Safety Authority Research Articles

Estimating nitroxynil residues in food samples and surface water using two different sustainable chemical sensing techniques: Comparative greenness, whiteness, and blueness study

The presence of veterinary drug residues in edible animal tissues endangers human health and safety, accordingly, global nations enacted legislative restrictions to monitor their concentrations in food. In this work, we introduce two fluorimetric sensors for determining nitroxynil (NXL), a crucial veterinary medication, in various matrices. Sensor I, novel nitrogen and sulfur-doped carbon quantum dots (S,N-CQDs), was fabricated from strawberry and leek juices as cheap and sustainable natural resources. Only five minutes of microwave radiation were required as a rapid synthesizing technique without any drastic conditions or organic solvents. The S,N-CQDs manifest blue emission using λex/em of 340/418 nm. The synthesized nanosensor was characterized using UV Spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). Sensor II was the acriflavine reagent (AV) that exhibits native fluorescence using λex/em of 265/505 nm. Both sensors displayed quantitative turning off in their native fluorescence by increasing concentrations of NXL (1.0–10.0 and 0.5–8.0 µg mL−1) with correlation coefficients r = 0.9998 and 0.9999 for sensors I and II, respectively. The two probes achieved satisfactory percentage recoveries and standard deviation (SD < 4) for NXL assessing in complex matrices of diverse food samples (bovine muscle, kidney, and fat) and Fasciolar® veterinary formulation. Additionally, they have been successfully used to detect the investigated drug in river ecosystems with a mean %recovery of 100.10 ± 1.70, and 99.95 ± 1.31 for sensors I and II, respectively. The two constructed sensors’ specificity has been confirmed for all tested matrices reflecting their feasibility as promising platforms in therapeutic drug monitoring, livestock ecosystems, food safety assurance, quality control of drugs, and environmental pollution monitoring. Quenching mechanisms for both methodologies were studied and the reaction stoichiometry for NXL − AV complex was calculated in two ways. Lastly, a comprehensive comparison was performed between the suggested methodologies and published fluorimetric works. The greenness feature was assessed by the Analytical Eco-scale (AES), Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI), and Analytical GREEnness Metric Approach (AGREE). In addition, white analytical chemistry principles were checked to assess sustainability criteria using the RGB 12 algorithm. The recently launched Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI) metric tool was also employed to assess the practicality (Blueness) character.

Formulation of Vegetable Noodles

This research study aimed to test the sensory acceptability of the Formulation of Vegetable Noodles. It made use of four treatments including the control treatment. Specifically, it identified the microbial load of selected vegetable noodles and determined the level of sensory acceptability as to texture, appearance, color, aroma. It also determined difference between the treatments of the vegetable noodles, the proximate/ nutrient content of the best formulation, and the shelf life of the vegetable noodles. It also calculated the return of investment of the product. The experimental method of research was used in this study. Purposive sampling was employed in the selection of 5 Panciteria restaurants in Bangued, Abra, 15 culinary students, and 10 TLE professionals. Data gathered were analyzed using mean, one-way analysis of variance and the Scheffe test. The microbial analysis, proximate analysis and shelf-life analysis were conducted in a laboratory. The findings revealed that the absence of pathogens in the microbial load analysis of Vegetable noodles signifies a commendable standard of food safety and quality assurance. The Vegetable noodles meet consumer’s expectations, making them a favorable choice in the market. The inclusion of 100 g of vegetable powder in the preparation of Vegetable noodles has resulted in a remarkably high level of acceptability and improves sensory appeal among consumers.

Digital Twins for Enhancing Efficiency and Assuring Safety in Renewable Energy Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

As the demand for sustainable energy solutions grows, there is a critical requirement for continuous innovation to optimize the performance and safety of renewable energy systems (RESs). Closed-loop digital twins (CLDTs)—synchronized virtual replicas embedded with real-time data and control loops to mirror the behavior of physical systems—have emerged as a promising tool for achieving this goal. This paper presents a systematic literature review on the application of digital twin (DT) technology in the context of RESs with an emphasis on the impact of DTs on the efficiency, performance, and safety assurance of RESs. It explores the concept of CLDTs, highlighting their key functionalities and potential benefits for various renewable energy technologies. However, their effective implementation requires a structured approach to integrate observation, orientation, decision, and action (OODA) processes. This study presents a novel OODA framework specifically designed for CLDTs to systematically identify and manage their key components. These components include real-time monitoring, decision-making, and actuation. The comparison is carried out against the capabilities of DT utilizing the OODA framework. By analyzing the current literature, this review explores how DT empowers RESs with enhanced efficiency, reduced risks, and improved safety assurance.

