48 CFR 252.246-7003 - Notification of Potential Safety Issues.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

.... Critical safety item means a part, subassembly, assembly, subsystem, installation equipment, or support... impact for systems, or subsystems, assemblies, subassemblies, or parts integral to a system, acquired by... the extent known at the time of notification; (iv) A point of contact to coordinate problem analysis...

48 CFR 252.246-7003 - Notification of Potential Safety Issues.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

.... Critical safety item means a part, subassembly, assembly, subsystem, installation equipment, or support... impact for systems, or subsystems, assemblies, subassemblies, or parts integral to a system, acquired by... the extent known at the time of notification; (iv) A point of contact to coordinate problem analysis...

Transforming communication and safety culture in intrapartum care: a multi-organization blueprint.

PubMed

Lyndon, Audrey; Johnson, M Christina; Bingham, Debra; Napolitano, Peter G; Joseph, Gerald; Maxfield, David G; O'Keeffe, Daniel F

2015-01-01

Effective, patient-centered communication facilitates interception and correction of potentially harmful conditions and errors. All team members, including women, their families, physicians, midwives, nurses, and support staff, have a role in identifying the potential for harm during labor and birth. However, the results of collaborative research studies conducted by organizations that represent professionals who care for women during labor and birth indicate that health care providers may frequently witness, but may not always report, problems with safety or clinical performance. Some of these health care providers felt resigned to the continuation of such problems and fearful of retribution if they tried to address them. Speaking up to address safety and quality concerns is a dynamic social process. Every team member must feel empowered to speak up about concerns without fear of put-downs, retribution, or receiving poor-quality care. Patient safety requires mutual accountability: individuals, teams, health care facilities, and professional associations have a shared responsibility for creating and sustaining environments of mutual respect and engaging in highly reliable perinatal care. Defects in human factors, communication, and leadership have been the leading contributors to sentinel events in perinatal care for more than a decade. Organizational commitment and executive leadership are essential to creating an environment that proactively supports safety and quality. The problem is well-known; the time for action is now. © 2015 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Transforming communication and safety culture in intrapartum care: a multi-organization blueprint.

PubMed

Lyndon, Audrey; Johnson, M Christina; Bingham, Debra; Napolitano, Peter G; Joseph, Gerald; Maxfield, David G; OʼKeeffe, Daniel F

2015-05-01

Effective, patient-centered communication facilitates interception and correction of potentially harmful conditions and errors. All team members, including women, their families, physicians, midwives, nurses, and support staff, have a role in identifying the potential for harm during labor and birth. However, the results of collaborative research studies conducted by organizations that represent professionals who care for women during labor and birth indicate that health care providers may frequently witness, but may not always report, problems with safety or clinical performance. Some of these health care providers felt resigned to the continuation of such problems and fearful of retribution if they tried to address them. Speaking up to address safety and quality concerns is a dynamic social process. Every team member must feel empowered to speak up about concerns without fear of put-downs, retribution, or receiving poor-quality care. Patient safety requires mutual accountability: individuals, teams, health care facilities, and professional associations have a shared responsibility for creating and sustaining environments of mutual respect and engaging in highly reliable perinatal care. Defects in human factors, communication, and leadership have been the leading contributors to sentinel events in perinatal care for more than a decade. Organizational commitment and executive leadership are essential to creating an environment that proactively supports safety and quality. The problem is well-known; the time for action is now.

Transforming communication and safety culture in intrapartum care: a multi-organization blueprint.

PubMed

Lyndon, Audrey; Johnson, M Christina; Bingham, Debra; Napolitano, Peter G; Joseph, Gerald; Maxfield, David G; O'Keeffe, Daniel F

2015-01-01

Effective, patient-centered communication facilitates interception and correction of potentially harmful conditions and errors. All team members, including women, their families, physicians, midwives, nurses, and support staff, have roles in identifying the potential for harm during labor and birth. However, the results of collaborative research studies conducted by organizations that represent professionals who care for women during labor and birth indicate that health care providers may frequently witness, but may not always report, problems with safety or clinical performance. Some of these health care providers felt resigned to the continuation of such problems and fearful of retribution if they tried to address them. Speaking up to address safety and quality concerns is a dynamic social process. Every team member must feel empowered to speak up about concerns without fear of put-downs, retribution, or receiving poor-quality care. Patient safety requires mutual accountability: individuals, teams, health care facilities, and professional associations have a shared responsibility for creating and sustaining environments of mutual respect and engaging in highly reliable perinatal care. Defects in human factors, communication, and leadership have been the leading contributors to sentinel events in perinatal care for more than a decade. Organizational commitment and executive leadership are essential to creating an environment that proactively supports safety and quality. The problem is well-known; the time for action is now. © 2015 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Requirements for significant problem reporting and trend analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

This handbook supplements policies, requirements, and procedures of NMI 8070.3 to ensure that NASA management at each organizational level is: fully aware of trends affecting both the level of safety and the potential for mission success established for both NASA manned space programs and its supporting institutions; fully and independently informed of problems that represent significant risk to the safety of all personnel (including the general populace) and to the success of a mission or operation through a program mechanism herein defined as Significant Problem Reporting; and in full agreement with the level of elimination of these problems through the closed-loop accounting of corrective actions. The requirements of this handbook are supportive of the agency's safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality assurance (SRM&QA) program objectives and are applicable to all organizational elements of NASA connected with or supporting developmental or operational manned space program/projects (including associated payloads) and the related institutional facilities.

The influence of handling qualities on safety and survivability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, S. B.

1977-01-01

The relationship of handling qualities to safety and survivability of military aircraft is examined which includes the following: (1) a brief discussion of the philosophy used in the military specifications for treatment of degraded handling qualities, (2) an examination of several example handling qualities problem areas which influence safety and survivability; and (3) a movie illustrating the potential dangers of inadequate handling qualities features.

Industrial requirements in food safety.

PubMed

Vincent, P M

1990-01-01

The principles of establishing industrial requirements in food safety are described, taking risk potentials all along the food chain into their respective account. Regulations will, in the future, lead to increased autocontrol in production. The rapid changes in food technology require constant adaptation to new problems, to keep the global quality of food at a high level. Regulatory authorities will, in the new European market, concentrate on enforcement of 'essential requirements' while industrialists will follow good manufacturing practices. Open dialogue between the latter, the former and the scientific community is highly desirable since mutual knowledge of the problem will help maintain a high level of food safety, for the benefit of everybody.

In vitro dosimetry modeling will be a critical step toward efficient assessment of engineered nanomaterials for environmental health and safety

EPA Science Inventory

Presentation Description: The development and application of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) into commercial and consumer products is far outpacing the ability of traditional approaches to evaluate the potential implications for environmental health and safety. This problem recen...

78 FR 49735 - Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Dam Safety Study, Lake Lewisville...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-15

... determine appropriate permanent methods for correcting potential problems, interim risk reduction measures... Environmental Impact Statement for Dam Safety Study, Lake Lewisville Dam, Elm Fork Trinity River, Denton County... primary purposes of the project are flood risk management, [[Page 49736

Signal treatments to reduce heavy vehicle crash-risk at metropolitan highway intersections.

PubMed

Archer, Jeffery; Young, William

2009-05-01

Heavy vehicle red-light running at intersections is a common safety problem that has severe consequences. This paper investigates alternative signal treatments that address this issue. A micro-simulation analysis approach was adopted as a precursor to a field trial. The simulation model emulated traffic conditions at a known problem intersection and provided a baseline measure to compare the effects of: an extension of amber time; an extension of green for heavy vehicles detected in the dilemma zone at the onset of amber; an extension of the all-red safety-clearance time based on the detection of vehicles considered likely to run the red light at two detector locations during amber; an extension of the all-red safety-clearance time based on the detection of potential red-light runners during amber or red; and a combination of the second and fourth alternatives. Results suggested safety improvements for all treatments. An extension of amber provided the best safety effect but is known to be prone to behavioural adaptation effects and wastes traffic movement time unnecessarily. A green extension for heavy vehicles detected in the dilemma zone and an all-red extension for potential red-light runners were deemed to provide a sustainable safety improvement and operational efficiency.

Travel health: a survey of life jacket designs currently in use on commercial aircraft.

PubMed

Bauer, Irmgard L

2002-01-01

Although any travel harbors potential health problems, travel across water poses the additional risk of involuntary contact with water in the event of an emergency. Studies suggest that fatal boat-related accidents have occurred due to the passengers' inability to don their life jackets. With the dramatic increase of long-haul flights, it was decided to investigate if potential safety hazards can be identified leading to similar problems in relation to the life jackets provided onboard aircraft. It was assumed that the variety of designs combined with a possible lack of attention paid to safety instructions could represent such a problem. Safety instruction cards in passengers' seat pockets usually depict the life jacket model used on a particular aircraft. Ninety-eight such safety cards from 53 airlines were analyzed and categorized to identify the range and variety of designs currently in use. Twelve different categories of life jacket models could be distinguished with some airlines using more than one model. It was also found that not all cards show a clear depiction of the models used, the cards of two airlines show two different designs on the same cards, and two other companies chose to change the model halfway through the pictured donning procedure. There is a wide variety of life jacket designs in use with the safety cards not always giving accurate instructions. This variety also has implications for the safety demonstration at the beginning of a flight. Further research is recommended into a range of topics, one being the quality and content of these instructions, and also into other personal floating devices provided for the safety of travelers in the event of an emergency over water.

Coordinated pre-preemption of traffic signals to enhance railroad grade crossing safety in urban areas and estimation of train impacts to arterial travel time delay.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

This research project investigated the potential for using advanced features of traffic signal system software platforms : (ATMS.now), prevalent in Florida, to alleviate safety and mobility problems at highway-railroad at-grade crossings and : adjace...

Hearing Conservation in Schools [and] Safety and Health Legislation: Are You in Compliance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gasaway, Donald C.; Kirk, Albert S.

1995-01-01

Because potentially hazardous noises abound in schools, especially in technical areas, this article describes ways to identify problems and help students and employees protect their hearing. Also looks at legislated requirements for blood-borne pathogens, laboratory safety, hazardous waste disposal, personal protective equipment, and other areas.…

Radioactive Waste...The Problem and Some Possible Solutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivier, Jean-Pierre

1977-01-01

Nuclear safety is a highly technical and controversial subject that has caused much heated debate and political concern. This article examines the problems involved in managing radioactive wastes and the techniques now used. Potential solutions are suggested and the need for international cooperation is stressed. (Author/MA)

Quality and strength of patient safety climate on medical-surgical units.

PubMed

Hughes, Linda C; Chang, Yunkyung; Mark, Barbara A

2009-01-01

Describing the safety climate in hospitals is an important first step in creating work environments where safety is a priority. Yet, little is known about the patient safety climate on medical-surgical units. Study purposes were to describe quality and strength of the patient safety climate on medical-surgical units and explore hospital and unit characteristics associated with this climate. Data came from a larger organizational study to investigate hospital and unit characteristics associated with organizational, nurse, and patient outcomes. The sample for this study was 3,689 RNs on 286 medical-surgical units in 146 hospitals. Nursing workgroup and managerial commitment to safety were the two most strongly positive attributes of the patient safety climate. However, issues surrounding the balance between job duties and safety compliance and nurses' reluctance to reveal errors continue to be problematic. Nurses in Magnet hospitals were more likely to communicate about errors and participate in error-related problem solving. Nurses on smaller units and units with lower work complexity reported greater safety compliance and were more likely to communicate about and reveal errors. Nurses on smaller units also reported greater commitment to patient safety and participation in error-related problem solving. Nursing workgroup commitment to safety is a valuable resource that can be leveraged to promote a sense of personal responsibility for and shared ownership of patient safety. Managers can capitalize on this commitment by promoting a work environment in which control over nursing practice and active participation in unit decisions are encouraged and by developing channels of communication that increase staff nurse involvement in identifying patient safety issues, prioritizing unit-level safety goals, and resolving day-to-day operational problems the have the potential to jeopardize patient safety.

Civil Uses of Remotely Piloted Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aderhold, J. R.; Gordon, G.; Scott, G. W.

1976-01-01

The technology effort is identified and assessed that is required to bring the civil uses of RPVs to fruition and to determine whether or not the potential market is real and economically practical, the technologies are within reach, the operational problems are manageable, and the benefits are worth the cost. To do so, the economic, technical, and environmental implications are examined. The time frame is 1980-85. Representative uses are selected; detailed functional and performance requirements are derived for RPV systems; and conceptual system designs are devised. Total system cost comparisons are made with non-RPV alternatives. The potential market demand for RPV systems is estimated. Environmental and safety requirements are examined, and legal and regulatory concerns are identified. A potential demand for 2,000-11,000 RPV systems is estimated. Typical cost savings of 25-35% compared to non-RPV alternatives are determined. There appear to be no environmental problems, and the safety issue appears manageable.

NASA aviation safety reporting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Billings, C. E.; Lauber, J. K.; Funkhouser, H.; Lyman, E. G.; Huff, E. M.

1976-01-01

The origins and development of the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) are briefly reviewed. The results of the first quarter's activity are summarized and discussed. Examples are given of bulletins describing potential air safety hazards, and the disposition of these bulletins. During the first quarter of operation, the ASRS received 1464 reports; 1407 provided data relevant to air safety. All reports are being processed for entry into the ASRS data base. During the reporting period, 130 alert bulletins describing possible problems in the aviation system were generated and disseminated. Responses were received from FAA and others regarding 108 of the alert bulletins. Action was being taken with respect to 70 of the 108 responses received. Further studies are planned of a number of areas, including human factors problems related to automation of the ground and airborne portions of the national aviation system.

Real Time Maintenance Approval and Required IMMT Coordination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burchell, S.

2016-01-01

Payloads are assessed for nominal operations. Payload Developers have the option of performing a maintenance hazard assessment (MHA) for potential maintenance activities. When POIC (Payload Operations and Integration Center) Safety reviews an OCR calling for a maintenance procedure, we cannot approve it without a MHA. If no MHA exists, we contact MER (Mission Evaluation Room) Safety. Depending on the nature of the problem, MER Safety has the option to: Analyze and grant approval themselves; Direct the payload back to the ISRP (Integrated Safety Review Panel); Direct the payload to the IMMT (Increment Mission Management Team).

Pilot Fatigue and Circadian Desynchronosis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Pilot fatigue and circadian desynchronosis, its significance to air transport safety, and research approaches, were examined. There is a need for better data on sleep, activity, and other pertinent factors from pilots flying a variety of demanding schedules. Simulation studies of flight crew performance should be utilized to determine the degree of fatigue induced by demanding schedules and to delineate more precisely the factors responsible for performance decrements in flight and to test solutions proposed to resolve problems induced by fatigue and desynchronosis. It was concluded that there is a safety problem of uncertain magnitude due to transmeridian flying and a potential problem due to fatigue associated with various factors found in air transport operations.

Global harmonization of safety regulations for the use of industrial robots-permission of collaborative operation and a related study by JNIOSH.

PubMed

Saito, Tsuyoshi; Hoshi, Toshiro; Ikeda, Hiroyasu; Okabe, Kohei

2015-01-01

In December 2013, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) partially amended the safety regulations for use of industrial robots so that "collaborative operation" could be performed at Japanese worksites as allowed in the ISO standard for industrial robots. In order to show global harmonization of Japanese legislation on machinery safety and problems with applying ISO safety standards to Japanese worksites, this paper reports the progress of a research study which have been conducted in National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan from 2011 to the present at the request of MHLW to examine the necessity and effect of the amendment. In the first phase of this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted among domestic robot manufacturers and users. The obtained results revealed their potential demand for the collaborative operation and problems concerning their risk assessment and rule-based risk reduction. To solve the problems, we propose a method based on an investigation result of the regulatory framework for safety of machinery in the European Union. Furthermore, a model of robot system capable of demonstrating the collaborative operation and risk reduction measures which is being developed to support appropriate implementation of the amendment is also described.

Flightdeck Automation Problems (FLAP) Model for Safety Technology Portfolio Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ancel, Ersin; Shih, Ann T.

2014-01-01

NASA's Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) develops and advances methodologies and technologies to improve air transportation safety. The Safety Analysis and Integration Team (SAIT) conducts a safety technology portfolio assessment (PA) to analyze the program content, to examine the benefits and risks of products with respect to program goals, and to support programmatic decision making. The PA process includes systematic identification of current and future safety risks as well as tracking several quantitative and qualitative metrics to ensure the program goals are addressing prominent safety risks accurately and effectively. One of the metrics within the PA process involves using quantitative aviation safety models to gauge the impact of the safety products. This paper demonstrates the role of aviation safety modeling by providing model outputs and evaluating a sample of portfolio elements using the Flightdeck Automation Problems (FLAP) model. The model enables not only ranking of the quantitative relative risk reduction impact of all portfolio elements, but also highlighting the areas with high potential impact via sensitivity and gap analyses in support of the program office. Although the model outputs are preliminary and products are notional, the process shown in this paper is essential to a comprehensive PA of NASA's safety products in the current program and future programs/projects.

Near real-time vaccine safety surveillance with partially accrued data.

PubMed

Greene, Sharon K; Kulldorff, Martin; Yin, Ruihua; Yih, W Katherine; Lieu, Tracy A; Weintraub, Eric S; Lee, Grace M

2011-06-01

The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) Project conducts near real-time vaccine safety surveillance using sequential analytic methods. Timely surveillance is critical in identifying potential safety problems and preventing additional exposure before most vaccines are administered. For vaccines that are administered during a short period, such as influenza vaccines, timeliness can be improved by undertaking analyses while risk windows following vaccination are ongoing and by accommodating predictable and unpredictable data accrual delays. We describe practical solutions to these challenges, which were adopted by the VSD Project during pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccine safety surveillance in 2009/2010. Adjustments were made to two sequential analytic approaches. The Poisson-based approach compared the number of pre-defined adverse events observed following vaccination with the number expected using historical data. The expected number was adjusted for the proportion of the risk window elapsed and the proportion of inpatient data estimated to have accrued. The binomial-based approach used a self-controlled design, comparing the observed numbers of events in risk versus comparison windows. Events were included in analysis only if they occurred during a week that had already passed for both windows. Analyzing data before risk windows fully elapsed improved the timeliness of safety surveillance. Adjustments for data accrual lags were tailored to each data source and avoided biasing analyses away from detecting a potential safety problem, particularly early during surveillance. The timeliness of vaccine and drug safety surveillance can be improved by properly accounting for partially elapsed windows and data accrual delays. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Annual Report February 1996

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) presents its annual report covering February through December 1995. Findings and recommendations include the areas of the Space Shuttle Program, the International Space Station, Aeronautics, and Other. Information to support these findings is included in this report. NASA's response to last year's annual report is included as an appendix. With regards to the Space Shuttle Program, the panel addresses the potential for safety problems due to organizational changes by increasing its scrutiny of Space Shuttle operations and planning.

Bureaucracy, Safety and Software: a Potentially Lethal Cocktail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatton, Les

This position paper identifies a potential problem with the evolution of software controlled safety critical systems. It observes that the rapid growth of bureaucracy in society quickly spills over into rules for behaviour. Whether the need for the rules comes first or there is simple anticipation of the need for a rule by a bureaucrat is unclear in many cases. Many such rules lead to draconian restrictions and often make the existing situation worse due to the presence of unintended consequences as will be shown with a number of examples.

Overview of Risk Mitigation for Safety-Critical Computer-Based Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2015-01-01

This report presents a high-level overview of a general strategy to mitigate the risks from threats to safety-critical computer-based systems. In this context, a safety threat is a process or phenomenon that can cause operational safety hazards in the form of computational system failures. This report is intended to provide insight into the safety-risk mitigation problem and the characteristics of potential solutions. The limitations of the general risk mitigation strategy are discussed and some options to overcome these limitations are provided. This work is part of an ongoing effort to enable well-founded assurance of safety-related properties of complex safety-critical computer-based aircraft systems by developing an effective capability to model and reason about the safety implications of system requirements and design.

Sociotechnical approaches to workplace safety: Research needs and opportunities.

PubMed

Robertson, Michelle M; Hettinger, Lawrence J; Waterson, Patrick E; Noy, Y Ian; Dainoff, Marvin J; Leveson, Nancy G; Carayon, Pascale; Courtney, Theodore K

2015-01-01

The sociotechnical systems perspective offers intriguing and potentially valuable insights into problems associated with workplace safety. While formal sociotechnical systems thinking originated in the 1950s, its application to the analysis and design of sustainable, safe working environments has not been fully developed. To that end, a Hopkinton Conference was organised to review and summarise the state of knowledge in the area and to identify research priorities. A group of 26 international experts produced collaborative articles for this special issue of Ergonomics, and each focused on examining a key conceptual, methodological and/or theoretical issue associated with sociotechnical systems and safety. In this concluding paper, we describe the major conference themes and recommendations. These are organised into six topic areas: (1) Concepts, definitions and frameworks, (2) defining research methodologies, (3) modelling and simulation, (4) communications and decision-making, (5) sociotechnical attributes of safe and unsafe systems and (6) potential future research directions for sociotechnical systems research. Sociotechnical complexity, a characteristic of many contemporary work environments, presents potential safety risks that traditional approaches to workplace safety may not adequately address. In this paper, we summarise the investigations of a group of international researchers into questions associated with the application of sociotechnical systems thinking to improve worker safety.

Numerical Computation of Homogeneous Slope Stability

PubMed Central

Xiao, Shuangshuang; Li, Kemin; Ding, Xiaohua; Liu, Tong

2015-01-01

To simplify the computational process of homogeneous slope stability, improve computational accuracy, and find multiple potential slip surfaces of a complex geometric slope, this study utilized the limit equilibrium method to derive expression equations of overall and partial factors of safety. This study transformed the solution of the minimum factor of safety (FOS) to solving of a constrained nonlinear programming problem and applied an exhaustive method (EM) and particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) to this problem. In simple slope examples, the computational results using an EM and PSO were close to those obtained using other methods. Compared to the EM, the PSO had a small computation error and a significantly shorter computation time. As a result, the PSO could precisely calculate the slope FOS with high efficiency. The example of the multistage slope analysis indicated that this slope had two potential slip surfaces. The factors of safety were 1.1182 and 1.1560, respectively. The differences between these and the minimum FOS (1.0759) were small, but the positions of the slip surfaces were completely different than the critical slip surface (CSS). PMID:25784927

Numerical computation of homogeneous slope stability.

PubMed

Xiao, Shuangshuang; Li, Kemin; Ding, Xiaohua; Liu, Tong

2015-01-01

To simplify the computational process of homogeneous slope stability, improve computational accuracy, and find multiple potential slip surfaces of a complex geometric slope, this study utilized the limit equilibrium method to derive expression equations of overall and partial factors of safety. This study transformed the solution of the minimum factor of safety (FOS) to solving of a constrained nonlinear programming problem and applied an exhaustive method (EM) and particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) to this problem. In simple slope examples, the computational results using an EM and PSO were close to those obtained using other methods. Compared to the EM, the PSO had a small computation error and a significantly shorter computation time. As a result, the PSO could precisely calculate the slope FOS with high efficiency. The example of the multistage slope analysis indicated that this slope had two potential slip surfaces. The factors of safety were 1.1182 and 1.1560, respectively. The differences between these and the minimum FOS (1.0759) were small, but the positions of the slip surfaces were completely different than the critical slip surface (CSS).

An update on anesthetics and impact on the brain.

PubMed

Fodale, Vincenzo; Tripodi, Vincenzo F; Penna, Olivia; Famà, Fausto; Squadrito, Francesco; Mondello, Epifanio; David, Antonio

2017-09-01

While anesthetics are indispensable clinical tools and generally considered safe and effective, a growing concern over the potential neurotoxicity of anesthesia or specific anesthetic agents has called into question the safety of general anesthetics, especially when administered at extremes of age. Areas covered: This article reviews and updates research findings on the safety of anesthesia and anesthetics in terms of long-term neurotoxicity, with particular focus on postoperative cognitive dysfunctions, Alzheimer's disease and dementias, developing brain, post-operative depression and autism spectrum disorder. Expert opinion: Exposure to general anesthetics is potentially harmful to the human brain, and the consequent long-term cognitive deficits should be classified as an iatrogenic pathology, and considered a public health problem. The fact that in laboratory and clinical research only certain anesthetic agents and techniques, but not others, appear to be involved, raises the problem on what is the safest and the least safe anesthetic to maximize anesthesia efficiency, avoid occurrence of adverse events, and ensure patient safety. New trends in research are moving toward the theory that neuroinflammation could be the hallmark of, or could have a pivotal role in, several neurological disorders.

A prescription for hospital safety: treating workplace violence.

PubMed

Westerfield, O

1995-08-01

Workplace violence is on the rise. The spillover effect includes psychological threats and a plethora of lingering mental health problems. The violent workplace mirrors an increasingly violent society. The increase in violence at work is directly proportional to the increase in violent crimes in our general population. This document examines the growing problem of workplace violence nd ways that can curtail potential incidences.

47 CFR 95.206 - (R/C Rule 6) Are there any special restrictions on the location of my R/C station?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PERSONAL RADIO SERVICES Radio Control (R/C) Radio... operated in such a manner as to raise environmental problems, under § 1.1307 of this chapter, you must... order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo Observatory. If the...

47 CFR 95.206 - (R/C Rule 6) Are there any special restrictions on the location of my R/C station?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PERSONAL RADIO SERVICES Radio Control (R/C) Radio... operated in such a manner as to raise environmental problems, under § 1.1307 of this chapter, you must... order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo Observatory. If the...

Landfill gas control at military installations. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shafer, R.A.; Renta-Babb, A.; Bandy, J.T.

1984-01-01

This report provides information useful to Army personnel responsible for recognizing and solving potential problems from gas generated by landfills. Information is provided on recognizing and gauging the magnitude of landfill gas problems; selecting appropriate gas control strategies, procedures, and equipment; use of computer modeling to predict gas production and migration and the success of gas control devices; and safety considerations.

Nuclear and chemical safety analysis: Purex Plant 1970 thorium campaign

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boldt, A.L.; Oberg, G.C.

The purpose of this document is to discuss the flowsheet and the related processing equipment with respect to nuclear and chemical safety. The analyses presented are based on equipment utilization and revised piping as outlined in the design criteria. Processing of thorium and uranium-233 in the Purex Plant can be accomplished within currently accepted levels of risk with respect to chemical and nuclear safety if minor instrumentation changes are made. Uranium-233 processing is limited to a rate of about 670 grams per hour by equipment capacities and criticality safety considerations. The major criticality prevention problems result from the potential accumulationmore » of uranium-233 in a solvent phase in E-H4 (ICU concentrator), TK-J1 (IUC receiver), and TK-J21 (2AF pump tank). The same potential problems exist in TK-J5 (3AF pump tank) and TK-N1 (3BU receiver), but the probabilities of reaching a critical condition are not as great. In order to prevent the excessive accumulation of uranium-233 in any of these vessels by an extraction mechanism, it is necessary to maintain the uranium-233 and salting agent concentrations below the point at which a critical concentration of uranium-233 could be reached in a solvent phase.« less

Problems of ergonomics in Bali, Indonesia.

PubMed

Manuaba, A

1976-12-01

Development in Indonesia, particularly in Bali, has been planned and done through several stages of the Five-Year Development Programs, which started in 1969, and emphasized intensification of agriculture and extensification of industries related to potential resources available in the region. In the process, industrialization, being regarded as a prerequisite to higher living standards, brought with it problems concerning safety, health, and work conditions, especially with respect to transfer of technology. As examples, experiences and data, related particularly to ergonomics in the sectors of agriculture, hotel business, textile mills, transportation, and others in Bali, Indonesia, are reported. In dealing with such possible consequences of development, efforts to find fundamental solutions should be given the highest priority. It is necessary to make use of all the existing institutions having potential functions and roles in the policy of development planning, and to take into consideration the factors of safety, health, and work conditions in specifying technical and financial development projects for industrialization.

Evaluation of Dynamic Passing Sight Distance Problem Using a Finite Element Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yan, Xuedong; Radwan, Essam; Zhang, Fan

2008-06-01

Sufficient passing sight distance is an important control for two-lane rural highway design to minimize the possibility of a head-on collision between passing and opposing vehicles. Traditionally, passing zones are marked by checking passing sight distance that is potentially restricted by static sight obstructions. Such obstructions include crest curves, overpasses, and lateral objects along highways. This paper proposes a new concept of dynamic sight-distance assessment, which involves restricted passing sight distances due to the impeding vehicles that are traveling in the same direction. Using a finite-element model, the dynamic passing sight-distance problem was evaluated, and the writers analyzed the relationshipsmore » between the available passing sight distance and other factors such as the horizontal curve radius, impeding vehicle dimensions, and a driver s following distance. It was found that the impeding vehicles may cause substantially insufficient passing sight distances, which may lead to potential traffic safety problems. It is worthwhile to expand on this safety issue and consider the dynamic passing sight distance in highway design.« less

Sociotechnical approaches to workplace safety: Research needs and opportunities

PubMed Central

Robertson, Michelle M.; Hettinger, Lawrence J.; Waterson, Patrick E.; Ian Noy, Y.; Dainoff, Marvin J.; Leveson, Nancy G.; Carayon, Pascale; Courtney, Theodore K.

2015-01-01

The sociotechnical systems perspective offers intriguing and potentially valuable insights into problems associated with workplace safety. While formal sociotechnical systems thinking originated in the 1950s, its application to the analysis and design of sustainable, safe working environments has not been fully developed. To that end, a Hopkinton Conference was organised to review and summarise the state of knowledge in the area and to identify research priorities. A group of 26 international experts produced collaborative articles for this special issue of Ergonomics, and each focused on examining a key conceptual, methodological and/or theoretical issue associated with sociotechnical systems and safety. In this concluding paper, we describe the major conference themes and recommendations. These are organised into six topic areas: (1) Concepts, definitions and frameworks, (2) defining research methodologies, (3) modelling and simulation, (4) communications and decision-making, (5) sociotechnical attributes of safe and unsafe systems and (6) potential future research directions for sociotechnical systems research. Practitioner Summary: Sociotechnical complexity, a characteristic of many contemporary work environments, presents potential safety risks that traditional approaches to workplace safety may not adequately address. In this paper, we summarise the investigations of a group of international researchers into questions associated with the application of sociotechnical systems thinking to improve worker safety. PMID:25728246

Safety evaluation of intersections with dynamic use of exit-lanes for left-turn using field data.

PubMed

Zhao, Jing; Liu, Yue

2017-05-01

As a newly proposed unconventional intersection design, the exit-lanes for left-turn (EFL) intersection is found to be effective in increasing the intersection capacity with high level of application flexibility, especially under heavy left-turn traffic conditions. However, the operational safety of EFL is of most concern to the authority prior to its implementation. This paper evaluates the safety of the EFL intersections by studying the behavior of left-turn maneuvers using field data collected at 7 locations in China. A total of 22830 left-turn vehicles were captured, in which 9793 vehicles turned left using the mixed-usage area. Four potential safety problems, including the red-light violations, head-on collision risks, trapped vehicles, and rear-end crash risks, were discussed. Statistical analyses were carried out to compare the safety risk between the EFL intersection and the conventional one. Results indicate that the safety problems of EFL intersections mainly lie in higher percentages in red-light violations at the pre-signal (1.83% higher), wrong-way violation problems during the peak hours (the violation rate reaches up to 11.07%), and the lower travel speeds in the mixed-usage area (18.75% lower). Such risks can be counteracted, however, by providing more guiding information, installing cameras to investigate and punish violation maneuvers, and adjusting design parameter values for layout design and signal timing, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aerospace safety advisory panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) monitored NASA's activities and provided feedback to the NASA Administrator, other NASA officials and Congress throughout the year. Particular attention was paid to the Space Shuttle, its launch processing and planned and potential safety improvements. The Panel monitored Space Shuttle processing at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and will continue to follow it as personnel reductions are implemented. There is particular concern that upgrades in hardware, software, and operations with the potential for significant risk reduction not be overlooked due to the extraordinary budget pressures facing the agency. The authorization of all of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Block II components portends future Space Shuttle operations at lower risk levels and with greater margins for handling unplanned ascent events. Throughout the year, the Panel attempted to monitor the safety activities related to the Russian involvement in both space and aeronautics programs. This proved difficult as the working relationships between NASA and the Russians were still being defined as the year unfolded. NASA's concern for the unique safety problems inherent in a multi-national endeavor appears appropriate. Actions are underway or contemplated which should be capable of identifying and rectifying problem areas. The balance of this report presents 'Findings and Recommendations' (Section 2), 'Information in Support of Findings and Recommendations' (Section 3) and Appendices describing Panel membership, the NASA response to the March 1994 ASAP report, and a chronology of the panel's activities during the reporting period (Section 4).

Study of dispersed small wind systems interconnected with a utility distribution system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curtice, D.; Patton, J.; Bohn, J.; Sechan, N.

1980-03-01

Operating problems for various penetrations of small wind systems connected to the distribution system on a utility are defined. Protection equipment, safety hazards, feeder voltage regulation, line losses, and voltage flicker problems are studied, assuming different small wind systems connected to an existing distribution system. To identify hardware deficiencies, possible solutions provided by off-the-shelf hardware and equipment are assessed. Results of the study indicate that existing techniques are inadequate for detecting isolated operation of a small wind system. Potential safety hazards posed by small wind systems are adequately handled by present work procedures although these procedures require a disconnect device at synchronous generator and self commutated inverter small wind systems.

A continuous quality improvement project to reduce medication error in the emergency department.

PubMed

Lee, Sara Bc; Lee, Larry Ly; Yeung, Richard Sd; Chan, Jimmy Ts

2013-01-01

Medication errors are a common source of adverse healthcare incidents particularly in the emergency department (ED) that has a number of factors that make it prone to medication errors. This project aims to reduce medication errors and improve the health and economic outcomes of clinical care in Hong Kong ED. In 2009, a task group was formed to identify problems that potentially endanger medication safety and developed strategies to eliminate these problems. Responsible officers were assigned to look after seven error-prone areas. Strategies were proposed, discussed, endorsed and promulgated to eliminate the problems identified. A reduction of medication incidents (MI) from 16 to 6 was achieved before and after the improvement work. This project successfully established a concrete organizational structure to safeguard error-prone areas of medication safety in a sustainable manner.

Civil Uses of Remotely Piloted Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aderhold, J. R.; Gordon, G.; Scott, G. W.

1976-01-01

The economic, technical, and environmental implications of remotely piloted vehicles (RVP) are examined. The time frame is 1980-85. Representative uses are selected; detailed functional and performance requirements are derived for RPV systems; and conceptual system designs are devised. Total system cost comparisons are made with non-RPV alternatives. The potential market demand for RPV systems is estimated. Environmental and safety requirements are examined, and legal and regulatory concerns are identified. A potential demand for 2,000-11,000 RVP systems is estimated. Typical cost savings of 25 to 35% compared to non-RPV alternatives are determined. There appear to be no environmental problems, and the safety issue appears manageable.

Application of Function-Failure Similarity Method to Rotorcraft Component Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Rory A.; Stone, Robert E.; Tumer, Irem Y.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Performance and safety are the top concerns of high-risk aerospace applications at NASA. Eliminating or reducing performance and safety problems can be achieved with a thorough understanding of potential failure modes in the designs that lead to these problems. The majority of techniques use prior knowledge and experience as well as Failure Modes and Effects as methods to determine potential failure modes of aircraft. During the design of aircraft, a general technique is needed to ensure that every potential failure mode is considered, while avoiding spending time on improbable failure modes. In this work, this is accomplished by mapping failure modes to specific components, which are described by their functionality. The failure modes are then linked to the basic functions that are carried within the components of the aircraft. Using this technique, designers can examine the basic functions, and select appropriate analyses to eliminate or design out the potential failure modes. The fundamentals of this method were previously introduced for a simple rotating machine test rig with basic functions that are common to a rotorcraft. In this paper, this technique is applied to the engine and power train of a rotorcraft, using failures and functions obtained from accident reports and engineering drawings.

Structuring and Judgment in Decision Technology.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-01-01

partly because it avoids weighting questions in which only remotely related attributes need to be compared. But there are several potential problems...weighting questions in which only remotely related attributes need to be compared. But there are also problems; * C- for example, respondents may add to an...favoring the nuclear option assigned weights which were similar to those preferring coal. All groups gave the highest weight to the health/safety

47 CFR 95.1303 - Authorized locations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Authorized locations. 95.1303 Section 95.1303 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PERSONAL RADIO... efforts in order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo Observatory...

47 CFR 95.1303 - Authorized locations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Authorized locations. 95.1303 Section 95.1303 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PERSONAL RADIO... efforts in order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo Observatory...

47 CFR 95.1003 - Authorized locations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Authorized locations. 95.1003 Section 95.1003 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PERSONAL RADIO... reasonable efforts in order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo...

47 CFR 95.1003 - Authorized locations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Authorized locations. 95.1003 Section 95.1003 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND SPECIAL RADIO SERVICES PERSONAL RADIO... reasonable efforts in order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo...

School Security Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Tod

2010-01-01

Over the past decade electronic security technology has evolved from an exotic possibility into an essential safety consideration. Before resorting to high-tech security solutions, school officials should think carefully about the potential for unintended consequences. Technological fixes may be mismatched to the problems being addressed. They can…

Evaluation of emission control strategies for airfield operations at the Los Angeles and San Francisco International Airports. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gelinas, C.G.

1978-08-01

This report reviews potential air pollutant emission reductions which could be achieved by various strategies to control airfield operations at Los Angeles and San Francisco International Airports, and examines safety problems, cost impacts, potential fuel savings, time frame for strategy implementation, and potential regulatory and jurisdictional conflicts associated with each strategy. Airfield emission sources studied included aircraft operation in the idle, taxi, takeoff, and landing modes; ground service vehicles; fuel handling and storage; and aircraft engine maintenance. Nineteen potential strategies were identified, and seven strategies were selected for detailed analysis and examination after a preliminary evaluation. Two strategies, aircraft towingmore » and reducing the number of operating engines on the ground, appear to provide the most significant emission reduction. Both of these strategies offer potential reductions in the range of 20 to 40 percent of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides which are currently emitted by ground operations. The aircraft towing strategy also offers a comparable improvement in suspended particulate matter emissions. When the overall feasibility of each strategy is evaluated, the strategy to reduce the number of operating engines appears to be the most viable since its implementation would result in fuel savings, no apparent safety problems, and it can be implemented immediately.« less

Privacy protection for patients with substance use problems.

PubMed

Hu, Lianne Lian; Sparenborg, Steven; Tai, Betty

2011-01-01

Many Americans with substance use problems will have opportunities to receive coordinated health care through the integration of primary care and specialty care for substance use disorders under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Sharing of patient health records among care providers is essential to realize the benefits of electronic health records. Health information exchange through meaningful use of electronic health records can improve health care safety, quality, and efficiency. Implementation of electronic health records and health information exchange presents great opportunities for health care integration, but also makes patient privacy potentially vulnerable. Privacy issues are paramount for patients with substance use problems. This paper discusses major differences between two federal privacy laws associated with health care for substance use disorders, identifies health care problems created by privacy policies, and describes potential solutions to these problems through technology innovation and policy improvement.

Privacy protection for patients with substance use problems

PubMed Central

Hu, Lianne Lian; Sparenborg, Steven; Tai, Betty

2011-01-01

Many Americans with substance use problems will have opportunities to receive coordinated health care through the integration of primary care and specialty care for substance use disorders under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Sharing of patient health records among care providers is essential to realize the benefits of electronic health records. Health information exchange through meaningful use of electronic health records can improve health care safety, quality, and efficiency. Implementation of electronic health records and health information exchange presents great opportunities for health care integration, but also makes patient privacy potentially vulnerable. Privacy issues are paramount for patients with substance use problems. This paper discusses major differences between two federal privacy laws associated with health care for substance use disorders, identifies health care problems created by privacy policies, and describes potential solutions to these problems through technology innovation and policy improvement. PMID:24474860

A SAFE consortium position paper: Update on microbial safety of fresh produce

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Surveys of fresh produce demonstrate potential to become contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. The analysis of microbiological risk is generally divided into three categories: Risk Assessment identifies the factors that contribute to a problem; Risk Management identifies ways to solve a probl...

Security analysis of boolean algebra based on Zhang-Wang digital signature scheme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng, Jinbin, E-mail: jbzheng518@163.com

2014-10-06

In 2005, Zhang and Wang proposed an improvement signature scheme without using one-way hash function and message redundancy. In this paper, we show that this scheme exits potential safety concerns through the analysis of boolean algebra, such as bitwise exclusive-or, and point out that mapping is not one to one between assembly instructions and machine code actually by means of the analysis of the result of the assembly program segment, and which possibly causes safety problems unknown to the software.

Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use.

PubMed

Bianchi, Adriana; Phillips, James G

2005-02-01

Mobile phone use is banned or illegal under certain circumstances and in some jurisdictions. Nevertheless, some people still use their mobile phones despite recognized safety concerns, legislation, and informal bans. Drawing potential predictors from the addiction literature, this study sought to predict usage and, specifically, problematic mobile phone use from extraversion, self-esteem, neuroticism, gender, and age. To measure problem use, the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale was devised and validated as a reliable self-report instrument, against the Addiction Potential Scale and overall mobile phone usage levels. Problem use was a function of age, extraversion, and low self-esteem, but not neuroticism. As extraverts are more likely to take risks, and young drivers feature prominently in automobile accidents, this study supports community concerns about mobile phone use, and identifies groups that should be targeted in any intervention campaigns.

Safety improvements through Intelligent Transport Systems: a South African case study based on microscopic simulation modelling.

PubMed

Vanderschuren, Marianne

2008-03-01

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) can facilitate the delivery of a wide range of policy objectives. There are six main objectives/benefits identified in the international literature: Safety (reduction of (potential) crashes), mobility (reduction of delays and travel times), efficiency (optimise the use of existing infrastructure), productivity (cost saving), energy/environment and customer satisfaction [Mitretek Systems, 2001. Intelligent Transport System Benefits: 2001 update, Under Contract to the Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, US]. In the South African context, there is an interest for measures that can reduce (potential) crashes. In South Africa the number of year on year traffic related fatalities is still increasing. In 2005 the number of fatalities was 15393 (from 14135 in 2004) while the estimated costs for the same period increased from R8.89-billion to R9.99-billion [RTMC, 2007. Interim Road Traffic and Fatal Crash Report 2006, Road Traffic Management Corporation, Pretoria, SA]. Given the extent of the road safety problem and the potential benefits of ITS, the need for further research is apparent. A study with regards to the potential of different types of models (macroscopic, mesoscopic and miscroscopic simulation models) led to the use of Paramics. Two corridors and three types of ITS measures were investigated and safety benefits were estimated.

A novel briefing checklist at shift handoff in an emergency department improves situational awareness and safety event identification.

PubMed

Mullan, Paul C; Macias, Charles G; Hsu, Deborah; Alam, Sartaj; Patel, Binita

2015-04-01

Emergency department (ED) shift handoffs are sources of potential medical error, delays in care, and medicolegal liabilities. Few handoff studies exist in the ED literature. We aimed to describe the implementation of a standardized checklist for improving situational awareness during physician handoffs in a pediatric ED. This is a descriptive observational study in a large academic pediatric ED. Checklists were evaluated for rates of use, completion, and identification of potential safety events. We defined a complete checklist as 80% or more of items checked.  A user perception survey was used. After 1 year, all checklist users (residents, fellows, faculty, and charge nurses with ED experience before and after checklist implementation) were anonymously surveyed to assess the checklist's usability, perceived contributions to Institute of Medicine quality domains, and situational awareness. The electronically administered survey used Likert frequency scales. Of 732 handoffs, 98% used the checklist, and 89% were complete. A mean of 1.7 potential safety events were identified per handoff. The most frequent potential safety events were identification of intensive care unit-level patients in the ED (48%), equipment problems (46%), staffing issues (21%), and intensive care unit-level patients in transport (16%). Eighty-one subjects (88%) responded to the survey. The users agreed that the checklist promoted better communication, safety, efficiency, effective care, and situational awareness. The Physician Active Shift Signout in the Emergency Department briefing checklist was used often and at a high completion rate, frequently identifying potential safety events. The users found that it improved the quality of care and team communication. Future studies on outcomes and processes are needed.

Why HID headlights bother older drivers

PubMed Central

Mainster, M A; Timberlake, G T

2003-01-01

Driving requires effective coordination of visual, motor, and cognitive skills. Visual skills are pushed to their limit at night by decreased illumination and by disabling glare from oncoming headlights. High intensity discharge (HID) headlamps project light farther down roads, improving their owner’s driving safety by increasing the time available for reaction to potential problems. Glare is proportional to headlamp brightness, however, so increasing headlamp brightness also increases potential glare for oncoming drivers, particularly on curving two lane roads. This problem is worse for older drivers because of their increased intraocular light scattering, glare sensitivity, and photostress recovery time. An analysis of automobile headlights, intraocular stray light, glare, and night driving shows that brightness rather than blueness is the primary reason for the visual problems that HID headlights can cause for older drivers who confront them. The increased light projected by HID headlights is potentially valuable, but serious questions remain regarding how and where it should be projected. PMID:12488274

Instrumental variable methods in comparative safety and effectiveness research.

PubMed

Brookhart, M Alan; Rassen, Jeremy A; Schneeweiss, Sebastian

2010-06-01

Instrumental variable (IV) methods have been proposed as a potential approach to the common problem of uncontrolled confounding in comparative studies of medical interventions, but IV methods are unfamiliar to many researchers. The goal of this article is to provide a non-technical, practical introduction to IV methods for comparative safety and effectiveness research. We outline the principles and basic assumptions necessary for valid IV estimation, discuss how to interpret the results of an IV study, provide a review of instruments that have been used in comparative effectiveness research, and suggest some minimal reporting standards for an IV analysis. Finally, we offer our perspective of the role of IV estimation vis-à-vis more traditional approaches based on statistical modeling of the exposure or outcome. We anticipate that IV methods will be often underpowered for drug safety studies of very rare outcomes, but may be potentially useful in studies of intended effects where uncontrolled confounding may be substantial.

Aviation safety and operation problems research and technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Enders, J. H.; Strickle, J. W.

1977-01-01

Aircraft operating problems are described for aviation safety. It is shown that as aircraft technology improves, the knowledge and understanding of operating problems must also improve for economics, reliability and safety.

Deriving Function-failure Similarity Information for Failure-free Rotorcraft Component Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Rory A.; Stone, Robert B.; Tumer, Irem Y.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Performance and safety are the top concerns of high-risk aerospace applications at NASA. Eliminating or reducing performance and safety problems can be achieved with a thorough understanding of potential failure modes in the design that lead to these problems. The majority of techniques use prior knowledge and experience as well as Failure Modes and Effects as methods to determine potential failure modes of aircraft. The aircraft design needs to be passed through a general technique to ensure that every potential failure mode is considered, while avoiding spending time on improbable failure modes. In this work, this is accomplished by mapping failure modes to certain components, which are described by their functionality. In turn, the failure modes are then linked to the basic functions that are carried within the components of the aircraft. Using the technique proposed in this paper, designers can examine the basic functions, and select appropriate analyses to eliminate or design out the potential failure modes. This method was previously applied to a simple rotating machine test rig with basic functions that are common to a rotorcraft. In this paper, this technique is applied to the engine and power train of a rotorcraft, using failures and functions obtained from accident reports and engineering drawings.

Rethinking the thinking cap

PubMed Central

Messing, Samuel; Chatterjee, Anjan

2011-01-01

Although a growing body of evidence suggests that noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation have the capacity to enhance neural function in both brain-injured and neurally intact individuals, the implications of their potential use for cosmetic self-enhancement have not been fully explored. We review 3 areas in which noninvasive brain stimulation has the potential to enhance neurologic function: cognitive skills, mood, and social cognition. We then characterize the ethical problems that affect the practice of cosmetic neurology, including safety, character, justice, and autonomy, and discuss how these problems may apply to the use of noninvasive brain stimulation for self-enhancement. PMID:21220723

Biological preservation of plant derived animal feed with antifungal microorganisms: safety and formulation aspects.

PubMed

Melin, Petter; Sundh, Ingvar; Håkansson, Sebastian; Schnürer, Johan

2007-08-01

During storage of moist animal feed, growth of detrimental fungi causing spoilage, or being mycotoxigenic or pathogenic, is a severe problem. Addition of biopreservative yeasts or lactic acid bacteria can significantly reduce this problem. However, their use requires several careful considerations. One is the safety to the animal, humans and the environment, tightly connected to legal aspects and the need for pre-market authorisation when supplementing feed with microorganisms. Although both yeasts and lactic acid bacteria are considered comparatively safe organisms due to low production of toxic metabolites, it is of great importance to understand the mechanisms behind the biopreservative abilities. Another important issue concerns practical aspects, such as the economic production of large amounts of the organisms and the development of a suitable formulation giving the organisms a long shelf life. These aspects are discussed and a recommendation of this review is that both safety and formulation aspects of a specific microbe should be considered at an early stage in the selection of new organisms with biopreservation potential.

Balancing Disruptive Students' Rights with Campus Safety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthew, Kathryn I.; Kajs, Lawrence; Matthew, Millard E.

2017-01-01

Disruptive students potentially pose significant problems for campus administrators as they strive to maintain a safe campus environment conducive to learning while not violating the legal rights of the students. Maintaining a safe campus is important because increasing numbers of students with mental and cognitive disorders are enrolling in…

An adaptive corridor-wide signal timing optimization methodology for traffic network with multiple highway-rail grade crossings.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-06-01

Highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) and the intersections in their proximity are areas where potential problems in terms of safety and efficiency often arise if only simple or outdated treatments, such as normal signal timing or passive railroad war...

A comprehensive framework for evaluating the environmental health and safety implications of engineered nanomaterials

EPA Science Inventory

Engineered nanomaterials (ENM) are a growing aspect of the global economy, and their safe and sustainable development, use and eventual disposal requires the capability to forecast and avoid potential problems. This review is concerned with the releases of ENM into the environmen...

Extracting decision rules from police accident reports through decision trees.

PubMed

de Oña, Juan; López, Griselda; Abellán, Joaquín

2013-01-01

Given the current number of road accidents, the aim of many road safety analysts is to identify the main factors that contribute to crash severity. To pinpoint those factors, this paper shows an application that applies some of the methods most commonly used to build decision trees (DTs), which have not been applied to the road safety field before. An analysis of accidents on rural highways in the province of Granada (Spain) between 2003 and 2009 (both inclusive) showed that the methods used to build DTs serve our purpose and may even be complementary. Applying these methods has enabled potentially useful decision rules to be extracted that could be used by road safety analysts. For instance, some of the rules may indicate that women, contrary to men, increase their risk of severity under bad lighting conditions. The rules could be used in road safety campaigns to mitigate specific problems. This would enable managers to implement priority actions based on a classification of accidents by types (depending on their severity). However, the primary importance of this proposal is that other databases not used here (i.e. other infrastructure, roads and countries) could be used to identify unconventional problems in a manner easy for road safety managers to understand, as decision rules. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Successful hazard analysis critical control point implementation in the United Kingdom: understanding the barriers through the use of a behavioral adherence model.

PubMed

Gilling, S J; Taylor, E A; Kane, K; Taylor, J Z

2001-05-01

Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP), a system of risk management designed to control food safety, has emerged over the last decade as the primary approach to securing the safety of the food supply. It is thus an important tool in combatting the worldwide escalation of foodborne disease. Yet despite wide dissemination and scientific support of its principles, successful HACCP implementation has been limited. This report takes a psychological approach to this problem by examining processes and factors that could impede adherence to the internationally accepted HACCP Guidelines and subsequent successful implementation of HACCP. Utilizing knowledge of medical clinical guideline adherence models and practical experience of HACCP implementation problems, the potential advantages of applying a behavioral model to food safety management are highlighted. The models' applicability was investigated using telephone interviews from over 200 businesses in the United Kingdom. Eleven key barriers to HACCP guideline adherence were identified. In-depth narrative interviews with food business proprietors then confirmed these findings and demonstrated the subsequent negative effect(s) on HACCP implementation. A resultant HACCP awareness to adherence model is proposed that demonstrates the complex range of potential knowledge, attitude, and behavior-related barriers involved in failures of HACCP guideline adherence. The model's specificity and detail provide a tool whereby problems can be identified and located and in this way facilitate tailored and constructive intervention. It is suggested that further investigation into the barriers involved and how to overcome them would be of substantial benefit to successful HACCP implementation and thereby contribute to an overall improvement in public health.

Statistical text classifier to detect specific type of medical incidents.

