Analysing workplace violence towards health care staff in public hospitals using alternative ordered response models: the case of north-eastern Turkey

The main objective of this article is to determine key factors that may have a significant effect on the verbal abuse, emotional abuse and physical assault of health care workers in north-eastern Turkey. A self-administered survey was completed by 450 health care workers in three well-established hospitals in Erzurum, Turkey. Because of the discrete and ordered nature of the dependent variable of the survey, the data were analysed using four distinctive ordered response models. Results revealed that several key variables were found to be a significant determinant of workplace violence, such as the type of health institution, occupational position, weekly working hours, weekly shift hours, number of daily patient contacts, age group of the respondents, experience in the health sector, training against workplace violence and current policies of the hospitals and the Turkish Ministry of Health.     

Ergonomic design and evaluation of a diagnostic ultrasound transducer holder

Background. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are injuries and disorders that affect the body’s movement and musculoskeletal system. Awkward postures represent one of the major ergonomic risk factors that cause WMSDs among sonographers while working with an ultrasound transducer. This study aimed to design and evaluate a new holder for the ultrasound transducer. Materials and methods. In the first phase a new holder was designed for the transducer, considering design principles. Evaluation of the new holder was then carried out by electrogoniometry and a locally perceived discomfort (LPD) scale. Results. The application of design principles to the new holder resulted in an improvement of wrist posture and comfort. Wrist angles in extension, flexion, radial deviation and ulnar deviation were lower with utilization of the new holder. The severity of discomfort based on the LPD method in the two modes of work with and without the new holder was reported with values of 1.3 and 1.8, respectively (p?<?0.05). Conclusion. Overall, this study indicated that applying ergonomics design principles was effective in minimizing wrist deviation and increasing comfort while working with the new holder.     

Radiant Domestic Combustion Stove System: Experimental and Simulated Study of Energy Use and Thermal Comfort

A steady-state space radiant heat model and a stove combustion model are developed to simulate the heat exchanges between various surfaces in the room and the stove and stack surfaces, assuming stiochiometric combustion inside the stove and the exhaust gases flow out through the stack by natural convection. The space heat model calculates the fuel consumption, the stove, stack temperatures, and the mass flow rate of exhaust gases, and provides an opportunity to study the energy efficiency of the stove, while satisfying the constraints of thermal comfort. Fanger (1982) Fanger, P. O. 1982. Thermal Comfort Analysis and Applications in Engineering, 156–198. New York: McGraw Hill.  [Google Scholar] model and a radiation exchange model between various surfaces of the space, the thermal building energy balance, and stove combustion process is applied to determine the mean radiant temperature (MRT) and the extent of thermal comfort as determined by predicted mean vote (PMV).

The overall model is validated by performing experiments in a room placed inside a controlled outdoor environment. The room is heated using a domestic stove common for rural areas of Lebanon and the MRT, the room air temperature, the walls and window temperatures are measured at two stove positions. The measured MRT, the average room temperature, and the wall surface temperatures agreed within ±7% of values predicted by the numerical model.

A parametric study is performed to optimize the stove and occupant locations in the room where adequate comfort level can be maintained at lower fuel consumption levels. The values of MRT and PMV depend strongly on the position of the radiant stove heater and stack with respect to the cold window and the occupant location. It is shown that it is possible to save up to 15% in stove fuel consumption by changing the stove position in the room with respect to the window and to the person, while maintaining the same level of comfort.     

Characterization and Optimization of Persian Gum/Whey Protein Bionanocomposite Films Containing Betanin Nanoliposomes for Food Packaging Utilization

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - In this study, composite packaging films were produced from relatively inexpensive materials including Whey protein isolate (WPI) and Persian gum (PG),...     

An Experimental and Metamodeling Approach to Tensile Properties of Natural Fibers Composites

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The present work presents an analysis of the tensile properties of Palm as well as Luffa natural fiber composites (NFC) in high density polyethylene...     

Extraction of Lignosulfonate from Black Liquor into Construction of a Magnetic Lignosulfonate-Based Adsorbent and Its Adsorption Properties for Dyes from Aqueous Solutions

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Lignosulfonate, one of the lignin derivatives, was extracted from the black liquor as a byproduct of the wood and paper industry. It was used to prepare...     

Using artificial intelligence to make sustainable development decisions considering VUCA: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Sustainable development emergent subfields have been rapidly evolving, and their popularity increased in recent years. Sustainable development is a...     

The environmental impact of industrialization and foreign direct investment: empirical evidence from Asia-Pacific region

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Environmental degradation has been the main distress in recent years due to the drastic effect of climate change. To determine the gone thorough...