Precautionary Action Research Articles

Unfolding the science behind policy initiatives targeting plastic pollution

The intensive global plastic production, use and associated plastic pollution have caused concern for the potential risks to human health and the environment. This has led to the adoption of numerous regulatory initiatives aiming to combat plastic pollution. Despite the considerable regulatory activity in the field of plastic, it appears that there is still debate about the actual risks of plastic to humans and the environment. This raises the question of to what extent the current plastic regulation is evidence-based, a declared ambition in the European Union. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate to what extent key policy initiatives targeting plastic pollution are based on scientific evidence. Selection of initiatives was based on expert elicitation accounting for the opinions of persons involved in the development of the policy initiatives, and a thorough assessment of the historical development of plastic pollution regulation, with focus on their importance both with respect to regulation of plastics as well as their historical importance as drivers for societal actions on plastic pollution. We find that scientific evidence appears to be generally present in the scientific foundation for the policy initiatives analysed in this study. All the initiatives are supported by scientific articles and reports about among others plastic sources, ecological impacts of plastic production and consumption patterns. Marine litter monitoring data was found to contribute to the evidence base for 4 out of the 6 policy initiatives and thereby appears to be one of the central scientific drivers behind the societal actions on plastic pollution. Other scientific tools applied when shaping the policy initiatives include risk assessment, impact assessment and life cycle assessment. Despite the prevalent consideration and application of scientific evidence, there seems to be a broad recognition in the preparatory work of the initiatives that there is still a lot of uncertainty related to determining the harm of plastic pollution. In these cases, taking precautionary actions seems however to be justified, recalling not least the precautionary principle. As the issue of plastic pollution is complex and still subject to uncertainty, it seems important both that policy initiatives allow for flexibility and continuing adjustment to the on-going knowledge generation and that the scientific community provides the needed research to continue the science-informed policy development.

Investigation, numerical model, and monitoring for Follo line - a metro project in Oslo

Just south of Oslo Central Station the new high-speed Follo Line railway tunnels pass beneath the existing Ekeberg road tunnels. This paper presents the construction methods, numerical model, and monitoring program used to assess the stability of the E6 road tunnels during the excavation of the Follo Line tunnels only a few metres below. The construction of the Follo Line was approved subject to three conditions: (1) There should be no negative effect on the stability of the Ekeberg tunnels, (2) The traffic flow in the Ekeberg tunnels must be maintained at all times and (3) Any risk of instability in the existing tunnels must be detected beforehand so that necessary precautionary action could be taken in good time. In order to deal with the challenges, SINTEF has carried out different investigations (including rock stress measurements), established a comprehensive numerical model, and a thorough monitoring program for analyses. The activities were combined in a so-called “rock mechanic tool”, and the tool has been used successfully in this project, operating smoothly to provide adequate information for excavation planning and decision making.

Seasonal prevalence of dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti Linn in Jaipur city, Rajasthan, India.

Vector-borne diseases are a significant issue for public health worldwide, especially in India. In recent years, high number of dengue and chikungunya cases have been reported from Rajasthan state of India, those are principally transmitted by Aedes aegypti. These vectors are extremely intrusive and can thrive in practically any climate. However, vector mosquitos' prevalence in Jaipur district is not properly documented. Therefore, current research was carried out to ascertain the seasonal fluctuations of Aedes aegypti in Jaipur city, Rajasthan, India. In order to ascertain the seasonal variation, monitoring of Aedes mosquitoes was conducted from August 2021 to July 2022 at nine selected regions in the Jaipur city. The breeding capacity of vectors was evaluated using three vector indices: the House Index, Breteau Index, and Container Index. A total of 2172 out of 6336 breeding sites and 3735 out of 7477 containers were found positive for Aedes species. Three important species of Aedes vectors were collected in which Aedes aegypti was reported as the most prevalent. The highest values for House Index (57.60%) and Container Index (54.95%) were observed in October and the least rate was observed in March. This survey was carried out to investigate the seasonal prevalence of dengue vectors and the findings revealed seasonal fluctuations in the indices of Aedes reproducing potential. This calls for precautionary actions to avoid infection rates and epidemic emergence. Therefore, to stop epidemics and eradicate vector-borne infections, the current study recommends close monitoring and further vector management efforts.

