Sustainable Preventive Measures Research Articles

Factors associated with mosquito control among construction workers: A systematic review.

Workers in the construction industry frequently work in construction sites with numerous areas that can potentially accumulate water, such as tanks, wet cement surfaces, or water puddles. These water collection sites become ideal breeding grounds for mosquito infestation, which leads to a higher prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases, especially malaria and dengue among construction workers. Despite that numerous factors have been identified in controlling vector-borne diseases, the specific factors that influence mosquito control at construction sites have yet to be explored. This systematic review aims to determine the factors associated with mosquito control among construction workers. Primarily, articles related to factors associated with mosquito control among construction workers were collected from two different online databases (ScienceDirect and EBSCOhost). Two independent reviewers were assigned to screen the titles and abstracts of the collected data, stored in Microsoft Excel, against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Afterwards, the quality of the included articles was critically assessed using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Of the 171 articles identified, 4 were included in the final review. Based on the thorough evaluation, mosquito-related knowledge, practical mosquito prevention measures, and Larval Source Management (LSM) were identified as vital factors associated with mosquito control among construction workers. The significant association between mosquito-related knowledge and control practices indicates higher knowledge linked to effective practices, particularly among female workers and those who were recently infected with malaria. Concurrently, there were notable challenges regarding sustainable preventive measures and larval control methods in construction settings. Implementing effective mosquito control, including knowledge and practice on mosquito control together with vector control, is highly required to suppress the expanding mosquito population. It is recommended that employers provide continuous mosquito control education and training to their employees and reward them with incentives, while employees should comply with the guidelines set by their employers to ensure successful mosquito control and reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in the construction industry.

Comparison of Land Cover Change Prediction Models: A Case Study in Kedungkandang District, Malang City

The infrastructure of Malang City is currently being directed towards the eastern and southeastern parts, Kedungkandang District. Infrastructure plays an important role in the aspect of land cover change, which raises the complexity of the emergence of urban forms and dynamics. This study compares three models, Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Logistic Regression (LR), and Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE), to predict changes in land cover in the Kedungkandang District using the Cellular Automata (CA) approach. The prediction results indicate that the ANN and MCE models have the highest overall Kappa values (prediction accuracy), while the ANN and LR models have the highest location-specific Kappa values. However, overall, the ANN model demonstrates the highest accuracy and performance among the other two models. This research makes a significant contribution to urban planning by highlighting the importance of using machine learning-based technology to predict land cover changes in Malang City, particularly in the Kedungkandang District. Stakeholders can leverage this technology to design more effective and sustainable infrastructure policies and implement preventive measures to mitigate the negative impacts of uncontrolled urban growth.

Prevention of caries and obesity in children with immigrant background in Norway- a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundImmigrants are known to experience greater socioeconomic stress and poorer well-being and to suffer more from lifestyle- and diet-related disorders than native populations. There is also evidence that children of immigrant parents are at greater risk of diverse health problems than their host country cohorts. The aim of this study is to apply and evaluate the efficacy of an early life intervention program among parents/children with immigrant background to prevent childhood caries and obesity, thereby improving the children’s general health, oral health, and quality of life.MethodsThis is a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled intervention follow-up study. In phase I of the study, the primary care health centers in the municipality of Bergen, Norway were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. The intervention was carried out using the motivational interviewing technique and the common risk factor approach. The intervention group received guidance on diet/oral hygiene and the control group received standard care information. Parental knowledge and children at age 3 and 5 years old will be assessed in a prospective phase II follow-up study compared to native Norwegian controls. The primary outcome will be evaluation of change on parental oral health related knowledge and attitudes. The secondary outcome will assess the impact of the intervention on children’s caries -, body mass index- and oral health related quality of life.DiscussionCollaboration between dental public health and primary health care personnel on the common risk approach motivational intervention offers opportunities to address key dietary behaviors that may prevent obesity and dental caries. Providing sustainable preventive measures decreases the burden of diseases and consequently reduces health inequalities, particularly among at-risk children.Trial RegistrationThe study is registered as a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05758454: 7 March 2023). Ethical approval has already been granted by the Regional Ethical Committee (REK) (2015/ 27,639 /REK vest) and Sikt – Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (Reference number 778825).

Advances in diagnosis and control of anthelmintic resistant gastrointestinal helminths infecting ruminants.