PubMed

Wong, Zoie Shui-Yee; Akiyama, Masanori

2013-01-01

WHO Patient Safety has put focus to increase the coherence and expressiveness of patient safety classification with the foundation of International Classification for Patient Safety (ICPS). Text classification and statistical approaches has showed to be successful to identifysafety problems in the Aviation industryusing incident text information. It has been challenging to comprehend the taxonomy of medical incidents in a structured manner. Independent reporting mechanisms for patient safety incidents have been established in the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong etc. This research demonstrates the potential to construct statistical text classifiers to detect specific type of medical incidents using incident text data. An illustrative example for classifying look-alike sound-alike (LASA) medication incidents using structured text from 227 advisories related to medication errors from Global Patient Safety Alerts (GPSA) is shown in this poster presentation. The classifier was built using logistic regression model. ROC curve and the AUC value indicated that this is a satisfactory good model.

Safety in numbers? Tackling domestic abuse in couples and network therapies.

PubMed

Galvani, Sarah A

2007-03-01

Family, network or couples-based therapies have been helping to support people with substance problems for decades. Their value in supporting a person to change their alcohol or drug use is clear. However, as links between substance use and domestic abuse are increasingly recognised, these approaches need to reflect on the potential safety risks they present to people taking part. The prevalence of domestic abuse among people receiving drug and alcohol services is considerably higher than general population estimates, yet this does not appear to have been adequately addressed in network therapies. This article suggests that this needs to change and that safety of service users needs to be at least as important as the intervention itself. It offers for debate a number of potential safety issues raised by network therapies where there is evidence of domestic abuse; it provides examples of three approaches used to marshal social and network support in substance interventions; and offers a number of suggestions for how network therapies can ensure their use remains safe and supportive where there is domestic abuse.

Food Safety Informatics: A Public Health Imperative

PubMed Central

Tucker, Cynthia A.; Larkin, Stephanie N.; Akers, Timothy A.

2011-01-01

To date, little has been written about the implementation of utilizing food safety informatics as a technological tool to protect consumers, in real-time, against foodborne illnesses. Food safety outbreaks have become a major public health problem, causing an estimated 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Yet, government inspectors/regulators that monitor foodservice operations struggle with how to collect, organize, and analyze data; implement, monitor, and enforce safe food systems. Currently, standardized technologies have not been implemented to efficiently establish “near-in-time” or “just-in-time” electronic awareness to enhance early detection of public health threats regarding food safety. To address the potential impact of collection, organization and analyses of data in a foodservice operation, a wireless food safety informatics (FSI) tool was pilot tested at a university student foodservice center. The technological platform in this test collected data every six minutes over a 24 hour period, across two primary domains: time and temperatures within freezers, walk-in refrigerators and dry storage areas. The results of this pilot study briefly illustrated how technology can assist in food safety surveillance and monitoring by efficiently detecting food safety abnormalities related to time and temperatures so that efficient and proper response in “real time” can be addressed to prevent potential foodborne illnesses. PMID:23569605

Cross-comparison of three surrogate safety methods to diagnose cyclist safety problems at intersections in Norway.

PubMed

Laureshyn, Aliaksei; Goede, Maartje de; Saunier, Nicolas; Fyhri, Aslak

2017-08-01

Relying on accident records as the main data source for studying cyclists' safety has many drawbacks, such as high degree of under-reporting, the lack of accident details and particularly of information about the interaction processes that led to the accident. It is also an ethical problem as one has to wait for accidents to happen in order to make a statement about cyclists' (un-)safety. In this perspective, the use of surrogate safety measures based on actual observations in traffic is very promising. In this study we used video data from three intersections in Norway that were all independently analysed using three methods: the Swedish traffic conflict technique (Swedish TCT), the Dutch conflict technique (DOCTOR) and the probabilistic surrogate measures of safety (PSMS) technique developed in Canada. The first two methods are based on manual detection and counting of critical events in traffic (traffic conflicts), while the third considers probabilities of multiple trajectories for each interaction and delivers a density map of potential collision points per site. Due to extensive use of microscopic data, PSMS technique relies heavily on automated tracking of the road users in video. Across the three sites, the methods show similarities or are at least "compatible" with the accident records. The two conflict techniques agree quite well for the number, type and location of conflicts, but some differences with no obvious explanation are also found. PSMS reports many more safety-relevant interactions including less severe events. The location of the potential collision points is compatible with what the conflict techniques suggest, but the possibly significant share of false alarms due to inaccurate trajectories extracted from video complicates the comparison. The tested techniques still require enhancement, with respect to better adjustment to analysis of the situations involving cyclists (and vulnerable road users in general) and further validation. However, we believe this to be a future direction for the road safety analysis as the number of accidents is constantly decreasing and the quality of accident data does not seem to improve. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices: a complex environment and multifaceted problem

PubMed Central

Williams, Patricia AH; Woodward, Andrew J

2015-01-01

The increased connectivity to existing computer networks has exposed medical devices to cybersecurity vulnerabilities from which they were previously shielded. For the prevention of cybersecurity incidents, it is important to recognize the complexity of the operational environment as well as to catalog the technical vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity protection is not just a technical issue; it is a richer and more intricate problem to solve. A review of the factors that contribute to such a potentially insecure environment, together with the identification of the vulnerabilities, is important for understanding why these vulnerabilities persist and what the solution space should look like. This multifaceted problem must be viewed from a systemic perspective if adequate protection is to be put in place and patient safety concerns addressed. This requires technical controls, governance, resilience measures, consolidated reporting, context expertise, regulation, and standards. It is evident that a coordinated, proactive approach to address this complex challenge is essential. In the interim, patient safety is under threat. PMID:26229513

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in medical devices: a complex environment and multifaceted problem.

PubMed

Williams, Patricia Ah; Woodward, Andrew J

2015-01-01

The increased connectivity to existing computer networks has exposed medical devices to cybersecurity vulnerabilities from which they were previously shielded. For the prevention of cybersecurity incidents, it is important to recognize the complexity of the operational environment as well as to catalog the technical vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity protection is not just a technical issue; it is a richer and more intricate problem to solve. A review of the factors that contribute to such a potentially insecure environment, together with the identification of the vulnerabilities, is important for understanding why these vulnerabilities persist and what the solution space should look like. This multifaceted problem must be viewed from a systemic perspective if adequate protection is to be put in place and patient safety concerns addressed. This requires technical controls, governance, resilience measures, consolidated reporting, context expertise, regulation, and standards. It is evident that a coordinated, proactive approach to address this complex challenge is essential. In the interim, patient safety is under threat.

Prebiotics in food animals, a potential to reduce foodborne pathogens and disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Animals can be seriously impacted by bacterial pathogens that affect their growth efficiency and overall health, as well as food safety of animal-derived products. Some pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, can be a shared problem for both human and animal health and can be found in many animal ...

Prebiotics in food animals: A potential to reduce foodborne pathogens and disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Animals can be seriously impacted by bacterial pathogens that affect their growth efficiency and overall health, as well as food safety of animal-derived products. Some pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella, can be a shared problem for both human and animal health and can be found in many animal ...

Power-Factor Controllers: How Safe?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, K.; Christian, W.; Kovacik, J.; Grazyk, T.

1985-01-01

Potential safety problems with power-factor controllers (PFC's) evaluated. Based on study of PFCs in use with appliances, report recommends measures to prevent consumers from misapplying these energy saving devices. Device used on such appliances as refrigerators, sewing machines, pumps, hair dryers, and food processors. When misused, they fail to save energy and may cause damage.

Setting Our Sights on a Culture of Safety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowart, Kerry; Miller, Karin; Strasburger, Tom

2012-01-01

Providing a comprehensive approach for achieving the goal of a safe environment where the priority can be teaching and learning is vital to every district's success. To attain this goal, school districts must educate students, staff, and the community and provide tools that help anticipate potential problems and prevent them from escalating into…

Screening blood samples to estimate when oxytetverycline residues exceed regulatory tolerances in poultry muscle

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The presence of antibiotic residues in edible animal products is a human food safety concern. To address this potential problem, the government samples edible tissues, such as muscle, to monitor for residues. Due to loss of valuable product and analytical difficulties only a small percentage of po...

Fidget Spinner Ingestions in Children-A Problem that Spun Out of Nowhere.

PubMed

Reeves, Patrick T; Nylund, Cade M; Noel, James M; Jones, David S; Chumpitazi, Bruno P; Milczuk, Henry A; Noel, R Adam

2018-06-01

The Consumer Product Safety Risk Management System's injury and potential injury database records 13 cases of fidget spinner ingestion since 2016. In addition to a database query, we report 3 additional cases of fidget spinner ingestion to describe patient presentations and subsequent management strategies. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Voices from the Field: Stakeholder Perspectives on PBIS Implementation in Alternative Educational Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swain-Bradway, Jessica; Swoszowski, Nicole Cain; Boden, Lauren J.; Sprague, Jeffrey R.

2013-01-01

The positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) framework is currently implemented in over 18,000 schools in the United States. Schools implementing PBIS with fidelity report school level benefits including decreases in problem behavior, increases in academic engaged time, and improved perceptions of school safety. While potential benefits…

Comparative evaluation of solar, fission, fusion, and fossil energy resources, part 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clement, J. D.; Reupke, W. A.

1974-01-01

The role of nuclear fission reactors in becoming an important power source in the world is discussed. The supply of fissile nuclear fuel will be severely depleted by the year 2000. With breeder reactors the world supply of uranium could last thousands of years. However, breeder reactors have problems of a large radioactive inventory and an accident potential which could present an unacceptable hazard. Although breeder reactors afford a possible solution to the energy shortage, their ultimate role will depend on demonstrated safety and acceptable risks and environmental effects. Fusion power would also be a long range, essentially permanent, solution to the world's energy problem. Fusion appears to compare favorably with breeders in safety and environmental effects. Research comparing a controlled fusion reactor with the breeder reactor in solving our long range energy needs is discussed.

Current concepts of oral and maxillofacial rehabilitation and treatment in aviation.

PubMed

Yuce, Esra; Koçer, Gulperi; Çini, Turan Atila

2016-01-01

Aerospace medicine is the medical discipline responsible for assessing and conserving the health, safety, and performance of individuals involved in air and space travel. With the upward trend in airline travel, flight-related oral conditions requiring treatment have become a source of concern for aircrew members. Awareness and treatment of any potential physiological problems for these aircrews have always been critical components of aviation safety. In a flight situation, oral and maxillofacial problems may in fact become life-threatening clinical conditions. The unusual nature of aerospace medicine requires practitioners to have unique expertise. Special attention to aerospace medicine will open the way for professionals to develop and apply their skills and capabilities. Both dentists and aviators should be aware of the issues involved in aviation dentistry. This article presents the principles of prevention, treatment guidelines, and dental-related flight restrictions.

Dose-response studies and 'no-effect-levels' of N-nitroso compounds: some general aspects.

PubMed

Preussmann, R

1980-01-01

One major problem in the evaluation of potential carcinogenic food additives and contaminants is that of thresholds or, better, of 'no-adverse-effect-levels'. Arguments in favor of the postulated 'irreversibility' of carcinogenic effects are based on dose-response studies, single dose and multigeneration experiments as well as on the concept of somatic mutation as the first step in carcinogenesis with subsequent transmittance of induced defects during cell replication. The problem of extrapolation of results of animal experiments using high doses to low exposure and low incidences in man is not yet solved satisfactorily. Possible practical consequences include zero tolerance, acceptable thresholds at low risk and safety factors. Acceptable intakes should never be considered constants but should be changeable as soon as new facts in regard to the safety evaluation are available.

ViSTREET: An Educational Virtual Environment for the Teaching of Road Safety Skills to School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuah, Kee Man; Chen, Chwen Jen; Teh, Chee Siong

Virtual reality (VR) has been prevalently used as a tool to help students learn and to simulate situations that are too hazardous to practice in real life. The present study aims to explore the capability of VR to achieve these two purposes and demonstrate a novel application of the result, using VR to help school students learn about road safety skills, which are impractical to be carried out in real-life situations. This paper describes the system design of the VR-based learning environment known as Virtual Simulated Traffics for Road Safety Education (ViSTREET) and its various features. An overview of the technical procedures for its development is also included. Ultimately, this paper highlights the potential use of VR in addressing the learning problem concerning road safety education programme in Malaysia.

The Effectiveness of Bicitra as a Preoperative Antacid

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

of a safe and effective anesthetic is a common goal in anesthesia practice. Patient safety has always been and will continue to be in the forefront of...therefore is to administer an anesthetic with the understanding of its potential harm to the patient. Although there are many potential problems that...may develop in the care of the surgical patient, the focus of this paper and the research that was done was to determine what can be done to minimize

Measuring and improving patient safety through health information technology: The Health IT Safety Framework

PubMed Central

Singh, Hardeep

2016-01-01

Health information technology (health IT) has potential to improve patient safety but its implementation and use has led to unintended consequences and new safety concerns. A key challenge to improving safety in health IT-enabled healthcare systems is to develop valid, feasible strategies to measure safety concerns at the intersection of health IT and patient safety. In response to the fundamental conceptual and methodological gaps related to both defining and measuring health IT-related patient safety, we propose a new framework, the Health IT Safety (HITS) measurement framework, to provide a conceptual foundation for health IT-related patient safety measurement, monitoring, and improvement. The HITS framework follows both Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and sociotechnical approaches and calls for new measures and measurement activities to address safety concerns in three related domains: 1) concerns that are unique and specific to technology (e.g., to address unsafe health IT related to unavailable or malfunctioning hardware or software); 2) concerns created by the failure to use health IT appropriately or by misuse of health IT (e.g. to reduce nuisance alerts in the electronic health record (EHR)), and 3) the use of health IT to monitor risks, health care processes and outcomes and identify potential safety concerns before they can harm patients (e.g. use EHR-based algorithms to identify patients at risk for medication errors or care delays). The framework proposes to integrate both retrospective and prospective measurement of HIT safety with an organization's existing clinical risk management and safety programs. It aims to facilitate organizational learning, comprehensive 360 degree assessment of HIT safety that includes vendor involvement, refinement of measurement tools and strategies, and shared responsibility to identify problems and implement solutions. A long term framework goal is to enable rigorous measurement that helps achieve the safety benefits of health IT in real-world clinical settings. PMID:26369894

Safety management vs. picking leaves.

PubMed

Wright, D

1991-09-01

A safety program will generally have as its base a comprehensive written document made available for everyone in the organization. The document should indicate a positive commitment to safety by management. It should not be a "how to" guide, but rather a broad outline to establish responsibilities, goals, and methods. The safety manager is appointed in writing and answers to the highest level of management. As opposed to a "doer," the safety manager acts as a director and administrator of the safety program. This is accomplished through the advisory capacity of the safety program for solicited and unsolicited problems. The focus of the safety manager is on the system and how it contributes to safety problems, rather than individual problems. Management has the ultimate responsibility for safety. Their efforts should reflect a proactive attitude to correct problems in the system. In order to identify areas of interest, technically competent input from the safety manager should be required. The support of the safety program by top management determines the success of the program. Without a clear and firm commitment by the organization, safety will receive no more than lip service from the employees. The benefits of a proactive approach will be realized in the organization's ability to manage safety issues, rather than reacting to them.

Instrumental variable methods in comparative safety and effectiveness research†

PubMed Central

Brookhart, M. Alan; Rassen, Jeremy A.; Schneeweiss, Sebastian

2010-01-01

Summary Instrumental variable (IV) methods have been proposed as a potential approach to the common problem of uncontrolled confounding in comparative studies of medical interventions, but IV methods are unfamiliar to many researchers. The goal of this article is to provide a non-technical, practical introduction to IV methods for comparative safety and effectiveness research. We outline the principles and basic assumptions necessary for valid IV estimation, discuss how to interpret the results of an IV study, provide a review of instruments that have been used in comparative effectiveness research, and suggest some minimal reporting standards for an IV analysis. Finally, we offer our perspective of the role of IV estimation vis-à-vis more traditional approaches based on statistical modeling of the exposure or outcome. We anticipate that IV methods will be often underpowered for drug safety studies of very rare outcomes, but may be potentially useful in studies of intended effects where uncontrolled confounding may be substantial. PMID:20354968

Radio speech communication problems reported in a survey of military pilots.

PubMed

Lahtinen, Taija M M; Huttunen, Kerttu H; Kuronen, Pentti O; Sorri, Martti J; Leino, Tuomo K

2010-12-01

Despite technological advances in conveying information, speech communication is still a key safety factor in aviation. Effective radio communication is necessary, for example, in building and maintaining good team situation awareness. However, little has been reported concerning the prevalence and nature of radio communication problems in everyday working environments in military aviation. We surveyed Finnish Defense Forces pilots regarding the prevalence of radio speech communication problems. Of the 225 pilots contacted, 75% replied to our survey. Altogether 138 of the respondents were fixed-wing pilots and 31 were helicopter pilots. Problems in radio communication occurred, on average, during 14% of flight time. The most prevalent problems were multiple speakers on the same radio frequency band causing overlapping speech, missing acknowledgments, high background noise especially during helicopter operations, and technical problems. Of the respondents, 18% (31 pilots) reported having encountered at least one potentially dangerous event caused by problems in radio communication during their military aviation career. If the employer were to offer extra hearing protection, such as custom-made ear plugs, 93% of the pilots indicated that they would use it. Communication can be a flight safety factor especially during intense air combat exercises and other information-loaded flights. During these situations, communication should be clear and focused on the most essential information. So, training and technical improvements are necessary for better communication. High quality radio speech communication also improves operational effectiveness in military aviation.

Safety Analysis of FMS/CTAS Interactions During Aircraft Arrivals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leveson, Nancy G.

1998-01-01

This grant funded research on human-computer interaction design and analysis techniques, using future ATC environments as a testbed. The basic approach was to model the nominal behavior of both the automated and human procedures and then to apply safety analysis techniques to these models. Our previous modeling language, RSML, had been used to specify the system requirements for TCAS II for the FAA. Using the lessons learned from this experience, we designed a new modeling language that (among other things) incorporates features to assist in designing less error-prone human-computer interactions and interfaces and in detecting potential HCI problems, such as mode confusion. The new language, SpecTRM-RL, uses "intent" abstractions, based on Rasmussen's abstraction hierarchy, and includes both informal (English and graphical) specifications and formal, executable models for specifying various aspects of the system. One of the goals for our language was to highlight the system modes and mode changes to assist in identifying the potential for mode confusion. Three published papers resulted from this research. The first builds on the work of Degani on mode confusion to identify aspects of the system design that could lead to potential hazards. We defined and modeled modes differently than Degani and also defined design criteria for SpecTRM-RL models. Our design criteria include the Degani criteria but extend them to include more potential problems. In a second paper, Leveson and Palmer showed how the criteria for indirect mode transitions could be applied to a mode confusion problem found in several ASRS reports for the MD-88. In addition, we defined a visual task modeling language that can be used by system designers to model human-computer interaction. The visual models can be translated into SpecTRM-RL models, and then the SpecTRM-RL suite of analysis tools can be used to perform formal and informal safety analyses on the task model in isolation or integrated with the rest of the modeled system. We had hoped to be able to apply these modeling languages and analysis tools to a TAP air/ground trajectory negotiation scenario, but the development of the tools took more time than we anticipated.

Opto-mechatronics issues in solid immersion lens based near-field recording

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, No-Cheol; Yoon, Yong-Joong; Lee, Yong-Hyun; Kim, Joong-Gon; Kim, Wan-Chin; Choi, Hyun; Lim, Seungho; Yang, Tae-Man; Choi, Moon-Ho; Yang, Hyunseok; Rhim, Yoon-Chul; Park, Young-Pil

2007-06-01

We analyzed the effects of an external shock on a collision problem in a solid immersion lens (SIL) based near-field recording (NFR) through a shock response analysis and proposed a possible solution to this problem with adopting a protector and safety mode. With this proposed method the collision between SIL and media can be avoided. We showed possible solution for contamination problem in SIL based NFR through a numerical air flow analysis. We also introduced possible solid immersion lens designs to increase the fabrication and assembly tolerances of an optical head with replicated lens. Potentially, these research results could advance NFR technology for commercial product.

Patient safety incidents in hospice care: observations from interdisciplinary case conferences.

PubMed

Oliver, Debra Parker; Demiris, George; Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Gage, Ashley; Dewsnap-Dreisinger, Mariah L; Luetkemeyer, Jamie

2013-12-01

In the home hospice environment, issues arise every day presenting challenges to the safety, care, and quality of the dying experience. The literature pertaining to the safety challenges in this environment is limited. The study explored two research questions; 1) What types of patient safety incidents occur in the home hospice setting? 2) How many of these incidents are recognized by the hospice staff and/or the patient or caregiver as a patient safety incident? Video-recordings of hospice interdisciplinary team case conferences were reviewed and coded for patient safety incidents. Patient safety incidents were defined as any event or circumstance that could have resulted or did result in unnecessary harm to the patient or caregiver, or that could have resulted or did result in a negative impact on the quality of the dying experience for the patient. Codes for categories of patient safety incidents were based on the International Classification for Patient Safety. The setting for the study included two rural hospice programs in one Midwestern state in the United States. One hospice team had two separately functioning teams, the second hospice had three teams. 54 video-recordings were reviewed and coded. Patient safety incidents were identified that involved issues in clinical process, medications, falls, family or caregiving, procedural problems, documentation, psychosocial issues, administrative challenges and accidents. This study distinguishes categories of patient safety events that occur in home hospice care. Although the scope and definition of potential patient safety incidents in hospice is unique, the events observed in this study are similar to those observed with in other settings. This study identifies an operating definition and a potential classification for further research on patient safety incidents in hospice. Further research and consensus building of the definition of patient safety incidents and patient safety incidents in this setting is recommended.

Levetiracetam for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome: a multicenter, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

PubMed

Richter, Christoph; Hinzpeter, Axel; Schmidt, Folkhard; Kienast, Thorsten; Preuss, Ulrich W; Plenge, Thomas; Heinz, Andreas; Schaefer, Martin

2010-12-01

Treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) with benzodiazepines is limited by risk of abuse, intoxication, respiratory problems, and liver toxicity. Alternatives such as carbamazepine and valproate may also have safety problems, such as hepatotoxicity or central nervous adverse effects. We therefore investigated the safety and efficacy of levetiracetam (LV), a newer antiepileptic with a potentially favorable adverse-effect profile, for the treatment of AWS. One hundred six patients were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial. Levetiracetam was administered in a fixed dose schedule over 6 days. Diazepam was added when symptom triggered as rescue medication. Severity of the AWS was measured with the AWS and Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Scale. Although tolerability and safety data were similar in the LV group when compared with placebo, the total daily and weekly dose of diazepam as rescue medication and the severity of alcohol withdrawal symptoms did not differ significantly between groups. Our data so far do not support an additional effect of LV on the reduction of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Occupational safety and health implications of increased coal utilization.

PubMed Central

Bridbord, K; Costello, J; Gamble, J; Groce, D; Hutchison, M; Jones, W; Merchant, J; Ortmeyer, C; Reger, R; Wagner, W L

1979-01-01

An area of major concern in considering increased coal production and utilization is the health and safety of increased numbers of workers who mine, process, or utilize coal. Hazards related to mining activities in the past have been especially serious, resulting in many mine related accidental deaths, disabling injuries, and disability and death from chronic lung disease. Underground coal mines are clearly less safe than surface mines. Over one-third of currently employed underground miners experience chronic lung disease. Other stresses include noise and extremes of heat and cold. Newly emphasized technologies of the use of diesel powered mining equipment and the use of longwall mining techniques may be associated with serious health effects. Workers at coal-fired power plants are also potentially at risk of occupational diseases. Occupational safety and health aspects of coal mining are understood well enough today to justify implementing necessary and technically feasible and available control measures to minimize potential problems associated with increased coal production and use in the future. Increased emphasis on safety and health training for inexperienced coal miners expected to enter the work force is clearly needed. The recently enacted Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 will provide impetus for increased control over hazards in coal mining. PMID:540621

Potential cost savings of medication therapy management in safety-net clinics.

PubMed

Truong, Hoai-An; Groves, C Nicole; Congdon, Heather B; Dang, Diem-Thanh Tanya; Botchway, Rosemary; Thomas, Jennifer

2015-01-01

To evaluate potential cost savings based on estimated cost avoidance from medication therapy management (MTM) services delivered in safety-net clinics over 4 years. High-risk patients taking multiple medications and with chronic conditions were referred for MTM services in primary care safety-net clinics in Maryland from October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2013. Medication-related problems (MRPs) were identified and pharmacists' costs determined to evaluate the estimated cost savings and return on investment (ROI). A range of potential economic outcomes for each MRP identified was assigned to a cost avoidance for outpatient visit, urgent care visit, emergency department visit, and/or hospitalization. Over 4 years, 246 patients received MTM, nearly 2,100 medications were reviewed, and 814 MRPs were identified. The most common MRPs identified were subtherapeutic doses, nonadherence, and untreated indications, with respective prevalences of 38%, 19%, and 16%. The corresponding costs of medical services were estimated at $115,220-$614,570 for all MRPs identified, yielding a mean of $141.55-$755.00 per identified MRP. Pharmacists' expenses for encounters were calculated at a total expenditure of $57,307.50 for 16,965 minutes. ROI based on the time spent during billable face-to-face encounters ranged from 1:5 to 1:25. Pharmacist-provided MTM in safety-net clinics yielded potential economic benefits to the organization. The Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County plans to expand MTM services to additional clinics to improve patient care and increase cost savings through preventable medical services.

Safety and usability evaluation of a web-based insulin self-titration system for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Simon, Airin C R; Holleman, Frits; Gude, Wouter T; Hoekstra, Joost B L; Peute, Linda W; Jaspers, Monique W M; Peek, Niels

2013-09-01

The rising incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) induces severe challenges for the health care system. Our research group developed a web-based system named PANDIT that provides T2DM patients with insulin dosing advice using state of the art clinical decision support technology. The PANDIT interface resembles a glucose diary and provides advice through pop-up messages. Diabetes nurses (DNs) also have access to the system, allowing them to intervene when needed. The objective of this study was to establish whether T2DM patients can safely use PANDIT at home. To this end, we assessed whether patients experience usability problems with a high risk of compromising patient safety when interacting with the system, and whether PANDIT's insulin dosing advice are clinically safe. The study population consisted of patients with T2DM (aged 18-80) who used a once daily basal insulin as well as DNs from a university hospital. The usability evaluation consisted of think-aloud sessions with four patients and three DNs. Video data, audio data and verbal utterances were analyzed for usability problems encountered during PANDIT interactions. Usability problems were rated by a physician and a usability expert according to their potential impact on patient safety. The usability evaluation was followed by an implementation with a duration of four weeks. This implementation took place at the patients' homes with ten patients to evaluate clinical safety of PANDIT advice. PANDIT advice were systematically compared with DN advice. Deviating advice were evaluated with respect to patient safety by a panel of experienced physicians, which specialized in diabetes care. We detected seventeen unique usability problems, none of which was judged to have a high risk of compromising patient safety. Most usability problems concerned the lay-out of the diary, which did not clearly indicate which data entry fields had to be entered in order to obtain an advice. 27 out of 74 (36.5%) PANDIT advice differed from those provided by DNs. However, only one of these (1.4%) was considered unsafe by the panel. T2DM patients with no prior experience with the web-based self-management system were capable of consulting the system without encountering significant usability problems. Furthermore, the large majority of PANDIT advice were considered clinically safe according to the expert panel. One advice was considered unsafe. This could however easily be corrected by implementing a small modification to the system's knowledge base. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Options and problems in application].

PubMed

Haasper, C; Junge, M; Ernstberger, A; Brehme, H; Hannawald, L; Langer, C; Nehmzow, J; Otte, D; Sander, U; Krettek, C; Zwipp, H

2010-05-01

The new AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) was released with an update by the AAAM (Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine) in 2008. It is a universal scoring system in the field of trauma applicable in clinic and research. In engineering it is used as a classification system for vehicle safety. The AIS can therefore be considered as an international, interdisciplinary and universal code of injury severity. This review focuses on a historical overview, potential applications and new coding options in the current version and also outlines the associated problems.

Implementing new technologies for public safety communication: competing frequency demands and standardization issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Kathryn J.

1997-01-01

Attempting to incorporate new technology into an existing environment is often very difficult. The problems are lengthy to resolve, wrought with confusion and seldom turn out like anyone expected. This document represents an overview of one such attempt. It outlines the general areas of concern which could be affected by a transition, and potential problems that may be encountered as a result of the effort. Over the past several decades, many local, state and federal agencies are pressing for more efficient use of frequency spectrums. The urgency of this issue has grown due to the demands of several groups wanting access to these channels for commercial use. Pager systems, cellular telephones, radio systems for private businesses all demand more space. Public safety agencies are starting to fear their needs will diminish in importance as the available channel spectrums are consumed by commercial ventures. How to share these channels, purchase appropriate equipment to meet your needs, and stay within a reasonable budget are not easy tasks. Public safety agencies who rely on communication networks in the performance of their jobs also know why encryption is important. Protecting the rights of citizens as police exchange information over the air, maintaining the integrity of an investigation and officer safety are all concerns police must address each time they use a radio.

The incidence of coring with blunt versus sharp needles.

PubMed

Wani, Tariq; Wadhwa, Anupama; Tobias, Joseph D

2014-03-01

With the advent of safety needles to prevent inadvertent needle sticks in the operating room (OR), a potentially new issue has arisen. These needles may result in coring, or the shaving off of fragments of the rubber stopper, when the needle is pierced through the rubber stopper of the medication vial. These fragments may be left in the vial and then drawn up with the medication and possibly injected into patients. The current study prospectively evaluated the incidence of coring when blunt and sharp needles were used to pierce rubber topped vials. We also evaluated the incidence of coring in empty medication vials with rubber tops. The rubber caps were then pierced with either an18-gauge sharp hypodermic needle or a blunt plastic (safety) needle. Coring occurred in 102 of 250 (40.8%) vials when a blunt needle was used versus 9 of 215 (4.2%) vials with a sharp needle (P < 0.0001). A significant incidence of coring was demonstrated when a blunt plastic safety needle was used. This situation is potentially a patient safety hazard and methods to eliminate this problem are needed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Role of macromolecules in the safety of use of body wash cosmetics.

PubMed

Bujak, Tomasz; Wasilewski, Tomasz; Nizioł-Łukaszewska, Zofia

2015-11-01

One of the most challenging problems related to the use of surfactants in body wash cosmetics is their potential to cause skin irritations. Surfactants can bind with proteins, remove lipids from the epidermal surface, contribute to the disorganization of liquid crystal structures in the intercellular lipids, and interact with living skin cells. These processes can lead to skin irritations and allergic reactions, and impair the epidermal barrier function. The present study is an attempt to assess the effect of polymers and hydrolysed proteins present in the formulations of model body wash cosmetics on product properties. Special attention was given to the safety of use of this product type. The study examined three macromolecules: polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), hydrolysed wheat protein (HWP) and polyvinylpyrrolidone/hydrolysed wheat protein crosspolymer (PVP/HWP). The addition of the substances under study was found to improve the foaming properties of body wash cosmetics, increase their stability during storage, and contribute significantly to an improvement in the safety of product use by reducing the irritant potential. The strongest ability to reduce the skin irritation potential was determined for the formula enriched with the PVP/HWP crosspolymer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

United States import safety, environmental health, and food safety regulation in China.

PubMed

Nyambok, Edward O; Kastner, Justin J

2012-01-01

China boasts a rapidly growing economy and is a leading food exporter. Since China has dominated world export markets in food, electronics, and toys, many safety concerns about Chinese exports have emerged. For example, many countries have had problems with Chinese food products and food-processing ingredients. Factors behind food safety and environmental health problems in China include poor industrial waste management, the use of counterfeit agricultural inputs, inadequate training of farmers on good farm management practices, and weak food safety laws and poor enforcement. In the face of rising import safety problems, the U.S. is now requiring certification of products and foreign importers, pursuing providing incentives to importers who uphold good safety practices, and considering publicizing the names of certified importers.

Aptamer-Based Analysis: A Promising Alternative for Food Safety Control

PubMed Central

Amaya-González, Sonia; de-los-Santos-Álvarez, Noemí; Miranda-Ordieres, Arturo J.; Lobo-Castañón, Maria Jesús

2013-01-01

Ensuring food safety is nowadays a top priority of authorities and professional players in the food supply chain. One of the key challenges to determine the safety of food and guarantee a high level of consumer protection is the availability of fast, sensitive and reliable analytical methods to identify specific hazards associated to food before they become a health problem. The limitations of existing methods have encouraged the development of new technologies, among them biosensors. Success in biosensor design depends largely on the development of novel receptors with enhanced affinity to the target, while being stable and economical. Aptamers fulfill these characteristics, and thus have surfaced as promising alternatives to natural receptors. This Review describes analytical strategies developed so far using aptamers for the control of pathogens, allergens, adulterants, toxins and other forbidden contaminants to ensure food safety. The main progresses to date are presented, highlighting potential prospects for the future. PMID:24287543

Improving patient safety by instructional systems design

PubMed Central

Battles, J B

2006-01-01

Education and training are important elements in patient safety, both as a potential contributing factor to risks and hazards of healthcare associated injury or harm and as an intervention to be used in eliminating or preventing such harm. All too often we have relied on training as the only interventions for patient safety without examining other alternatives or realizing that, in some cases, the training systems themselves are part of the problem. One way to ensure safety by design is to apply established design principles to education and training. Instructional systems design (ISD) is a systematic method of development of education and training programs for improved learner performance. The ISD process involves five integrated steps: analysis, development, design, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE). The application of ISD using the ADDIE approach can eliminate or prevent education and training from being a contributing factor of health associated injury or harm, and can also be effective in preventing injury or harm. PMID:17142604

Blowing Dust on Highway Safety: Characterizing and Modeling of Dust Emission Hot Spots in the Southern Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackwell, J., III; Li, J. J.; Kandakji, T.; Collins, J. D., Jr.; Lee, J.; Gill, T. E.

2016-12-01

Blowing dust and highway safety have become increasingly prevalent problems concerning human safety and welfare. Two factors precipitate wind-blown dust accidents: sudden loss of visibility, and loss of traction due to soil particles on the road surface. The project, using remote sensing and in situ measurements of surface and subsurface characteristics, will identify the location of dust emission "hotspots" and associated geomorphic features within the southwest region and panhandle (New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma), measure the threshold shear velocity and vegetative cover and model the results. The results of this study will provide critical information for land managers, policy makers, and highway authorities when making timely and informed potentially life-saving decisions and modifications here, in the southwest region and panhandle, as well as, anywhere else in the world where blowing dust is a hazard to highway safety.

Research of Pedestrian Crossing Safety Facilities Based on the Video Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Sheng-Zhen; Xie, Quan-Long; Zang, Xiao-Dong; Tang, Guo-Jun

Since that the pedestrian crossing facilities at present is not perfect, pedestrian crossing is in chaos and pedestrians from opposite direction conflict and congest with each other, which severely affects the pedestrian traffic efficiency, obstructs the vehicle and bringing about some potential security problems. To solve these problems, based on video identification, a pedestrian crossing guidance system was researched and designed. It uses the camera to monitor the pedestrians in real time and sums up the number of pedestrians through video detection program, and a group of pedestrian's induction lamp array is installed at the interval of crosswalk, which adjusts color display according to the proportion of pedestrians from both sides to guide pedestrians from both opposite directions processing separately. The emulation analysis result from cellular automaton shows that the system reduces the pedestrian crossing conflict, shortens the time of pedestrian crossing and improves the safety of pedestrians crossing.

Systems Thinking and Leadership: How Nephrologists Can Transform Dialysis Safety to Prevent Infections.

PubMed

Wong, Leslie P

2018-04-06

Infections are the second leading cause of death for patients with ESKD. Despite multiple efforts, nephrologists have been unable to prevent infections in dialysis facilities. The American Society of Nephrology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have partnered to create Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety to promote nephrologist leadership and engagement in efforts to "Target Zero" preventable dialysis infections. Because traditional approaches to infection control and prevention in dialysis facilities have had limited success, Nephrologists Transforming Dialysis Safety is reconceptualizing the problem in the context of the complexity of health care systems and organizational behavior. By identifying different parts of a problem and attempting to understand how these parts interact and produce a result, systems thinking has effectively tackled difficult problems in dynamic settings. The dialysis facility is composed of different physical and human elements that are interconnected and affect not only behavior but also, the existence of a culture of safety that promotes infection prevention. Because dialysis infections result from a complex system of interactions between caregivers, patients, dialysis organizations, and the environment, attempts to address infections by focusing on one element in isolation often fail. Creating a sense of urgency and commitment to eradicating dialysis infections requires leadership and motivational skills. These skills are not taught in the standard nephrology or medical director curriculum. Effective leadership by medical directors and engagement in infection prevention by nephrologists are required to create a culture of safety. It is imperative that nephrologists commit to leadership training and embrace their potential as change agents to prevent infections in dialysis facilities. This paper explores the systemic factors contributing to the ongoing dialysis infection crisis in the United States and the role of nephrologists in instilling a culture of safety in which infections can be anticipated and prevented. Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Patient safety risks associated with telecare: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature.

PubMed

Guise, Veslemøy; Anderson, Janet; Wiig, Siri

2014-11-25

Patient safety risk in the homecare context and patient safety risk related to telecare are both emerging research areas. Patient safety issues associated with the use of telecare in homecare services are therefore not clearly understood. It is unclear what the patient safety risks are, how patient safety issues have been investigated, and what research is still needed to provide a comprehensive picture of risks, challenges and potential harm to patients due to the implementation and use of telecare services in the home. Furthermore, it is unclear how training for telecare users has addressed patient safety issues. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify patient safety risks associated with telecare use in homecare services and to investigate whether and how these patient safety risks have been addressed in telecare training. Six electronic databases were searched in addition to hand searches of key items, reference tracking and citation tracking. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were set. All included items were assessed according to set quality criteria and subjected to a narrative synthesis to organise and synthesize the findings. A human factors systems framework of patient safety was used to frame and analyse the results. 22 items were included in the review. 11 types of patient safety risks associated with telecare use in homecare services emerged. These are in the main related to the nature of homecare tasks and practices, and person-centred characteristics and capabilities, and to a lesser extent, problems with the technology and devices, organisational issues, and environmental factors. Training initiatives related to safe telecare use are not described in the literature. There is a need to better identify and describe patient safety risks related to telecare services to improve understandings of how to avoid and minimize potential harm to patients. This process can be aided by reframing known telecare implementation challenges and user experiences of telecare with the help of a human factors systems approach to patient safety.

Safety management in multiemployer worksites in the manufacturing industry: opinions on co-operation and problems encountered.

PubMed

Nenonen, Sanna; Vasara, Juha

2013-01-01

Co-operation between different parties and effective safety management play an important role in ensuring safety in multiemployer worksites. This article reviews safety co-operation and factors complicating safety management in Finnish multiemployer manufacturing worksites. The paper focuses on the service providers' opinions; however, a comparison of the customers' views is also presented. The results show that safety-related co-operation between providers and customers is generally considered as successful but strongly dependent on the partner. Safety co-operation is provided through, e.g., training, orientation and risk analysis. Problems encountered include ensuring adequate communication, identifying hazards, co-ordinating work tasks and determining responsibilities. The providers and the customers encounter similar safety management problems. The results presented in this article can help companies to focus their efforts on the most problematic points of safety management and to avoid common pitfalls.

Cause-and-effect analysis of risk management files to assess patient care in the emergency department.

PubMed

White, Andrew A; Wright, Seth W; Blanco, Roberto; Lemonds, Brent; Sisco, Janice; Bledsoe, Sandy; Irwin, Cindy; Isenhour, Jennifer; Pichert, James W

2004-10-01

Identifying the etiologies of adverse outcomes is an important first step in improving patient safety and reducing malpractice risks. However, relatively little is known about the causes of emergency department-related adverse outcomes. The objective was to describe a method for identification of common causes of adverse outcomes in an emergency department. This methodology potentially can suggest ways to improve care and might provide a model for identification of factors associated with adverse outcomes. This was a retrospective analysis of 74 consecutive files opened by a malpractice insurer between 1995 and 2000. Each risk-management file was analyzed to identify potential causes of adverse outcomes. The main outcomes were rater-assigned codes for alleged problems with care (e.g., failures of communication or problems related to diagnosis). About 50% of cases were related to injuries or abdominal complaints. A contributing cause was found in 92% of cases, and most had more than one contributing cause. The most frequent contributing categories included failure to diagnose (45%), supervision problems (31%), communication problems (30%), patient behavior (24%), administrative problems (20%), and documentation (20%). Specific relating factors within these categories, such as lack of timely resident supervision and failure to follow policies and procedures, were identified. This project documented that an aggregate analysis of risk-management files has the potential to identify shared causes related to real or perceived adverse outcomes. Several potentially correctable systems problems were identified using this methodology. These simple, descriptive management tools may be useful in identifying issues for problem solving and can be easily learned by physicians and managers.

Regenerative Chemical Biology: Current Challenges and Future Potential

PubMed Central

Ao, Ada; Hao, Jijun; Hong, Charles C.

2011-01-01

The enthusiasm surrounding the clinical potential of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is tempered by the fact that key issues regarding their safety, efficacy, and long-term benefits have thus far been suboptimal. Small molecules can potentially relieve these problems at major junctions of stem cell biology and regenerative therapy. In this review, we will introduce recent advances in these important areas and the first-generation of small molecules used in the regenerative context. Current chemical biology studies will provide the archetype for future interdisciplinary collaborations, and improve clinical benefits of cell-based therapies. PMID:21513877

Principles for the wise use of computers by children.

PubMed

Straker, L; Pollock, C; Maslen, B

2009-11-01

Computer use by children at home and school is now common in many countries. Child computer exposure varies with the type of computer technology available and the child's age, gender and social group. This paper reviews the current exposure data and the evidence for positive and negative effects of computer use by children. Potential positive effects of computer use by children include enhanced cognitive development and school achievement, reduced barriers to social interaction, enhanced fine motor skills and visual processing and effective rehabilitation. Potential negative effects include threats to child safety, inappropriate content, exposure to violence, bullying, Internet 'addiction', displacement of moderate/vigorous physical activity, exposure to junk food advertising, sleep displacement, vision problems and musculoskeletal problems. The case for child specific evidence-based guidelines for wise use of computers is presented based on children using computers differently to adults, being physically, cognitively and socially different to adults, being in a state of change and development and the potential to impact on later adult risk. Progress towards child-specific guidelines is reported. Finally, a set of guideline principles is presented as the basis for more detailed guidelines on the physical, cognitive and social impact of computer use by children. The principles cover computer literacy, technology safety, child safety and privacy and appropriate social, cognitive and physical development. The majority of children in affluent communities now have substantial exposure to computers. This is likely to have significant effects on child physical, cognitive and social development. Ergonomics can provide and promote guidelines for wise use of computers by children and by doing so promote the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of computer-child, and subsequent computer-adult, interaction.

A Dividend in Food Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

When NASA faced the problem of how and what to feed an astronaut in a sealed capsule under weightless conditions while planning for manned space mission, they enlisted the aid of The Pillsbury Company. There were two principal concerns: barring crumbs of food that might contaminate the spacecraft's atmosphere or float their way into sensitive instruments; and assuring absolute freedom from potentially catastrophic disease-producing bacteria and toxins. Pillsbury quickly solved the first concern, but the other part of the problem was not as easy. They found that with using standard methods, there was no way to be assured there would not be any bacteria. It was concluded that the only way to succeed was to establish control over the entire process, the raw materials, the processing environment and the people involved. Pillsbury developed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept. The HACCP is designed to prevent food safety problems rather than to catch them after they have occurred. Three other government agencies are taking preliminary steps toward extending HACCP to meat/poultry and seafood inspection operations. Today, Pillsbury plants are still operating under HACCP.

Status and problems of fusion reactor development.

PubMed

Schumacher, U

2001-03-01

Thermonuclear fusion of deuterium and tritium constitutes an enormous potential for a safe, environmentally compatible and sustainable energy supply. The fuel source is practically inexhaustible. Further, the safety prospects of a fusion reactor are quite favourable due to the inherently self-limiting fusion process, the limited radiologic toxicity and the passive cooling property. Among a small number of approaches, the concept of toroidal magnetic confinement of fusion plasmas has achieved most impressive scientific and technical progress towards energy release by thermonuclear burn of deuterium-tritium fuels. The status of thermonuclear fusion research activity world-wide is reviewed and present solutions to the complicated physical and technological problems are presented. These problems comprise plasma heating, confinement and exhaust of energy and particles, plasma stability, alpha particle heating, fusion reactor materials, reactor safety and environmental compatibility. The results and the high scientific level of this international research activity provide a sound basis for the realisation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), whose goal is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of a fusion energy source for peaceful purposes.

Design, economic and system considerations of large wind-driven generators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jorgensen, G. E.; Lotker, M.; Meier, R. C.; Brierley, D.

1976-01-01

The increased search for alternative energy sources has lead to renewed interest and studies of large wind-driven generators. This paper presents the results and considerations of such an investigation. The paper emphasizes the concept selection of wind-driven generators, system optimization, control system design, safety aspects, economic viability on electric utility systems and potential electric system interfacing problems.

[Chemical safety, health, and environment: prospects for governance in the Brazilian context].

PubMed

Freitas, Carlos Machado de; Porto, Marcelo Firpo S; Moreira, Josino Costa; Pivetta, Fatima; Machado, Jorge M Huet; Freitas, Nilton B B de; Arcuri, Arline S

2002-01-01

Chemical safety is acknowledged by Agenda 21 as one of the most serious problems worldwide, involving governance at the national and international levels. In Brazil, chemical safety problems have increased in intensity and extent, far beyond the capacity to deal with them. The problems are all the more serious in Brazil because issues of democracy, security, sustainability, and equity, all fundamental to governance, are still incipient and still far from being solved. New societal arrangements and a new, contextualized and more participatory science form the basis for developing and expanding strategies for governance to deal with the problem of chemical safety.

Identifying patient and practice characteristics associated with patient-reported experiences of safety problems and harm: a cross-sectional study using a multilevel modelling approach.

PubMed

Ricci-Cabello, Ignacio; Reeves, David; Bell, Brian G; Valderas, Jose M

2017-11-01

To identify patient and family practice characteristics associated with patient-reported experiences of safety problems and harm. Cross-sectional study combining data from the individual postal administration of the validated Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care (PREOS-PC) questionnaire to a random sample of patients in family practices (response rate=18.4%) and practice-level data for those practices obtained from NHS Digital. We built linear multilevel multivariate regression models to model the association between patient-level (clinical and sociodemographic) and practice-level (size and case-mix, human resources, indicators of quality and safety of care, and practice safety activation) characteristics, and outcome measures. Practices distributed across five regions in the North, Centre and South of England. 1190 patients registered in 45 practices purposefully sampled (maximal variation in practice size and levels of deprivation). Self-reported safety problems, harm and overall perception of safety. Higher self-reported levels of safety problems were associated with younger age of patients (beta coefficient 0.15) and lower levels of practice safety activation (0.44). Higher self-reported levels of harm were associated with younger age (0.13) and worse self-reported health status (0.23). Lower self-reported healthcare safety was associated with lower levels of practice safety activation (0.40). The fully adjusted models explained 4.5% of the variance in experiences of safety problems, 8.6% of the variance in harm and 4.4% of the variance in perceptions of patient safety. Practices' safety activation levels and patients' age and health status are associated with patient-reported safety outcomes in English family practices. The development of interventions aimed at improving patient safety outcomes would benefit from focusing on the identified groups. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Parental safety concerns and active school commute: correlates across multiple domains in the home-to-school journey

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Empirical evidence of the relationship between safety concerns and walking to school (WTS) is growing. However, current research offers limited understanding of the multiple domains of parental safety concerns and the specific mechanisms through which parents articulate safety concerns about WTS. A more detailed understanding is needed to inform environmental and policy interventions. This study examined the relationships between both traffic safety and personal safety concerns and WTS in the U.S. Methods This cross-sectional analysis examined data from the Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation (T-COPPE) project, an evaluation of state-wide obesity prevention policy interventions. All study data were from the survey (n = 830) of parents with 4th grade students attending 81 elementary schools across Texas, and living within two miles from their children's schools. Traffic safety and personal safety concerns were captured for the home neighborhood, en-route to school, and school environments. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the odds of WTS controlling for significant covariates. Results Overall, 18% of parents reported that their child walked to school on most days of the week. For traffic safety, students were more likely to walk to school if their parent reported favorable perceptions about the following items in the home neighborhood environment: higher sidewalk availability, well maintained sidewalks and safe road crossings. For the route to school, the odds of WTS were higher for those who reported "no problem" with each one of the following: traffic speed, amount of traffic, sidewalks/pathways, intersection/crossing safety, and crossing guards, when compared to those that reported "always a problem". For personal safety in the en-route to school environment, the odds of WTS were lower when parents reported concerns about: stray or dangerous animals and availability of others with whom to walk. Conclusions Findings offered insights into the specific issues that drive safety concerns for elementary school children’s WTS behaviors. The observed associations between more favorable perceptions of safety and WTS provide further justification for practical intervention strategies to reduce WTS barriers that can potentially bring long-term physical activity and health benefits to school-aged children. PMID:24602213

Advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison with light water reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahri, Che Nor Aniza Che Zainul; Majid, Amran Ab.; Al-Areqi, Wadeeah M.

2015-04-01

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) is an innovative design for the thermal breeder reactor that has important potential benefits over the traditional reactor design. LFTR is fluoride based liquid fuel, that use the thorium dissolved in salt mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. Therefore, LFTR technology is fundamentally different from the solid fuel technology currently in use. Although the traditional nuclear reactor technology has been proven, it has perceptual problems with safety and nuclear waste products. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential advantages of LFTR in three aspects such as safety, fuel efficiency and nuclear waste as an alternative energy generator in the future. Comparisons between LFTR and Light Water Reactor (LWR), on general principles of fuel cycle, resource availability, radiotoxicity and nuclear weapon proliferation shall be elaborated.

Advantages of liquid fluoride thorium reactor in comparison with light water reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bahri, Che Nor Aniza Che Zainul, E-mail: anizazainul@gmail.com; Majid, Amran Ab.; Al-Areqi, Wadeeah M.

2015-04-29

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) is an innovative design for the thermal breeder reactor that has important potential benefits over the traditional reactor design. LFTR is fluoride based liquid fuel, that use the thorium dissolved in salt mixture of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. Therefore, LFTR technology is fundamentally different from the solid fuel technology currently in use. Although the traditional nuclear reactor technology has been proven, it has perceptual problems with safety and nuclear waste products. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential advantages of LFTR in three aspects such as safety, fuel efficiency and nuclearmore » waste as an alternative energy generator in the future. Comparisons between LFTR and Light Water Reactor (LWR), on general principles of fuel cycle, resource availability, radiotoxicity and nuclear weapon proliferation shall be elaborated.« less

Pharmacist recognition of and adherence to medication-use policies and safety practices.

PubMed

Saad, Aline H; Sweet, Burgunda V; Stumpf, Janice L; Gruppen, Larry; Oh, Mary; Stevenson, James G

2007-10-01

Pharmacist recognition of and adherence to medication-use policies and safety practices were assessed. Simulation testing was used to assess the performance of pharmacists in hypothetical scenarios simulating real-life situations. Fifty test case medication orders were developed, some requiring specific intervention and some requiring no special action. Orders were classified into four categories: those posing safety concerns n ( = 16), those with formulary and product standardization issues (n = 4), those with pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committee restrictions (n = 4), and those requiring no special action (n = 26). Potential barriers to compliance were identified by the project team and the orders categorized accordingly. The orders were processed by 25 pharmacists using a simulation testing procedure. Data were analyzed by pharmacists' demographics, order category, and perceived barriers to compliance. Pharmacists were correctly able to recognize 77.3% of test orders: 67.3% with safety concerns, 98.9% with formulary issues, and 98.5% with restrictions. Appropriate action was taken with 74.2% of test orders: 64.5% of safety orders, 96.6% of formulary orders, and 92.4% of restriction orders. There was no correlation between pharmacists' performance and demographic characteristics. The two barriers to correct response identified most often were ambiguous responsibility and low perceived level of importance. Pharmacists generally recognized and took appropriate action with simulated medication orders that contained problems related to formulary or P&T committee restrictions. They were less able to recognize and act appropriately on orders with safety-related problems. Ambiguous responsibility and low perceived importance were the most significant factors contributing to noncompliance with P&T committee policies and guidelines.

A case for safety leadership team training of hospital managers.