Asset management and risk based process safety management approaches to the energy trilemma

The global energy landscape is transforming towards a carbon-neutral future, necessitating strategic and systematic approaches to address the energy trilemma of security, affordability, and sustainability. Two critical elements of this transformation include the large-scale global adoption of hydrogen for energy use and carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS), including carbon sequestration. These efforts require effective management from a lifecycle perspective, considering net emissions and economics, including the life-cycle cost of energy systems, and a risk based process safety (RBPS) management approach that ensures public safety. Embracing asset management principles, which encompass lifecycle management, risk management, and performance optimisation, will be key in facilitating this transition. By analysing energy generation, demand patterns, and storage capacity, optimising the use of renewable energy, systematically, and dynamically monitoring asset performance, and process safety assurance metrics, operators can optimise resource allocation, reduce costs, and improve sustainability and public safety. Furthermore, adopting good risk engineering practices, including RBPS management, will manage risks to as low as reasonably practicable, ensuring a tolerable residual public risk level. This article highlights the correlation between the energy trilemma and asset management practices and suggests practical strategies to manage these major changes by implementing principles of asset management and RBPSmanagement, including a supporting case study.

Status, Challenges, and Trends of International Research on Roadside Safety

Roadside safety refers to the assessment and improvement of safety measures related to roadside environment, design, management, and objects. It encompasses factors such as road design, signage, markings, traffic control devices, and roadside features, and its goal is to reduce accident risk, minimize injuries, and enhance overall safety and comfort for road users. To comprehensively summarize roadside safety research progress, this review retrieved 1637 English papers published between 2000 and 2022, using the Web of Science Core Collection database. VOSviewer software was utilized to visualize and analyze the literature, conduct a situational analysis of publication, create knowledge maps of the main research hotspots and trends, and summarize research status, methods, systems, challenges, and trends in this field. Results showed an overall increasing trend in relevant research. The countries, institutions, and journals contributing most are the United States, the University of Nebraska, and the Transportation Research Record, respectively. Current research hotspots include evaluation of roadside safety and risk levels, factors influencing roadside safety and driving risks, drunk and drug-impaired driving in relation to roadside traffic accidents, frequency and severity of roadside accidents, and roadside safety assurance techniques and improvement strategies. Current modeling methods mainly consist of mathematical statistical analyses and data-driven modeling based on machine learning. Future research should focus on comprehensive quantitative mapping of influencing factors and evaluation criteria, establishing an active-guidance-based evaluation system and optimization strategy, improving the accuracy of computational problems and model construction, and exploring theories and technologies of intelligent transportation for roadside safety management and improvement.

Occupational accidents in Malta and the role of the occupational health and safety authority: A twenty-year analysis

The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) was established in Malta in 2002. Since then, trends indicate that non-fatal accidents have decreased in Malta, while changes in fatal accidents are less clear. Since these trends have not been statistically investigated before, this study aims to do so. The study also aims to analyse the link between specific OHSA deterrent measures and changes in non-fatal accidents. A database compiled by the OHSA on the frequency of accident statistics in Malta and OHSA deterrent measures between 2002 and 2022 was analysed. The study demonstrated that the incidence of fatal and non-fatal accidents decreased significantly during the analysed period. The incidence of non-fatal accidents was more common in the transport and storage sector, the construction sector and the manufacturing sector. Fatal accidents were most frequent within the construction sector. Fatal accidents were common among the self-employed and foreign workers. Deterrents, especially those related to inspections and fines, were significantly associated with a decrease in fatal and non-fatal accidents. The study underscores those accidents have declined significantly since the establishment of the OHSA and demonstrates the benefits of specific deterrent measures. Continued focus is required on specific areas, including the construction sector, self-employed workers and foreign workers.

An overview of the oil and gas pipeline safety in China

Emerging trends in digitization, intelligence, and low-carbon transition have significantly affected China's oil and gas pipeline development strategies. Emerging technology has resulted in significant cost savings but has also raised concerns about the safety of oil and gas pipelines. From the perspectives of infrastructure construction, safety assurance technology, and legal and regulatory frameworks, this study offers a survey and assessment of the current practices to identify the safety issues and challenges of oil and gas pipelines. Critical recommendations have been synthesized and discussed, focusing on the aspects of policy and technology, that is, the long-lifetime oil and gas pipeline safety assurance system with legal guidance and policy supplements, and the research and application of key technologies on the inherent safety design, resilience enhancement, intelligent safe operation and maintenance, and green and low-carbon transition. This study aims to identify the key issues addressed and challenges faced by research and development activities and to identify the gaps and opportunities for future research and development to ensure the safety of China's oil and gas pipelines.