Infection with gastrointestinal helminths is widely spread among ruminant causing severe losses and adversely affects the livestock husbandry. Synthetic chemotherapeutics have been utilized throughout years, as a means of combating helminthiasis. Anthelmintic resistance (AR) has a serious concern on livestock industry which, mainly arises as outcome of misuse, improper dosing and frequent utilization of the synthetic drugs.Various gastrointestinal helminths have the capability to survive the therapeutic dose of anthelmintics and become resistant to the major anthelmintic classes. Early diagnosis might delay or reduce the risk of AR. Conventional phenotyping methods were commonly used for detection of anthelmintic resistant helminths, but appeared to lack of sensitivity, especially when the frequency of resistant allele is very low. Several molecular assays were carried out to detect the AR with greater accuracy. Sustainable effective preventive and control measures for gastrointestinal helminths infection remain the corner stone to overcome AR. Rational use of anthelmintics with keeping unexposed proportion of worm populations, could have the potentiality to maintain and prolong the efficacy of anthelmintics. Several alternative anthelmintic treatments might offer valuable solutions either alone or adjunct to synthetic drugs to dilute the spread of resistance alleles among the helminths population. This article reviews current status of various diagnostic methods and control measures for anthelmintic resistant gastrointestinal helminths infecting ruminants and tries to present a practical protocol to avoid or delay the development of AR.

Strategies to cope with COVID-19 pandemic and priorities for assistance in low testing capacity countries

In this communication, we proposed sustainable preventive measures that may be adopted by the low-income countries to forestall the potential outbreak and transmission of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) through wastewater. Most low-income countries have poor sanitation and wastewater management policies, which create potential risks of COVID 19 spread. Hence, the proposed measures include decentralization of wastewater treatment facilities, community-wide monitoring and testing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples, improved sanitation, developing point-of-use devices for wastewater decontamination, and more focused policy interventions. Therefore, this paper adds useful insights into the monitoring and management of ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in low-income countries.

Wastewater collection system failures in a capital city: analysis and sustainable prevention.

An analysis of failures in a capital city's wastewater collection system was carried out and recommendations were made for sustainable preventive measures based on a risk of failure assessment. Most failures in sewer lines were associated with blockage caused by sediment accumulation and clogging from fats, oils and/or grease dumped by restaurants along several streets, combined with poor or nonexistent maintenance of the lines. Sewer lines in streets with higher risk levels due to multiple food establishments along those streets experienced most of the failures. Sustainability of the proposed maintenance was evidenced since it reduces costs and exposure to harmful substances and hazardous conditions as well as minimizing environmental impacts.

Using Social Media to Communicate Sustainable Preventive Measures and Curtail Misinformation.

Effective crisis and risk communication strategies are crucial to promote preventive measures, particularly during times of emergency such as the global SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. With its global reach, social media is a key source of news and information about COVID-19. However, the abundance of misinformation about personal protective measures that people post on social media, makes it imperative to develop a deeper understanding of effective messaging strategies. Improving the quality of information and strategy with which it is disseminated through social media is crucial to minimizing anxiety, panic and improving the adoption of sustainable preventive measures in addition to curtailing misinformation. Understanding the components of effective health communication strategies allows us to glean common methods to address misinformation which in turn lead to people adopting the appropriate preventive measures. The purpose of this article is to understand how effective social media communication strategies can be crafted to promote sustainable preventive measures and curtail wide-spread misinformation. Health organizations as well as communications organizations have made available information for effective social media messaging and more importantly serve as a gateway to other resources. We review their recommendations to identify common social media communication elements on the adoption of sustainable preventive measures and effective strategies for curtailing misinformation. We further review social media messaging during the Ebola and Zika outbreaks to evaluate the success of social media strategies and draw from lessons learned. We then create a set of best practices for developing and disseminating social media messaging regarding COVID-19.

UAV IMAGES AND DEEP-LEARNING ALGORITHMS FOR DETECTING FLAVESCENCE DOREE DISEASE IN GRAPEVINE ORCHARDS

Abstract. One of the major challenges in precision viticulture in Europe is the detection and mapping of flavescence dorée (FD) grapevine disease to monitor and contain its spread. The lack of effective cures and the need for sustainable preventive measures are nowadays crucial issues. Insecticides and the plants uprooting are commonly employed to withhold disease infection, even if these solutions imply serious economic consequences and a strong environmental impact. The development of a rapid strategy to identify the disease is required to cover large portions of the crop and thus to limit damages in a time-effective way. This paper investigates the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a cost-effective approach to early detection of diseased areas. We address this task with an object detection deep network, Faster R-CNN, instead of a traditional pixel-wise classifier. This work tests Faster R-CNN performance on this specific application through a comparative analysis with a pixel-wise classification algorithm (Random Forest). To take advantage of the full image resolution, the experimental analysis is performed using the original UAV imagery acquired in real conditions (instead of the derived orthomosaic). The first result of this paper is the definition of a new dataset for FD disease identification by UAV original imagery at the canopy scale. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying Faster-R-CNN as a quasi-real-time alternative solution to semantic segmentation. The trained Faster-R-CNN achieved an average precision of 82% on the test set.

