Prevention of musculoskeletal complaints in nursing: Aims, approach and content of an ergonomic-educational programme

In 1992 a comprehensive health-promotion project was initiated in seven nursing-homes in the Netherlands. This project was designed to implement an ergonomic-educational programme, with the intention of reducing physical workload and to bring about safe working in order to prevent work-related musculoskeletal complaints. After a period of external support, employees of the nursing-homes should be able to proceed with the programme independently. In this paper the content of the programme and its underlying strategies and theories are described. So far, the programme has got off to a good start in all the nursing-homes. Positive effects of the programme could be demonstrated and guidelines and protocols for safe working were introduced. However, it is as yet too early for definitive conclusions to be drawn regarding the aspect of continuity.     

Young northern pike,yellow perch and crayfish as bioindicators in a mercury contaminated watercourse

Young-of-the-year and yearling northern pike (Esox lucius), yearling yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and adult crayfish (Orconectes virilis) were collected in the mercury-contaminated Wabigoon/English/Winnipeg River System, Ontario, and analyzed for total mercury. Analysis of mercury concentrations in these organisms produced consistent geographical trends; i.e. mercury concentrations in biota downstream of Dryden > English River system > Winnipeg River system > control sites. In the Wabigoon River system the bioavailability of mercury increases with distance downstream of the historical point source. Mercury concentrations in the biota studied were highly correlated with mercury concentrations in fish species which are of sport and commercial interest. The locations where young fish obtain their bodyburdens are known typically within 100 m. The biota studied compare favourably with the criteria proposed by Phillips (1980) as prerequisites for biological indicators. The wide distribution of young pike, perch and crayfish in North America, Europe and Asia may enhance their appeal as biomonitors.The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. No endorsement should be inferred.     

Spatial analysis and mapping the annual mean concentrations of acidity and major ions in precipitation over the United Kingdom in 1986

The composition of precipitation is being monitored in collectors sited throughout the United Kingdom. In the first year, 1986, hydrogen ion, nitrate, ammonium and non-marine sulphate were measured in samples from 47 sites and annual mean concentrations determined. Spatial analysis based on Regionalized Variable Theory revealed autocorrelation in all four ions and reasonable bounded models were fitted to the sample variogram of all four. These were then used to estimate values of a fine mesh grid by simple kriging, and the estimates were then contoured. The estimation errors were similarly mapped, and both sets of maps are presented. The maps show that concentrations of these ions are greatest in eastern parts of the country, as expected from consideration of European emissions and weather patterns. For the first time estimation errors were also mapped and show how the network could be improved.     

Environmental and biological monitoring of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)

This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of various biological parameters for monitoring of workers exposed to methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). Fifty male workers from a large magnetic videotape factory participated in this study. Personal air samples were collected using 3M organic vapor monitors and analysed for MEK by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detector (FID). 10 mL of urine; blood (1 mL) and exhaled air were also collected at the end of an 8-hour workshift. The headspace GC method was applied for measurement of urinary and blood MEK. MEK in expired air was analysed directly by using a GC/FID.The correlation coefficients (r) between environmental MEK and all other biological parameters measured show significant positive relationships. The r for environmental MEK and urine MEK was 0.84; for blood 0.73 and for breath 0.64. The correlation coefficients between blood and urine was 0.72; blood and breath was 0.88 and urine and breath 0.60. These findings suggest that measurements of unmetabolised MEK in blood, exhaled air and urine can be used for biological monitoring of MEK exposure. Nevertheless, laboratory methodological assessment is in favour of measuring urinary MEK as it is non-invasive and does not have to be analysed immediately after collection.     

The characteristic of in situ stress in outburst area of China

In order to obtain the characteristics of in situ stress field in outburst mining area, using the hollow inclusion (HI) technique to measure the in situ stress of coal and gas outburst mining area. The measurement sites located in northeast, middle and east of china, which include eight mining areas such as Fuxin, Pingdingshan, Hebi and Huainan. Base on the analysis of measurement data from outburst mining area, conclusions could be obtained as follow: (a) major principal stress and minor principal stress is horizontal stress and interim principal stress is vertical stress, and the type of outburst area’s stress field is dynamic stress field; (b) the major principal stress and minor principal stress are higher than other regions and the tectonic stress is outstanding; and (c) the ratio of major principal and vertical stress is decrease with the increase of depth and the type of stress field is likely transfer dynamic to static. Thus, in situ stress plays a key role during the occurring and development of coal and gas outburst, which is an important reason of severe outburst in China.     

