Integrated vehicle-based safety systems heavy truck field operational test, methodology and results report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

"This document presents the methodology and results from the heavy-truck field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michiga...

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems light-vehicle field operational test, methodology and results report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

"This document presents the methodology and results from the light-vehicle field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michi...

Health economics and outcomes methods in risk-based decision-making for blood safety.

PubMed

Custer, Brian; Janssen, Mart P

2015-08-01

Analytical methods appropriate for health economic assessments of transfusion safety interventions have not previously been described in ways that facilitate their use. Within the context of risk-based decision-making (RBDM), health economics can be important for optimizing decisions among competing interventions. The objective of this review is to address key considerations and limitations of current methods as they apply to blood safety. Because a voluntary blood supply is an example of a public good, analyses should be conducted from the societal perspective when possible. Two primary study designs are recommended for most blood safety intervention assessments: budget impact analysis (BIA), which measures the cost to implement an intervention both to the blood operator but also in a broader context, and cost-utility analysis (CUA), which measures the ratio between costs and health gain achieved, in terms of reduced morbidity and mortality, by use of an intervention. These analyses often have important limitations because data that reflect specific aspects, for example, blood recipient population characteristics or complication rates, are not available. Sensitivity analyses play an important role. The impact of various uncertain factors can be studied conjointly in probabilistic sensitivity analyses. The use of BIA and CUA together provides a comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits from implementing (or not) specific interventions. RBDM is multifaceted and impacts a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Gathering and analyzing health economic evidence as part of the RBDM process enhances the quality, completeness, and transparency of decision-making. © 2015 AABB.

IT-CARES: an interactive tool for case-crossover analyses of electronic medical records for patient safety.

PubMed

Caron, Alexandre; Chazard, Emmanuel; Muller, Joris; Perichon, Renaud; Ferret, Laurie; Koutkias, Vassilis; Beuscart, Régis; Beuscart, Jean-Baptiste; Ficheur, Grégoire

2017-03-01

The significant risk of adverse events following medical procedures supports a clinical epidemiological approach based on the analyses of collections of electronic medical records. Data analytical tools might help clinical epidemiologists develop more appropriate case-crossover designs for monitoring patient safety. To develop and assess the methodological quality of an interactive tool for use by clinical epidemiologists to systematically design case-crossover analyses of large electronic medical records databases. We developed IT-CARES, an analytical tool implementing case-crossover design, to explore the association between exposures and outcomes. The exposures and outcomes are defined by clinical epidemiologists via lists of codes entered via a user interface screen. We tested IT-CARES on data from the French national inpatient stay database, which documents diagnoses and medical procedures for 170 million inpatient stays between 2007 and 2013. We compared the results of our analysis with reference data from the literature on thromboembolic risk after delivery and bleeding risk after total hip replacement. IT-CARES provides a user interface with 3 columns: (i) the outcome criteria in the left-hand column, (ii) the exposure criteria in the right-hand column, and (iii) the estimated risk (odds ratios, presented in both graphical and tabular formats) in the middle column. The estimated odds ratios were consistent with the reference literature data. IT-CARES may enhance patient safety by facilitating clinical epidemiological studies of adverse events following medical procedures. The tool's usability must be evaluated and improved in further research. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

An Approach for Validating Actinide and Fission Product Burnup Credit Criticality Safety Analyses--Criticality (keff) Predictions

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

Scaglione, John M; Mueller, Don; Wagner, John C

2011-01-01

One of the most significant remaining challenges associated with expanded implementation of burnup credit in the United States is the validation of depletion and criticality calculations used in the safety evaluation - in particular, the availability and use of applicable measured data to support validation, especially for fission products. Applicants and regulatory reviewers have been constrained by both a scarcity of data and a lack of clear technical basis or approach for use of the data. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff have noted that the rationale for restricting their Interim Staff Guidance on burnup credit (ISG-8) to actinide-only ismore » based largely on the lack of clear, definitive experiments that can be used to estimate the bias and uncertainty for computational analyses associated with using burnup credit. To address the issue of validation, the NRC initiated a project with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to (1) develop and establish a technically sound validation approach (both depletion and criticality) for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) criticality safety evaluations based on best-available data and methods and (2) apply the approach for representative SNF storage and transport configurations/conditions to demonstrate its usage and applicability, as well as to provide reference bias results. The purpose of this paper is to describe the criticality (k{sub eff}) validation approach, and resulting observations and recommendations. Validation of the isotopic composition (depletion) calculations is addressed in a companion paper at this conference. For criticality validation, the approach is to utilize (1) available laboratory critical experiment (LCE) data from the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments and the French Haut Taux de Combustion (HTC) program to support validation of the principal actinides and (2) calculated sensitivities, nuclear data uncertainties, and the limited available

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

Safety assessment of historical masonry churches based on pre-assigned kinematic limit analysis, FE limit and pushover analyses

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

Milani, Gabriele, E-mail: milani@stru.polimi.it; Valente, Marco, E-mail: milani@stru.polimi.it

2014-10-06

This study presents some results of a comprehensive numerical analysis on three masonry churches damaged by the recent Emilia-Romagna (Italy) seismic events occurred in May 2012. The numerical study comprises: (a) pushover analyses conducted with a commercial code, standard nonlinear material models and two different horizontal load distributions; (b) FE kinematic limit analyses performed using a non-commercial software based on a preliminary homogenization of the masonry materials and a subsequent limit analysis with triangular elements and interfaces; (c) kinematic limit analyses conducted in agreement with the Italian code and based on the a-priori assumption of preassigned failure mechanisms, where themore » masonry material is considered unable to withstand tensile stresses. All models are capable of giving information on the active failure mechanism and the base shear at failure, which, if properly made non-dimensional with the weight of the structure, gives also an indication of the horizontal peak ground acceleration causing the collapse of the church. The results obtained from all three models indicate that the collapse is usually due to the activation of partial mechanisms (apse, façade, lateral walls, etc.). Moreover the horizontal peak ground acceleration associated to the collapse is largely lower than that required in that seismic zone by the Italian code for ordinary buildings. These outcomes highlight that structural upgrading interventions would be extremely beneficial for the considerable reduction of the seismic vulnerability of such kind of historical structures.« less

Patient safety issues in office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland: a qualitative study.

PubMed

McLennan, Stuart; Schwappach, David; Harder, Yves; Staender, Sven; Elger, Bernice

2017-08-01

To identify the spectrum of patient safety issues in office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. Purposive sample of 23 experts in surgery and anaesthesia and quality and regulation in Switzerland. Data were collected via individual qualitative interviews using a researcher-developed semi-structured interview guide between March 2016 and September 2016. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using conventional content analysis. Issues were categorised under the headings "structure", "process", and "outcome". Experts identified two key overarching patient safety and regulatory issues in relation to office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. First, experts repeatedly raised the current lack of data and transparency of the setting. It is unknown how many surgeons are operating in offices, how many and what types of operations are being done, and what the outcomes are. Secondly, experts also noted the limited oversight and regulation of the setting. While some standards exists, most experts felt that more minimal safety standards are needed regarding the requirements that must be met to do office-based surgery and what can and cannot be done in the office-based setting are needed, but they advocated a self-regulatory approach. There is a lack of empirical data regarding the quantity and quality office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. Further research is needed to address these research gaps and inform health policy in relation to patient safety in office-based surgery and anaesthesia in Switzerland. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

77 FR 60479 - Burnup Credit in the Criticality Safety Analyses of Pressurized Water Reactor Spent Fuel in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-03

... Pressurized Water Reactor Spent Fuel in Transportation and Storage Casks AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission... 3, entitled, ``Burnup Credit in the Criticality Safety Analyses of PWR [Pressurized Water Reactor... water reactor spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in transportation packages and storage casks. SFST-ISG-8...

Behavior-Based Safety and Occupational Risk Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geller, E. Scott

2005-01-01

The behavior-based approach to managing occupational risk and preventing workplace injuries is reviewed. Unlike the typical top-down control approach to industrial safety, behavior-based safety (BBS) provides tools and procedures workers can use to take personal control of occupational risks. Strategies the author and his colleagues have been…

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 5: Nuclear System safety guidelines. Part 1: Space base nuclear safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The design and operations guidelines and requirements developed in the study of space base nuclear system safety are presented. Guidelines and requirements are presented for the space base subsystems, nuclear hardware (reactor, isotope sources, dynamic generator equipment), experiments, interfacing vehicles, ground support systems, range safety and facilities. Cross indices and references are provided which relate guidelines to each other, and to substantiating data in other volumes. The guidelines are intended for the implementation of nuclear safety related design and operational considerations in future space programs.

Market-based control mechanisms for patient safety

PubMed Central

Coiera, E; Braithwaite, J

2009-01-01

A new model is proposed for enhancing patient safety using market-based control (MBC), inspired by successful approaches to environmental governance. Emissions trading, enshrined in the Kyoto protocol, set a carbon price and created a carbon market—is it possible to set a patient safety price and let the marketplace find ways of reducing clinically adverse events? To “cap and trade,” a regulator would need to establish system-wide and organisation-specific targets, based on the cost of adverse events, create a safety market for trading safety credits and then police the market. Organisations are given a clear policy signal to reduce adverse event rates, are told by how much, but are free to find mechanisms best suited to their local needs. The market would inevitably generate novel ways of creating safety credits, and accountability becomes hard to evade when adverse events are explicitly measured and accounted for in an organisation’s bottom line. PMID:19342522

Improving construction site safety through leader-based verbal safety communication.

PubMed

Kines, Pete; Andersen, Lars P S; Spangenberg, Soren; Mikkelsen, Kim L; Dyreborg, Johnny; Zohar, Dov

2010-10-01

The construction industry is one of the most injury-prone industries, in which production is usually prioritized over safety in daily on-site communication. Workers have an informal and oral culture of risk, in which safety is rarely openly expressed. This paper tests the effect of increasing leader-based on-site verbal safety communication on the level of safety and safety climate at construction sites. A pre-post intervention-control design with five construction work gangs is carried out. Foremen in two intervention groups are coached and given bi-weekly feedback about their daily verbal safety communications with their workers. Foremen-worker verbal safety exchanges (experience sampling method, n=1,693 interviews), construction site safety level (correct vs. incorrect, n=22,077 single observations), and safety climate (seven dimensions, n=105 questionnaires) are measured over a period of up to 42 weeks. Baseline measurements in the two intervention and three control groups reveal that foremen speak with their workers several times a day. Workers perceive safety as part of their verbal communication with their foremen in only 6-16% of exchanges, and the levels of safety at the sites range from 70-87% (correct observations). Measurements from baseline to follow-up in the two intervention groups reveal that safety communication between foremen and workers increases significantly in one of the groups (factor 7.1 increase), and a significant yet smaller increase is found when the two intervention groups are combined (factor 4.6). Significant increases in the level of safety are seen in both intervention groups (7% and 12% increases, respectively), particularly in regards to 'access ways' and 'railings and coverings' (39% and 84% increases, respectively). Increases in safety climate are seen in only one of the intervention groups with respect to their 'attention to safety.' No significant trend changes are seen in the three control groups on any of the three measures

Evidence-based safety (EBS) management: A new approach to teaching the practice of safety management (SM).

PubMed

Wang, Bing; Wu, Chao; Shi, Bo; Huang, Lang

2017-12-01

In safety management (SM), it is important to make an effective safety decision based on the reliable and sufficient safety-related information. However, many SM failures in organizations occur for a lack of the necessary safety-related information for safety decision-making. Since facts are the important basis and foundation for decision-making, more efforts to seek the best evidence relevant to a particular SM problem would lead to a more effective SM solution. Therefore, the new paradigm for decision-making named "evidence-based practice (EBP)" can hold important implications for SM, because it uses the current best evidence for effective decision-making. Based on a systematic review of existing SM approaches and an analysis of reasons why we need new SM approaches, we created a new SM approach called evidence-based safety (EBS) management by introducing evidence-based practice into SM. It was necessary to create new SM approaches. A new SM approach called EBS was put forward, and the basic questions of EBS such as its definition and core were analyzed in detail. Moreover, the determinants of EBS included manager's attitudes towards EBS; evidence-based consciousness in SM; evidence sources; technical support; EBS human resources; organizational culture; and individual attributes. EBS is a new and effective approach to teaching the practice of SM. Of course, further research on EBS should be carried out to make EBS a reality. Practical applications: Our work can provide a new and effective idea and method to teach the practice of SM. Specifically, EBS proposed in our study can help safety professionals make an effective safety decision based on a firm foundation of high-grade evidence. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of safety motivation and climate on safety behaviour and outcomes: evidence from the Saudi Arabian construction industry.

PubMed

Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak; Al-Haadir, Saeed; Stewart, Rodney A

2017-03-01

Over the last three decades, safety literature has focused on safety climate and its role in forecasting injuries and accidents. However, research findings regarding the relationships between safety climate and other key outcome constructs are somewhat inconsistent. Recent safety climate literature suggests that examining the role of safety motivation may help provide a better explanation of such relationships. The research presented in this article aimed to empirically analyse the relationships among safety motivation, safety climate, safety behaviour and safety outcomes within the context of the Saudi Arabian construction industry. A conceptual model was developed to examine the relationships among four main constructs: safety motivation, safety climate, safety behaviour and safety outcomes. Based on the survey data collected in Saudi Arabia from site engineers and project managers (n = 295), statistical analyses were carried out, including confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling to assess the model and test the hypotheses. The main results indicated that safety motivation could positively influence safety behaviour through safety climate, which plays a mediating role for this mechanism. The results also confirmed that safety behaviour could predict safety outcomes within the context of the Saudi Arabian construction industry.