A Single-Step Method for Harvesting Influenza Viral Particles from MDCK Cell Culture Supernatant with High Yield and Effective Impurity Removal

Influenza vaccines, which are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), are the most effective preventive measure against influenza virus infection. Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell culture is an emerging technology used to produce influenza vaccines. One challenge when purifying influenza vaccines using this cell culture system is to efficiently remove impurities, especially host cell double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and host cell proteins (HCPs), for safety assurance. In this study, we optimized ion-exchange chromatography methods to harvest influenza viruses from an MDCK cell culture broth, the first step in influenza vaccine purification. Bind/elute was chosen as the mode of operation for simplicity. The anion-exchange Q chromatography method was able to efficiently remove dsDNA and HCPs, but the recovery rate for influenza viruses was low. However, the cation-exchange SP process was able to simultaneously achieve high dsDNA and HCP removal and high influenza virus recovery. For the SP process to work, the clarified cell culture broth needed to be diluted to reduce its ionic strength, and the optimal dilution rate was determined to be 1:2 with purified water. The SP process yielded a virus recovery rate exceeding 90%, as measured using a hemagglutination units (HAUs) assay, with removal efficiencies over 97% for HCPs and over 99% for dsDNA. Furthermore, the general applicability of the SP chromatography method was demonstrated with seven strains of influenza viruses recommended for seasonal influenza vaccine production, including H1N1, H3N2, B (Victoria), and B (Yamagata) strains, indicating that the SP process could be utilized as a platform process. The SP process developed in this study showed four advantages: (1) simple operation, (2) a high recovery rate for influenza viruses, (3) a high removal rate for major impurities, and (4) general applicability.

Identification of major degradation products of Clorsulon drug substance including its degradation pathways by high resolution mass spectrometry and NMR

Clorsulon is an effective anthelmintic drug substance extensively used in the treatment of parasitic infestations in both cattle and sheep. An in-depth investigation of Clorsulon’s degradation products (DPs) was carried out through forced degradation study to comprehend its degradation path. A total of eight degradation products were separated under various stress degradation conditions. Structural elucidation of these DPs was conducted using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS), and their fragmentation patterns were compared to that of the parent compound. Adequate amount of DP-4 was isolated and purified by semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Subsequently, it was examined in detail using both 1D and 2D NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy). Most probable mechanistic pathways for the formation of degradation products under various stress degradation conditions were proposed to better understand the degradation profile. Based on the results of the stress study, Clorsulon drug substance was found to be unstable under photolytic and oxidative conditions. Understanding Clorsulon's degradation pathway is essential for determining shelf-life prediction of the finished product, safety and efficacy assurance, and guiding the development of stable, high-quality formulations.

Development of Competency Standards for Good Hygienic Practices Facilitators to Enhance Food Safety Assurance

This study aims to develop comprehensive competency standards for facilitators implementing Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) in the food industry, particularly to align with the new Codex Alimentarius Standard on Principles of Food Hygiene. Through a literature review approach and drawing inspiration from the Regional Model Competency Standard (RMCS), the research seeks to address existing gaps in GHP training and facilitation. The study emphasizes the importance of consistent and effective implementation of food safety practices by formulating structured competency standards covering areas such as GHP application, risk management, specific hygiene practices, and integration with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems. These standards are anticipated to significantly enhance food safety standards, reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases, and increase consumer confidence in food products. Furthermore, the study's implications extend to future research and policy initiatives aimed at promoting food safety through professional training and global standardization of practices.

Aspartame exposures in the US population: Demonstration of a novel approach for exposure estimates to food additives using NHANES data.