Snowballing transmission of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) through wastewater: Any sustainable preventive measures to curtail the scourge in low-income countries?

In this communication, we proposed sustainable preventive measures that may be adopted by the low-income countries to forestall the potential outbreak and transmission of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) through wastewater. Most low-income countries have poor sanitation and wastewater management policies, which create potential risks of COVID 19 spread. Hence, the proposed measures include decentralization of wastewater treatment facilities, community-wide monitoring and testing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples, improved sanitation, developing point-of-use devices for wastewater decontamination, and more focused policy interventions. Therefore, this paper adds useful insights into the monitoring and management of ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in low-income countries.

Examining the economic impact of floods in selected Indian states

ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to shift the focus of research pertaining to the relationship between natural disasters and economic growth from national to sub-national level. Using augmented panel vector auto-regression models (PVAR-X), this study examines the sector-specific economic impact and growth dynamics following floods in 24 selected Indian states over the period 1990–2015. Results indicate that floods have negative growth effects in the short-term across economic sectors except for the agricultural sector, where the effects were observed to be positive. Contrary to the existing literature, the positive effects of floods on the agricultural sector were not found to be spilling over to other economic sectors. Severe floods, unlike moderate ones, have either negative or statistically non-significant growth effects which persisted in the long-term as well. Overall, the study found floods to have diverse impacts across economic sectors, the extent of which is influenced by the state-wise levels of human development and underlying intensities of the flooding events. This study may stimulate the policy makers to direct their efforts towards taking effective and sustainable preventive measures before the flood occurs and ensure prompt response, recovery and reconstruction during and after the flood so as to build India's overall disaster resilience.

Effectiveness of repellent delivered through village health volunteers on malaria incidence in villages in South-East Myanmar: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial protocol

BackgroundTo combat emerging drug resistance in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) the World Health Organization and GMS countries have committed to eliminating malaria in the region by 2030. The overall approach includes providing universal access to diagnosis and treatment of malaria, and sustainable preventive measures, including vector control. Topical repellents are an intervention that can be used to target residual malaria transmission not covered by long lasting insecticide nets and indoor residual spraying. Although there is strong evidence that topical repellents protect against mosquito bites, evidence is not well established for the effectiveness of repellents distributed as part of malaria control activities in protecting against episodes of malaria. A common approach to deliver malaria services is to assign Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) to villages, particularly where limited or no services exist. The proposed trial aims to provide evidence for the effectiveness of repellent distributed through VHVs in reducing malaria.MethodsThe study is an open stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled trial randomised at the village level. Using this approach, repellent (N,N-diethyl-benzamide – 12% w/w, cream) is distributed by VHVs in villages sequentially throughout the malaria transmission season. Villages will be grouped into blocks, with blocks transitioned monthly from control (no repellent) to intervention states (to receive repellent) across 14 monthly intervals in random order). This follows a 4-week baseline period where all villages do not receive repellent. The primary endpoint is defined as the number of individuals positive for Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections diagnosed by a rapid diagnostic test. Secondary endpoints include symptomatic malaria, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-detectable Plasmodium spp. infections, molecular markers of drug resistance and antibodies specific for Plasmodium spp. parasites.DiscussionThis study has been approved by relevant institutional ethics committees in Myanmar and Australia. Results will be disseminated through workshops, conferences and peer-reviewed publications. Findings will contribute to a better understanding of the optimal distribution mechanisms of repellent, context specific effectiveness and inform policy makers and implementers of malaria elimination programs in the GMS.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12616001434482). Retrospectively registered 14th October 2016.

Neighborhood Interventions to Reduce Violence.