Software system safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uber, James G.

1988-01-01

Software itself is not hazardous, but since software and hardware share common interfaces there is an opportunity for software to create hazards. Further, these software systems are complex, and proven methods for the design, analysis, and measurement of software safety are not yet available. Some past software failures, future NASA software trends, software engineering methods, and tools and techniques for various software safety analyses are reviewed. Recommendations to NASA are made based on this review.

Improvements and applications of COBRA-TF for stand-alone and coupled LWR safety analyses

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

Avramova, M.; Cuervo, D.; Ivanov, K.

2006-07-01

The advanced thermal-hydraulic subchannel code COBRA-TF has been recently improved and applied for stand-alone and coupled LWR core calculations at the Pennsylvania State Univ. in cooperation with AREVA NP GmbH (Germany)) and the Technical Univ. of Madrid. To enable COBRA-TF for academic and industrial applications including safety margins evaluations and LWR core design analyses, the code programming, numerics, and basic models were revised and substantially improved. The code has undergone through an extensive validation, verification, and qualification program. (authors)

Active SMS-based influenza vaccine safety surveillance in Australian children.

PubMed

Pillsbury, Alexis; Quinn, Helen; Cashman, Patrick; Leeb, Alan; Macartney, Kristine

2017-12-18

Australia's novel, active surveillance system, AusVaxSafety, monitors the post-market safety of vaccines in near real time. We analysed cumulative surveillance data for children aged 6 months to 4 years who received seasonal influenza vaccine in 2015 and/or 2016 to determine: adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) rates by vaccine brand, age and concomitant vaccine administration. Parent/carer reports of AEFI occurring within 3 days of their child receiving an influenza vaccine in sentinel immunisation clinics were solicited by Short Message Service (SMS) and/or email-based survey. Retrospective data from 2 years were combined to examine specific AEFI rates, particularly fever and medical attendance as a proxy for serious adverse events (SAE), with and without concomitant vaccine administration. As trivalent influenza vaccines (TIV) were funded in Australia's National Immunisation Program (NIP) in 2015 and quadrivalent (QIV) in 2016, respectively, we compared their safety profiles. 7402 children were included. Data were reported weekly through each vaccination season; no safety signals or excess of adverse events were detected. More children who received a concomitant vaccine had fever (7.5% versus 2.8%; p < .001). Meningococcal B vaccine was associated with the highest increase in AEFI rates among children receiving a specified concomitant vaccine: 30.3% reported an AEFI compared with 7.3% who received an influenza vaccine alone (p < .001). Reported fever was strongly associated with medical attendance (OR: 42.6; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 25.6-71.0). TIV and QIV safety profiles included low and expected AEFI rates (fever: 4.3% for TIV compared with 3.2% for QIV (p = .015); injection site reaction: 1.9% for TIV compared with 3.0% for QIV (p < .001)). There was no difference in safety profile between brands. Active participant-reported data provided timely vaccine brand-specific safety information. Our surveillance system has

A web-based tool for the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP).

PubMed

Pronovost, Peter J; King, Jay; Holzmueller, Christine G; Sawyer, Melinda; Bivens, Shauna; Michael, Michelle; Haig, Kathy; Paine, Lori; Moore, Dana; Miller, Marlene

2006-03-01

An organization's ability to change is driven by its culture, which in turn has a significant impact on safety. The six-step Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) is intended to improve local culture and safety. A Web-based project management tool for CUSP was developed and then pilot tested at two hospitals. HOW ECUSP WORKS: Once a patient safety concern is identified (step 3), a unit-level interdisciplinary safety committee determines issue criticality and starts up the projects (step 4), which are managed using project management tools within eCUSP (step 5). On a project's completion, the results are disseminated through a shared story (step 6). OSF St. Joseph's Medical Center-The Medical Birthing Center (Bloomington, Illinois), identified 11 safety issues, implemented 11 projects, and created 9 shared stories--including one for its Armband Project. The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) Medical Progressive Care (MPC4) Unit identified 5 safety issues and implemented 4 ongoing projects, including the intravenous (IV) Tubing Compliance Project. The eCUSP tool's success depends on an organizational commitment to creating a culture of safety.

Deep Borehole Disposal Safety Analysis.

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

Freeze, Geoffrey A.; Stein, Emily; Price, Laura L.

This report presents a preliminary safety analysis for the deep borehole disposal (DBD) concept, using a safety case framework. A safety case is an integrated collection of qualitative and quantitative arguments, evidence, and analyses that substantiate the safety, and the level of confidence in the safety, of a geologic repository. This safety case framework for DBD follows the outline of the elements of a safety case, and identifies the types of information that will be required to satisfy these elements. At this very preliminary phase of development, the DBD safety case focuses on the generic feasibility of the DBD concept.more » It is based on potential system designs, waste forms, engineering, and geologic conditions; however, no specific site or regulatory framework exists. It will progress to a site-specific safety case as the DBD concept advances into a site-specific phase, progressing through consent-based site selection and site investigation and characterization.« less

Predicting clinical trial results based on announcements of interim analyses

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Announcements of interim analyses of a clinical trial convey information about the results beyond the trial’s Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). The amount of information conveyed may be minimal, but the fact that none of the trial’s stopping boundaries has been crossed implies that the experimental therapy is neither extremely effective nor hopeless. Predicting success of the ongoing trial is of interest to the trial’s sponsor, the medical community, pharmaceutical companies, and investors. We determine the probability of trial success by quantifying only the publicly available information from interim analyses of an ongoing trial. We illustrate our method in the context of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel (NSABP) trial, C-08. Methods We simulated trials based on the specifics of the NSABP C-08 protocol that were publicly available. We quantified the uncertainty around the treatment effect using prior weights for the various possibilities in light of other colon cancer studies and other studies of the investigational agent, bevacizumab. We considered alternative prior distributions. Results Subsequent to the trial’s third interim analysis, our predictive probabilities were: that the trial would eventually be successful, 48.0%; would stop for futility, 7.4%; and would continue to completion without statistical significance, 44.5%. The actual trial continued to completion without statistical significance. Conclusions Announcements of interim analyses provide information outside the DSMB’s sphere of confidentiality. This information is potentially helpful to clinical trial prognosticators. ‘Information leakage’ from standard interim analyses such as in NSABP C-08 is conventionally viewed as acceptable even though it may be quite revealing. Whether leakage from more aggressive types of adaptations is acceptable should be assessed at the design stage. PMID:24607270

Construction safety monitoring based on the project's characteristic with fuzzy logic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winanda, Lila Ayu Ratna; Adi, Trijoko Wahyu; Anwar, Nadjadji; Wahyuni, Febriana Santi

2017-11-01

Construction workers accident is the highest number compared with other industries and falls are the main cause of fatal and serious injuries in high rise projects. Generally, construction workers accidents are caused by unsafe act and unsafe condition that can occur separately or together, thus a safety monitoring system based on influencing factors is needed to achieve zero accident in construction industry. The dynamic characteristic in construction causes high mobility for workers while doing the task, so it requires a continuously monitoring system to detect unsafe condition and to protect workers from potential hazards. In accordance with the unique nature of project, fuzzy logic approach is one of the appropriate methods for workers safety monitoring on site. In this study, the focus of discussion is based on the characteristic of construction projects in analyzing "potential hazard" and the "protection planning" to be used in accident prevention. The data have been collected from literature review, expert opinion and institution of safety and health. This data used to determine hazard identification. Then, an application model is created using Delphi programming. The process in fuzzy is divided into fuzzification, inference and defuzzification, according to the data collection. Then, the input and final output data are given back to the expert for assessment as a validation of application model. The result of the study showed that the potential hazard of construction workers accident could be analysed based on characteristic of project and protection system on site and fuzzy logic approach can be used for construction workers accident analysis. Based on case study and the feedback assessment from expert, it showed that the application model can be used as one of the safety monitoring tools.

Applying Sensor-Based Technology to Improve Construction Safety Management.

PubMed

Zhang, Mingyuan; Cao, Tianzhuo; Zhao, Xuefeng

2017-08-11

Construction sites are dynamic and complicated systems. The movement and interaction of people, goods and energy make construction safety management extremely difficult. Due to the ever-increasing amount of information, traditional construction safety management has operated under difficult circumstances. As an effective way to collect, identify and process information, sensor-based technology is deemed to provide new generation of methods for advancing construction safety management. It makes the real-time construction safety management with high efficiency and accuracy a reality and provides a solid foundation for facilitating its modernization, and informatization. Nowadays, various sensor-based technologies have been adopted for construction safety management, including locating sensor-based technology, vision-based sensing and wireless sensor networks. This paper provides a systematic and comprehensive review of previous studies in this field to acknowledge useful findings, identify the research gaps and point out future research directions.

Neutronic safety parameters and transient analyses for Poland's MARIA research reactor.

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

Bretscher, M. M.; Hanan, N. A.; Matos, J. E.

1999-09-27

Reactor kinetic parameters, reactivity feedback coefficients, and control rod reactivity worths have been calculated for the MARIA Research Reactor (Swierk, Poland) for M6-type fuel assemblies with {sup 235}U enrichments of 80% and 19.7%. Kinetic parameters were evaluated for family-dependent effective delayed neutron fractions, decay constants, and prompt neutron lifetimes and neutron generation times. Reactivity feedback coefficients were determined for fuel Doppler coefficients, coolant (H{sub 2}O) void and temperature coefficients, and for in-core and ex-core beryllium temperature coefficients. Total and differential control rod worths and safety rod worths were calculated for each fuel type. These parameters were used to calculate genericmore » transients for fast and slow reactivity insertions with both HEU and LEU fuels. The analyses show that the HEU and LEU cores have very similar responses to these transients.« less

Quasi-Static Probabilistic Structural Analyses Process and Criteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, B.; Verderaime, V.

1999-01-01

Current deterministic structural methods are easily applied to substructures and components, and analysts have built great design insights and confidence in them over the years. However, deterministic methods cannot support systems risk analyses, and it was recently reported that deterministic treatment of statistical data is inconsistent with error propagation laws that can result in unevenly conservative structural predictions. Assuming non-nal distributions and using statistical data formats throughout prevailing stress deterministic processes lead to a safety factor in statistical format, which integrated into the safety index, provides a safety factor and first order reliability relationship. The embedded safety factor in the safety index expression allows a historically based risk to be determined and verified over a variety of quasi-static metallic substructures consistent with the traditional safety factor methods and NASA Std. 5001 criteria.

Applying Sensor-Based Technology to Improve Construction Safety Management

PubMed Central

Zhang, Mingyuan; Cao, Tianzhuo; Zhao, Xuefeng

2017-01-01

Construction sites are dynamic and complicated systems. The movement and interaction of people, goods and energy make construction safety management extremely difficult. Due to the ever-increasing amount of information, traditional construction safety management has operated under difficult circumstances. As an effective way to collect, identify and process information, sensor-based technology is deemed to provide new generation of methods for advancing construction safety management. It makes the real-time construction safety management with high efficiency and accuracy a reality and provides a solid foundation for facilitating its modernization, and informatization. Nowadays, various sensor-based technologies have been adopted for construction safety management, including locating sensor-based technology, vision-based sensing and wireless sensor networks. This paper provides a systematic and comprehensive review of previous studies in this field to acknowledge useful findings, identify the research gaps and point out future research directions. PMID:28800061

Implementation of Recommendations from the One System Comparative Evaluation of the Hanford Tank Farms and Waste Treatment Plant Safety Bases

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

Garrett, Richard L.; Niemi, Belinda J.; Paik, Ingle K.

2013-11-07

A Comparative Evaluation was conducted for One System Integrated Project Team to compare the safety bases for the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project (WTP) and Tank Operations Contract (TOC) (i.e., Tank Farms) by an Expert Review Team. The evaluation had an overarching purpose to facilitate effective integration between WTP and TOC safety bases. It was to provide One System management with an objective evaluation of identified differences in safety basis process requirements, guidance, direction, procedures, and products (including safety controls, key safety basis inputs and assumptions, and consequence calculation methodologies) between WTP and TOC. The evaluation identified 25more » recommendations (Opportunities for Integration). The resolution of these recommendations resulted in 16 implementation plans. The completion of these implementation plans will help ensure consistent safety bases for WTP and TOC along with consistent safety basis processes. procedures, and analyses. and should increase the likelihood of a successful startup of the WTP. This early integration will result in long-term cost savings and significant operational improvements. In addition, the implementation plans lead to the development of eight new safety analysis methodologies that can be used at other U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) complex sites where URS Corporation is involved.« less

Pharmacological mechanism-based drug safety assessment and prediction.

PubMed

Abernethy, D R; Woodcock, J; Lesko, L J

2011-06-01

Advances in cheminformatics, bioinformatics, and pharmacology in the context of biological systems are now at a point that these tools can be applied to mechanism-based drug safety assessment and prediction. The development of such predictive tools at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will complement ongoing efforts in drug safety that are focused on spontaneous adverse event reporting and active surveillance to monitor drug safety. This effort will require the active collaboration of scientists in the pharmaceutical industry, academe, and the National Institutes of Health, as well as those at the FDA, to reach its full potential. Here, we describe the approaches and goals for the mechanism-based drug safety assessment and prediction program.