Exposure to food additives is widespread but up-to-date and accurate intake estimates are rarely available. The safety of the food additive aspartame is the subject of recent controversy and intake estimates for this nonnutritive sweetener are typically derived from surrogates such as diet soda consumption. We describe an approach for developing nationally representative dietary exposure estimates for food additives that combines intake from dietary recalls and grocery purchasing information. We combined NielsenIQ Homescan Consumer Panel purchasing data with the USDA Global Branded Food Products database and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to estimate aspartame intake and prevalence of consumption for the US population. We examined points of departure for aspartame from CompTox Chemicals Dashboard to provide context for exposures and potential effects. Mean, 90th percentile, and 95th percentile aspartame intake estimates are below the acceptable daily intake (50 mg/kg/day) and are lower than estimates from previous decades. Groups with the highest aspartame intakes are non-Hispanic whites, 60- to 69-year-olds, and individuals on diabetic diets. Aspartame exposure is highly prevalent (62.6%) in the US including sensitive populations such as pregnant women and children. Exposure to the widely consumed food additive aspartame is not well characterized, and concerns about potential health effects remain despite assurances of safety when consumed under conditions of intended use. This work provides current intake estimates for the US population with important comparisons across demographic groups and individuals on special diets. The approach includes ingredient statement and grocery purchasing data to capture all aspartame-containing products, beyond diet soda, in intake estimates. This framework also has the potential for application to other food ingredients.

Contributory factors related to patient safety incidence: A nursing perspective.

There are growing concerns about patient safety and quality assurance enhancement in the healthcare setting because of the increase in the incidence of patient harm and adverse events over the years. This study explored the contributory factors associated with patient safety practices. The study was conducted in two private hospitals in Gauteng province, South Africa. A qualitative approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the issues pertaining to patient safety incidence. Purposive sampling was used to select professional nurses practicing within the two private hospitals. Thematic analysis was used. The study utilised the Donabedian model of patient safety and quality. The study revealed that majority of the professional nurses did not understand the concept of patient safety; there was poor communication between the multidisciplinary team. There was poor adherence to patient safety policies. Patient safety issues remain an issue of concern in public health. There is a need for nurses to be capacitated on the implementation of patient safety programmes as well as improving communication within the multidisciplinary team. Identifying and addressing risk and contributory factors will help reduce the global burden of patient harm. The study has presented the challenges as seen with patient safety and made recommendations on how to improve patient safety from the nursing perspective. It is anticipated that the results of this study may be used to create awareness on patient safety issues. This should promote a good healthcare climate in private healthcare institutions.

Exploring Wildfire Evacuation Strategies for Diverse Communities

Wildfire evacuations have become a persistent challenge all over the world in recent years. Studies have proposed various evacuation strategies, such as vehicle reduction, phased evacuation, and prohibition of on-street parking, which have demonstrated effectiveness in specific communities. However, a comprehensive study that generalizes the effectiveness and applicability of these strategies across different types of communities is lacking. This generalization could hold significant value for small, resource-strapped communities situated in wildland–urban interface zones (i.e., comprising a mix of residences and flammable vegetation) that lack the resources to conduct dedicated evacuation studies. In this study, two indicators, the ratio of background traffic volume to the number of evacuees (RBE), and the ratio of the capacity of the main evacuation roads to the number of evacuees (RCE) were derived to categorize communities into specific groups based on their characteristics during wildfire events. Through evacuation simulations of some typical real-world communities, the applicability and effectiveness of each strategy for each group was assessed. For the given scenarios considered, the findings revealed that for communities with high a RBE and low RCE, promoting carpooling with more than two people per vehicle, extending phased evacuation intervals with safety assurance for evacuees, and enforcing on-street parking prohibition made evacuations more effective. For other communities, encouraging families to use fewer vehicles and implementing a 15-min phased interval, if possible, could potentially be useful.

LBP-CNN Fusion for Driver Fatigue Detection

Nowadays, individuals tend to rely on their own means of transportation. As the number of vehicles on the road continues to rise, the occurrence of accidents has also increased. Specifically, road accidents are becoming more prevalent, with driver drowsiness being a significant contributing factor. Approximately 2.3 lakh out of the 23 lakh road mishaps that transpire in the country each year are attributed to drowsiness. Recent data indicates that an estimated 2.3 lakh to 3.5 lakh road accidents are a direct consequence of sleepiness[9]. To mitigate the occurrence of such accidents, we propose the implementation of a drowsy detection system for drivers. This system ensures that both the passengers and the driver can embark on their journey with the assurance of safety. The system utilizes a camera to monitor the driver's facial expressions and issues alerts accordingly. It analyzes various facial features such as eye closure, yawning, and signs of fatigue, subsequently notifying the driver to remain attentive. This approach involves the utilization of the local binary pattern texture analysis method in conjunction with convolutional neural networks (CNNs). By doing so, it effectively highlights the textural variations in the driver's face, thereby clearly identifying the relevant facial features. The camera detects the driver's face, captures the image, and subsequently converts it into LBP images. This process enables the system to detect subtle indicators of drowsiness, ultimately aiding in the prevention of accidents. Consequently, this system significantly reduces the occurrence of drowsiness-related accidents, thereby saving numerous lives