Risk perception and intent to take precautionary actions against COVID-19 among adult population during pandemic in Nepal

This cross-sectional study sought whether there was an association between COVID-19 risk perception and the intention to take precautionary health measures among Nepalese adults aged 20 to 60 years. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select study participants in this study. With the help of Kobo Toolbox application programs, field enumerators interviewed 1072 adults from 14 districts of Nepal in March and April of 2021. In the study, the average age of participants was 35.11 years. Over half (52%) of them were women, and 44% were the Brahmins and Chhetri caste. Apart from perceived susceptibility, the study showed that the largest group (41%) of respondents had the lowest level of perceived susceptibility. Only a few (14.8%) of respondents expressed a strong intention to take safe measures (M=1.14 ±0.35). The study results indicated that four constructs of the health belief model such as perceived severity, barriers, benefits, and self-efficacy were positively correlated (>0.05) with taking protective health measures. In contrast, perceived susceptibility was not associated (0.53) with the intention to take protective health measures. Overall, Nepalese people are reluctant to act against COVID-19 because of their low-risk perception, which makes it necessary to raise public awareness regarding COVID-19.

Floristic inventory of plant communities in selected Indian civil airfields

The present study aimed to assess the floristic composition and plant diversity of selected eight Indian civil airfields. Overall 241 species were identified from the study sites, which belong to 179 genera and 51 families. The major life form recorded in the airfield was herbs (66.39%) followed by trees (14.11%), shrubs (12.03%), and climbers (7.47%). Surat has the highest species richness among the eight airfields with 104 species, followed by Agartala (96 spp.), Coimbatore (91 spp.), Ahmedabad (59 spp.), Indore (57 spp.), Patna (45 spp.), Bhopal (44 spp.), and Kannur (33 spp.). The study also documents 150 species of invasive alien plants in the selected Indian civil airfields. The observations in the study will help airport managers to take precautionary actions for vegetation management in airfields.

Sea surface temperature anomalies and cash holdings: Evidence from fisheries companies

This study examines the impact of sea temperature anomalies on the cash holdings of fisheries companies from 27 countries for the period of 2013–2019. The main findings using a dynamic panel regression revealed a positive relationship between temperature anomalies and cash holdings. We find that firms tend to hold more cash to response the high temperature anomalies. This strategy is taken as a precautionary action to tackle climate-related risks, supporting the cash management and nature resource-based view theory. This precautionary cash will lead to underinvestment, hurting the fisheries industry growth. Thus, policymakers and corporate management must prioritize their efforts in the climate change campaign to avoid higher sea temperature anomalies.

CHALLENGES OF WORKING FROM HOME AND THE MITIGATION ACTIONS TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES FROM THE QUANTITY SURVEYORS’ PERSPECTIVE

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian government took precautionary action to minimise the spread of the coronavirus with the implementation of the Movement Control Order. This move led to employees in non-essential sectors, including the construction sector, being required to work from home. This study aims to investigate the challenges of working from home and the mitigation actions to overcome the challenges from the perspective of quantity surveyors. A questionnaire survey was used for the data collection exercise. The responses of 360 participants were recorded and analysed. The data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software using the frequencies, percentage and mean analysis. Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire survey. The study found 11 working-from-home challenges from a quantity surveyors’ perspective, with overworking as the main challenge. Furthermore, 10 mitigation actions to overcome the challenges were discovered. Creating a dedicated workspace ranked first on the list. This study could provide insights into identifying the challenges and the mitigation actions to overcome said challenges. It would be beneficial for relevant stakeholders to look into these concerns and acknowledge them accordingly. This is also in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 8, which promotes a sustainable future for all, inclusive of economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work.