A Safety Program that Integrated Behavior-Based Safety and Traditional Safety Methods and Its Effects on Injury Rates of Manufacturing Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hermann, Jaime A.; Ibarra, Guillermo V.; Hopkins, B. L.

2010-01-01

The present research examines the effects of a complex safety program that combined Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) and traditional safety methods. The study was conducted in an automobile parts plant in Mexico. Two sister plants served as comparison. Some of the components of the safety programs addressed behaviors of managers and included methods…

Nature-Based Strategies for Improving Urban Health and Safety.

PubMed

Kondo, Michelle C; South, Eugenia C; Branas, Charles C

2015-10-01

Place-based programs are being noticed as key opportunities to prevent disease and promote public health and safety for populations at-large. As one key type of place-based intervention, nature-based and green space strategies can play an especially large role in improving health and safety for dwellers in urban environments such as US legacy cities that lack nature and greenery. In this paper, we describe the current understanding of place-based influences on public health and safety. We focus on nonchemical environmental factors, many of which are related to urban abandonment and blight. We then review findings from studies of nature-based interventions regarding impacts on health, perceptions of safety, and crime. Based on our findings, we suggest that further research in this area will require (1) refined measures of green space, nature, and health and safety for cities, (2) interdisciplinary science and cross-sector policy collaboration, (3) observational studies as well as randomized controlled experiments and natural experiments using appropriate spatial counterfactuals and mixed methods, and (4) return-on-investment calculations of potential economic, social, and health costs and benefits of urban greening initiatives.

Determination of Waste Groupings for Safety Analyses

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

BARKER, S.A.

2000-04-27

Two workshops were held in May and July 1999 to review data analysis methodologies associated with the analysis of flammable gas behavior. The workshop participants decided that missing data could he estimated by using a distribution of values that encompassed tanks with wastes that behaved in a similar fashion. It was also determined that because of the limited amount of tank data pertaining to flammable gas generation and retention, it was not justified to divide the tanks into many small waste groupings. The purpose for grouping tanks is so that limited gas retention and release data, which may be availablemore » for some tanks within a group, can be applied to other tanks containing the same waste form. This is necessary when estimating waste properties for tanks with missing or incomplete information. Following the workshop, a preliminary tank grouping was prepared based on content of solids, liquids, sludge, saltcake, or salt slurry The saltcake and salt slurry were then grouped together and referred to as saltcake/salt slurry. Initial tank classifications were based on waste forms from the Rest Basis Inventory, the Hanford Defined Waste (HDW) (''Agnew'') Model, or the Waste Tank Summary (''Hanlon'') Report The results of this grouping arc presented in ''Flamable Gas Safety Analysis Data Review'', SNL-000 198 (Barker, et al., 1999). At the time of the release of SNL-000198, tank waste inventories were not consistent between published sources, such as the ''Best Basis Inventory'' and the ''Waste Tank Summary Report for Month Ending August 31, 1999'' (Hanlon l999). This calculation note documents the process and basis used when revising the waste groupings following the release of SNL-000198. The waste layer volume information is compared between the various databases, including information obtained from process measurements. Differences are then resolved based on tank characterization information and waste behavior.« less

Space-Based Range Safety and Future Space Range Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiteman, Donald E.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Simpson, James C.

2005-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety (STARS) study is a multiphase project to demonstrate the performance, flexibility and cost savings that can be realized by using space-based assets for the Range Safety [global positioning system (GPS) metric tracking data, flight termination command and range safety data relay] and Range User (telemetry) functions during vehicle launches and landings. Phase 1 included flight testing S-band Range Safety and Range User hardware in 2003 onboard a high-dynamic aircraft platform at Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California, USA) using the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) as the communications link. The current effort, Phase 2, includes hardware and packaging upgrades to the S-band Range Safety system and development of a high data rate Ku-band Range User system. The enhanced Phase 2 Range Safety Unit (RSU) provided real-time video for three days during the historic Global Flyer (Scaled Composites, Mojave, California, USA) flight in March, 2005. Additional Phase 2 testing will include a sounding rocket test of the Range Safety system and aircraft flight testing of both systems. Future testing will include a flight test on a launch vehicle platform. This paper discusses both Range Safety and Range User developments and testing with emphasis on the Range Safety system. The operational concept of a future space-based range is also discussed.

Space-Based Range Safety and Future Space Range Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiteman, Donald E.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Simpson, James C.

2005-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety study is a multiphase project to demonstrate the performance, flexibility and cost savings that can be realized by using space-based assets for the Range Safety (global positioning system metric tracking data, flight termination command and range safety data relay) and Range User (telemetry) functions during vehicle launches and landings. Phase 1 included flight testing S-band Range Safety and Range User hardware in 2003 onboard a high-dynamic aircraft platform at Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) using the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System as the communications link. The current effort, Phase 2, includes hardware and packaging upgrades to the S-band Range Safety system and development of a high data rate Ku-band Range User system. The enhanced Phase 2 Range Safety Unit provided real-time video for three days during the historic GlobalFlyer (Scaled Composites, Mojave, California) flight in March, 2005. Additional Phase 2 testing will include a sounding rocket test of the Range Safety system and aircraft flight testing of both systems. Future testing will include a flight test on a launch vehicle platform. This report discusses both Range Safety and Range User developments and testing with emphasis on the Range Safety system. The operational concept of a future space-based range is also discussed.

Business Economics: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

This task analyses guide is designed to be used in combination with the "Business Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the Business Economics course in Virginia. The task analyses guide contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence list, and content outline for the specific course in business…

Bayesian-network-based safety risk assessment for steel construction projects.

PubMed

Leu, Sou-Sen; Chang, Ching-Miao

2013-05-01

There are four primary accident types at steel building construction (SC) projects: falls (tumbles), object falls, object collapse, and electrocution. Several systematic safety risk assessment approaches, such as fault tree analysis (FTA) and failure mode and effect criticality analysis (FMECA), have been used to evaluate safety risks at SC projects. However, these traditional methods ineffectively address dependencies among safety factors at various levels that fail to provide early warnings to prevent occupational accidents. To overcome the limitations of traditional approaches, this study addresses the development of a safety risk-assessment model for SC projects by establishing the Bayesian networks (BN) based on fault tree (FT) transformation. The BN-based safety risk-assessment model was validated against the safety inspection records of six SC building projects and nine projects in which site accidents occurred. The ranks of posterior probabilities from the BN model were highly consistent with the accidents that occurred at each project site. The model accurately provides site safety-management abilities by calculating the probabilities of safety risks and further analyzing the causes of accidents based on their relationships in BNs. In practice, based on the analysis of accident risks and significant safety factors, proper preventive safety management strategies can be established to reduce the occurrence of accidents on SC sites. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maintenance: organizational modes, activities and health and safety. Use of a French national survey and in-situ analyses.

PubMed

Grusenmeyer, Corinne

2014-12-01

Maintenance activities are identified as critical both to operator safety and to systems safety and reliability. However, it is still difficult to identify maintenance workers in French occupational accident and disease statistics. Moreover, few analyses of these activities and of organizational changes in this field have been conducted. This paper presents two different approaches to this same issue. Analyses were aimed firstly at identifying the occupational exposures of these operators and at comparing them with occupational exposures of production staff and, secondly at developing understanding of normal real maintenance activities, i.e. maintenance activities that are normally actually carried out, while taking into account the socio-technical system and maintenance organization within which they lie. The use of the French SUMER 2003 survey shows that occupational exposures of maintenance staff to various constraints are more frequent than occupational exposures of their production colleagues. However, maintenance staff appear to have greater independence. Analyses were also conducted in a subcontracting urban public transport company, who outsources some maintenance work. Those analyses highlight a complex network of companies involved in maintenance activities, a substantial number of work interruptions and a significant fragmentation of the internal technicians' activities that can be cognitively costly, reduce anticipation possibilities and lead to incidents or accidents. Above all they underline internal technicians' contributions to the completion of outsourced interventions and interdependent relationships between the activities of the internal and the external technicians. Outsourcing maintenance interventions thus raises the question of risks associated with the interdependence of actual work activities undertaken by the different types of staff, since they contribute to the same maintenance intervention. This study therefore pinpoints the need to

An Approach for Validating Actinide and Fission Product Burnup Credit Criticality Safety Analyses-Isotopic Composition Predictions

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

Radulescu, Georgeta; Gauld, Ian C; Ilas, Germina

2011-01-01

The expanded use of burnup credit in the United States (U.S.) for storage and transport casks, particularly in the acceptance of credit for fission products, has been constrained by the availability of experimental fission product data to support code validation. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff has noted that the rationale for restricting the Interim Staff Guidance on burnup credit for storage and transportation casks (ISG-8) to actinide-only is based largely on the lack of clear, definitive experiments that can be used to estimate the bias and uncertainty for computational analyses associated with using burnup credit. To address themore » issues of burnup credit criticality validation, the NRC initiated a project with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to (1) develop and establish a technically sound validation approach for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) criticality safety evaluations based on best-available data and methods and (2) apply the approach for representative SNF storage and transport configurations/conditions to demonstrate its usage and applicability, as well as to provide reference bias results. The purpose of this paper is to describe the isotopic composition (depletion) validation approach and resulting observations and recommendations. Validation of the criticality calculations is addressed in a companion paper at this conference. For isotopic composition validation, the approach is to determine burnup-dependent bias and uncertainty in the effective neutron multiplication factor (keff) due to bias and uncertainty in isotopic predictions, via comparisons of isotopic composition predictions (calculated) and measured isotopic compositions from destructive radiochemical assay utilizing as much assay data as is available, and a best-estimate Monte Carlo based method. This paper (1) provides a detailed description of the burnup credit isotopic validation approach and its technical bases, (2) describes the application of the

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 6: Space base nuclear system safety plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

A qualitative identification of the steps required to assure the incorporation of radiological system safety principles and objectives into all phases of a manned space base program are presented. Specific areas of emphasis include: (1) radiological program management, (2) nuclear system safety plan implementation, (3) impact on program, and (4) summary of the key operation and design guidelines and requirements. The plan clearly indicates the necessity of considering and implementing radiological system safety recommendations as early as possible in the development cycle to assure maximum safety and minimize the impact on design and mission plans.

An evaluation of Winnipeg's photo enforcement safety program: results of time series analyses and an intersection camera experiment.

PubMed

Vanlaar, Ward; Robertson, Robyn; Marcoux, Kyla

2014-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of Winnipeg's photo enforcement safety program on speeding, i.e., "speed on green", and red-light running behavior at intersections as well as on crashes resulting from these behaviors. ARIMA time series analyses regarding crashes related to red-light running (right-angle crashes and rear-end crashes) and crashes related to speeding (injury crashes and property damage only crashes) occurring at intersections were conducted using monthly crash counts from 1994 to 2008. A quasi-experimental intersection camera experiment was also conducted using roadside data on speeding and red-light running behavior at intersections. These data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The time series analyses showed that for crashes related to red-light running, there had been a 46% decrease in right-angle crashes at camera intersections, but that there had also been an initial 42% increase in rear-end crashes. For crashes related to speeding, analyses revealed that the installation of cameras was not associated with increases or decreases in crashes. Results of the intersection camera experiment show that there were significantly fewer red light running violations at intersections after installation of cameras and that photo enforcement had a protective effect on speeding behavior at intersections. However, the data also suggest photo enforcement may be less effective in preventing serious speeding violations at intersections. Overall, Winnipeg's photo enforcement safety program had a positive net effect on traffic safety. Results from both the ARIMA time series and the quasi-experimental design corroborate one another. However, the protective effect of photo enforcement is not equally pronounced across different conditions so further monitoring is required to improve the delivery of this measure. Results from this study as well as limitations are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A web-based endpoint adjudication system for interim analyses in clinical trials.

PubMed

Nolen, Tracy L; Dimmick, Bill F; Ostrosky-Zeichner, Luis; Kendrick, Amy S; Sable, Carole; Ngai, Angela; Wallace, Dennis

2009-02-01

A data monitoring committee (DMC) is often employed to assess trial progress and review safety data and efficacy endpoints throughout a trail. Interim analyses performed for the DMC should use data that are as complete and verified as possible. Such analyses are complicated when data verification involves subjective study endpoints or requires clinical expertise to determine each subject's status with respect to the study endpoint. Therefore, procedures are needed to obtain adjudicated data for interim analyses in an efficient manner. In the past, methods for handling such data included using locally reported results as surrogate endpoints, adjusting analysis methods for unadjudicated data, or simply performing the adjudication as rapidly as possible. These methods all have inadequacies that make their sole usage suboptimal. For a study of prophylaxis for invasive candidiasis, adjudication of both study eligibility criteria and clinical endpoints prior to two interim analyses was required. Because the study was expected to enroll at a moderate rate and the sponsor required adjudicated endpoints to be used for interim analyses, an efficient process for adjudication was required. We created a web-based endpoint adjudication system (WebEAS) that allows for expedited review by the endpoint adjudication committee (EAC). This system automatically identifies when a subject's data are complete, creates a subject profile from the study data, and assigns EAC reviewers. The reviewers use the WebEAS to review the subject profile and submit their completed review form. The WebEAS then compares the reviews, assigns an additional review as a tiebreaker if needed, and stores the adjudicated data. The study for which this system was originally built was administratively closed after 10 months with only 38 subjects enrolled. The adjudication process was finalized and the WebEAS system activated prior to study closure. Some website accessibility issues presented initially. However

Labor unions and safety climate: perceived union safety values and retail employee safety outcomes.