PubMed

Singer, Sara J; Hayes, Jennifer; Cooper, Jeffrey B; Vogt, Jay W; Sales, Michael; Aristidou, Angela; Gray, Garry C; Kiang, Mathew V; Meyer, Gregg S

2011-01-01

Delivering safe patient care remains an elusive goal. Resolving problems in complex organizations like hospitals requires managers to work together. Safety leadership training that encourages managers to exercise learning-oriented, team-based leadership behaviors could promote systemic problem solving and enhance patient safety. Despite the need for such training, few programs teach multidisciplinary groups of managers about specific behaviors that can enhance their role as leadership teams in the realm of patient safety. The aims of this study were to describe a learning-oriented, team-based, safety leadership training program composed of reinforcing exercises and to provide evidence confirming the need for such training and demonstrating behavior change among management groups after training. Twelve groups of managers from an academic medical center based in the Northeast United States were randomly selected to participate in the program and exposed to its customized, experience-based, integrated, multimodal curriculum. We extracted data from transcripts of four training sessions over 15 months with groups of managers about the need for the training in these groups and change in participants' awareness, professional behaviors, and group activity. Training transcripts confirmed the need for safety leadership team training and provided evidence of the potential for training to increase targeted behaviors. The training increased awareness and use of leadership behaviors among many managers and led to new routines and coordinated effort among most management groups. Enhanced learning-oriented leadership often helped promote a learning orientation in managers' work areas. Team-based training that promotes specific learning-oriented leader behaviors can promote behavioral change among multidisciplinary groups of hospital managers.

Computerized pharmacy surveillance and alert system for drug-related problems.

PubMed

Ferrández, O; Urbina, O; Grau, S; Mateu-de-Antonio, J; Marin-Casino, M; Portabella, J; Mojal, S; Riu, M; Salas, E

2017-04-01

Because of the impact of drug-related problems (DRPs) on morbidity and mortality, there is a need for computerized strategies to increase drug safety. The detection and identification of the causes of potential DRPs can be facilitated by the incorporation of a pharmacy warning system (PWS) in the computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) and its application in the routine validation of inpatient drug therapy. A limited number of studies have evaluated a clinical decision support system to monitor drug treatment. Most of these applications have utilized a small range of drugs with alerts and/or types of alert. The objective of this study was to describe the implementation of a PWS integrated in the electronic medical record (EMR). The PWS was developed in 2003-2004. Pharmacological information to generate drug alerts was entered on demographic data, drug dosage, laboratory tests related to the prescribed drug and drug combinations (interactions, duplications and necessary combinations). The PWS was applied in the prescription reviews conducted in patients admitted to the hospital in 2012. Information on 83% of the drugs included in the pharmacopeia was introduced into the PWS, allowing detection of 2808 potential DRPs, representing 79·1% of all potential DRPs detected during the study period. Twenty per cent of PWS DRPs were clinically relevant, requiring pharmacist intervention. The PWS detected most potential DRPs, thus increasing inpatient safety. The detection ability of the PWS was higher than that reported for other tools described in the literature. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Psychosocial safety climate as a lead indicator of workplace bullying and harassment, job resources, psychological health and employee engagement.

PubMed

Law, Rebecca; Dollard, Maureen F; Tuckey, Michelle R; Dormann, Christian

2011-09-01

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is defined as shared perceptions of organizational policies, practices and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety, that stem largely from management practices. PSC theory extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework and proposes that organizational level PSC determines work conditions and subsequently, psychological health problems and work engagement. Our sample was derived from the Australian Workplace Barometer project and comprised 30 organizations, and 220 employees. As expected, hierarchical linear modeling showed that organizational PSC was negatively associated with workplace bullying and harassment (demands) and in turn psychological health problems (health impairment path). PSC was also positively associated with work rewards (resources) and in turn work engagement (motivational path). Accordingly, we found that PSC triggered both the health impairment and motivational pathways, thus justifying extending the JD-R model in a multilevel way. Further we found that PSC, as an organization-based resource, moderated the positive relationship between bullying/harassment and psychological health problems, and the negative relationship between bullying/harassment and engagement. The findings provide evidence for a multilevel model of PSC as a lead indicator of workplace psychosocial hazards (high demands, low resources), psychological health and employee engagement, and as a potential moderator of psychosocial hazard effects. PSC is therefore an efficient target for primary and secondary intervention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of vehicle safety problems for special driving populations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-02-16

The report describes vehicle safety problems reported in interviews with 460 physically limited drivers and 41 physically limited non-drivers. The problems reported involved operation of primary and secondary controls, operating other vehicle mechani...

Problem identification for Virginia's highway safety plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1982-01-01

Problem identification is recognized as an important component of highway safety planning. Under the NHTSA/FHWA concept, problem identification is the first step in program planning and in the development of effective countermeasure programs. The ann...

Regulations as Prevention Strategies for Shiftwork Problems.

PubMed

Jeppesen; Bøggild; Larsen

1997-07-01

The study examines how the Danish system of regulations stemming from collective agreements and legislation and its associated participatory structures operate at the local level in relation to shiftwork and health and safety issues in a regional hospital system consisting of seven hospitals. The study analyzed ward reports of each employee's employment and working hours, local agreements about working time for deviations from legislation, and accounts from meetings in Co-operation Committees and Health and Safety Committees with respect to shiftwork issues from 1980 to 1994. The results showed that part-time employment, especially for those working on fixed evening and night shifts, was a dominant feature in the shiftwork arrangements. A majority of wards were found to have mixtures of employees working rotating or fixed shifts. Each hospital had local agreements that extended the number of work days between periods with days off and reduced the daily resting period to its minimum. None of the meetings of the Health and Safety Committees dealt with shiftwork, and when shiftwork and working time were on the agendas of the Co-operation Committees, health and safety aspects did not feature in the conclusions. The absence of consideration of health and safety aspects is discussed in relation to the uncertainty of the general regulatory principles for work organization and scheduling. The paper concludes that in order to utilize the potential af the participatory structures in developing prevention strategies for shiftwork problems, it is important to clarify responsibilities and cooperation between the two participatory committees.

Why trash don't pass? pharmaceutical licensing and safety performance of drugs.

PubMed

Banerjee, Tannista; Nayak, Arnab

2017-01-01

This paper examines how asymmetric information in pharmaceutical licensing affects the safety standards of licensed drugs. Pharmaceutical companies often license potential drug molecules at different stages of drug development from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies and complete the remaining of research stages before submitting the new drug application(NDA) to the food and drug administration. The asymmetric information associated with the quality of licensed molecules might result in the molecules which are less likely to succeed to be licensed out, while those with greater potential of success being held internally for development. We identify the NDAs submitted between 1993 and 2004 where new molecular entities were acquired through licensing. Controlling for other drug area specific and applicant firm specific factors, we investigate whether drugs developed with licensed molecules face higher probability of safety based recall and ultimate withdrawal from the market than drugs developed internally. Results suggest the opposite of Akerlof's (Q J Econ 84:488-500, 1970) lemons problem. Licensed molecules rather have less probability of facing safety based recalls and ultimate withdrawal from the market comparing to internally developed drug molecules. This suggests that biotechnology and small pharmaceutical firms specializing in pharmaceutical research are more efficient in developing good potential molecules because of their concentrated research. Biotechnology firms license out good potential molecules because it increases their market value and reputation. In addition, results suggest that both the number of previous approved drugs in the disease area, and also the applicant firms' total number of previous approvals in all disease areas reduce the probability that an additional approved drug in the same drug area will potentially be harmful.

Food safety regulations in Australia and New Zealand Food Standards.

PubMed

Ghosh, Dilip

2014-08-01

Citizens of Australia and New Zealand recognise that food security is a major global issue. Food security also affects Australia and New Zealand's status as premier food exporting nations and the health and wellbeing of the Australasian population. Australia is uniquely positioned to help build a resilient food value chain and support programs aimed at addressing existing and emerging food security challenges. The Australian food governance system is fragmented and less transparent, being largely in the hands of government and semi-governmental regulatory authorities. The high level of consumer trust in Australian food governance suggests that this may be habitual and taken for granted, arising from a lack of negative experiences of food safety. In New Zealand the Ministry of Primary Industries regulates food safety issues. To improve trade and food safety, New Zealand and Australia work together through Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and other co-operative agreements. Although the potential risks to the food supply are dynamic and constantly changing, the demand, requirement and supply for providing safe food remains firm. The Australasian food industry will need to continually develop its system that supports the food safety program with the help of scientific investigations that underpin the assurance of what is and is not safe. The incorporation of a comprehensive and validated food safety program is one of the total quality management systems that will ensure that all areas of potential problems are being addressed by industry. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Engineering the electronic health record for safety: a multi-level video-based approach to diagnosing and preventing technology-induced error arising from usability problems.

PubMed

Borycki, Elizabeth M; Kushniruk, Andre W; Kuwata, Shigeki; Kannry, Joseph

2011-01-01

Electronic health records (EHRs) promise to improve and streamline healthcare through electronic entry and retrieval of patient data. Furthermore, based on a number of studies showing their positive benefits, they promise to reduce medical error and make healthcare safer. However, a growing body of literature has clearly documented that if EHRS are not designed properly and with usability as an important goal in their design, rather than reducing error, EHR deployment has the potential to actually increase medical error. In this paper we describe our approach to engineering (and reengineering) EHRs in order to increase their beneficial potential while at the same time improving their safety. The approach described in this paper involves an integration of the methods of usability analysis with video analysis of end users interacting with EHR systems and extends the evaluation of the usability of EHRs to include the assessment of the impact of these systems on work practices. Using clinical simulations, we analyze human-computer interaction in real healthcare settings (in a portable, low-cost and high fidelity manner) and include both artificial and naturalistic data collection to identify potential usability problems and sources of technology-induced error prior to widespread system release. Two case studies where the methods we have developed and refined have been applied at different levels of user-computer interaction are described.

Overview of NORM and activities by a NORM licensed permanent decontamination and waste processing facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mirro, G.A.

1997-02-01

This paper presents an overview of issues related to handling NORM materials, and provides a description of a facility designed for the processing of NORM contaminated equipment. With regard to handling NORM materials the author discusses sources of NORM, problems, regulations and disposal options, potential hazards, safety equipment, and issues related to personnel protection. For the facility, the author discusses: description of the permanent facility; the operations of the facility; the license it has for handling specific radioactive material; operating and safety procedures; decontamination facilities on site; NORM waste processing capabilities; and offsite NORM services which are available.

Navigational Traffic Conflict Technique: A Proactive Approach to Quantitative Measurement of Collision Risks in Port Waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debnath, Ashim Kumar; Chin, Hoong Chor

Navigational safety analysis relying on collision statistics is often hampered because of the low number of observations. A promising alternative approach that overcomes this problem is proposed in this paper. By analyzing critical vessel interactions this approach proactively measures collision risk in port waters. The proposed method is illustrated for quantitative measurement of collision risks in Singapore port fairways, and validated by examining correlations between the measured risks with those perceived by pilots. This method is an ethically appealing alternative to the collision-based analysis for fast, reliable and effective safety assessment, thus possessing great potential for managing collision risks in port waters.

Mining Research on Vibration Signal Association Rules of Quayside Container Crane Hoisting Motor Based on Apriori Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chencheng; Tang, Gang; Hu, Xiong

2017-07-01

Shore-hoisting motor in the daily work will produce a large number of vibration signal data,in order to analyze the correlation among the data and discover the fault and potential safety hazard of the motor, the data are discretized first, and then Apriori algorithm are used to mine the strong association rules among the data. The results show that the relationship between day 1 and day 16 is the most closely related, which can guide the staff to analyze the work of these two days of motor to find and solve the problem of fault and safety.

Problems and pitfalls in cardiac drug therapy.

PubMed

Stone, S M; Rai, N; Nei, J

2001-01-01

Medical errors in the care of patients may account for 44,000 to 98,000 deaths per year, and 7,000 deaths per year are attributed to medication errors alone. Increasing awareness among health care providers of potential errors is a critical step toward improving the safety of medical care. Because today's medications are increasingly complex, approved at an accelerated rate, and often have a narrow therapeutic window with only a small margin of safety, patient and provider education is critical in assuring optimal therapeutic outcomes. Providers can use electronic resources such as Web sites to keep informed on drug-drug, drug-food, and drug-nutritional supplements interactions.

Quantitative safety assessment of air traffic control systems through system control capacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jingjing

Quantitative Safety Assessments (QSA) are essential to safety benefit verification and regulations of developmental changes in safety critical systems like the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems. Effectiveness of the assessments is particularly desirable today in the safe implementations of revolutionary ATC overhauls like NextGen and SESAR. QSA of ATC systems are however challenged by system complexity and lack of accident data. Extending from the idea "safety is a control problem" in the literature, this research proposes to assess system safety from the control perspective, through quantifying a system's "control capacity". A system's safety performance correlates to this "control capacity" in the control of "safety critical processes". To examine this idea in QSA of the ATC systems, a Control-capacity Based Safety Assessment Framework (CBSAF) is developed which includes two control capacity metrics and a procedural method. The two metrics are Probabilistic System Control-capacity (PSC) and Temporal System Control-capacity (TSC); each addresses an aspect of a system's control capacity. And the procedural method consists three general stages: I) identification of safety critical processes, II) development of system control models and III) evaluation of system control capacity. The CBSAF was tested in two case studies. The first one assesses an en-route collision avoidance scenario and compares three hypothetical configurations. The CBSAF was able to capture the uncoordinated behavior between two means of control, as was observed in a historic midair collision accident. The second case study compares CBSAF with an existing risk based QSA method in assessing the safety benefits of introducing a runway incursion alert system. Similar conclusions are reached between the two methods, while the CBSAF has the advantage of simplicity and provides a new control-based perspective and interpretation to the assessments. The case studies are intended to investigate the potential and demonstrate the utilities of CBSAF and are not intended for thorough studies of collision avoidance and runway incursions safety, which are extremely challenging problems. Further development and thorough validations are required to allow CBSAF to reach implementation phases, e.g. addressing the issues of limited scalability and subjectivity.

Measuring and improving patient safety through health information technology: The Health IT Safety Framework.

PubMed

Singh, Hardeep; Sittig, Dean F

2016-04-01

Health information technology (health IT) has potential to improve patient safety but its implementation and use has led to unintended consequences and new safety concerns. A key challenge to improving safety in health IT-enabled healthcare systems is to develop valid, feasible strategies to measure safety concerns at the intersection of health IT and patient safety. In response to the fundamental conceptual and methodological gaps related to both defining and measuring health IT-related patient safety, we propose a new framework, the Health IT Safety (HITS) measurement framework, to provide a conceptual foundation for health IT-related patient safety measurement, monitoring, and improvement. The HITS framework follows both Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and sociotechnical approaches and calls for new measures and measurement activities to address safety concerns in three related domains: 1) concerns that are unique and specific to technology (e.g., to address unsafe health IT related to unavailable or malfunctioning hardware or software); 2) concerns created by the failure to use health IT appropriately or by misuse of health IT (e.g. to reduce nuisance alerts in the electronic health record (EHR)), and 3) the use of health IT to monitor risks, health care processes and outcomes and identify potential safety concerns before they can harm patients (e.g. use EHR-based algorithms to identify patients at risk for medication errors or care delays). The framework proposes to integrate both retrospective and prospective measurement of HIT safety with an organization's existing clinical risk management and safety programs. It aims to facilitate organizational learning, comprehensive 360 degree assessment of HIT safety that includes vendor involvement, refinement of measurement tools and strategies, and shared responsibility to identify problems and implement solutions. A long term framework goal is to enable rigorous measurement that helps achieve the safety benefits of health IT in real-world clinical settings. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Shelf Life of Food Products: From Open Labeling to Real-Time Measurements.

PubMed

Corradini, Maria G

2018-03-25

The labels currently used on food and beverage products only provide consumers with a rough guide to their expected shelf lives because they assume that a product only experiences a limited range of predefined handling and storage conditions. These static labels do not take into consideration conditions that might shorten a product's shelf life (such as temperature abuse), which can lead to problems associated with food safety and waste. Advances in shelf-life estimation have the potential to improve the safety, reliability, and sustainability of the food supply. Selection of appropriate kinetic models and data-analysis techniques is essential to predict shelf life, to account for variability in environmental conditions, and to allow real-time monitoring. Novel analytical tools to determine safety and quality attributes in situ coupled with modern tracking technologies and appropriate predictive tools have the potential to provide accurate estimations of the remaining shelf life of a food product in real time. This review summarizes the necessary steps to attain a transition from open labeling to real-time shelf-life measurements.

Impact of direct drug delivery via gastric access devices.

PubMed

Kurien, Matthew; Penny, Hugo; Sanders, David S

2015-03-01

Gastric access devices such as nasogastric tubes and gastrostomy tubes are increasingly being used in clinical practice to provide both short- and long-term nutrition support therapy. Increasingly these devices are being utilized to help deliver oral medications, where swallowing is impaired. This concomitant administration of medications and enteral formulas could derive potential benefits in regard to time and cost; however, uncertainty exists regarding potential drug and nutrient interactions and the influence this may have on both safety and efficacy. This article provides an overview of the differing gastric access devices used in clinical practice and evaluates the evidence base for using oral medications via these routes. Alternative methods of drug administration are discussed, alongside common drug nutrient interactions and potential complications. Delivering medications via gastric access devices can be performed safely; however, careful consideration needs to be made regarding tube and patient influences, alongside drug-nutrient interactions. Improving practice in this area in the future necessitates enhancement of an evidence base to substantiate the safety of drug delivery via gastric access devices and improvement in education among healthcare professionals about the potential problems.

Fix and forget or fix and report: a qualitative study of tensions at the front line of incident reporting.

PubMed

Hewitt, Tanya Anne; Chreim, Samia

2015-05-01

Practitioners frequently encounter safety problems that they themselves can resolve on the spot. We ask: when faced with such a problem, do practitioners fix it in the moment and forget about it, or do they fix it in the moment and report it? We consider factors underlying these two approaches. We used a qualitative case study design employing in-depth interviews with 40 healthcare practitioners in a tertiary care hospital in Ontario, Canada. We conducted a thematic analysis, and compared the findings with the literature. 'Fixing and forgetting' was the main choice that most practitioners made in situations where they faced problems that they themselves could resolve. These situations included (A) handling near misses, which were seen as unworthy of reporting since they did not result in actual harm to the patient, (B) prioritising solving individual patients' safety problems, which were viewed as unique or one-time events and (C) encountering re-occurring safety problems, which were framed as inevitable, routine events. In only a few instances was 'fixing and reporting' mentioned as a way that the providers dealt with problems that they could resolve. We found that generally healthcare providers do not prioritise reporting if a safety problem is fixed. We argue that fixing and forgetting patient safety problems encountered may not serve patient safety as well as fixing and reporting. The latter approach aligns with recent calls for patient safety to be more preventive. We consider implications for practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Patient safety and the problem of many hands

PubMed Central

Dixon-Woods, Mary; Pronovost, Peter

2016-01-01

Summary Healthcare worldwide is faced with a crisis of patient safety: every day, everywhere, patients are injured during the course of their care. Notwithstanding occasional successes in relation to specific harms, safety as a system characteristic has remained elusive. We propose that one neglected reason why the safety problem has proved so stubborn is that healthcare suffers from a pathology known in the public administration literature as the problem of many hands. It is a problem that arises in contexts where multiple actors – organizations, individuals, groups – each contribute to effects seen at system level, but it remains difficult to hold any single actor responsible for these effects. Efforts by individual actors, including local quality improvement projects, may have the paradoxical effect of undermining system safety. Many challenges cannot be resolved by individual organisations, since they require whole-sector coordination and action. We call for recognition of the problem of many hands and for attention to be given to how it might most optimally be addressed in a healthcare context. PMID:26912578

Using FDA reports to inform a classification for health information technology safety problems

PubMed Central

Ong, Mei-Sing; Runciman, William; Coiera, Enrico

2011-01-01

Objective To expand an emerging classification for problems with health information technology (HIT) using reports submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. Design HIT events submitted to MAUDE were retrieved using a standardized search strategy. Using an emerging classification with 32 categories of HIT problems, a subset of relevant events were iteratively analyzed to identify new categories. Two coders then independently classified the remaining events into one or more categories. Free-text descriptions were analyzed to identify the consequences of events. Measurements Descriptive statistics by number of reported problems per category and by consequence; inter-rater reliability analysis using the κ statistic for the major categories and consequences. Results A search of 899 768 reports from January 2008 to July 2010 yielded 1100 reports about HIT. After removing duplicate and unrelated reports, 678 reports describing 436 events remained. The authors identified four new categories to describe problems with software functionality, system configuration, interface with devices, and network configuration; the authors' classification with 32 categories of HIT problems was expanded by the addition of these four categories. Examination of the 436 events revealed 712 problems, 96% were machine-related, and 4% were problems at the human–computer interface. Almost half (46%) of the events related to hazardous circumstances. Of the 46 events (11%) associated with patient harm, four deaths were linked to HIT problems (0.9% of 436 events). Conclusions Only 0.1% of the MAUDE reports searched were related to HIT. Nevertheless, Food and Drug Administration reports did prove to be a useful new source of information about the nature of software problems and their safety implications with potential to inform strategies for safe design and implementation. PMID:21903979

Survey of Collision Avoidance and Ranging Sensors for Mobile Robots.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-01

systems represent a potential safety problem in that the intense and often invisible beam can be an eye hazard. Furthermore, gas lasers require high ...sensor, or out of range. Conventional diffuse proximity detectors based on return signal intensity display high repeatability only when target...because the low transmission intensity of this infrared wavelength results in minimal return radiation. (The extremely cold detector produces a high

Results of the recent precipitation static flight test program on the Navy P-3B antisubmarine aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, Mike

1991-01-01

Severe precipitation static problems affecting the communication equipment onboard the P-3B aircraft were recently studied. The study was conducted after precipitation static created potential safety-of-flight problems on Naval Reserve aircraft. A specially designed flight test program was conducted in order to measure, record, analyze, and characterize potential precipitation static problem areas. The test program successfully characterized the precipitation static interference problems while the P-3B was flown in moderate to extreme precipitation conditions. Data up to 400 MHz were collected on the effects of engine charging, precipitation static, and extreme cross fields. These data were collected using a computer controlled acquisition system consisting of a signal generator, RF spectrum and audio analyzers, data recorders, and instrumented static dischargers. The test program is outlined and the computer controlled data acquisition system is described in detail which was used during flight and ground testing. The correlation of test results is also discussed which were recorded during the flight test program and those measured during ground testing.

Quality Attribute Techniques Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiam, Yin Kia; Zhu, Liming; Staples, Mark

The quality of software is achieved during its development. Development teams use various techniques to investigate, evaluate and control potential quality problems in their systems. These “Quality Attribute Techniques” target specific product qualities such as safety or security. This paper proposes a framework to capture important characteristics of these techniques. The framework is intended to support process tailoring, by facilitating the selection of techniques for inclusion into process models that target specific product qualities. We use risk management as a theory to accommodate techniques for many product qualities and lifecycle phases. Safety techniques have motivated the framework, and safety and performance techniques have been used to evaluate the framework. The evaluation demonstrates the ability of quality risk management to cover the development lifecycle and to accommodate two different product qualities. We identify advantages and limitations of the framework, and discuss future research on the framework.

Patient safety is not elective: a debate at the NPSF Patient Safety Congress.

PubMed

McTiernan, Patricia; Wachter, Robert M; Meyer, Gregg S; Gandhi, Tejal K

2015-02-01

The opening keynote session of the 16th Annual National Patient Safety Foundation Patient Safety Congress, held 14-16 May 2014, featured a debate addressing the merits and challenges of accountability with respect to key issues in patient safety. The specific resolution debated was: Certain safety practices should be inviolable, and transgressions should result in penalties, potentially including fines, suspensions, and firing. The themes discussed in the debate are issues that healthcare professionals and leaders commonly struggle with in their day-to-day work. How do we draw a line between systems problems and personal failings? When should clinicians and staff be penalised for failing to follow a known safety protocol? The majority of those who listened to the live debate agreed that it is time to begin holding health professionals accountable when they wilfully or repeatedly violate policies or protocols put in place by their institutions to protect the safety of patients. This article summarises the debate as well as the questions and discussion generated by each side. A video of the original debate can be found at http://bit.ly/Npsf_debate. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Exploiting Pharmacological Similarity to Identify Safety Concerns - Listen to What the Data Tells You.

PubMed

Muthas, Daniel; Boyer, Scott

2013-01-01

Whilst most new drugs are designed to act on a single target or a small number of targets, many do show broad pharmacological activity. In some cases this can be beneficial and necessary for efficacy and in others it can be detrimental, leading to increased safety liability. To probe off-target pharmacology most drug discovery programs include screening against a broad panel of targets that represent known troublesome pharmacology. Hits against any one of these targets can then be subjected to a risk assessment for potential safety problems in preclinical or clinical studies. In addition, the secondary pharmacology profile can also be thought of as an alternative description of the compound and as such can be used as a method for assessing 'similarity'. Consequently, inspection of the in vivo findings of pharmacological neighbors can give important insights into potential safety liabilities that are neither identified by pure chemical similarity searches nor by risk assessment on individual targets. Here we show that the pharmacological profile contains additional information as compared to chemical similarity, and also demonstrate how this can be used in the hazard assessment done during drug discovery and development. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Parent Involvement in Novice Teen Driving: Rationale, Evidence of Effects, and Potential for Enhancing Graduated Driver Licensing Effectiveness

PubMed Central

Simons-Morton, Bruce

2007-01-01

Motor vehicle crash rates are highly elevated immediately after licensure and then decline gradually over a period of years. Young age, risk taking, and inexperience contribute to the problem, but inexperience is particularly important early on. Driving is like other complex, skilled behaviors in which subtle improvements in perception and judgment develop gradually over a period of years. After all, safe driving is more a matter of attention and perception than physical management of the vehicle. Inexperience is particularly linked to driving performance and safety outcomes under certain driving conditions, with driving at night and with teen passengers as the most important cases. Surprisingly, driving outcomes do not appear to be affected by the pre-license training or supervised practice driving. Given the limits of training, safety effects can best be achieved by countermeasures that delay licensure or limit driving novice teen driving under high risk driving conditions while novices gain experience and develop safety competence. The two complementary approaches of Graduated Driver Licensing policies and parent management have been shown to provide safety effects by limiting the driving conditions of novice teenagers. Impact on Research, Practice, Policy, and Industry: Advances in GDL and improvements in parent management practices have the potential to reduce crashes and save lives. PMID:17478190

Improving patient safety: lessons from rock climbing.

PubMed

Robertson, Nic

2012-02-01

How to improve patient safety remains an intractable problem, despite large investment and some successes. Academics have argued that the root of the problem is a lack of a comprehensive 'safety culture' in hospitals. Other safety-critical industries such as commercial aviation invest heavily in staff training to develop such a culture, but comparable programmes are almost entirely absent from the health care sector. In rock climbing and many other dangerous activities, the 'buddy system' is used to ensure that safety systems are adhered to despite adverse circumstances. This system involves two or more people using simple checks and clear communication to prevent problems causing harm. Using this system as an example could provide a simple, original and entertaining way of introducing medical students to the idea that human factors are central to ensuring patient safety. Teaching the buddy system may improve understanding and acceptance of other patient safety initiatives, and could also be used by junior doctors as a tool to improve the safety of their practice. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Usability Methods for Ensuring Health Information Technology Safety: Evidence-Based Approaches. Contribution of the IMIA Working Group Health Informatics for Patient Safety.

PubMed

Borycki, E; Kushniruk, A; Nohr, C; Takeda, H; Kuwata, S; Carvalho, C; Bainbridge, M; Kannry, J

2013-01-01

Issues related to lack of system usability and potential safety hazards continue to be reported in the health information technology (HIT) literature. Usability engineering methods are increasingly used to ensure improved system usability and they are also beginning to be applied more widely for ensuring the safety of HIT applications. These methods are being used in the design and implementation of many HIT systems. In this paper we describe evidence-based approaches to applying usability engineering methods. A multi-phased approach to ensuring system usability and safety in healthcare is described. Usability inspection methods are first described including the development of evidence-based safety heuristics for HIT. Laboratory-based usability testing is then conducted under artificial conditions to test if a system has any base level usability problems that need to be corrected. Usability problems that are detected are corrected and then a new phase is initiated where the system is tested under more realistic conditions using clinical simulations. This phase may involve testing the system with simulated patients. Finally, an additional phase may be conducted, involving a naturalistic study of system use under real-world clinical conditions. The methods described have been employed in the analysis of the usability and safety of a wide range of HIT applications, including electronic health record systems, decision support systems and consumer health applications. It has been found that at least usability inspection and usability testing should be applied prior to the widespread release of HIT. However, wherever possible, additional layers of testing involving clinical simulations and a naturalistic evaluation will likely detect usability and safety issues that may not otherwise be detected prior to widespread system release. The framework presented in the paper can be applied in order to develop more usable and safer HIT, based on multiple layers of evidence.

Modeling and Hazard Analysis Using STPA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishimatsu, Takuto; Leveson, Nancy; Thomas, John; Katahira, Masa; Miyamoto, Yuko; Nakao, Haruka

2010-09-01

A joint research project between MIT and JAXA/JAMSS is investigating the application of a new hazard analysis to the system and software in the HTV. Traditional hazard analysis focuses on component failures but software does not fail in this way. Software most often contributes to accidents by commanding the spacecraft into an unsafe state(e.g., turning off the descent engines prematurely) or by not issuing required commands. That makes the standard hazard analysis techniques of limited usefulness on software-intensive systems, which describes most spacecraft built today. STPA is a new hazard analysis technique based on systems theory rather than reliability theory. It treats safety as a control problem rather than a failure problem. The goal of STPA, which is to create a set of scenarios that can lead to a hazard, is the same as FTA but STPA includes a broader set of potential scenarios including those in which no failures occur but the problems arise due to unsafe and unintended interactions among the system components. STPA also provides more guidance to the analysts that traditional fault tree analysis. Functional control diagrams are used to guide the analysis. In addition, JAXA uses a model-based system engineering development environment(created originally by Leveson and called SpecTRM) which also assists in the hazard analysis. One of the advantages of STPA is that it can be applied early in the system engineering and development process in a safety-driven design process where hazard analysis drives the design decisions rather than waiting until reviews identify problems that are then costly or difficult to fix. It can also be applied in an after-the-fact analysis and hazard assessment, which is what we did in this case study. This paper describes the experimental application of STPA to the JAXA HTV in order to determine the feasibility and usefulness of the new hazard analysis technique. Because the HTV was originally developed using fault tree analysis and following the NASA standards for safety-critical systems, the results of our experimental application of STPA can be compared with these more traditional safety engineering approaches in terms of the problems identified and the resources required to use it.

Potential effects of the introduction of the discrete address beacon system data link on air/ground information transfer problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grayson, R. L.

1981-01-01

This study of Aviation Safety Reporting System reports suggests that benefits should accure from implementation of discrete address beacon system data link. The phase enhanced terminal information system service is expected to provide better terminal information than present systems by improving currency and accuracy. In the exchange of air traffic control messages, discrete address insures that only the intended recipient receives and acts on a specific message. Visual displays and printer copy of messages should mitigate many of the reported problems associated with voice communications. The problems that remain unaffected include error in addressing the intended recipient and messages whose content is wrong but are otherwise correct as to format and reasonableness.

Laser safety research and modeling for high-energy laser systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Peter A.; Montes de Oca, Cecilia I.; Kennedy, Paul K.; Keppler, Kenneth S.

2002-06-01

The Department of Defense has an increasing number of high-energy laser weapons programs with the potential to mature in the not too distant future. However, as laser systems with increasingly higher energies are developed, the difficulty of the laser safety problem increases proportionally, and presents unique safety challenges. The hazard distance for the direct beam can be in the order of thousands of miles, and radiation reflected from the target may also be hazardous over long distances. This paper details the Air Force Research Laboratory/Optical Radiation Branch (AFRL/HEDO) High-Energy Laser (HEL) safety program, which has been developed to support DOD HEL programs by providing critical capability and knowledge with respect to laser safety. The overall aim of the program is to develop and demonstrate technologies that permit safe testing, deployment and use of high-energy laser weapons. The program spans the range of applicable technologies, including evaluation of the biological effects of high-energy laser systems, development and validation of laser hazard assessment tools, and development of appropriate eye protection for those at risk.

Evaluation of a BCMA’s Electronic Medication Administration Record

PubMed Central

Staggers, Nancy; Iribarren, Sarah; Guo, Jia-Wen; Weir, Charlene

2015-01-01

Barcode medication administration (BCMA) systems can reduce medication errors, but sociotechnical issues are quite common. Although crucial to nurses’ work, few usability evaluations are available for electronic medication administration record screens (eMARs). The purpose of this research was to identify current usability problems in the VA’s eMAR/BCMA system and explore how these might impact nurses’ situation awareness. Three expert evaluators used 10 tasks/elements, heuristic evaluation techniques and explored potential impacts using a situation awareness perspective. The results yielded 99 usability problems categorized into 440 heuristic violations with the largest volume in the category of Match with the Real World. Fifteen usability issues were rated as catastrophic with the Administer/Chart medications task having the most. Situational awareness was impacted at all levels, especially at Level 2, Comprehension. Usability problems point to important areas for improvement because these issues have the potential to impact nurses’ situation awareness, “at a glance” information, nurse productivity and patient safety. PMID:25601936

Selecting indicators for patient safety at the health system level in OECD countries.

PubMed

McLoughlin, Vivienne; Millar, John; Mattke, Soeren; Franca, Margarida; Jonsson, Pia Maria; Somekh, David; Bates, David

2006-09-01

Concerns about patient safety have arisen with growing documentation of the extent and nature of harm. Yet there are no robust and meaningful data that can be used internationally to assess the extent of the problem and considerable methodological difficulties. This article describes a project undertaken as part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Quality Indicator Project, which aimed at developing an initial set of patient safety indicators. Patient safety indicators from OECD countries were identified and then rated against three principal criteria: importance to patient safety, scientific soundness, and potential feasibility. Although some countries are developing multi-source monitoring systems, these are not yet mature enough for international exchange. This project reviewed routine data collections as a starting point. Of an initial set of 59 candidate indicators identified, 21 were selected which cover known areas of harm to patients. This project is an important initial step towards defining a usable set of patient safety indicators that will allow comparisons to be made internationally and will support mutual learning and quality improvement in health care. Measures of harm should be complemented over time with measures of effective improvement factors.

GammaKnife surgery: safety and the identity of users.

PubMed

Dinka, David; Nyce, James M; Timpka, Toomas

2005-01-01

In this study we investigated safety-related usability issues of an advanced medical technology, a radiosurgery system. We were interested in which criteria are important for users when a system's usability and safety is to be improved. The data collection was based on interviews and observations at three different sites where the Leksell GammaKnife is used. The analysis was qualitative. The main finding was that the user's identity or professional background has a significant impact both on how he or she views his or her role in the clinical setting, and on how he or she defines what improvements are necessary and general safety issues. In fact, the opinion even of users experienced in safety-related problems was highly influenced by how they related to the technology and its development. None of the users actually considered Leksell GammaKnife as lacking in safety, instead, their assessment was directed towards potential future system improvements. Our findings suggest that the importance of user identity or professional background cannot be neglected during the development of advanced technology. They also suggest that the user feedback should always be related to user background and identity in order to understand how important different issues are for particular users.

Improving Employees' Safety Awareness in Healthcare Organizations Using the DMAIC Quality Improvement Approach.

PubMed

Momani, Amer; Hirzallah, Muʼath; Mumani, Ahmad

Occupational injuries and illnesses in healthcare can cause great human suffering, incur high cost, and have an adverse impact on the quality of patient care. One of the most effective solutions for addressing health and safety issues and improving decisions at the point of care rests in raising employees' safety awareness to recognize, avoid, or respond to potential problems before they arise. In this article, the DMAIC Six Sigma model (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is used as a systematic program to measure, improve, and sustain employees' safety awareness in healthcare organizations. We report on a case study using the model, which was implemented and validated at a local hospital. First, the occupational health and safety knowledge that each job requires was identified. Next, the degree of competence of jobholders to meet these requirements was assessed. Based on the assessment, different awareness-raising efforts were proposed and implemented. The results showed significant improvement in the overall safety awareness compliance assessed: from 74.2% to 84.4% (p < .001) after the intervention. The proposed model ensures that the organization's awareness-raising efforts serve its actual needs and produce optimized and sustained results that eventually lead to safer healthcare service.

Analysis of general aviation single-pilot IFR incident data obtained from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergeron, H. P.

1983-01-01

An analysis of incident data obtained from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) has been made to determine the problem areas in general aviation single-pilot IFR (SPIFR) operations. The Aviation Safety Reporting System data base is a compilation of voluntary reports of incidents from any person who has observed or been involved in an occurrence which was believed to have posed a threat to flight safety. This paper examines only those reported incidents specifically related to general aviation single-pilot IFR operations. The frequency of occurrence of factors related to the incidents was the criterion used to define significant problem areas and, hence, to suggest where research is needed. The data was cataloged into one of five major problem areas: (1) controller judgment and response problems, (2) pilot judgment and response problems, (3) air traffic control (ATC) intrafacility and interfacility conflicts, (4) ATC and pilot communication problems, and (5) IFR-VFR conflicts. In addition, several points common to all or most of the problems were observed and reported. These included human error, communications, procedures and rules, and work load.

Investigating the potential benefits of on-site food safety training for Folklorama, a temporary food service event.

PubMed

Mancini, Roberto; Murray, Leigh; Chapman, Benjamin J; Powell, Douglas A

2012-10-01

Folklorama in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is a 14-day temporary food service event that explores the many different cultural realms of food, food preparation, and entertainment. In 2010, the Russian pavilion at Folklorama was implicated in a foodborne outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 that caused 37 illnesses and 18 hospitalizations. The ethnic nature and diversity of foods prepared within each pavilion presents a unique problem for food inspectors, as each culture prepares food in their own very unique way. The Manitoba Department of Health and Folklorama Board of Directors realized a need to implement a food safety information delivery program that would be more effective than a 2-h food safety course delivered via PowerPoint slides. The food operators and event coordinators of five randomly chosen pavilions selling potentially hazardous food were trained on-site, in their work environment, focusing on critical control points specific to their menu. A control group (five pavilions) did not receive on-site food safety training and were assessed concurrently. Public health inspections for all 10 pavilions were performed by Certified Public Health Inspectors employed with Manitoba Health. Critical infractions were assessed by means of standardized food protection inspection reports. The results suggest no statistically significant difference in food inspection scores between the trained and control groups. However, it was found that inspection report results increased for both the control and trained groups from the first inspection to the second, implying that public health inspections are necessary in correcting unsafe food safety practices. The results further show that in this case, the 2-h food safety course delivered via slides was sufficient to pass public health inspections. Further evaluations of alternative food safety training approaches are warranted.

An analysis of US fertility centre educational materials suggests that informed consent for preimplantation genetic diagnosis may be inadequate.

PubMed

LaBonte, Michelle Lynne

2012-08-01

The use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has expanded both in number and scope over the past 2 decades. Initially carried out to avoid the birth of children with severe genetic disease, PGD is now used for a variety of medical and non-medical purposes. While some human studies have concluded that PGD is safe, animal studies and a recent human study suggest that the embryo biopsy procedure may result in neurological problems for the offspring. Given that the long-term safety of PGD has not been clearly established in humans, this study sought to determine how PGD safety is presented to prospective patients by means of a detailed website analysis. The websites of 262 US fertility centres performing PGD were analysed and comments about safety and risk were catalogued. Results of the analysis demonstrated that 78.2% of centre websites did not mention safety or risk of PGD at all. Of the 21.8% of centres that did contain safety or risk information about PGD, 28.1% included statements highlighting the potential risks, 38.6% presented information touting the procedure as safe and 33.3% included statements highlighting potential risks and the overall safety of the procedure. Thus, 86.6% of PGD-performing centres state that PGD is safe and/or fail to disclose any risks on their websites despite the fact that the impact of the procedure on the long-term health of offspring is unproven. This lack of disclosure suggests that informed consent is inadequate; this study examines numerous factors that are likely to inhibit comprehensive discussions of safety.

In Situ Monitoring of Temperature inside Lithium-Ion Batteries by Flexible Micro Temperature Sensors

PubMed Central

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Tang, Ming-Shao; Chen, Pei-Chi

2011-01-01

Lithium-ion secondary batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), notebooks and electric cars. These lithium-ion secondary batteries must charge and discharge rapidly, causing the interior temperature to rise quickly, raising a safety issue. Over-charging results in an unstable voltage and current, causing potential safety problems, such as thermal runaways and explosions. Thus, a micro flexible temperature sensor for the in in-situ monitoring of temperature inside a lithium-ion secondary battery must be developed. In this work, flexible micro temperature sensors were integrated into a lithium-ion secondary battery using the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process for monitoring temperature in situ. PMID:22163735

In situ monitoring of temperature inside lithium-ion batteries by flexible micro temperature sensors.

PubMed

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Tang, Ming-Shao; Chen, Pei-Chi

2011-01-01

Lithium-ion secondary batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), notebooks and electric cars. These lithium-ion secondary batteries must charge and discharge rapidly, causing the interior temperature to rise quickly, raising a safety issue. Over-charging results in an unstable voltage and current, causing potential safety problems, such as thermal runaways and explosions. Thus, a micro flexible temperature sensor for the in in-situ monitoring of temperature inside a lithium-ion secondary battery must be developed. In this work, flexible micro temperature sensors were integrated into a lithium-ion secondary battery using the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process for monitoring temperature in situ.

Timing analysis by model checking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naydich, Dimitri; Guaspari, David

2000-01-01

The safety of modern avionics relies on high integrity software that can be verified to meet hard real-time requirements. The limits of verification technology therefore determine acceptable engineering practice. To simplify verification problems, safety-critical systems are commonly implemented under the severe constraints of a cyclic executive, which make design an expensive trial-and-error process highly intolerant of change. Important advances in analysis techniques, such as rate monotonic analysis (RMA), have provided a theoretical and practical basis for easing these onerous restrictions. But RMA and its kindred have two limitations: they apply only to verifying the requirement of schedulability (that tasks meet their deadlines) and they cannot be applied to many common programming paradigms. We address both these limitations by applying model checking, a technique with successful industrial applications in hardware design. Model checking algorithms analyze finite state machines, either by explicit state enumeration or by symbolic manipulation. Since quantitative timing properties involve a potentially unbounded state variable (a clock), our first problem is to construct a finite approximation that is conservative for the properties being analyzed-if the approximation satisfies the properties of interest, so does the infinite model. To reduce the potential for state space explosion we must further optimize this finite model. Experiments with some simple optimizations have yielded a hundred-fold efficiency improvement over published techniques.

Analysis of stalling problems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-11-01

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects : Investigation (ODI) collects consumer complaints concerning alleged vehicle safety : defects for the purpose of analyzing and investigating significant problem areas. It a...

Solving a product safety problem using a recycled high density polyethylene container

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Ping; Waskom, T. L.

1993-01-01

The objectives are to introduce basic problem-solving techniques for product safety including problem identification, definition, solution criteria, test process and design, and data analysis. The students are given a recycled milk jug made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) by blow molding. The objectives are to design and perform proper material test(s) so they can evaluate the product safety if the milk jug is used in a certain way which is specified in the description of the procedure for this investigation.

Analysis of general aviation single-pilot IFR incident data obtained from the NASA aviation safety reporting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergeron, H. P.

1980-01-01

Data obtained from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) data base were used to determine problems in general aviation single pilot IFR operations. The data examined consisted of incident reports involving flight safety in the National Aviation System. Only those incidents involving general aviation fixed wing aircraft flying under IFR in instrument meteorological conditions were analyzed. The data were cataloged into one of five major problem areas: (1) controller judgement and response problems; (2) pilot judgement and response problems; (3) air traffic control intrafacility and interfacility conflicts; (4) ATC and pilot communications problems; and (5) IFR-VFR conflicts. The significance of the related problems, and the various underlying elements associated with each are discussed. Previous ASRS reports covering several areas of analysis are reviewed.

Analysis of cost regression and post-accident absence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wojciech, Drozd

2017-07-01

The article presents issues related with costs of work safety. It proves the thesis that economic aspects cannot be overlooked in effective management of occupational health and safety and that adequate expenditures on safety can bring tangible benefits to the company. Reliable analysis of this problem is essential for the description the problem of safety the work. In the article attempts to carry it out using the procedures of mathematical statistics [1, 2, 3].

Advancing patient safety: a framework for accountability and practical action.

PubMed

Wilson, N J; Hatlie, M J

2001-01-01

This article traces the development of the patient safety movement in healthcare from 1997 to the present. It reviews the findings and recommendations in the Institute of Medicine report on medical errors, which issued a call to action. Moving beyond the call to action requires aligning incentives, in both public and private sectors, consistent with complexity theory and the tenets of a systems approach to the reliable delivery of service in dynamic environments in which failure produces severe consequences. Because safety is a fundamental value of healthcare and has money-saving potential, it can be a powerful pathway forcultural change. Thisarticle explains a simple framework that requires alignment among stakeholder groups and communities. It recommends a practical problem-solving approach and explores the roles and responsibilities of each segment within the framework. Finally, it describes a VHA Inc. leadership initiative, based on the framework, to promote change within healthcare systems.

Improving the health and safety of 911 emergency call centre agents: an evaluability assessment of a knowledge transfer strategy.

PubMed

Dagenais, Christian; Plouffe, Laurence; Gagné, Charles; Toulouse, Georges; Breault, Andrée-Anne; Dupont, Didier

2017-03-01

A knowledge transfer (KT) strategy was implemented by the IRSST, an occupational health and safety research institute established in Québec (Canada), to improve the prevention of psychological and musculoskeletal problems among 911 emergency call centre agents. An evaluability assessment was conducted in which each aspect of the KT approach was documented systematically to determine whether the strategy had the potential to be evaluated in terms of its impact on the targeted population. A review of the literature on KT in occupational health and safety and on the evaluation of such KT programmes, along with the development of a logic model based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, indicated that the KT strategy was likely to have had a positive impact in the 911 emergency call centre sector. Implications for future research are discussed.

The right to food, food donation and microbiological problems of food safety: an experience in the territory of Florence.

PubMed

Bonaccorsi, Guglielmo; Lorini, Chiara; Pieralli, Francesca; Pieri, Luca; Sala, Antonino; Tanini, Tommaso; Nasali, Marco; Dall'Olio, Beatrice; Santomauro, Francesca

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to understand whether the freezing without a rapid blast chiller represents a storage method for food at the end of shelf life that guarantees microbiological food safety, so to be considered an effective tool for the appropriate management of food in charitable organizations. The study has been performed on 90 food samples, among those that a charitable foodservice trust receives by the large-scale distribution. The products have been frozen using a domestic refrigerator. The indicators used were: total aerobic microbial count, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter spp, sulphite reducing clostridia. The results show that the preservation of the chosen fresh products at the end of shelf life in refrigerators, frozen without the use of chillers, is a potential management strategy to avoid the loss of edible food, while maintaining the safety standards.

Most common road safety engineering deficiencies in South Eastern Europe as a part of safe system approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovanov, D.; Vollpracht, H. J.; Beles, H.; Popa, V.; Tolea, B. A.

2017-10-01

Most common road safety engineering deficiencies identified by the authors in South Eastern Europe, including Romania, have been collected together and presented in this paper as a part of road safety unbreakably connected to the safe system approach (driver-vehicle-road). In different South Eastern Europe countries Road Safety Audit (RSA), Road Safety Inspection (RSI), as well as Black Spot Management (BSM) was introduced and practical implementation experience enabled the authors to analyze the road safety problems. Typical road safety engineering deficiencies have been presented in 8 different subsections, based on PIARC (World Road Association) RSA approach. This paper presents collected common road safety problems with relevant illustrations (real pictures) with associated accident risks.

A Qualitative Study of Migrant-related Stressors, Psychosocial Outcomes and HIV Risk Behavior among Truck Drivers in Zambia

PubMed Central

Ncube, Nomagugu; Simona, Simona J.; Kansankala, Brian; Sinkala, Emmanuel; Raidoo, Jasmin

2017-01-01

Truck drivers are part of mobile populations which have been noted as a key population at risk of HIV in Zambia. This study was aimed at 1) determining Potentially Traumatic Events (PTEs), labor migrant-related stressors, psychosocial problems and HIV risk behaviors among truck drivers in Zambia and 2) examining the relationship between PTEs, migrant-related stressors, psychosocial outcomes and HIV sexual risk behavior among truck drivers in Zambia. We conducted fifteen semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled male truck drivers at trucking companies in Lusaka, Zambia. Findings indicate that truck drivers experience multiple stressors and potentially traumatic incidences, including delays and long waiting hours at borders, exposure to crime and violence, poverty, stress related to resisting temptation of sexual interactions with sex workers or migrant women, and job-related safety concerns. Multiple psychosocial problems such as intimate partner violence, loneliness, anxiety and depression-like symptoms were noted. Transactional sex, coupled with inconsistent condom use were identified as HIV sexual risk behaviors. Findings suggest the critical need to develop HIV prevention interventions which account for mobility, potentially traumatic events, psychosocial problems, and the extreme fear of HIV testing among this key population. PMID:27681145

Zoonotic diseases: health aspects of Canadian geese.

PubMed

Dieter, R A; Dieter, R S; Dieter, R A; Gulliver, G

2001-11-01

Review zoonotic diseases associated with Canadian geese. Review article: A review of the multiple physical, microbiologic and safety concerns, and methods used in controlling this potential problem. Over the last decade the Canadian goose population (protected by international treaties and protection acts) has increased rapidly such that in many cities they have become a pest rather than an admired wild bird. Their increasing numbers have caused a number of potential healthcare concerns including: physical, bacterial, parasitic, allergic and viral potential problems. The Canadian goose fecal droppings of one per minute have caused falls and the flying geese have caused air traffic accidents. Bacterial concerns, including botulism, salmonella and E. coli have all been reviewed and presented concerns. The viral Newcastle disease may be detected with hemagglutination studies and the Giardia psittaci parasites have been repeatedly found in their droppings. The Cryptosporidium parvum oocytes have been present on stool study. Definite links to human infectious diseases have been difficult to prove. Revision of the current laws and new control programs must be developed.

Age factors potentiating drug toxicity in the reproductive axis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walker, R.F.

Traditionally, the drug toxicity in the reproductive system has been a concern only as it affects fertility and fecundity in young individuals. The purpose of this report is to address the potential problem of synergy between drug actions and abnormal secretion of reproductive hormones that together produce disease in older individuals. Thus, reproductive toxicity has different, but no less serious implications in aging individuals. During aging, the coordinated function of elements within the reproductive neuroendocrine axis degrades. This change promotes atypical secretion of hormones producing abnormal responses in target organs and thus creates a condition with pathogenic potential. Certain drugsmore » may contribute to reproductive toxicity in aging individuals either by accelerating the process of dysregulation and/or by synergizing with hormones to stimulate pathologic changes in target tissues. The geriatric population or the world is increasing, and since it consumes a proportionately larger percentage of drugs than younger groups, this novel form of reproductive toxicity may represent a problem in drug safety that warrants serious consideration.« less

The immune boundaries for stem cell based therapies: problems and prospective solutions

PubMed Central

Abdelkrim, Hmadcha; Juan, Domínguez-Bendala; Jane, Wakeman; Mohamed, Arredouani; Bernat, Soria

2009-01-01

Stem cells have fascinated the scientific and clinical communities for over a century. Despite the controversy that surrounds this field, it is clear that stem cells have the potential to revolutionize medicine. However, a number of significant hurdles still stand in the way of the realization of this potential. Chiefly among these are safety concerns, differentiation efficiency and overcoming immune rejection. Here we review current progress made in this field to optimize the safe use of stem cells with particular emphasis on prospective interventions to deal with challenges generated by immune rejection. PMID:19583810

The Design of Transportation Equipment in Terms of Human Capabilities. The Role of Engineering Psychology in Transport Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFarland, Ross A.

Human factors engineering is considered with regard to the design of safety factors for aviation and highway transportation equipment. Current trends and problem areas are identified for jet air transportation and for highway transportation. Suggested solutions to transportation safety problems are developed by applying the techniques of human…

Safety in the Workplace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Richard

1999-01-01

Addresses workplace safety needs and tips for helping an organization achieve a high level of safety. Tips include showing administration commitment, establishing retribution-free reporting of safety problems and violations, rewarding excellent safety effort, and allowing no compromises in following safety procedures. (GR)

Development of a conceptual integrated traffic safety problem identification database

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

The project conceptualized a traffic safety risk management information system and statistical database for improved problem-driver identification, countermeasure development, and resource allocation. The California Department of Motor Vehicles Drive...