Experimental study on the influence mechanism of gas seepage on coal and gas outburst disaster

By using the self-developed triaxial servo-controlled seepage equipment for thermo-fluid-solid coupling of coal containing gas and the self-developed coal and gas outburst simulation test device, experiments to study the influence mechanism of gas seepage on coal and gas outburst disasters. The results show that: (i) gas seepage decreases the strength of coal containing gas and accelerates its failure process; (ii) under the same gas pressure, the confining pressure is larger, the more difficult the gas flows and the greater the intensity of coal containing gas is; (iii) in the process of coal and gas outburst, the greater the vertical ground stress is, the more powerful the outburst will be; (iv) the influence mechanism of gas seepage on coal and gas outburst disasters is as follows: firstly, gas seepage weakens the mechanical properties of coal body, which makes it much easier for coal and gas outburst to occur; secondly, on the same effect of external force, it will be easy to form a high gas pressure zone in the coal body under the difficult condition of gas seepage, and accumulate more gas compression energy, which is the energy source for coal and gas outburst, and it is also the main dynamic source to throw and grind the coal.     

Exploring the perceived influence of safety management practices on project performance in the construction industry

Although safety management is known to be vital to construction projects, very few studies have solicited views from construction practitioners about their perceptions of which safety management practices (SMPs) are important to construction projects and related to project performance. An empirical study was undertaken in Hong Kong in order to shed more light on this topic. In the study, the importance levels of 15 popular SMPs and five project performance criteria were rated by 232 respondents. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and three SMP categories - information, process, and committees - were extracted. Of these three categories, safety management process was perceived by the construction practitioners as being the most important, followed by safety management information and committees. Moreover, the effect of the three SMP categories on a composite project performance variable was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Results indicate that the “information” and “committees” categories were associated with project performance positively and significantly. One of the major conclusions of the study is that the construction industry has paid relatively less attention to safety management committees, which were empirically analyzed as having a strong perceived impact on project performance. In order to improve project performance, construction companies should promote the criticality of safety management committees.     

The effect of overtaking behavior on unidirectional pedestrian flow

We present a model of overtaking behavior that can be used to simulate unidirectional pedestrian flow in routine. All pedestrians have the ability to determine whether or not to overtake other pedestrians according to their desired velocity and position. Although existing models such as cellular automata models, lattice gas models, social force models, etc., can be used to predict evacuation performance, most of these models are either computationally inefficient or do not account for some crucial elements of human behavior in a moving crowd. Furthermore, these models use either empirical equations developed from experiments or mechanical system analogies to determine movement decisions. The pedestrian flow patterns simulated by these models may deviate significantly from reality. In reality, pedestrians walk at different velocities and pedestrians with a higher walking velocity are accustomed to overtaking other pedestrians with a lower walking velocity and this paper aims to mimic this behavior as the original social force model developed by Helbing et al. does not reflect this pattern of collective pedestrian behavior. In this paper, we propose modifications of the social force model that reflects how overtaking behavior operates in routine. The comparison of the pedestrian flow pattern between the original social force model and the modified social force models with the real data collected by the camcorder is also performed in order to demonstrate our modified social force model can be used to achieve reasonable simulations of overtaking behavior among pedestrians.     

Silver sources of archaic Greek coinage

We report on new chemical and lead isotopic results and interpretations of archaic Greek silver coins from the Asyut hoard which was buried around 475 B.C. Aeginetan coins were of central interest in this study. Possible ancient silver mines were explored in the Aegean region in the course of several geologic expeditions, and chemically and isotopically investigated. Some of the silver sources in Greece were traced by combination of the analytical methods and questions of provenance were solved. In addition, processes of silver smelting and refining were studied. Results and implications of this work are summarized in the final section on Conclusions.