An Assessment Of Food Safety Culture At Five Ethnic Group Restaurants In Dubai.

Recent studies suggest that a deeper understanding of food safety culture within organizations is necessary for ensuring food safety. During the food inspection program, the Dubai Municipality Food Safety Department identified two categories of restaurants, with one responding to inspectors' food safety concerns while the other did not. The analysis of the data on food safety noncompliance from the Dubai Municipality's smart system revealed that the knowledge and attitude of food handlers play a significant role in food safety infractions. Moreover, the majority of these infractions are associated with specific food establishments and ethnic groups, including Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Arabs, and international. The purpose of this research was to determine how food safety culture influences food safety compliance in various ethnic groups (Indian, Pakistani, Philippine, Arab, and international). Five factors, including financial inadequacy, management’s commitment, food safety risk perception, management and co-worker support, and knowledge and trust in the food safety management system in different cuisines, were perceived differently by food handlers. Thirty food handlers from various ethnic groups of restaurants were randomly selected. This research employs a qualitative research strategy, and the primary instrument was semi-structured interviews with ten food handlers from Indian cuisine, eight from Pakistani cuisine, and four from the Philippines, Arabic, and international cuisines, respectively. An analysis of the food safety cultures of Indian, Pakistani, Philippine, Arabic, and international cuisines revealed that international and Arabic cuisines have financial adequacy to manage food safety, while Indian, Pakistani, and Philippine cuisines were found to have inadequate financial resources to implement Food Safety Management Systems to support food safety. Positive management commitment was noted in Pakistani, Arabic, and international cuisines, despite negative management commitment in Indian and Philippine cuisines. Indian, Arabic, and international cuisines exhibit a positive impact in perceiving the risk, whereas both Pakistani and Philippine cuisines showed a negative impact in perceiving the food safety risk. It was determined that the management and coworker support were positive in the Indian, Pakistani, and Philippine cuisines, whereas they were negative in the Arabic and international cuisines. The research also revealed that all five cuisines lacked knowledge and trust in the Food Safety Management System, relying primarily on basic food safety practices to ensure food safety and hygiene. The findings revealed a strong relationship between food safety culture and food safety compliance among Indian, Pakistani, Philippine, Arabic, and international ethnic groups. This research provides distinct contributions to the current body of literature. It offers factual evidence that the food safety culture has a direct influence on food safety. Given the lack of previous exploration on this subject, this research proposes a novel approach to enhancing safety in food establishments. The research examined and emphasized the variables that influence the level of food safety compliance in Dubai's restaurants

Simulation-Based Design of a Cam-Driven Hydraulic Prosthetic Ankle

Background/Objectives: A cam-driven hydraulic prosthetic ankle was designed to overcome the weaknesses of commercial prostheses and research prototypes, which largely fail to mimic the energy-recycling behaviour of an intact ankle, resulting in poor walking performance for lower-limb prosthesis users. Methods: This novel device exploits miniature hydraulics to capture the negative work performed during stance, prior to push-off, in a hydraulic accumulator, and return positive work during push-off for forward body propulsion. Two cams are used to replicate intact ankle torque profiles based on experimental data. The design process for the new prosthesis used a design programme, implemented in MATLAB, based on a simulation of the main components of the prosthetic ankle. Results: In this paper, we present the design programme and explain how it is used to determine the cam profiles required to replicate intact ankle torque, as well as to size the cam follower return springs. Moreover, a constraint-based preliminary design investigation is described, which was conducted to size other key components affecting the device’s size, performance, and energy efficiency. Finally, the feasible design alternatives are compared in terms of their energy losses to determine the best design with regard to minimising both energy losses and device size. Conclusions: Such a design approach not only documents the design of a particular novel prosthetic ankle, but can also provide a systematic framework for decomposing complex design challenges into a series of sub-problems, providing a more effective alternative to heuristic approaches in prosthetic design

Validity and Inter‐Device Reliability of an Artificial Intelligence App for Real‐Time Assessment of 505 Change of Direction Tests