Nurses' response to parents' 'speaking-up' efforts to ensure their hospitalized child's safety: an attribution theory perspective.

PubMed

Bsharat, Sondos; Drach-Zahavy, Anat

2017-09-01

To understand how attribution processes (control and stability), which the nurse attributes to parental involvement in maintaining child safety, determine the nurse's response to a safety alert. Participation of parents in maintaining their child's safety is shown to reduce the incidence of and risk of clinical errors. Unless nurses respond appropriately to parents' safety alerts, this potential source of support could diminish. A 2 (controllability: high vs. low) × 2 (consistency: high vs. low) factorial design. Data were collected during the period 2013-2014 in paediatric wards. Four variants of scenarios were created corresponding to the different combinations of these variables. A total of 126 nurses read a scenario and completed self-report questionnaires measuring their response to the parent's safety alert. Additional data were collected about the manipulation check, safety norms in the ward and demographic variables. Data were analysed using analysis of variance. Results showed a main effect of stability and a significant two-way interaction effect of stability and controllability, on a nurse's tendency to help the parent and fix the safety problem. Furthermore, safety norms were significantly related to nurses' response. These findings contribute to the understanding of antecedents that affect nurses' responses to parents' speaking-up initiatives: whether nurses will reject or heed the alert. Theoretical and practical implications for promoting parents' engagement in their safety are discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Honeycomb-like porous gel polymer electrolyte membrane for lithium ion batteries with enhanced safety.

PubMed

Zhang, Jinqiang; Sun, Bing; Huang, Xiaodan; Chen, Shuangqiang; Wang, Guoxiu

2014-08-29

Lithium ion batteries have shown great potential in applications as power sources for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage. However, the direct uses of flammable organic liquid electrolyte with commercial separator induce serious safety problems including the risk of fire and explosion. Herein, we report the development of poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) polymer membranes with multi-sized honeycomb-like porous architectures. The as-prepared polymer electrolyte membranes contain porosity as high as 78%, which leads to the high electrolyte uptake of 86.2 wt%. The PVDF-HFP gel polymer electrolyte membranes exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 1.03 mS cm(-1) at room temperature, which is much higher than that of commercial polymer membranes. Moreover, the as-obtained gel polymer membranes are also thermally stable up to 350 °C and non-combustible in fire (fire-proof). When applied in lithium ion batteries with LiFePO4 as cathode materials, the gel polymer electrolyte demonstrated excellent electrochemical performances. This investigation indicates that PVDF-HFP gel polymer membranes could be potentially applicable for high power lithium ion batteries with the features of high safety, low cost and good performance.

Honeycomb-like porous gel polymer electrolyte membrane for lithium ion batteries with enhanced safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jinqiang; Sun, Bing; Huang, Xiaodan; Chen, Shuangqiang; Wang, Guoxiu

2014-08-01

Lithium ion batteries have shown great potential in applications as power sources for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage. However, the direct uses of flammable organic liquid electrolyte with commercial separator induce serious safety problems including the risk of fire and explosion. Herein, we report the development of poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) polymer membranes with multi-sized honeycomb-like porous architectures. The as-prepared polymer electrolyte membranes contain porosity as high as 78%, which leads to the high electrolyte uptake of 86.2 wt%. The PVDF-HFP gel polymer electrolyte membranes exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 1.03 mS cm-1 at room temperature, which is much higher than that of commercial polymer membranes. Moreover, the as-obtained gel polymer membranes are also thermally stable up to 350°C and non-combustible in fire (fire-proof). When applied in lithium ion batteries with LiFePO4 as cathode materials, the gel polymer electrolyte demonstrated excellent electrochemical performances. This investigation indicates that PVDF-HFP gel polymer membranes could be potentially applicable for high power lithium ion batteries with the features of high safety, low cost and good performance.

Honeycomb-like porous gel polymer electrolyte membrane for lithium ion batteries with enhanced safety

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jinqiang; Sun, Bing; Huang, Xiaodan; Chen, Shuangqiang; Wang, Guoxiu

2014-01-01

Lithium ion batteries have shown great potential in applications as power sources for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage. However, the direct uses of flammable organic liquid electrolyte with commercial separator induce serious safety problems including the risk of fire and explosion. Herein, we report the development of poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) polymer membranes with multi-sized honeycomb-like porous architectures. The as-prepared polymer electrolyte membranes contain porosity as high as 78%, which leads to the high electrolyte uptake of 86.2 wt%. The PVDF-HFP gel polymer electrolyte membranes exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 1.03 mS cm−1 at room temperature, which is much higher than that of commercial polymer membranes. Moreover, the as-obtained gel polymer membranes are also thermally stable up to 350°C and non-combustible in fire (fire-proof). When applied in lithium ion batteries with LiFePO4 as cathode materials, the gel polymer electrolyte demonstrated excellent electrochemical performances. This investigation indicates that PVDF-HFP gel polymer membranes could be potentially applicable for high power lithium ion batteries with the features of high safety, low cost and good performance. PMID:25168687

The effects of electric power industry restructuring on the safety of nuclear power plants in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, Thomas S.

Throughout the United States the electric utility industry is restructuring in response to federal legislation mandating deregulation. The electric utility industry has embarked upon an extraordinary experiment by restructuring in response to deregulation that has been advocated on the premise of improving economic efficiency by encouraging competition in as many sectors of the industry as possible. However, unlike the telephone, trucking, and airline industries, the potential effects of electric deregulation reach far beyond simple energy economics. This dissertation presents the potential safety risks involved with the deregulation of the electric power industry in the United States and abroad. The pressures of a competitive environment on utilities with nuclear power plants in their portfolio to lower operation and maintenance costs could squeeze them to resort to some risky cost-cutting measures. These include deferring maintenance, reducing training, downsizing staff, excessive reductions in refueling down time, and increasing the use of on-line maintenance. The results of this study indicate statistically significant differences at the .01 level between the safety of pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants and boiling water reactor nuclear power plants. Boiling water reactors exhibited significantly more problems than did pressurized water reactors.

Ethical and Safety Issues of Stem Cell-Based Therapy.

PubMed

Volarevic, Vladislav; Markovic, Bojana Simovic; Gazdic, Marina; Volarevic, Ana; Jovicic, Nemanja; Arsenijevic, Nebojsa; Armstrong, Lyle; Djonov, Valentin; Lako, Majlinda; Stojkovic, Miodrag

2018-01-01

Results obtained from completed and on-going clinical studies indicate huge therapeutic potential of stem cell-based therapy in the treatment of degenerative, autoimmune and genetic disorders. However, clinical application of stem cells raises numerous ethical and safety concerns. In this review, we provide an overview of the most important ethical issues in stem cell therapy, as a contribution to the controversial debate about their clinical usage in regenerative and transplantation medicine. We describe ethical challenges regarding human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, emphasizing that ethical dilemma involving the destruction of a human embryo is a major factor that may have limited the development of hESC-based clinical therapies. With previous derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) this problem has been overcome, however current perspectives regarding clinical translation of iPSCs still remain. Unlimited differentiation potential of iPSCs which can be used in human reproductive cloning, as a risk for generation of genetically engineered human embryos and human-animal chimeras, is major ethical issue, while undesired differentiation and malignant transformation are major safety issues. Although clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has shown beneficial effects in the therapy of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, the ability to promote tumor growth and metastasis and overestimated therapeutic potential of MSCs still provide concerns for the field of regenerative medicine. This review offers stem cell scientists, clinicians and patient's useful information and could be used as a starting point for more in-depth analysis of ethical and safety issues related to clinical application of stem cells.

Ethical and Safety Issues of Stem Cell-Based Therapy

PubMed Central

Volarevic, Vladislav; Markovic, Bojana Simovic; Gazdic, Marina; Volarevic, Ana; Jovicic, Nemanja; Arsenijevic, Nebojsa; Armstrong, Lyle; Djonov, Valentin; Lako, Majlinda; Stojkovic, Miodrag

2018-01-01

Results obtained from completed and on-going clinical studies indicate huge therapeutic potential of stem cell-based therapy in the treatment of degenerative, autoimmune and genetic disorders. However, clinical application of stem cells raises numerous ethical and safety concerns. In this review, we provide an overview of the most important ethical issues in stem cell therapy, as a contribution to the controversial debate about their clinical usage in regenerative and transplantation medicine. We describe ethical challenges regarding human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, emphasizing that ethical dilemma involving the destruction of a human embryo is a major factor that may have limited the development of hESC-based clinical therapies. With previous derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) this problem has been overcome, however current perspectives regarding clinical translation of iPSCs still remain. Unlimited differentiation potential of iPSCs which can be used in human reproductive cloning, as a risk for generation of genetically engineered human embryos and human-animal chimeras, is major ethical issue, while undesired differentiation and malignant transformation are major safety issues. Although clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has shown beneficial effects in the therapy of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, the ability to promote tumor growth and metastasis and overestimated therapeutic potential of MSCs still provide concerns for the field of regenerative medicine. This review offers stem cell scientists, clinicians and patient's useful information and could be used as a starting point for more in-depth analysis of ethical and safety issues related to clinical application of stem cells. PMID:29333086

Speeding in highway work zone: An Evaluation of methods of speed control.

PubMed

Ravani, Bahram; Wang, Chao

2018-04-01

Highway workers frequently work in close proximity of live traffic in highway work zones, traffic accidents therefore have devastating effects on worker safety. In order to reduce the potential for such accidents, methods involving use of advisory signs and police presence have been used to mitigate accident risks and improve safety for highway workers. This research evaluates the magnitude of the speeding problem in highway work zones and the effects of four levels of police presence on improving work zone safety. Speed data were collected in six different work zone locations in northern and southern California and used to determine the magnitude and nature of speeding problem in highway work zones. In addition data were collected over 11 test-days in four work zones with four levels of police presence: radar speed display with police decal and lighting, passive use of a police vehicle with radar speed display, passive use of a police vehicle without radar speed display, and active police speed enforcement near work zones. This paper analyzes this data using statistical methods to evaluate the effectiveness of these different methods of speed control on the safety of the work zone. Four Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) were used in this evaluation consisting of average speed reduction, speed variance, 85th percentile speed, and proportion of high speed vehicles. The results indicate that all levels of police presence provided statistically significant improvements in one or more of the MOEs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Wicked Problem: Early Childhood Safety in the Dynamic, Interactive Environment of Home

PubMed Central

Simpson, Jean; Fougere, Geoff; McGee, Rob

2013-01-01

Young children being injured at home is a perennial problem. When parents of young children and family workers discussed what influenced parents’ perceptions and responses to child injury risk at home, both “upstream” and “downstream” causal factors were identified. Among the former, complex and interactive facets of society and contemporary living emerged as potentially critical features. The “wicked problems” model arose from the need to find resolutions for complex problems in multidimensional environments and it proved a useful analogy for child injury. Designing dynamic strategies to provide resolutions to childhood injury, may address our over-dependence on ‘tame solutions’ that only deal with physical cause-and-effect relationships and which cannot address the complex interactive contexts in which young children are often injured. PMID:23615453

Study of application of ERTS-A imagery to fracture-related mine safety hazards in the coal mining industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wier, C. E.; Wobber, F. J. (Principal Investigator); Russell, O. R.; Amato, R. V.; Leshendok, T.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The Kings Station Mine in Gibson County, Indiana has experienced considerable roof fall problems. Detailed fracture mapping of the mine area was done with ERTS-1 and aircraft imagery, and a prediction map of roof problem areas was produced in advance of a visit. The visit to the mine and discussions with the operator indicated that of four zones mapped as potential problem areas, three coincided with areas of excessive roof fall. This positive correlation of 75% lends confidence to the validity of the technique being applied in the investigation. The mine officials expressed an interest in the project and are anxious to see the final product maps which are forthcoming.

Patients with cardiac disease: considerations for the dental practitioner.

PubMed

Jowett, N I; Cabot, L B

2000-09-23

The provision of dental treatment under both local anaesthesia and sedation has an excellent safety record, although medical problems may occur. The high prevalence of cardiac disease in the population, particularly ischaemic heart disease, makes it the most common medical problem encountered in dental practice. Additionally, the increasing survival of children with congenital heart disease makes them a significant proportion of those attending for dental treatment. While most dental practitioners feel confident in performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, treating patients with co-existent cardio-vascular disease often causes concern over potential problems during treatment. This article aims to allay many of these fears by describing the commoner cardiac conditions and how they may affect dental treatment. It outlines prophylactic and remediable measures that may be taken to enable safe delivery of dental care.

Efficacy of hemostasis for epidural venous plexus and safety for neural structure using soft coagulation system in spinal surgery: a laboratory investigation using a porcine model.

PubMed

Nishida, Kotaro; Kakutani, Kenichiro; Maeno, Koichiro; Takada, Toru; Yurube, Takashi; Kuroda, Ryosuke; Kurosaka, Masahiro

2013-10-01

A laboratory investigation using porcine model. To clarify the effectiveness of the soft coagulation system for stopping bleeding from the epidural vein using different outputs and the safety in terms of tissue damage including spinal cord injury. Problems associated with coagulation using an electrosurgical device, such as carbonization of tissue or adhesion to the electrode, have been highlighted. So called "soft coagulation" has been developed to solve these problems. Its' utility as well as the safety of the neural structure in spine surgery has never been reported. A total of 3 animals and 45 spinal segments were used. Total laminectomy was performed to expose the dural tube and epidural venous plexus. Stable bleeding was induced by a 22 G needle puncture. Soft coagulation monopolar output (SCM), soft coagulation bipolar output (SCB), and conventional bipolar output (CB) were used as the coagulators. Valid hemostasis was defined as macroscopically complete bleeding stoppage by coagulation within 3 minutes. The neurological assessment was evaluated by somatosensory evoked potential. Histologic analysis was performed to determine the area of thermal damage. Valid hemostasis ratio was 75.0% of SCM group, 68.8% of SCB group, and 30.8% of CB group. Somatosensory evoked potential monitoring revealed that spinal cord injury was observed in 4 lesions (25%) of the SCM group. Neither bipolar groups (SCB and CB) showed any changes in waveform pattern. Histologic analysis revealed that severe thermal damages were observed in the epidural space of the SCM group. The usefulness of soft coagulation is revealed in terms of bleeding stoppage from epidural vessels and reduced soft-tissue damage compared with the conventional electric device. However, assessing the potential risk of severe neural tissue damage including spinal cord injury, a bipolar soft coagulation is strongly recommended for use in spine surgery.

Why patients need leaders: introducing a ward safety checklist

PubMed Central

Amin, Yogen; Grewcock, Dave; Andrews, Steve; Halligan, Aidan

2012-01-01

The safety and consistency of the care given to hospital inpatients has recently become a particular political and public concern. The traditional ‘ward round’ presents an obvious opportunity for systematically and collectively ensuring that proper standards of care are being achieved for individual patients. This paper describes the design and implementation of a ‘ward safety checklist’ that defines a set of potential risk factors that should be checked on a daily basis, and offers multidisciplinary teams a number of prompts for sharing and clarifying information between themselves, and with the patient, during a round. The concept of the checklist and the desire to improve ward rounds were well received in many teams, but the barriers to adoption were informative about the current culture on many inpatient wards. Although the ‘multidisciplinary ward round’ is widely accepted as good practice, the medical and nursing staff in many teams are failing to coordinate their workloads well enough to make multidisciplinary rounds a working reality. ‘Nursing’ and ‘medical’ care on the ward have become ‘de-coupled’ and the potential consequences for patient safety and good communication are largely self-evident. This problem is further complicated by a medical culture which values the primacy of clinical autonomy and as a result can be resistant to perceived attempts to ‘systematize’ medical care through instruments such as checklists. PMID:22977047

NASA's aviation safety research and technology program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtl, G. H.

1977-01-01

Aviation safety is challenged by the practical necessity of compromising inherent factors of design, environment, and operation. If accidents are to be avoided these factors must be controlled to a degree not often required by other transport modes. The operational problems which challenge safety seem to occur most often in the interfaces within and between the design, the environment, and operations where mismatches occur due to ignorance or lack of sufficient understanding of these interactions. Under this report the following topics are summarized: (1) The nature of operating problems, (2) NASA aviation safety research, (3) clear air turbulence characterization and prediction, (4) CAT detection, (5) Measurement of Atmospheric Turbulence (MAT) Program, (6) Lightning, (7) Thunderstorm gust fronts, (8) Aircraft ground operating problems, (9) Aircraft fire technology, (10) Crashworthiness research, (11) Aircraft wake vortex hazard research, and (12) Aviation safety reporting system.

NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Problems in briefing of relief by air traffic controllers are discussed, including problems that arise when duty positions are changed by controllers. Altimeter reading and setting errors as factors in aviation safety are discussed, including problems associated with altitude-including instruments. A sample of reports from pilots and controllers is included, covering the topics of ATIS broadcasts an clearance readback problems. A selection of Alert Bulletins, with their responses, is included.

Study on development and application of platform with students' safety based on SOA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Derong

2011-10-01

Students' safety management is a very important work, which is responsible for the entire school student security problems, student safety primarily prevent, only advance predict various of the imminent problems, to better protect their safety. The system mainly used on the development request the student safety management, safety evaluation, safety education, and etc, which are for daily management work completed for students in the security digital management. Development of the system can reduce the safety management for department working pressure, meanwhile, can reduce the labor force to use, accelerate query speed, strengthens the management, as well as the national various departments about the information step, making each management standardized. Therefore, developing a set of suitability and the populace, compatibly good system is very necessary.

Anti-quorum sensing activity of AgCl-TiO2 nanoparticles with potential use as active food packaging material.

PubMed

Naik, K; Kowshik, M

2014-10-01

To study the anti-quorum sensing (anti-QS) activity of AgCl-TiO2 nanoparticles (ATNPs) and its mechanism. Anti-QS activity of ATNPs was evaluated using the bacterial model Chromobacterium violaceum. Silver present in ATNPs significantly reduced violacein production in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating inhibition of QS. Anti-QS activity was confirmed by the absence of signalling molecule, oxo-octanoyl homoserine lactone during growth in the presence of ATNPs. TiO2 acted as a good supporting matrix facilitating controlled release of silver with prolonged residual activity. ATNPs are proposed as QS inhibitors with potential for use as an antipathogenic but nontoxic bioactive material. Although silver is well known for its bioactive potential of antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties, this study adds further note on its anti-QS activity and its potential use in food packaging industry. Food spoilage is a major socio-economic problem, and the potential role of QS in food spoilage and food safety has been indicated. Anti-QS materials such as ATNPs are proposed as efficient models for controlling food spoilage. ATNPs incorporated in food packaging materials could play an important role in food preservation and ensure safety of food by prolonging their shelf life. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Graviton fluctuations erase the cosmological constant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wetterich, C.

2017-10-01

Graviton fluctuations induce strong non-perturbative infrared renormalization effects for the cosmological constant. The functional renormalization flow drives a positive cosmological constant towards zero, solving the cosmological constant problem without the need to tune parameters. We propose a simple computation of the graviton contribution to the flow of the effective potential for scalar fields. Within variable gravity, with effective Planck mass proportional to the scalar field, we find that the potential increases asymptotically at most quadratically with the scalar field. The solutions of the derived cosmological equations lead to an asymptotically vanishing cosmological "constant" in the infinite future, providing for dynamical dark energy in the present cosmological epoch. Beyond a solution of the cosmological constant problem, our simplified computation also entails a sizeable positive graviton-induced anomalous dimension for the quartic Higgs coupling in the ultraviolet regime, substantiating the successful prediction of the Higgs boson mass within the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity.

Cardiovascular problems associated with aviation safety.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-01-01

In April 1975, the American College of Cardiology held its Eighth Bethesda Conference Conference on Cardiovascular Problem in Aviation Safety. : Perhaps the most meaningful purpose of this meeting was to make clear, in a structured fashion, the avail...

Monitoring road safety development at regional level: A case study in the ASEAN region.

PubMed

Chen, Faan; Wang, Jianjun; Wu, Jiaorong; Chen, Xiaohong; Zegras, P Christopher

2017-09-01

Persistent monitoring of progress, evaluating the results of interventions and recalibrating to achieve continuous improvement over time is widely recognized as being crucial towards the successful development of road safety. In the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region there is a lack of well-resourced teams that contain multidisciplinary safety professionals, and specialists in individual countries, who are able to carry out this work effectively. In this context, not only must the monitoring framework be effective, it must also be easy to use and adapt. This paper provides a case study that can be easily reproduced; based on an updated and refined Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), by means of the RSR (Rank-sum ratio)-based model, for monitoring/reporting road safety development at regional level. The case study was focused on the road safety achievements in eleven Southeast Asian countries; identifying the areas of poor performance, potential problems and delays. These countries are finally grouped into several classes based on an overview of their progress and achievements regarding to road safety. The results allow the policymakers to better understand their own road safety progress toward their desired impact; more importantly, these results enable necessary interventions to be made in a quick and timely manner. Keeping action plans on schedule if things are not progressing as desired. This would avoid 'reinventing the wheel' and trial and error approaches to road safety, making the implementation of action plans more effective. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells: Current Status, Concerns, and Future Prospects

PubMed Central

Zhu, Wenjun; Liang, Min

2015-01-01

Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), which reside in the perivascular space of the periodontium, possess characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells and are a promising tool for periodontal regeneration. Recently, great progress has been made in PDLSC transplantation. Investigators are attempting to maximize the proliferation and differentiation potential of PDLSCs by modifying culture conditions and applying growth factors. Nevertheless, problems remain. First, incomparability among different studies must be minimized by establishing standard guidelines for culture and identification of PDLSCs. Notably, attention should be paid to the biological safety of PDLSC transplantation. The present review updates the latest findings regarding PDLSCs and discusses standard criteria for culture and identification of PDLSCs. Finally, the review calls for careful consideration of PDLSC transplantation safety. PMID:25861283

Associations between yoga practice and joint problems: a cross-sectional survey among 9151 Australian women.

PubMed

Lauche, Romy; Schumann, Dania; Sibbritt, David; Adams, Jon; Cramer, Holger

2017-07-01

Yoga exercises have been associated with joint problems recently, indicating that yoga practice might be potentially dangerous for joint health. This study aimed to analyse whether regular yoga practice is associated with the frequency of joint problems in upper middle-aged Australian women. Women aged 62-67 years from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) were questioned in 2013 whether they experienced regular joint pain or problems in the past 12 months and whether they regularly practiced yoga. Associations of joint problems with yoga practice were analysed using Chi-squared tests and multiple logistic regression modelling. Of 9151 women, 29.8% reported regular problems with stiff or painful joints, and 15.2, 11.9, 18.1 and 15.9% reported regular problems with shoulders, hips, knees and feet, respectively, in the past 12 months. Yoga was practiced sometimes by 10.1% and often by 8.4% of women. Practicing yoga was not associated with upper or lower limb joint problems. No association between yoga practice and joint problems has been identified. Further studies are warranted for conclusive judgement of benefits and safety of yoga in relation to joint problems.

Health and safety in clinical laboratories in developing countries: safety considerations.

PubMed

Ejilemele, A A; Ojule, A C

2004-01-01

Clinical laboratories are potentially hazardous work areas. Health and safety in clinical laboratories is becoming an increasingly important subject as a result of the emergence of highly infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV. This is even more so in developing countries where health and safety have traditionally been regarded as low priority issues, considering the more important health problems confronting the health authorities in these countries. We conducted a literature search using the medical subheadings titles on the INTERNET over a period of twenty years and summarized our findings. This article identifies hazards in the laboratories and highlights measures to make the laboratory a safer work place. It also emphasizes the mandatory obligations of employers and employees towards the attainment of acceptable safety standards in clinical laboratories in Third World countries in the face of the current HIV/AIDS epidemic in many of these developing countries especially in the sub-Saharan Africa while accommodating the increasing work load in these laboratories. Both the employer and the employee have major roles to play in the maintenance of a safe working environment. This can be achieved if measures discussed are incorporated into everyday laboratory practice.

A study of 6S workplace improvement in Ergonomic Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sari, AD; Suryoputro, MR; Rahmillah, FI

2017-12-01

This article discusses 6S implementation in Ergonomic Laboratory, Department of Industrial Engineering, Islamic University of Indonesia. This research is improvement project of 5S implementation in Ergonomic laboratory. Referring to the 5S implementation of the previous year, there have been improvements from environmental conditions or a more organized workplace however there is still a lack of safety aspects. There are several safeties problems such as equipment arrangement, potential hazards of room dividers that cause injury several times, placement of fire extinguisher, no evacuation path and assembly point in case of fire, as well as expired hydrant condition and lack of awareness of stakeholders related to safety. Therefore, this study aims to apply the 6S kaizen method to the Ergonomic laboratory to facilitate the work process, reduce waste, improve work safety and improve staff performance. Based on the score 6S assessment increased audit results by 32 points, before implementation is 75 point while after implementation is 107 point. This has implications for better use for mitigate people in laboratory area, save time when looking for tools and materials, safe workplace, as well as improving the culture and spirit of ‘6S’ on staff due to better and safetier working environment.

Projected Impact of Compositional Verification on Current and Future Aviation Safety Risk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reveley, Mary S.; Withrow, Colleen A.; Leone, Karen M.; Jones, Sharon M.

2014-01-01

The projected impact of compositional verification research conducted by the National Aeronautic and Space Administration System-Wide Safety and Assurance Technologies on aviation safety risk was assessed. Software and compositional verification was described. Traditional verification techniques have two major problems: testing at the prototype stage where error discovery can be quite costly and the inability to test for all potential interactions leaving some errors undetected until used by the end user. Increasingly complex and nondeterministic aviation systems are becoming too large for these tools to check and verify. Compositional verification is a "divide and conquer" solution to addressing increasingly larger and more complex systems. A review of compositional verification research being conducted by academia, industry, and Government agencies is provided. Forty-four aviation safety risks in the Biennial NextGen Safety Issues Survey were identified that could be impacted by compositional verification and grouped into five categories: automation design; system complexity; software, flight control, or equipment failure or malfunction; new technology or operations; and verification and validation. One capability, 1 research action, 5 operational improvements, and 13 enablers within the Federal Aviation Administration Joint Planning and Development Office Integrated Work Plan that could be addressed by compositional verification were identified.

Creating a culture of safety by coaching clinicians to competence.

PubMed

Duff, Beverley

2013-10-01

Contemporary discussions of nursing knowledge, skill, patient safety and the associated ongoing education are usually combined with the term competence. Ensuring patient safety is considered a fundamental tenet of clinical competence together with the ability to problem solve, think critically and anticipate variables which may impact on patient care outcomes. Nurses are ideally positioned to identify, analyse and act on deteriorating patients, near-misses and potential adverse events. The absence of competency may lead to errors resulting in serious consequences for the patient. Gaining and maintaining competence are especially important in a climate of rapid evidence availability and regular changes in procedures, systems and products. Quality and safety issues predominate highlighting a clear need for closer inter-professional collaboration between education and clinical units. Educators and coaches are ideally placed to role model positive leadership and resilience to develop capability and competence. With contemporary guidance and support from educators and coaches, nurses can participate in life-long learning to create and enhance a culture of safety. The added challenge for nurse educators is to modernise, rationalise and integrate education delivery systems to improve clinical learning. Investing in evidence-based, contemporary education assists in building a capable, resilient and competent workforce focused on patient safety. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In-space propellant logistics. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The study addresses the systems and operational problems associated with the transport, transfer, and storage of cryogenic propellants in low earth orbits. The safety problems connected with in-space propellant logistics operations are also considered.Correlation between the two projects was maintained by including safety considerations, resulting from the system safety analysis, in the trade studies and evaluations of alternate operating concepts in the systems operations analysis.

How shall we design the future vehicle for Chinese market.

PubMed

Chen, Fang; Wang, Minjuan; Zhu, Xi Chan; Li, Jiaqi

2012-01-01

Surface transportation system is developing very fast in China and the number of vehicles is increasing quickly as well. This development creates a lot of problems on traffic safety and the number of accident is also increasing. In this paper, we made deep analysis of different possible causes of safety problems through three aspects: the traffic environment and infrastructure, in-vehicle information system design and the characteristics of drivers. There are many factors in each aspects may contribute to the transportation safety problems. Problems with infrastructure design and traffic design contribute over 50% of the traffic accident. Another important factor is that people has very little traffic safety concept and very weak on understanding the important of right behavior on the road. This paper has pointed the urgent needs to study the human factors in road and transportation system and vehicle HMI design, as there are very few such studies available in literature based on Chinese situation. The paper also proposed the needs to develop proactive educational system that can promote driver's understanding of traffic safety and to take the right action during drive.

Emotional Issues and Bathroom Problems

MedlinePlus

... Healthy Living Healthy Living Healthy Living Nutrition Fitness Sports Oral Health Emotional Wellness Growing Healthy Sleep Safety & Prevention Safety & Prevention Safety and Prevention Immunizations ...

Strand V: Education for Survival. Safety Education. Health Curriculum Materials. Grades 7-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Secondary Curriculum Development.

GRADES OR AGES: Grades 7-9. SUBJECT MATTER: Education for survival and safety education. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide is divided into eight sections: accident problems, safe behavior, safety in the home, safety in school, safety at work, safety in physical and recreational activities, safety in driving and walking, and safety in…

Management of the acutely violent patient.

PubMed

Petit, Jorge R

2005-09-01

Violence in the work place is a new but growing problem for our profession. It is likely that at some point a psychiatrist will be confronted with a potentially violent patient or need to assess a violent patient. Understanding predictors and associated factors in violence as well as having a clear and well-defined strategy in approaching and dealing with the violent patient, thus, are crucial. Ensuring patient, staff, and personal safety is the most important aspect in the management of a violent patient. All of the staff must be familiar with management strategies and clear guidelines that are implemented and followed when confronted with a violent patient. The more structured the approach to the violent patient, the less likely a bad outcome will occur. Manipulating one's work environment to maximize safety and understanding how to de-escalate potentially mounting violence are two steps in the approach to the violent patient. Restraint, seclusion, and psychopharmacologic interventions also are important and often are necessary components to the management of the violent patient.

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-01-01

This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting : effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. : The guide describes major strategies and countermeasures t...

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-01-01

This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. The guide: describes major strategies and countermeasures that...

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. The guide: describes major strategies and countermeasures that...

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. The guide: describes major strategies and countermeasures that...

Cyber Safety and Security for Reduced Crew Operations (RCO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Driscoll, Kevin R.; Roy, Aloke; Ponchak, Denise S.; Downey, Alan N.

2017-01-01

NASA and the Aviation Industry is looking into reduced crew operations (RCO) that would cut today's required two-person flight crews down to a single pilot with support from ground-based crews. Shared responsibility across air and ground personnel will require highly reliable and secure data communication and supporting automation, which will be safety-critical for passenger and cargo aircraft. This paper looks at the different types and degrees of authority delegation given from the air to the ground and the ramifications of each, including the safety and security hazards introduced, the mitigation mechanisms for these hazards, and other demands on an RCO system architecture which would be highly invasive into (almost) all safety-critical avionics. The adjacent fields of unmanned aerial systems and autonomous ground vehicles are viewed to find problems that RCO may face and related aviation accident scenarios are described. The paper explores possible data communication architectures to meet stringent performance and information security (INFOSEC) requirements of RCO. Subsequently, potential challenges for RCO data communication authentication, encryption and non-repudiation are identified.

Systems thinking applied to safety during manual handling tasks in the transport and storage industry.

PubMed

Goode, Natassia; Salmon, Paul M; Lenné, Michael G; Hillard, Peter

2014-07-01

Injuries resulting from manual handling tasks represent an on-going problem for the transport and storage industry. This article describes an application of a systems theory-based approach, Rasmussen's (1997. Safety Science 27, 183), risk management framework, to the analysis of the factors influencing safety during manual handling activities in a freight handling organisation. Observations of manual handling activities, cognitive decision method interviews with workers (n=27) and interviews with managers (n=35) were used to gather information about three manual handling activities. Hierarchical task analysis and thematic analysis were used to identify potential risk factors and performance shaping factors across the levels of Rasmussen's framework. These different data sources were then integrated using Rasmussen's Accimap technique to provide an overall analysis of the factors influencing safety during manual handling activities in this context. The findings demonstrate how a systems theory-based approach can be applied to this domain, and suggest that policy-orientated, rather than worker-orientated, changes are required to prevent future manual handling injuries. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Impact of potentially inappropriate drug usage on health insurance business results].

PubMed

Kirschke, Malin; Böhme, Jacqueline

2014-09-01

In Germany a list was drawn up that included 83 potentially inappropriate drugs. The PRISCUS list published in 2010 was intended to highlight certain problems in the pharmakotherapy of elderly patients and serve as a support for improved medicine safety. Almost a third of the insurance portfolio of the HALLESCHE Krankenversicherung aged over 75 years takes drugs that are on the PRISCUS list. Benzodiazepine and Z-drugs are taken most frequently. The costs per insurant with potentially inappropriate medication are on average higher than for policyholders who do not take drugs on the PRISCUS list. The costs per insurant are rising, with an increase in the number of PRISCUS agents being taken as well. However, there is still no scientific proof that potentially inappropriate drugs lead to adverse drug events.

Programmable Infusion Pumps in ICUs: An Analysis of Corresponding Adverse Drug Events

PubMed Central

Bower, Anthony G.; Paddock, Susan M.; Hilborne, Lee H.; Wallace, Peggy; Rothschild, Jeffrey M.; Griffin, Anne; Fairbanks, Rollin J.; Carlson, Beverly; Panzer, Robert J.; Brook, Robert H.

2007-01-01

Background Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) frequently experience adverse drug events involving intravenous medications (IV-ADEs), which are often preventable. Objectives To determine how frequently preventable IV-ADEs in ICUs match the safety features of a programmable infusion pump with safety software (“smart pump”) and to suggest potential improvements in smart-pump design. Design Using retrospective medical-record review, we examined preventable IV-ADEs in ICUs before and after 2 hospitals replaced conventional pumps with smart pumps. The smart pumps alerted users when programmed to deliver duplicate infusions or continuous-infusion doses outside hospital-defined ranges. Participants 4,604 critically ill adults at 1 academic and 1 nonacademic hospital. Measurements Preventable IV-ADEs matching smart-pump features and errors involved in preventable IV-ADEs. Results Of 100 preventable IV-ADEs identified, 4 involved errors matching smart-pump features. Two occurred before and 2 after smart-pump implementation. Overall, 29% of preventable IV-ADEs involved overdoses; 37%, failures to monitor for potential problems; and 45%, failures to intervene when problems appeared. Error descriptions suggested that expanding smart pumps’ capabilities might enable them to prevent more IV-ADEs. Conclusion The smart pumps we evaluated are unlikely to reduce preventable IV-ADEs in ICUs because they address only 4% of them. Expanding smart-pump capabilities might prevent more IV-ADEs. PMID:18095043

Key Problems of Fire Safety Enforcement in Traffic and Communication Centers (TCC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Medyanik, M.; Zosimova, O.

2017-10-01

A Traffic and Communication Center (TCC) means facilities designed and used to distribute and redirect flows of humans and motor vehicles while they get serviced and operate. This paper sets forth the basic problems of fire safety enforcement on the TCC, and the causes that slow down human and vehicle traffic speeds. It proposes ways to solve the problems of fire safety enforcement on the TCC, in the Russian Federation and elsewhere. Engineering solutions are proposed for TCC design, with key outlooks of TCC future development as an alternative way to organize access in transportation.

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices, fifth edition, 2010.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting : effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. : The guide: : o describes major strategies and countermeasu...

Regulator Loss Functions and Hierarchical Modeling for Safety Decision Making.

PubMed

Hatfield, Laura A; Baugh, Christine M; Azzone, Vanessa; Normand, Sharon-Lise T

2017-07-01

Regulators must act to protect the public when evidence indicates safety problems with medical devices. This requires complex tradeoffs among risks and benefits, which conventional safety surveillance methods do not incorporate. To combine explicit regulator loss functions with statistical evidence on medical device safety signals to improve decision making. In the Hospital Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample, we select pediatric inpatient admissions and identify adverse medical device events (AMDEs). We fit hierarchical Bayesian models to the annual hospital-level AMDE rates, accounting for patient and hospital characteristics. These models produce expected AMDE rates (a safety target), against which we compare the observed rates in a test year to compute a safety signal. We specify a set of loss functions that quantify the costs and benefits of each action as a function of the safety signal. We integrate the loss functions over the posterior distribution of the safety signal to obtain the posterior (Bayes) risk; the preferred action has the smallest Bayes risk. Using simulation and an analysis of AMDE data, we compare our minimum-risk decisions to a conventional Z score approach for classifying safety signals. The 2 rules produced different actions for nearly half of hospitals (45%). In the simulation, decisions that minimize Bayes risk outperform Z score-based decisions, even when the loss functions or hierarchical models are misspecified. Our method is sensitive to the choice of loss functions; eliciting quantitative inputs to the loss functions from regulators is challenging. A decision-theoretic approach to acting on safety signals is potentially promising but requires careful specification of loss functions in consultation with subject matter experts.

Possible Problems: Inverted, Flat, or Pierced Nipples

MedlinePlus

... Healthy Living Healthy Living Healthy Living Nutrition Fitness Sports Oral Health Emotional Wellness Growing Healthy Sleep Safety & Prevention Safety & Prevention Safety and Prevention Immunizations ...

Human factors and systems engineering approach to patient safety for radiotherapy.

PubMed

Rivera, A Joy; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

2008-01-01

The traditional approach to solving patient safety problems in healthcare is to blame the last person to touch the patient. But since the publication of To Err is Human, the call has been instead to use human factors and systems engineering methods and principles to solve patient safety problems. However, an understanding of the human factors and systems engineering is lacking, and confusion remains about what it means to apply their principles. This paper provides a primer on them and their applications to patient safety.

Lithium-thionyl chloride battery safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, B.; Williams, R.; Tsay, F.; Rodriguez, A.; Frank, H.

1982-01-01

Primary lithium cells which use LiAlCl4/SOCl2 electrolyte exhibit high energy density and long life. Currently these cells pose a safety problem since they have been found to vent or explode. This paper summarizes experiments to resolve the safety problem of Li-SOCl2 cells by thermal modeling and identification of possibly hazardous intermediates formed during discharge of these cells. A thermal model and mechanism for the reduction of SOCl2 are presented, as well as a discussion of their application to Li-SOCl2 cell safety.

System safety management: A new discipline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pope, W. C.

1971-01-01

The systems theory is discussed in relation to safety management. It is suggested that systems safety management, as a new discipline, holds great promise for reducing operating errors, conserving labor resources, avoiding operating costs due to mistakes, and for improving managerial techniques. It is pointed out that managerial failures or system breakdowns are the basic reasons for human errors and condition defects. In this respect, a recommendation is made that safety engineers stop visualizing the problem only with the individual (supervisor or employee) and see the problem from the systems point of view.

Fuel consumption optimization for smart hybrid electric vehicle during a car-following process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Liang; Wang, Xiangyu; Song, Jian

2017-03-01

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) provide large potential to save energy and reduce emission, and smart vehicles bring out great convenience and safety for drivers. By combining these two technologies, vehicles may achieve excellent performances in terms of dynamic, economy, environmental friendliness, safety, and comfort. Hence, a smart hybrid electric vehicle (s-HEV) is selected as a platform in this paper to study a car-following process with optimizing the fuel consumption. The whole process is a multi-objective optimal problem, whose optimal solution is not just adding an energy management strategy (EMS) to an adaptive cruise control (ACC), but a deep fusion of these two methods. The problem has more restricted conditions, optimal objectives, and system states, which may result in larger computing burden. Therefore, a novel fuel consumption optimization algorithm based on model predictive control (MPC) is proposed and some search skills are adopted in receding horizon optimization to reduce computing burden. Simulations are carried out and the results indicate that the fuel consumption of proposed method is lower than that of the ACC+EMS method on the condition of ensuring car-following performances.

Report to NASA Committee on Aircraft Operating Problems Relative to Aviation Safety Engineering and Research Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

The following report highlights some of the work accomplished by the Aviation Safety Engineering and Research Division of the Flight Safety Foundations since the last report to the NASA Committee on Aircraft Operating Problems on 22 May 1963. The information presented is in summary form. Additional details may be provided upon request of the reports themselves may be obtained from AvSER.

Ethical and medical dilemmas of space tourism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marsh, Melinda

Space tourism is an important new venture, however it raises several issues that must be addressed; namely, the medical implications associated with space flight and potential for ethical problems surrounding the safety of such travel. It seems highly likely that businesses involved in space tourism could find themselves liable for any passenger deaths or injuries, if they are found to have been negligent. This paper, therefore, discusses such issues as the medical facilities that need to be made available on board a space facility, and the companies' duty to disclose to potential passengers the risks associated with microgravity and the likelihood of space sickness, loss of bone density, disease, and pregnancy.

Towards a Usability and Error "Safety Net": A Multi-Phased Multi-Method Approach to Ensuring System Usability and Safety.

PubMed

Kushniruk, Andre; Senathirajah, Yalini; Borycki, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

The usability and safety of health information systems have become major issues in the design and implementation of useful healthcare IT. In this paper we describe a multi-phased multi-method approach to integrating usability engineering methods into system testing to ensure both usability and safety of healthcare IT upon widespread deployment. The approach involves usability testing followed by clinical simulation (conducted in-situ) and "near-live" recording of user interactions with systems. At key stages in this process, usability problems are identified and rectified forming a usability and technology-induced error "safety net" that catches different types of usability and safety problems prior to releasing systems widely in healthcare settings.

Aircraft Safety and Operating Problems. [conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Results of NASA research in the field of aircraft safety and operating problems are discussed. Topics include: (1) terminal area operations, (2) flight dynamics and control; (3) ground operations; (4) atmospheric environment; (5) structures and materials; (6) powerplants; (7) noise; and (8) human factors engineering.

Seat Belts: Are They the Best Solution to the Real Problem?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Comeau, Lee F.

1985-01-01

More children are killed outside their school buses than inside. To solve this problem, we should improve bus design, provide driver training programs for all school bus drivers, utilize the latest safety devices available, and improve ridership safety curriculum. (MLF)

Aligning institutional priorities: engaging house staff in a quality improvement and safety initiative to fulfill Clinical Learning Environment Review objectives and electronic medical record Meaningful Use requirements.

PubMed

Flanagan, Meghan R; Foster, Carolyn C; Schleyer, Anneliese; Peterson, Gene N; Mandell, Samuel P; Rudd, Kristina E; Joyner, Byron D; Payne, Thomas H

2016-02-01

House staff quality improvement projects are often not aligned with training institution priorities. House staff are the primary users of inpatient problem lists in academic medical centers, and list maintenance has significant patient safety and financial implications. Improvement of the problem list is an important objective for hospitals with electronic health records under the Meaningful Use program. House staff surveys were used to create an electronic problem list manager (PLM) tool enabling efficient problem list updating. Number of new problems added and house staff perceptions of the problem list were compared before and after PLM intervention. The PLM was used by 654 house staff after release. Surveys demonstrated increased problem list updating (P = .002; response rate 47%). Mean new problems added per day increased from 64 pre-PLM to 125 post-PLM (P < .001). This innovative project serves as a model for successful engagement of house staff in institutional quality and safety initiatives with tangible institutional benefits. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Advancing a sociotechnical systems approach to workplace safety – developing the conceptual framework

PubMed Central

Carayon, Pascale; Hancock, Peter; Leveson, Nancy; Noy, Ian; Sznelwar, Laerte; van Hootegem, Geert

2015-01-01

Traditional efforts to deal with the enormous problem of workplace safety have proved insufficient, as they have tended to neglect the broader sociotechnical environment that surrounds workers. Here, we advocate a sociotechnical systems approach that describes the complex multi-level system factors that contribute to workplace safety. From the literature on sociotechnical systems, complex systems and safety, we develop a sociotechnical model of workplace safety with concentric layers of the work system, socio-organisational context and the external environment. The future challenges that are identified through the model are highlighted. Practitioner Summary: Understanding the environmental, organisational and work system factors that contribute to workplace safety will help to develop more effective and integrated solutions to deal with persistent workplace safety problems. Solutions to improve workplace safety need to recognise the broad sociotechnical system and the respective interactions between the system elements and levels. PMID:25831959

Advancing a sociotechnical systems approach to workplace safety--developing the conceptual framework.

PubMed

Carayon, Pascale; Hancock, Peter; Leveson, Nancy; Noy, Ian; Sznelwar, Laerte; van Hootegem, Geert

2015-01-01

Traditional efforts to deal with the enormous problem of workplace safety have proved insufficient, as they have tended to neglect the broader sociotechnical environment that surrounds workers. Here, we advocate a sociotechnical systems approach that describes the complex multi-level system factors that contribute to workplace safety. From the literature on sociotechnical systems, complex systems and safety, we develop a sociotechnical model of workplace safety with concentric layers of the work system, socio-organisational context and the external environment. The future challenges that are identified through the model are highlighted. Understanding the environmental, organisational and work system factors that contribute to workplace safety will help to develop more effective and integrated solutions to deal with persistent workplace safety problems. Solutions to improve workplace safety need to recognise the broad sociotechnical system and the respective interactions between the system elements and levels.

Overview of medical errors and adverse events

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Safety is a global concept that encompasses efficiency, security of care, reactivity of caregivers, and satisfaction of patients and relatives. Patient safety has emerged as a major target for healthcare improvement. Quality assurance is a complex task, and patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are more likely than other hospitalized patients to experience medical errors, due to the complexity of their conditions, need for urgent interventions, and considerable workload fluctuation. Medication errors are the most common medical errors and can induce adverse events. Two approaches are available for evaluating and improving quality-of-care: the room-for-improvement model, in which problems are identified, plans are made to resolve them, and the results of the plans are measured; and the monitoring model, in which quality indicators are defined as relevant to potential problems and then monitored periodically. Indicators that reflect structures, processes, or outcomes have been developed by medical societies. Surveillance of these indicators is organized at the hospital or national level. Using a combination of methods improves the results. Errors are caused by combinations of human factors and system factors, and information must be obtained on how people make errors in the ICU environment. Preventive strategies are more likely to be effective if they rely on a system-based approach, in which organizational flaws are remedied, rather than a human-based approach of encouraging people not to make errors. The development of a safety culture in the ICU is crucial to effective prevention and should occur before the evaluation of safety programs, which are more likely to be effective when they involve bundles of measures. PMID:22339769

Participation in a mentored quality-improvement program for insulin pen safety: Opportunity to augment internal evaluation and share with peers.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Amy F

2016-10-01

UF Health's participation in a mentored quality-improvement impact program for health professionals as part of an ASHP initiative-"Strategies for Ensuring the Safe Use of Insulin Pens in the Hospital"-is described. ASHP invited hospitals to participate in its initiative at a time when UF Health was evaluating the risks and benefits of insulin pen use due to external reports of safety concerns and making a commitment to continue insulin pen use and optimize safeguards. Improvement opportunities in insulin pen best practices and staff education on insulin pen preparation and injection technique were identified and implemented. The storage of insulin pens for patients with contact isolation precautions was identified as a problem in certain patient care areas, and a practical solution was devised. Other process improvements included implementation of barcode medication administration, with scanning of insulin pens designated for specific patients to avoid inadvertent and intentional sharing of pens among multiple patients. Mentored calls with teams at other hospitals conducted as part of the program provided the opportunity to share experiences and solutions to improve insulin pen use. Participating with a knowledgeable mentor and other hospital teams struggling with the same issues and concerns related to safe insulin pen use facilitated problem solving. Discussing challenges and sharing ideas for solutions to safety concerns with other hospitals identified new process enhancements, which have the potential to improve the safety of insulin pen use at UF Health. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problem Patrons: Reviewing Your Options.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shuman, Bruce A.

2002-01-01

Considers possible options for public librarians dealing with problem patrons. Highlights include considering the safety of the patrons and staff; general considerations of library security, including security guards, legal responsibility for patrons and staff safety; and working through possible options ahead of time to be more prepared. (LRW)

Application of the Digital Image Technology in the Visual Monitoring and Prediction of Shuttering Construction Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ummin, Okumura; Tian, Han; Zhu, Haiyu; Liu, Fuqiang

2018-03-01

Construction safety has always been the first priority in construction process. The common safety problem is the instability of the template support. In order to solve this problem, the digital image measurement technology has been contrived to support real-time monitoring system which can be triggered if the deformation value exceed the specified range. Thus the economic loss could be reduced to the lowest level.

[Strategic patient safety action plan for the anesthesiology and intensive care service of Ukraine: basic modules and their components].

PubMed

Федосюк, Роман Н

In recent years, the problem of patient safety has become top-priority in further improvement of national healthcare systems in all developed countries. To develop a modular structure and a component composition of the strategic patient safety action plan for the anesthesiology and intensive care service of Ukraine as a part of the National Action Plan. Major domestic priorities, substantiated and made public by the author in previous works, are taken as the basis for the modular structuring of the action plan. Existing foreign prototypes, evaluated for the patient safety effectiveness and the potential for the adaptation to domestic conditions, as well as author's own innovations are offered for a component filling-up of each module. Eight modules - infectious safety, surgical safety, pharmaceutical safety, infrastructural safety, incident monitoring and reporting, education and training, research and awards - have been proposed. Individual components for each of the modules are selected from a variety of foreign prototypes and author's own developments. Inter-modular stratification of the components into short-term perspective tools and long-term perspective tools, depending on the amount of resources needed for their implementation, is carried out. The strategic patient safety action plan for the anesthesiology and intensive care service of Ukraine is the embodiment, within a particular specialty, of the wider National Action Plan developed by the First National Congress on Patient Safety (Kiev, 2012) on the initiative of the Council of Europe and aimed at the fulfillment of international obligations of Ukraine in the healthcare sector. Its implementation will contribute to enhancing the safety of anesthesia and intensive care services in Ukraine and further development of the specialty.

'Information on the fly': Challenges in professional communication in high technological nursing. A focus group study from a radiotherapy department in Sweden.

PubMed

Widmark, Catarina; Tishelman, Carol; Gustafsson, Helena; Sharp, Lena

2012-07-23

Radiotherapy (RT) units are high-tech nursing environments. In Sweden, RT registered nurses (RNs) provide and manage RT in close collaboration with other professional groups, as well as providing nursing care for patients with cancer. Communication demands on these RNs are thus particularly complex. In this study, we aimed to better understand problems, strengths and change needs related to professional communication with and within the RT department, as a basis for developing a situation-specific intervention. Focus groups discussions (FGDs) were conducted with different professional (RNs, assistant nurses, physicians, engineers and physicists) and user stakeholders. Transcripts of the FGDs were inductively analyzed by a team of researchers, to generate clinically relevant and useful data. These findings give insight into RT safety climate and are presented under three major headings: Conceptualization of professional domains; Organization and leadership issues; and Communication forms, strategies and processes. The impact of existing hierarchies, including how they are conceptualized and acted out in practice, was noted throughout these data. Despite other differences, participating professionals agreed about communication problems related to RT, i.e. a lack of systems and processes for information transfer, unclear role differentiation, a sense of mutual disrespect, and ad hoc communication taking place 'on the fly'. While all professional groups recognized extensive communication problems, none acknowledged the potential negative effects on patient safety or care described in the FGD with patient representatives. While RNs often initially denied the existence of a hierarchy, they placed themselves on a hierarchy in their descriptions, describing their own role as passive, with a sense of powerlessness. Potential safety hazards described in the FGDs include not reporting medical errors and silently ignoring or actively opposing new guidelines and regulations. There is a risk that RNs who view themselves as disenfranchised within an organization will act with passive resistance to change, rather than as change promoters. As interventions to strengthen teams cannot be stronger than the weakest link, RNs may need support in the transition "from silence to voice" in order to take a position of full professional responsibility in a multi-professional health care team.

Health and safety problems associated with long working hours: a review of the current position.

PubMed Central

Spurgeon, A; Harrington, J M; Cooper, C L

1997-01-01

The European Community Directive on Working Time, which should have been implemented in member states of the European Community by November 1996, contains several requirements related to working hours, including the right of employees to refuse to work more than 48 hours a week. The United Kingdom government attempted to oppose the Directive, arguing that there is no convincing evidence that hours of work should be limited on health and safety grounds. Much of the research in this area has focused on the problems of shiftworking and previous reviews have therefore tended to emphasise this aspect of working hours. However, there is much less information about the effects of overtime work, which is a central element of the terms of the Directive. This paper reviews the current evidence relating to the potential effects on health and performance of extensions to the normal working day. Several gaps in the literature are identified. Research to date has been restricted to a limited range of health outcomes--namely, mental health and cardiovascular disorders. Other potential effects which are normally associated with stress--for example, gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and problems associated with depression of the immune system, have received little attention. Also, there have been few systematic investigations of performance effects, and little consideration of the implications for occupational exposure limits of extensions to the working day. Existing data relate largely to situations where working hours exceed 50 a week and there is a lack of information on hours below this level, which is of direct relevance to the European Community proposal. Finally, it is clear from investigations relating to shiftwork that a range of modifying factors are likely to influence the level and nature of health and performance outcomes. These include the attitudes and motivation of the people concerned, the job requirements, and other aspects of the organisational and cultural climate. It is concluded that there is currently sufficient evidence to raise concerns about the risks to health and safety of long working hours. However, much more work is required to define the level and nature of those risks. PMID:9245942

Addiction liability of pharmacotherapeutic interventions in obesity.

