Sniffer dogs as a screening/diagnostic tool for COVID-19: a proof of concept study

Background: Sniffer dogs are able to detect certain chemical particles and are suggest to be capable of helping diagnose some medical conditions and complications, such as colorectal cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, and even critical states such as hypoglycemia in diabetic patients. With the global spread of COVID-19 throughout the world and the need to have a real-time screening of the population, especially in crowded places, this study aimed to investigate the applicability of sniffer dogs to carry out such a task. Methods: Firstly, three male and female dogs from German shepherd (Saray), German black (Kuzhi) and Labrador (Marco) breeds had been intensively trained throughout the classical conditioning method for 7 weeks. They were introduced to human specimens obtained from the throat and pharyngeal secretions of participants who were already reported positive or negative for SARS-COV-2 infection be RT-PCR. Each dog underwent the conditioning process for almost 1000 times. In the meantime another similar condition process was conducted on clothes and masks of COVID-19 patient using another three male and female dogs from Labrador (Lexi), Border gypsy (Sami), and Golden retriever (Zhico) breeds. In verification test for the first three dogs, 80 pharyngeal secretion samples consisting of 26 positive and 54 negative samples from different medical centers who underwent RT-PCR test were in a single-blind method. In the second verification test for the other three dogs, masks and clothes of 50 RT-PCR positive and 70 RT-PCR negative cases from different medical center were used. Results: In verification test using pharyngeal secretion, the sniffer dogs� detection capability was associated with a 65 of sensitivity and 89 of specificity and they amanged to identify 17 out of the 26 positive and 48 out of the 54 true negative samples. In the next verification test using patients� face masks and clothes, 43 out of the 50 positive samples were correctly identified by the dogs. Moreover, out of the 70 negative samples, 65 samples were correctly found to be negative. The sensitivity of this test was as high as 86 and its specificity was 92.9. In addition, the positive and negative predictive values were 89.6 and 90.3, respectively. Conclusion: Dogs are capable of being trained to identify COVID-19 cases by sniffing their odour, so they can be used as a reliable tool in limited screening. © 2021, The Author(s)

Effect of Awareness about Health, Safety and Environment Management System on Safety Climate and Risk Perception in Oil Refinery Employees

Abstract Aims: Health, safety and environment is an integrated and convergence system and also a synergistic arrangement of human resources, facilities and equipment. This study aimed to determine the relationship of safety climate and perception of risk with the awareness level of HSE management system among oil refineries employees. Instrument & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed at 2016 in all Kermanshah Oil Refinery employees. “Demographic characteristic”, “safety climate”, “perception of risk” and “awareness of the HSE management system” questionnaires were used for data collection. Data was analyzed in SPSS 22 statistical software using Pearson correlation and ANOVA tests. Findings: The average of total awareness of HSE was 20.85±4.82. The average of safety climate was 157.04±22.42. The average of perception of risk was 3.45±0.84. There was a significant relationship between awareness of HSE management system and safety climate (r=0.219; p=0.001), but there was no significant relationship between awareness of HSE management system and perception of risk (r=0.137; p=0.128). The relationship between perception of risk and safety climate was significant (r=0.651; p=0.001). Conclusion: Oil refinery's employees have the moderate awareness of HSE management system, high perception of risk and positive safety climate. By increasing the perception of risk and safety climate, the safety performance of the refinery staffs increase

Analysis the Existence of Heterotrophic Bacteria in Active Water Desalination Plant Output of Kashan City, Iran

Aims One of the consequences of taking ground water into surface is changing its chemical quality, specially increasing the concentration of dissolved salts. This research was performed in order to analyze growth possibility of heterotrophic bacteria in the membrane of active desalination plants in Kashan City, Iran. Instrument & Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was done on water output of 20 active desalination plants in 2013 in Kashan City, Iran and 200 specimens of input and output water was randomly extracted from desalination plants. Awareness and education level of system operators, filter changing intervals, HPC of input and output water and chlorine concentration of input and output water were measured and recorded. Obtained data were analyzed statistically with SPSS 18 software using one-way ANOVA, Chi-square, McNemar and one-sample T tests. Findings There was a significant relation between the interval time and output HPC level of the plants (p<0.05). The mean number of HPC was decreased from 16.7±24.5CFU/ml in input water to 14.4±23.7CFU/ml in output water which was not significant (p>0.05). The mean concentration of chlorine in samples of 20 desalination plants was 0.76±0.44mg/l in input water and 0.64±0.52mg/l in output water (p>0.05). Level of awareness had significant relation with the output water pollution with HPC (p<0.05) but their education level had no such relation (p>0.05). Conclusion The mean level of HP

The Development of Swedish Military Healthcare System: Part II-Re-evaluating the Military and Civilian Healthcare Systems in Crises Through a Dialogue and Study Among Practitioners

Introduction: Historical changes have transformed Sweden from being an offensive to a defensive and collaborative nation with national and international engagement, allowing it to finally achieve the ground for the civilian–military collaboration and the concept of a total defense healthcare. At the same time, with the decreasing number of international and interstate conflicts, and the military’s involvement in national emergencies and humanitarian disaster relief, both the need and the role of the military healthcare system within the civilian society have been challenged. The recent impact of the COVID-19 in the USA and the necessity of military involvement have led health practitioners to anticipate and re-evaluate conditions that might exceed the civilian capacity of their own countries and the need to have collaboration with the military healthcare. This study investigated both these challenges and views from practitioners regarding the benefits of such collaboration and the manner in which it would be initiated. Material and Method: A primary study was conducted among responsive countries using a questionnaire created using the Nomznal Group Technique. Relevant search subjects and keywords were extracted for a systematic review of the literature, according to the PRISMA model. Results: The 14 countries responding to the questionnaire had either a well-developed military healthcare system or units created in collaboration with the civilian healthcare. The results from the questionnaire and the literature review indicated a need for transfer of military medical knowledge and resources in emergencies to the civilian health components, which in return, facilitated training opportunities for the military staff to maintain their skills and competencies. Conclusions: As the world witnesses a rapid change in the etiology of disasters and various crises, neither the military nor the civilian healthcare systems can address or manage the outcomes independently. There is an opportunity for both systems to develop future healthcare in collaboration. Rethinking education and training in war and conflict is indisputable. Collaborative educational initiatives in disaster medicine, public health and complex humanitarian emergencies, international humanitarian law, and the Geneva Convention, along with advanced training in competency-based skill sets, should be included in the undergraduate education of health professionals for the benefit of humanity

Current Perspectives and Concerns Facing Hospital Evacuation: The Results of a Pilot Study and Literature Review

Objective: To analyze the evacuation preparedness of hospitals within the European Union (EU). Method: This study consisted of 2 steps. In the first step, a systematic review of the subject matter, according to the PRISMA flow diagram, was performed. Using Scopus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands), PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD), and Gothenburg University´s search engine, 11 questions were extracted from the review and were sent to representatives from 15 European Union (EU)- and non-EU countries. Results: The findings indicate that there is neither a full preparedness nor a standard guideline for evacuation within the EU or other non-EU countries in this study. A major shortcoming revealed by this study is the lack of awareness of the untoward consequences of medical decision-making during an evacuation. Some countries did not respond to the questions due to the lack of relevant guidelines, instructions, or time. Conclusion: Hospitals are exposed to internal and external incidents and require an adequate evacuation plan. Despite many publications, reports, and conclusions on successful and unsuccessful evacuation, there is still no common guide for evacuation, and many hospitals lack the proper preparedness. There is a need for a multinational collaboration, specifically within the EU, to establish such an evacuation planning or guideline to be used mutually within the union and the international community