Violence is a widespread problem that affects the physical, mental, and social health of individuals and communities. Violence comes with an immense economic cost to its victims and society at large. Although violence interventions have traditionally targeted individuals, changes to the built environment in places where violence occurs show promise as practical, sustainable, and high-impact preventive measures. This review examines studies that use quasi-experimental or experimental designs to compare violence outcomes for treatment and control groups before and after a change is implemented in the built environment. The most consistent evidence exists in the realm of housing and blight remediation of buildings and land. Some evidence suggests that reducing alcohol availability, improving street connectivity, and providing green housing environments can reduce violent crimes. Finally, studies suggest that neither transit changes nor school openings affect community violence.

PERCEPTIONS OF STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE SETTINGS TOWARDS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN MIGRANT WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN BELGIUM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY.

Stigma and discrimination within health care settings remain a public health challenge across diverse cultural environments and may have deleterious effects on mental and physical health. This study explores the causes, forms and consequences of HIV-related stigma and discrimination among migrant sub-Saharan African women living with HIV in Belgium. A qualitative study was conducted with 44 HIV-positive sub-Saharan African migrant women between April 2013 and December 2014 in health care settings in Belgium. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Twenty-five of the women reported overt stigma and discrimination and fifteen reported witnessing behaviours that they perceived to be stigmatizing and discriminatory in health care settings. The themes that emerged as to the causes of stigma and discrimination were: public perceptions of migrants and HIV, fear of contamination and institutional policies on HIV management. Reported forms of stigma and discrimination included: delayed or denied care, excessive precautions, blame and humiliation. The consequences of stigma and discrimination were: emotional stress, inconsistent health-care-seeking behaviour and non-disclosure to non-HIV treating personnel. Stigma and discrimination in health care settings towards people with HIV, and more specifically towards HIV-positive sub-Saharan African migrant women, impedes sustainable preventive measures. Specialized education and training programmes for non-HIV health care providers require in-depth investigation.

Study of Clinical and Demographic Profile of Dengue Infected Patients in Mumbai

Dengue is a vector borne disease exhibiting rapid rise in Southeast Asia especially India. All personnel serving at harbors are at higher risk view exposure in large shipyards with extensive breeding sites amidst massive infrastructure projects where ships undergoing repairs. The year on year morbidity pattern is alarming necessitating detailed study for instituting sustainable preventive measures in tune with the geographicalpattern of breeding. This study was conducted to assess the distribution pattern, the nature of disease and identify resistant breeding sites and institute corrective measures to reduce the incidence in future. From the study of200patients admitted from Sep to Dec 2014,it was observed that the disease peaked in Oct affecting largely personnel working on ships(82.5%). Sensitisation and awareness campaigns prior to monsoons along with strict implementation of preventive measures would drastically reduce recurrence of such outbreaks, n.

Occupational Medicine and Hygiene: applied research in Italy.

The goal of Occupational Medicine and Hygiene is that of ensuring safety, health and well-being at workplaces, mainly assessing and preventing existing occupational risks. Scientific research in this field can provide useful arguments and further evidence upon which effective, efficient and sustainable policies and preventive measures have to be chosen and applied by the occupational physician in work-life. This paper summarizes four original studies, conducted in different professional settings across Italy, focusing on critical items, such as stress and violence, biological risks and sleep hygiene. The knowledge obtained can be useful to orientate proper preventive programs aimed at improving workplace health.

Analysis of occupational accidents with agricultural machinery in the period 2008–2010 in Austria

The number of serious accidents at work, despite improved technology, coordinated prevention measures and better training and higher skill levels of farmers, is still very high in the Austrian agriculture and forestry. The scenarios in which people are injured are manifold. Parametric information of recognized accidents with different machines in agriculture and forestry in Austria in the years 2008–2010 was evaluated descriptively and analytically. This information included data about the accident victim, activity, accident course and cause as well as type of injury and the affected body parts by frequency and contexts. As analytical test method the chi-square test and odds ratio analysis were used. The aim was to determine the information content of parameters, in particular for the accident-causing human–machine interaction, from accident reports to derive prevention measures that meet the demand. The results showed that the information content of accident reports, because of insufficient information about the accident-causing human–machine interaction, does not suffice to derive or develop further sustainable preventive measures. Only through additional injury surveys and evaluations of accident and new machines was it possible to derive prevention measures meeting the demand according to accident course and cause.

