Working without changing posture for a long period, repetitive body motions and non-ergonomic work conditions can lead various health problems in bank employees. In this study, the objective is to investigate the ergonomic risk factors of bank employees who work with computers. The study involves 221 bank employees who work with computers. Data were collected using self-assessment surveys which were completed between July-September 2013. The survey includes socio-demographic and work related questions. Ergonomic risk points were assessed using a 6-level Likert scale which inquires constant standing, constant sitting and repetitive motions. Higher ergonomic risk scores indicate poor/inconvenient working conditions. Ergonomic risk point was calculated between 4 as minimum and 24 as maximum. Statistical analysis was performed by chi-square test, student t-test and logistic regression analysis. Demographics of the participants are as follows: 46.6% aged between 30-39 years, 56.1% male, %91.1 university-graduate, 65.6% married, 48.8% have kids. 19.9% of participants do sports, 83.7% right-handed, 6.8% has attended training about ergonomics, 8.1% constantly stand, 40.3% constantly sit, 33.9% do repetitive motions and 5.4% movements which are drastic for the body. 51.1% of the participants described their office chairs to have a medium comfort level and 4.5% reported their office table to have a very good comfort level. Mean ergonomic risk level point is calculated as 13.8±2.8, weekly total computer use time was calculated as 44.6±10.4 and mean comfort perception point for work environment is calculated as 18.9±4.3. It is determined that ergonomic risk factors are common in bank employees working with computers. Keywords: Ergonomics, risk factor, bank employee, computer Workstation
The Purpose of the Study: This research was planned and carried out for evaluation of the effect of nutrition education, given to the male prisoners who are in Amasya E Type Closed Prison , on nutrition attitudes and behaviors and we wanted to investigate the effectiveness of training for giving right eating habits to the prisoners. Method: Research has developed around 600 prisoners of Amasya E Type Closed Prison. The prisoners and convicted, who participated in the study, were divided into four groups as training + brochures, brochures and control. The pre-prepared survey was conducted on the prisoners and convicted and the test, which had been prepared for determining the impact of nutrition behaviour and manner, was repeated in the beginning of the study (pre-test), at the end of the training (post-test) and one month later in order to evaluate the sustainability of nutrition training (monitoring test). Oral and visual training was given by the researcher. The survey form, which had been prepared by the researcher in accordance with the literature, The draft survey form that had been prepared was submitted to the opinions of the experts for face validity-content validity [7]. The draft survey was re-organized in accordance with the opinion of the experts and made ready for pre- application. The prepared survey form was applied to 30 prisoners and convicted, who did not participate in the study, and the clarity and validity of the form was confirmed. Statistical analysis of the data was made with SPSS for Windows (Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows) 13.0 software and their figures and percentages were taken. Findings and Results: It was determined that in pre-test 16 % of prisoners ,in post-test 64 % of prisoners, in monitoring test 62 % prisoners have breakfast. It was understood that the proportion of having regular breakfast is higher than the other groups in education post-test and in education monitoring groups, the proportion of who do not have regular breakfast is higher than the other groups in education pre- test and brochure +education pre-test group, the proportion of who sometimes have regular breakfast is higher than the other groups in education post-test and education monitoring test group. In this research it was observed that after the training the majority of the prisoners have gained regular breakfast habits, at the same time there was a reduction in the monitoring test. The training is given on the eating habits shows us that training was effective. But if we want a permanent education ,it must be effective and countinuously.We analyzed the causes of skipping main meals.The test of at the begining of research (46.0 %),in the final test at the end of the research (49.0 % ) and in the monitoring test one month after education ( 56.3 % ) it was showned that the most causes of skipping meal is “unwilling to eating” .This was followed in pre-test “fall asleep” rate (38.0 %), in post test “fall asleep” rate (42.9 %) and in monitoring test “fall asleep” rate (33.3 % ). it is seen that the percentage of those who read the articles on the nutrition on the newspapers was 15.6% before the training, where it increased to 38.5% after the training and the percentage of those who stated that they sometimes read before the training increased from 26.4% to 31.8% after the training. That percentage dropped to 37.7% during monitoring test. Keywords: Prisoning, prison, nutrition, nutrition education, adult education.