Effective strategies in ending weight stigma in healthcare.

SummaryWeight stigma impacts negatively healthcare quality and hinders public health goals. The aim of this review was to identify strategies for minimizing weight bias among healthcare professionals and explore future research directions. An electronic search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus (until June 2020). Studies on weight stigma reduction in healthcare students, trainees and professionals were assessed based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis was undertaken to analyze emerging themes. We identified five stigma reduction strategies in healthcare: (i) increased education, (ii) causal information and controllability, (iii) empathy evoking, (iv) weight‐inclusive approach, and (v) mixed methodology. Weight stigma needs to be addressed early on and continuously throughout healthcare education and practice, by teaching the genetic and socioenvironmental determinants of weight, and explicitly discussing the sources, impact and implications of stigma. There is a need to move away from a solely weight‐centric approach to healthcare to a health‐focused weight‐inclusive one. Assessing the effects of weight stigma in epidemiological research is equally important. The ethical argument and evidence base for the need to reduce weight stigma in healthcare and beyond is strong. Although evidence on long‐term stigma reduction is emerging, precautionary action is needed.

Monitoring glacier terminus and surface velocity changes over different time scales using massive imagery analysis and offset tracking at the Hoh Xil World Heritage Site, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Due to climate change, the Qinghai Hoh Xil World Heritage Site is under a significant threat from glacier melting and related glaciological hazards. A comprehensive understanding of glacier change trends will be important for launching the policy of sustainable development and for taking precautionary actions when abnormal glacier movements are recognized. Current research neglects the phenomenon in glacier movement monitoring, where the glacier variation pattern responds abnormally over different time scales. In our work, the most advanced techniques, Google Earth Engine (GEE) and offset tracking (OT), were utilized to construct and compare long-term series of glacier changes over decadal and annual scales, respectively. In total, 264 glaciers were extracted, and similar trends, namely, general degradation except one glacier expressing a fast increase in XinQing Feng (XQF), slow recession in Malan (ML), and complex and seasonal degradation in Galadandong (GLDD), were confirmed by GEE and OT. By comparing the performance of these two methods, GEE shows its merits when applied to detect the large magnitude of geomorphic and glaciological change with an average uncertainty error of approximately 8 m/yr, while OT is more suitable for detecting regular and continuous displacement with high accuracy up to 1 m/yr. Our results highlight the asynchrony of glacier variation within different time scales and the significant complementary role of integrating GEE and OT approaches for world heritage site conservation and protection.

Risk Perception of Critical Care Nurses in Indonesia During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 in the intensive care unit. The complex and contradictory thoughts and feelings of critical care nurses about balancing their duty and fear of this emerging disease can influence their perceptions of risk about the pandemic. Risk perception is associated with precautionary actions and behaviour. Identifying risk perception is important for anticipating the behaviour of individuals regarding a new risk for which information or experience is lacking. This study aimed to measure the risk perception of critical care nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. This was a cross-sectional study. The total sampling technique was used, leading to a sample of 82 critical care nurses. Data were collected by using the risk perception questionnaire in Google forms. The Chi-square test was employed to investigate the level of association among the variables. The results showed that almost all of the critical care nurses (97.6%) agreed that their job put them at great risk of exposure and 90.3% felt afraid of falling ill with Covid-19. However, 40.3% felt that they had not accepted the risk of being infected as part of their job. Many experienced that others avoid them because of their job as nurses (21.9%). Most (73.1%) felt that training about protection was adequate. Many felt anxious when thinking about Covid-19 (63.4%) and 36.6% felt a lack of emotional support. Healthcare institutions should protect critical care nurses and help them cope with the very stressful situations of the pandemic. Emotional support might be needed to overcome their stress and to develop effective behaviour.
 Keywords: Covid-19, critical care nurses, pandemic impact, risk perception

Like Brothers in Arms: How Hormonal Stimuli and Changes in the Metabolism Signaling Cooperate, Leading HPV Infection to Drive the Onset of Cervical Cancer.