Compounding pharmacy regulations: experience of the Latvian pharmaceutical market

The article aims to examine technological, organizational and regulatory aspects of drug quality and safety assurance system, as well as peculiarities in civil circulation of extemporaneous drugs in Latvian pharmaceutical market to improve approaches for statutory regulation of this special and socially significant type of activity of pharmaceutical organizations. This work continues a series of articles about compounding pharmacy practice in different world healthcare systems.

Regenerated SERS substrate based on Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-oxidized carbon cloth for detection of imidacloprid

Imidacloprid (IMI) are widely used in modern tea industry for pest control, but IMI residues pose a great threat to human health. Herein, we propose a regeneration metal-semiconductor SERS substrate for IMI detection. We fabricated the SERS sensor through the in-situ growth of a nano-heterostructure incorporating a semiconductor (TiO2) and plasmonic metals (Au, Ag) on oxidized carbon cloth (OCC). Leveraging the high-density hot spots, the formed Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-OCC substrate exhibits higher enhancement factors (1.92 × 108) and uniformity (RSD = 7.68%). As for the detection of IMI on the substrate, the limit of detection was lowered to 4.1 × 10−6 μg/mL. With a hydrophobic structure, the Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-OCC possessed excellent self-cleaning performance addressing the limitation of single-use associated with traditional SERS substrates, as well as the degradation capability of the substrate under ultraviolet (UV) light. Accordingly, Ag/AuNPs-TiO2-OCC showcases outstanding SERS sensing and regenerating properties, making it poised for extensive application in the field of food safety assurance.

A novel transformer-based DL model enhanced by position-sensitive attention and gated hierarchical LSTM for aero-engine RUL prediction

Accurate prediction of remaining useful life (RUL) for aircraft engines is essential for proactive maintenance and safety assurance. However, existing methods such as physics-based models, classical recurrent neural networks, and convolutional neural networks face limitations in capturing long-term dependencies and modeling complex degradation patterns. In this study, we propose a novel deep-learning model based on the Transformer architecture to address these limitations. Specifically, to address the issue of insensitivity to local context in the attention mechanism employed by the Transformer encoder, we introduce a position-sensitive self-attention (PSA) unit to enhance the model's ability to incorporate local context by attending to the positional relationships of the input data at each time step. Additionally, a gated hierarchical long short-term memory network (GHLSTM) is designed to perform regression prediction at different time scales on the latent features, thereby improving the accuracy of RUL estimation for mechanical equipment. Experiments on the C-MAPSS dataset demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms existing methods in RUL prediction, showcasing its effectiveness in modeling complex degradation patterns and long-term dependencies.

624: ARIA Visual Care Path for safety and quality assurance in a radiation oncology department

624: ARIA Visual Care Path for safety and quality assurance in a radiation oncology department

Runtime safety assurance methods for cyber physical systems based on simplex architecture

Runtime safety assurance methods for cyber physical systems based on simplex architecture

Experimental study on the synergistic strategy of liquid nitrogen and water mist for fire extinguishing and cooling of lithium-ion batteries

The frequent incidence of lithium-ion battery (LIB) fires poses a serious threat to both the new energy industry and public safety. Conducting research on controlling LIB fires and thermal runaway propagation (TRP) is imperative. This study systematically compares the characteristics of TRP in battery packs within semi-confined and confined spaces. The cooling performance of liquid nitrogen (LN) on LIB fire under these conditions is assessed. In addition, various synergistic cooling strategies involving LN and water mist (WM) are thoroughly investigated. The results indicate that LN is not effective in suppressing TRP in a semi-confined space. Whereas applying LN for 120 s effectively halted TRP in the confined space, thereby determining the optimal LN quantity needed for effective cooling to inhibit TRP in confined space at 6.87 g/Wh. The synergistic cooling strategies involving LN and WM successfully suppressed TRP in the semi-confined space, with the initial release of WM proving the most effective cooling. The cooling power of LN when applied in combination with WM is approximately three times greater than when applied directly to the battery surface, which guides the design of extinguishing system and process safety assurance of LIB in practical engineering applications.