VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNIQUES IN THE AID TO POPULATION AWARENESS AROUND A NUCLEAR WASTE

Nuclear energy has proved to be an extremely important source of energy for today's society. However, these achievements, even present in people's daily lives, often go unnoticed and suffer rejection by the same society that enjoys such contributions. Rejection, mainly due to the lack of information. In this context, this work used Virtual Reality technology to inform and make the population aware of the benefits and disadvantages of nuclear energy. For this purpose, an interactive virtual environment was produced that allowed the exploration of a nuclear waste repository. Subsequently, an educational video was developed to provide end-user information support. Finally, an educational game was also created with the aim of raising public awareness and demystifying the nuclear area by bringing knowledge, in a clear and engaging way, to the population around a nuclear repository. The developed environment allowed the user to walk through the virtual representation of the reject repository, and also enabled the creation of a video capable of transmitting the initial information and improving the spatial comprehension of the model as a whole. In conclusion, the tool developed in the present work has the capacity to assist in the production of nuclear projects before even entering the construction phase. In addition, it is possible to apply this technique to inform the population about the nuclear practices that will be applied, providing a greater involvement of the people and, consequently, a better assimilation of knowledge about nuclear energy

The impact of body mass index on labour management and mode of delivery : A retrospective matched cohort study

FUNDINGBWM is supported by an NHMRC Investigator grant (GNT1176437). BWM reports consultancy, research funding and travel support from Merck.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSOpen access publishing facilitated by Monash University, as part of the Wiley - Monash University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Use of Virtual Reality for the development of a Nuclear Waste Repository for Training

In Brazil the highest amount of waste generated is low and medium level of radiation. Its management and final destination is important for society and the solution, proposed by the government, involves the construction of a National Repository for Radioactive Waste. Using Virtual Reality (VR), this article aims to develop an interactive virtual model of the repository to assist in the study, evaluation, training of personnel and planning of the installation to be implemented. The method was divided into four steps. The first, called "Requirements Specification and Survey", aimed at acquiring information about the terrain and future buildings of the installation in the real world. The next step, known as "Modeling the Environment" is the construction of the virtual environment itself according to the specifications of the previous method. The third, called "Functionality Implementation" consists of inserting functionalities into the system, such as performing some tasks present in the repository. Finally, the last step is the interactive virtual model of the national repository for radioactive waste, with this tool users can study, evaluate and train conditions/situations of the installation. In conclusion, the results have shown that the tool presented in this work is a possible application of the VR for dissemination and training in nuclear installations. Using this tool, users can visualize and plan strategies to be carried out in a repository, without interrupting the operation of the installation. It can be used for training and operations simulations, aiming to improve the processes without exposing the operators to the radiation

Effect of helium pre- or postconditioning on signal transduction kinases in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background: The noble gas helium induces pre- and postconditioning in animals and humans. Volatile anesthetics induce cardioprotection in humans undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We hypothesized that helium induces pre-and postconditioning in CABG-patients, affecting signaling molecules protein kinase C-epsilon (PKC-epsilon), p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK-1/2) and heat shock protein 27 (HSP-27) within cardiac tissue, and reducing postoperative troponin levels. Methods: After ethical approval and informed consent, 125 elective patients undergoing CABG surgery were randomised into this prospective, placebo controlled, investigator blinded, parallel arm single-centre study. Helium preconditioning (3 x 5 min of 70 % helium and 30 % oxygen) was applied before aortic cross clamping; postconditioning (15 min of helium) was applied before release of the aortic cross clamp. Signaling molecules were measured in right atrial appendix specimens. Troponin-T was measured at 4, 12, 24 and 48 h postoperatively. Results: Baseline characteristics of all groups were similar. Helium preconditioning did not significantly alter the primary outcome (molecular levels of kinases PKC-e and HSP-27, ratio of activated p38 MAPK or ERK 1/2). Postoperative troponin T was 11 arbitrary units [5, 31; area-under-the-curve (interquartile range)] for controls, and no statistically significant changes were observed after helium preconditioning [He-pre: 11 (6, 18)], helium postconditioning [He-post: 11 (8, 15)], helium pre-and postconditioning [He-PP: 14 (6, 20)] and after sevoflurane preconditioning [APC: 12 (8, 24), p = 0.13]. No adverse effects related to study treatment were observed in this study. Conclusions: No effect was observed of helium preconditioning, postconditioning or the combination thereof on activation of p38 MAPK, ERK 1/2 or levels of HSP27 and PKC-e in the human heart. Helium pre-and postconditioning did not affect postoperative troponin release in patients undergoing CABG surgery

Prenatal screening for pre-eclampsia : Frequently asked questions

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Has increased clinical experience with methotrexate reduced the direct costs of medical management of ectopic pregnancy compared to surgery?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a debate about the cost-efficiency of methotrexate for the management of ectopic pregnancy (EP), especially for patients presenting with serum human chorionic gonadotrophin levels of >1500 IU/L. We hypothesised that further experience with methotrexate, and increased use of guideline-based protocols, has reduced the direct costs of management with methotrexate.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a retrospective cost analysis on women treated for EP in a large UK teaching hospital to (1) investigate whether the cost of medical management is less expensive than surgical management for those patients eligible for both treatments and (2) to compare the cost of medical management for women with hCG concentrations 1500–3000 IU/L against those with similar hCG concentrations that elected for surgery. Three distinct treatment groups were identified: (1) those who had initial medical management with methotrexate, (2) those who were eligible for initial medical management but chose surgery (‘elected’ surgery) and (3) those who initially ‘required’ surgery and did not meet the eligibility criteria for methotrexate. We calculated the costs from the point of view of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. We summarised the cost per study group using the mean, standard deviation, median and range and, to account for the skewed nature of the data, we calculated 95% confidence intervals for differential costs using the nonparametric bootstrap method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Methotrexate was £1179 (CI 819–1550) per patient cheaper than surgery but there were no significant savings with methotrexate in women with hCG >1500 IU/L due to treatment failures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data support an ongoing unmet economic need for better medical treatments for EP with hCG >1500 IU/L.</p

Preterm infant outcomes following COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne, Australia

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The impact of mitigation measures on perinatal outcomes during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Acknowledgements Thank you to the authors who provided additional primary data for use in this meta-analysis.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effect of telehealth-integrated antenatal care on pregnancy outcomes in Australia : an interrupted time-series analysis

Funding Information: We thank all the staff involved in the implementation and provision of telehealth-integrated antenatal care and the women receiving care who adapted to the many changes during the pandemic.Peer reviewe

Reflections on global policy documents and the WHO's infant feeding guidelines: lessons learnt

As the papers in this thematic series have illustrated, the postnatal prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) strategy has struggled with lack of local relevance. In an attempt to increase our understanding of the great dissonance between the policy intention and the experiences of the participants in concrete PMTCT programmes, we will in these concluding remarks draw upon writings in institutional ethnography. Through the concept of 'global texts' we reflect upon the scientific and ideological underpinnings of the WHO policy guidelines on HIV and infant feeding, and the influence that this policy has had across multiple local settings. The particular impact of the global postnatal PMTCT policy guidelines on the position of breastfeeding lies at the core of the discussion