Meso porous Carbon Materials are prepared by sol-gel polycondensation of resorcinol (R) and formaldehyde (F) catalyzed with different proportions of sodium carbonate followed by drying and carbonizing at N2 atmosphere at 900°C. These Carbon Materials, which are called carbon aerogel, receive high attention because of their high BET Surface Area (SBET), hierarchical pores, and high porosity in the last few years. The pore structure and final properties of these materials can be controlled by the concentration of reactants in initial solution, pyrolysis temperature, and drying method. The primary way for drying these materials is supercritical drying which is expensive and dangerous so in order to decrease the production expenses subcritical drying is favored. In this article, monolithic carbon aerogel is synthesized with different molar ratios of resorcinol to catalyst (R/C) and dried at ambient pressure. In order to minimize the volume shrinkage, solvent exchange was performed at 40°C for 3 days prior to drying. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) combined with N2 adsorption desorption measurements are employed to study the microstructure of pores, surface area, and porosity of samples. Using a molar ratio of resorcinol to catalyst of 500 (R/C=500), monolithic carbon aerogel was synthesized with BET surface area of 750 m2g-1 and mean pore size of 6 nm. It is suggested to use this molar ratio of R/C to try to increase the pore volume of carbon aerogels through different drying methods. Keywords: porous, carbon, monolithic, synthesis.
Abstract With morbidity and various symptoms; appendicitis is the most frequently seen health problem among the children and requires an emergent surgical intervention. Although it is estimated that appendicitis develops among 1% of the population under 15 years; it is stated that the most important factor that causes appendicitis is obstruction of lumen. The current study was cross-sectionally and descriptively undertaken in order to identify the descriptive characteristics of the children who had appendectomy surgery and the related factors.The population of the study was composed of the children aged 4-18 years who were hospitalized due to appendicitis at Bağcılar Training and Research Hospital Pediatric Surgery Service between 2012 and 2014. The sample of the population was consisted of a total of 64 children who accepted to participate in the study and stayed at the hospital during research period. The data were gathered using a questionnaire form designed by the researchers.37.5% of the participant children were girls and 62.5% of the participant children were boys; mean age was 11.48±3.48 years. Most of the mothers (60.9%) and fathers (60.9%) had primary school degree. 43.8% of the families had appendectomy previously, 95.3% did not have any chronic diseases. 25% of the children had a perforated appendix and most of them presented such symptoms as pain (70.3%), nausea (70.3%), lack of appetite (78.1%), vomiting(67.2%), fever (39.1%). 38% of the mothers performed a practice (hot- compress, cold-compress, giving massages to abdomen, giving pain killers, hot teas of mint leaves and lemon, wrapping the abdomen, etc.) before the children were taken to hospitals. Additionally; it was found out that the children swallowed seeds of the fruits (29.3%), did not peel the fruits (61.5%), swallowed chewing gums (35.4%) and ate legumes and ate bones without chewing (16.9%). Keywords: Appendicitis, appendectomy, child
The removal mechanism of oxytetracycline (OTC) by nanoscale Ni/Fe bimetallic was studied with a batch experimental series. The influences of solution pH, bimetallic dosage and reaction temperature on adsorption kinetics were evaluated and also formation of transformation products was determined. The results showed that the effect of pH on OTC removal was significant and increasing the dosage of Ni/Fe resulted in slight increase of removal efficiency. The kinetics of adsorption fitted well pseudo-second-order model. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated by the Langmuir model was 588 mg/g of OTC on Ni/Fe. The main transformation product was β-Apo-OTC as OTC transformation products which also quickly sorbed onto Ni/Fe. The removal mechanism of OTC by Ni/Fe was mainly due to the adsorption rather than the degradation process. Keywords: oxytetracycline, removal mechanism, transformation product, Ni/Fe bimetallic.
The injection of large amounts of hydrogen in geological formations is considered as the efficient method of energy storage, and the mode of regulation between the energy production and consumption. A hydrogen storage in aquifers or depleted gas reservoirs behaves as the natural chemical reactor due to high activity of the methanogenic bacteria which consume hydrogen as the source of energy. In the present paper we develop the new mathematical model of gas-water multicomponent flow with biotic reactions coupled with the system of equations of population dynamics. The model takes into account the existence of several forms of bacteria: the biofilms stuck to pore walls, the plankton floating in water, and the monolayer of bacteria living at the interface between water and gas (the neuston). Both the neuston and the biofilm have favorable conditions of existence, and they can transit from one form to another. The kinetic of bacterium proliferation is described by standard models. The bifurcation analysis of the obtained system of equations has revealed several nontrivial regimes of behaviour which are characterized by the formation of nonlinear auto waves. In the areas with high gas saturation and immobile water, the regimes of flow are determined by the kinetics of population growth which leads to the appearance of the Turing instability. Its evolution transforms into stationary oscillations in space. In the areas when water is mombile, the nonlinearity of the two-phase flow coupled with the population kinetics generates non-stationary Volterra’s oscillations. The characteristic period of the oscillations can reach several meters and depends on the rate of gas injection, the rate of bacteria reproduction and death, and the parameters of diffusion. The two-scale auto-waves are observed in several cases. The formation of such regimes represents the natural mechanism of separation of chemical components with formation of the zones oversaturated either by hydrogen or by methane, which was observed in practice (the hydrogen storage Lobodice). The comparison with observed data enables to obtain the information on some kinetic parameters of the model. Keywords: model, chemical, hydrogen, composition.