PubMed

Greene, William M; Sylvester, Mark; Abraham, Joel

2011-01-01

Obesity and substance use disorders are rapidly growing problems throughout the world. Of the current mainstay therapies of diet, exercise, behavioral modification, surgery, and medications, drugs have the greatest risk for abuse and dependence. As each of these disorders share similar underpinnings mediated by the dopaminergic brain reward pathways, clinicians must seriously consider the safety of both the patient's physical and mental health when prescribing treatments. Specifically, balance and awareness of the factors involved in the variable abuse potentials of these prescribed medications is paramount. A cursory review of weight loss medications commonly used is performed with attention to FDA status, mechanism of action, and abuse potential. Concurrent strategies to minimize risk such as drug screening, ruling out doctor shopping, temporal considerations, monitoring for signs and symptoms of abuse and/or dependency, and a safety-tiered prescribing approach is also discussed in order to optimize best treatment practice. As the understanding of these disorders progresses along with the evolution of agreed nomenclature and awareness of compulsive behavioral disorders in general, greater safety and more appropriate interventions may be achieved. Further areas of research will help to elucidate nuances of the coocurrance and treatment of these disorders and perhaps guide drug research and development in the area of drug treatments of obesity.

Pharmacist review and its impact on Singapore nursing homes

PubMed Central

Chia, Hui Shan; Ho, John Aik Hui; Lim, Bernadette Daolin

2015-01-01

INTRODUCTION There is a high prevalence of polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use in Singapore nursing homes. This study primarily explored the benefits of pharmacist reviews in local nursing homes. The secondary aims were to review the potential cost savings gained from following the pharmacists’ recommendations and to identify the possible risks associated with polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use. METHODS A retrospective period prevalence study was performed. We analysed the pharmacotherapy problems highlighted by pharmacists in three nursing homes and the rate of acceptance of pharmacists’ recommendations. Data was collected in two phases: (a) a one-month pre-setup period, during which 480 patients were reviewed (i.e. one-time review before weekly pharmacist visits); and (b) a six-month post-setup period, during which the 480 patients were reviewed again. Pharmacotherapy problems were classified according to a clinical pharmacist recommendation taxonomy and potential risks were identified. Monthly cost savings were calculated and compared with the monthly costs of pharmacist reviews. RESULTS A total of 392 pharmacotherapy problems were identified, with pharmacist recommendations noted for each problem. Among the 392 recommendations, 236 (60.2%) were accepted. The pharmacotherapy problems were analysed for potential risks, including falls (16.0%) and constipation (13.1%). The acceptance rates were higher during the post-setup period compared to the pre-setup period (p < 0.0001). Total direct acquisition cost savings during the pre- and post-setup periods were SGD 388.30 and SGD 876.69, respectively. CONCLUSION The provision of pharmaceutical care to nursing home residents resulted in improved medication safety and quality of care. PMID:26451051

Risk assessment principle for engineered nanotechnology in food and drug.

PubMed

Hwang, Myungsil; Lee, Eun Ji; Kweon, Se Young; Park, Mi Sun; Jeong, Ji Yoon; Um, Jun Ho; Kim, Sun Ah; Han, Bum Suk; Lee, Kwang Ho; Yoon, Hae Jung

2012-06-01

While the ability to develop nanomaterials and incorporate them into products is advancing rapidly worldwide, understanding of the potential health safety effects of nanomaterials has proceeded at a much slower pace. Since 2008, Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) started an investigation to prepare "Strategic Action Plan" to evaluate safety and nano risk management associated with foods, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics using nano-scale materials. Although there are some studies related to potential risk of nanomaterials, physical-chemical characterization of nanomaterials is not clear yet and these do not offer enough information due to their limitations. Their uncertainties make it impossible to determine whether nanomaterials are actually hazardous to human. According to the above mention, we have some problems to conduct the human exposure risk assessment currently. On the other hand, uncertainty about safety may lead to polarized public debate and to businesses unwillingness for further nanotechnology investigation. Therefore, the criteria and methods to assess possible adverse effects of nanomaterials have been vigorously taken into consideration by many international organizations: the World Health Organization, the Organization for Economic and Commercial Development and the European Commission. The object of this study was to develop risk assessment principles for safety management of future nanoproducts and also to identify areas of research to strengthen risk assessment for nanomaterials. The research roadmaps which were proposed in this study will be helpful to fill up the current gaps in knowledge relevant nano risk assessment.

Formal Verification of the Runway Safety Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siminiceanu, Radu; Ciardo, Gianfranco

2006-01-01

The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) designed by Lockheed Martin is part of NASA's effort to reduce runway accidents. We developed a Petri net model of the RSM protocol and used the model checking functions of our tool SMART to investigate a number of safety properties in RSM. To mitigate the impact of state-space explosion, we built a highly discretized model of the system, obtained by partitioning the monitored runway zone into a grid of smaller volumes and by considering scenarios involving only two aircraft. The model also assumes that there are no communication failures, such as bad input from radar or lack of incoming data, thus it relies on a consistent view of reality by all participants. In spite of these simplifications, we were able to expose potential problems in the RSM conceptual design. Our findings were forwarded to the design engineers, who undertook corrective action. Additionally, the results stress the efficiency attained by the new model checking algorithms implemented in SMART, and demonstrate their applicability to real-world systems.

The design of the intelligent monitoring system for dam safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Chun-qiao; Jiang, Chen-guang; Wang, Guo-hui

2008-12-01

Being a vital manmade water-control structure, a dam plays a very important role in the living and production of human being. To make a dam run safely, the best design and the superior construction quality are paramount; moreover, with working periods increasing, various dynamic, alternative and bad loads generate little by little various distortions on the dam structure inevitably, which shall lead to potential safety problems or further a disaster (dam burst). There are many signs before the occurrence of a dam accident, so the timely and effective surveying on the distortion of a dam is important. On the basis of the cause supra, two intelligent (automatic) monitoring systems about the dam's safety based on the RTK-GPS technology and the measuring robot has been developed. The basic principle, monitoring method and monitoring process of these two intelligent (automatic) monitoring systems are introduced. It presents examples of monitor and puts forward the basic rule of dam warning based on data of actual monitor.

Life cycle assessment of a road safety product made with virgin and recycled HDPE.

PubMed

Simões, Carla L; Xará, Susana M; Bernardo, C A

2011-04-01

The present study aims at evaluating the potential environmental impact of using recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in the production of an anti-glare lamella (AGL), a road safety device currently manufactured from virgin (not recycled) polymer. The impact was evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique and comparing two alternative systems: current AGL, manufactured from virgin HDPE, and optional AGL, made with recycled HDPE obtained from post-consumer packages. The AGL manufacturing phase was found to be responsible for most of the impacts in both systems, with the production of the raw material being the largest contributor for that phase. The present study makes a contribution to the problem of developing value-added products made from post-consumer polymeric recyclates.

Palo Alto Research Center - Smart Embedded Network of Sensors with an Optical Readout

ScienceCinema

Raghavan, Ajay; Sahu, Saroj; Bringans, Ross; Johnson, Noble; Kiesel, Peter; Saha, Bhaskar

2018-05-18

PARC is developing new fiber optic sensors that would be embedded into batteries to monitor and measure key internal parameters during charge and discharge cycles. Two significant problems with today's best batteries are their lack of internal monitoring capabilities and their design oversizing. The lack of monitoring interferes with the ability to identify and manage performance or safety issues as they arise, which are presently managed by very conservative design oversizing and protection approaches that result in cost inefficiencies. PARC's design combines low-cost, embedded optical battery sensors and smart algorithms to overcome challenges faced by today's best battery management systems. These advanced fiber optic sensing technologies have the potential to dramatically improve the safety, performance, and life-time of energy storage systems.

Rechargeable metal hydrides for spacecraft application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perry, J. L.

1988-01-01

Storing hydrogen on board the Space Station presents both safety and logistics problems. Conventional storage using pressurized bottles requires large masses, pressures, and volumes to handle the hydrogen to be used in experiments in the U.S. Laboratory Module and residual hydrogen generated by the ECLSS. Rechargeable metal hydrides may be competitive with conventional storage techniques. The basic theory of hydride behavior is presented and the engineering properties of LaNi5 are discussed to gain a clear understanding of the potential of metal hydrides for handling spacecraft hydrogen resources. Applications to Space Station and the safety of metal hydrides are presented and compared to conventional hydride storage. This comparison indicates that metal hydrides may be safer and require lower pressures, less volume, and less mass to store an equivalent mass of hydrogen.

Assessment of Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Safety Using the Self-Controlled Tree-Temporal Scan Statistic Signal-Detection Method in the Sentinel System.

PubMed

Yih, W Katherine; Maro, Judith C; Nguyen, Michael; Baker, Meghan A; Balsbaugh, Carolyn; Cole, David V; Dashevsky, Inna; Mba-Jonas, Adamma; Kulldorff, Martin

2018-06-01

The self-controlled tree-temporal scan statistic-a new signal-detection method-can evaluate whether any of a wide variety of health outcomes are temporally associated with receipt of a specific vaccine, while adjusting for multiple testing. Neither health outcomes nor postvaccination potential periods of increased risk need be prespecified. Using US medical claims data in the Food and Drug Administration's Sentinel system, we employed the method to evaluate adverse events occurring after receipt of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (4vHPV). Incident outcomes recorded in emergency department or inpatient settings within 56 days after first doses of 4vHPV received by 9- through 26.9-year-olds in 2006-2014 were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, diagnosis codes and analyzed by pairing the new method with a standard hierarchical classification of diagnoses. On scanning diagnoses of 1.9 million 4vHPV recipients, 2 statistically significant categories of adverse events were found: cellulitis on days 2-3 after vaccination and "other complications of surgical and medical procedures" on days 1-3 after vaccination. Cellulitis is a known adverse event. Clinically informed investigation of electronic claims records of the patients with "other complications" did not suggest any previously unknown vaccine safety problem. Considering that thousands of potential short-term adverse events and hundreds of potential risk intervals were evaluated, these findings add significantly to the growing safety record of 4vHPV.

Assessment of Superstructure Ice Protection as Applied to Offshore Oil Operations Safety: Problems, Hazards, Needs, and Potential Transfer Technologies

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

thermostats, or materials such as carbon layers, which vary in thickness with location and are self - healing and self - regulating. Ships commonly use heating...aircraft today. Pneumatic deicing systems consist of rubber or other elastomeric boots placed on the leading edge of an aircraft wing or on any surface...by Kenney, two as- semblies consisting of neoprene rubber and urethane-coated Dacron fabric were hung from bulkheads where icing would occur. A timer

Photovoltaic power system reliability considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lalli, V. R.

1980-01-01

An example of how modern engineering and safety techniques can be used to assure the reliable and safe operation of photovoltaic power systems is presented. This particular application is for a solar cell power system demonstration project designed to provide electric power requirements for remote villages. The techniques utilized involve a definition of the power system natural and operating environment, use of design criteria and analysis techniques, an awareness of potential problems via the inherent reliability and FMEA methods, and use of fail-safe and planned spare parts engineering philosophy.

Photovoltaic power system reliability considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lalli, V. R.

1980-01-01

This paper describes an example of how modern engineering and safety techniques can be used to assure the reliable and safe operation of photovoltaic power systems. This particular application was for a solar cell power system demonstration project in Tangaye, Upper Volta, Africa. The techniques involve a definition of the power system natural and operating environment, use of design criteria and analysis techniques, an awareness of potential problems via the inherent reliability and FMEA methods, and use of a fail-safe and planned spare parts engineering philosophy.

The comprehensive community-based traffic safety program : phase I, problem identification for District 2 and District 7.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-01-01

This report contains the initial Problem Identification for the Comprehensive Community-Based Traffic Safety Program (CCBP). Two DMV districts, District 2 and District 7, have been selected as the pilot areas for the CCBP, and because both districts ...

Of Acceptable Risk: Science and the Determination of Safety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowrance, William W.

This book looks at the problems of determination of safety and the underlying concept of safety itself. It is believed that if certain pervasive themes are properly appreciated, the whole field of safety will be better understood. The first chapter of the book sketches the general nature of safety decisions, defining safety as a measure of the…

Algorithm design for automated transportation photo enforcement camera image and video quality diagnostic check modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghavan, Ajay; Saha, Bhaskar

2013-03-01

Photo enforcement devices for traffic rules such as red lights, toll, stops, and speed limits are increasingly being deployed in cities and counties around the world to ensure smooth traffic flow and public safety. These are typically unattended fielded systems, and so it is important to periodically check them for potential image/video quality problems that might interfere with their intended functionality. There is interest in automating such checks to reduce the operational overhead and human error involved in manually checking large camera device fleets. Examples of problems affecting such camera devices include exposure issues, focus drifts, obstructions, misalignment, download errors, and motion blur. Furthermore, in some cases, in addition to the sub-algorithms for individual problems, one also has to carefully design the overall algorithm and logic to check for and accurately classifying these individual problems. Some of these issues can occur in tandem or have the potential to be confused for each other by automated algorithms. Examples include camera misalignment that can cause some scene elements to go out of focus for wide-area scenes or download errors that can be misinterpreted as an obstruction. Therefore, the sequence in which the sub-algorithms are utilized is also important. This paper presents an overview of these problems along with no-reference and reduced reference image and video quality solutions to detect and classify such faults.

23 CFR 1200.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... personal property acquired for use under the State's approved highway safety program. FHWA means the... the highway safety plan as encompassing a major highway safety problem in the State and for which...

23 CFR 1200.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... personal property acquired for use under the State's approved highway safety program. FHWA means the... the highway safety plan as encompassing a major highway safety problem in the State and for which...

Organizational-Legal and Technological Aspects of Ensuring Environmental Safety of Mining Enterprises: Perspective Analysis in the Context of the General Enhancement of Environmental Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorontsova, Elena; Vorontsov, Andrey; Drozdenko, Yuriy

2017-11-01

The article is devoted to the analysis of problems of maintenance of ecological safety of the mining enterprises. The aim of the work was the formulation of proposals, the implementation of which, in the opinion of the authors, is capable of raising the level of environmental safety of the mining industry and ultimately ensuring the environmentally oriented growth of the Russian economy.

Cyber Safety and Security for Reduced Crew Operations (RCO)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Driscoll, Kevin

2017-01-01

NASA and the Aviation Industry is looking into reduced crew operations (RCO) that would cut today's required two-person flight crews down to a single pilot with support from ground-based crews. Shared responsibility across air and ground personnel will require highly reliable and secure data communication and supporting automation, which will be safety-critical for passenger and cargo aircraft. This paper looks at the different types and degrees of authority delegation given from the air to the ground and the ramifications of each, including the safety and security hazards introduced, the mitigation mechanisms for these hazards, and other demands on an RCO system architecture which would be highly invasive into (almost) all safety-critical avionics. The adjacent fields of unmanned aerial systems and autonomous ground vehicles are viewed to find problems that RCO may face and related aviation accident scenarios are described. The paper explores possible data communication architectures to meet stringent performance and information security (INFOSEC) requirements of RCO. Subsequently, potential challenges for RCO data communication authentication, encryption and non-repudiation are identified. The approach includes a comprehensive safety-hazard analysis of the RCO system to determine top level INFOSEC requirements for RCO and proposes an option for effective RCO implementation. This paper concludes with questioning the economic viability of RCO in light of the expense of overcoming the operational safety and security hazards it would introduce.

Nurses' perceptions and problems in the usability of a medication safety app.

PubMed

Ankem, Kalyani; Cho, Sookyung; Simpson, Diana

2017-10-16

The majority of medication apps support medication adherence. Equally, if not more important, is medication safety. Few apps report on medication safety, and fewer studies have been conducted with these apps. The usability of a medication safety app was tested with nurses to reveal their perceptions of the graphical user interface and to discover problems they encountered in using the app. Usability testing of the app was conducted with RN-BSN students and informatics students (n = 18). Perceptions of the graphical components were gathered in pretest and posttest questionnaires, and video recordings of the usability testing were transcribed. The significance of the difference in mean performance time for 8 tasks was tested, and qualitative analysis was deployed to identify problems encountered and to rate the severity of each problem. While all participants perceived the graphical user interface as easy to understand, nurses took significantly more time to complete certain tasks. More nurses found the medication app to be lacking in intuitiveness of user interface design, in capability to match real-world data, and in providing optimal information architecture. To successfully integrate mobile devices in healthcare, developers must address the problems that nurses encountered in use of the app.

Fatalism and its implications for risky road use and receptiveness to safety messages: a qualitative investigation in Pakistan.

PubMed

Kayani, A; King, M J; Fleiter, J J

2012-12-01

Given the increasing vehicle numbers and expanding road construction in developing countries, the importance of safe road user behaviour is critical. Road traffic crashes (RTCs) are a significant problem in Pakistan; however, the factors that contribute to RTCs in Pakistan are not well researched. Fatalistic beliefs are a potential barrier to the enhancement of road safety, especially participation in health-promoting and injury prevention behaviours, and also contribute to risk taking. Fatalistic beliefs relating to road safety have been found in some developing countries, although research is scarce and indicates that the nature and extent of fatalism differs in each country. Qualitative research was undertaken with a range of drivers, religious orators, police and policy makers to explore associations between fatalism, risky road use and associated issues. Findings indicate that fatalistic beliefs are pervasive in Pakistan, are strongly linked with religion, present a likely barrier to road safety messages and contribute to risky road use. Fatalism appears to be a default attribution of RTC and the intensity of belief in fate surpasses the kinds of fatalism noted in the limited existing literature. These findings have importance to developing road safety countermeasures in countries where fatalistic beliefs are strong.

Collaboration and patient safety at an emergency department - a qualitative case study.

PubMed

Pedersen, Anna Helene Meldgaard; Rasmussen, Kurt; Grytnes, Regine; Nielsen, Kent Jacob

2018-03-19

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how conflicts about collaboration between staff at different departments arose during the establishment of a new emergency department and how these conflicts affected the daily work and ultimately patient safety at the emergency department. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative single case study draws on qualitative semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The theoretical concepts "availability" and "receptiveness" as antecedents for collaboration will be applied in the analysis. Findings Close collaboration between departments was an essential precondition for the functioning of the new emergency department. The study shows how a lack of antecedents for collaboration affected the working relation and communication between employees and departments, which spurred negative feelings and reproduced conflicts. This situation was seen as a potential threat for the safety of the emergency patients. Research limitations/implications This study presents a single case study, at a specific point in time, and should be used as an illustrative example of how contextual and situational factors affect the working environment and through that patient safety. Originality/value Few studies provide an in-depth investigation of what actually takes place when collaboration between professional groups goes wrong and escalates, and how problems in collaboration may affect patient safety.

Exploring the delivery of antiretroviral therapy for symptomatic HIV in Swaziland: threats to the successful treatment and safety of outpatients attending regional and district clinics.

PubMed

Armitage, Gerry; Hodgson, Ian; Wright, John; Bailey, Kerry; Mkhwana, Estel

2011-01-01

To examine the safety and acceptability of providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a resource poor setting. Two-stage observational and qualitative study. Rural hospital in Southern Africa. Structured observation using failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) of the drug supply, dispensing, prescribing and administration processes. The findings from the FMEA were explored further in qualitative interviews with eight health professionals involved in the delivery of ART. To obtain a patient perspective, a stratified sample of 14 patients receiving ART was also interviewed. Key vulnerabilities in the process of ART provision include supply problems, poor packaging and labelling, inadequate knowledge among staff and lack of staff. Key barriers to successful patient adherence include transport inconsistency in supply and personal financial difficulties. There is, however, strong evidence of patient commitment and adherence. IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION: Medication safety is relatively unexplored in the developing world. This study reveals an encouraging resilience in the health system and adherence among patients in the delivery of complex ART. The vulnerabilities identified, however, undermine patient safety and effectiveness of ART. There are implications for drug manufacturers; international aid agencies funding and supplying ART; and local practitioners. FMEA can help identify potential vulnerabilities and inform safety improvement interventions.

A perspective on emerging law, consumer trust and social responsibility in China's food sector: the "bleaching" case study.

PubMed

Roberts, Michael T

2011-01-01

Trust underpins the Chinese social system, and yet it is lacking from a Chinese food system that is riddled with safety disasters and disgruntled consumers. Government and industry play a major role in rehabilitating consumer trust in China. To this end, food safety and quality laws have been constructed to foster this process; however, safety scandals continue even in the face of stricter regulations and increased enforcement. A potential toll to abate food-safety problems and to build trust is the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility ("CSR"). Mandates by the government promote CSR in enterprise activity, including Article 3 of the 2009 China Food Safety Law. Officials have also recently touted the need for "moral education" of operators in the food industry. Regardless of government activity or whether CSR is employed by food enterprises, it is imperative that the food industry recognizes how critical it is to establish trust with Chinese consumers, who increasingly expect safe, quality food. The case study with pistachios highlights this evolving consumer expectation and the principles of social responsibility in the framework of the relationship between government and industry and consumers, while demonstrating the benefits of doing the right thing for food companies doing business in China.

Detection of errant laser beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Arthur F. D. S.; Edwards, Stanley A.; Barrett, J. A.; Bandle, Anthony M.

1990-10-01

The new generation of automated laser machine tools poses problems for those responsible for setting safety standards. While traditional safeguarding will frustrate full exploitation of this hybrid technology, wholesale abandonment of effective containment in favour of safety monitoring and control systems is unlikely to be acceptable. Long term, quantitative risk assessment will resolve this dilemma. Short term, guide lines will have to be derived from practical considerations of the laser facility design, materials, primary safety devices and procedures. Earlier risk assessments are reviewed relative to the emerging perspective of high average power laser installations. Aspects of extended beam delivery systems and equipment utilization and maintenance are examined to assess possible interaction with operational safety and in particular the potential to adversely influence errant laser beam occurrances (ELBO). To satisfy international safety standards for a laser enclosure which offers flexibility and is cost effective a detection system is described which continuously surveys the inside of the enclosure. Extensive trials have been carried out with high average power lasers (up to 10kW) where a range of engineering materials has been exposed to a laser beam. It is shown that the ratio of detection and shut down time to the burn through time can be an acceptable risk and thus indicate which materials will prove adequate.

48 CFR 246.371 - Notification of potential safety issues.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... safety issues. 246.371 Section 246.371 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 246.371 Notification of potential safety issues. (a) Use the clause at 252.246-7003, Notification of Potential Safety...

Role of a quality management system in improving patient safety - laboratory aspects.

PubMed

Allen, Lynn C

2013-09-01

The aim of this study is to describe how implementation of a quality management system (QMS) based on ISO 15189 enhances patient safety. A literature review showed that several European hospitals implemented a QMS based on ISO 9001 and assessed the impact on patient safety. An Internet search showed that problems affecting patient safety have occurred in a number of laboratories across Canada. The requirements of a QMS based on ISO 15189 are outlined, and the impact of the implementation of each requirement on patient safety is summarized. The Quality Management Program - Laboratory Services in Ontario is briefly described, and the experience of Ontario laboratories with Ontario Laboratory Accreditation, based on ISO 15189, is outlined. Several hospitals that implemented ISO 9001 reported either a positive impact or no impact on patient safety. Patient safety problems in Canadian laboratories are described. Implementation of each requirement of the QMS can be seen to have a positive effect on patient safety. Average laboratory conformance on Ontario Laboratory Accreditation is very high, and laboratories must address and resolve any nonconformities. Other standards, practices, and quality requirements may also contribute to patient safety. Implementation of a QMS based on ISO 15189 provides a solid foundation for quality in the laboratory and enhances patient safety. It helps to prevent patient safety issues; when such issues do occur, effective processes are in place for investigation and resolution. Patient safety problems in Canadian laboratories might have been prevented had effective QMSs been in place. Ontario Laboratory Accreditation has had a positive impact on quality in Ontario laboratories. Copyright © 2013 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices : eighth edition : 2015

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-11-01

The guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices in selecting effective, evidence- based : countermeasures for traffic safety problem areas. These areas include: : - Alcohol-and Drug-Impaired Driving; : - Seat Belts and Child Res...

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices : seventh edition : 2013

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-04-01

The guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, evidence-based countermeasures for traffic safety problem areas. These areas include: : - Alcohol-Impaired and Drugged Driving; : - Seat Belts and C...

Intentions and knowledge shaping local safety policy: A comparison of two Swedish cities.

PubMed

Hanberger, Anders; Lundström, Ulf; Mårald, Gunilla

2015-12-01

This article explores how intentions and knowledge shape two Swedish cities' local safety policy (LSP). The applied framework is derived from the integration of governance and implementation research and the theory of knowledge and its use. The study shows that LSPs are shaped by a mix of intentions and different kinds of knowledge, and intentions and knowledge interplay and intertwine in many ways. Key-persons construct LSPs when they work out solutions to urgent safety problems and take departure in the local context, its pre-conditions, and their experience-based and professional knowledge. The state governs LSP softly through management by objectives in the background, but more often key-actor intentions and commitments, local safety problems, and events initiated and influenced LSPs. The article contributes to a better understanding of conditions for LSPs in multi-level governance. The article can be used to improve governance, identify implementation problems and knowledge needs that will improve LSPs and the overall safety situation in the community. The study has implications for how LSPs should be evaluated; many different evaluation criteria can be appropriate, such as relevance, legitimacy, achievement of key actors' objectives, sustainability of policy solutions, and creation of a local safety culture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Four common herbs seen in dental practice: properties and potential adverse effects.

PubMed

Shankland, Wesley E

2009-04-01

The use of herbal supplements in North America is steadily growing and raises concerns about safety, efficacy, and how they affect safe patient care. The most notable and direct health risks associated with herbal supplements include hypertension, prolonged bleeding, and the potential for drug-herb interactions, which is of particular concern for patients undergoing anesthesia, both general and local anesthesia. In this article, four of the most commonly used herbs today in North America will be discussed: garlic, gingko, ginseng, and ginger. The pharmacology, benefits, and possible side effects of these herbs will be presented. Awareness of the rising use of herbs is important to prevent, recognize, and treat potential problems that can arise from herbal preparations taken alone or in conjunction with prescription medications.

"Evidence" Under a Magnifying Glass: Thoughts on Safety Argument Epistemology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graydon, P. J.; Holloway, C. M.

2015-01-01

Common definitions of "safety case" emphasize that evidence is the basis of a safety argument, yet few widely referenced works explicitly define "evidence". Their examples suggest that similar things can be regarded as evidence. But the category evidence seems to contain (1) processes for finding things out, (2) information resulting from such processes, and (3) relevant documents. Moreover, any item of evidence could be replaced by further argument. Normative models of informal argumentation do not offer clear guidance on when a safety argument should cite evidence rather than appeal to a more detailed argument. Disciplines such as the law address the problem with a practical, domain-specific epistemology. In this paper, we explore these problems associated with evidence citations in safety arguments, identify goals for a theory of safety argument evidence and a practical safety argument epistemology, propose a model of safety evidence citation that advances the identified goals, and present a related extension to the Goal Structuring Notation (GSN).

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Annual Report for 1999

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blomberg, Richard D.

2000-01-01

This report covers the activities of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) for the calendar year 1999.This was a year of notable achievements and significant frustrations. Both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) programs were delayed.The Space Shuttle prudently postponed launches after the occurrence of a wiring short during ascent of the STS-93 mission. The ISS construction schedule slipped as a result of the Space Shuttle delays and problems the Russians experienced in readying the Service Module and its launch vehicle. Each of these setbacks was dealt with in a constructive way. The STS-93 short circuit led to detailed wiring inspections and repairs on all four orbiters as well as analysis of other key subsystems for similar types of hidden damage. The ISS launch delays afforded time for further testing, training, development, and contingency planning. The safety consciousness of the NASA and contractor workforces, from hands-on labor to top management, continues high. Nevertheless, workforce issues remain among the most serious safety concerns of the Panel. Cutbacks and reorganizations over the past several years have resulted in problems related to workforce size, critical skills, and the extent of on-the-job experience. These problems have the potential to impact safety as the Space Shuttle launch rate increases to meet the demands of the ISS and its other customers. As with last year's report, these work- force-related issues were considered of sufficient import to place them first in the material that follows. Some of the same issues of concern for the Space Shuttle and ISS arose in a review of the launch vehicle for the Terra mission that the Panel was asked by NASA to undertake. Other areas the Panel was requested to assess included the readiness of the Inertial Upper Stage for the deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the possible safety impact of electromagnetic effects on the Space Shuttle. The findings and recommendations in this report do not highlight any major, immediate issues that might compromise the safe pursuit of the various NASA programs. They do, however, cover concerns that the Panel believes should be addressed in the interest of maintaining NASA's excellent safety record.The Panel is pleased to note that remedial efforts for some of the findings raised are underway. Given appropriate funding and cooperative efforts among the Administration, the Congress and the various contractors, the Panel is convinced that safety problems can be avoided or solved resulting in lower risk for NASA's human space and aeronautics programs. Section II of this report contains specific findings and recommendations generated by Panel activities during the calendar year 1999. Section III presents more detailed information in support of these findings and recommendations. A current roster of Panel members, consultants, and staff is included as Appendix A. Appendix B contains NASA's response to the findings and recommendations from the 1998 annual report. It has been augmented this year to include brief explanations of why the Panel classified the NASA response as " open,""continuing," or "closed." Appendix C lists the fact-finding activities of the Panel in 1999.

Health, Safety, and Environment Division

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wade, C

1992-01-01

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environmental protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Meeting these responsibilities requires expertise in many disciplines, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science and engineering, analytical chemistry, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health, safety, and environmental problems occasionally arise from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory, and research programs in HSE Division often stem from thesemore » applied needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed, to study specific problems for the Department of Energy. The results of these programs help develop better practices in occupational health and safety, radiation protection, and environmental science.« less

Safety climate practice in Korean manufacturing industry.

PubMed

Baek, Jong-Bae; Bae, Sejong; Ham, Byung-Ho; Singh, Karan P

2008-11-15

Safety climate survey was sent to 642 plants in 2003 to explore safety climate practices in the Korean manufacturing plants, especially in hazardous chemical treating plants. Out of 642 plants contacted 195 (30.4%) participated in the surveys. Data were collected by e-mail using SQL-server and mail. The main objective of this study was to explore safety climate practices (level of safety climate and the underlying problems). In addition, the variables that may influence the level of safety climate among managers and workers were explored. The questionnaires developed by health and safety executive (HSE) in the UK were modified to incorporate differences in Korean culture. Eleven important factors were summarized. Internal reliability of these factors was validated. Number of employees in the company varied from less than 30 employees (9.2%) to over 1000 employees (37.4%). Both managers and workers showed generally high level of safety climate awareness. The major underlying problems identified were inadequate health and safety procedures/rules, pressure for production, and rule breaking. The length of employment was a significant contributing factor to the level of safety climate. In this study, participants showed generally high level of safety climate, and length of employment affected the differences in the level of safety climate. Managers' commitment to comply safety rules, procedures, and effective safety education and training are recommended.

Selected Schizosaccharomyces pombe Strains Have Characteristics That Are Beneficial for Winemaking

PubMed Central

Benito, Ángel; Jeffares, Daniel; Palomero, Felipe; Calderón, Fernando; Bai, Feng-Yan; Bähler, Jürg; Benito, Santiago

2016-01-01

At present, wine is generally produced using Saccharomyces yeast followed by Oenococus bacteria to complete malolactic fermentation. This method has some unsolved problems, such as the management of highly acidic musts and the production of potentially toxic products including biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate. Here we explore the potential of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe to solve these problems. We characterise an extensive worldwide collection of S. pombe strains according to classic biochemical parameters of oenological interest. We identify three genetically different S. pombe strains that appear suitable for winemaking. These strains compare favourably to standard Saccharomyces cerevisiae winemaking strains, in that they perform effective malic acid deacidification and significantly reduce levels of biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate precursors without the need for any secondary bacterial malolactic fermentation. These findings indicate that the use of certain S. pombe strains could be advantageous for winemaking in regions where malic acid is problematic, and these strains also show superior performance with respect to food safety. PMID:27007548

NASA aviation safety reporting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

A sample of reports relating to operations during winter weather is presented. Several reports involving problems of judgment and decisionmaking have been selected from the numerous reports representative of this area. Problems related to aeronautical charts are discussed in a number of reports. An analytic study of reports involving potential conflicts in the immediate vicinity of uncontrolled airports was performed; the results are discussed in this report. It was found that in three-fourths of 127 such conflicts, neither pilot, or only one of the pilots, was communicating position and intentions on the appropriate frequency. The importance of providing aural transfer of information, as a backup to the visual see and avoid mode of information transfer is discussed. It was also found that a large fraction of pilots involved in potential conflicts on final approach had executed straight-in approaches, rather than the recommended traffic pattern entries, prior to the conflicts. A selection of alert bulletins and responses to them by various segments of the aviation community is presented.

Combustion and fires in low gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert

1994-01-01

Fire safety always receives priority attention in NASA mission designs and operations, with emphasis on fire prevention and material acceptance standards. Recently, interest in spacecraft fire-safety research and development has increased because improved understanding of the significant differences between low-gravity and normal-gravity combustion suggests that present fire-safety techniques may be inadequate or, at best, non-optimal; and the complex and permanent orbital operations in Space Station Freedom demand a higher level of safety standards and practices. This presentation outlines current practices and problems in fire prevention and detection for spacecraft, specifically the Space Station Freedom's fire protection. Also addressed are current practices and problems in fire extinguishment for spacecraft.

Self-assembly of virus-like particles of canine parvovirus capsid protein expressed from Escherichia coli and application as virus-like particle vaccine.

PubMed

Xu, Jin; Guo, Hui-Chen; Wei, Yan-Quan; Dong, Hu; Han, Shi-Chong; Ao, Da; Sun, De-Hui; Wang, Hai-Ming; Cao, Sui-Zhong; Sun, Shi-Qi

2014-04-01

Canine parvovirus disease is an acute infectious disease caused by canine parvovirus (CPV). Current commercial vaccines are mainly attenuated and inactivated; as such, problems concerning safety may occur. To resolve this problem, researchers developed virus-like particles (VLPs) as biological nanoparticles resembling natural virions and showing high bio-safety. This property allows the use of VLPs for vaccine development and mechanism studies of viral infections. Tissue-specific drug delivery also employs VLPs as biological nanomaterials. Therefore, VLPs derived from CPV have a great potential in medicine and diagnostics. In this study, small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) fusion motif was utilized to express a whole, naturalVP2 protein of CPV in Escherichia coli. After the cleavage of the fusion motif, the CPV VP2 protein has self-assembled into VLPs. The VLPs had a size and shape that resembled the authentic virus capsid. However, the self-assembly efficiency of VLPs can be affected by different pH levels and ionic strengths. The mice vaccinated subcutaneously with CPV VLPs and CPV-specific immune responses were compared with those immunized with the natural virus. This result showed that VLPs can effectively induce anti-CPV specific antibody and lymphocyte proliferation as a whole virus. This result further suggested that the antigen epitope of CPV was correctly present on VLPs, thereby showing the potential application of a VLP-based CPV vaccine.

Safe laser application requires more than laser safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frevel, A.; Steffensen, B.; Vassie, L.

1995-02-01

An overview is presented concerning aspects of laser safety in European industrial laser use. Surveys indicate that there is a large variation in the safety strategies amongst industrial laser users. Some key problem areas are highlighted. Emission of hazardous substances is a major problem for users of laser material processing systems where the majority of the particulate is of a sub-micrometre size, presenting a respiratory hazard. Studies show that in many cases emissions are not frequently monitored in factories and uncertainty exists over the hazards. Operators of laser machines do not receive adequate job training or safety training. The problem is compounded by a plethora of regulations and standards which are difficult to interpret and implement, and inspectors who are not conversant with the technology or the issues. A case is demonstrated for a more integrated approach to laser safety, taking into account the development of laser applications, organizational and personnel development, in addition to environmental and occupational health and safety aspects. It is necessary to achieve a harmonization between these elements in any organization involved in laser technology. This might be achieved through establishing technology transfer centres in laser technology.

NASA aviation safety reporting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Aviation safety reports that relate to loss of control in flight, problems that occur as a result of similar sounding alphanumerics, and pilot incapacitation are presented. Problems related to the go around maneuver in air carrier operations, and bulletins (and FAA responses to them) that pertain to air traffic control systems and procedures are included.

The impact of information technology and organizational focus on the visibility of patient care errors.

PubMed

Walston, Stephen L; Mwachofi, Ari; Aldosari, Bakheet; Al-Omar, Badran A; Yousef, Asmaa Al; Sheikh, Asiya

2010-01-01

INVESTIGATED: The implementation of information systems and the creation of an open culture, characterized by emphasis on patient safety and problem solving, are 2 means suggested to improve health care quality. This study examines the effects of use of information technology and focus on patient safety and problem solving on the visibility of patient care errors. A survey of nurses in Saudi Arabia is analyzed by means of factor analysis and multiregression analysis to examine nurses' use of information technology and culture in controlling errors. Our research suggests that greater use of information technology to control patient care errors may reduce the prevalence of such errors while an increased focus on patient safety and problem solving facilitates an open environment where errors can be more openly discussed and addressed. The use of technology appears to have a role in decreasing errors. Yet, an organization that focuses on problem solving and patient safety can open lines of communication and create a culture in which errors can be discussed and resolved.

Technology Implementation and Workarounds in the Nursing Home

PubMed Central

Vogelsmeier, Amy A.; Halbesleben, Jonathon R.B.; Scott-Cawiezell, Jill R.

2008-01-01

Objective This study sought to explore the relationship of workarounds related to the implementation of an electronic medication administration record and medication safety practices in five Midwestern nursing homes. Design As a part of a larger study, this qualitative evaluation was conducted to identify workarounds associated with the implementation of an electronic medication administration record. Data were collected using multimethods including direct observation, process mapping, key informant interviews, and review of field notes from medication safety team meetings. Measurements Open and axial coding techniques were used to identify and categorize types of workarounds in relation to work flow blocks. Results Workarounds presented in two distinct patterns, those related to work flow blocks introduced by technology and those related to organizational processes not reengineered to effectively integrate with the technology. Workarounds such as safety alert overrides and shortcuts to documentation resulted from first-order problem solving of immediate blocks. Nursing home staff as individuals frequently used first-order problem solving instead of the more sophisticated second-order problem solving approach used by the medication safety team. Conclusion This study provides important practical examples of how nursing home staff work around work flow blocks encountered during the implementation of technology. Understanding these workarounds as a means of first-order problem solving is an important consideration to understanding risk to medication safety. PMID:17947626

Perceived Neighborhood Safety Is Associated with Poor Sleep Health among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men in Paris, France.

PubMed

Duncan, Dustin T; Park, Su Hyun; Goedel, William C; Kreski, Noah T; Morganstein, Jace G; Hambrick, H Rhodes; Jean-Louis, Girardin; Chaix, Basile

2017-06-01

Recent studies have examined sleep health among men who have sex with men (MSM), but no studies have examined associations of neighborhood characteristics and sleep health among this population. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between perceived neighborhood safety and sleep health among a sample of MSM in Paris, France. We placed broadcast advertisements on a popular smartphone application for MSM in October 2016 to recruit users in the Paris (France) metropolitan area (n = 580). Users were directed to complete a web-based survey, including previously used items measuring perceptions of neighborhood safety, validated measures of sleep health, and socio-demographics. Modified Poisson models were used to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between perceived neighborhood safety and the following outcomes: (1) poor sleep quality, (2) short sleep duration, and (3) self-reported sleep problems. Poor sleep health was common in our sample; e.g., 30.1% reported poor sleep quality and 44.7% reported problems falling asleep. In multivariate regression models, perceived neighborhood safety was associated with poor sleep quality, short sleep duration, and having sleep problems. For example, reporting living in a neighborhood perceived as unsafe during the daytime (vs. safe) was associated with poor sleep quality (aRR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.01, 2.52), short sleep duration (aRR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.26, 2.94), problems falling asleep (aRR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.17, 2.11), and problems staying awake in the daytime (aRR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.05, 4.43). Interventions to increase neighborhood safety may improve sleep health among MSM.

Patient safety problem identification and solution sharing among rural community pharmacists.

PubMed

Galt, Kimberly A; Fuji, Kevin T; Faber, Jennifer

2013-01-01

To implement a communication network for safety problem identification and solution sharing among rural community pharmacists and to report participating pharmacists' perceived value and impact of the network on patient safety after 1 year of implementation. Action research study. Rural community pharmacies in Nebraska from January 2010 to April 2011. Rural community pharmacists who voluntarily agreed to join the Pharmacists for Patient Safety Network in Nebraska. Pharmacists reported errors, near misses, and safety concerns through Web-based event reporting. A rapid feedback process was used to provide patient safety solutions to consider implementing across the network. Qualitative interviews were conducted 1 year after program implementation with participating pharmacists to assess use of the reporting system, value of the disseminated safety solutions, and perceived impact on patient safety in pharmacies. 30 of 38 pharmacists participating in the project completed the interviews. The communication network improved pharmacist awareness, promoted open discussion and knowledge sharing, contributed to practice vigilance, and led to incorporation of proactive safety prevention practices. Despite low participation in error and near-miss reporting, a dynamic communication network designed to rapidly disseminate evidence-based patient safety strategies to reduce risk was valued and effective at improving patient safety practices in rural community pharmacies.

Nuclear Safety Information Center, Its Products and Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchanan, J. R.

1970-01-01

The Nuclear Safety Information Center (NSIC) serves as a focal point for the collection, analysis and dissemination of information related to safety problems encountered in the design, analysis, and operation of nuclear facilities. (Author/AB)

Safety issues involving marine containers on chassis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

This study performed by The University of Tennessee investigated safety related problems involving chassis used for transporting marine containers on US highways. In recent years, much concern has arisen regarding the safety implications of allegedly...

A review of the health effects of energy conserving materials.

PubMed Central

Levin, L; Purdom, P W

1983-01-01

The energy conservation movement has promoted both greater use of insulating materials and the reduction of heat losses by sealing air leaks. The release of volatile or airborne materials from the installation of these building materials under these conditions has resulted in an exacerbated indoor air pollution with the potential for certain health and safety hazards. Consequently, a comparative review of the health and safety hazards, exposure standards, and regulatory action associated with the more commonly used insulating materials with particular respect to current energy conservation measures was undertaken. The materials reviewed included asbestos, urea-formaldehyde foam, polyvinyl chloride, cellulosic insulations, fibrous glass, mineral wool, and vermiculite. Although no longer used, the past installation of asbestos in a friable form is the greatest potential health hazard. The exposure to formaldehyde gas from its release from urea-formaldehyde foam has elicited subjective complaints of sensory irritation and unresolved controversy and regulatory action regarding its toxicity to humans. Lesser health problems have been associated with the more widely used fibrous glass and mineral or rock wools. PMID:6342431

Efforts to improve patient safety in large, capitated medical groups: description and conceptual model.

PubMed

Miller, Robert H; Bovbjerg, Randall R

2002-06-01

Medical care should be safer. Inpatient problems and solutions have received the most attention; this outpatient qualitative case study addresses a gap in knowledge. We describe safety improvements among large physician groups, model the key influences on their behavior, and identify beneficial public and private policies. All groups were trying to reduce medical injury, which was part of the sample design. The most commonly targeted problems are those that are similar across groups: shortcomings in diagnosis, abnormal tests follow-up, scope of practice and referral patterns, and continuity of care. Medical group innovators vary greatly, however, in implementation of improvements, that is, in the extent to which they implement process changes that identify events/problems, analyze and track incidents, decide how to change clinical and administrative practices, and monitor impacts of the changes. Our conceptual model identifies key determinants: (1) demand for safety comes from external factors: legal, market, and professional; (2) organizational responses depend on internal factors: group size, scope, and integration; leadership and governance; professional culture; information-system assets; and financial and intellectual capital. Further, safety is an aspect of quality (the same tools, decision making, interventions, and monitoring apply), and safety management benefits from prior efficiency management (similar skills and culture of innovation). Observed variation in even simple safeguards shows that existing safety incentives are too weak. Our model suggests that the biggest improvement would come from boosting the demand for quality and safety from both private and public larger group purchasers. Current policy relies too much on litigation and discipline, which have sometimes helped, but not solved, problems because they are inefficient, tend to drive needed information underground, and complicate needed cultural change. Patients' safety demand is also weak for want of information and market power. Big purchasers' demands, however, quickly influence the internal environment of medical groups, helping managers advance quality safety toward the top of groups' congested decision-making "queues."

Uncovering high rates of unsafe injection equipment reuse in rural Cameroon: validation of a survey instrument that probes for specific misconceptions

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Unsafe reuse of injection equipment in hospitals is an on-going threat to patient safety in many parts of Africa. The extent of this problem is difficult to measure. Standard WHO injection safety assessment protocols used in the 2003 national injection safety assessment in Cameroon are problematic because health workers often behave differently under the observation of visitors. The main objective of this study is to assess the extent of unsafe injection equipment reuse and potential for blood-borne virus transmission in Cameroon. This can be done by probing for misconceptions about injection safety that explain reuse without sterilization. These misconceptions concern useless precautions against cross-contamination, i.e. "indirect reuse" of injection equipment. To investigate whether a shortage of supply explains unsafe reuse, we compared our survey data against records of purchases. Methods All health workers at public hospitals in two health districts in the Northwest Province of Cameroon were interviewed about their own injection practices. Injection equipment supply purchase records documented for January to December 2009 were compared with self-reported rates of syringe reuse. The number of HIV, HBV and HCV infections that result from unsafe medical injections in these health districts is estimated from the frequency of unsafe reuse, the number of injections performed, the probability that reused injection equipment had just been used on an infected patient, the size of the susceptible population, and the transmission efficiency of each virus in an injection. Results Injection equipment reuse occurs commonly in the Northwest Province of Cameroon, practiced by 44% of health workers at public hospitals. Self-reported rates of syringe reuse only partly explained by records on injection equipment supplied to these hospitals, showing a shortage of syringes where syringes are reused. Injection safety interventions could prevent an estimated 14-336 HIV infections, 248-661 HBV infections and 7-114 HCV infections each year in these health districts. Conclusions Injection safety assessments that probe for indirect reuse may be more effective than observational assessments. The autodisable syringe may be an appropriate solution to injection safety problems in some hospitals in Cameroon. Advocacy for injection safety interventions should be a public health priority. PMID:21299899

Improvement And Development Of The Motivation System In The Occupational And Industrial Safety Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pavlov, Arkhip; Gavrilov, Dmitrij

2017-11-01

This paper discusses one of the main problems in labour and industrial management in the occupational and industrial safety field - motivation to work safely. The problem is complex and should be solved by a set of measures, where the assignment of responsibility to employees for the results of their work is absent, including in the field of labour protection and industrial safety. In accordance with the obligatory management principles, employees' work resolves to the strict implementation of the actions prescribed by the regulations. The responsibility for the negative result rests with the person who enacted or instructs employees. Thus, the employee is practically exempt from responsibility for the final result. One of the possible solutions to this problem is to put an assignment of responsibility on the employees for the results of their activities also in the occupational and industrial safety field. This is illustrated by the experience of other states, particularly of Australia. In conclusion suggestions for improvement and development of the motivation system in the field of occupational and industrial safety.

Enteric pathogen-plant interactions: molecular connections leading to colonization and growth and implications for food safety.

PubMed

Martínez-Vaz, Betsy M; Fink, Ryan C; Diez-Gonzalez, Francisco; Sadowsky, Michael J

2014-01-01

Leafy green vegetables have been identified as a source of foodborne illnesses worldwide over the past decade. Human enteric pathogens, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, have been implicated in numerous food poisoning outbreaks associated with the consumption of fresh produce. An understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the establishment of pathogenic bacteria in or on vegetable plants is critical for understanding and ameliorating this problem as well as ensuring the safety of our food supply. While previous studies have described the growth and survival of enteric pathogens in the environment and also the risk factors associated with the contamination of vegetables, the molecular events involved in the colonization of fresh produce by enteric pathogens are just beginning to be elucidated. This review summarizes recent findings on the interactions of several bacterial pathogens with leafy green vegetables. Changes in gene expression linked to the bacterial attachment and colonization of plant structures are discussed in light of their relevance to plant-microbe interactions. We propose a mechanism for the establishment and association of enteric pathogens with plants and discuss potential strategies to address the problem of foodborne illness linked to the consumption of leafy green vegetables.

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: An Undergraduate Chemical Laboratory Safety Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholls, L. Jewel

1982-01-01

Describes a two-quarter hour college chemistry course focusing on laboratory safety. Includes lists of topics/assignments, problem sets (toxicology, storage, and energy) and videotapes, films, and slide sets used in the course. (JN)

Worker Health and Safety: An Area of Conflicts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashford, Nicholas A.

1975-01-01

The article outlines four basic conflicts concerning occupational health and safety, discusses the nature and dimensions of health and safety problems, examines the generation of information and its diffusion, and deals briefly with some economic issues. (Author)

Health, Safety, and Environment Division annual report 1989

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wade, C.

1992-01-01

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environmental protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Meeting the responsibilities involves many disciplines, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science and engineering, analytical chemistry, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health, safety, and environmental problems occasionally arise from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory, and research programs in the HSE Division often stem from these appliedmore » needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed, to study specific problems for the Department of Energy. The result of these programs is to help develop better practices in occupational health and safety, radiation protection, and environmental sciences.« less

10 CFR 70.62 - Safety program and integrated safety analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...; (iv) Potential accident sequences caused by process deviations or other events internal to the... of occurrence of each potential accident sequence identified pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(iv) of this... have experience in nuclear criticality safety, radiation safety, fire safety, and chemical process...

10 CFR 70.62 - Safety program and integrated safety analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...; (iv) Potential accident sequences caused by process deviations or other events internal to the... of occurrence of each potential accident sequence identified pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(iv) of this... have experience in nuclear criticality safety, radiation safety, fire safety, and chemical process...

10 CFR 70.62 - Safety program and integrated safety analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...; (iv) Potential accident sequences caused by process deviations or other events internal to the... of occurrence of each potential accident sequence identified pursuant to paragraph (c)(1)(iv) of this... have experience in nuclear criticality safety, radiation safety, fire safety, and chemical process...

Biosensor technology: recent advances in threat agent detection and medicine.

PubMed

Kirsch, Jeffrey; Siltanen, Christian; Zhou, Qing; Revzin, Alexander; Simonian, Aleksandr

2013-11-21

Biosensors are of great significance because of their capability to resolve a potentially large number of analytical problems and challenges in very diverse areas such as defense, homeland security, agriculture and food safety, environmental monitoring, medicine, pharmacology, industry, etc. The expanding role of biosensing in society and a real-world environment has led to an exponential growth of the R&D efforts around the world. The world market for biosensor devices, according to Global Industry Analysts, Inc., is expected to reach $12 billion by 2015. Such expedient growth is driven by several factors including medical and health problems, such as a growing population with a high risk of diabetes and obesity, and the rising incidence of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, etc.; significant problems with environmental monitoring; and of course serious challenges in security and military applications and agriculture/food safety. A review paper in the biosensor technology area may be structured based on (i) the principles of detection, such as the type of transducer platform, bioanalytical principles (affinity or kinetic), and biorecognition elements origin/properties (i.e. antibodies, enzymes, cells, aptamers, etc.), and (ii) the application area. This review follows the latter strategy and focuses on the applications. This allows discussion on how different sensing strategies are brought to bear on the same problem and highlights advantages/disadvantages of these sensing strategies. Given the broad range of biosensor related applications, several particularly relevant areas of application were selected for review: biological threat agents, chemical threat agents, and medicine.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication use: factors involved in prescribing, safety aspects and outcomes.