The present study aimed to explore the validity and inter‐device reliability of a novel artificial intelligence app (Asstrapp) for real‐time measurement of the traditional (tra505) and modified‐505 (mod505) change of direction (COD) tests. Twenty‐five male Sports Science students (age, 23.5 ± 3.27 years; body height, 178 ± 9.76 cm; body mass, 79.4 ± 14.7 kg) completed 12 trials each, consisting of six tra505 and six mod505 trials. Completion times were simultaneously recorded via single‐beam electronic timing gates (ETG) and two different iPhones (APP1 and APP2). In total 300 trials were collected across the two tests, using all three devices, to establish the reliability and validity of the app. The coefficient of variation indicated a similar level of dispersion between the ETG (≤ 2.73%), APP1 (≤ 2.39%) and APP2 (≤ 2.52%). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) revealed excellent reliability among the three timing devices (ICC ≥ 0.99) and Asstrapp relative reliability was excellent for both APP1 (ICC ≥ 0.91) and APP2 (ICC ≥ 0.91). There was a practically perfect correlation and agreement between ETG and Asstrapp (APP1: r = 0.97; APP2: r = 0.97) for both COD tests. However, small but significant differences were found between smartphones and ETG for tra505 (ES ≤ 0.33; p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings support the use of Asstrapp for real‐time assessment of both 505 COD tests

Analysing the effectiveness of digital escape rooms on enhancing student experience and knowledge acquisition – A microbiology-based case

Active and gamified teaching methods, such as digital escaperooms, effectively enhance student outcomes. However, current work in this areais highly specialised and lacks translational capability across sectors, withlimited data associated with key higher education impact measures. This studyaimed to design a central platform for developing digital escape rooms andevaluate their pedagogical impact using a microbiology-based example.A university-wide platform for the design and delivery ofdigital escape rooms and an exemplar microbiology-based room were developedutilising WordPress with specialist plugins. The study cohort was comprised of17 students from a range of biology, biomedicine and chemical scienceprogrammes. Quantitative surveys were then completed to understand how digitalescape rooms impacted key pedagogical metrics with further stratification basedon socioeconomic factors.Overall feedback was positive with students reporting apositive experience (100 %), the escape room was well developed (88.2 %),increased their knowledge (82.4 %) and added value to their degrees (70.6 %).These data show the positive pedagogical impacts of digital escape rooms inhigher education

Phylogenetic Signal in Primate Tooth Enamel Proteins and its Relevance for Paleoproteomics

Ancient tooth enamel, and to some extent dentin and bone, contain characteristic peptides that persist for long periods of time. In particular, peptides from the enamel proteome (enamelome) have been used to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of fossil taxa. However, the enamelome is based on only about 10 genes, whose protein products undergo fragmentation in vivo and post mortem. This raises the question as to whether the enamelome alone provides enough information for reliable phylogenetic inference. We address these considerations on a selection of enamel-associated proteins that has been computationally predicted from genomic data from 232 primate species. We created multiple sequence alignments for each protein and estimated the evolutionary rate for each site. We examined which sites overlap with the parts of the protein sequences that are typically isolated from fossils. Based on this, we simulated ancient data with different degrees of sequence fragmentation, followed by phylogenetic analysis. We compared these trees to a reference species tree. Up to a degree of fragmentation that is similar to that of fossil samples from 1-2 million years ago, the phylogenetic placements of most nodes at family level are consistent with the reference species tree. We tested phylogenetic analysis on combinations of different enamel proteins and found that the composition of the proteome can influence deep splits in the phylogeny. With our methods, we provide guidance for researchers on how to evaluate the potential of paleoproteomics for phylogenetic studies before sampling valuable ancient specimens

Developing and testing a competency framework to enhance hydration care for older people in care homes

Purpose Evidence based hydration care for older people is essential to health and wellbeing. However, practices vary, leading to negative outcomes for older people, particularly in relation to increased incidence of morbidity and mortality. As a discrete work package situated within a larger study to enhance hydration care for older people in care homes, a hydration competency framework was developed to support an evidence-based approach to practice. Approach An overview of the literature informing hydration care was undertaken to establish best practice, resulting in the generation of a series of competency statements. Using a co-production approach, these statements were reviewed and assimilated into a hydration competency framework that was piloted across two care home sites. Revision and refinement of the framework was undertaken in response to feedback from the co-production group, until consensus was reached to agree the final iteration. Findings The hydration competency framework has three core domains relating to: understanding the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; assessing the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; implementing person centred care to maintain and monitor the daily hydration requirement needs of older people. Each domain is comprised of competency statements that reflect the current evidence base informing best practice for hydration care for older people. Originality The hydration competency framework provides an innovative tool that can be used to support care home staff to deliver evidence-based hydration practices and positively enhance care outcomes for older people