Purpose: This study has sought to examine the prediction power of parenting stress on the Quality of Life (QoL) of Jordanian parents of children with Autistic Disorder (AD). Methods: Standard simultaneous regression was performed for 184 participants. Results: The study revealed that parental distress was a significant predictor for the QoL of both parent whereas child’s difficult characteristics predicted only mothers’ QoL. Conclusion and Recommendations: The results of this study showed that bringing up a child with AD may be a significant challenge to parents’ QoL. Educators and clinicians can utilize the results of this study by designing comprehensive intervention plans that better recognize the needs of children with AD and their parents. Keywords: autistic, Jordan, children, psychological health.
In this descriptive survey, the attitudes of 120 physicians, 200 nurses and 148 immediate relatives of patients were assessed. The sampling method was stratified randomly. 92.5% of physicians and 80% of nurses believed that family presence during CPR was harmful. The most important reason of negative attitudes of physicians and nurses has been interference of family members with CPR. Only 48% of immediate relatives of patients wanted to be present during CPR. Regarding to different attitudes, further research using by qualitative methods, in order to gain a deeper insights, is recommended. Keywords: family presence, witnessed, resuscitation-CPR.
Problem statement: The sport industry recognized the impact it has on the natural environment and developed strategies to address relevant issues. This concern triggered two environmental initiatives: reducing the ecological footprint and using sports as a means to raise environmental awareness. Purpose of study: This presentation provides an overview of the scholarly work on environmental sustainability in sport. We present examples of environmental programs adopted by sport organizations around the world and discuss the current state of environmental efforts. Methods: Semi-structured interviews, website analysis, and published documents were used in the analysis. Data were analyzed through qualitative methods to identify themes representing the current status of environmental efforts in sport. Finding and results: Sport organizations are proactively addressing the negative environmental impact of their operations producing outcomes including increasing organizational legitimacy, averting legal recourse, saving money, and building stronger relationships with key stakeholders. Results also illustrate the challenges associated with the successful adoption of environmental programs such as communication issues and available organizational resources. Conclusions and recommendations The trend is for sport organizations to expand and implement current environmental initiatives. The current focus on the environment in sport is expected to continue due to social values and expectations of stakeholders, government intervention, and mandatory requirements for certain certifications (e.g., LEED). Sport organizations need to develop partnerships with industry experts and within sport leagues to continue their efforts. As environmental awareness grows, sustainable sports offer a platform from which to address these issues and contribute to a sustainable future. Keywords: environment, sport industry, sustainability.
This paper attempts to study the relationship between urban heat island and human comfortability in the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley region. The spatial land surface temperatures (LST) from various types of land uses were retrieved and mapped from TERRA/MODIS satellite data of Klang Valley area for the years 2008-2009. The monthly MODIS data were divided into four seasonal periods i.e., Northeast Monsoon (November to March), Southwest Monsoon (May to September) and two period of intermediate monsoons (April and October, respectively). There was 56 locations of known pixels within the area of Klang Valley were selected through systematic sampling to develop GIS contour map using ArcGIS software. The result showed that the mean highest LST occurred during the Southwest Monsoon period i.e., 309o Kelvin in daytime, while area with high urban imperviousness coverage is the most notable UHI gradient. Surface urban heat islands are typically present during the day and night-time, but tend to be strongest during the day, especially during the Northeast monsoon period. Warm and hot environment due to high temperatures and excessive heat loads will create UHI and thus an uncomfortable environment. The establishment of urban cool islands in some seasons can be associated with the occurrences of urban green patches within the metropolitan area. It is important to take mitigation measures in order to reduce and/or to sustain the establishment of the new UHI centres within and around the study area in future. Keywords: urban heat island, urbanization, Land Surface Temperature, human comfortability, sustainable development.