PubMed

Sinclair, Robert R; Martin, James E; Sears, Lindsay E

2010-09-01

Although trade unions have long been recognized as a critical advocate for employee safety and health, safety climate research has not paid much attention to the role unions play in workplace safety. We proposed a multiple constituency model of workplace safety which focused on three central safety stakeholders: top management, ones' immediate supervisor, and the labor union. Safety climate research focuses on management and supervisors as key stakeholders, but has not considered whether employee perceptions about the priority their union places on safety contributes contribute to safety outcomes. We addressed this gap in the literature by investigating unionized retail employee (N=535) perceptions about the extent to which their top management, immediate supervisors, and union valued safety. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that perceived union safety values could be distinguished from measures of safety training, workplace hazards, top management safety values, and supervisor values. Structural equation analyses indicated that union safety values influenced safety outcomes through its association with higher safety motivation, showing a similar effect as that of supervisor safety values. These findings highlight the need for further attention to union-focused measures related to workplace safety as well as further study of retail employees in general. We discuss the practical implications of our findings and identify several directions for future safety research. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nature-based strategies for improving urban health and safety

Treesearch

Michelle C. Kondo; Eugenia C. South; Charles C. Branas

2015-01-01

Place-based programs are being noticed as key opportunities to prevent disease and promote public health and safety for populations at-large. As one key type of place-based intervention, nature-based and green space strategies can play an especially large role in improving health and safety for dwellers in urban environments such as US legacy cities that lack nature...

Risk-Based Explosive Safety Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-30

safety siting of energetic liquids and propellants can be greatly aided by the use of risk-based methodologies. The low probability of exposed...liquids or propellants . 15. SUBJECT TERMS N/A 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 19a. NAME OF...of energetic liquids and propellants can be greatly aided by the use of risk-based methodologies. The low probability of exposed personnel and the

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.

Training Residential Staff to Conduct Trial-Based Functional Analyses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, Joseph M.; Bloom, Sarah E.; Kunnavatana, S. Shanun; Collins, Shawnee D.; Clay, Casey J.

2013-01-01

We taught 6 supervisors of a residential service provider for adults with developmental disabilities to train 9 house managers to conduct trial-based functional analyses. Effects of the training were evaluated with a nonconcurrent multiple baseline. Results suggest that house managers can be trained to conduct trial-based functional analyses with…

LOFT L2-3 blowdown experiment safety analyses D, E, and G; LOCA analyses H, K, K1

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

Perryman, J.L.; Keeler, C.D.; Saukkoriipi, L.O.

1978-12-01

Three calculations using conservative off-nominal conditions and evaluation model options were made using RELAP4/MOD5 for blowdown-refill and RELAP4/MOD6 for reflood for Loss-of-Fluid Test Experiment L2-3 to support the experiment safety analysis effort. The three analyses are as follows: Analysis D: Loss of commercial power during Experiment L2-3; Analysis E: Hot leg quick-opening blowdown valve (QOBV) does not open during Experiment L2-3; and Analysis G: Cold leg QOBV does not open during Experiment L2-3. In addition, the results of three LOFT loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) analyses using a power of 56.1 MW and a primary coolant system flow rate of 3.6 millionmore » 1bm/hr are presented: Analysis H: Intact loop 200% hot leg break; emergency core cooling (ECC) system B unavailable; Analysis K: Pressurizer relief valve stuck in open position; ECC system B unavailable; and Analysis K1: Same as analysis K, but using a primary coolant system flow rate of 1.92 million 1bm/hr (L2-4 pre-LOCE flow rate). For analysis D, the maximum cladding temperature reached was 1762/sup 0/F, 22 sec into reflood. In analyses E and G, the blowdowns were slower due to one of the QOBVs not functioning. The maximum cladding temperature reached in analysis E was 1700/sup 0/F, 64.7 sec into reflood; for analysis G, it was 1300/sup 0/F at the start of reflood. For analysis H, the maximum cladding temperature reached was 1825/sup 0/F, 0.01 sec into reflood. Analysis K was a very slow blowdown, and the cladding temperatures followed the saturation temperature of the system. The results of analysis K1 was nearly identical to analysis K; system depressurization was not affected by the primary coolant system flow rate.« less

The Relationship Among School Safety, School Liking, and Students' Self-Esteem: Based on a Multilevel Mediation Model.

PubMed

Zhang, Xinghui; Xuan, Xin; Chen, Fumei; Zhang, Cai; Luo, Yuhan; Wang, Yun

2016-03-01

Perceptions of school safety have an important effect on students' development. Based on the model of "context-process-outcomes," we examined school safety as a context variable to explore how school safety at the school level affected students' self-esteem. We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the link between school safety at the school level and students' self-esteem, including school liking as a mediator. The data were from the National Children's Study of China (NCSC), in which 6618 fourth- to fifth-grade students in 79 schools were recruited from 100 counties in 31 provinces in China. Multilevel mediation analyses showed that the positive relationship between school safety at the school level and self-esteem was partially mediated by school liking, controlling for demographics at both student and school levels. Furthermore, a sex difference existed in the multilevel mediation model. For boys, school liking fully mediated the relationship between school safety at the school level and self-esteem. However, school liking partially mediated the relationship between school safety at the school level and self-esteem among girls. School safety should receive increasing attention from policymakers because of its impact on students' self-esteem. © 2016, American School Health Association.

Risk-based Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Apostolakis, G.; Catton, I.; Issacci, F.; Paulos, T.; Jones, S.; Paxton, K.; Paul, M.

1992-01-01

Viewgraphs on risk-based spacecraft fire safety experiments are presented. Spacecraft fire risk can never be reduced to a zero probability. Probabilistic risk assessment is a tool to reduce risk to an acceptable level.

Understanding the relationship between safety investment and safety performance of construction projects through agent-based modeling.

PubMed

Lu, Miaojia; Cheung, Clara Man; Li, Heng; Hsu, Shu-Chien

2016-09-01

The construction industry in Hong Kong increased its safety investment by 300% in the past two decades; however, its accident rate has plateaued to around 50% for one decade. Against this backdrop, researchers have found inconclusive results on the causal relationship between safety investment and safety performance. Using agent-based modeling, this study takes an unconventional bottom-up approach to study safety performance on a construction site as an outcome of a complex system defined by interactions among a worksite, individual construction workers, and different safety investments. Instead of focusing on finding the absolute relationship between safety investment and safety performance, this study contributes to providing a practical framework to investigate how different safety investments interacting with different parameters such as human and environmental factors could affect safety performance. As a result, we could identify cost-effective safety investments under different construction scenarios for delivering optimal safety performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficacy and Safety Extrapolation Analyses for Atomoxetine in Young Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

PubMed Central

Kratochvil, Christopher; Ghuman, Jaswinder; Camporeale, Angelo; Lipsius, Sarah; D'Souza, Deborah; Tanaka, Yoko

2015-01-01

Abstract Objectives: This extrapolation analysis qualitatively compared the efficacy and safety profile of atomoxetine from Lilly clinical trial data in 6–7-year-old patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with that of published literature in 4–5-year-old patients with ADHD (two open-label [4–5-year-old patients] and one placebo-controlled study [5-year-old patients]). Methods: The main efficacy analyses included placebo-controlled Lilly data and the placebo-controlled external study (5-year-old patients) data. The primary efficacy variables used in these studies were the ADHD Rating Scale-IV Parent Version, Investigator Administered (ADHD-RS-IV-Parent:Inv) total score, or the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham (SNAP-IV) scale score. Safety analyses included treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and vital signs. Descriptive statistics (means, percentages) are presented. Results: Acute atomoxetine treatment improved core ADHD symptoms in both 6–7-year-old patients (n=565) and 5-year-old patients (n=37) (treatment effect: −10.16 and −7.42). In an analysis of placebo-controlled groups, the mean duration of exposure to atomoxetine was ∼7 weeks for 6–7-year-old patients and 9 weeks for 5-year-old patients. Decreased appetite was the most common TEAE in atomoxetine-treated patients. The TEAEs observed at a higher rate in 5-year-old versus 6–7-year-old patients were irritability (36.8% vs. 3.6%) and other mood-related events (6.9% each vs. <3.0%). Blood pressure and pulse increased in both 4–5-year-old patients and 6–7-year-old patients, whereas a weight increase was seen only in the 6–7-year-old patients. Conclusions: Although limited by the small sample size of the external studies, these analyses suggest that in 5-year-old patients with ADHD, atomoxetine may improve ADHD symptoms, but possibly to a lesser extent than in older children, with some adverse events occurring at a higher rate in 5-year-old patients. PMID:25265343

Efficacy and Safety Extrapolation Analyses for Atomoxetine in Young Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

PubMed

Upadhyaya, Himanshu; Kratochvil, Christopher; Ghuman, Jaswinder; Camporeale, Angelo; Lipsius, Sarah; D'Souza, Deborah; Tanaka, Yoko

2015-12-01

This extrapolation analysis qualitatively compared the efficacy and safety profile of atomoxetine from Lilly clinical trial data in 6-7-year-old patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with that of published literature in 4-5-year-old patients with ADHD (two open-label [4-5-year-old patients] and one placebo-controlled study [5-year-old patients]). The main efficacy analyses included placebo-controlled Lilly data and the placebo-controlled external study (5-year-old patients) data. The primary efficacy variables used in these studies were the ADHD Rating Scale-IV Parent Version, Investigator Administered (ADHD-RS-IV-Parent:Inv) total score, or the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham (SNAP-IV) scale score. Safety analyses included treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and vital signs. Descriptive statistics (means, percentages) are presented. Acute atomoxetine treatment improved core ADHD symptoms in both 6-7-year-old patients (n=565) and 5-year-old patients (n=37) (treatment effect: -10.16 and -7.42). In an analysis of placebo-controlled groups, the mean duration of exposure to atomoxetine was ∼ 7 weeks for 6-7-year-old patients and 9 weeks for 5-year-old patients. Decreased appetite was the most common TEAE in atomoxetine-treated patients. The TEAEs observed at a higher rate in 5-year-old versus 6-7-year-old patients were irritability (36.8% vs. 3.6%) and other mood-related events (6.9% each vs. <3.0%). Blood pressure and pulse increased in both 4-5-year-old patients and 6-7-year-old patients, whereas a weight increase was seen only in the 6-7-year-old patients. Although limited by the small sample size of the external studies, these analyses suggest that in 5-year-old patients with ADHD, atomoxetine may improve ADHD symptoms, but possibly to a lesser extent than in older children, with some adverse events occurring at a higher rate in 5-year-old patients.

[Safety monitoring of cell-based medicinal products (CBMPs)].

PubMed

Funk, Markus B; Frech, Marion; Spranger, Robert; Keller-Stanislawski, Brigitte

2015-11-01

Cell-based medicinal products (CBMPs), a category of advanced-therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), are authorised for the European market by the European Commission by means of the centralized marketing authorisation. By conforming to the German Medicinal Products Act (Sec. 4b AMG), national authorisation can be granted by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in Germany exclusively for ATMPs not based on a routine manufacturing procedure. In both procedures, quality, efficacy, and safety are evaluated and the risk-benefit balance is assessed. For the centralised procedure, mainly controlled clinical trial data must be submitted, whereas the requirements for national procedures could be modified corresponding to the stage of development of the ATMP. After marketing authorization, the marketing authorization/license holder is obligated to report all serious adverse reactions to the competent authority and to provide periodic safety update reports. If necessary, post-authorization safety studies could be imposed. On the basis of these regulatory measures, the safety of advanced therapies can be monitored and improved.

Meta-analysis of surgical safety checklist effects on teamwork, communication, morbidity, mortality, and safety.

PubMed

Lyons, Vanessa E; Popejoy, Lori L

2014-02-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of surgical safety checklists on teamwork, communication, morbidity, mortality, and compliance with safety measures through meta-analysis. Four meta-analyses were conducted on 19 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The effect size of checklists on teamwork and communication was 1.180 (p = .003), on morbidity and mortality was 0.123 (p = .003) and 0.088 (p = .001), respectively, and on compliance with safety measures was 0.268 (p < .001). The results indicate that surgical safety checklists improve teamwork and communication, reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve compliance with safety measures. This meta-analysis is limited in its generalizability based on the limited number of studies and the inclusion of only published research. Future research is needed to examine possible moderating variables for the effects of surgical safety checklists.

Evaluation of the safety performance of highway alignments based on fault tree analysis and safety boundaries.

PubMed

Chen, Yikai; Wang, Kai; Xu, Chengcheng; Shi, Qin; He, Jie; Li, Peiqing; Shi, Ting

2018-05-19

To overcome the limitations of previous highway alignment safety evaluation methods, this article presents a highway alignment safety evaluation method based on fault tree analysis (FTA) and the characteristics of vehicle safety boundaries, within the framework of dynamic modeling of the driver-vehicle-road system. Approaches for categorizing the vehicle failure modes while driving on highways and the corresponding safety boundaries were comprehensively investigated based on vehicle system dynamics theory. Then, an overall crash probability model was formulated based on FTA considering the risks of 3 failure modes: losing steering capability, losing track-holding capability, and rear-end collision. The proposed method was implemented on a highway segment between Bengbu and Nanjing in China. A driver-vehicle-road multibody dynamics model was developed based on the 3D alignments of the Bengbu to Nanjing section of Ning-Luo expressway using Carsim, and the dynamics indices, such as sideslip angle and, yaw rate were obtained. Then, the average crash probability of each road section was calculated with a fixed-length method. Finally, the average crash probability was validated against the crash frequency per kilometer to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method. The results of the regression analysis and correlation analysis indicated good consistency between the results of the safety evaluation and the crash data and that it outperformed the safety evaluation methods used in previous studies. The proposed method has the potential to be used in practical engineering applications to identify crash-prone locations and alignment deficiencies on highways in the planning and design phases, as well as those in service.