PubMed

Martinez-Raga, Jose; Ferreros, Amparo; Knecht, Carlos; de Alvaro, Raquel; Carabal, Eloisa

2017-03-01

While treatment of patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is based on a multimodal approach that combines medication with specific psychological interventions, pharmacotherapy alone is generally considered an essential and cost-effective element. This paper aims to comprehensively and critically review factors involved in prescribing and medication use in individuals diagnosed with ADHD, focusing on the difficulties facing patients with ADHD seeking treatment, as well as the safety and tolerability aspects of ADHD pharmacotherapies, with particular attention on the cardiovascular adverse events and the potential risk of misuse or diversion of ADHD medications. A comprehensive and systematic literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE database was conducted to identify studies published in peer-reviewed journals until 1 August 2016. Children, adolescents and adults often encounter significant difficulties in the process of accessing specialist assessment and treatment for ADHD as a consequence of disparities in service organization and available treatment provision. Despite the well-established efficacy and overall safety profile, ADHD medications are not exempt from adverse events. The cardiovascular safety of pharmacotherapies used for treating individuals with ADHD has raised particular concerns; however there is little evidence of serious cardiovascular adverse events, including no serious corrected QT (QTc) abnormalities associated with stimulants, atomoxetine or α2-adrenergic receptor agonists. Although the abuse of prescription stimulant drugs, particularly, short-acting stimulants is a prevalent and growing problem, nonmedical use of prescription stimulants within the clinical context is very limited. In addition, nonstimulant ADHD medications lack any reinforcing effects and consequently any abuse potential.

Perceptions of housing conditions among migrant farmworkers and their families: implications for health, safety and social policy.

PubMed

Keim-Malpass, Jessica; Spears Johnson, Chaya R; Quandt, Sara A; Arcury, Thomas A

2015-01-01

In the USA, migrant farmworkers are a vulnerable group due to their low socioeconomic status, risk of occupational exposures and injury, lack of social mobility, lack of adequate access to health services and dependency on employer for provided housing. Previous reports have documented migrant farmworker housing conditions to be variable, but poor overall. This paper explores the perceptions of housing conditions among migrant farmworkers in rural North Carolina, and develops an understanding of potential impacts of their housing on health and safety. This study used qualitative descriptive data and directed content analysis to analyse semi-structured interviews and photographs that were data elements of a larger community-based participatory research study designed to document housing quality and health among North Carolina farmworkers. Many of the study participants described poor housing conditions that were reflected in the photographic analysis of the houses and camps. Specific problems described by the participants include exposure to pesticides, safety issues, pests, water supply and air quality, temperature and moisture. This study describes migrant farmworkers' perceptions of housing quality and numerous potential impacts on health and safety. Research, social policy and practice-based implications derived from this research could serve to improve the health status of these individuals and their families. This study suggests there is much room for sustained advocacy and action, given that many of the farmworkers' descriptions and photographs depicted housing conditions below accepted standards of living. Access to adequate and safe employer-provided housing for migrant farmworkers should be considered a basic human right.

Perceptions of housing conditions among migrant farmworkers and their families: Implications for health, safety and social policy

PubMed Central

Keim-Malpass, Jessica; Spears, Chaya R.; Quandt, Sara A.; Arcury, Thomas A.

2016-01-01

Introduction In the United States, migrant farmworkers are a vulnerable group due to their low socioeconomic status, risk of occupational exposures and injury, lack of social mobility, lack of adequate access to health services and dependency on employer for provided housing. Previous reports have documented migrant farmworker housing conditions to be variable, but poor overall. This paper explores the perceptions of housing conditions among migrant farmworkers in rural North Carolina, as well as understanding potential impacts of their housing on health and safety. Methods This study used qualitative descriptive data and directed content analysis to analyze semi-structured interviews and photographs that were data elements of a larger community-based participatory research study designed to document housing quality and health among North Carolina farmworkers. Results Many of the study participants described poor housing conditions that were reflected in the photographic analysis of the houses and camps. Specific problems described by the participants include: exposure to pesticides, safety issues, pests, water supply and air quality, temperature and moisture. Conclusions This study describes migrant farmworkers’ perceptions of housing quality and numerous potential impacts on health and safety. Research, social policy and practice-based implications derived from this research could serve to improve the health status of these individuals and their families. This study suggests there is much room for sustained advocacy and action, given that many of the farmworkers’ descriptions and photographs depicted housing conditions below accepted standards of living. Access to adequate and safe employer-provided housing for migrant farmworkers should be considered a basic human right. PMID:25682066

The 1980 Aircraft Safety and Operating Problems, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stickle, J. W. (Compiler)

1981-01-01

It is difficult to categorize aircraft operating problems, human factors and safety. Much of NASA's research involves all three and considers the important inter-relationships between man, the machine and the environment, whether the environment be man-made or natural. Topics covered in 20 papers include terminal-area operations; avionics and human factors; and the atmospheric environment.

Assessment of research and development (R and D) needs in LPG safety and environmental control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DeSteese, J.G.

1982-05-01

The report characterizes the LPG industry covering all operations from production to end use, reviews current knowledge of LPG release phenomenology, summarizes the status of current LPG release prevention and control methodology, and identifies any remaining safety and environmental problems and recommends R and D strategies that may mitigate these problems. (ACR)

Alcohol Highway-Traffic Safety Workshop for Alcohol Rehabilitation and Treatment Personnel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, William; And Others

The manual, designed for one-day workshops for 20 to 40 alcoholism rehabilitation and treatment professionals who are involved with traffic safety problems, is one of a series of five workshop manuals developed to assist State and local agencies involved in the development of programs for coping with the drinking-driver problem. Workshop goals…

Structural equation modeling of pesticide poisoning, depression, safety, and injury.

PubMed

Beseler, Cheryl L; Stallones, Lorann

2013-01-01

The role of pesticide poisoning in risk of injuries may operate through a link between pesticide-induced depressive symptoms and reduced engagement in safety behaviors. The authors conducted structural equation modeling of cross-sectional data to examine the pattern of associations between pesticide poisoning, depressive symptoms, safety knowledge, safety behaviors, and injury. Interviews of 1637 Colorado farm operators and their spouses from 964 farms were conducted during 1993-1997. Pesticide poisoning was assessed based on a history of ever having been poisoned. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. Safety knowledge and safety behaviors were assessed using ten items for each latent variable. Outcomes were safety behaviors and injuries. A total of 154 injuries occurred among 1604 individuals with complete data. Pesticide poisoning, financial problems, health, and age predicted negative affect/somatic depressive symptoms with similar effect sizes; sex did not. Depression was more strongly associated with safety behavior than was safety knowledge. Two safety behaviors were significantly associated with an increased risk of injury. This study emphasizes the importance of financial problems and health on depression, and provides further evidence for the link between neurological effects of past pesticide poisoning on risk-taking behaviors and injury.

Utilization of mathematics amongst healthcare students towards problem solving during their occupational safety health internship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umasenan a/l Thanikasalam

2017-05-01

Occupational safety health is a multidisciplinary discipline concentrating on the safety, health and welfare of workers in the working place. Healthcare Students undergoing Occupational Safety Health internships are required to apply mathematical in areas such as safety legislation, safety behavior, ergonomics, chemical safety, OSH practices, industrial hygiene, risk management and safety health practices as problem solving. The aim of this paper is to investigate the level of mathematics and logic utilization from these students during their internship looking at areas of Hazard identification, Determining the population exposed to the hazard, Assessing the risk of the exposure to the hazards and Taking preventive and control. A total of 142 returning healthcare students from their Occupational Safety Health, internship were given a questionnaire to measure their perceptions towards mathematical and logic utilization. The overall results indicated a strong positive skewed result towards the use of Mathematics during their internship. The findings showed that mathematics were well delivered by the students during their internship. Mathematics could not be separated from OSH practice as a needed precision in quantifying safety, health an d welfare of workers in addition to empiricism.

Awareness of eSafety and Potential Online Dangers among Children and Teenagers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zilka, Gila Cohen

2017-01-01

Aim/Purpose: Awareness of eSafety and potential online dangers for children and teenagers. Background: The study examined eSafety among children and teenagers from their own perspectives, through evaluations of their awareness level of eSafety and of potential online dangers. Methodology: This is a mixed-method study with both quantitative and…

Team safety and innovation by learning from errors in long-term care settings.

PubMed

Buljac-Samardžić, Martina; van Woerkom, Marianne; Paauwe, Jaap

2012-01-01

Team safety and team innovation are underexplored in the context of long-term care. Understanding the issues requires attention to how teams cope with error. Team managers could have an important role in developing a team's error orientation and managing team membership instabilities. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of team member stability, team coaching, and a team's error orientation on team safety and innovation. A cross-sectional survey method was employed within 2 long-term care organizations. Team members and team managers received a survey that measured safety and innovation. Team members assessed member stability, team coaching, and team error orientation (i.e., problem-solving and blaming approach). The final sample included 933 respondents from 152 teams. Stable teams and teams with managers who take on the role of coach are more likely to adopt a problem-solving approach and less likely to adopt a blaming approach toward errors. Both error orientations are related to team member ratings of safety and innovation, but only the blaming approach is (negatively) related to manager ratings of innovation. Differences between members' and managers' ratings of safety are greater in teams with relatively high scores for the blaming approach and relatively low scores for the problem-solving approach. Team coaching was found to be positively related to innovation, especially in unstable teams. Long-term care organizations that wish to enhance team safety and innovation should encourage a problem-solving approach and discourage a blaming approach. Team managers can play a crucial role in this by coaching team members to see errors as sources of learning and improvement and ensuring that individuals will not be blamed for errors.

Safety Control and Safety Education at Technical Institutes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iino, Hiroshi

The importance of safety education for students at technical institutes is emphasized on three grounds including safety of all working members and students in their education, research and other activities. The Kanazawa Institute of Technology re-organized the safety organization into a line structure and improved safety minds of all their members and now has a chemical materials control system and a set of compulsory safety education programs for their students, although many problems still remain.

Roy's safety-first portfolio principle in financial risk management of disastrous events.

PubMed

Chiu, Mei Choi; Wong, Hoi Ying; Li, Duan

2012-11-01

Roy pioneers the concept and practice of risk management of disastrous events via his safety-first principle for portfolio selection. More specifically, his safety-first principle advocates an optimal portfolio strategy generated from minimizing the disaster probability, while subject to the budget constraint and the mean constraint that the expected final wealth is not less than a preselected disaster level. This article studies the dynamic safety-first principle in continuous time and its application in asset and liability management. We reveal that the distortion resulting from dropping the mean constraint, as a common practice to approximate the original Roy's setting, either leads to a trivial case or changes the problem nature completely to a target-reaching problem, which produces a highly leveraged trading strategy. Recognizing the ill-posed nature of the corresponding Lagrangian method when retaining the mean constraint, we invoke a wisdom observed from a limited funding-level regulation of pension funds and modify the original safety-first formulation accordingly by imposing an upper bound on the funding level. This model revision enables us to solve completely the safety-first asset-liability problem by a martingale approach and to derive an optimal policy that follows faithfully the spirit of the safety-first principle and demonstrates a prominent nature of fighting for the best and preventing disaster from happening. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

The Maryland strategic highway safety plan 2006-2010

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

When the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) led the development of a strategic highway safety plan in 1997, targeting the nations most serious highway safety problems, Maryland was one of the few states in the ...

What about the dentist-patient relationship in dental tourism?

PubMed

Conti, Adelaide; Delbon, Paola; Laffranchi, Laura; Paganelli, Corrado

2014-03-01

Dental tourism is patients travelling across international borders with the intention of receiving dental care. It is a growing phenomenon that raises many ethical issues, particularly regarding the dentist-patient relationship. We discuss various issues related to this phenomenon, including patient autonomy over practitioner choice, patient safety, continuity of care, informed consent and doctor-patient communication, among other factors. In particular, patients partaking in medical tourism should be informed of its potential problems and the importance of proper planning and post-treatment care to guarantee high-quality treatment outcomes.

Pupil Transportation Safety Program Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delahanty, Joseph F.; And Others

This study has been undertaken to assess the magnitude of the school bus safety problem and to develop a plan to improve pupil transportation safety. The resulting report provides estimates of school bus population and daily usage, gives an account of injuries and fatalities that occur annually, and compares the safety records of school buses to…

Annual Safety Education Review 1970.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Washington, DC.

This booklet presents articles completed in 1970 by the Division of Safety Education of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. The 11 articles deal with the following topics: a) the problem of apathy in safety education, b) the safety aspects of archery and riflery, c) weight training for high school girls, d)…

Safety and Health in Multinational Enterprises: What Have We Learnt?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romero, Ana Teresa

1993-01-01

Analyzes the practices of multinationals in the sphere of occupational safety and health and poses the question of safety and health and industrial risks in terms of environmental problems. Indicates that the future of safety and health may hinge on the adaptation and implementation of recommendations of International Labour Organisation members.…

Safety management of complex research operators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, W. J.

1981-01-01

Complex research and technology operations present varied potential hazards which are addressed in a disciplined, independent safety review and approval process. Potential hazards vary from high energy fuels to hydrocarbon fuels, high pressure systems to high voltage systems, toxic chemicals to radioactive materials and high speed rotating machinery to high powered lasers. A Safety Permit System presently covers about 600 potentially hazardous operations. The Safety Management Program described is believed to be a major factor in maintaining an excellent safety record.

Application of patient safety indicators internationally: a pilot study among seven countries.

PubMed

Drösler, Saskia E; Klazinga, Niek S; Romano, Patrick S; Tancredi, Daniel J; Gogorcena Aoiz, Maria A; Hewitt, Moira C; Scobie, Sarah; Soop, Michael; Wen, Eugene; Quan, Hude; Ghali, William A; Mattke, Soeren; Kelley, Edward

2009-08-01

To explore the potential for international comparison of patient safety as part of the Health Care Quality Indicators project of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by evaluating patient safety indicators originally published by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). A retrospective cross-sectional study. Acute care hospitals in the USA, UK, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Canada and Australia in 2004 and 2005/2006. Routine hospitalization-related administrative data from seven countries were analyzed. Using algorithms adapted to the diagnosis and procedure coding systems in place in each country, authorities in each of the participating countries reported summaries of the distribution of hospital-level and overall (national) rates for each AHRQ Patient Safety Indicator to the OECD project secretariat. Each country's vector of national indicator rates and the vector of American patient safety indicators rates published by AHRQ (and re-estimated as part of this study) were highly correlated (0.821-0.966). However, there was substantial systematic variation in rates across countries. This pilot study reveals that AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators can be applied to international hospital data. However, the analyses suggest that certain indicators (e.g. 'birth trauma', 'complications of anesthesia') may be too unreliable for international comparisons. Data quality varies across countries; undercoding may be a systematic problem in some countries. Efforts at international harmonization of hospital discharge data sets as well as improved accuracy of documentation should facilitate future comparative analyses of routine databases.

Aircraft cabin water spray disbenefits study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynolds, Thomas L.; Porter, Kent W.

1993-01-01

The concept of utilizing a cabin water spray system (CWSS) as a means of increasing passenger evacuation and survival time following an accident has received considerable publicity and has been the subject of testing by the regulatory agencies in both the United States and Europe. A test program, initiated by the CAA in 1987, involved the regulatory bodies in both Europe and North America in a collaborative research effort to determine the benefits and 'disbenefits' (disadvantages) of a CWSS. In order to obtain a balanced opinion of an onboard CWSS, NASA, and FAA requested the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group to investigate the potential 'disbenefits' of the proposed system from the perspective of the manufacturer and an operator. This report is the result of a year-long, cost-sharing contract study between the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, NASA, and FAA. Delta Air Lines participated as a subcontract study team member and investigated the 'return to service' costs for an aircraft that would experience an uncommanded operation of a CWSS without the presence of fire. Disbenefits identified include potential delays in evacuation, introduction of 'common cause failure' in redundant safety of flight systems, physiological problems for passengers, high cost of refurbishment for inadvertent discharge, and potential to negatively affect other safety systems.

Using health-system-wide data to understand hepatitis B virus prophylaxis and reactivation outcomes in patients receiving rituximab.

PubMed

Schmajuk, Gabriela; Tonner, Chris; Trupin, Laura; Li, Jing; Sarkar, Urmimala; Ludwig, Dana; Shiboski, Stephen; Sirota, Marina; Dudley, R Adams; Murray, Sara; Yazdany, Jinoos

2017-03-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in the setting of rituximab use is a potentially fatal but preventable safety event. The rate of HBV screening and proportion of patients at risk who receive antiviral prophylaxis in patients initiating rituximab is unknown.We analyzed electronic health record (EHR) data from 2 health systems, a university center and a safety net health system, including diagnosis grouper codes, problem lists, medications, laboratory results, procedures codes, clinical encounter notes, and scanned documents. We identified all patients who received rituximab between 6/1/2012 and 1/1/2016. We calculated the proportion of rituximab users with inadequate screening for HBV according to the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for detecting latent HBV infection before their first rituximab infusion during the study period. We also assessed the proportion of patients with positive hepatitis B screening tests who were prescribed antiviral prophylaxis. Finally, we characterized safety failures and adverse events.We included 926 patients from the university and 132 patients from the safety net health system. Sixty-one percent of patients from the university had adequate screening for HBV compared with 90% from the safety net. Among patients at risk for reactivation based on results of HBV testing, 66% and 92% received antiviral prophylaxis at the university and safety net, respectively.We found wide variations in hepatitis B screening practices among patients receiving rituximab, resulting in unnecessary risks to patients. Interventions should be developed to improve patient safety procedures in this high-risk patient population.

Unlocking the potential of CRISPR technology for improving livelihoods in Africa.

PubMed

Mudziwapasi, Reagan; Ndudzo, Abigarl; Nyamusamba, Rutendo Patricia; Jomane, Fortune Ntengwa; Mutengwa, Tendai Trudor; Maphosa, Mcebisi

2018-06-11

Africa is burdened with food shortages and plant, animal and human diseases. Some of these can be ameliorated by adopting genome editing technologies such as CRISPR. This technology is considered better than its predecessors, Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), because it is cheaper, easy to use, has high gene modification efficiency and is less time consuming. CRISPR technology has wide applications in the African context ranging from crop and animal improvement to disease diagnosis and treatment as well as improving food shelf life, organoleptic properties and food safety. It has the potential to bring back species of organisms that are extinct. However, some African countries have not taken advantage of the potential of CRISPR to solve many of their problems. This paper explores possible applications of CRISPR towards improvement of African livelihoods.

The use of ambient audio to increase safety and immersion in location-based games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurczak, John Jason

The purpose of this thesis is to propose an alternative type of interface for mobile software being used while walking or running. Our work addresses the problem of visual user interfaces for mobile software be- ing potentially unsafe for pedestrians, and not being very immersive when used for location-based games. In addition, location-based games and applications can be dif- ficult to develop when directly interfacing with the sensors used to track the user's location. These problems need to be addressed because portable computing devices are be- coming a popular tool for navigation, playing games, and accessing the internet while walking. This poses a safety problem for mobile users, who may be paying too much attention to their device to notice and react to hazards in their environment. The difficulty of developing location-based games and other location-aware applications may significantly hinder the prevalence of applications that explore new interaction techniques for ubiquitous computing. We created the TREC toolkit to address the issues with tracking sensors while developing location-based games and applications. We have developed functional location-based applications with TREC to demonstrate the amount of work that can be saved by using this toolkit. In order to have a safer and more immersive alternative to visual interfaces, we have developed ambient audio interfaces for use with mobile applications. Ambient audio uses continuous streams of sound over headphones to present information to mobile users without distracting them from walking safely. In order to test the effectiveness of ambient audio, we ran a study to compare ambient audio with handheld visual interfaces in a location-based game. We compared players' ability to safely navigate the environment, their sense of immersion in the game, and their performance at the in-game tasks. We found that ambient audio was able to significantly increase players' safety and sense of immersion compared to a visual interface, while players performed signifi- cantly better at the game tasks when using the visual interface. This makes ambient audio a legitimate alternative to visual interfaces for mobile users when safety and immersion are a priority.

Commonalities in Transportation Fire Safety : Regulations, Research and Development, and Data Bases

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-01-01

This report presents a comprehensive review of current modal fire safety efforts within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Common fire safety problems and modal administration response are identified. Work completed includes a review of modal adm...

Highway safety in black/African-American communities : issues and strategies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-09-17

As traffic safety needs and problems differ across populations, so are the strategies required to address them. Efforts to improve traffic safety in the Black community have been handicapped, however, by a lack of information on communication strateg...

Cosmetovigilance: definition, regulation and use "in practice".

PubMed

Vigan, Martine; Castelain, Florence

2014-01-01

Cosmetovigilance is a recent concept. The term itself has just been indexed. It is a form of health public surveillance with a public health objective; it therefore differs from the surveillance carried out by industrialists, who aim at the safety of the product for commercial purposes, and differs from peer surveillance (Revidal-Gerda), whose purpose is medical. Cosmetovigilance concerns cosmetic products. The 2006 European resolution has laid the ground work for a cosmetovigilance system based on case notifications. As of 2013, the new European regulation requires that serious undesirable effects reported to the competent authority should be transmitted to the competent authorities of the other Member States and to the person responsible for the cosmetic product. Two problems are yet to be solved: causality assessment and reporting categories. Cosmetovigilance systems are genuine means of obtaining information on the safety of cosmetic products and their ingredients. They can be used by Europe to check that new directives ensure a high level of safety. Cosmetovigilance makes it possible to rule out or control potentially hazardous ingredients and can thus set our minds at ease about the products placed on the market.

Recent Updates on the Systemic and Local Safety of Intranasal Steroids.

PubMed

Jang, Tae Young; Kim, Young Hyo

2016-01-01

Allergic rhinitis is a global health problem, and its prevalence rate and socioeconomic burden continue to increase. Intranasal steroid (INS) is the first treatment choice in the majority of patients, because of its ability to effectively control allergic symptoms. However, patients and clinicians are concerned about the potential adverse effects of prolonged INS use. We performed to review for evaluating systemic and local safety of INS use, by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library database for identification of relevant articles. In the present study, the systemic bioavailabilities of several commercially available INSs were researched, and then systemic safeties were reviewed with focus on suppression of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and their effects on pediatric growth. In addition, local adverse effects, such as, epistaxis and nasal septal perforation, were investigated. Finally, the authors proposed some techniques in order to avoid these complications. INSs offer a safe, effective means of treating allergic rhinitis in the short- and long-term with no or minimal adverse systemic and local effects. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

[Biomedical foundation for human safety in aviation].

PubMed

Ushakov, I B

2004-01-01

According to the author, preventive medical issues of providing human safety in aviation are related to the fundamental biomedical and socio-psychological problems of human beings in the present-day world. Factual material for analysis was compiled in the study performed at the State Research and Test Institute of Military Medicine. Outlined are main vectors of the future attack on the problem.

Continuous-time safety-first portfolio selection with jump-diffusion processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Wei

2012-04-01

This article is concerned with continuous-time portfolio selection based on a safety-first criterion under discontinuous price processes (jump-diffusion processes). The solution of the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation of the problem is demonstrated. The analytical solutions are presented when there does not exist any riskless asset. Moreover, the problem is also discussed while there exists one riskless asset.

Maintaining safety and high performance on shiftwork

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monk, T. H.; Folkard, S.; Wedderburn, A. I.

1996-01-01

This review of the shiftwork area focuses on aspects of safety and productivity. It discusses the situations in which shiftworker performance is critical, the types of problem that can develop and the reasons why shiftworker performance can be impaired. The review ends with a discnssion of the various advantages and disadvantages of several shift rotation systems, and of other possible solutions to the problem.

A sustainable city environment through child safety and mobility-a challenge based on ITS?

PubMed

Leden, Lars; Gårder, Per; Schirokoff, Anna; Monterde-i-Bort, Hector; Johansson, Charlotta; Basbas, Socrates

2014-01-01

Our cities should be designed to accommodate everybody, including children. We will not move toward a more sustainable society unless we accept that children are people with transportation needs, and 'bussing' them around, or providing parental limousine services at all times, will not lead to sustainability. Rather, we will need to make our cities walkable for children, at least those above a certain age. Safety has two main aspects, traffic safety and personal safety (risk of assault). Besides being safe, children will also need an urban environment with reasonable mobility, where they themselves can reach destinations with reasonable effort; else they will still need to be driven. This paper presents the results of two expert questionnaires focusing on the potential safety and mobility benefits to child pedestrians of targeted types of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Five different types of functional requests for children were identified based on previous work. The first expert questionnaire was structured to collect expert opinions on which ITS solutions or devices would be, and why, the most relevant ones to satisfy the five different functional requests of child pedestrians. Based on the first questionnaire, fifteen problem areas were defined. In the second questionnaire, the experts ranked the fifteen areas, and prioritized related ITS services, according to their potential for developing ITS services beneficial to children. Several ITS systems for improving pedestrian quality are discussed. ITS services can be used when a pedestrian route takes them to a dangerous street, dangerous crossing point or through a dangerous neighborhood. An improvement of safety and other qualities would lead to increased mobility and a more sustainable way of living. Children would learn how to live to support their own health and a sustainable city environment. But it will be up to national, regional and local governments, through their ministries and agencies and public works departments, to promote, fund, and possibly mandate such systems. It is clear that we need to offer an acceptable level of convenience, efficiency, comfort, safety and security to pedestrians but it is less clear if society will prioritize resources toward this. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A mathematical modeling approach to resource allocation for railroad-highway crossing safety upgrades.

PubMed

Konur, Dinçer; Golias, Mihalis M; Darks, Brandon

2013-03-01

State Departments of Transportation (S-DOT's) periodically allocate budget for safety upgrades at railroad-highway crossings. Efficient resource allocation is crucial for reducing accidents at railroad-highway crossings and increasing railroad as well as highway transportation safety. While a specific method is not restricted to S-DOT's, sorting type of procedures are recommended by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department of Transportation for the resource allocation problem. In this study, a generic mathematical model is proposed for the resource allocation problem for railroad-highway crossing safety upgrades. The proposed approach is compared to sorting based methods for safety upgrades of public at-grade railroad-highway crossings in Tennessee. The comparison shows that the proposed mathematical modeling approach is more efficient than sorting methods in reducing accidents and severity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Software-Based Safety Systems in Space - Learning from other Domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klicker, M.; Putzer, H.

2012-01-01

Increasing complexity and new emerging capabilities for manned and unmanned missions have been the hallmark of the past decades of space exploration. One of the drivers in this process was the ever increasing use of software and software-intensive systems to implement system functions necessary to the capabilities needed. The course of technological evolution suggests that this development will continue well into the future with a number of challenges for the safety community some of which shall be discussed in this paper. The current state of the art reveals a number of problems with developing and assessing safety critical software which explains the reluctance of the space community to rely on software-based safety measures to mitigate hazards. Among others, usually lack of trustworthy evidence of software integrity in all foreseeable situations and the difficulties to integrate software in the traditional safety analysis framework are cited. Experience from other domains and recent developments in modern software development methodologies and verification techniques are analysed for the suitability for space systems and an avionics architectural framework (see STANAG 4626) for the implementation of safety critical software is proposed. This is shown to create among other features the possibility of numerous degradation modes enhancing overall system safety and interoperability of computerized space systems. It also potentially simplifies international cooperation on a technical level by introducing a higher degree of compatibility. As software safety cannot be tested or argued into a system in hindsight, the development process and especially the architecture chosen are essential to establish safety properties for the software used to implement safety functions. The core of the safety argument revolves around the separation of different functions and software modules from each other by minimal coupling of functions and credible separation mechanisms in the architecture combined with rigorous development methodologies for the software itself.

Adverse health problems among municipality workers in alexandria (egypt).

PubMed

Abd El-Wahab, Ekram W; Eassa, Safaa M; Lotfi, Sameh E; El Masry, Sanaa A; Shatat, Hanan Z; Kotkat, Amira M

2014-05-01

Solid waste management has emerged as an important human and environmental health issue. Municipal solid waste workers (MSWWs) are potentially exposed to a variety of occupational biohazards and safety risks. The aim of this study was to describe health practices and safety measures adopted by workers in the main municipal company in Alexandria (Egypt) as well as the pattern of the encountered work related ill health. A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and April 2013. We interviewed and evaluated 346 workers serving in about 15 different solid waste management activities regarding personal hygiene, the practice of security and health care measures and the impact of solid waste management. Poor personal hygiene and self-care, inadequate protective and safety measures for potentially hazardous exposure were described. Impact of solid waste management on health of MSWWs entailed high prevalence of gastrointestinal, respiratory, skin and musculoskeletal morbidities. Occurrence of accidents and needle stick injuries amounted to 46.5% and 32.7% respectively. The risk of work related health disorders was notably higher among workers directly exposed to solid waste when compared by a group of low exposure potential particularly for diarrhea (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-3.8), vomiting (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.1-6.6), abdominal colic (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-3.2), dysentery (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.3-10), dyspepsia (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1-3), low back/sciatic pain (OR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.8-7), tinnitus (OR = 6.2, 95% CI = 0.3-122) and needle stick injury (OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 2.1-5.5). Workers exposed to solid waste exhibit significant increase in risk of ill health. Physician role and health education could be the key to assure the MSWWs health safety.

Adverse Health Problems Among Municipality Workers in Alexandria (Egypt)

PubMed Central

Abd El-Wahab, Ekram W.; Eassa, Safaa M.; Lotfi, Sameh E.; El Masry, Sanaa A.; Shatat, Hanan Z.; Kotkat, Amira M.

2014-01-01

Background: Solid waste management has emerged as an important human and environmental health issue. Municipal solid waste workers (MSWWs) are potentially exposed to a variety of occupational biohazards and safety risks. The aim of this study was to describe health practices and safety measures adopted by workers in the main municipal company in Alexandria (Egypt) as well as the pattern of the encountered work related ill health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and April 2013. We interviewed and evaluated 346 workers serving in about 15 different solid waste management activities regarding personal hygiene, the practice of security and health care measures and the impact of solid waste management. Results: Poor personal hygiene and self-care, inadequate protective and safety measures for potentially hazardous exposure were described. Impact of solid waste management on health of MSWWs entailed high prevalence of gastrointestinal, respiratory, skin and musculoskeletal morbidities. Occurrence of accidents and needle stick injuries amounted to 46.5% and 32.7% respectively. The risk of work related health disorders was notably higher among workers directly exposed to solid waste when compared by a group of low exposure potential particularly for diarrhea (odds ratio [OR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-3.8), vomiting (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.1-6.6), abdominal colic (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-3.2), dysentery (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.3-10), dyspepsia (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1-3), low back/sciatic pain (OR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.8-7), tinnitus (OR = 6.2, 95% CI = 0.3-122) and needle stick injury (OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 2.1-5.5). Conclusions: Workers exposed to solid waste exhibit significant increase in risk of ill health. Physician role and health education could be the key to assure the MSWWs health safety. PMID:24932385

Safety and feasibility of STAT RAD: Improvement of a novel rapid tomotherapy-based radiation therapy workflow by failure mode and effects analysis.

PubMed

Jones, Ryan T; Handsfield, Lydia; Read, Paul W; Wilson, David D; Van Ausdal, Ray; Schlesinger, David J; Siebers, Jeffrey V; Chen, Quan

2015-01-01

The clinical challenge of radiation therapy (RT) for painful bone metastases requires clinicians to consider both treatment efficacy and patient prognosis when selecting a radiation therapy regimen. The traditional RT workflow requires several weeks for common palliative RT schedules of 30 Gy in 10 fractions or 20 Gy in 5 fractions. At our institution, we have created a new RT workflow termed "STAT RAD" that allows clinicians to perform computed tomographic (CT) simulation, planning, and highly conformal single fraction treatment delivery within 2 hours. In this study, we evaluate the safety and feasibility of the STAT RAD workflow. A failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was performed on the STAT RAD workflow, including development of a process map, identification of potential failure modes, description of the cause and effect, temporal occurrence, and team member involvement in each failure mode, and examination of existing safety controls. A risk probability number (RPN) was calculated for each failure mode. As necessary, workflow adjustments were then made to safeguard failure modes of significant RPN values. After workflow alterations, RPN numbers were again recomputed. A total of 72 potential failure modes were identified in the pre-FMEA STAT RAD workflow, of which 22 met the RPN threshold for clinical significance. Workflow adjustments included the addition of a team member checklist, changing simulation from megavoltage CT to kilovoltage CT, alteration of patient-specific quality assurance testing, and allocating increased time for critical workflow steps. After these modifications, only 1 failure mode maintained RPN significance; patient motion after alignment or during treatment. Performing the FMEA for the STAT RAD workflow before clinical implementation has significantly strengthened the safety and feasibility of STAT RAD. The FMEA proved a valuable evaluation tool, identifying potential problem areas so that we could create a safer workflow. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Radiation Oncology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

23 CFR 924.9 - Planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., management, operation, education, enforcement, and emergency services; (D) Considers safety needs of all public roads; (E) Adopts a strategic safety goal; (F) Identifies key emphasis areas and describes a... infrastructure safety problems and opportunities on all public roads and all users, and focuses resources on...

Evaluation of US 119 Pine Mountain safety improvements : interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-10-01

The safety improvement project for a section of US 119 across Pine Mountain in Letcher County was initiated as an interim effort to address safety issues related t o roadway geometrics and specific problems related to truck traffic. : Specific object...

Public Playground Safety: Paradigm or Paradox.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kutska, Ken

1994-01-01

Despite abundant information on playground safety, National Recreation and Parks Association members still search for ways to handle playground problems. Since each playground is unique, there is no simple answer. The paper makes recommendations on how to begin and create a playground safety plan. (SM)

Review and analysis of community traffic safety programs. Volume 2, Appendices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-01-01

A Community Traffic Safety Program (CTSP) is an established unit in the community, sustained over time, that has public and private input and participation to an action plan to solve one or more of the community's traffic safety problems. Currently, ...

Prioritizing Threats to Patient Safety in Rural Primary Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Ranjit; Singh, Ashok; Servoss, Timothy J.; Singh, Gurdev

2007-01-01

Context: Rural primary care is a complex environment in which multiple patient safety challenges can arise. To make progress in improving safety with limited resources, each practice needs to identify those safety problems that pose the greatest threat to patients and focus efforts on these. Purpose: To describe and field-test a novel approach to…

The Demands of Nuclear Safety: Mishaps and USSTRATCOM

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

maintenance operation—the unexpected will occur. Scott D. Sagan On 30 August 2007 the unexpected occurred. Ironically, the safety problem did... Sagan , The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993), 14, 48. 39 Sagan , Limits...1 Scott D. Sagan , The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons (Princeton, NJ: Princeton

Are health care provider organizations ready to tackle diagnostic error? A survey of Leapfrog-participating hospitals.

PubMed

Newman-Toker, David E; Austin, J Matthew; Derk, Jordan; Danforth, Melissa; Graber, Mark L

2017-06-27

A 2015 National Academy of Medicine report on improving diagnosis in health care made recommendations for direct action by hospitals and health systems. Little is known about how health care provider organizations are addressing diagnostic safety/quality. This study is an anonymous online survey of safety professionals from US hospitals and health systems in July-August 2016. The survey was sent to those attending a Leapfrog Group webinar on misdiagnosis (n=188). The instrument was focused on knowledge, attitudes, and capability to address diagnostic errors at the institutional level. Overall, 61 (32%) responded, including community hospitals (42%), integrated health networks (25%), and academic centers (21%). Awareness was high, but commitment and capability were low (31% of leaders understand the problem; 28% have sufficient safety resources; and 25% have made diagnosis a top institutional safety priority). Ongoing efforts to improve diagnostic safety were sparse and mostly included root cause analysis and peer review feedback around diagnostic errors. The top three barriers to addressing diagnostic error were lack of awareness of the problem, lack of measures of diagnostic accuracy and error, and lack of feedback on diagnostic performance. The top two tools viewed as critically important for locally tackling the problem were routine feedback on diagnostic performance and culture change to emphasize diagnostic safety. Although hospitals and health systems appear to be aware of diagnostic errors as a major safety imperative, most organizations (even those that appear to be making a strong commitment to patient safety) are not yet doing much to improve diagnosis. Going forward, efforts to activate health care organizations will be essential to improving diagnostic safety.

Safety of Li-SOCl2 cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Subbarao, S.; Halpert, G.

1985-01-01

The safety of lithium thionyl chloride cells has been a concern of JPL for some time in the development of these cells for NASA's use. Because the safety problems are complex and several issues are interrelated it was decided that it would be best to put together an organized review of the safety issues, which are reviewed here. Hazards are classified in three categories: (1) cell leakage, a problem dealing with construction or materials; (2) venting of toxic gases through seals and welds, considered a mild hazard in which electrolyte and gas is released; and (3) violent rupture or controlled rupture of cells with the possibility of explosion of the materials inside. These hazards and their effects are detailed along with possible ways of dealing with them.

Safety Assessment of Dangerous Goods Transport Enterprise Based on the Relative Entropy Aggregation in Group Decision Making Model

PubMed Central

Wu, Jun; Li, Chengbing; Huo, Yueying

2014-01-01

Safety of dangerous goods transport is directly related to the operation safety of dangerous goods transport enterprise. Aiming at the problem of the high accident rate and large harm in dangerous goods logistics transportation, this paper took the group decision making problem based on integration and coordination thought into a multiagent multiobjective group decision making problem; a secondary decision model was established and applied to the safety assessment of dangerous goods transport enterprise. First of all, we used dynamic multivalue background and entropy theory building the first level multiobjective decision model. Secondly, experts were to empower according to the principle of clustering analysis, and combining with the relative entropy theory to establish a secondary rally optimization model based on relative entropy in group decision making, and discuss the solution of the model. Then, after investigation and analysis, we establish the dangerous goods transport enterprise safety evaluation index system. Finally, case analysis to five dangerous goods transport enterprises in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region validates the feasibility and effectiveness of this model for dangerous goods transport enterprise recognition, which provides vital decision making basis for recognizing the dangerous goods transport enterprises. PMID:25477954

Safety assessment of dangerous goods transport enterprise based on the relative entropy aggregation in group decision making model.

PubMed

Wu, Jun; Li, Chengbing; Huo, Yueying

2014-01-01

Safety of dangerous goods transport is directly related to the operation safety of dangerous goods transport enterprise. Aiming at the problem of the high accident rate and large harm in dangerous goods logistics transportation, this paper took the group decision making problem based on integration and coordination thought into a multiagent multiobjective group decision making problem; a secondary decision model was established and applied to the safety assessment of dangerous goods transport enterprise. First of all, we used dynamic multivalue background and entropy theory building the first level multiobjective decision model. Secondly, experts were to empower according to the principle of clustering analysis, and combining with the relative entropy theory to establish a secondary rally optimization model based on relative entropy in group decision making, and discuss the solution of the model. Then, after investigation and analysis, we establish the dangerous goods transport enterprise safety evaluation index system. Finally, case analysis to five dangerous goods transport enterprises in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region validates the feasibility and effectiveness of this model for dangerous goods transport enterprise recognition, which provides vital decision making basis for recognizing the dangerous goods transport enterprises.

Fault Tree Analysis Application for Safety and Reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Dolores R.

2003-01-01

Many commercial software tools exist for fault tree analysis (FTA), an accepted method for mitigating risk in systems. The method embedded in the tools identifies a root as use in system components, but when software is identified as a root cause, it does not build trees into the software component. No commercial software tools have been built specifically for development and analysis of software fault trees. Research indicates that the methods of FTA could be applied to software, but the method is not practical without automated tool support. With appropriate automated tool support, software fault tree analysis (SFTA) may be a practical technique for identifying the underlying cause of software faults that may lead to critical system failures. We strive to demonstrate that existing commercial tools for FTA can be adapted for use with SFTA, and that applied to a safety-critical system, SFTA can be used to identify serious potential problems long before integrator and system testing.

A Coordinated Approach to Food Safety and Land Use Law at the Urban Fringe.

PubMed

Miller, Stephen R

2015-01-01

Much has been written about the rise of the local food movement in urban and suburban areas. This essay tackles an emerging outgrowth of that movement: the growing desire of urban and suburban dwellers to engage rural areas where food is produced not only to obtain food but also as a means of tourism and cultural activity. This represents a potentially much-needed means of economic development for rural areas and small farmers who are increasingly dependent on non-farm income for survival. The problem, however, is that food safety and land use laws struggle to keep up with these changes, waffling between over-regulation and de-regulation. This essay posits a legal path forward to steer clear of regulatory extremes and to help the local food movement grow and prosper at the urban fringe. We must cultivate our garden.

Current Status of Obstetric Anaesthesia: Improving Satisfaction and Safety

PubMed Central

Ranasinghe, J Sudharma; Birnbach, David

2009-01-01

Summary The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2003 that although the maternal mortality rate has decreased by 99% since 1900, there has been no further decrease in the last two decades1. A more recent report indicates a rate of 11.8 per 100,000 live births2, although anaesthesia-related maternal mortality and morbidity has considerably decreased over the last few decades. Despite the growing complexity of problems and increasing challenges such as pre-existing maternal disease, obesity, and the increasing age of pregnant mothers, anaesthesia related maternal mortality is extremely rare in the developed world. The current safety has been achieved through changes in training, service, technical advances and multidisciplinary approach to care. The rates of general anaesthesia for cesarean delivery have decreased and neuraxial anaesthetics have become the most commonly used techniques. Neuraxial techniques are largely safe and effective, but potential complications, though rare, can be severe. PMID:20640111

Possible health and safety problems in the use of novel plant essential oils and extracts in aromatherapy.

PubMed

Lis-Balchin, M

1999-12-01

Aromatherapy is a branch of complementary or alternative therapy which is increasing in popularity, yet has scant scientific credibility. Aromatherapy should be defined as treatment using odours and practised as such. However, essential oils are usually used in conjunction with massage and often combined with counselling of some kind. The use of most commonly-used essential oils in massage is seldom dangerous, as they have low systemic toxicity, especially when used at 2% dilution (provided they are not adulterated); however their safety during pregnancy, childbirth and babies has not been clearly demonstrated. Sensitisation, however, is a growing concern. Some aromatherapists are now introducing novel plant essential oils, extracts and phytols into their massage routine many of which have no odour and are potentially toxic. The possible dangers of these plant products are therefore discussed using specific example.

Novel approaches to develop Rift Valley fever vaccines

PubMed Central

Indran, Sabarish V.; Ikegami, Tetsuro

2012-01-01

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and has spread into Madagascar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) of the family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus causes hemorrhagic fever, neurological disorders or blindness in humans, and high rate abortion and fetal malformation in ruminants. RVFV is classified as a Category A Priority pathogen and overlap select agent by CDC/USDA due to its potential impact on public health and agriculture. There is a gap in the safety and immunogenicity in traditional RVF vaccines; the formalin-inactivated RVFV vaccine TSI-GSD-200 requires three doses for protection, and the live-attenuated Smithburn vaccine has a risk to cause abortion and fetal malformation in pregnant ruminants. In this review, problems of traditional vaccines and the safety and efficacy of recently reported novel RVF candidate vaccines including subunit vaccines, virus vector, and replicons are discussed. PMID:23112960

Infant health and neurodevelopmental outcomes following prenatal exposure to duloxetine.

PubMed

Bellantuono, Cesario; Marini, Alessandra; Lucarelli, Chiara

2013-09-01

Maternal psychiatric disorders can have negative consequences on the fetus and newborn. Thus, the risks of untreated mental disorders in pregnancy should be balanced against the potential risks of a psychopharmacological treatment. The aim of the present report is to provide information on the infant safety of duloxetine exposure, an antidepressant drug belonging to the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, during pregnancy. Despite duloxetine being routinely prescribed as a treatment for major depression and anxiety disorders, there is a paucity of literature evaluating both the short- and long-term effects of duloxetine exposure in utero. This paper provides data on infant health and neurodevelopmental outcomes, up to 9 months of age, in a newborn exposed to duloxetine throughout pregnancy. Although the present report suggests that duloxetine was not associated with major malformations or neurobehavioural problems, the drug should be used with caution until further information is available on its safety profile in pregnancy.

Novel approaches to develop Rift Valley fever vaccines.

PubMed

Indran, Sabarish V; Ikegami, Tetsuro

2012-01-01

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and has spread into Madagascar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) of the family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus causes hemorrhagic fever, neurological disorders or blindness in humans, and high rate abortion and fetal malformation in ruminants. RVFV is classified as a Category A Priority pathogen and overlap select agent by CDC/USDA due to its potential impact on public health and agriculture. There is a gap in the safety and immunogenicity in traditional RVF vaccines; the formalin-inactivated RVFV vaccine TSI-GSD-200 requires three doses for protection, and the live-attenuated Smithburn vaccine has a risk to cause abortion and fetal malformation in pregnant ruminants. In this review, problems of traditional vaccines and the safety and efficacy of recently reported novel RVF candidate vaccines including subunit vaccines, virus vector, and replicons are discussed.

Whistle Blowing: A Message to Leaders and Managers

PubMed Central

Schein, Edgar H.

2016-01-01

This comment argues that instead of worrying about the pros and cons of whistleblowing one should focus on the more general problem of the failure of upward communication around safety and quality problems and consider what leaders and managers must do to stimulate subordinates to communicate and reward such communication. The article analyzes why safety failures occur and introduces the concept of practical drift and adaptive moves as necessary for systemic safety to be understood and better handled. It emphasizes the key role of senior leadership in creating a climate in which critical upward communication will become more likely. PMID:27239866

Effects of health and safety problem recognition on small business facility investment

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Objectives This study involved a survey of the facility investment experiences, which was designed to recognize the importance of health and safety problems, and industrial accident prevention. Ultimately, we hope that small scale industries will create effective industrial accident prevention programs and facility investments. Methods An individual survey of businesses’ present physical conditions, recognition of the importance of the health and safety problems, and facility investment experiences for preventing industrial accidents was conducted. The survey involved 1,145 business operators or management workers in small business places with fewer than 50 workers in six industrial complexes. Results Regarding the importance of occupational health and safety problems (OHS), 54.1% said it was “very important”. Received technical and financial support, and industrial accidents that occurred during the past three years were recognized as highly important for OHS. In an investigation regarding facility investment experiences for industrial accident prevention, the largest factors were business size, greater numbers of industrial accidents, greater technical and financial support received, and greater recognition of the importance of the OHS. The related variables that decided facility investment for industry accident prevention in a logistic regression analysis were the experiences of business facilities where industrial accidents occurred during the past three years, received technical and financial support, and recognition of the OHS. Those considered very important were shown to be highly significant. Conclusions Recognition of health and safety issues was higher when small businesses had experienced industrial accidents or received financial support. The investment in industrial accidents was greater when health and safety issues were recognized as important. Therefore, the goal of small business health and safety projects is to prioritize health and safety issues in terms of business management and recognition of importance. Therefore, currently various support projects are being conducted. However, there are issues regarding the limitations of the target businesses and inadequacies in maintenance and follow-up. Overall, it is necessary to provide various incentives for onsite participation that can lead to increased recognition of health and safety issues and practical investments, while perfecting maintenance and follow up measures by thoroughly revising existing operating systems. PMID:24472180

Effects of health and safety problem recognition on small business facility investment.

PubMed

Park, Jisu; Jeong, Harin; Hong, Sujin; Park, Jong-Tae; Kim, Dae-Sung; Kim, Jongseo; Kim, Hae-Joon

2013-10-23

This study involved a survey of the facility investment experiences, which was designed to recognize the importance of health and safety problems, and industrial accident prevention. Ultimately, we hope that small scale industries will create effective industrial accident prevention programs and facility investments. An individual survey of businesses' present physical conditions, recognition of the importance of the health and safety problems, and facility investment experiences for preventing industrial accidents was conducted. The survey involved 1,145 business operators or management workers in small business places with fewer than 50 workers in six industrial complexes. Regarding the importance of occupational health and safety problems (OHS), 54.1% said it was "very important". Received technical and financial support, and industrial accidents that occurred during the past three years were recognized as highly important for OHS. In an investigation regarding facility investment experiences for industrial accident prevention, the largest factors were business size, greater numbers of industrial accidents, greater technical and financial support received, and greater recognition of the importance of the OHS. The related variables that decided facility investment for industry accident prevention in a logistic regression analysis were the experiences of business facilities where industrial accidents occurred during the past three years, received technical and financial support, and recognition of the OHS. Those considered very important were shown to be highly significant. Recognition of health and safety issues was higher when small businesses had experienced industrial accidents or received financial support. The investment in industrial accidents was greater when health and safety issues were recognized as important. Therefore, the goal of small business health and safety projects is to prioritize health and safety issues in terms of business management and recognition of importance. Therefore, currently various support projects are being conducted. However, there are issues regarding the limitations of the target businesses and inadequacies in maintenance and follow-up. Overall, it is necessary to provide various incentives for onsite participation that can lead to increased recognition of health and safety issues and practical investments, while perfecting maintenance and follow up measures by thoroughly revising existing operating systems.

Measurement and mapping of the GSM-based electromagnetic pollution in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

PubMed

Tuysuz, Burak; Mahmutoglu, Yigit

2017-01-01

Electromagnetic pollution caused by mobile communication devices, a new form of environmental pollution, has been one of the most concerning problems to date. Consequences of long-term exposure to the electromagnetic radiation caused by cell phone towers are still unknown and can potentially be a new health hazard. It is important to measure, analyze and map the electromagnetic radiation levels periodically because of the potential risks. The electromagnetic pollution maps can be used for the detection of diseases caused by the radiation. With the help of the radiation maps of different regions, comparative analysis can be provided and distribution of the diseases can be investigated. In this article, Global System for Mobile communication (GSM)-based electromagnetic pollution map of the Rize Providence, which has high cancer rates because of the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, is generated. First, locations of the GSM base stations are identified and according to the antenna types of the base stations, safety distances are determined. Subsequently, 155 measurements are taken during November 2014 from the nearest living quarters of the Rize city center in Turkey. The measurements are then assessed statistically. Thenceforth, for visual judgment of the determined statistics, collected measurements are presented on the map. It is observed that national limits are not exceeded, but it is also discovered that the safety distance is waived at some of the measurement points and above the average radiation levels are noted. Even if the national limits are not exceeded, the long-term effects of the exposition to the electromagnetic radiation can cause serious health problems.

Lessons from a Successful Implementation of a Computerized Provider Order Entry System

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Brian R.; Hallstrom, Craig K.; Hart, Kim Ward; Mahoney, Daniela; Lykowski, Gayle

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVES The electronic health record (EHR) can improve patient safety, care efficiency, cost effectiveness and regulatory compliance. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) has successfully implemented an Integrating Clinical Information System (ICIS) that includes Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE). This review describes some of the unanticipated challenges and solutions identified during the implementation of ICIS. METHODS Data for this paper was derived from user-generated feedback within the ICIS. Feedback reports were reviewed and placed into categories based on root cause of the issue. Recurring issues or problems which led to potential or actual patient injury are included. RESULTS Nine distinct challenges were identified: 1) Deterioration in communication; 2) Excessive system alerts to users; 3) Unrecognized discontinuation of medications; 4) Unintended loss of orders; 5) Loss of orders during implementation; 6) Amplification of errors; 7) Unintentional generation of patient care orders by system analysts; 8) Persistence of specific patient care order instructions; 9) Verbal orders entered under the incorrect clinician. CONCLUSIONS Unanticipated challenges are expected when implementing EHRs. The implementation plan for any EHR should include methods to identify, evaluate and repair problems quickly. While continued challenges with this complex system are expected, we believe that the EHR will continue to facilitate improved patient care and safety. The lessons learned at CCHMC will permit other institutions to avoid some of these challenges and design robust processes to detect and respond to problems in a timely fashion to ensure implementation success. PMID:23055847

Pro-drugs for indirect cannabinoids as therapeutic agents.

PubMed

Ashton, John

2008-10-01

Medicinal cannabis, cannabis extracts, and other cannabinoids are currently in use or under clinical trial investigation for the control of nausea, emesis and wasting in patients undergoing chemotherapy, the control of neuropathic pain and arthritic pain, and the control of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. The further development of medicinal cannabinoids has been challenged with problems. These include the psychoactivity of cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonists and the lack of availability of highly selective cannabinoid receptor full agonists (for the CB1 or CB2 receptor), as well as problems of pharmacokinetics. Global activation of cannabinoid receptors is usually undesirable, and so enhancement of local endocannabinoid receptor activity with indirect cannabimimetics is an attractive strategy for therapeutic modulation of the endocannabinoid system. However, existing drugs of this type tend to be metabolized by the same enzymes as their target endocannabinoids and are not yet available in a form that is clinically useful. A potential solution to these problems may now have been suggested by the discovery that paracetamol (acetaminophen) exerts its analgesic (and probably anti-pyretic) effects by its degradation into an anandamide (an endocannabinoid) reuptake inhibitor (AM404) within the body, thus classifying it as pro-drug for an indirect cannabimimetic. Given the proven efficacy and safety of paracetamol, the challenge now is to develop related drugs, or entirely different substrates, into pro-drug indirect cannabimimetics with a similar safety profile to paracetamol but at high effective dose titrations.

