Effects of physical environment factors on worker's health in micro and small sized industries of Pakistan

Background: Physical and environmental factors can affect both job performance and job satisfaction of the workers. Despite of the progress and improvement made for occupational safety and health, work environment especially in low and middle income countries is still hazardous for the workers. A large number of work related injuries and occupational accidents happens around the world each year. This research project aims to map work environment conditions and impact of physical environmental factors on occupational health in Punjab – Pakistan. Methods: Total eight micro and small industries in Lahore and Gujaranwala were visited during winter and summer season separately. Physical factors of light, noise and temperature were recorded for six hours during winter. A quantitive questionnaire was filled from 138 workers and an inspection of workplace was made by using ILO ergonomics checklist. Modified Testo 177 and Lascar data loggers were used to measure air (ta), globe (tg), natural wet bulb (tnw) temperatures and relative humidity (RH) to calculate the WBGT index. Result: Mean age of workers was 28.6 ± 10.5 years working for 8.8 ± 1.5 hours a day at a metabolic rate of 165 W/m2 (ISO 7243 level of exertion) and had 0.5 – 1 hour rest. In cold season the average indoor WBGT was 16.0 ± 2.5 ºC and in hot season the average indoor WBGT was 29.9 ± 5.5 ºC and indoor air velocity was 0.7 ± 0.3 m/s. Noise was recorded for time weightage average (TWA) and recorded a range of 73.1 dB (A) to 91.7 dB (A). Minimum intensity of 41.5 lux for light was recorded in one industry. Conclusion: A noise level of less than 85 dB (A) and light of 400 lux to 800 lux will improve physical and psychosocial work environment. Heat stress monitoring policy can be implemented by using ISO 7243. ILO ergonomic checklist can prove an important tool to make assessment and recommendations for working environments in Pakistan. Key Words: WBGT, Physical and environmental factors, Occupational healt

Deriving and Evaluating a Detailed Taxonomy of Game Bugs

Game development has become an extremely competitive multi-billion-dollar industry. Many games fail even after years of development efforts because of game-breaking bugs that disrupt the game-play and ruin the player experience. The goal of this work is to provide a bug taxonomy for games that will help game developers in developing bug-resistant games, game testers in designing and executing fault-finding test cases, and researchers in evaluating game testing approaches. For this purpose, we performed a Multivocal Literature Review (MLR) by analyzing 436 sources, out of which 189 (78 academic and 111 grey) sources reporting bugs encountered in the game development industry were selected for analysis. We validate the proposed taxonomy by conducting a survey involving different game industry practitioners. The MLR allowed us to finalize a detailed taxonomy of 63 game bug categories in end-user perspective including eight first-tier categories: Gaming Balance, Implementation Response, Network, Sound, Temporal, Unexpected Crash, Navigational, and Non-Temporal faults. We observed that manual approaches towards game testing are still widely used. Only one of the approaches targets sound bugs whereas game balancing and how to incorporate machine learning in game testing is trending in the recent literature. Most of the game testing techniques are specialized and dependent on specific platforms

Benefits of physical activity on reproductive health functions among polycystic ovarian syndrome women: a systematic review

BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is among the predominant endocrine disorders of reproductive-aged women. The prevalence of PCOS has been estimated at approximately 6–26%, affecting 105 million people worldwide. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence on the effects of physical activity on reproductive health functions among PCOS women.MethodsThe systematic review includes randomization-controlled trials (RCTs) on physical exercise and reproductive functions among women with PCOS. Studies in the English language published between January 2010 and December 2022 were identified via PubMed. A combination of medical subject headings in terms of physical activity, exercise, menstrual cycle, hyperandrogenism, reproductive hormone, hirsutism, and PCOS was used.ResultsOverall, seven RCTs were included in this systematic review. The studies investigated interventions of physical activity of any intensity and volume and measured reproductive functions and hormonal and menstrual improvement. The inclusion of physical activity alone or in combination with other therapeutic interventions improved reproductive outcomes.ConclusionThe reproductive functions of women with PCOS can be improved with physical activity. Furthermore, physical activity can also reduce infertility, as well as social and psychological stress among women

