Computer users at risk: Health disorders associated with prolonged computer use

By keeping in view the ISO standards which emphasize the assessment of use of a product, this research aims to assess the prolonged use of computers and their effects on human health. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between extent of computer use (per day) and carpal tunnel syndrome, computer stress syndrome, computer vision syndrome and musculoskeletal problems. The second objective was to investigate the extent of simultaneous occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome, stress, computer vision syndrome and musculoskeletal disorders among computer users. The sample in this exploratory study consisted of 120 employees and students. Self administered questionnaire was used as an instrument in this field survey study. The findings confirmed that computer related health disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome, stress, computer vision syndrome and musculoskeletal disorders occur simultaneously among prolonged computer users such as employees and students. The simultaneous occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome, stress, computer vision syndrome and musculoskeletal disorders is more among employees than students and those who are both employees and students. Employees who use computer daily for more than four hours are more likely subjected to the risks of all these four health disorders. The study concludes that by observing some rules of using computer, minimizing and treating of these disorders are possibleKeywords: Computer, Prolonged use, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Computer Vision Syndrome, Health Disorders, Employees, Students.

Negative Work Attitudes and Task Performance: Mediating Role of Knowledge Hiding and Moderating Role of Servant Leadership

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global crisis that particularly hit employment globally. Due to the economic crisis, many small businesses attempted to minimise their expenses by either closing or downsizing. During such organisational situations, the employees face negative workplace attitudes that lead to knowledge hiding and affect team performance. This study examines negative attitudes and their effect on team performance. Further, this study examines the mediating effect of knowledge hiding and moderating the role of servant leadership. Through a multi-time data collection approach, the authors obtained 363 responses from the education sector in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. PROCESS Hayes model 1 and 4 were used for mediation and moderation analysis. Results show that job insecurity, cynicism, and role stress are significant forces behind knowledge-hiding behaviour. Furthermore, the knowledge hiding behaviour adversely affects task performance. Servant leadership shows a buffering effect on knowledge hiding behaviour caused by negative workplace attitudes. This is one of the first studies in the South Asian environment to examine the association between employees’ negative attitudes and task performance using knowledge hiding as a mediator and servant leadership as a moderator in the COVID-19 scenario. Lastly, the paper concludes with a consideration of its theoretical, practical implication and future direction

Effect of early tranexamic acid administration on mortality, hysterectomy, and other morbidities in women with post-partum haemorrhage (WOMAN): an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. Early administration of tranexamic acid reduces deaths due to bleeding in trauma patients. We aimed to assess the effects of early administration of tranexamic acid on death, hysterectomy, and other relevant outcomes in women with post-partum haemorrhage. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we recruited women aged 16 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of post-partum haemorrhage after a vaginal birth or caesarean section from 193 hospitals in 21 countries. We randomly assigned women to receive either 1 g intravenous tranexamic acid or matching placebo in addition to usual care. If bleeding continued after 30 min, or stopped and restarted within 24 h of the first dose, a second dose of 1 g of tranexamic acid or placebo could be given. Patients were assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight numbered packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Participants, care givers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. We originally planned to enrol 15 000 women with a composite primary endpoint of death from all-causes or hysterectomy within 42 days of giving birth. However, during the trial it became apparent that the decision to conduct a hysterectomy was often made at the same time as randomisation. Although tranexamic acid could influence the risk of death in these cases, it could not affect the risk of hysterectomy. We therefore increased the sample size from 15 000 to 20 000 women in order to estimate the effect of tranexamic acid on the risk of death from post-partum haemorrhage. All analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ISRCTN76912190 (Dec 8, 2008); ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00872469; and PACTR201007000192283. Findings Between March, 2010, and April, 2016, 20 060 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive tranexamic acid (n=10 051) or placebo (n=10 009), of whom 10 036 and 9985, respectively, were included in the analysis. Death due to bleeding was significantly reduced in women given tranexamic acid (155 [1·5%] of 10 036 patients vs 191 [1·9%] of 9985 in the placebo group, risk ratio [RR] 0·81, 95% CI 0·65–1·00; p=0·045), especially in women given treatment within 3 h of giving birth (89 [1·2%] in the tranexamic acid group vs 127 [1·7%] in the placebo group, RR 0·69, 95% CI 0·52–0·91; p=0·008). All other causes of death did not differ significantly by group. Hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (358 [3·6%] patients in the tranexamic acid group vs 351 [3·5%] in the placebo group, RR 1·02, 95% CI 0·88–1·07; p=0·84). The composite primary endpoint of death from all causes or hysterectomy was not reduced with tranexamic acid (534 [5·3%] deaths or hysterectomies in the tranexamic acid group vs 546 [5·5%] in the placebo group, RR 0·97, 95% CI 0·87-1·09; p=0·65). Adverse events (including thromboembolic events) did not differ significantly in the tranexamic acid versus placebo group. Interpretation Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding in women with post-partum haemorrhage with no adverse effects. When used as a treatment for postpartum haemorrhage, tranexamic acid should be given as soon as possible after bleeding onset. Funding London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Pfizer, UK Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

A new hybrid agent-based modeling & simulation decision support system for breast cancer data analysis

In this paper, we present a novel technique of building hybrid decision support systems which integrates traditional decision support systems with agent based models for use in breast cancer analysis for better prediction and recommendation. Our system is based on using queries from data (converted to a standardized electronic template) to provide for simulation variables in an agent-based model. The goal is to develop an ICT tool to assist non-specialist biologist researcher users in performing analysis of large amounts of data by applying simple simulation techniques. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this novel decision support system, an extensive breast cancer data collection exercise was carried out with the support of Hospitals in a previously unexplored region. The collected data was subsequently integrated in an electronic medical record filing system for patients. We also demonstrate the application of agent based modeling and simulation techniques for building simulation models of tumor growth and treatment. Our proposed decision support system also provides a comprehensive query tool which facilitates the use of retrieved data in statistical tools for subsequent interpretation and analysis

Abstracts of the First International Conference on Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering 2023

This book presents extended abstracts of the selected contributions to the First International Conference on Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ICAECE'2023), held on 15-16 May 2023 by the Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Echahid Cheikh Larbi Tebessi, Tebessa-Algeria. ICAECE'2023 was delivered in-person and virtually and was open for researchers, engineers, academics, and industrial professionals from around the world interested in new trends and advances in current topics of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Conference Title: First International Conference on Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering 2023Conference Acronym: ICAECE'2023Conference Date: 15-16 May 2023Conference Venue: University of Echahid Cheikh Larbi Tebessi, Tebessa-AlgeriaConference Organizer: Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Echahid Cheikh Larbi Tebessi, Tebessa-Algeri