Objective: Determine the knowledge levels of nursing students receiving undergraduate education concerning the nursing law and health transformation. Method: This descriptive study applied a questionnaire involving 19 questions about the laws and health transformation to students. Population and sample of the study consisted of students (N=273) receiving undergraduate education at Selcuk University Aksehir Kadir Yallagoz Health High School Department of Nursing. The data that were collected between 17-24 February were evaluated in the SPSS program at a confidence interval of 95% and significance level of 0,05. Findings: Among 273 undergraduate students who accepted to participate in the study, 32,2% were 1. grade, 29,3% 2. grade, 20,9% 3. grade and 17,6% 4. grade. Ages of students vary between 17 and 24, and the arithmetic mean of ages is 20,30±1,62. As a result of the statistical calculations, it was determined that the nursing laws and states of receiving the relevant education (p<0,05) and states of obtaining information about the Health Transformation Program (p<0,05) varied according to ages of students. Conclusion: It was determined that students had insufficient information about the nursing law and health transformation. Keywords: nursing students, nursing law, health transformation.
This paper describes the experience of the researcher in Malaysia exploring sexuality issues among women with physical disabilities for her doctoral study. As sexuality in this country is generally perceived to be a taboo topic to discuss openly, it was felt that issues like sexually transmitted disease, sexual dysfunction, and reproductive issues remain neglected or untreated. By using the field notes as a guide, this paper illustrates the challenges that the first author encountered and strategies used to overcome the difficulties during the exploration of sexuality issues among this population. It is anticipated that this presentation will be able to further enhance the understanding among future researchers who are interested in venturing into the sexuality area in a Muslim country. Keywords: sexuality, physical disability, challenges.
Grappling with ethical issues in environmental studies is notoriously challenging, particularly for those working in the scientific/technical domain. The divide between humanities and science was famously expressed in terms of two cultures by C.P.Snow in his 1959 critique of the prevailing dismissive attitude towards science within Government. An ensuing rebuke to Snow in the 1960s suggested that it was scientists that worked in a moral vacuum. Calls for more responsible science have since become even more urgent with increasing environmental risks. The paper describes a simple adaptable heuristic for professionals coming from a more scientific background to work with ethical issues of environmental responsibility. The heuristic, arising from over fifteen years of experience in teaching environmental ethics to mature part-time study fellows at The Open University mostly from a technical professional background, provides a practical means of bridging the divide between science and humanities. Three recurring and interrelated questions of responsibility are addressed – (i) what matters, in terms of issues, (ii) who matters (and how), in terms of agency, and (iii) why some matters and issues of agency are prioritised over others, in terms of justification. The heuristic can be adapted for dealing with moral issues of responsibility where caring for the environment whilst demonstrating accountability are regarded as important for developing professional and/or personal capacity. Some of the challenges that remain in using such a device for bridging the cultural divide are discussed.
In recent years there has been a growing consensus that environmental education should be orientated around the idea of “sustainable development”. Sustainable development refers to the conservation, protection and regeneration of resources over an indefinite period of time. Central to sustainability is the idea that today decisions affect the future of human health and well-being, the environment and the economy. The concept of sustainable development was defined in 1987 by the brundtland commission as ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. Without environmental sustainability it is impossible to achieve sustainable development. Environmental education should provide experiences ofproblem-solving, decision-making and participation, with considerations based on ecological, political, economic, social, aesthetic and ethical aspects. Pressing global realities demand that we foster through education - the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future. The purpose of this article is to explore the importance of education for the achievement of sustainable development. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Environment, Environmental Education.