Cosmetology: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

These task analyses are designed to be used in combination with the "Trade and Industrial Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the cosmetology program in Virginia. The task analysis document contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence lists, and content outlines for the secondary…

Masonry: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

These task analyses are designed to be used in combination with the "Trade and Industrial Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the masonry program in Virginia. The task analysis document contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence lists, and content outlines for the secondary…

Effectiveness of web-based tailored advice on parents' child safety behaviors: randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

van Beelen, Mirjam Elisabeth Johanna; Beirens, Tinneke Monique Jozef; den Hertog, Paul; van Beeck, Eduard Ferdinand; Raat, Hein

2014-01-24

Injuries at home are a major cause of death, disability, and loss of quality of life among young children. Despite current safety education, required safety behavior of parents is often lacking. To prevent various childhood disorders, the application of Web-based tools has increased the effectiveness of health promotion efforts. Therefore, an intervention with Web-based, tailored, safety advice combined with personal counseling (E-Health4Uth home safety) was developed and applied. To evaluate the effect of E-Health4Uth home safety on parents' safety behaviors with regard to the prevention of falls, poisoning, drowning, and burns. A randomized controlled trial was conducted (2009-2011) among parents visiting well-baby clinics in the Netherlands. Parents were randomly assigned to the intervention group (E-Health4Uth home safety intervention) or to the control condition consisting of usual care. Parents in the intervention condition completed a Web-based safety behavior assessment questionnaire; the resulting tailored safety advice was discussed with their child health care professional at a well-baby visit (age approximately 11 months). Parents in the control condition received counseling using generic safety information leaflets at this well-baby visit. Parents' child safety behaviors were derived from self-report questionnaires at baseline (age 7 months) and at follow-up (age 17 months). Each specific safety behavior was classified as safe/unsafe and a total risk score was calculated. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to reveal differences in safety behavior between the intervention and the control condition at follow-up. A total of 1292 parents (response rate 44.79%) were analyzed. At follow-up, parents in the intervention condition (n=643) showed significantly less unsafe behavior compared to parents in the control condition (n=649): top of staircase (23.91% vs. 32.19%; OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50-0.85); bottom of staircase (63.53% vs. 71.94%; OR 0

Effectiveness of Web-Based Tailored Advice on Parents’ Child Safety Behaviors: Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Injuries at home are a major cause of death, disability, and loss of quality of life among young children. Despite current safety education, required safety behavior of parents is often lacking. To prevent various childhood disorders, the application of Web-based tools has increased the effectiveness of health promotion efforts. Therefore, an intervention with Web-based, tailored, safety advice combined with personal counseling (E-Health4Uth home safety) was developed and applied. Objective To evaluate the effect of E-Health4Uth home safety on parents’ safety behaviors with regard to the prevention of falls, poisoning, drowning, and burns. Methods A randomized controlled trial was conducted (2009-2011) among parents visiting well-baby clinics in the Netherlands. Parents were randomly assigned to the intervention group (E-Health4Uth home safety intervention) or to the control condition consisting of usual care. Parents in the intervention condition completed a Web-based safety behavior assessment questionnaire; the resulting tailored safety advice was discussed with their child health care professional at a well-baby visit (age approximately 11 months). Parents in the control condition received counseling using generic safety information leaflets at this well-baby visit. Parents’ child safety behaviors were derived from self-report questionnaires at baseline (age 7 months) and at follow-up (age 17 months). Each specific safety behavior was classified as safe/unsafe and a total risk score was calculated. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to reveal differences in safety behavior between the intervention and the control condition at follow-up. Results A total of 1292 parents (response rate 44.79%) were analyzed. At follow-up, parents in the intervention condition (n=643) showed significantly less unsafe behavior compared to parents in the control condition (n=649): top of staircase (23.91% vs 32.19%; OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.50-0.85); bottom of

Overview of Design, Lifecycle, and Safety for Computer-Based Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2015-01-01

This document describes the need and justification for the development of a design guide for safety-relevant computer-based systems. This document also makes a contribution toward the design guide by presenting an overview of computer-based systems design, lifecycle, and safety.

Office-based surgery: embracing patient safety strategies.

PubMed

Shapiro, Fred E; Punwani, Nathan; Urman, Richard D

2013-01-01

Office-based surgery continues to grow as more procedures are being performed in the outpatient setting. With this exponential growth, there is an increasing emphasis on safe and effective patient care. Current research shows both gaps in safety and opportunities for improvement. Practice managers, clinicians, and other personnel should be cognizant that office procedures are coming under intense regulatory scrutiny. Effective strategies to maintain quality and patient safety include the use of checklists, obtaining office accreditation, encouraging board-certification and proper credentialing of proceduralists, and appropriate patient and procedure selection. There is increasing regulation of ambulatory surgery on state and national levels that will likely affect the financial and care quality aspects of office-based practice. Socioeconomic and political forces will continue to shape the future of office-based surgery.

Pathway-based analyses.

PubMed

Kent, Jack W

2016-02-03

New technologies for acquisition of genomic data, while offering unprecedented opportunities for genetic discovery, also impose severe burdens of interpretation and penalties for multiple testing. The Pathway-based Analyses Group of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 19 (GAW19) sought reduction of multiple-testing burden through various approaches to aggregation of highdimensional data in pathways informed by prior biological knowledge. Experimental methods testedincluded the use of "synthetic pathways" (random sets of genes) to estimate power and false-positive error rate of methods applied to simulated data; data reduction via independent components analysis, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-SNP interaction, and use of gene sets to estimate genetic similarity; and general assessment of the efficacy of prior biological knowledge to reduce the dimensionality of complex genomic data. The work of this group explored several promising approaches to managing high-dimensional data, with the caveat that these methods are necessarily constrained by the quality of external bioinformatic annotation.

A systematic review of patient safety in mental health: a protocol based on the inpatient setting.

PubMed

D'Lima, Danielle; Archer, Stephanie; Thibaut, Bethan Ines; Ramtale, Sonny Christian; Dewa, Lindsay H; Darzi, Ara

2016-11-29

Despite the growing international interest in patient safety as a discipline, there has been a lack of exploration of its application to mental health. It cannot be assumed that findings based upon physical health in acute care hospitals can be applied to mental health patients, disorders and settings. To the authors' knowledge, there has only been one review of the literature that focuses on patient safety research in mental health settings, conducted in Canada in 2008. We have identified a need to update this review and develop the methodology in order to strengthen the findings and disseminate internationally for advancement in the field. This systematic review will explore the existing research base on patient safety in mental health within the inpatient setting. To conduct this systematic review, a thorough search across multiple databases will be undertaken, based upon four search facets ("mental health", "patient safety", "research" and "inpatient setting"). The search strategy has been developed based upon the Canadian review accompanied with input from the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) taxonomy of patient safety incidents and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition). The screening process will involve perspectives from at least two researchers at all stages with a third researcher invited to review when discrepancies require resolution. Initial inclusion and exclusion criteria have been developed and will be refined iteratively throughout the process. Quality assessment and data extraction of included articles will be conducted by at least two researchers. A data extraction form will be developed, piloted and iterated as necessary in accordance with the research question. Extracted information will be analysed thematically. We believe that this systematic review will make a significant contribution to the advancement of patient safety in mental health inpatient settings. The findings will enable the

Cyber Security Threats to Safety-Critical, Space-Based Infrastructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, C. W.; Atencia Yepez, A.

2012-01-01

Space-based systems play an important role within national critical infrastructures. They are being integrated into advanced air-traffic management applications, rail signalling systems, energy distribution software etc. Unfortunately, the end users of communications, location sensing and timing applications often fail to understand that these infrastructures are vulnerable to a wide range of security threats. The following pages focus on concerns associated with potential cyber-attacks. These are important because future attacks may invalidate many of the safety assumptions that support the provision of critical space-based services. These safety assumptions are based on standard forms of hazard analysis that ignore cyber-security considerations This is a significant limitation when, for instance, security attacks can simultaneously exploit multiple vulnerabilities in a manner that would never occur without a deliberate enemy seeking to damage space based systems and ground infrastructures. We address this concern through the development of a combined safety and security risk assessment methodology. The aim is to identify attack scenarios that justify the allocation of additional design resources so that safety barriers can be strengthened to increase our resilience against security threats.

CSHM: Web-based safety and health monitoring system for construction management.

PubMed

Cheung, Sai On; Cheung, Kevin K W; Suen, Henry C H

2004-01-01

This paper describes a web-based system for monitoring and assessing construction safety and health performance, entitled the Construction Safety and Health Monitoring (CSHM) system. The design and development of CSHM is an integration of internet and database systems, with the intent to create a total automated safety and health management tool. A list of safety and health performance parameters was devised for the management of safety and health in construction. A conceptual framework of the four key components of CSHM is presented: (a) Web-based Interface (templates); (b) Knowledge Base; (c) Output Data; and (d) Benchmark Group. The combined effect of these components results in a system that enables speedy performance assessment of safety and health activities on construction sites. With the CSHM's built-in functions, important management decisions can theoretically be made and corrective actions can be taken before potential hazards turn into fatal or injurious occupational accidents. As such, the CSHM system will accelerate the monitoring and assessing of performance safety and health management tasks.

Mechanics-Based Definition of Safety Factors Against Flow Failure in Unsaturated Shallow Slopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buscarnera, G.; Lizarraga-Barrera, J.

2014-12-01

Physical models for landslide forecasting rely on the combination of hydrologic models for water infiltration and stability criteria based on infinite slope mechanics. Such concepts can be used to derive safety factors for shallow landsliding, in which the mobilization of the soil cover is associated with the attainment of critical values of pore water pressures expressed as a function of the frictional strength. While such models capture the role of important geomorphic features and geotechnical properties, their performance depends on the validity of the postulate of frictional failure. As a result, the safety factors do not to consider a broader range of solid-fluid interactions promoting different slope failure mechanisms, such as flow slides. This work combines principles of soil stability, unsaturated soil mechanics and plasticity theory to derive an alternative set of safety factors. While frictional slips are included in the study as a particular case, the proposed analytical methodology can also be applied to cases in which an increase in degree of saturation promotes liquefaction instabilities, i.e. possible transitions from solid- to fluid-like response. The study shows that the incorporation of principles of unsaturated soil mechanics into slope stability analyses generates suction-dependent coefficients that alter the value of the safety factors. As a result, while the proposed approach can still be combined with standard hydrologic models simulating the evolution of pore pressures in the near-surface, it can also provide a spatially distributed assessment of evolving safety conditions in landscapes susceptible to landslides of the flow type.

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This report provides findings, conclusions and recommendations regarding the National Space Transportation System (NSTS), the Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP), aeronautical projects and other areas of NASA activities. The main focus of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) during 1988 has been monitoring and advising NASA and its contractors on the Space Transportation System (STS) recovery program. NASA efforts have restored the flight program with a much better management organization, safety and quality assurance organizations, and management communication system. The NASA National Space Transportation System (NSTS) organization in conjunction with its prime contractors should be encouraged to continue development and incorporation of appropriate design and operational improvements which will further reduce risk. The data from each Shuttle flight should be used to determine if affordable design and/or operational improvements could further increase safety. The review of Critical Items (CILs), Failure Mode Effects and Analyses (FMEAs) and Hazard Analyses (HAs) after the Challenger accident has given the program a massive data base with which to establish a formal program with prioritized changes.

Exploring the role of emotional intelligence in behavior-based safety coaching.

PubMed

Wiegand, Douglas M

2007-01-01

Safety coaching is an applied behavior analysis technique that involves interpersonal interaction to understand and manipulate environmental conditions that are directing (i.e., antecedent to) and motivating (i.e., consequences of) safety-related behavior. A safety coach must be skilled in interacting with others so as to understand their perspectives, communicate a point clearly, and be persuasive with behavior-based feedback. This article discusses the evidence-based "ability model" of emotional intelligence and its relevance to the interpersonal aspect of the safety coaching process. Emotional intelligence has potential for improving safety-related efforts and other aspects of individuals' work and personal lives. Safety researchers and practitioners are therefore encouraged to gain an understanding of emotional intelligence and conduct and support research applying this construct toward injury prevention.

Analysis of School Food Safety Programs Based on HACCP Principles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Kevin R.; Sauer, Kevin; Sneed, Jeannie; Kwon, Junehee; Olds, David; Cole, Kerri; Shanklin, Carol

2014-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine how school districts have implemented food safety programs based on HACCP principles. Specific objectives included: (1) Evaluate how schools are implementing components of food safety programs; and (2) Determine foodservice employees food-handling practices related to food safety.…

Validating Trial-Based Functional Analyses in Mainstream Primary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Jennifer L.; Groves, Emily A.; Reynish, Lisa C.; Francis, Laura L.

2015-01-01

There is growing evidence to support the use of trial-based functional analyses, particularly in classroom settings. However, there currently are no evaluations of this procedure with typically developing children. Furthermore, it is possible that refinements may be needed to adapt trial-based analyses to mainstream classrooms. This study was…

Mitigating Motion Base Safety Issues: The NASA LaRC CMF Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bryant, Richard B., Jr.; Grupton, Lawrence E.; Martinez, Debbie; Carrelli, David J.