The effect of water-saturation on the stability of problematic slopes at the Iva Valley area, Southeast Nigeria

The Iva Valley area has one of the highest densities of landslides in Nigeria, and impacts the residents, local economy, and the environment. Slopes in the area sit on unconsolidated, cross-bedded, friable sandstone units with interbeds of claystone. Past research efforts had proposed theories explaining the mechanism of failure based on the limited-liquefaction behavior of the slope materials. But as landslide prevention works on the slopes began to fail, it became apparent that those theories were inadequate solutions to the devastating effect of mass wasting processes. This paper presents the results of landslide susceptibility assessment based on the new evidence of complete-liquefaction behavior observed in the samples when back-pressure is employed to accomplish full saturation. Loose, saturated specimens failed after attaining maximum strength at shear displacements less than 1 mm. The failure was marked by rapid reduction in shear strength and accompanied by a steady increase in pore water pressure until the ratio of pore pressure and normal stress approached unity indicating complete liquefaction. This behavior simulated the response of the slope soils to varying stress and drainage conditions in the field, and seems an adequate mechanism for the incessant failure of slopes and prevention works. Because the geology of a vast area of the South-East Nigeria is similar, the results obtained at the study area are also applicable in other areas within the region for sustainable preventive and mitigating measures.

The effect of lamb age to a natural Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection

Tick-borne fever (TBF) is caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum that is transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus, which is a major challenge in sheep farming along the coast of south-western Norway. Few efficient and sustainable preventive measures are available, but older lambs seem to be more susceptible than younger lambs to an A. phagocytophilum infection. A field experiment was carried out in 2008 and 2009 on two sheep farms with the breed Norwegian White Sheep (NWS). Three treatment groups of lambs on each farm and year were established: 1; lambs ≥3 weeks old when turned out to pasture and born in early spring, 2; lambs ≤1 week old when turned out to pasture and born in late spring, 3; lambs ≥3 weeks old when turned out to pasture and born in late spring. The study included a total of 337 lambs distributed to treatment group 1, 2 and 3 with 116, 111 and 110 lambs respectively. Recordings of tick-counts, rectal temperature, clinical symptoms and mortality together with weight, blood serology and blood smears were used to analyze the effect of age of lambs to a natural A. phagocytohpilum infection. Gompertz weight curve parameters were estimated for all lambs and were used to compare weight gain in lambs between the treatment groups. There were observations of tick-bites, clinical disease (including fever) and mortality, but no significant effect of lamb age to a natural A. phagocytophilum infection was detected. However, lambs infected with A. phagocytophilum in group 2 had higher (P<0.05) maximum spring growth rate (358g/day) than infected lambs in group 1 (334g/day) and group 3 (310g/day). Further, lambs not infected with A. phagocytophilum showed no weight differences (P<0.05) between treatment group 2, compared to groups 1 and 3. Pasturing of ≤1 week old lambs on tick-infested pastures in tick endemic areas, can therefore be recommended to prevent weight loss due to an A. phagocytophilum infection. Note should however be taken on annual and seasonal variations in tick activity relative to lambing, different genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum involved and turnout time as these factors probably will influence the effect of pasturing young lambs.

Flea allergy dermatitis: the continued challenge

Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) is a progressive form of skin hypersensitivity in dogs and cats caused by exposure to flea saliva through flea bites. This condition represents a source of frustration to pet owners and veterinary practitioners. FAD is associated with a wide spectrum of dermatological manifestations, which can have a dramatic impact on the quality of life of the patient. Significant progress has been made in unravelling the pathogenesis of this disease. Research evidence suggests that both host- and flea-derived factors play a critical role in the pathophysiology of FAD. Despite the availability of effective modern anti-flea chemotherapeutic products, flea infestation and FAD remain a challenging problem. These facts underscore the importance of maintaining sustainable preventive measures, including a rational flea control regimen, judicious use of chemotherapeutic agents and pet owner education.

Malaria control: constraints and opportunities

The malaria eradication campaign of the 1950s and 1960s achieved elimination of malaria from the industrialized world and drastic reduction of malaria elsewhere, especially Asia. In Africa, eradication was hardly attempted. For various reasons, results could not be maintained. Eradication had to be given up, control became the policy. Since 1992 malaria control is based on four principles: early diagnosis and treatment; selective and sustainable preventive measures, including vector control; detection, containment and prevention of epidemics, and building up of local capacity. Several constraints with the presently available tools are discussed. Major problems are drug resistance and poor performance of the health sector. International awareness of the problem and international co-operation, the financial resources now available and scientific advances offer opportunities for a concerted effort to reduce the burden of malaria. Operational research, field research and implementation and improvement of the peripheral health service will be of paramount importance.