Working area protection in foundry shops of machinery production

Introduction. The work objection is the investigation of the industrial safety of the foundry. The task to estimate a disperse composition of dust which determines the microclimate of the foundry working area is being solved. The dependence between the particle size and their motion speed under the gravitational or centrifugal forces is revealed. Materials and Methods. The granulometric composition analysis of a powder dust sample is carried out by the laser diffraction method implemented on the laser particle analyzer Fritsch NanoTec “ANALISETTE 22”. Research Results . The data analysis shows that all phases of the process determine the microclimate of the internal environment and, under the emission dispersion, the medium in the intercase zone. The impact degree depends on the dispersion and chemical composition of dust particles. The other harmful airborne substances deposited on dust particles make it more dangerous. For example, an increase in SiO2 content toughens the requirements for clean air in the working area. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account more rigorous values of maximum permissible concentrations (MPC). Discussion and Conclusions. The most dangerous areas of the foundry production in the eco-risk terms are identified; and proposals on the development of the dust-collecting system with water wash are made. The research results can be used in foundries of the machinery production

Delayed colorectal cancer care during covid-19 pandemic (decor-19). Global perspective from an international survey

Background The widespread nature of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been unprecedented. We sought to analyze its global impact with a survey on colorectal cancer (CRC) care during the pandemic. Methods The impact of COVID-19 on preoperative assessment, elective surgery, and postoperative management of CRC patients was explored by a 35-item survey, which was distributed worldwide to members of surgical societies with an interest in CRC care. Respondents were divided into two comparator groups: 1) ‘delay’ group: CRC care affected by the pandemic; 2) ‘no delay’ group: unaltered CRC practice. Results A total of 1,051 respondents from 84 countries completed the survey. No substantial differences in demographics were found between the ‘delay’ (745, 70.9%) and ‘no delay’ (306, 29.1%) groups. Suspension of multidisciplinary team meetings, staff members quarantined or relocated to COVID-19 units, units fully dedicated to COVID-19 care, personal protective equipment not readily available were factors significantly associated to delays in endoscopy, radiology, surgery, histopathology and prolonged chemoradiation therapy-to-surgery intervals. In the ‘delay’ group, 48.9% of respondents reported a change in the initial surgical plan and 26.3% reported a shift from elective to urgent operations. Recovery of CRC care was associated with the status of the outbreak. Practicing in COVID-free units, no change in operative slots and staff members not relocated to COVID-19 units were statistically associated with unaltered CRC care in the ‘no delay’ group, while the geographical distribution was not. Conclusions Global changes in diagnostic and therapeutic CRC practices were evident. Changes were associated with differences in health-care delivery systems, hospital’s preparedness, resources availability, and local COVID-19 prevalence rather than geographical factors. Strategic planning is required to optimize CRC care