Despite all precautionary actions and the possibility of using vaccinations to counteract infections caused by human papillomaviruses (HPVs), HPV-related cancers still account for approximately 5% of all carcinomas. Worldwide, many women are still excluded from adequate health care due to their social position and origin. Therefore, immense efforts in research and therapy are still required to counteract the challenges that this disease entails. The special thing about an HPV infection is that it is not only able to trick the immune system in a sophisticated way, but also, through genetic integration into the host genome, to use all the resources available to the host cells to complete the replication cycle of the virus without activating the alarm mechanisms of immune recognition and elimination. The mechanisms utilized by the virus are the metabolic, immune, and hormonal signaling pathways that it manipulates. Since the virus is dependent on replication enzymes of the host cells, it also intervenes in the cell cycle of the differentiating keratinocytes and shifts their terminal differentiation to the uppermost layers of the squamocolumnar transformation zone (TZ) of the cervix. The individual signaling pathways are closely related and equally important not only for the successful replication of the virus but also for the onset of cervical cancer. We will therefore analyze the effects of HPV infection on metabolic signaling, as well as changes in hormonal and immune signaling in the tumor and its microenvironment to understand how each level of signaling interacts to promote tumorigenesis of cervical cancer.

Clarifying Status of Latency in Disaster and Crisis Management through Understanding Core Human Effective Components: Implications for Decreasing Distress, Increasing Resiliency and Better Decision Making Process

The statement of Latency in management Strategy in the Mindset of disaster or crisis managers (management) can cause misunderstanding intentionally or unintentionally in distinguishing a Disaster from a Crisis. Mitigating the consequences depends on whether the cause of the disorder is understood clearly or not! Many serious accidents such as Fukushima, Bhopal, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island show vast consequences, although different but primarily related to a similar factor, which is “Human Deficiency”. Literature shows, although leadership and top management and processes and mechanisms and good strategies are existent, yet problems remain. The fact is that there are fewer studies formulated in this field, from the crisis management strategies point of view, this is the deficiency. The article aims to shed light on the Importance and how to better understand Latency in management Strategy at Management levels, and to better say by the Core Native Human Effective Components (CNHECs) for better knowing and understanding the reality to better act based on the real management strategy in the Mindset (Based on the mind bandwidth). In addition, to understand whether ignoring ignorance is a good management strategy in time of crisis and will it buy time and be effective in not accurate managers or the other way around. Core Native Human Effective Components (CNHECs) are extracted from the Native Human Effective Components (NHECs) that are refined among different Human Effective Components (HECs) based on the literature reviewed in an article recently published by the authors of this article which can help to better understand the latency in management. These components may be generated and be shaped in the crisis managers’ minds’ bandwidth which can be used as a precautionary action to be avoided not to cause more situations that are complex through increase of resiliency and decrease of distress. As a conclusion, we understand that reality may be completely different from what could be assumed, understood and seen. It should be considered that actions are always based on the disaster and crisis Managers’ understanding. For better understanding, the reality we propose a method, Model or a taxonomy that to some extent clarifies and focuses on the statement of latency in management strategy process. This Structure, model or taxonomy shows how and through which windows (Soft, Semi Soft and Hard Spheres) we can get into it and to say how to better understand the function of latency in management strategy by special consideration of CNHECs which can help us to distinguish a crisis from a disaster. It is important to know that by a good Recognition and revealing and also by Better Understanding Core Native Human Effective Components (CNHECs), the disaster and crisis managers can Increase Resiliency and Decrease Distress especially in time of occurrences of different kinds of sudden emergencies generated from different kinds of hazards.