Systematic Review of Chinese Medicine for Miscarriage during Early Pregnancy

PubMed Central

Leung, Ping Chung; Chung, Tony Kwok Hung; Wang, Chi Chiu

2014-01-01

Background. Miscarriage is a very common complication during early pregnancy. So far, clinical therapies have limitation in preventing the early pregnancy loss. Chinese Medicine, regarded as gentle, effective, and safe, has become popular and common as a complementary and alternative treatment for miscarriages. However, the evidence to support its therapeutic efficacy and safety is still very limited. Objectives and Methods. To summarize the clinical application of Chinese Medicine for pregnancy and provide scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines for miscarriage, we located all the relevant pieces of literature on the clinical applications of Chinese Medicine for miscarriage and worked out this systematic review. Results. 339,792 pieces of literature were identified, but no placebo was included and only few studies were selected for systematic review and conducted for meta-analysis. A combination of Chinese medicines and Western medicines was more effective than Chinese medicines alone. No specific safety problem was reported, but potential adverse events by certain medicines were identified. Conclusions. Studies vary considerably in design, interventions, and outcome measures; therefore conclusive results remain elusive. Large scales of randomized controlled trials and more scientific evidences are still necessary to confirm the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicines during early pregnancy. PMID:24648851

Safety by design of printed multilayer materials intended for food packaging.

PubMed

Domeño, Celia; Aznar, Margarita; Nerín, Cristina; Isella, Francesca; Fedeli, Mauro; Bosetti, Osvaldo

2017-07-01

Printing inks are commonly used in multilayer plastics materials used for food packaging, and compounds present in inks can migrate to the food either by diffusion through the multilayers or because of set-off phenomena. To avoid this problem, the right design of the packaging is crucial. This paper studies the safety by design of multilayer materials. First, the migration from four different multilayers manufactured using polyethylene terephthalate (PET), aluminium (Al) and polyethylene (PE) was determined. The structural differences among materials such as the presence of inks or lacquer coatings as well as the differences in layers position allowed the study of a safety-by-design approach. Sixty-nine different compounds were detected and identified; 49 of them were not included in the positive list of Regulation EU/10/2011 or in Swiss legislation and 15 belong to Cramer class III, which means that they have a theoretical high toxicity. Some of the compounds related to ink composition were pyrene, a compound commercially used to make dyes and dye precursors and the antioxidant Irganox 1300. The application of external lacquers decreased the concentration of some migrants but also brought the potential for new migrants coming from its composition. A final risk assessment of the material allowed evaluating food safety for different food simulants and confirm it.

Dynamics of safety performance and culture: a group model building approach.

PubMed

Goh, Yang Miang; Love, Peter E D; Stagbouer, Greg; Annesley, Chris

2012-09-01

The management of occupational health and safety (OHS) including safety culture interventions is comprised of complex problems that are often hard to scope and define. Due to the dynamic nature and complexity of OHS management, the concept of system dynamics (SD) is used to analyze accident prevention. In this paper, a system dynamics group model building (GMB) approach is used to create a causal loop diagram of the underlying factors influencing the OHS performance of a major drilling and mining contractor in Australia. While the organization has invested considerable resources into OHS their disabling injury frequency rate (DIFR) has not been decreasing. With this in mind, rich individualistic knowledge about the dynamics influencing the DIFR was acquired from experienced employees with operations, health and safety and training background using a GMB workshop. Findings derived from the workshop were used to develop a series of causal loop diagrams that includes a wide range of dynamics that can assist in better understanding the causal influences OHS performance. The causal loop diagram provides a tool for organizations to hypothesize the dynamics influencing effectiveness of OHS management, particularly the impact on DIFR. In addition the paper demonstrates that the SD GMB approach has significant potential in understanding and improving OHS management. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Systematic Review of Community Health Workers' Role in Occupational Safety and Health Research.

PubMed

Swanberg, Jennifer E; Nichols, Helen M; Clouser, Jessica M; Check, Pietra; Edwards, Lori; Bush, Ashley M; Padilla, Yancy; Betz, Gail

2018-03-03

We systematically reviewed the literature to describe how community health workers (CHWs) are involved in occupational health and safety research and to identify areas for future research and research practice strategies. We searched five electronic databases from July 2015 through July 2016. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) study took place in the United States, (2) published as a full peer-review manuscript in English, (3) conducted occupational health and safety research, and (4) CHWs were involved in the research. The majority of 17 included studies took place in the agriculture industry (76%). CHWs were often involved in study implementation/design and research participant contact. Rationale for CHW involvement in research was due to local connections/acceptance, existing knowledge/skills, communication ability, and access to participants. Barriers to CHW involvement in research included competing demands on CHWs, recruitment and training difficulties, problems about research rigor and issues with proper data collection. Involving CHWs in occupational health and safety research has potential for improving inclusion of diverse, vulnerable and geographically isolated populations. Further research is needed to assess the challenges and opportunities of involving CHWs in this research and to develop evidence-based training strategies to teach CHWs to be lay-health researchers.

An analysis of problem drinker diagnosis and referral within the Fairfax Alcohol Safety Action Project, 1972.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-01-01

This report is one of a series developed in conformance with annual reporting requirements contained within Alcohol Safety Action Projects: Evaluation. In February 1972, operations of the Fairfax Alcohol Safety Action Project began and these federall...

Drug research methodology. Volume 1, The alcohol-highway safety experience and its applicability to other drugs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-03-01

This report presents the findings of a workshop concerning the alcohol and highway safety experience, which includes research efforts to define the drinking-driving problem and societal responses to reduce the increased highway safety risk attributab...

23 CFR 924.9 - Planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... public roads; (E) Adopts a strategic safety goal; (F) Identifies key emphasis areas and describes a... infrastructure safety problems and opportunities on all public roads and all users, and focuses resources on... approved by the FHWA Division Administrator. (iii) Develop a High Risk Rural Roads program using safety...

[Medical safety management in the setting of a clinical reference laboratory--risk management efforts in clinical testing].

PubMed

Seki, Akira; Miya, Tetsumasa

2011-03-01

As a result of recurring medical accidents, risk management in the medical setting has been given much attention. The announcement in August, 2000 by the Ministry of Health committee for formulating a standard manual for risk management, of a "Risk management manual formulation guideline" has since been accompanied by the efforts of numerous medical testing facilities to develop such documents. In 2008, ISO/TS 22367:2008 on "Medical laboratories-Reduction of error through risk management and continual improvement" was published. However, at present, risk management within a medical testing facility stresses the implementation of provisional actions in response to a problem after it has occurred. Risk management is basically a planned process and includes "corrective actions" as well as "preventive actions." A corrective action is defined as identifying the root cause of the problem and removing it, and is conducted to prevent the problem from recurring. A preventive action is defined as identifying of the any potential problem and removing it, and is conducted to prevent a problem before it occurs. Presently, I shall report on the experiences of our laboratory regarding corrective and preventive actions taken in response to accidents and incidents, respectively.

A Machine Learning Approach to the Detection of Pilot's Reaction to Unexpected Events Based on EEG Signals

PubMed Central

Cyran, Krzysztof A.

2018-01-01

This work considers the problem of utilizing electroencephalographic signals for use in systems designed for monitoring and enhancing the performance of aircraft pilots. Systems with such capabilities are generally referred to as cognitive cockpits. This article provides a description of the potential that is carried by such systems, especially in terms of increasing flight safety. Additionally, a neuropsychological background of the problem is presented. Conducted research was focused mainly on the problem of discrimination between states of brain activity related to idle but focused anticipation of visual cue and reaction to it. Especially, a problem of selecting a proper classification algorithm for such problems is being examined. For that purpose an experiment involving 10 subjects was planned and conducted. Experimental electroencephalographic data was acquired using an Emotiv EPOC+ headset. Proposed methodology involved use of a popular method in biomedical signal processing, the Common Spatial Pattern, extraction of bandpower features, and an extensive test of different classification algorithms, such as Linear Discriminant Analysis, k-nearest neighbors, and Support Vector Machines with linear and radial basis function kernels, Random Forests, and Artificial Neural Networks. PMID:29849544

Measuring cross-cultural patient safety: identifying barriers and developing performance indicators.

PubMed

Walker, Roger; St Pierre-Hansen, Natalie; Cromarty, Helen; Kelly, Len; Minty, Bryanne

2010-01-01

Medical errors and cultural errors threaten patient safety. We know that access to care, quality of care and clinical safety are all impacted by cultural issues. Numerous approaches to describing cultural barriers to patient safety have been developed, but these taxonomies do not provide a useful set of tools for defining the nature of the problem and consequently do not establish a sound base for problem solving. The Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre has implemented a cross-cultural patient safety (CCPS) model (Walker 2009). We developed an analytical CCPS framework within the organization, and in this article, we detail the validation process for our framework by way of a literature review and surveys of local and international healthcare professionals. We reinforce the position that while cultural competency may be defined by the service provider, cultural safety is defined by the client. In addition, we document the difficulties surrounding the measurement of cultural competence in terms of patient outcomes, which is an underdeveloped dimension of the field of patient safety. We continue to explore the correlation between organizational performance and measurable patient outcomes.

Design of agricultural product quality safety retrospective supervision system of Jiangsu province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kun

2017-08-01

In store and supermarkets to consumers can trace back agricultural products through the electronic province card to query their origin, planting, processing, packaging, testing and other important information and found that the problems. Quality and safety issues can identify the responsibility of the problem. This paper designs a retroactive supervision system for the quality and safety of agricultural products in Jiangsu Province. Based on the analysis of agricultural production and business process, the goal of Jiangsu agricultural product quality safety traceability system construction is established, and the specific functional requirements and non-functioning requirements of the retroactive system are analyzed, and the target is specified for the specific construction of the retroactive system. The design of the quality and safety traceability system in Jiangsu province contains the design of the overall design, the trace code design and the system function module.

9 CFR 392.8 - Expedited review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD SAFETY AND... health by removing or reducing foodborne pathogens or other potential food safety hazards that might be... reduce or remove foodborne pathogens or other potential food safety hazards that are likely to be present...

Knowledge is power: averting safety-compromising events in the OR.

PubMed

Catalano, Kathleen

2008-12-01

Surgical procedures can be unpredictable, and safety-compromising events can jeopardize patient safety. Perioperative nurses should be watchful for factors that can contribute to safety-compromising events, as well as the errors that can follow, and know how to avert them if possible. Knowledge is power and increased awareness of patient safety issues and the resources that are available to both health care practitioners and consumers can help perioperative nurses ward off patient safety problems before they occur.

Potentially inappropriate medications in geriatric outpatients with polypharmacy: application of six sets of published explicit criteria

PubMed Central

Chang, Chirn-Bin; Chen, Jen-Hau; Wen, Chiung-Jung; Kuo, Hsu-Ko; Lu, I-Shu; Chiu, Lee-Shu; Wu, Shwu-Chong; Chan, Ding-Cheng (Derrick)

2011-01-01

AIM Our aim was to compare the practicability of six different potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) criteria in geriatric outpatients with polypharmacy. METHODS We analysed baseline data from the Medication Safety Review Clinic in Taiwanese Elders (MSRC-Taiwan) study. The prevalence and correlates of PIMs were determined on the basis of criteria developed in the USA, Canada, France, Norway, Ireland and Thailand. The percentage of PIMs considered as drug-related problems and the problem-solving rate are reported. RESULTS In the 193 participants, the prevalence of PIM varied from 24 to 73%. Application of the criteria revealed that a high number of chronic medications was a common risk factor for having at least one PIM. Of the 1713 medications reviewed, 5.6–14.8% were considered PIMs. Only 30–40% of the identified PIMs were reported as drug-related problems by the MSRC team experts. Criteria with a higher number of statements and a higher percentage of local market/institution drug availability tended to detect more PIMs. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of PIM varied significantly when different criteria were applied. Caution should be exercised in applying PIM criteria developed in other regions when medication availability in the local market is limited. PMID:21557760

78 FR 25339 - Notice of Funding Availability for the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Funds; and Request...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-30

..., activities, and projects on a public road that are consistent with a State strategic highway safety plan and correct or improve a hazardous road location or feature, or address a highway safety problem. Section 202..., activities, or projects on a public road that are consistent with a State Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP...

Hidden Dangers within Our Schools: What Are These Safety Problems and How Can We Fix Them? Safety in the Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunzelmann, Betsy

2005-01-01

Safety in the schools involves much more than metal detectors and disaster plans. Although such catastrophe preparation is necessary, we often overlook less obvious beliefs and practices that put children's everyday safety at risk. According to the well-known pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton and the child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan (2000), all…

Putting the ‘patient’ in patient safety: a qualitative study of consumer experiences

PubMed Central

Rathert, Cheryl; Brandt, Julie; Williams, Eric S.

2011-01-01

Abstract Background  Although patient safety has been studied extensively, little research has directly examined patient and family (consumer) perceptions. Evidence suggests that clinicians define safety differently from consumers, e.g. clinicians focus more on outcomes, whereas consumers may focus more on processes. Consumer perceptions of patient safety are important for several reasons. First, health‐care policy leaders have been encouraging patients and families to take a proactive role in ensuring patient safety; therefore, an understanding of how patients define safety is needed. Second, consumer perceptions of safety could influence outcomes such as trust and satisfaction or compliance with treatment protocols. Finally, consumer perspectives could be an additional lens for viewing complex systems and processes for quality improvement efforts. Objectives  To qualitatively explore acute care consumer perceptions of patient safety. Design and methods  Thirty‐nine individuals with a recent overnight hospital visit participated in one of four group interviews. Analysis followed an interpretive analytical approach. Results  Three basic themes were identified: Communication, staffing issues and medication administration. Consumers associated care process problems, such as delays or lack of information, with safety rather than as service quality problems. Participants agreed that patients need family caregivers as advocates. Conclusions  Consumers seem acutely aware of care processes they believe pose risks to safety. Perceptual measures of patient safety and quality may help to identify areas where there are higher risks of preventable adverse events. PMID:21624026

Threats to safety during sedation outside of the operating room and the death of Michael Jackson.

PubMed

Webster, Craig S; Mason, Keira P; Shafer, Steven L

2016-03-01

From an understanding of human psychology and the reliability of high-technology systems, this review considers critical threats to the safety of patients undergoing sedation outside of the operating room, and will stratify these threats along what we define as the 'Patient Risk Continuum'. We then consider interventions suitable for addressing identified risks. The technology, organization and delivery of healthcare continue to become more complex, highlighting the importance of maintaining the safety of patients. Sedation outside of the operating room is known to be associated with higher rates of adverse events. However, a number of recent safety initiatives have shown benefit in improving patient safety. The following threats to patients undergoing sedation, in increasing order of risk, are discussed: equipment and environmental factors, known patient risks, poor team performance, combinatorial problems and egregious violations. To address these threats, we discuss a number of approaches consistent with the systems approach to safety, namely: encouraging functions, forcing functions, cognitive safety nets, information sharing, recovery strategies and regulatory change. Demonstrating improvement with any safety initiative relies critically on quality data collected on the problem area in question.

When bad things happen: adverse event reporting and disclosure as patient safety and risk management tools in the neonatal intensive care unit.

PubMed

Donn, Steven M; McDonnell, William M

2012-01-01

The Institute of Medicine has recommended a change in culture from "name and blame" to patient safety. This will require system redesign to identify and address errors, establish performance standards, and set safety expectations. This approach, however, is at odds with the present medical malpractice (tort) system. The current system is outcomes-based, meaning that health care providers and institutions are often sued despite providing appropriate care. Nevertheless, the focus should remain to provide the safest patient care. Effective peer review may be hindered by the present tort system. Reporting of medical errors is a key piece of peer review and education, and both anonymous reporting and confidential reporting of errors have potential disadvantages. Diagnostic and treatment errors continue to be the leading sources of allegations of malpractice in pediatrics, and the neonatal intensive care unit is uniquely vulnerable. Most errors result from systems failures rather than human error. Risk management can be an effective process to identify, evaluate, and address problems that may injure patients, lead to malpractice claims, and result in financial losses. Risk management identifies risk or potential risk, calculates the probability of an adverse event arising from a risk, estimates the impact of the adverse event, and attempts to control the risk. Implementation of a successful risk management program requires a positive attitude, sufficient knowledge base, and a commitment to improvement. Transparency in the disclosure of medical errors and a strategy of prospective risk management in dealing with medical errors may result in a substantial reduction in medical malpractice lawsuits, lower litigation costs, and a more safety-conscious environment. Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.

Accident Prevention: A Workers' Education Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Labour Office, Geneva (Switzerland).

Devoted to providing industrial workers with a greater knowledge of precautionary measures undertaken and enforced by industries for the protection of workers, this safety education manual contains 14 lessons ranging from "The Problems of Accidents during Work" to "Trade Unions and Workers and Industrial Safety." Fire protection, safety equipment…

Safety Guided Design of Crew Return Vehicle in Concept Design Phase Using STAMP/STPA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakao, H.; Katahira, M.; Miyamoto, Y.; Leveson, N.

2012-01-01

In the concept development and design phase of a new space system, such as a Crew Vehicle, designers tend to focus on how to implement new technology. Designers also consider the difficulty of using the new technology and trade off several system design candidates. Then they choose an optimal design from the candidates. Safety should be a key aspect driving optimal concept design. However, in past concept design activities, safety analysis such as FTA has not used to drive the design because such analysis techniques focus on component failure and component failure cannot be considered in the concept design phase. The solution to these problems is to apply a new hazard analysis technique, called STAMP/STPA. STAMP/STPA defines safety as a control problem rather than a failure problem and identifies hazardous scenarios and their causes. Defining control flow is the essential in concept design phase. Therefore STAMP/STPA could be a useful tool to assess the safety of system candidates and to be part of the rationale for choosing a design as the baseline of the system. In this paper, we explain our case study of safety guided concept design using STPA, the new hazard analysis technique, and model-based specification technique on Crew Return Vehicle design and evaluate benefits of using STAMP/STPA in concept development phase.

Software-Related Recalls of Health Information Technology and Other Medical Devices: Implications for FDA Regulation of Digital Health.

PubMed

Ronquillo, Jay G; Zuckerman, Diana M

2017-09-01

Policy Points: Medical software has become an increasingly critical component of health care, yet the regulation of these devices is inconsistent and controversial. No studies of medical devices and software assess the impact on patient safety of the FDA's current regulatory safeguards and new legislative changes to those standards. Our analysis quantifies the impact of software problems in regulated medical devices and indicates that current regulations are necessary but not sufficient for ensuring patient safety by identifying and eliminating dangerous defects in software currently on the market. New legislative changes will further deregulate health IT, reducing safeguards that facilitate the reporting and timely recall of flawed medical software that could harm patients. Medical software has become an increasingly critical component of health care, yet the regulatory landscape for digital health is inconsistent and controversial. To understand which policies might best protect patients, we examined the impact of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) regulatory safeguards on software-related technologies in recent years and the implications for newly passed legislative changes in regulatory policy. Using FDA databases, we identified all medical devices that were recalled from 2011 through 2015 primarily because of software defects. We counted all software-related recalls for each FDA risk category and evaluated each high-risk and moderate-risk recall of electronic medical records to determine the manufacturer, device classification, submission type, number of units, and product details. A total of 627 software devices (1.4 million units) were subject to recalls, with 12 of these devices (190,596 units) subject to the highest-risk recalls. Eleven of the devices recalled as high risk had entered the market through the FDA review process that does not require evidence of safety or effectiveness, and one device was completely exempt from regulatory review. The largest high-risk recall categories were anesthesiology and general hospital, with one each in cardiovascular and neurology. Five electronic medical record systems (9,347 units) were recalled for software defects classified as posing a moderate risk to patient safety. Software problems in medical devices are not rare and have the potential to negatively influence medical care. Premarket regulation has not captured all the software issues that could harm patients, evidenced by the potentially large number of patients exposed to software products later subject to high-risk and moderate-risk recalls. Provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act that became law in late 2016 will reduce safeguards further. Absent stronger regulations and implementation to create robust risk assessment and adverse event reporting, physicians and their patients are likely to be at risk from medical errors caused by software-related problems in medical devices. © 2017 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Occupational health and safety in the least developed countries--a simple case of neglect.

PubMed

Ahasan, M R; Partanen, T

2001-03-01

In many of the least developed countries, working people are significantly exposed to a number of occupational problems that may result in a deterioration of their health, safety and well being. These work-related problems are untenable, not only because of the occupational problems itself but also because of the simultaneous exposure to heat, dusts, noise, organo-chemicals, and biological and environmental pollution. This situation has existed for a long time due to various socio economic,geographical, cultural and local factors. The deteriorating situation of health and safety in the workplace may perhaps exist due to the inadequate resource facilities, economic constraints and lack of opportunity to conduct research and studies on the assessment of exposure-diseases associations. Officials, who are employed by the state, are not able to implement work regulations and labour legislation easily. Generally, they are not professionally trained and expert in the occupational health, industrial hygiene and/or safety fields, and thus, successful application and implementation of control measures are lacking. Steps to control work exposure limits have been ineffective, since national policies have been rare, owing to the multiple obstacles in preventing occupational problems. However, the major focus is on practical solutions to differing workers' needs, consideration of which is very important, depending on the what the industrial entrepreneurs could reasonably to be expected to afford. Why there is a lack of motivation and effort regarding the development of health and safety-this paper explores some important issues, aiming to focus public attention on the legacy of national and international efforts. Examples are likewise given to show the real situation of health and safety in the least developed countries.

Cycling operation of fossil plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhatnagar, U.S.; Weiss, M.D.; White, W.H.

1991-05-01

This report presents a methodology for examining the economic feasibility of converting fossil power plants from baseload to cycling service. It employs this approach to examine a proposed change of Pepco's Potomac River units 3, 4, and 5 from baseload operation of two-shift cycling. The project team first reviewed all components and listed potential cycling effects involved in the conversion of Potomac River units 3, 4, and 5. They developed general cycling plant screening criteria including the number of hot, warm, or cold restart per year and desired load ramp rates. In addition, they evaluated specific limitations on the boiler,more » turbine, and the balance of plant. They estimated the remaining life of the facility through component evaluation and boiler testing and also identified and prioritized potential component deficiencies by their impact on key operational factors: safety, heat rate, turn down, startup/shutdown time, and plant availability. They developed solutions to these problems; and, since many solutions mitigate more than one problem, they combined and reprioritized these synergistic solutions. Economic assessments were performed on all solutions. 13 figs., 20 tabs.« less

ATC/pilot voice communications: A survey of the literature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prinzo, O. Veronika; Britton, Thomas W.

1993-11-01

The first radio-equipped control tower in the United States opened at the Cleveland Municipal Airport in 1930. From that time to the present, voice radio communications have played a primary role in air safety. Verbal communications in air traffic control (ATC) operations have been frequently cited as causal factors in operational errors and pilot deviations in the FAA Operational Error and Deviation System, the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), and reports derived from government sponsored research projects. Collectively, the data provided by these programs indicate that communications constitute a significant problem for pilots and controllers. Although the communications problem was well known the research literature was fragmented, making it difficult to appreciate the various types of verbal communications problems that existed and their unique influence on the quality of ATC/pilot communications. This is a survey of the voice radio communications literature. The 43 reports in the review represent survey data, field studies, laboratory studies, narrative reports, and reviews. The survey topics pertain to communications taxonomies, acoustical correlates and cognitive/psycholinguistic perspectives. Communications taxonomies were used to identify the frequency and types of information that constitute routine communications, as well as those communications involved in operational errors, pilot deviations, and other safety-related events. Acoustical correlate methodologies identified some qualities of a speaker's voice, such as loudness, pitch, and speech rate, which might be used potentially to monitor stress, mental workload, and other forms of psychological or physiological factors that affect performance. Cognitive/psycho-linguistic research offered an information processing perspective for understanding how pilots' and controllers' memory and language comprehension processes affect their ability to communicate effectively with one another. This analysis of the ATC/pilot voice radio communications literature was performed to provide an organized summary for the systematic study of interactive communications between controllers and pilots. Recommendations are given for new research initiatives, communications-based instructional materials, and human factors applications for new communications systems.

Evaluation of the SSRCT engine with a hydrazine as a fuel, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minton, S. J.

1978-01-01

The performance parameters for the space shuttle reaction control thruster (SSRCT) when the fuel is changed from monomethylhydrazine to hydrazine were predicted. Potential problems are higher chamber wall temperature during steady state operation and explosive events during pulse mode operation. Solutions to the problems are suggested. To conduct the analysis, a more realistic film cooling model was devised which considers that hydrazine based fuels are reactive when used as a film coolant on the walls of the combustion chamber. Hydrazine based fuels can decompose exothermally as a monopropellant and also enter into bipropellant reactions with any excess oxidizer in the combustion chamber. It is concluded that the conversion of the thruster from MMH to hydrazine fuel is feasible but that a number of changes would be required to achieve the same safety margins as the monomethylhydrazine-fueled thruster.

Distracted driving: prevalence, problems, and prevention.

PubMed

Overton, Tiffany L; Rives, Terry E; Hecht, Carrie; Shafi, Shahid; Gandhi, Rajesh R

2015-01-01

While the number of motor vehicle crashes has declined over the years, crashes resulting from distracted driving are increasing in the United States resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. The national public seems to be aware of the dangers associated with using technology while driving, but continues to engage in this dangerous behaviour, and may be unaware of or underestimate the impact of cell phone use on their own driving performance. Problems associated with distracted driving are not limited to novice or teenage drivers; multifaceted universal prevention efforts aimed at impacting large segments of the population may have the greatest impact. Legislation limiting drivers' cell phone use has had little impact, possibly due to low regulation and enforcement. Behaviour change programmes, improved vehicle safety, and public awareness campaigns have been developed as potential preventive efforts to reduce accidents caused by distracted drivers.

The photovoltaic industry on the path to a sustainable future--environmental and occupational health issues.

PubMed

Bakhiyi, Bouchra; Labrèche, France; Zayed, Joseph

2014-12-01

As it supplies solar power, a priori considered harmless for the environment and human health compared with fossil fuels, the photovoltaic (PV) industry seems to contribute optimally to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, overall, to sustainable development. However, considering the forecast for rapid growth, its use of potentially toxic substances and manufacturing processes presenting health and safety problems may jeopardize its benefits. This paper aims to establish a profile of the PV industry in order to determine current and emerging environmental and health concerns. A review of PV system life cycle assessments, in light of the current state of the industry and its developmental prospects, reveals information deficits concerning some sensitive life cycle indicators and environmental impacts, together with incomplete information on toxicological data and studies of workers' exposure to different chemical and physical hazards. Although solar panel installation is generally considered relatively safe, the occupational health concerns related to the growing number of hazardous materials handled in the PV industry warrants an all-inclusive occupational health and safety approach in order to achieve an optimal equilibrium with sustainability. To prevent eco-health problems from offsetting the benefits currently offered by the PV industry, manufacturers should cooperate actively with workers, researchers and government agencies toward improved and more transparent research, the adoption of specific and stricter regulations, the implementation of preventive risk management of occupational health and safety and, lastly, greater responsibilization toward PV systems from their design until their end of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

My, your and our needs for safety and security: relatives' reflections on using information and communication technology in dementia care.

PubMed

Olsson, Annakarin; Engström, Maria; Skovdahl, Kirsti; Lampic, Claudia

2012-03-01

The present paper reports on a study aimed at describing relatives' reflections on different kinds of information and communication technology (ICT) devices that are used or can be used in the daily care of persons with dementia. Many persons with dementia continue living in their own homes, which requires the support of their relatives. One way to meet the needs of relatives and persons with dementia is to use ICT. An interview study was conducted in Sweden (2007-2008) with a purposive sample of 14 spouses of a person with dementia. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify categories and themes in the data. Relatives' reflections on the use of ICT were described as ICT - a support in daily life, ICT - internal and external conditions and ICT - the decision to use or not use. Based on these categories, a theme was revealed: shifting between different perspectives: my, your and our needs for safety and security. Relatives struggle to create a situation of safety and security in daily life for themselves and the persons with dementia. ICT devices with the right functionality and used at the right time are regarded as useful in solving everyday problems. In the decision to use or not use ICT, the opportunity to create a safe and secure environment overshadows potential ethical problems. Providing early information about ICT to persons with dementia and their relatives could facilitate joint decision-making regarding use of ICT. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2011 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Are automatic systems the future of motorcycle safety? A novel methodology to prioritize potential safety solutions based on their projected effectiveness.

PubMed

Gil, Gustavo; Savino, Giovanni; Piantini, Simone; Baldanzini, Niccolò; Happee, Riender; Pierini, Marco

2017-11-17

Motorcycle riders are involved in significantly more crashes per kilometer driven than passenger car drivers. Nonetheless, the development and implementation of motorcycle safety systems lags far behind that of passenger cars. This research addresses the identification of the most effective motorcycle safety solutions in the context of different countries. A knowledge-based system of motorcycle safety (KBMS) was developed to assess the potential for various safety solutions to mitigate or avoid motorcycle crashes. First, a set of 26 common crash scenarios was identified from the analysis of multiple crash databases. Second, the relative effectiveness of 10 safety solutions was assessed for the 26 crash scenarios by a panel of experts. Third, relevant information about crashes was used to weigh the importance of each crash scenario in the region studied. The KBMS method was applied with an Italian database, with a total of more than 1 million motorcycle crashes in the period 2000-2012. When applied to the Italian context, the KBMS suggested that automatic systems designed to compensate for riders' or drivers' errors of commission or omission are the potentially most effective safety solution. The KBMS method showed an effective way to compare the potential of various safety solutions, through a scored list with the expected effectiveness of each safety solution for the region to which the crash data belong. A comparison of our results with a previous study that attempted a systematic prioritization of safety systems for motorcycles (PISa project) showed an encouraging agreement. Current results revealed that automatic systems have the greatest potential to improve motorcycle safety. Accumulating and encoding expertise in crash analysis from a range of disciplines into a scalable and reusable analytical tool, as proposed with the use of KBMS, has the potential to guide research and development of effective safety systems. As the expert assessment of the crash scenarios is decoupled from the regional crash database, the expert assessment may be reutilized, thereby allowing rapid reanalysis when new crash data become available. In addition, the KBMS methodology has potential application to injury forecasting, driver/rider training strategies, and redesign of existing road infrastructure.

Fast, Safe, Propellant-Efficient Spacecraft Motion Planning Under Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starek, Joseph A.; Schmerling, Edward; Maher, Gabriel D.; Barbee, Brent W.; Pavone, Marco

2016-01-01

This paper presents a sampling-based motion planning algorithm for real-time and propellant-optimized autonomous spacecraft trajectory generation in near-circular orbits. Specifically, this paper leverages recent algorithmic advances in the field of robot motion planning to the problem of impulsively actuated, propellant- optimized rendezvous and proximity operations under the Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill dynamics model. The approach calls upon a modified version of the FMT* algorithm to grow a set of feasible trajectories over a deterministic, low-dispersion set of sample points covering the free state space. To enforce safety, the tree is only grown over the subset of actively safe samples, from which there exists a feasible one-burn collision-avoidance maneuver that can safely circularize the spacecraft orbit along its coasting arc under a given set of potential thruster failures. Key features of the proposed algorithm include 1) theoretical guarantees in terms of trajectory safety and performance, 2) amenability to real-time implementation, and 3) generality, in the sense that a large class of constraints can be handled directly. As a result, the proposed algorithm offers the potential for widespread application, ranging from on-orbit satellite servicing to orbital debris removal and autonomous inspection missions.

A rough set-based measurement model study on high-speed railway safety operation.

PubMed

Hu, Qizhou; Tan, Minjia; Lu, Huapu; Zhu, Yun

2018-01-01

Aiming to solve the safety problems of high-speed railway operation and management, one new method is urgently needed to construct on the basis of the rough set theory and the uncertainty measurement theory. The method should carefully consider every factor of high-speed railway operation that realizes the measurement indexes of its safety operation. After analyzing the factors that influence high-speed railway safety operation in detail, a rough measurement model is finally constructed to describe the operation process. Based on the above considerations, this paper redistricts the safety influence factors of high-speed railway operation as 16 measurement indexes which include staff index, vehicle index, equipment index and environment. And the paper also provides another reasonable and effective theoretical method to solve the safety problems of multiple attribute measurement in high-speed railway operation. As while as analyzing the operation data of 10 pivotal railway lines in China, this paper respectively uses the rough set-based measurement model and value function model (one model for calculating the safety value) for calculating the operation safety value. The calculation result shows that the curve of safety value with the proposed method has smaller error and greater stability than the value function method's, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness.

Public health, autonomous automobiles, and the rush to market.

PubMed

Kelley, Ben

2017-05-01

The USA has the worst motor vehicle safety problem among high-income countries and is pressing forward with the development of autonomous automobiles to address it. Government guidance and regulation, still inadequate, will be critical to the safety of the public. The analysis of this public health problem in the USA reveals the key factors that will determine the benefits and risks of autonomous vehicles around the world.

Chemical analysis of charged Li/SO(sub)2 cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Subbarao, S.; Lawson, D.; Frank, H.; Halpert, G.; Barnes, J.; Bis, R.

1987-01-01

The initial focus of the program was to confirm that charging can indeed result in explosions and constitute a significant safety problem. Results of this initial effort clearly demonstrated that cells do indeed explode on charge and that charging does indeed constitute a real and severe safety problem. The results of the effort to identify the chemical reactions involved in and responsible for the observed behavior are described.

System analysis of vehicle active safety problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buznikov, S. E.

2018-02-01

The problem of the road transport safety affects the vital interests of the most of the population and is characterized by a global level of significance. The system analysis of problem of creation of competitive active vehicle safety systems is presented as an interrelated complex of tasks of multi-criterion optimization and dynamic stabilization of the state variables of a controlled object. Solving them requires generation of all possible variants of technical solutions within the software and hardware domains and synthesis of the control, which is close to optimum. For implementing the task of the system analysis the Zwicky “morphological box” method is used. Creation of comprehensive active safety systems involves solution of the problem of preventing typical collisions. For solving it, a structured set of collisions is introduced with its elements being generated also using the Zwicky “morphological box” method. The obstacle speed, the longitudinal acceleration of the controlled object and the unpredictable changes in its movement direction due to certain faults, the road surface condition and the control errors are taken as structure variables that characterize the conditions of collisions. The conditions for preventing typical collisions are presented as inequalities for physical variables that define the state vector of the object and its dynamic limits.

Pavement markings and safety : tech transfer summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

Objective: This study explores the statistical relationship between crash occurrence probability and longitudinal pavement marking retroreflectivity. : Problem Statement: Previous research on pavement markings, from a safety perspective, tackled vari...

Safe Practices for Copy and Paste in the EHR

PubMed Central

Lehmann, Christoph U.; Michel, Jeremy; Solomon, Ronni; Possanza, Lorraine; Gandhi, Tejal

2017-01-01

Summary Background Copy and paste functionality can support efficiency during clinical documentation, but may promote inaccurate documentation with risks for patient safety. The Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety was formed to gather data, conduct analysis, educate, and disseminate safe practices for safer care using health information technology (IT). Objective To characterize copy and paste events in clinical care, identify safety risks, describe existing evidence, and develop implementable practice recommendations for safe reuse of information via copy and paste. Methods The Partnership 1) reviewed 12 reported safety events, 2) solicited expert input, and 3) performed a systematic literature review (2010 to January 2015) to identify publications addressing frequency, perceptions/attitudes, patient safety risks, existing guidance, and potential interventions and mitigation practices. Results The literature review identified 51 publications that were included. Overall, 66% to 90% of clinicians routinely use copy and paste. One study of diagnostic errors found that copy and paste led to 2.6% of errors in which a missed diagnosis required patients to seek additional unplanned care. Copy and paste can promote note bloat, internal inconsistencies, error propagation, and documentation in the wrong patient chart. Existing guidance identified specific responsibilities for authors, organizations, and electronic health record (EHR) developers. Analysis of 12 reported copy and paste safety events was congruent with problems identified from the literature review. Conclusion Despite regular copy and paste use, evidence regarding direct risk to patient safety remains sparse, with significant study limitations. Drawing on existing evidence, the Partnership developed four safe practice recommendations: 1) Provide a mechanism to make copy and paste material easily identifiable; 2) Ensure the provenance of copy and paste material is readily available; 3) Ensure adequate staff training and education; 4) Ensure copy and paste practices are regularly monitored, measured, and assessed. PMID:28074211

Improving health, safety and energy efficiency in New Zealand through measuring and applying basic housing standards.

PubMed

Gillespie-Bennett, Julie; Keall, Michael; Howden-Chapman, Philippa; Baker, Michael G

2013-08-02

Substandard housing is a problem in New Zealand. Historically there has been little recognition of the important aspects of housing quality that affect people's health and safety. In this viewpoint article we outline the importance of assessing these factors as an essential step to improving the health and safety of New Zealanders and household energy efficiency. A practical risk assessment tool adapted to New Zealand conditions, the Healthy Housing Index (HHI), measures the physical characteristics of houses that affect the health and safety of the occupants. This instrument is also the only tool that has been validated against health and safety outcomes and reported in the international peer-reviewed literature. The HHI provides a framework on which a housing warrant of fitness (WOF) can be based. The HHI inspection takes about one hour to conduct and is performed by a trained building inspector. To maximise the effectiveness of this housing quality assessment we envisage the output having two parts. The first would be a pass/fail WOF assessment showing whether or not the house meets basic health, safety and energy efficiency standards. The second component would rate each main assessment area (health, safety and energy efficiency), potentially on a five-point scale. This WOF system would establish a good minimum standard for rental accommodation as well encouraging improved housing performance over time. In this article we argue that the HHI is an important, validated, housing assessment tool that will improve housing quality, leading to better health of the occupants, reduced home injuries, and greater energy efficiency. If required, this tool could be extended to also cover resilience to natural hazards, broader aspects of sustainability, and the suitability of the dwelling for occupants with particular needs.

Local Food Systems Food Safety Concerns.

PubMed

Chapman, Benjamin; Gunter, Chris

2018-04-01

Foodborne disease causes an estimated 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths annually (Scallan E, et al., Emerg Infect Dis 17:7-15, 2011), with U.S. economic costs estimated at $152 billion to $1.4 trillion annually (Roberts T, Am J Agric Econ 89:1183-1188, 2007; Scharff RL, http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/0001/01/01/healthrelated-costs-from-foodborne-illness-in-the-united-states, 2010). An increasing number of these illnesses are associated with fresh fruits and vegetables. An analysis of outbreaks from 1990 to 2003 found that 12% of outbreaks and 20% of outbreak-related illnesses were associated with produce (Klein S, Smith DeWaal CS, Center for Science in the Public Interest, https://cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/ddreport.pdf, June 2008; Lynch M, Tauxe R, Hedberg C, Epidemiol Infect 137:307-315, 2009). These food safety problems have resulted in various stakeholders recommending the shift to a more preventative and risk-based food safety system. A modern risk-based food safety system takes a farm-to-fork preventative approach to food safety and relies on the proactive collection and analysis of data to better understand potential hazards and risk factors, to design and evaluate interventions, and to prioritize prevention efforts. Such a system focuses limited resources at the points in the food system with the likelihood of having greatest benefit to public health. As shared kitchens, food hubs, and local food systems such as community supported agriculture are becoming more prevalent throughout the United States, so are foodborne illness outbreaks at these locations. At these locations, many with limited resources, food safety methods of prevention are rarely the main focus. This lack of focus on food safety knowledge is why a growing number of foodborne illness outbreaks are occurring at these locations.

Safe Practices for Copy and Paste in the EHR. Systematic Review, Recommendations, and Novel Model for Health IT Collaboration.

PubMed

Tsou, Amy Y; Lehmann, Christoph U; Michel, Jeremy; Solomon, Ronni; Possanza, Lorraine; Gandhi, Tejal

2017-01-11

Copy and paste functionality can support efficiency during clinical documentation, but may promote inaccurate documentation with risks for patient safety. The Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety was formed to gather data, conduct analysis, educate, and disseminate safe practices for safer care using health information technology (IT). To characterize copy and paste events in clinical care, identify safety risks, describe existing evidence, and develop implementable practice recommendations for safe reuse of information via copy and paste. The Partnership 1) reviewed 12 reported safety events, 2) solicited expert input, and 3) performed a systematic literature review (2010 to January 2015) to identify publications addressing frequency, perceptions/attitudes, patient safety risks, existing guidance, and potential interventions and mitigation practices. The literature review identified 51 publications that were included. Overall, 66% to 90% of clinicians routinely use copy and paste. One study of diagnostic errors found that copy and paste led to 2.6% of errors in which a missed diagnosis required patients to seek additional unplanned care. Copy and paste can promote note bloat, internal inconsistencies, error propagation, and documentation in the wrong patient chart. Existing guidance identified specific responsibilities for authors, organizations, and electronic health record (EHR) developers. Analysis of 12 reported copy and paste safety events was congruent with problems identified from the literature review. Despite regular copy and paste use, evidence regarding direct risk to patient safety remains sparse, with significant study limitations. Drawing on existing evidence, the Partnership developed four safe practice recommendations: 1) Provide a mechanism to make copy and paste material easily identifiable; 2) Ensure the provenance of copy and paste material is readily available; 3) Ensure adequate staff training and education; 4) Ensure copy and paste practices are regularly monitored, measured, and assessed.

New Automated System Available for Reporting Safety Concerns | Poster

Cancer.gov

A new system has been developed for reporting safety issues in the workplace. The Environment, Health, and Safety’s (EHS’) Safety Inspection and Issue Management System (SIIMS) is an online resource where any employee can report a problem or issue, said Siobhan Tierney, program manager at EHS.

78 FR 67445 - Pilot Program on NAFTA Trucking Provisions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-12

... comment on data and information concerning the Pre-Authorization Safety Audit (PASA) for Road Machinery Co..., or for the purpose of avoiding or hiding previous non-compliance or safety problems. Road Machinery... corrective action, the safety suspension was not enforced during roadside inspections. Road Machinery Co SA...

A Critical Examination of Safety Texts: Implications for Trade and Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregson, James A.

1996-01-01

Qualitative content analysis of three texts used to prepare trade and industrial teachers in occupational safety and health examined definitions of health/safety problems, allocation of responsibility, social context, and collective responsibility. Implementing practices from these texts could free teachers from responsibility for negligence and…

Good practice statements on safe laboratory testing: A mixed methods study by the LINNEAUS collaboration on patient safety in primary care.

PubMed

Bowie, Paul; Forrest, Eleanor; Price, Julie; Verstappen, Wim; Cunningham, David; Halley, Lyn; Grant, Suzanne; Kelly, Moya; Mckay, John

2015-09-01

The systems-based management of laboratory test ordering and results handling is a known source of error in primary care settings worldwide. The consequences are wide-ranging for patients (e.g. avoidable harm or poor care experience), general practitioners (e.g. delayed clinical decision making and potential medico-legal implications) and the primary care organization (e.g. increased allocation of resources to problem-solve and dealing with complaints). Guidance is required to assist care teams to minimize associated risks and improve patient safety. To identify, develop and build expert consensus on 'good practice' guidance statements to inform the implementation of safe systems for ordering laboratory tests and managing results in European primary care settings. Mixed methods studies were undertaken in the UK and Ireland, and the findings were triangulated to develop 'good practice' statements. Expert consensus was then sought on the findings at the wider European level via a Delphi group meeting during 2013. We based consensus on 10 safety domains and developed 77 related 'good practice' statements (≥ 80% agreement levels) judged to be essential to creating safety and minimizing risks in laboratory test ordering and subsequent results handling systems in international primary care. Guidance was developed for improving patient safety in this important area of primary care practice. We need to consider how this guidance can be made accessible to frontline care teams, utilized by clinical educators and improvement advisers, implemented by decision makers and evaluated to determine acceptability, feasibility and impacts on patient safety.

Enteric Pathogen-Plant Interactions: Molecular Connections Leading to Colonization and Growth and Implications for Food Safety

PubMed Central

Martínez-Vaz, Betsy M.; Fink, Ryan C.; Diez-Gonzalez, Francisco; Sadowsky, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Leafy green vegetables have been identified as a source of foodborne illnesses worldwide over the past decade. Human enteric pathogens, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, have been implicated in numerous food poisoning outbreaks associated with the consumption of fresh produce. An understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the establishment of pathogenic bacteria in or on vegetable plants is critical for understanding and ameliorating this problem as well as ensuring the safety of our food supply. While previous studies have described the growth and survival of enteric pathogens in the environment and also the risk factors associated with the contamination of vegetables, the molecular events involved in the colonization of fresh produce by enteric pathogens are just beginning to be elucidated. This review summarizes recent findings on the interactions of several bacterial pathogens with leafy green vegetables. Changes in gene expression linked to the bacterial attachment and colonization of plant structures are discussed in light of their relevance to plant-microbe interactions. We propose a mechanism for the establishment and association of enteric pathogens with plants and discuss potential strategies to address the problem of foodborne illness linked to the consumption of leafy green vegetables. PMID:24859308

Food security: the challenge of increasing wheat yield and the importance of not compromising food safety

PubMed Central

Curtis, T; Halford, N G

2014-01-01

Current wheat yield and consumption is considered in the context of the historical development of wheat, from early domestication through to modern plant breeding, the Green Revolution and wheat’s place as one of the world’s most productive and important crops in the 21st Century. The need for further improvement in the yield potential of wheat in order to meet current and impending challenges is discussed, including rising consumption and the demand for grain for fuel as well as food. Research on the complex genetics underlying wheat yield is described, including the identification of quantitative trait loci and individual genes, and the prospects of biotechnology playing a role in wheat improvement in the future are discussed. The challenge of preparing wheat to meet the problems of drought, high temperature and increasing carbon dioxide concentration that are anticipated to come about as a result of climate change is also reviewed. Wheat yield must be increased while not compromising food safety, and the emerging problem of processing contaminants is reviewed, focussing in particular on acrylamide, a contaminant that forms from free asparagine and reducing sugars during high temperature cooking and processing. Wheat breeders are strongly encouraged to consider the contaminant issue when breeding for yield. PMID:25540461

Consolidation of Contingency Data and Its Use in Computer Graphics to Plan Bare Base Facility Construction at a Forward Operating Location.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-09-01

34 o D Qa. : "lo °%S .. " ig.22. aveQuitComand P L %S dU a a Troubleshooting There are several potential problems that the user may encounter when...34 Air Force Civil Engineer, Vol. 3, No. 3 (August 1962 ), pp. 6-7. 40. Roberts, Captain Mike. "Automated Drafting and Design for the Base Civil Engineer... Eglin AFB FL, undated. 216 . - ,. ° - . .. . . .. r! 57. . Explosive Safety Standards. AFR 127-100. Chapter 5: Principles and Application of Explo- sive

Treatment of hay fever.

PubMed Central

Wood, S F

1989-01-01

The range of treatments for hay fever available to the general practitioner has changed considerably in recent years. New antihistamines have addressed the problem of sedation and moved towards one daily dose; nasally applied corticosteroids avoid the need for systemic steroid therapy and its potential adverse effect; and regulatory decisions have set a trend away from immunotherapy in general practice. However, knowledge about the mechanism of action of immunotherapy is increasing and new developments with improved safety profiles include allergen polymers, allergoids, oral immunotherapy and nasal immunotherapy. Choice of treatment depends, as always, on the individual circumstances of the patient and his or her disease. PMID:2556545

Trends in domestic violence service and leadership: implications for an integrated shelter model.

PubMed

Panzer, P G; Philip, M B; Hayward, R A

2000-05-01

Domestic violence is a dangerous and prevalent social problem affecting up to 4 million women and countless children annually. Shelters offer safety and an opportunity for change during the crisis of family violence. These individuals also have the potential for retraumatization if leadership within the program recapitulates the abuse and coercion felt at home. This article reviews three related trends through the lens of power and control--domestic violence policy and service, models of leadership, and the study of traumatic stress disorders and recovery--and describes their implications for modern shelter service delivery.

Osteoporosis--Part II: Dietary and/or supplemental calcium and vitamin D.

PubMed

Moyad, Mark A

2002-12-01

Osteoporosis is a significant problem in women and men. As osteoporosis has garnered more attention there seems to be more attention than ever placed on the potential benefits of calcium and vitamin D. Health professionals need to inform patients that there are numerous healthy dietary sources of calcium and vitamin D. Several forms of calcium supplements are commercially available today and health professionals need to understand the similarities and differences between them. Calcium and vitamin D in moderation also have an excellent safety profile and may actually have benefits far beyond osteoporosis therapy.

Identification of high payoff research for more efficient applicator helicopters in agriculture and forestry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waters, K. T.

1979-01-01

The results of a study of the uses of helicopters in agriculture and forestry in the United States are discussed. Comparisons with agricultural airplanes are made in terms of costs of aerial application to the growers. An analysis of cost drivers and potential improvements to helicopters that will lower costs is presented. Future trends are discussed, and recommendations for research are outlined. Operational safety hazards and accident records are examined, and problem areas are identified. Areas where research and development are needed to provide opportunities for lowering costs while increasing productivity are analyzed.

Lactating Mother and Psychotropic Drugs

PubMed Central

Tripathi, B. M.; Majumder, Pradipta

2010-01-01

Usage of psychotropics during pregnancy and lactation has always been a topic of debate and controversy. The debate stems from the potential adverse effects on the growing fetus or infants due to the transfer of psychotropic drugs through placenta or breast milk of mothers receiving them; and the problem of discontinuing psychotropics in lactating mother considering chances of relapse. However, most of the psychotropics are found to be relatively safe when used cautiously during the lactation phase. This article describes available data on the use of psychotropics in lactating mothers, in particular, in relation to the safety profile of infants. PMID:21327172

Automation of On-Board Flightpath Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erzberger, H.

1981-01-01

The status of concepts and techniques for the design of onboard flight path management systems is reviewed. Such systems are designed to increase flight efficiency and safety by automating the optimization of flight procedures onboard aircraft. After a brief review of the origins and functions of such systems, two complementary methods are described for attacking the key design problem, namely, the synthesis of efficient trajectories. One method optimizes en route, the other optimizes terminal area flight; both methods are rooted in optimal control theory. Simulation and flight test results are reviewed to illustrate the potential of these systems for fuel and cost savings.

Implementation science for ambulatory care safety: a novel method to develop context-sensitive interventions to reduce quality gaps in monitoring high-risk patients.

PubMed

McDonald, Kathryn M; Su, George; Lisker, Sarah; Patterson, Emily S; Sarkar, Urmimala

2017-06-24

Missed evidence-based monitoring in high-risk conditions (e.g., cancer) leads to delayed diagnosis. Current technological solutions fail to close this safety gap. In response, we aim to demonstrate a novel method to identify common vulnerabilities across clinics and generate attributes for context-flexible population-level monitoring solutions for widespread implementation to improve quality. Based on interviews with staff in otolaryngology, pulmonary, urology, breast, and gastroenterology clinics at a large urban publicly funded health system, we applied journey mapping to co-develop a visual representation of how patients are monitored for high-risk conditions. Using a National Academies framework and context-sensitivity theory, we identified common systems vulnerabilities and developed preliminary concepts for improving the robustness for monitoring patients with high-risk conditions ("design seeds" for potential solutions). Finally, we conducted a face validity and prioritization assessment of the design seeds with the original interviewees. We identified five high-risk situations for potentially consequential diagnostic delays arising from suboptimal patient monitoring. All situations related to detection of cancer (head and neck, lung, prostate, breast, and colorectal). With clinic participants we created 5 journey maps, each representing specialty clinic workflow directed at evidence-based monitoring. System vulnerabilities common to the different clinics included challenges with: data systems, communications handoffs, population-level tracking, and patient activities. Clinic staff ranked 13 design seeds (e.g., keep patient list up to date, use triggered notifications) addressing these vulnerabilities. Each design seed has unique evaluation criteria for the usefulness of potential solutions developed from the seed. We identified and ranked 13 design seeds that characterize situations that clinicians described 'wake them up at night', and thus could reduce their anxiety, save time, and improve monitoring of high-risk patients. We anticipate that the design seed approach promotes robust and context-sensitive solutions to safety and quality problems because it provides a human-centered link between the experienced problem and various solutions that can be tested for viability. The study also demonstrates a novel integration of industrial and human factors methods (journey mapping, process tracing and design seeds) linked to implementation theory for use in designing interventions that anticipate and reduce implementation challenges.

A summary and integration of research concerning single pilot IFR operational problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chapman, G. C.

1983-01-01

A review of seven research studies pertaining to Single Pilot IFR (SPIFR) operations was performed. Two studies were based on questionnaire surveys; two based on National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports; two were based on Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) incident reports, and one report used event analysis and statistics to forecast problems. The results obtained in each study were extracted and integrated. Results were synthesized and key issues pertaining to SPIFR operations problems were identified. The research that was recommended by the studies and that addressed the key issues is catalogued for each key issue.