2005-01-01

The NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) motion base design has taken advantage of inherent hydraulic characteristics to implement safety features using hardware solutions only. Motion system safety has always been a concern and its implementation is addressed differently by each organization. Some approaches rely heavily on software safety features. Software which performs safety functions is subject to more scrutiny making its approval, modification, and development time consuming and expensive. The NASA LaRC's CMF motion system is used for research and, as such, requires that the software be updated or modified frequently. The CMF's customers need the ability to update the simulation software frequently without the associated cost incurred with safety critical software. This paper describes the CMF engineering team's approach to achieving motion base safety by designing and implementing all safety features in hardware, resulting in applications software (including motion cueing and actuator dynamic control) being completely independent of the safety devices. This allows the CMF safety systems to remain intact and unaffected by frequent research system modifications.

Crash data analyses for vehicle-to-infrastructure communications for safety applications.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-11-01

This report presents the potential safety benefits of wireless communication between the roadway infrastructure and vehicles, : (i.e., vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) safety). Specifically, it identifies the magnitude, characteristics, and cost of cr...

Applying interprofessional Team-Based Learning in patient safety: a pilot evaluation study.

PubMed

Lochner, Lukas; Girardi, Sandra; Pavcovich, Alessandra; Meier, Horand; Mantovan, Franco; Ausserhofer, Dietmar

2018-03-27

Interprofessional education (IPE) interventions are not always successful in achieving learning outcomes. Team-Based Learning (TBL) would appear to be a suitable pedagogical method for IPE, as it focuses on team performance; however, little is known about interprofessional TBL as an instructional framework for patient safety. In this pilot-study, we aimed to (1) describe participants' reactions to TBL, (2) observe their achievement with respect to interprofessional education learning objectives, and (3) document their attitudinal shifts with regard to patient safety behaviours. We developed and implemented a three-day course for pre-qualifying, non-medical healthcare students to give instruction on non-technical skills related to 'learning from errors'. The course consisted of three sequential modules: 'Recognizing Errors', 'Analysing Errors', and 'Reporting Errors'. The evaluation took place within a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test study design. Participants completed self-assessments through valid and reliable instruments such as the Mennenga's TBL Student Assessment Instrument and the University of the West of England's Interprofessional Questionnaire. The mean scores of the individual readiness assurance tests were compared with the scores of the group readiness assurance test in order to explore if students learned from each other during group discussions. Data was analysed using descriptive (i.e. mean, standard deviation), parametric (i.e. paired t-test), and non-parametric (i.e. Wilcoxon signed-rank test) methods. Thirty-nine students from five different bachelor's programs attended the course. The participants positively rated TBL as an instructional approach. All teams outperformed the mean score of their individual members during the readiness assurance process. We observed significant improvements in 'communication and teamwork' and 'interprofessional learning' but not in 'interprofessional interaction' and 'interprofessional relationships

School-Based and Community-Based Gun Safety Educational Strategies for Injury Prevention.

PubMed

Holly, Cheryl; Porter, Sallie; Kamienski, Mary; Lim, Aubrianne

2018-05-01

Nearly 1,300 children in the United States die because of firearm-related injury each year and another 5,790 survive gunshot wounds, making the prevention of firearm-related unintentional injury to children of vital importance to families, health professionals, and policy makers. To systematically review the evidence on school-based and community-based gun safety programs for children aged 3 to 18 years. Systematic review. Twelve databases were searched from their earliest records to December 2016. Interventional and analytic studies were sought, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, as well as before-and-after studies or cohort studies with or without a control that involved an intervention. The low level of evidence, heterogeneity of studies, and lack of consistent outcome measures precluded a pooled estimate of results. A best evidence synthesis was performed. Results support the premise that programs using either knowledge-based or active learning strategies or a combination of these may be insufficient for teaching gun safety skills to children. Gun safety programs do not improve the likelihood that children will not handle firearms in an unsupervised situation. Stronger research designs with larger samples are needed to determine the most effective way to transfer the use of the gun safety skills outside the training session and enable stronger conclusions to be drawn.

Population-based cohort study on comparative effectiveness and safety of biologics in inflammatory bowel disease

PubMed Central

Trotta, Francesco; Cascini, Silvia; Agabiti, Nera; Kohn, Anna; Gasbarrini, Antonio; Davoli, Marina; Addis, Antonio

2018-01-01

Background The comparison of effectiveness and safety of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha agents for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is relevant for clinical practice and stakeholders. Objective The objective of this study was to compare the risk of abdominal surgery, steroid utilization, and hospitalization for infection in Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) patients newly treated with infliximab (IFX) or adalimumab (ADA). Methods A retrospective population-based cohort study was performed using health information systems data from Lazio region, Italy. Patients with CD or UC diagnosis were enrolled at first prescription of IFX or ADA during 2008–2014 (index date). Only new drug users were followed for 2 years from the index date. IFX versus ADA adjusted hazard ratios were calculated applying “intention-to-treat” approach, controlling for several characteristics and stratifying the analysis on steroid use according to previous drug utilization. Sensitivity analyses were performed according to “as-treated” approach, adjusting for propensity score, censoring at switching or discontinuation, and evaluating different lengths of follow-up periods. Results We enrolled 1,432 IBD patients (42% and 83% exposed to IFX for CD and UC, respectively). In both diseases, treatment effects did not differ in any outcome considered, and sensitivity analyses confirmed the results from the main analysis. Conclusion In our population-based cohort study, effectiveness and safety data in new users of ADA or IFX with CD or UC were comparable for the outcomes we tested. PMID:29440933

Medication Safety During Pregnancy: Improving Evidence-Based Practice.

PubMed

Sinclair, Susan M; Miller, Richard K; Chambers, Christina; Cooper, Elizabeth M

2016-01-01

Nearly 90% of women in the United States have taken medications during pregnancy. Medication exposures during pregnancy can result in adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes including birth defects, fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction, prematurity, and longer-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. Advising pregnant women about the safety of medication use during pregnancy is complicated by a lack of data necessary to engage the woman in an informed discussion. Routinely, health care providers turn to the package insert, yet this information can be incomplete and can be based entirely on animal studies. Often, adequate safety data are not available. In a busy clinical setting, health care providers need to be able to quickly locate the most up-to-date information in order to counsel pregnant women concerned about medication exposure. Deciding where to locate the best available information is difficult, particularly when the needed information does not exist. Pregnancy registries are initiated to obtain more data about the safety of specific medication exposures during pregnancy; however, these studies are slow to produce meaningful information, and when they do, the information may not be readily available in a published form. Health care providers have valuable data in their everyday practice that can expand the knowledge base about medication safety during pregnancy. This review aims to discuss the limitations of the package insert regarding medication safety during pregnancy, highlight additional resources available to health care providers to inform practice, and communicate the importance of pregnancy registries for expanding knowledge about medication safety during pregnancy. © 2016 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

The potential application of behavior-based safety in the trucking industry

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-04-01

Behavior-based safety (BBS) is a set of methods to improve safety performance in the workplace by engaging workers in the improvement process, identifying critical safety behaviors, performing observations to gather data, providing feedback to encour...

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.

3S (Safeguards, Security, Safety) based pyroprocessing facility safety evaluation plan

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

Ku, J.H.; Choung, W.M.; You, G.S.

The big advantage of pyroprocessing for the management of spent fuels against the conventional reprocessing technologies lies in its proliferation resistance since the pure plutonium cannot be separated from the spent fuel. The extracted materials can be directly used as metal fuel in a fast reactor, and pyroprocessing reduces drastically the volume and heat load of the spent fuel. KAERI has implemented the SBD (Safeguards-By-Design) concept in nuclear fuel cycle facilities. The goal of SBD is to integrate international safeguards into the entire facility design process since the very beginning of the design phase. This paper presents a safety evaluationmore » plan using a conceptual design of a reference pyroprocessing facility, in which 3S (Safeguards, Security, Safety)-By-Design (3SBD) concept is integrated from early conceptual design phase. The purpose of this paper is to establish an advanced pyroprocessing hot cell facility design concept based on 3SBD for the successful realization of pyroprocessing technology with enhanced safety and proliferation resistance.« less

Traceability of Software Safety Requirements in Legacy Safety Critical Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Janice L.

2007-01-01

How can traceability of software safety requirements be created for legacy safety critical systems? Requirements in safety standards are imposed most times during contract negotiations. On the other hand, there are instances where safety standards are levied on legacy safety critical systems, some of which may be considered for reuse for new applications. Safety standards often specify that software development documentation include process-oriented and technical safety requirements, and also require that system and software safety analyses are performed supporting technical safety requirements implementation. So what can be done if the requisite documents for establishing and maintaining safety requirements traceability are not available?

Comparing two safety culture surveys: safety attitudes questionnaire and hospital survey on patient safety.

PubMed

Etchegaray, Jason M; Thomas, Eric J

2012-06-01

To examine the reliability and predictive validity of two patient safety culture surveys-Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS)-when administered to the same participants. Also to determine the ability to convert HSOPS scores to SAQ scores. Employees working in intensive care units in 12 hospitals within a large hospital system in the southern United States were invited to anonymously complete both safety culture surveys electronically. All safety culture dimensions from both surveys (with the exception of HSOPS's Staffing) had adequate levels of reliability. Three of HSOPS's outcomes-frequency of event reporting, overall perceptions of patient safety, and overall patient safety grade-were significantly correlated with SAQ and HSOPS dimensions of culture at the individual level, with correlations ranging from r=0.41 to 0.65 for the SAQ dimensions and from r=0.22 to 0.72 for the HSOPS dimensions. Neither the SAQ dimensions nor the HSOPS dimensions predicted the fourth HSOPS outcome-number of events reported within the last 12 months. Regression analyses indicated that HSOPS safety culture dimensions were the best predictors of frequency of event reporting and overall perceptions of patient safety while SAQ and HSOPS dimensions both predicted patient safety grade. Unit-level analyses were not conducted because indices did not indicate that aggregation was appropriate. Scores were converted between the surveys, although much variance remained unexplained. Given that the SAQ and HSOPS had similar reliability and predictive validity, investigators and quality and safety leaders should consider survey length, content, sensitivity to change and the ability to benchmark when selecting a patient safety culture survey.

A System for Integrated Reliability and Safety Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kostiuk, Peter; Shapiro, Gerald; Hanson, Dave; Kolitz, Stephan; Leong, Frank; Rosch, Gene; Coumeri, Marc; Scheidler, Peter, Jr.; Bonesteel, Charles

1999-01-01

We present an integrated reliability and aviation safety analysis tool. The reliability models for selected infrastructure components of the air traffic control system are described. The results of this model are used to evaluate the likelihood of seeing outcomes predicted by simulations with failures injected. We discuss the design of the simulation model, and the user interface to the integrated toolset.

Assessing the general safety and tolerability of vildagliptin: value of pooled analyses from a large safety database versus evaluation of individual studies

PubMed Central

Schweizer, Anja; Dejager, Sylvie; Foley, James E; Kothny, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Aim: Analyzing safety aspects of a drug from individual studies can lead to difficult-to-interpret results. The aim of this paper is therefore to assess the general safety and tolerability, including incidences of the most common adverse events (AEs), of vildagliptin based on a large pooled database of Phase II and III clinical trials. Methods: Safety data were pooled from 38 studies of ≥12 to ≥104 weeks’ duration. AE profiles of vildagliptin (50 mg bid; N = 6116) were evaluated relative to a pool of comparators (placebo and active comparators; N = 6210). Absolute incidence rates were calculated for all AEs, serious AEs (SAEs), discontinuations due to AEs, and deaths. Results: Overall AEs, SAEs, discontinuations due to AEs, and deaths were all reported with a similar frequency in patients receiving vildagliptin (69.1%, 8.9%, 5.7%, and 0.4%, respectively) and patients receiving comparators (69.0%, 9.0%, 6.4%, and 0.4%, respectively), whereas drug-related AEs were seen with a lower frequency in vildagliptin-treated patients (15.7% vs 21.7% with comparators). The incidences of the most commonly reported specific AEs were also similar between vildagliptin and comparators, except for increased incidences of hypoglycemia, tremor, and hyperhidrosis in the comparator group related to the use of sulfonylureas. Conclusions: The present pooled analysis shows that vildagliptin was overall well tolerated in clinical trials of up to >2 years in duration. The data further emphasize the value of a pooled analysis from a large safety database versus assessing safety and tolerability from individual studies. PMID:21415917

Nurse's Assistant: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrico County Public Schools, Glen Allen, VA. Virginia Vocational Curriculum Center.