Drones application scenarios in a nuclear or radiological emergency

Abstract During a nuclear or radiological emergency, timely implementation of precautionary urgent protective actions, urgent protective actions, early protective actions, and other response actions is inevitable for the protection of the public and the emergency workers. unmanned aerial vehicles commonly known as drones have numerous applications including their use in disaster management for support in early warning, provision of medical aid, monitoring, situational awareness, taking various protective and response actions, and post-accident assessment. In the current study, in comparison to drone applications in response to other disasters, their potential use in response to a nuclear or radiological emergency has been discussed. The drones use in mapping radiation and contamination levels in Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents have already proved their applications in a nuclear or radiological emergency. It is concluded that drones inherently complement the existing disaster management arrangements and have the potential for their use in strengthening arrangements for taking protective and response actions in case of a nuclear or radiological emergency.

Prevalence of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students: A meta-analysis of multinational observational studies.

High prevalence of smartphone addiction among medical students may contribute to adverse physical and mental health outcomes. To estimate the prevalence of smartphone addiction, and explore the influencing factors and related mental health symptoms of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students. Systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed (MEDLINE), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE were searched for relevant literature from the inception to September 10, 2021. Using Stata software 11.0, the meta-analysis of prevalence and the influencing factors of smartphone addiction were determined with 95% confidence intervals. Nineteen articles, published between 2014 and 2019, were included, producing medical student studies from seven different Asian countries. The included studies were conducted in India (n = 11) and Malaysia (n = 3), with China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Nepal, and Iran each contributing one study. Among a total of 5,497 medical students, the participants included 3,214 females, of whom 2,181 were medical students with smartphone addiction. The prevalence of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students was 41.93% (95% CI [36.24%, 47.72%]). The influencing factors of smartphone addiction among medical students included gender, duration of smartphone use, smartphone function, and marital status. Ten studies (52.63%) explored related mental health symptoms of smartphone addiction among Asian medical students. Smartphone addiction was positively correlated with poor sleep quality (r = .17-.31), stress (r = .30-.40), anxiety, depression, neuroticism, and general health among Asian medical students. Smartphone addiction is highly prevalent among Asian medical students. Smartphone addiction may adversely affect mental health, resulting in sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety, depression, and neuroticism. It is necessary to take appropriate precautionary actions and interventions to prevent smartphone overuse among medical students.

Assessment of Some Proposed Replacement Models Involving Moderate Fix-Up

Among all reasonable dynamic replacement strategies, the age replacement strategy is the best. Furthermore, when compared to optimal replacement time of the other alternative formations, the optimal replacement time of system with series formation is shorter. For such reason, this paper compared the optimal replacement times obtained under the standard age replacement policy (SARP) with optimal replacement times obtained under some proposed two replacement policies (policy A and policy B) for some four multicomponent systems. Two numerical examples are provided for simple illustrations of the replacement policies under SARP, policy A and policy B, so as to select and apply the best replacement policy with respect to a particular system in making a projected precautionary replacement maintenance action of the system.

Improve the Design Intelligence through Wireless Networks to Increase Agricultural Production in Provincial Countries

The agricultural field requires hard work and enough human resources to complete any agriculture tasks. Apart from these requirements, maintenance costs and services of the agricultural equipment have also to be considered. Therefore, according to the agricultural work essentials, the workforce has to be increased, and productivity can also be improved. However, it is not easy to find a human resource under certain rash circumstances. By then, the productivity of agriculture may get affected; to overcome this issue, specific intelligent systems can be introduced to manage the productivity of the provincial states of the country. According to the requirement of agricultural productivity, intelligent sensors can be fixed in the agricultural land to monitor the status of the land and crops to take precautionary actions. To implement this intelligent technology in this research, wireless sensors are fixed to collect data and perform analysis with the aid of intelligent decision support systems. The study results proved that the provincial countries have obtained increased agricultural production from 2014 to 2020.