Evaluation of occupational exposure to heat stress and working practices in the small and mid-sized manufacturing industries of Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Climate change is evident around the globe causing heat stress as an emerging public health problem for people working in tropical and subtropical areas. Occupational heat stress can impact the health and productivity of small and mid-sized enterprise workers.Objective: This study aimed to profile the indoor thermal environmental conditions and modify the working practices by recommending the work/rest cycle according to the international organization for standardization 7243.Study Design: This cross-sectional study design included eight industrial (Iron spare parts manufacturing) small and mid-size enterprises in Lahore, Pakistan. The indoor thermal environment, including globe temperature, natural wet bulb temperature, ambient temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity, were recorded during summer to measure the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). Quest heat stress meter (model 2500), modified Testo loggers (177-T4), and EL-USB-2-LCD data loggers were placed at different working stations to measure these thermal environmental parameters. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the workers’ demographic characteristics and working practices. The International Organization for Standardization 7243 reference was used to estimate and recommend the work/rest cycle.Results: 138 workers aged 28.59 ± 10.46 years participated in this study. Continuous work of 8.8 ± 1.5 hours per day with a conventional resting period of 30-60 minutes was recorded on a typical working day. The indoor wet bulb globe temperature ranged from 26.8°C to 36.4°C. The workers were registered for low (72.5%), moderate (18.1%), and high (9.4%) metabolic rates according to the International Organization for Standardization 7243 reference values.Conclusion: A high wet bulb globe temperature was recorded in the selected small and mid-sized enterprises making these workers vulnerable to heat stress and related illnesses. Work/rest cycle evaluation suggested that the workers were required to improve their cool-down time by avoiding continuous exposure to high temperatures and reducing the metabolic rate

A crisis within a crisis: Role of COVID-19 pandemic in poor compliance of Community-based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition among children younger than five years in Pakistan

IntroductionIn order to attain Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG-II) of eradicating malnutrition among children by 2030, Pakistan has initiated a Community-based Management of Severely Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) program. This program has been established at the public level to detect and treat uncomplicated Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM) children at an early stage. However, during the outbreak of COVID-19, very poor compliance with the CMAM program was observed. Consequently, the nutritional quality of children’s diets has deteriorated, with malnutrition rates expected to rise. Therefore, this study has been set up to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the health of SAM children and compliance with the CMAM program.MethodologyThis study used a multicenter cross-sectional design in District Dera Ghazi Khan’s rural areas located in the Southern Province of Punjab. Data were collected from the parents/guardians of SAM children through the researcher-administrated questionnaire. The sample size was 196, and data were analyzed through SPSS version 25.ResultsThe majority of the children enrolled were males (52.5%), had fathers aged between 41 and 50 years (52.0%), mothers aged between 21 and 30 years (52.5%), had illiterate fathers (40.1%), illiterate mothers (73.8%) and had a monthly household income of PKR <15,000 (91.1%). All of the respondents mentioned that COVID-19 affected them in one way or the other (100.0%), with a majority of them did not visit the hospital during COVID-19 for their SAM child (52.5%) as they were afraid of COVID-19 (63.2%) and/or they lacked access to transport for visiting a hospital (93.4%). Bivariate analysis revealed that the father’s age (P = 0.02) and income (P = 0.00) is associated with the perceived effect of COVID-19 on income. In contrast, only the gender of the child (P = 0.00) is related to the visit to the hospital, and the gender of the child (P = 0.01) and mother’s literacy (P = 0.00) is associated with the choice of treatment from any other setup, including Hakeem and Peer.ConclusionThis study concludes that health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic pose a significant barrier to access to healthcare services and subject a more vulnerable state to already vulnerable groups like SAM children. To lessen their vulnerability, initiatives like mobile health care services should be introduced, especially for socially disadvantaged communities, localities, and groups on regular basis and for future emergencies

Multi-objective optimization of turning titanium-based alloy Ti-6Al-4V under dry, wet, and cryogenic conditions using gray relational analysis (GRA).

