Assessment of Workers' Exposure to Cement Dust, in Concrete Batching Unit of a Dam Project before and after Control Measures

Background: The importance of clean air in industrial workplaces is well known. Cement dust, due to its silica content, is very dangerous. The aims of this study were to assess and control the release of cement dust from silos of concrete batching units during charging and production processes in a dam project. Methods: In this study, dust particule mass released from the cement silos were investigated by performing environmental samplingandpersonal sampling from 15 operators of batching machine. Samples were analyzed by gravimetric method. Control methods were used to control the released dust. Data collected before and after the intervention were analyzed through SPSS19 and using paired t- test and one sample t- test. Results: Mean concentrations of dust particles masses in personal and environmental samples were respectively 15.56 and 30.77mg/m3 and both were higher than the standard exposure limit values in Iran. After implementation of dust control methods, mean concentrations of dust in personal and environmental samples decreased respectively to 4.1 and 5.2 mg/m3 that show the efficiency of control methods. Conclusion: The control method applied in the present study is a novel and cost-effective method to control the released particles from batching units of cement silos. It is possible to decrease the dust concentration in industrial workplaces to the standard levels, by performing simiar methods. Keywords: Dust, Cement, Batching Silo, Dam Constructio

“Do the editors-in-chief of Iranian medical journals have a good Knowledge, attitude and practice of plagiarism?”

Plagiarism is one of the misconducts which are specifically observed in scientific journals. It is important to prevent and reduce it in scientific communities. The chief editors of journals can play an effective role in this regard. Therefore, this study aims to determine the knowledge, attitude, and the practice (KAP) of the chief editors of scholarly journals in Universities of Iran about plagiarism. The data for this descriptive survey were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire which was developed and validated in three sections of knowledge, attitude, and practice. The statistical population of the study included all the chief editors of scholarly journals in Universities of Medical Sciences in Tehran. The scores of the editors were calculated separately in each section. The data collection procedure was followed either by email or in-person. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS. The chief editors’ score is %88.8 in the section of “knowledge of plagiarism” which represents a high score. The chief editors’ “attitude toward plagiarism” indicates a high level (%61.3), which represents a negative attitude of plagiarism, and their “practice” is also at a mid-level approaching towards high level. In general, the knowledge, attitude, and practice of chief editors about plagiarism are in a better status comparing to similar studies. However, it is expected that the editors in chief achieve a more favorable level in this regard

Comparison of vibration and acoustic responses in a rotary machine balancing process

© 2020 Balancing a rotating machine is a vital step towards ensuring it will operate reliably and safely. To achieve this condition monitoring is an important aspect for early faulty detection and it can also result in the improvement of the operational continuity and equipment safety. Imbalance itself, is a common problem in rotating machinery and it can lead to poor or even dangerous vibration levels. And, for example, it is also well known that misalignment can lead to bearing defects. So, in order to overcome these problems many balancing techniques have been developed that are largely based on measured vibration data using accelerometers attached to the faulty device. The three-point method is well known as a basic phase-less technique; this method has been used for balancing equipment and is widely regarded as an industry standard technique. In this work we avoid placing sensors on the device under investigation. This is achieved by utilizing a microphone method located in the nearfield of the investigated device. By comparing the traditional vibration technique with the acoustic contact-less method we can demonstrate the method\u27s remarkable accuracy. Finally, the experimental results show that there is a similar trend between both the vibration and acoustical responses of the machine, and it is proven that it is possible to balance a rotating machine by just utilizing the acoustical response. This is a contactless method and an innovation in machine-dynamics condition monitoring

Adherence challenges encountered in an intervention programme to combat chronic non-communicable diseases in an urban black community, Cape Town

Background: Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) have become the greatest contributor to the mortality rate worldwide. Despite attempts by Governments and various non-governmental organisations to prevent and control the epidemic with various intervention strategies, the number of people suffering from CNCD is increasing at an alarming rate in South Africa and worldwide. Objectives: Study's objectives were to explore perceived challenges with implementation of, and adherence to health messages disseminated as part of a CNCD intervention programme; to gain an understanding of participants' expectations of CNCD intervention programmes;, and to explore the acceptability and preference of health message dissemination methods. In addition, participants' awareness of, and willingness to participate in CNCDs intervention programmes in their community was explored. Methods: Participants were recruited from the existing urban Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study site in Langa, Cape Town. Focus group discussions were conducted with 47 participants using a question guide. Summative content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Four themes emerged from the data analysis: practical aspects of implementation and adherence to intervention programmes; participants' expectations of intervention programmes; aspects influencing participants' acceptance of interventions; and their preferences for health message dissemination. The results of this study will be used to inform CNCDs intervention programmes. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that although participants found current methods of health message dissemination in CNCDs intervention acceptable, they faced real challenges with implementing and adhering to CNCDs to these messages.DHE

The impact of multimorbidity on adult physical and mental health in low- and middle-income countries: what does the study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) reveal?

BACKGROUND: Chronic diseases contribute a large share of disease burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Chronic diseases have a tendency to occur simultaneously and where there are two or more such conditions, this is termed as 'multimorbidity'. Multimorbidity is associated with adverse health outcomes, but limited research has been undertaken in LMICs. Therefore, this study examines the prevalence and correlates of multimorbidity as well as the associations between multimorbidity and self-rated health, activities of daily living (ADLs), quality of life, and depression across six LMICs. METHODS: Data was obtained from the WHO's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave-1 (2007/10). This was a cross-sectional population based survey performed in LMICs, namely China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa, including 42,236 adults aged 18 years and older. Multimorbidity was measured as the simultaneous presence of two or more of eight chronic conditions including angina pectoris, arthritis, asthma, chronic lung disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, and vision impairment. Associations with four health outcomes were examined, namely ADL limitation, self-rated health, depression, and a quality of life index. Random-intercept multilevel regression models were used on pooled data from the six countries. RESULTS: The prevalence of morbidity and multimorbidity was 54.2 % and 21.9 %, respectively, in the pooled sample of six countries. Russia had the highest prevalence of multimorbidity (34.7 %) whereas China had the lowest (20.3 %). The likelihood of multimorbidity was higher in older age groups and was lower in those with higher socioeconomic status. In the pooled sample, the prevalence of 1+ ADL limitation was 14 %, depression 5.7 %, self-rated poor health 11.6 %, and mean quality of life score was 54.4. Substantial cross-country variations were seen in the four health outcome measures. The prevalence of 1+ ADL limitation, poor self-rated health, and depression increased whereas quality of life declined markedly with an increase in number of diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the challenge of multimorbidity in LMICs, particularly among the lower socioeconomic groups, and the pressing need for reorientation of health care resources considering the distribution of multimorbidity and its adverse effect on health outcomes

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types