Sensor Array Optimization to Design and Develop an Electronic Nose System for the Detection of Water Stress in Khasi Mandarin Orange

Drought stress is one of the most significant abiotic stresses, adversely affecting the economy by tumbling or even eliminating agricultural productivity, development, and yield. Adverse effects of water scarcity can be reduced if certain precautionary actions could be taken in advance. Therefore, monitoring and early detection of the drought can be helpful for preparing a well-developed response plan. In response to the stresses, an intricate response system of the plants is involved which emits a range of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from different parts, such as flowers, leaves, roots and stems. These VOCs can be used as fingerprints for categorizing stressed and nonstressed plants. This paper addresses the optimization of an array of gas sensors used in an in-situ stress diagnosis system, and the data obtained after optimization have been used for the detection of induced stresses in plants by recording the VOCs emitted by the plants. The flow characteristics of the gas chamber were modeled using the Finite Element method before fabrication. The temperature modulation of the gas sensors used in the designed electronic nose system was accomplished. The optimization of the sensor array was performed using the radar plot and Wilks’ Lambda technique. The optimum operating temperatures for each gas sensor were selected using a radar plot. Furthermore, the number of the sensors in the sensor array was reduced by choosing the sensors having higher discriminant ability using the Wilks’ Lambda optimization technique. Twelve healthy Khasi Mandarin Orange saplings were considered for the investigation. Three different levels of water stresses are induced in the plants artificially for the experiments. The overall response and the optimized response of the developed electronic nose system are compared using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and bootstrap ensemble K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) classifier. The Leaf Relative Water Content (LRWC) of the leaves is also measured concurrently to confirm the stress induction in the plants.

Students' negative emotions and their rational and irrational behaviors during COVID-19 outbreak.

The pandemic has posed an intense threat to the mental health of younger adults. Despite significant efforts in studying various aspects of COVID-19, there is a dearth of evidence on how negative emotions are associated with behaviors. A comparison across associated factors to different negative emotions by means of a unified model is especially missing from the literature. This study was conducted by using the results of a survey conducted across 2,534 students enrolled in 7 states in the US. Various feelings such as sad, irritable, stress and guilt were analyzed in a unified model by means of seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). Questions were asked related to rationally limiting the spread of virus, and questions related to behaviors that seem to be extreme. Irrational behaviors, such as limiting exercise at home due to COVID-19 could be due to experiencing negative emotions, which distort the meaning of events for the students. That behavior, for instance, was found to be positively associated with various negative feelings. In addition, the results highlighted significant differences across emotions in terms of demographic characteristics such as gender and age, and various precautionary actions that students take, such as limiting outdoor activities or limiting social gathering. For instance, it was highlighted while avoiding a large group of people, in spite of its importance in curbing the spread of virus, is negatively associated with various negative emotions, taking a possible nonconsequential precaution of completely limiting all people outside the immediate family result in a higher level of negative emotions. Also, it was found that having a higher body mass index (BMI), self-rated worse health conditions, and limiting outdoor activities have detrimental effects on the mental health of students.

Cash demand in times of crisis

This paper focuses on the role of specific types of crisis (technological crisis, financial market crisis, natural disaster) and their effects on the demand for cash in an international context. As evidence from the last 30 years shows, demand for cash increases during periods of crisis, regardless of the nature of the crisis. The nature of the crisis does, however, determine whether small or large banknote denominations are affected more. This study finds that times of payment uncertainties are associated with increased demand for small denominations, probably reflecting an elevated demand for transaction balances. By contrast, in times of financial crisis or general economic uncertainty, the increased demand for cash is largely the result of consumers taking precautionary actions and building up non-transaction balances; for this reason, there is greater demand for large banknote denominations. This study finds that cash continues to play an important role in crisis management. Whether this function can also be fulfilled by a future central bank digital currency, however, remains to be seen.

Paracetamol Use During Pregnancy—A Call for Precautionary Action

(Abstracted from Nat Rev Endocrinol 2021;17:757–766) Paracetamol, otherwise known as acetaminophen, is the active ingredient in over 600 prescription and nonprescription analgesic and antipyretic medications. Worldwide and in the United States, more than 50% and 65% of pregnant women use acetaminophen, respectively.