1983, 1991, and 2003.

An AI-Enabled Approach in Analyzing Media Data: An Example from Data on COVID-19 News Coverage in Vietnam

This method article presents the nuts and bolts of an AI-enabled approach to extracting and analyzing social media data. The method is based on our previous rapidly cited COVID-19 research publication, working on a dataset of more than 14,000 news articles from Vietnamese newspapers, to provide a comprehensive picture of how Vietnam has been responding to this unprecedented pandemic. This same method is behind our IUCN-supported research regarding the social aspects of environmental protection missions, now appearing in print in Wiley’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. Homemade AI-enabled software was the backbone of the study. The software has provided a fast and automatic approach in collecting and analyzing social data. Moreover, the tool also allows manually sorting the data, AI-generated word tokenizing in the Vietnamese language, and powerful visualization. The method hopes to provide an effective but low-cost method for social scientists to gather a massive amount of data and analyze them in a short amount of time.

The Veterinary Treatment Facility as a Readiness Platform for Veterinary Corps Officers.

U.S. Army Veterinary Corps provides highly skilled and adaptive veterinary professionals to protect and improve the health of people and animals while enhancing readiness throughout the DOD. Army veterinarians must be trained and credentialed for critical tasks within the animal health and food protection missions across all components. The Veterinary Metrics Division in the U.S. Army Public Health Center's Veterinary Services and Public Health Sanitation Directorate is responsible for tracking readiness metrics of Army veterinarians and maintains a robust online Readiness Metrics Platform. Readiness targets were developed based on trends in readiness platform data, input of senior veterinary subject matter experts, and feedback from the field. To date, no data have been published describing the cases presented to DOD-owned Veterinary Treatment Facilities (VTFs). Without capturing and codifying the types of cases that present to the VTF and comparing to cases typically encountered during deployments, it is difficult to determine whether the VTF serves as an adequate readiness platform. In this study, we compare a representative random sample of non-wellness VTF patient encounters in garrison to cases reported from two different combat zones to determine if the VTF is a suitable clinical readiness platform. Multiple data sources, including pre-existing published data and new data extracted from multiple sources, were used. The Iraq 2009-2010 dataset includes data collected from a Medical Detachment, Veterinary Service Support (MDVSS) deployed to Iraq from January 5, 2009 through August 23, 2010. The Iraq 2003-2007 dataset originated from a retrospective cross-sectional survey that included database and medical record abstraction. The Afghanistan 2014-2015 dataset includes data collected from the MDVSS deployed to Afghanistan from June 2014 to March 2015. Working dog veterinary encounter data were manually extracted from monthly and daily clinical reports. Data for the Garrison 2016-2018 dataset were extracted from the Remote Online Veterinary Record. A random representative sample of government-owned animal (GOA) and privately owned animal (POA) encounters seen across all DOD-owned VTFs from June 2016 to May 2018 were selected. We found that animals present to the VTF for a wide variety of illnesses. Overall, the top 10 encounter categories (90.3%) align with 84.2%, 92.4%, and 85.9% of all the encounter types seen in the three combat zone datasets. Comparing these datasets identifies potential gaps in readiness training relying solely on the VTF, especially in the areas of traumatic and combat-related injuries. Ultimately, the success of the DOD Veterinary Services Animal Health mission depends on both the competence and confidence of the individual Army veterinarian. As the MHS transitions and DOD Veterinary Services continues to transform emphasizing readiness through a public health and prevention-based Army medicine approach, Army veterinarians must strike a delicate balance to continue to provide comprehensive health care to GOAs and POAs in the VTFs. Leaders at all levels must recognize the roles VTFs play in overall public health readiness and disease prevention through the proper appropriation and allocation of resources while fostering the development, confidence, and competence of Army veterinarians training within these readiness platforms.

Realizing the Value of Nursing Through Innovative Regulation.

Nursing regulation is a specialty area of nursing practice that some may perceive as only performing licensing and disciplinary functions. However, highly effective boards strive to meet their mission of public protection through continuous innovation. This article describes several innovative programs initiated by a board of nursing. Among the examples include regulatory waivers during the pandemic, collaborations with stakeholder organizations, a resource for nursing peer-review committees, and an alternative remediation option for practice breakdown. With strong leadership and committed teams, regulation can both protect the public and play a part in actualizing the value of nursing.

What Is an Independent Agency to Do? The Trump Administration’s Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship and the Federal Trade Commission

President Trump’s Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship is the latest in a series of proposals aimed at independent agencies, chiefly the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), that seek to police how tech companies operate their social media platforms. These measures suffer from fatal defects. They run against the weight of First Amendment law and, our focus, beyond the limits of FTC Section 5 authority. We briefly summarize the scope of that authority before analyzing the Executive Order against the backdrop of the First Amendment and Section 5; concluding it would be illegal and imprudent to enforce. We conclude with suggestions for how the FTC should handle the position it finds itself in—facing an Executive Order to consider and study unlawful enforcement actions that not only undermine its independence, but also shift its attention away from its primary mission of consumer protection toward policing free speech.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana – Ayushman Bharat

Introduction: “Ayushman Bharat Initiative” also known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) was launched in 2018, by Government of India. The core principle of Ayushman Bharat - National health protection mission is co-operative federalism and flexibility to states. PMJAY encapsulates a progression towards promotive, preventive, palliative and rehabilitative aspects of Universal Health coverage through access of Health and Wellness Centre (HWCs) at the primary level and provisioning of financial protection for accessing curative care at the secondary and tertiary levels through engagement with both public and private sector. PMJAY covers 1350 medical packages including surgery and day care treatments, cost of medicines and diagnostics. It involved participation of centre and states, use of technology for administration of the scheme and involved participation of private sector hospitals and insurers to provide accessible and affordable healthcare by a large section of society. Aims and objectives: The objective of this review is to explore the PMJAY program and to assess how far it could achieve the goal of universal health coverage. Conclusion: It is a major step by Government of India to fulfil the goal of universal health coverage hence if implemented properly it could be a game changer.