NASA technical advances in aircraft occupant safety. [clear air turbulence detectors, fire resistant materials, and crashworthiness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Enders, J. H.

1978-01-01

NASA's aviation safety technology program examines specific safety problems associated with atmospheric hazards, crash-fire survival, control of aircraft on runways, human factors, terminal area operations hazards, and accident factors simulation. While aircraft occupants are ultimately affected by any of these hazards, their well-being is immediately impacted by three specific events: unexpected turbulence encounters, fire and its effects, and crash impact. NASA research in the application of laser technology to the problem of clear air turbulence detection, the development of fire resistant materials for aircraft construction, and to the improvement of seats and restraint systems to reduce crash injuries are reviewed.

The future of hazardous chemical safety in China: Opportunities, problems, challenges and tasks.

PubMed

Wang, Bing; Wu, Chao; Reniers, Genserik; Huang, Lang; Kang, Liangguo; Zhang, Laobing

2018-06-20

China is a major country producing and using hazardous chemicals. Unfortunately, the hazardous chemical industry is still one of the most high-risk industries in China. In recent years, especially after two devastating hazardous chemical accidents, namely "Qingdao 11.2 Crude Oil Leaking and Explosion Accident" and "Tianjin Port 8.12 Fire and Explosion Accident" which occurred in 2013 and 2015 respectively, China has attached great importance to hazardous chemical safety. The period between 2016 and 2017 is a crucial period for the future direction of hazardous chemical safety in China because China released a series of important government documents (such as 'Thirteenth Five-Year (2016-2020) Plan for Hazardous Chemical Safety' and 'Comprehensive Plan for Hazardous Chemical Safety Management (December 2016-November 2019)') to promote hazardous chemical safety in the future. What is the future development of China's hazardous chemical safety? To answer this question, this paper attempts to briefly analyze and introduce the opportunities, problems, challenges and tasks of the future of safety with hazardous chemical industrial activities in China, according to the current situation of hazardous chemical safety in China and using the latest government documents and studies. Obviously, this study can provide useful evidence and suggestions for the future of safety management in the hazardous chemical industry both within China and in other countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of an engineering problem-solving methodology to address persistent problems in patient safety: a case study on retained surgical sponges after surgery.

PubMed

Anderson, Devon E; Watts, Bradley V

2013-09-01

Despite innumerable attempts to eliminate the postoperative retention of surgical sponges, the medical error persists in operating rooms worldwide and places significant burden on patient safety, quality of care, financial resources, and hospital/physician reputation. The failure of countless solutions, from new sponge counting methods to radio labeled sponges, to truly eliminate the event in the operating room requires that the emerging field of health-care delivery science find innovative ways to approach the problem. Accordingly, the VA National Center for Patient Safety formed a unique collaboration with a team at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College to evaluate the retention of surgical sponges after surgery and find a solution. The team used an engineering problem solving methodology to develop the best solution. To make the operating room a safe environment for patients, the team identified a need to make the sponge itself safe for use as opposed to resolving the relatively innocuous counting methods. In evaluation of this case study, the need for systematic engineering evaluation to resolve problems in health-care delivery becomes clear.

DRUG USAGE AND DISPOSAL: OVERVIEW OF ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This article provides the background for understanding the many complex variables that combine to cause pollution of the environment with the active ingredients from pharmaceuticals. It also summarizes the many approaches that could potentially reduce this pollution. Significantly, actions designed for pollution prevention or pollution reduction hold the potential to also reduce healthcare expenses, improve therapeutic outcomes, and moderate the long-persisting national problem of morbidity and mortality caused by poisonings of infants, children, adults, pets, and sometimes wildlife. These collateral benefits are important to this discussion beacuse one of the major unknowns regarding trhe various pollution control actions (such as reducing generation and disposal of unwanted drugs) is whether they would actually result in significantly reduced pollution. The main driving force for reducing pollution may have more to do with human health and safety. Presentation

Ohm's Law, Batteries, and the Clean Energy Landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balsara, Nitash

The need for creating safe electrolytes for lithium batteries is significant given the continued safety problems associated with current lithium-ion batteries. Nonflammable polymer electrolytes offer a possible solution but the rate of lithium ion transport is too low for practical applications. In this talk, I will discuss some of the fundamental factors that limit ion transport in polymers. Polymer electrolytes obey Ohm's Law, i.e. in the limit of small applied potentials, the current generated at steady state is proportional to the applied potential. Factors that determine the current generated will be determined using the continuum theory of Newman. Independent measurements of ion diffusion by pulsed-field gradient NMR will also be presented. The talk will end with a discussion of the possibility of commercializing all-solid batteries with polymer electrolytes.

Manganese in Madison's drinking water.

PubMed

Schlenker, Thomas; Hausbeck, John; Sorsa, Kirsti

2008-12-01

Public concern over events of manganese-discolored drinking water and the potential for adverse health effects from exposure to excess manganese reached a high level in 2005. In response, Public Health Madison Dane County, together with the Madison Water Utility, conceived and implemented a public health/water utility strategy to quantify the extent of the manganese problem, determine the potential for adverse human health effects, and communicate these findings to the community. This strategy included five basic parts: taking an inventory of wells and their manganese levels, correlating manganese concentration with turbidity, determining the prevalence and distribution of excess manganese in Madison households, reviewing the available scientific literature, and effectively communicating our findings to the community. The year-long public health/water utility strategy successfully resolved the crisis of confidence in the safety of Madison's drinking water.

A research model--forecasting incident rates from optimized safety program intervention strategies.

PubMed

Iyer, P S; Haight, J M; Del Castillo, E; Tink, B W; Hawkins, P W

2005-01-01

INTRODUCTION/PROBLEM: Property damage incidents, workplace injuries, and safety programs designed to prevent them, are expensive aspects of doing business in contemporary industry. The National Safety Council (2002) estimated that workplace injuries cost $146.6 billion per year. Because companies are resource limited, optimizing intervention strategies to decrease incidents with less costly programs can contribute to improved productivity. Systematic data collection methods were employed and the forecasting ability of a time-lag relationship between interventions and incident rates was studied using various statistical methods (an intervention is not expected to have an immediate nor infinitely lasting effect on the incident rate). As a follow up to the initial work, researchers developed two models designed to forecast incident rates. One is based on past incident rate performance and the other on the configuration and level of effort applied to the safety and health program. Researchers compared actual incident performance to the prediction capability of each model over 18 months in the forestry operations at an electricity distribution company and found the models to allow accurate prediction of incident rates. These models potentially have powerful implications as a business-planning tool for human resource allocation and for designing an optimized safety and health intervention program to minimize incidents. Depending on the mathematical relationship, one can determine what interventions, where and how much to apply them, and when to increase or reduce human resource input as determined by the forecasted performance.

Problems with health information technology and their effects on care delivery and patient outcomes: a systematic review.

PubMed

Kim, Mi Ok; Coiera, Enrico; Magrabi, Farah

2017-03-01

To systematically review studies reporting problems with information technology (IT) in health care and their effects on care delivery and patient outcomes. We searched bibliographic databases including Scopus, PubMed, and Science Citation Index Expanded from January 2004 to December 2015 for studies reporting problems with IT and their effects. A framework called the information value chain, which connects technology use to final outcome, was used to assess how IT problems affect user interaction, information receipt, decision-making, care processes, and patient outcomes. The review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Of the 34 studies identified, the majority ( n  = 14, 41%) were analyses of incidents reported from 6 countries. There were 7 descriptive studies, 9 ethnographic studies, and 4 case reports. The types of IT problems were similar to those described in earlier classifications of safety problems associated with health IT. The frequency, scale, and severity of IT problems were not adequately captured within these studies. Use errors and poor user interfaces interfered with the receipt of information and led to errors of commission when making decisions. Clinical errors involving medications were well characterized. Issues with system functionality, including poor user interfaces and fragmented displays, delayed care delivery. Issues with system access, system configuration, and software updates also delayed care. In 18 studies (53%), IT problems were linked to patient harm and death. Near-miss events were reported in 10 studies (29%). The research evidence describing problems with health IT remains largely qualitative, and many opportunities remain to systematically study and quantify risks and benefits with regard to patient safety. The information value chain, when used in conjunction with existing classifications for health IT safety problems, can enhance measurement and should facilitate identification of the most significant risks to patient safety. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

A Life Course Model of Self-Reported Violence Exposure and Ill-health with A Public Health Problem Perspective.

PubMed

Olofsson, Niclas

2014-01-01

Violence has probably always been part of the human experience. Its impact can be seen, in various forms, in all parts of the world. In 1996, WHO:s Forty-Ninth World Health Assembly adopted a resolution, declaring violence a major and growing public health problem around the world. Public health work centers around health promotion and disease prevention activities in the population and public health is an expression of the health status of the population taking into account both the level and the distribution of health. Exposure to violence can have many aspects, differing throughout the life course - deprivation of autonomy, financial exploitation, psychological and physical neglect or abuse - but all types share common characteristics: the use of destructive force to control others by depriving them of safety, freedom, health and, in too many instances, life; the epidemic proportions of the problem, particularly among vulnerable groups; a devastating impact on individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, and society. There is considerable evidence that stressful early life events influence a variety of physical and/or psychological health problems later in life. Childhood adversity has been linked to elevated rates of morbidity and mortality from number of chronic diseases. A model outlining potential biobehavioural pathways is put forward that may be a potential explanation of how exposure to violence among both men and women work as an important risk factor for ill health and should receive greater attention in public health work.

A Life Course Model of Self-Reported Violence Exposure and Ill-health with A Public Health Problem Perspective

PubMed Central

Olofsson, Niclas

2014-01-01

Violence has probably always been part of the human experience. Its impact can be seen, in various forms, in all parts of the world. In 1996, WHO:s Forty-Ninth World Health Assembly adopted a resolution, declaring violence a major and growing public health problem around the world. Public health work centers around health promotion and disease prevention activities in the population and public health is an expression of the health status of the population taking into account both the level and the distribution of health. Exposure to violence can have many aspects, differing throughout the life course ― deprivation of autonomy, financial exploitation, psychological and physical neglect or abuse — but all types share common characteristics: the use of destructive force to control others by depriving them of safety, freedom, health and, in too many instances, life; the epidemic proportions of the problem, particularly among vulnerable groups; a devastating impact on individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, and society. There is considerable evidence that stressful early life events influence a variety of physical and/or psychological health problems later in life. Childhood adversity has been linked to elevated rates of morbidity and mortality from number of chronic diseases. A model outlining potential biobehavioural pathways is put forward that may be a potential explanation of how exposure to violence among both men and women work as an important risk factor for ill health and should receive greater attention in public health work. PMID:29666824

A Historical Analysis of Crane Mishaps at Kennedy Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolfe, Crystal

2014-01-01

Cranes and hoists are widely used in many areas. Crane accidents and handling mishaps are responsible for injuries, costly equipment damage, and program delays. Most crane accidents are caused by preventable factors. Understanding these factors is critical when designing cranes and preparing lift plans. Analysis of previous accidents provides insight into current recommendations for crane safety. Cranes and hoists are used throughout Kennedy Space Center to lift everything from machine components to critical flight hardware. Unless they are trained crane operators, most NASA employees and contractors do not need to undergo specialized crane training and may not understand the safety issues surrounding the use of cranes and hoists. A single accident with a crane or hoist can injure or kill people, cause severe equipment damage, and delay or terminate a program. Handling mishaps can also have a significant impact on the program. Simple mistakes like bouncing or jarring a load, or moving the crane down when it should go up, can damage fragile flight hardware and cause major delays in processing. Hazardous commodities (high pressure gas, hypergolic propellants, and solid rocket motors) can cause life safety concerns for the workers performing the lifting operations. Most crane accidents are preventable with the correct training and understanding of potential hazards. Designing the crane with human factors taken into account can prevent many accidents. Engineers are also responsible for preparing lift plans where understanding the safety issues can prevent or mitigate potential accidents. Cranes are widely used across many areas of KSC. Failure of these cranes often leads to injury, high damage costs, and significant delays in program objectives. Following a basic set of principles and procedures during design, fabrication, testing, regular use, and maintenance can significantly minimize many of these failures. As the accident analysis shows, load drops are often caused or influenced by human factors. Therefore, proper training and understanding of crane safety throughout the workforce is critical. It is important that the engineers designing the cranes, lift planners preparing the lift plans, operators performing the lifts, and training officers conducting the operator training all understand the problems that can happen with cranes and how to ensure the safety of the workforce and equipment being lifted.

Bayesian road safety analysis: incorporation of past evidence and effect of hyper-prior choice.

PubMed

Miranda-Moreno, Luis F; Heydari, Shahram; Lord, Dominique; Fu, Liping

2013-09-01

This paper aims to address two related issues when applying hierarchical Bayesian models for road safety analysis, namely: (a) how to incorporate available information from previous studies or past experiences in the (hyper) prior distributions for model parameters and (b) what are the potential benefits of incorporating past evidence on the results of a road safety analysis when working with scarce accident data (i.e., when calibrating models with crash datasets characterized by a very low average number of accidents and a small number of sites). A simulation framework was developed to evaluate the performance of alternative hyper-priors including informative and non-informative Gamma, Pareto, as well as Uniform distributions. Based on this simulation framework, different data scenarios (i.e., number of observations and years of data) were defined and tested using crash data collected at 3-legged rural intersections in California and crash data collected for rural 4-lane highway segments in Texas. This study shows how the accuracy of model parameter estimates (inverse dispersion parameter) is considerably improved when incorporating past evidence, in particular when working with the small number of observations and crash data with low mean. The results also illustrates that when the sample size (more than 100 sites) and the number of years of crash data is relatively large, neither the incorporation of past experience nor the choice of the hyper-prior distribution may affect the final results of a traffic safety analysis. As a potential solution to the problem of low sample mean and small sample size, this paper suggests some practical guidance on how to incorporate past evidence into informative hyper-priors. By combining evidence from past studies and data available, the model parameter estimates can significantly be improved. The effect of prior choice seems to be less important on the hotspot identification. The results show the benefits of incorporating prior information when working with limited crash data in road safety studies. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of thermal hydrolysis and ultrasounds pretreatments on foaming in anaerobic digesters.

PubMed

Alfaro, N; Cano, R; Fdz-Polanco, F

2014-10-01

Foam appears regularly in anaerobic digesters producing operational and safety problems. In this research, based on the operational observation at semi-industrial pilot scale where sludge pretreatment mitigated foaming in anaerobic digesters, this study aimed at evaluating any potential relationship between foaming tools applied to activated sludge at lab-scale (foam potential, foam stability and Microthrix parvicella abundance) and the experimental behavior observed in pilot scale and full-scale anaerobic digesters. The potential of thermal hydrolysis and ultrasounds for reducing foaming capacity was also evaluated. Filamentous bacteria abundance was directly linked to foaming capacity in anaerobic processes. A maximum reduction of M.parvicella abundance (from 5 to 2) was reached using thermal hydrolysis with steam explosion at 170°C and ultrasounds at 66.7kWh/m(3), showing both good anti-foaming properties. On the other hand, foam potential and stability determinations showed a lack of consistency with the bacteria abundance results and experimental evidences. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety assessment of non-animal chondroitin sulfate sodium: Subchronic study in rats, genotoxicity tests and human bioavailability.

PubMed

Miraglia, Niccolò; Bianchi, Davide; Trentin, Antonella; Volpi, Nicola; Soni, Madhu G

2016-07-01

Chondroitin sulfate, an amino sugar polymer made of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-galactosamine, is used in dietary supplements to promote joint health. Commonly used chondroitin sulfate is of animal origin and can pose potential safety problems including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The objective of the present study was to investigate potential adverse effects, if any, of microbial derived chondroitin sulfate sodium (CSS) in subchronic toxicity, genotoxicity and bioavailability studies. In the toxicity study, Sprague Dawley rats (10/sex/group) were gavaged with CSS at dose levels of 0, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight (bw)/day for 90-days. No mortality or significant changes in clinical signs, body weights, body weight gain or feed consumption were noted. Similarly, no toxicologically relevant treatment-related changes in hematological, clinical chemistry, urinalysis and organ weights were noted. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations did not reveal treatment-related abnormalities. In vitro mutagenic and clastogenic potentials as evaluated by Ames assay, chromosomal aberration test and micronucleus assay did not reveal genotoxicity of CSS. In pharmacokinetic study in human, CSS showed higher absorption as compared to chondroitin sulfate of animal origin. The results of subchronic toxicity study supports the no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) for CSS as 1000 mg/kg bw/day, the highest dose tested. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In-line Kevlar filters for microfiltration of transuranic-containing liquid streams.

PubMed

Gonzales, G J; Beddingfield, D H; Lieberman, J L; Curtis, J M; Ficklin, A C

1992-06-01

The Department of Energy Rocky Flats Plant has numerous ongoing efforts to minimize the generation of residue and waste and to improve safety and health. Spent polypropylene liquid filters held for plutonium recovery, known as "residue," or as transuranic mixed waste contribute to storage capacity problems and create radiation safety and health considerations. An in-line process-liquid filter made of Kevlar polymer fiber has been evaluated for its potential to: (1) minimize filter residue, (2) recover economically viable quantities of plutonium, (3) minimize liquid storage tank and process-stream radioactivity, and (4) reduce potential personnel radiation exposure associated with these sources. Kevlar filters were rated to less than or equal to 1 mu nominal filtration and are capable of reducing undissolved plutonium particles to more than 10 times below the economic discard limit, however produced high back-pressures and are not yet acid resistant. Kevlar filters performed independent of loaded particles serving as a sieve. Polypropylene filters removed molybdenum particles at efficiencies equal to Kevlar filters only after loading molybdenum during recirculation events. Kevlars' high-efficiency microfiltration of process-liquid streams for the removal of actinides has the potential to reduce personnel radiation exposure by a factor of 6 or greater, while simultaneously achieving a reduction in the generation of filter residue and waste by a factor of 7. Insoluble plutonium may be recoverable from Kevlar filters by incineration.

Risks associated with borrowing and sharing of prescription analgesics among patients observed by pain management physicians in Croatia: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Markotic, Filipa; Puljak, Livia

2016-01-01

Understanding and improving patient safety is a key issue in medicine. One of the potential threats to patient safety is the sharing of medication among patients, which is a form of self-medication. This study analyzed experiences and attitudes of pain management physicians (PMPs) about sharing prescription analgesics among patients. This qualitative study was conducted by semi-structured interviews among PMPs employed in Croatian pain clinics. The study involved two researchers and 15 PMPs. Among PMPs, 80% have seen patients who share their prescription analgesics with other patients for whom prescription is not intended. Most PMPs consider prescription analgesics sharing a risky and negative behavior. Some of them, however, found certain positive aspects associated to it, such as being a benevolent behavior, helping patients to get medications when they need them, and helping them cope with pain. The majority of physicians specialized in pain management encountered patients sharing prescription analgesics. Most of them considered this as risky behavior with a number of potential consequences. It has been noted that this problem is neglected and that physicians should inquire about medication sharing. Direct-to-consumers advertising was perceived as a factor contributing to such behavior. Patient education and more involvement of physicians in identifying this behavior were cited as potential remedies for preventing sharing of prescription analgesics.

Behavior based safety. A different way of looking at an old problem.

PubMed

Haney, L; Anderson, M

1999-09-01

1. The occupational and environmental health nurse role in behavioral safety initiatives can very to include: serving as a leader, change agent, collaborator with safety professionals, consultant, team participant, educator, coach, and supporter to employees and management. 2. Behavior based safety and health initiatives add to existing knowledge and techniques for improving the health and safety of workers. 3. Behavior based safety relies on employee involvement and places a strong emphasis on observation, measurement, feedback, positive reinforcement, and evaluation. It focuses on identification of system improvements and prevention.

55+ Drivers: Needs and Problems of Older Drivers: Survey Results and Recommendations. Proceedings of the Older Driver Colloquium (Orlando, Florida, February 4-7, 1985).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malfetti, James L., Ed.

These proceedings include 11 background papers that were presented by a panel of authorities in traffic safety and/or gerontology who were professionally concerned with older drivers and pedestrians. Papers focus on the needs and problems of older drivers and on what can and should be done to deal with them. Recommendations to improve safety for…

Applications of teleworking based on a study of disabled workers.

PubMed

Nishina, Masahisa

2010-01-01

There are many problems involved in maintaining safety for different kinds of handicapped workers. One of the biggest problems is how these persons can commute to their workplace safely. One possible solution to this problem is using a teleworking system. This system is also good for saving money and the environment because it does not require commuting. The teleworking system has many other merits including enhanced safety and can be applied to many other aspects of life. For example, it can be used for the care of solitary elderly persons, watching small children in a two-income family, and working or providing medical treatment in remote and underpopulated areas. However, these applications are not yet common, and few reports have dealt with such merits. The case studies of disabled workers using teleworking reported here demonstrate the safety, financial and environmental benefits of teleworking.

UAS Detection Classification and Neutralization: Market Survey 2015

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Birch, Gabriel Carisle; Griffin, John Clark; Erdman, Matthew Kelly

The purpose of this document is to briefly frame the challenges of detecting low, slow, and small (LSS) unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The conclusion drawn from internal discussions and external reports is the following; detection of LSS UAS is a challenging problem that can- not be achieved with a single detection modality for all potential targets. Classification of LSS UAS, especially classification in the presence of background clutter (e.g., urban environment) or other non-threating targets (e.g., birds), is under-explored. Though information of avail- able technologies is sparse, many of the existing options for UAS detection appear to be in theirmore » infancy (when compared to more established ground-based air defense systems for larger and/or faster threats). Companies currently providing or developing technologies to combat the UAS safety and security problem are certainly worth investigating, however, no company has provided the statistical evidence necessary to support robust detection, identification, and/or neutralization of LSS UAS targets. The results of a market survey are included that highlights potential commercial entities that could contribute some technology that assists in the detection, classification, and neutral- ization of a LSS UAS. This survey found no clear and obvious commercial solution, though recommendations are given for further investigation of several potential systems.« less

School Safety Policies With Emphasis on Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Washington, DC.

This booklet outlines principles of hazard control, school accident problems, and the need for guidelines and policies. Suggested general school safety policies, guidelines for courses in safety education and for the provision of facilities and supplies, policies for the administration of first aid and emergency care, and procedures for reporting…

GAO’s Views on DOE’s 1991 Budget for Addressing Problems at the Nuclear Weapons Complex

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-02

management, and efforts by DOE to make its contractors more accountable. Also, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board mandated by the Congress became...and safety matters. 6 Finally, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board was established. Although not a DOE action, its establishment, nevertheless

The aviation safety reporting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynard, W. D.

1984-01-01

The aviation safety reporting system, an accident reporting system, is presented. The system identifies deficiencies and discrepancies and the data it provides are used for long term identification of problems. Data for planning and policy making are provided. The system offers training in safety education to pilots. Data and information are drawn from the available data bases.

The Washington State Task Force on Student Transportation Safety. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington State Legislature, Olympia.

Findings of a study conducted by the Washington State Task Force on Student Transportation Safety are presented in this report. The data-collection process involved four phases: meetings with experts in student transportation and pedestrian safety; public meetings, informational work sessions, and tours of problems areas; task force meetings; and…

A Review of Interventions To Increase Driving Safety among Teenage Drivers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattox, John R., II

Young drivers across the United States represent a persistent traffic safety problem. Many interventions have been imposed on these drivers but few studies have evaluated the impact of these interventions on risky behaviors or traffic safety measures. To fill this gap, a review was undertaken to examine the most rigorous methodological evaluations…

QUESTION--WHAT MAKES A SCHOOL SITE SAFE. ANSWER--DEFINITE PLANNING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

GEORGE, N.L.; GILLILAND, LONNIE, SR.

TWO STAFF MEMBERS FROM A SYSTEM OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT, AND THE DIRECTOR OF SAFETY EDUCATION DISCUSSED THE PROBLEMS OF TRAFFIC SAFETY ON AND AROUND THE SCHOOL SITE. FACTORS WHICH WERE CONSIDERED INCLUDE--(1) SCHOOL SITE AND BUILDING LOCATION, (2) SAFETY REQUIREMENTS, PRACTICES AND PRINCIPLES, (3) SIDEWALK DESIGN AND…

Safety and Efficacy of Lacrimal Drainage System Plugs for Dry Eye Syndrome: A Report by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

PubMed

Marcet, Marcus M; Shtein, Roni M; Bradley, Elizabeth A; Deng, Sophie X; Meyer, Dale R; Bilyk, Jurij R; Yen, Michael T; Lee, W Barry; Mawn, Louise A

2015-08-01

To review the published literature assessing the efficacy and safety of lacrimal drainage system plug insertion for dry eye in adults. Literature searches of the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were last conducted on March 9, 2015, without date restrictions and were limited to English language abstracts. The searches retrieved 309 unique citations. The primary authors reviewed the titles and abstracts. Inclusion criteria specified reports that provided original data on plugs for the treatment of dry eyes in at least 25 patients. Fifty-three studies of potential relevance were assigned to full-text review. The 27 studies that met the inclusion criteria underwent data abstraction by the panels. Abstracted data included study characteristics, patient characteristics, plug type, insertion technique, treatment response, and safety information. All studies were observational and rated by a methodologist as level II or III evidence. The plugs included punctal, intracanalicular, and dissolving types. Fifteen studies reported metrics of improvement in dry eye symptoms, ocular-surface status, artificial tear use, contact lens comfort, and tear break-up time. Twenty-five studies included safety data. Plug placement resulted in ≥50% improvement of symptoms, improvement in ocular-surface health, reduction in artificial tear use, and improved contact lens comfort in patients with dry eye. Serious complications from plugs were infrequent. Plug loss was the most commonly reported problem with punctal plugs, occurring on average in 40% of patients. Overall, among all plug types, approximately 9% of patients experienced epiphora and 10% required removal because of irritation from the plugs. Canaliculitis was the most commonly reported problem for intracanalicular plugs and occurred in approximately 8% of patients. Other complications were reported in less than 4% of patients on average and included tearing, discomfort, pyogenic granuloma, and dacryocystitis. On the basis of level II and III evidence in these studies, plugs improve the signs and symptoms of moderate dry eye that are not improved with topical lubrication, and they are well tolerated. There are no level I studies that describe the efficacy or safety of lacrimal drainage system plugs. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Defining and measuring patient safety.

PubMed

Pronovost, Peter J; Thompson, David A; Holzmueller, Christine G; Lubomski, Lisa H; Morlock, Laura L

2005-01-01

Despite the growing demand for improved safety in health care, debate remains regarding the magnitude of the problem and the degree to which harm is preventable. To a great extent, this debate stems from variation in the definition and methods for measuring safety, its "shadow" error, and the degree of preventability. This article reviews the definition of safety and error, discusses approaches to measuring safety, and provides a framework for investigating incidents that unveils how the systems under which care is delivered may contribute to adverse incidents.

Factors promoting or potentially impeding school success: disparities and state variations for children with special health care needs.

PubMed

Bethell, Christina; Forrest, Christopher B; Stumbo, Scott; Gombojav, Narangerel; Carle, Adam; Irwin, Charles E

2012-04-01

School success predicts many pathways for health and well-being across the life span. Factors promoting or potentially impeding school success are critical to understand for all children and for children with special health care needs (CSHCN), whose life course trajectories are already impacted by their chronic health problems. The 2007 National Survey of Children's Health was used (1) to estimate national and state prevalence and within and across states disparities in factors promoting school success (engagement, participation, safety) or potentially impeding success (missing school, grade repetition, school identified problems) for all children and CSHCN and (2) to evaluate associations with CSHCN service need complexity and presence of emotional, behavioral or developmental problems (EBD) as well as with school case management policies in states. Among school age children, 60 % experienced all three factors promoting school success (49.3-73.8 % across states), dropping to 51.3 % for CSHCN (39.4-64.7 % across states) and to 36.2 % for the 40 % of all CSHCN who have both more complex service needs and EBD. CSHCN were more likely to experience factors potentially impeding school success. After accounting for child factors, CSHCN living in states requiring case management in schools for children with disabilities were less likely to experience grade repetition (OR 0.65). Within-state disparities between non-CSHCN and CSHCN varied across states. Threats to school success for US children are pervasive and are especially pronounced for CSHCN with more complex needs and EBD. Findings support broad, non-condition specific efforts to promote school success for CSHCN and consideration of state school policies, such as case management.

National Conference on Campus Safety (22nd, The University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, July 6-10, 1975). Safety Monographs for Schools and Colleges No. 35.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Jack N., Ed.

The objective of the Campus Safety Association is to promote safety on college and university campuses by the exchange of information on prevention of accidents to faculty, staff, and students. The annual conference, of several days duration, is a combination of education, training, and discussion of specific problems. This monograph contains the…

Nozzle Extension for Safety Air Gun

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zumbrun, H. N.; Croom, Delwin R., Jr.

1986-01-01

New nozzle-extension design overcomes problems and incorporates original commercial nozzle, retaining intrinsic safety features. Components include extension tube, length of which made to suit application; adaptor fitting, and nozzle adaptor repinned to maintain original safety features. Design moves conical airstream to end of extension to blow machine chips away from operator. Nozzle-extension modification allows safe and efficient operation of machine tools while maintaining integrity of orginial safety-air-gun design.

Shared Learning and the Drive to Improve Patient Safety: Lessons Learned from the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

the environmental, cultural, and infrastructure changes in health care that will be necessary to achieve significant, widespread patient safety...to improved patient outcomes. Achievement of improved patient safety requires enhanced health care leadership commitment and learning systems that... health care organizations and practitioners to work together to identify and solve patient safety problems. Providing safe care requires a learning

Revised fire safety system cuts emergency response time.

PubMed

Keir, D C

1979-03-01

As Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital, Hendersonville, NC. expanded, fire safety plans had to be reevaluated. With each new addition, fire safety responsibilities for hospital personnel multiplied and overlapped. Confusion resulted, and a revised, simplified, and coordinated fire safety system was devised. Seventeen false alarms within one year, caused by a faulty sprinkler system, gave hospital personnel ample opportunity to test the system and iron out unexpected problems.

A Live Threat Violence Simulation Exercise for Psychiatric Outpatient Departments: A Valuable Aid to Training in Violence Prevention.

PubMed

Feinstein, Robert E; Yager, Joel

2017-10-30

Violence in psychiatric outpatient settings is a ubiquitous concern. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a live threat violence simulation exercise, designed to reduce the risk of future outpatient clinic violence and minimize the effects of future incidents on staff. The psychiatric outpatient clinic at the University of Colorado Hospital developed, implemented, and evaluated a 4-hour live violence threat simulation exercise as a companion to a 7-hour violence prevention program. The simulation includes an orientation, two threat simulation scenarios, three debriefings, satisfaction surveys, problem identification, action plans, and annual safety and process improvements. The authors have conducted live violence simulation exercises from 2011-2016, and have collected survey data about our annual simulation exercise from 2014-2016. Each year ≥ 52% of participants responded, and each year ≥ 90% of respondents rated the simulation as "very helpful/helpful", ≥ 86% believed themselves to be "much better/better" prepared to deal with violent episodes, and < 2% of participants experienced post-simulation side effects such as worries about past trauma; anxiety; sleep problems; increase in workplace concerns. From 2011-2016, the clinic experienced 4 major violent episodes and 36 episodes of potential violence with no staff injuries and minimal psychological sequelae to one staff member. Violence prevention efforts and the development of close police/staff relationships may have contributed to these fortunate outcomes. Satisfaction surveys suggest that the simulations are very helpful/helpful, with participants feeling much better/ better prepared to manage violence. The exercises led the authors to initiate staff safety related behavioral changes as well as physical space and safety processes improvements. The violence prevention program and simulation exercises have promoted excellent relationships with police and a consistent safety record over six years. This approach may be useful for other psychiatric outpatient departments.

Rain Simulation for the Test of Automotive Surround Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasirlioglu, Sinan; Riener, Andreas; Doric, Igor

2017-04-01

The WHO Global Health Observatory data indicates that over 1.25 million people die in traffic accidents annually. To save lives, car manufacturers spend lot of efforts on the development of novel safety systems aiming to avoid or mitigate accidents and provide maximum protection for vehicle occupants as well as vulnerable road users. All the safety features mainly rely on data from surround sensors such as radar, lidar and camera and intelligent vehicles today use these environmental data for instant decision making and vehicle control. As already small errors in sensor data measurements could lead to catastrophes like major injuries or road traffic fatalities, it is of utmost importance to ensure high reliability and accuracy of sensors and safety systems. This work focuses on the influence of environmental factors such as rain conditions, as it is known that rain drops scatter the electromagnetic waves. The result is incorrect measurements with a direct negative impact on environment detection. To identify potential problems of sensors under varying environmental conditions, systems are today tested in real-world settings with two main problems: First, tests are time-consuming and second, environmental conditions are not reproducible. Our approach to test the influence of weather on automotive sensors is to use an indoor rain simulator. Our artificial rain maker, installed at CARISSMA (Center of Automotive Research on Integrated Safety Systems and Measurement Area), is parametrized with rain characteristics measured in the field using a standard disdrometer. System behavior on artificial rain is compared and validated with natural rainfall. With this simulator it is finally possible to test environmental influence at various levels and under reproducible conditions. This saves lot of efforts required for the test process itself and furthermore has a positive impact on the reliability of sensor systems due to the fact that test driven development is enabled.

2006 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Transportation, : Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic crash problems. : It i...

2004 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of : Transportation, Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic : crash problems. It i...

2007 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Transportation, : Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic crash problems. : It i...

2009 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Transportation, : Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic crash problems. : It i...

2010 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Transportation, : Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic crash problems. : It i...

2003 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of : Transportation, Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic : crash problems. It i...

2005 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Transportation, : Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic crash problems. : It i...

Winter Weather Emergencies

MedlinePlus

Severe winter weather can lead to health and safety challenges. You may have to cope with Cold related health problems, including ... there are no guarantees of safety during winter weather emergencies, you can take actions to protect yourself. ...

2008 Missouri traffic safety compendium

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

The purpose of this publication is to provide the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Transportation, : Highway Safety Division, and other State and local authorities with information on Missouri's traffic crash problems. : It i...

The Health and Safety Act--and Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borrows, T. P.

1975-01-01

Describes some of the problems likely to be encountered by British science teachers and school science departments in the implementation of laboratory standards under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. (MLH)

Proposed revisions to the DMV external driver history transcript.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1985-01-01

The Division of Motor Vehicles, Transportation Safety Administration (formerly Virginia Department of Transportation Safety) awarded a grant to the Virginia Highway and Transportation Research Council to investigate the problems experienced by those ...

Economic Issues on Food Safety.

PubMed

Adinolfi, Felice; Di Pasquale, Jorgelina; Capitanio, Fabian

2016-01-18

A globalised food trade, with a huge increase of the exchanged volume, extensive production and complex supply chains are contributing towards an increased number of microbiological food safety outbreaks. All of these factors are putting pressure on the stakeholders, either public or private, in terms of rule and control. In fact, this scenario could force manufacturers to be lenient towards food safety control intentionally, or unintentionally, and result in a major foodborne outbreak that causes health problems and economic loss. As a response to emerging calls for the adoption of a systemic approach to food safety, we try to identify and discuss the several related economics issue in this field. Based on an extensive analysis of academic and policy literatures on the economic effects of global environmental change at different stages of the food system, we highlight the main issues involving economists in the field of food safety. In the first part, we assessed the several approaches and problems related to the evaluation of food safety improvements, followed by an overview of drivers of food safety demand in the second part. The third section is devoted to discussing changes occurred at the institutional level in building and managing food safety policies. The last section summarises the main considerations aroused from the work.

Safety management of complex research operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, W. J.

1981-01-01

Complex research and technology operations present many varied potential hazards which must be addressed in a disciplined independent safety review and approval process. The research and technology effort at the Lewis Research Center is divided into programmatic areas of aeronautics, space and energy. Potential hazards vary from high energy fuels to hydrocarbon fuels, high pressure systems to high voltage systems, toxic chemicals to radioactive materials and high speed rotating machinery to high powered lasers. A Safety Permit System presently covers about 600 potentially hazardous operations. The Safety Management Program described in this paper is believed to be a major factor in maintaining an excellent safety record at the Lewis Research Center.

Comparison of two drug safety signals in a pharmacovigilance data mining framework.

PubMed

Tubert-Bitter, Pascale; Bégaud, Bernard; Ahmed, Ismaïl

2016-04-01

Since adverse drug reactions are a major public health concern, early detection of drug safety signals has become a top priority for regulatory agencies and the pharmaceutical industry. Quantitative methods for analyzing spontaneous reporting material recorded in pharmacovigilance databases through data mining have been proposed in the last decades and are increasingly used to flag potential safety problems. While automated data mining is motivated by the usually huge size of pharmacovigilance databases, it does not systematically produce relevant alerts. Moreover, each detected signal requires appropriate assessment that may involve investigation of the whole therapeutic class. The goal of this article is to provide a methodology for comparing two detected signals. It is nested within the automated surveillance framework as (1) no extra information is required and (2) no simple inference on the actual risks can be extrapolated from spontaneous reporting data. We designed our methodology on the basis of two classical methods used for automated signal detection: the Bayesian Gamma Poisson Shrinker and the frequentist Proportional Reporting Ratio. A simulation study was conducted to assess the performances of both proposed methods. The latter were used to compare cardiovascular signals for two HIV treatments from the French pharmacovigilance database. © The Author(s) 2012.

Formal Verification of Safety Properties for Aerospace Systems Through Algorithms Based on Exhaustive State-Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ciardo, Gianfranco

2004-01-01

The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) designed by Lockheed Martin is part of NASA's effort to reduce aviation accidents. We developed a Petri net model of the RSM protocol and used the model checking functions of our tool SMART to investigate a number of safety properties in RSM. To mitigate the impact of state-space explosion, we built a highly discretized model of the system, obtained by partitioning the monitored runway zone into a grid of smaller volumes and by considering scenarios involving only two aircraft. The model also assumes that there are no communication failures, such as bad input from radar or lack of incoming data, thus it relies on a consistent view of reality by all participants. In spite of these simplifications, we were able to expose potential problems in the RSM conceptual design. Our findings were forwarded to the design engineers, who undertook corrective action. Additionally, the results stress the efficiency attained by the new model checking algorithms implemented in SMART, and demonstrate their applicability to real-world systems. Attempts to verify RSM with NuSMV and SPIN have failed due to excessive memory consumption.

Quasi-Solid-State Rechargeable Li-O2 Batteries with High Safety and Long Cycle Life at Room Temperature.

PubMed

Cho, Sung Man; Shim, Jimin; Cho, Sung Ho; Kim, Jiwoong; Son, Byung Dae; Lee, Jong-Chan; Yoon, Woo Young

2018-05-09

As interest in electric vehicles and mass energy storage systems continues to grow, Li-O 2 batteries are attracting much attention as a candidate for next-generation energy storage systems owing to their high energy density. However, safety problems related to the use of lithium metal anodes have hampered the commercialization of Li-O 2 batteries. Herein, we introduced a quasi-solid polymer electrolyte with excellent electrochemical, chemical, and thermal stabilities into Li-O 2 batteries. The ion-conducting QSPE was prepared by gelling a polymer network matrix consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate, methacrylated tannic acid, lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate, and nanofumed silica with a small amount of liquid electrolyte. The quasi-solid-state Li-O 2 cell consisted of a lithium powder anode, a quasi-solid polymer electrolyte, and a Pd 3 Co/multiwalled carbon nanotube cathode, which enhanced the electrochemical performance of the cell. This cell, which exhibited improved safety owing to the suppression of lithium dendrite growth, achieved a lifetime of 125 cycles at room temperature. These results show that the introduction of a quasi-solid electrolyte is a potentially new alternative for the commercialization of solid-state Li-O 2 batteries.

Software Safety Risk in Legacy Safety-Critical Computer Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Janice L.; Baggs, Rhoda

2007-01-01

Safety Standards contain technical and process-oriented safety requirements. Technical requirements are those such as "must work" and "must not work" functions in the system. Process-Oriented requirements are software engineering and safety management process requirements. Address the system perspective and some cover just software in the system > NASA-STD-8719.13B Software Safety Standard is the current standard of interest. NASA programs/projects will have their own set of safety requirements derived from the standard. Safety Cases: a) Documented demonstration that a system complies with the specified safety requirements. b) Evidence is gathered on the integrity of the system and put forward as an argued case. [Gardener (ed.)] c) Problems occur when trying to meet safety standards, and thus make retrospective safety cases, in legacy safety-critical computer systems.

Rationales for home safety promotion in the Iranian primary healthcare system: results from a pilot study.

PubMed

Mohammadi, R; Ekman, R; Svanström, L; Gooya, M M

2006-01-01

To analyse the prerequisites for a nationwide primary healthcare (PHC) home safety promotion programme in Iran. Injury is a major public health problem throughout the world, currently accounting for one-seventh of all premature deaths and disabilities. Within 20 years, it is estimated that the proportion will increase to one-fifth. The present healthcare system in Iran was started in 1979, with a major focus on easy access to services and prevention. The system is based on the 'health house', which is run by community health workers. A survey shows that 36% of injuries occur in the home environment. A pilot phase of the Home Safety Promotion Programme was initiated in 1994, and included safety checking at home for fences, kitchens, drugs and poisons, heaters, electricity, and stairs and ladders. The pilot study covered 478,551 households out of the 12 million (approximately) in Iran. Sixty-nine supervisors were involved individually, assembled into eight focus groups. Household safety increased by 10-20% over the 4 years of the study. The frequency of home visits changed from annual to seasonal, since all participants agreed that there were seasonal differences in safety problems. The supervisors showed a high level of knowledge of injury as a public health problem, and also positive attitudes towards doing something about safety on the basis of a PHC scheme. The role of a surveillance system was highlighted, and it was suggested that such a system should be added to the programme. Based on our preliminary findings, there were reasons to obtain a policy decision concerning a national programme for safety promotion before extending the pilot scheme to the whole country. A national safety programme was decided upon following completion of the pilot study. It includes a home-related-injury surveillance system that is mandatory in rural areas and voluntary in some cities.

Road Risk Modeling and Cloud-Aided Safety-Based Route Planning.

PubMed

Li, Zhaojian; Kolmanovsky, Ilya; Atkins, Ella; Lu, Jianbo; Filev, Dimitar P; Michelini, John

2016-11-01

This paper presents a safety-based route planner that exploits vehicle-to-cloud-to-vehicle (V2C2V) connectivity. Time and road risk index (RRI) are considered as metrics to be balanced based on user preference. To evaluate road segment risk, a road and accident database from the highway safety information system is mined with a hybrid neural network model to predict RRI. Real-time factors such as time of day, day of the week, and weather are included as correction factors to the static RRI prediction. With real-time RRI and expected travel time, route planning is formulated as a multiobjective network flow problem and further reduced to a mixed-integer programming problem. A V2C2V implementation of our safety-based route planning approach is proposed to facilitate access to real-time information and computing resources. A real-world case study, route planning through the city of Columbus, Ohio, is presented. Several scenarios illustrate how the "best" route can be adjusted to favor time versus safety metrics.

Identification of Potential Hazard using Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sari, R. M.; Syahputri, K.; Rizkya, I.; Siregar, I.

2017-03-01

This research was conducted in the paper production’s company. These Paper products will be used as a cigarette paper. Along in the production’s process, Company provides the machines and equipment that operated by workers. During the operations, all workers may potentially injured. It known as a potential hazard. Hazard identification and risk assessment is one part of a safety and health program in the stage of risk management. This is very important as part of efforts to prevent occupational injuries and diseases resulting from work. This research is experiencing a problem that is not the identification of potential hazards and risks that would be faced by workers during the running production process. The purpose of this study was to identify the potential hazards by using hazard identification and risk assessment methods. Risk assessment is done using severity criteria and the probability of an accident. According to the research there are 23 potential hazard that occurs with varying severity and probability. Then made the determination Risk Assessment Code (RAC) for each potential hazard, and gained 3 extreme risks, 10 high risks, 6 medium risks and 3 low risks. We have successfully identified potential hazard using RAC.

Subcontractors and increased risk for work-related diseases and absenteeism.

PubMed

Min, Kyoung B; Park, Shin G; Song, Jae S; Yi, Kwan H; Jang, Tae W; Min, Jin Y

2013-11-01

Despite increasing reliance on subcontracting in many economic sectors, there is little information available on occupational health and safety issues among subcontractor employees. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of subcontracting on self-reported health problems and absences due to occupational accidents and sickness using a nationally representative sample from South Korea. The data used were sampled from the second wave of the Korean Working Conditions Survey [2010]. Information on 3,282 parent firm employees and 728 subcontractor employees was obtained. For the logistic regression model, the outcomes were work-related health problems and absenteeism. The independent variables were personal and occupational characteristics, job aspects, and working hazards. Subcontractor employees were significantly more likely to experience health problems than the employee at parent firms. In particular, subcontractors' risk of injuries and anxiety/depression increased twofold (odd ratios, OR=2.01, 95% confidence interval, CIs, 1.24-3.26) and threefold (OR=2.95, 95% CIs 1.52-5.73), respectively, after controlling for potential variables. In addition, subcontractor employees were three times more likely than employees at parent firms to miss work due to illness (OR=3.56; 95% CIs 2.02-6.26). Working conditions, especially those related to job aspects and workplace exposures, attenuated these risks. Subcontracting workers were found to have a higher risk of work-related diseases and a higher absenteeism rate than parent firm workers. Our study highlights the need to protect and improve the occupational health and safety of subcontractor employees. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Problem area descriptions : motor vehicle crashes - data analysis and IVI program analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

In general, the IVI program focuses on the more significant safety problem categories as : indicated by statistical analyses of crash data. However, other factors were considered in setting : program priorities and schedules. For some problem areas, ...

[Problems of safety regulation under radioactive waste management in Russia].

PubMed

Monastyrskaia, S G; Kochetkov, O A; Barchukov, V G; Kuznetsova, L I

2012-01-01

Analysis of the requirements of Federal Law N 190 "About radioactive waste management and incorporation of changes into some legislative acts of the Russian Federation", as well as normative-legislative documents actual and planned to be published related to provision of radiation protection of the workers and the public have been done. Problems of safety regulation raised due to different approaches of Rospotrebnadzor, FMBA of Russia, Rostekhnadzor and Minprirody with respect to classification and categorization of the radioactive wastes, disposal, exemption from regulatory control, etc. have been discussed in the paper. Proposals regarding improvement of the system of safety regulation under radioactive waste management and of cooperation of various regulatory bodies have been formulated.

A variational dynamic programming approach to robot-path planning with a distance-safety criterion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Suh, Suk-Hwan; Shin, Kang G.

1988-01-01

An approach to robot-path planning is developed by considering both the traveling distance and the safety of the robot. A computationally-efficient algorithm is developed to find a near-optimal path with a weighted distance-safety criterion by using a variational calculus and dynamic programming (VCDP) method. The algorithm is readily applicable to any factory environment by representing the free workspace as channels. A method for deriving these channels is also proposed. Although it is developed mainly for two-dimensional problems, this method can be easily extended to a class of three-dimensional problems. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the utility and power of this method.

Safety performance for freeway weaving segments.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-09-01

The intensive lane change maneuvers at weaving sections often result in safety and operational problems. : Various factors, including the design of ramp roadways, use of auxiliary lanes, and continuity of lanes will have : significant effects on the ...

Safety of vulnerable road users

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-08-07

This report presents a review of the current safety situation of vulnerable road users in OECD Member countries. Industrialized societies are aware of the environmental problems generated by motorized traffic in cities and encourage the development o...

Data quality improvements for FAA

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-09-30

Effective communication among air safety professionals is only as good as the information being communicated. Data sharing cannot be effective unless the data are relevant to aviation safety problems, and decisions based on faulty data are likely to ...

From crowd modeling to safety problems. Comment on "Human behaviours in evacuation crowd dynamics: From modelling to "big data" toward crisis management" by Nicola Bellomo et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elaiw, Ahmed

2016-09-01

Paper [3] presents a survey and a critical analysis on models of crowd dynamics derived to support crisis management related to safety problems. This is an important topic which can have an important impact on the wellbeing of our society. We are very interested in this topic as we operate in a country, Saudi Arabia, where huge crowds can be present and that stress conditions can be occasionally induced by non predictable events. In these situations the problem of crisis management is of fundamental importance.

A security/safety survey of long term care facilities.

PubMed

Acorn, Jonathan R

2010-01-01

What are the major security/safety problems of long term care facilities? What steps are being taken by some facilities to mitigate such problems? Answers to these questions can be found in a survey of IAHSS members involved in long term care security conducted for the IAHSS Long Term Care Security Task Force. The survey, the author points out, focuses primarily on long term care facilities operated by hospitals and health systems. However, he believes, it does accurately reflect the security problems most long term facilities face, and presents valuable information on security systems and practices which should be also considered by independent and chain operated facilities.

Safety of antiobesity drugs

PubMed Central

Cheung, Tommy Tsang; Samaranayake, Nithushi Rajitha

2013-01-01

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide. Although diet and physical activity are crucial in the management of obesity, the long-term success rate is low. Therefore antiobesity drugs are of great interest, especially when lifestyle modification has failed. As obesity is not an immediate life-threatening disease, these drugs are required to be safe. Antiobesity drugs that have been developed so far have limited efficacies and considerable adverse effects affecting tolerability and safety. Therefore, most antiobesity drugs have been withdrawn. Fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine were withdrawn because of the potential damage to heart valves. Sibutramine was associated with an increase in major adverse cardiovascular events in the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcomes (SCOUT) trial and it was withdrawn from the market in 2010. Rimonabant was withdrawn because of significant psychiatric adverse effects. Orlistat was approved in Europe and the United States for long-term treatment of obesity, but many patients cannot tolerate its gastrointestinal side effects. Phentermine and diethylpropion can only be used for less than 12 weeks because the long-term safety of these drugs is unknown. Ephedrine and caffeine are natural substances but the effects on weight reduction are modest. As a result there is a huge unmet need for effective and safe antiobesity drugs. Recently lorcaserin and topiramate plus phentermine have been approved for the treatment of obesity but long-term safety data are lacking. PMID:25114779

Emergency Preparedness Safety Climate and Other Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among World Trade Center Disaster Evacuees.

PubMed

Sherman, Martin F; Gershon, Robyn R; Riley, Halley E M; Zhi, Qi; Magda, Lori A; Peyrot, Mark

2017-06-01

We examined psychological outcomes in a sample of participants who evacuated from the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2011. This study aimed to identify risk factors for psychological injury that might be amenable to change, thereby reducing adverse impacts associated with emergency high-rise evacuation. We used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted 2 years after the attacks to classify 789 evacuees into 3 self-reported psychological outcome categories: long-term psychological disorder diagnosed by a physician, short-term psychological disorder and/or memory problems, and no known psychological disorder. After nonmodifiable risk factors were controlled for, diagnosed psychological disorder was more likely for evacuees who reported lower "emergency preparedness safety climate" scores, more evacuation challenges (during exit from the towers), and evacuation-related physical injuries. Other variables associated with increased risk of psychological disorder outcome included gender (female), lower levels of education, preexisting physical disability, preexisting psychological disorder, greater distance to final exit, and more information sources during egress. Improving the "emergency preparedness safety climate" of high-rise business occupancies and reducing the number of egress challenges are potential strategies for reducing the risk of adverse psychological outcomes of high-rise evacuations. Focused safety training for individuals with physical disabilities is also warranted. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:326-336).

Multiple Kernel Learning for Heterogeneous Anomaly Detection: Algorithm and Aviation Safety Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Das, Santanu; Srivastava, Ashok N.; Matthews, Bryan L.; Oza, Nikunj C.

2010-01-01

The world-wide aviation system is one of the most complex dynamical systems ever developed and is generating data at an extremely rapid rate. Most modern commercial aircraft record several hundred flight parameters including information from the guidance, navigation, and control systems, the avionics and propulsion systems, and the pilot inputs into the aircraft. These parameters may be continuous measurements or binary or categorical measurements recorded in one second intervals for the duration of the flight. Currently, most approaches to aviation safety are reactive, meaning that they are designed to react to an aviation safety incident or accident. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach based on the theory of multiple kernel learning to detect potential safety anomalies in very large data bases of discrete and continuous data from world-wide operations of commercial fleets. We pose a general anomaly detection problem which includes both discrete and continuous data streams, where we assume that the discrete streams have a causal influence on the continuous streams. We also assume that atypical sequence of events in the discrete streams can lead to off-nominal system performance. We discuss the application domain, novel algorithms, and also discuss results on real-world data sets. Our algorithm uncovers operationally significant events in high dimensional data streams in the aviation industry which are not detectable using state of the art methods