The main objective of the study was to determine the behaviors of the activated sludge dynamics, exposed to ultrasonic radiation under anaerobic conditions. Accordingly, 12 batch reactors were operated in the orbital incubator. Also there was a control reactor, which has no ultrasound application in this 12-batch reactor. Biogas as a result of biologic activity in the reactors was measured every 24 hours for 34 days with volume displacement method. While the findings are in coherent with the many studies in the literature, the results of some experimental sets are greatly different according to the expected results. Because of the reactors operated under room temperature (25oC), the obtained data may differ under higher temperatures (35oC, 55oC etc.). The results demonstrate that depending on increasing the radiation time and ultrasonic density, COD is increased while TS is decreased. This situation may be explained that re-flocculation process. Keywords: anaerobic treatment; cavitation; ultrasonication; waste sludge;
The results demonstrated a distinct increase in temperature during the summer stagnation in the water layer below 7 meters of depth in the experimental part of the lake. There, the temperature of near-bottom water increased by 5.6⁰C from June to September, while in the control part was just 0.4⁰C. Higher temperatures of the hypolimnion waters meant that the thermal profiles were less stable. Cooler waters at the bottm were removed through the pipe and replaced with warmer waters, which were previously found in the upper hypolimnion or in the metalimnion. Studies on the hourly temperature variation in vertical profiles showed that the increase in temperature in the experimental part was very dynamic. In 5 days, despite evident thermal stratification (the thermal gradient 4.0⁰C/m), the temperature at the bottom in this part of the lake increased by 0.3⁰C, while in the control remained at the same level. Such considerable warming of the hypolimnion waters and interference with natural thermal systems may have significant influence on the duration of summer stagnation, the rate of metabolic processes and, consequently, the rate of oxygen consumption. Keywords: water temperature, stratified lakes, hypolimnetic withdrawal, lake restoration;
When the embankments are bare, it leads to erosion of the top soil and exposes the subsoil. The subsoil is considered to have fragile structure which leads to the increased runoff that aids the sedimentation process which is considered among the major off-site effects of the soil erosion process that influences the water quality and the capacity of the stream channels. This paper comprises of a field study which was conducted on the roadside inclination with the gradient of 1 on 1.5. This study concerns about the comparison of turbidity and the presence of the suspended solids obtained from a bare surface which was monitored at different intervals of time under the same simulated rainfall condition of 52 mm/hour for which the rainfall data was obtained for the Perak state from Meteorological Department, Malaysia. A prominent difference was observed in the water quality and suspended solids depending on the way of collecting the water samples. The maximum turbidity and suspended particles obtained by disturbing the settled particles were 6000 (NTU), and 244.3 (mg/L) and for the undisturbed settled particles the maximum values were found to be 2585 (NTU), and 58.3 (mg/L).
As far as variable stresses are concerned, fatigue life duration of welded structures is in inverse ratio to stress concentrators. In the case of fillet welds, these stress concentrators are placed both at the root of the seam welding as well as between the basic and filler materials . In both welding cases, the stress concentrators placed at filler material/base material welding joint will increase by the cross sectional convexity of the fillet weld. Therefore, for variable stressed structures, based on a satisfactory fatigue life, concave fillet welds are preferred likely to ensure low stress concentrators at the filler material /base material welding joint due to a smooth passing from the fillet weld to the basic material. The present paper aims at analyzing the impact of the additive type of material, fatigue life and stress, in the case of MAG welding, by means of durability curves and the Finite Element Analysis Method. Keywords: stress concentrators, fillet welds, Finite Element Analysis Method;
The working objective is to develop a corporate information system to study the quality of the educational services of universities of Kazakhstan, as an effective tool to control the educational system, with a full range of statistical data using cloud technology. Assistance for the implementation of the State Program of Education Development for 2011-2020 is in terms of higher education. In accordance with the purpose of the working provides solutions to key problems: - The conceptual ground for the establishment and management of corporate information systems university management; -Develop theoretical concepts and a formal model of the system design; - To determine the optimal parameters for the functioning of a distributed database of high schools; -Identify the main modules of the system as control objects universities; - To create a single information network with the possibility of cloud technology in the management of the university; -Introduce authoring quality assessment in higher education. Keywords: Information Technology, cloud computing, server, domain administration, database administration;
Our society has to find solutions for environmental problems especially for water pollution which is serious problem not only for present but future generations as well. The Water Framework Directive was established as the long-term water policy of the European Union. There is a need to improve the existing system for monitoring water bodies, given that laboratory methods are too slow to develop an operational response and do not provide an appropriate level for public health protection in real time. The project reviews both existing standard techniques and new innovative technologies with the focus on the real-time monitoring and control. The Robotic Water Analyser (RWA) is the outcome of a Hungarian development project. The RWA was applied for treated sewage quality monitoring (7x24 hours weekly). The mobile container is able to analyse the main characteristic of the treated sewage such as a water temperature, pH value, conductivity, NO3-N, NH4-N and PO43-P concentrations. The AVITAR Centre is suitable to carry out continuous measurements regarding the treated sewage quality parameters and to process and to transfer the measured results. Using on-line monitoring system the potential to detect contaminants in a water system in real time is increased and water management system can be improved. The AVITAR system was tested in the red mud disaster occurred in Hungary. The efficient operation of the system was proved with providing continuous data on the water quality of the stream effected by the disaster. Keywords: water pollution, Robotic Water Analyser (RWA), photometric technique, on-line monitoring;