These task analyses are designed to be used in combination with the "Health Occupations Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the nurse's assistant program in Virginia. The task analysis document contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence lists, and content outlines for Nursing…

Protocol for a multicentre, multistage, prospective study in China using system-based approaches for consistent improvement in surgical safety

PubMed Central

Yu, Xiaochu; Jiang, Jingmei; Liu, Changwei; Shen, Keng; Wang, Zixing; Han, Wei; Liu, Xingrong; Lin, Guole; Zhang, Ye; Zhang, Ying; Ma, Yufen; Bo, Haixin; Zhao, Yupei

2017-01-01

Introduction Surgical safety has emerged as a crucial global health issue in the past two decades. Although several safety-enhancing tools are available, the pace of large-scale improvement remains slow, especially in developing countries such as China. The present project (Modern Surgery and Anesthesia Safety Management System Construction and Promotion) aims to develop and validate system-based integrated approaches for reducing perioperative deaths and complications using a multicentre, multistage design. Methods and analysis The project involves collection of clinical and outcome information for 1 20 000 surgical inpatients at four regionally representative academic/teaching general hospitals in China during three sequential stages: preparation and development, effectiveness validation and improvement of implementation for promotion. These big data will provide the evidence base for the formulation, validation and improvement processes of a system-based stratified safety intervention package covering the entire surgical pathway. Attention will be directed to managing inherent patient risks and regulating medical safety behaviour. Information technology will facilitate data collection and intervention implementation, provide supervision mechanisms and guarantee transfer of key patient safety messages between departments and personnel. Changes in rates of deaths, surgical complications during hospitalisation, length of stay, system adoption and implementation rates will be analysed to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the institutional review boards of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, First Hospital of China Medical University, Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital, Xiangya Hospital Central South University and the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Study findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and patent papers

Computer-based training for safety: comparing methods with older and younger workers.

PubMed

Wallen, Erik S; Mulloy, Karen B

2006-01-01

Computer-based safety training is becoming more common and is being delivered to an increasingly aging workforce. Aging results in a number of changes that make it more difficult to learn from certain types of computer-based training. Instructional designs derived from cognitive learning theories may overcome some of these difficulties. Three versions of computer-based respiratory safety training were shown to older and younger workers who then took a high and a low level learning test. Younger workers did better overall. Both older and younger workers did best with the version containing text with pictures and audio narration. Computer-based training with pictures and audio narration may be beneficial for workers over 45 years of age. Computer-based safety training has advantages but workers of different ages may benefit differently. Computer-based safety programs should be designed and selected based on their ability to effectively train older as well as younger learners.

A Smartphone-Based Driver Safety Monitoring System Using Data Fusion

PubMed Central

Lee, Boon-Giin; Chung, Wan-Young

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a method for monitoring driver safety levels using a data fusion approach based on several discrete data types: eye features, bio-signal variation, in-vehicle temperature, and vehicle speed. The driver safety monitoring system was developed in practice in the form of an application for an Android-based smartphone device, where measuring safety-related data requires no extra monetary expenditure or equipment. Moreover, the system provides high resolution and flexibility. The safety monitoring process involves the fusion of attributes gathered from different sensors, including video, electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, temperature, and a three-axis accelerometer, that are assigned as input variables to an inference analysis framework. A Fuzzy Bayesian framework is designed to indicate the driver’s capability level and is updated continuously in real-time. The sensory data are transmitted via Bluetooth communication to the smartphone device. A fake incoming call warning service alerts the driver if his or her safety level is suspiciously compromised. Realistic testing of the system demonstrates the practical benefits of multiple features and their fusion in providing a more authentic and effective driver safety monitoring. PMID:23247416

Behavior-based safety on construction sites: a case study.

PubMed

Choudhry, Rafiq M

2014-09-01

This work presents the results of a case study and describes an important area within the field of construction safety management, namely behavior-based safety (BBS). This paper adopts and develops a management approach for safety improvements in construction site environments. A rigorous behavioral safety system and its intervention program was implemented and deployed on target construction sites. After taking a few weeks of safety behavior measurements, the project management team implemented the designed intervention and measurements were taken. Goal-setting sessions were arranged on-site with workers' participation to set realistic and attainable targets of performance. Safety performance measurements continued and the levels of performance and the targets were presented on feedback charts. Supervisors were asked to give workers recognition and praise when they acted safely or improved critical behaviors. Observers were requested to have discussions with workers, visit the site, distribute training materials to workers, and provide feedback to crews and display charts. They were required to talk to operatives in the presence of line managers. It was necessary to develop awareness and understanding of what was being measured. In the process, operatives learned how to act safely when conducting site tasks using the designed checklists. Current weekly scores were discussed in the weekly safety meetings and other operational site meetings with emphasis on how to achieve set targets. The reliability of the safety performance measures taken by the company's observers was monitored. A clear increase in safety performance level was achieved across all categories: personal protective equipment; housekeeping; access to heights; plant and equipment, and scaffolding. The research reveals that scores of safety performance at one project improved from 86% (at the end of 3rd week) to 92.9% during the 9th week. The results of intervention demonstrated large decreases in

Commercial Photography: Task Analyses. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Endo, Paula; Morrell, Linda

These task analyses are designed to be used in combination with the "Trade and Industrial Education Service Area Resource" in order to implement competency-based education in the commercial photography program in Virginia. The task analysis document contains the task inventory, suggested task sequence lists, and content outlines for the…

The influence of environmental conditions on safety management in hospitals: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Alingh, Carien W; van Wijngaarden, Jeroen D H; Huijsman, Robbert; Paauwe, Jaap

2018-05-02

Hospitals are confronted with increasing safety demands from a diverse set of stakeholders, including governmental organisations, professional associations, health insurance companies, patient associations and the media. However, little is known about the effects of these institutional and competitive pressures on hospital safety management. Previous research has shown that organisations generally shape their safety management approach along the lines of control- or commitment-based management. Using a heuristic framework, based on the contextually-based human resource theory, we analysed how environmental pressures affect the safety management approach used by hospitals. A qualitative study was conducted into hospital care in the Netherlands. Five hospitals were selected for participation, based on organisational characteristics as well as variation in their reputation for patient safety. We interviewed hospital managers and staff with a central role in safety management. A total of 43 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 respondents. The heuristic framework was used as an initial model for analysing the data, though new codes emerged from the data as well. In order to ensure safe care delivery, institutional and competitive stakeholders often impose detailed safety requirements, strong forces for compliance and growing demands for accountability. As a consequence, hospitals experience a decrease in the room to manoeuvre. Hence, organisations increasingly choose a control-based management approach to make sure that safety demands are met. In contrast, in case of more abstract safety demands and an organisational culture which favours patient safety, hospitals generally experience more leeway. This often results in a stronger focus on commitment-based management. Institutional and competitive conditions as well as strategic choices that hospitals make have resulted in various combinations of control- and commitment-based safety management. A balanced

Analysis of adverse events as a contribution to safety culture in the context of practice development

PubMed

Hoffmann, Susanne; Frei, Irena Anna

2017-01-01

Background: Analysing adverse events is an effective patient safety measure. Aim: We show, how clinical nurse specialists have been enabled to analyse adverse events with the „Learning from Defects-Tool“ (LFD-Tool). Method: Our multi-component implementation strategy addressed both, the safety knowledge of clinical nurse specialists and their attitude towards patient safety. The culture of practice development was taken into account. Results: Clinical nurse specialists relate competency building on patient safety due to the application of the LFD-tool. Applying the tool, fosters the reflection of adverse events in care teams. Conclusion: Applying the „Learning from Defects-Tool“ promotes work-based learning. Analysing adverse events with the „Learning from Defects-Tool“ contributes to the safety culture in a hospital.

A safety-based decision making architecture for autonomous systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musto, Joseph C.; Lauderbaugh, L. K.

1991-01-01

Engineering systems designed specifically for space applications often exhibit a high level of autonomy in the control and decision-making architecture. As the level of autonomy increases, more emphasis must be placed on assimilating the safety functions normally executed at the hardware level or by human supervisors into the control architecture of the system. The development of a decision-making structure which utilizes information on system safety is detailed. A quantitative measure of system safety, called the safety self-information, is defined. This measure is analogous to the reliability self-information defined by McInroy and Saridis, but includes weighting of task constraints to provide a measure of both reliability and cost. An example is presented in which the safety self-information is used as a decision criterion in a mobile robot controller. The safety self-information is shown to be consistent with the entropy-based Theory of Intelligent Machines defined by Saridis.

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.

Subsurface safety valves: safety asset or safety liability

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

Busch, J.M.; Llewelyn, D.C.G.; Policky, B.J.

1983-10-01

This paper summarizes the methods used to compare the risk of a blowout for a well completed with a subsurface safety valve (SSSV) vs. a completion without an SSSV. These methods, which could be applied to any field, include a combination of SSSV reliability and conventional risk analyses. The Kuparuk River Unit Working Interest Owners recently formed a group to examine the risks associated with installing and maintaining SSSV's in the Kuparuk field. The group was charged with answering the question: ''Assuming Kuparuk field operating conditions, are SSSV's a safety asset, or do numerous operating and maintenance procedures make themmore » a safety liability.'' The results indicate that for the Kuparuk River Unit, an SSSV becomes a safety liability when the mean time between SSSV failures is less than one year. Since current SSSV mean time to failure (MTTF) at Kuparuk is approximately 1000 days, they are considered a safety asset.« less

New method for distance-based close following safety indicator.

PubMed

Sharizli, A A; Rahizar, R; Karim, M R; Saifizul, A A

2015-01-01

The increase in the number of fatalities caused by road accidents involving heavy vehicles every year has raised the level of concern and awareness on road safety in developing countries like Malaysia. Changes in the vehicle dynamic characteristics such as gross vehicle weight, travel speed, and vehicle classification will affect a heavy vehicle's braking performance and its ability to stop safely in emergency situations. As such, the aim of this study is to establish a more realistic new distance-based safety indicator called the minimum safe distance gap (MSDG), which incorporates vehicle classification (VC), speed, and gross vehicle weight (GVW). Commercial multibody dynamics simulation software was used to generate braking distance data for various heavy vehicle classes under various loads and speeds. By applying nonlinear regression analysis to the simulation results, a mathematical expression of MSDG has been established. The results show that MSDG is dynamically changed according to GVW, VC, and speed. It is envisaged that this new distance-based safety indicator would provide a more realistic depiction of the real traffic situation for safety analysis.

Car manufacturers and global road safety: a word frequency analysis of road safety documents.

PubMed

Roberts, I; Wentz, R; Edwards, P

2006-10-01

The World Bank believes that the car manufacturers can make a valuable contribution to road safety in poor countries and has established the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) for this purpose. However, some commentators are sceptical. The authors examined road safety policy documents to assess the extent of any bias. Word frequency analyses of road safety policy documents from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GRSP. The relative occurrence of key road safety terms was quantified by calculating a word prevalence ratio with 95% confidence intervals. Terms for which there was a fourfold difference in prevalence between the documents were tabulated. Compared to WHO's World report on road traffic injury prevention, the GRSP road safety documents were substantially less likely to use the words speed, speed limits, child restraint, pedestrian, public transport, walking, and cycling, but substantially more likely to use the words school, campaign, driver training, and billboard. There are important differences in emphasis in road safety policy documents prepared by WHO and the GRSP. Vigilance is needed to ensure that the road safety interventions that the car industry supports are based on sound evidence of effectiveness.

AHRQ's hospital survey on patient safety culture: psychometric analyses.

PubMed

Blegen, Mary A; Gearhart, Susan; O'Brien, Roxanne; Sehgal, Niraj L; Alldredge, Brian K

2009-09-01

This project analyzed the psychometric properties of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) including factor structure, interitem reliability and intraclass correlations, usefulness for assessment, predictive validity, and sensitivity. The survey was administered to 454 health care staff in 3 hospitals before and after a series of multidisciplinary interventions designed to improve safety culture. Respondents (before, 434; after, 368) included nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and other hospital staff members. Factor analysis partially confirmed the validity of the HSOPSC subscales. Interitem consistency reliability was above 0.7 for 5 subscales; the staffing subscale had the lowest reliability coefficients. The intraclass correlation coefficients, agreement among the members of each unit, were within recommended ranges. The pattern of high and low scores across the subscales of the HSOPSC in the study hospitals were similar to the sample of Pacific region hospitals reported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and corresponded to the proportion of items in each subscale that are worded negatively (reverse scored). Most of the unit and hospital dimensions were correlated with the Safety Grade outcome measure in the tool. Overall, the tool was shown to have moderate-to-strong validity and reliability, with the exception of the staffing subscale. The usefulness in assessing areas of strength and weakness for hospitals or units among the culture subscales is questionable. The culture subscales were shown to correlate with the perceived outcomes, but further study is needed to determine true predictive validity.

Drivers' safety needs, behavioural adaptations and acceptance of new driving support systems.

PubMed

Saad, Farida; Van Elslande, Pierre

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to discuss the contribution of two complementary approaches for designing and evaluating new driver support systems likely to improve the operation and safety of the road traffic system. The first approach is based on detailed analyses of traffic crashes so as to estimate drivers' needs for assistance and the situational constraints that safety functions should address to be efficient. The second approach is based on in depth-analyses of behavioral adaptations induced by the usage of new driver support systems in regular driving situations and on drivers' acceptance of the assistance provided by the systems.

Engineering nanomaterials-based biosensors for food safety detection.