In modern manufacturing industries, the importance of multi-objective optimization cannot be overemphasized particularly when the desired responses are differing in nature towards each other. With the emergence of new technologies, the need to achieve overall efficiency in terms of energy, output, and tooling is on the rise. Resultantly, endeavor is to make the machining process sustainable, productive, and efficient simultaneously. In this research, the effects of machining parameters (feed, cutting speed, depth of cut, and cutting condition including dry, wet, and cryogenic) were analyzed. Since sustainable production demands a balance between production quality and energy consumption, therefore, response parameters including specific cutting energy, tool wear, surface roughness, and material removal rate were considered. Taguchi-gray integrated approach was adopted in this study. Multi-objective function was developed using gray relational methodology, and its regression analysis was conducted. Response surface optimization was carried out to optimize the formulated multi-objective function and derive the optimum machining parameters. Concurrent responses were optimized with best-suited values of input parameters to make the most out of the machining process. Analysis of variance results showed that feed is the most effective parameter followed by cutting condition in terms of overall contribution in multi-objective function. The proposed optimum parameters resulted in improvement of tool wear and surface roughness by 30% and 22%, respectively, whereas specific cutting energy was reduced by 4%

Statistical analysis of energy consumption, tool wear and surface roughness in machining of Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) under dry, wet and cryogenic conditions.

Productivity and economy are key elements of any sustainable manufacturing system. While productivity is associated to quantity and quality, economy focuses on energy efficient processes achieving an overall high output to input ratio. Machining of hard-to-cut materials has always posed a challenge due to increased tool wear and energy loss. Cryogenics have emerged as an effective means to improve sustainability in the recent past. In the present research the use of cooling conditions has been investigated as an input variable to analyze its effect on tool wear, specific cutting energy and surface roughness in combination with other input machining parameters of feed rate, cutting speed and depth of cut. Experimental design was based on Taguchi design of experiment. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was carried out to ascertain the contribution ratio of each input. Results showed the positive effect of coolant usage, particularly cryogenic, on process responses. Tool wear was improved by 33% whereas specific cutting energy and surface roughness were improved by 10% and 9% respectively by adapting the optimum machining conditions

Double-Blind Parallel Treatment Randomized Controlled Trial of Prebiotics’ Efficacy for Children Experiencing Severe Acute Malnutrition in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

The prevalence of malnutrition among children under five is alarmingly high in Pakistan. However, there are ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) available which may be used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This study aims to assess the efficacy of prebiotics as a synergistic additive to RUTF to enhance blood parameters and anthropometric measurements in children with uncomplicated SAM living in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A double-blind parallel treatment randomized controlled trial was conducted on 204 children aged 6–59 months. Participants were randomized and allocated to the placebo (n = 102) or experimental arms (n = 102) in a 1:1 ratio. One group of children was provided with RUTF and 4 g prebiotics, while the other group was given RUTF and starch as a placebo. Participants recruited for both arms were given treatment for eight weeks, and then their biochemical and anthropometric outcomes were evaluated. A substantial difference between the mean weight, mid-upper-arm circumference, haemoglobin, haematocrit, platelet count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, and albumin was revealed. During the two-month follow-up phase of the trial, children who were enrolled in the treatment group gained about 20% of their initial weight (pre-study mean weight = 5.44 ± 1.35 kg; post-study mean weight = 6.53 ± 1.45 kg). The analysis showed a significant difference (p &lt; 0.005) between the control and treatment groups for MUAC and complete blood counts. Conclusively, supplementation with RUTF and prebiotics has proven to be an efficient, effective, and safe therapy for children suffering from SAM to improve their growth and development indicators and reduce the dangers of malnutrition in comparison to RUTF alone.<br/

Common Genotypes of Hepatitis B virus prevalent in Injecting drug abusers (addicts) of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The epidemiological significance of Hepatitis B virus genotypes has been well established and becoming an essential concern day by day however, much little is known about the mixed infection with more than one Hepatitis B virus genotypes and their clinical relevance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Intravenous drug abusers are considered as a major risk group for the acquisition and transmission of blood borne infections like hepatitis B, however, in Pakistan, no such data has ever been reported about the epidemiology of HBV and its genotypes in Injecting Drug Users. 250 individuals were analyzed for hepatitis B virus genotypes after prior screening with serological assay for the detection of HBsAg.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>56 (22.4%) individuals were found positive on ELSIA for HBsAg. The genotype distribution was found to be as: genotype D, 62.5%; genotype A, 8.92% while 28.57% individuals were found to be infected with a mixture of genotype A and D.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is an urgent need of the time to develop public health care policies with special emphasis towards the control of HBV transmission through high risk groups especially Injecting Drug Users.</p