Perceived bioethical issues in cancer rehabilitation: a qualitative study among Italian physiotherapists

Introduction: Literature on bioethics in physiotherapy, particularly in cancer management, is limited. This study explores the perceived bioethical issues in cancer rehabilitation by Italian physiotherapists.Participants: Thirty-one physiotherapists (Age: 42 ± 10.5 years; 20 women, 11 men) with expertise in cancer rehabilitation were purposefully selected.Data Collection: Six online focus groups were conducted, guided by a focus group guide based on existing literature and refined by experts in cancer rehabilitation and bioethics.Data Analysis: Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s ‘Reflexive Thematic Analysis’.Results: Four primary themes emerged: 1) Challenges of (Non)-Disclosure in Diagnosis and Prognosis – ethical difficulties around withholding diagnosis or prognosis information; 2) Balancing Hope and Realism in Patient and Caregiver Expectations – navigating hope versus realistic rehabilitation goals; 3) Weighing Efficacy and Safety in Cancer Rehabilitation – balancing ­treatment outcomes with patient safety; 4) Decisions on Withdrawing Treatment – ethical considerations in discontinuing treatment.Discussion: These themes highlight common ethical dilemmas faced by physiotherapists in cancer rehabilitation, mirroring broader healthcare challenges. Addressing them requires a nuanced understanding of ethical principles within the cancer rehabilitation context.Conclusions: The study provides insights into the bioethical issues in cancer rehabilitation, stressing the need for a patient-centered approach to navigate these challenges effectively

Integration of Focused Ultrasound and Dynamic Imaging Control System for Targeted Neuro-modulation

BackgroundTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (tMS) have received widespread clinical use as techniques within a Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) domain, whose primary focus is modulation of neural activity to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite these advancements, precision targeting of deep brain structures remains a challenge faced with great need of another innovation that will improve precision and reduce the risks. A novel methodology integrating transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) with real-time functional imaging modalities, including functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Near-Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS), is proposed in this study as the Integrated Focused Ultrasound and Real-Time Imaging Control System (IFURTICS).Principle resultsClosed loop algorithms employed by IFURTICS allow it to dynamically vary stimulation parameters in response to real-time feedback on neural activity, allowing for accurate targeting of sensitive networks while minimizing deleterious collateral effects.ConclusionsClinical trials using standard datasets of fMRI and NIRS have proved that the approach improved targeting accuracy by ∼18 %, reduced off-target effects by ∼55 % and enhanced therapeutic outcomes by 50 % over current methods, suggesting its potential as a transformative approach to precision neuro-modulation

Evaluation of an e-self-management intervention (Happy Hands app) for hand osteoarthritis: Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial

Objective: This protocol paper describes the rationale and design of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that aims to evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of a 12 week e-self-management intervention (Happy Hands app) in people with hand osteoarthritis (HOA). Methods: In this multicentre RCT, 376 people with HOA will be recruited from all four health regions in Norway. Consenting participants will be randomly allocated to either a control group receiving usual care or an intervention group receiving the Happy Hands app in addition to usual care. Primary outcome will be measured at 3-months follow-up as the proportion of participants classified as OMERACT-OARSI responders (a composite score comprising change in pain, function, and disease activity), analysed using logistic regression. Secondary outcomes, including pain, hand function, stiffness, quality-of-care, health-related quality-of-life, grip strength, adherence and healthcare costs will be measured at 3- and 6-months follow-up. Results: Recruitment was initiated in November 2022 with a total of 386 participants recruited by August 2023, 194 in the intervention group and 192 in the control group. Data collection was completed in February 2024. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is one of the first large-scale, multicentre RCTs assessing the (cost-)effectiveness of a self-management program delivered through a smartphone app for people with HOA. The results from this trial can enhance our understanding of the role technology can play in managing HOA. Trial registration: NCT05568875 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05568875, pre-registered October 3, 2022)