PubMed

Lv, Man; Liu, Yang; Geng, Jinhui; Kou, Xiaohong; Xin, Zhihong; Yang, Dayong

2018-05-30

Food safety always remains a grand global challenge to human health, especially in developing countries. To solve food safety pertained problems, numerous strategies have been developed to detect biological and chemical contaminants in food. Among these approaches, nanomaterials-based biosensors provide opportunity to realize rapid, sensitive, efficient and portable detection, overcoming the restrictions and limitations of traditional methods such as complicated sample pretreatment, long detection time, and relying on expensive instruments and well-trained personnel. In this review article, we provide a cross-disciplinary perspective to review the progress of nanomaterials-based biosensors for the detection of food contaminants. The review article is organized by the category of food contaminants including pathogens/toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, veterinary drugs and illegal additives. In each category of food contaminant, the biosensing strategies are summarized including optical, colorimetric, fluorescent, electrochemical, and immune- biosensors; the relevant analytes, nanomaterials and biosensors are analyzed comprehensively. Future perspectives and challenges are also discussed briefly. We envision that our review could bridge the gap between the fields of food science and nanotechnology, providing implications for the scientists or engineers in both areas to collaborate and promote the development of nanomaterials-based biosensors for food safety detection. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Portable Nanoparticle-Based Sensors for Food Safety Assessment

PubMed Central

Bülbül, Gonca; Hayat, Akhtar; Andreescu, Silvana

2015-01-01

The use of nanotechnology-derived products in the development of sensors and analytical measurement methodologies has increased significantly over the past decade. Nano-based sensing approaches include the use of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanostructures to enhance sensitivity and selectivity, design new detection schemes, improve sample preparation and increase portability. This review summarizes recent advancements in the design and development of NP-based sensors for assessing food safety. The most common types of NPs used to fabricate sensors for detection of food contaminants are discussed. Selected examples of NP-based detection schemes with colorimetric and electrochemical detection are provided with focus on sensors for the detection of chemical and biological contaminants including pesticides, heavy metals, bacterial pathogens and natural toxins. Current trends in the development of low-cost portable NP-based technology for rapid assessment of food safety as well as challenges for practical implementation and future research directions are discussed. PMID:26690169

Safety Testing of Ammonium Nitrate Based Mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Jason; Lappo, Karmen; Phelan, James; Peterson, Nathan; Gilbert, Don

2013-06-01

Ammonium nitrate (AN)/ammonium nitrate based explosives have a lengthy documented history of use by adversaries in acts of terror. While historical research has been conducted on AN-based explosive mixtures, it has primarily focused on detonation performance while varying the oxygen balance between the oxidizer and fuel components. Similarly, historical safety data on these materials is often lacking in pertinent details such as specific fuel type, particle size parameters, oxidizer form, etc. A variety of AN-based fuel-oxidizer mixtures were tested for small-scale sensitivity in preparation for large-scale testing. Current efforts focus on maintaining a zero oxygen-balance (a stoichiometric ratio for active chemical participants) while varying factors such as charge geometry, oxidizer form, particle size, and inert diluent ratios. Small-scale safety testing was conducted on various mixtures and fuels. It was found that ESD sensitivity is significantly affected by particle size, while this is less so for impact and friction. Thermal testing is in progress to evaluate hazards that may be experienced during large-scale testing.

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 1: base nuclear system safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The mission and terrestrial nuclear safety aspects of future long duration manned space missions in low earth orbit are discussed. Nuclear hazards of a typical low earth orbit Space Base mission (from natural sources and on-board nuclear hardware) have been identified and evaluated. Some of the principal nuclear safety design and procedural considerations involved in launch, orbital, and end of mission operations are presented. Areas of investigation include radiation interactions with the crew, subsystems, facilities, experiments, film, interfacing vehicles, nuclear hardware and the terrestrial populace. Results of the analysis indicate: (1) the natural space environment can be the dominant radiation source in a low earth orbit where reactors are effectively shielded, (2) with implementation of safety guidelines the reactor can present a low risk to the crew, support personnel, the terrestrial populace, flight hardware and the mission, (3) ten year missions are feasible without exceeding integrated radiation limits assigned to flight hardware, and (4) crew stay-times up to one year are feasible without storm shelter provisions.

Analyser-based phase contrast image reconstruction using geometrical optics.

PubMed

Kitchen, M J; Pavlov, K M; Siu, K K W; Menk, R H; Tromba, G; Lewis, R A

2007-07-21

Analyser-based phase contrast imaging can provide radiographs of exceptional contrast at high resolution (<100 microm), whilst quantitative phase and attenuation information can be extracted using just two images when the approximations of geometrical optics are satisfied. Analytical phase retrieval can be performed by fitting the analyser rocking curve with a symmetric Pearson type VII function. The Pearson VII function provided at least a 10% better fit to experimentally measured rocking curves than linear or Gaussian functions. A test phantom, a hollow nylon cylinder, was imaged at 20 keV using a Si(1 1 1) analyser at the ELETTRA synchrotron radiation facility. Our phase retrieval method yielded a more accurate object reconstruction than methods based on a linear fit to the rocking curve. Where reconstructions failed to map expected values, calculations of the Takagi number permitted distinction between the violation of the geometrical optics conditions and the failure of curve fitting procedures. The need for synchronized object/detector translation stages was removed by using a large, divergent beam and imaging the object in segments. Our image acquisition and reconstruction procedure enables quantitative phase retrieval for systems with a divergent source and accounts for imperfections in the analyser.

Conducting Clinically Based Intimate Partner Violence Research: Safety Protocol Recommendations.

PubMed

Anderson, Jocelyn C; Glass, Nancy E; Campbell, Jacquelyn C

Maintaining safety is of utmost importance during research involving participants who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Limited guidance on safety protocols to protect participants is available, particularly information related to technology-based approaches to informed consent, data collection, and contacting participants during the course of a study. The purpose of the article is to provide details on the safety protocol developed and utilized with women receiving care at an urban HIV clinic and who were taking part in an observational study of IPV, mental health symptoms, and substance abuse and their relationship to HIV treatment adherence. The protocol presents the technological strategies to promote safety and allow autonomy in participant decision-making throughout the research process, including Voice over Internet Protocol telephone numbers, and tablet-based eligibility screening and data collection. Protocols for management of participants at risk for suicide and/or intimate partner homicide that included automated high-risk messaging to participants and research staff and facilitated disclosure of risk to clinical staff based on participant preferences are discussed. Use of technology and partnership with clinic staff helped to provide an environment where research regarding IPV could be conducted without undue burden or risk to participants. Utilizing tablet-based survey administration provided multiple practical and safety benefits for participants. Most women who screened into high-risk categories for suicide or intimate partner homicide did not choose to have their results shared with their healthcare providers, indicating the importance of allowing participants control over information sharing whenever possible.

[Patient safety and errors in medicine: development, prevention and analyses of incidents].

PubMed

Rall, M; Manser, T; Guggenberger, H; Gaba, D M; Unertl, K

2001-06-01

"Patient safety" and "errors in medicine" are issues gaining more and more prominence in the eyes of the public. According to newer studies, errors in medicine are among the ten major causes of death in association with the whole area of health care. A new era has begun incorporating attention to a "systems" approach to deal with errors and their causes in the health system. In other high-risk domains with a high demand for safety (such as the nuclear power industry and aviation) many strategies to enhance safety have been established. It is time to study these strategies, to adapt them if necessary and apply them to the field of medicine. These strategies include: to teach people how errors evolve in complex working domains and how types of errors are classified; the introduction of critical incident reporting systems that are free of negative consequences for the reporters; the promotion of continuous medical education; and the development of generic problem-solving skills incorporating the extensive use of realistic simulators wherever possible. Interestingly, the field of anesthesiology--within which realistic simulators were developed--is referred to as a model for the new patient safety movement. Despite this proud track record in recent times though, there is still much to be done even in the field of anesthesiology. Overall though, the most important strategy towards a long-term improvement in patient safety will be a change of "culture" throughout the entire health care system. The "culture of blame" focused on individuals should be replaced by a "safety culture", that sees errors and critical incidents as a problem of the whole organization. The acceptance of human fallability and an open-minded non-punitive analysis of errors in the sense of a "preventive and proactive safety culture" should lead to solutions at the systemic level. This change in culture can only be achieved with a strong commitment from the highest levels of an organization. Patient

Effect of motivational group interviewing-based safety education on Workers' safety behaviors in glass manufacturing.

PubMed

Navidian, Ali; Rostami, Zahra; Rozbehani, Nasrin

2015-09-19

Worker safety education using models that identify and reinforce factors affecting behavior is essential. The present study aimed to determine the effect of safety education based on motivational interviewing on awareness of, attitudes toward, and engagement in worker safety in the glass production industry in Hamedan, Iran, in 2014. This was a quasi-experimental interventional study including a total of 70 production line workers at glass production facilities in Hamedan. The workers were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group, with 35 workers in each group. Participants in the control group received four one-hour safety education sessions, in the form of traditional lectures. Those in the intervention group received four educational sessions based on motivational group interviewing, which were conducted in four groups of eight to ten participants each. The instruments used included a researcher-developed questionnaire with checklists addressing safety awareness, and attitude and performance, which were completed before and 12 weeks after the intervention. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent and paired t-tests, and chi-squared tests. Having obtained the differences in scores before and after the intervention, we determined mean changes in the scores of awareness, attitude, and use of personal protective equipment among workers who underwent motivational group interviewing (3.74 ± 2.16, 1.71 ± 3.16, and 3.2 ± 1.92, respectively, p < 0.05). These scores were significantly greater than those of control workers who underwent traditional educational sessions (1.28 ± 1.93, 1.1 ± 3.07, and 0.2 ± 1.26, respectively). Our findings revealed that incorporation of motivational interviewing principles into safety education programs had the positive effect of enhancing workers' knowledge, attitude, and, particularly, implementation of safe behaviors. The application of this advisory approach

Roadway safety design workbook.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-07-01

Highway safety is an ongoing concern to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As part of its : proactive commitment to improving highway safety, TxDOT is moving toward including quantitative safety : analyses earlier in the project developm...

Highway safety design workshops.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

Highway safety is an ongoing concern for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As part of its : proactive commitment to improving highway safety, TxDOT is moving toward including quantitative safety : analyses earlier in the project develop...

Protocol for a multicentre, multistage, prospective study in China using system-based approaches for consistent improvement in surgical safety.

PubMed

Yu, Xiaochu; Jiang, Jingmei; Liu, Changwei; Shen, Keng; Wang, Zixing; Han, Wei; Liu, Xingrong; Lin, Guole; Zhang, Ye; Zhang, Ying; Ma, Yufen; Bo, Haixin; Zhao, Yupei

2017-06-15

Surgical safety has emerged as a crucial global health issue in the past two decades. Although several safety-enhancing tools are available, the pace of large-scale improvement remains slow, especially in developing countries such as China. The present project (Modern Surgery and Anesthesia Safety Management System Construction and Promotion) aims to develop and validate system-based integrated approaches for reducing perioperative deaths and complications using a multicentre, multistage design. The project involves collection of clinical and outcome information for 1 20 000 surgical inpatients at four regionally representative academic/teaching general hospitals in China during three sequential stages: preparation and development, effectiveness validation and improvement of implementation for promotion. These big data will provide the evidence base for the formulation, validation and improvement processes of a system-based stratified safety intervention package covering the entire surgical pathway. Attention will be directed to managing inherent patient risks and regulating medical safety behaviour. Information technology will facilitate data collection and intervention implementation, provide supervision mechanisms and guarantee transfer of key patient safety messages between departments and personnel. Changes in rates of deaths, surgical complications during hospitalisation, length of stay, system adoption and implementation rates will be analysed to evaluate effectiveness and efficiency. This study was approved by the institutional review boards of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, First Hospital of China Medical University, Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, Xiangya Hospital Central South University and the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Study findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and patent papers. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise

Developing safety performance functions incorporating reliability-based risk measures.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Shewkar El-Bassiouni; Sayed, Tarek

2011-11-01

Current geometric design guides provide deterministic standards where the safety margin of the design output is generally unknown and there is little knowledge of the safety implications of deviating from these standards. Several studies have advocated probabilistic geometric design where reliability analysis can be used to account for the uncertainty in the design parameters and to provide a risk measure of the implication of deviation from design standards. However, there is currently no link between measures of design reliability and the quantification of safety using collision frequency. The analysis presented in this paper attempts to bridge this gap by incorporating a reliability-based quantitative risk measure such as the probability of non-compliance (P(nc)) in safety performance functions (SPFs). Establishing this link will allow admitting reliability-based design into traditional benefit-cost analysis and should lead to a wider application of the reliability technique in road design. The present application is concerned with the design of horizontal curves, where the limit state function is defined in terms of the available (supply) and stopping (demand) sight distances. A comprehensive collision and geometric design database of two-lane rural highways is used to investigate the effect of the probability of non-compliance on safety. The reliability analysis was carried out using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). Two Negative Binomial (NB) SPFs were developed to compare models with and without the reliability-based risk measures. It was found that models incorporating the P(nc) provided a better fit to the data set than the traditional (without risk) NB SPFs for total, injury and fatality (I+F) and property damage only (PDO) collisions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety climate in OHSAS 18001-certified organisations: antecedents and consequences of safety behaviour.

PubMed

Fernández-Muñiz, Beatriz; Montes-Peón, José Manuel; Vázquez-Ordás, Camilo José

2012-03-01

The occupational health and safety standard OHSAS 18001 has gained considerable acceptance worldwide, and firms from diverse sectors and of varying sizes have implemented it. Despite this, very few studies have analysed safety management or the safety climate in OHSAS 18001-certified organisations. The current work aims to analyse the safety climate in these organisations, identify its dimensions, and propose and test a structural equation model that will help determine the antecedents and consequences of employees' safety behaviour. For this purpose, the authors carry out an empirical study using a sample of 131 OHSAS 18001-certified organisations located in Spain. The results show that management's commitment, and particularly communication, have an effect on safety behaviour and on safety performance, employee satisfaction, and firm competitiveness. These findings are particularly important for management since they provide evidence about the factors that should be encouraged to reduce risks and improve performance in this type of organisation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Approach for Validating Actinide and Fission Product Burnup Credit Criticality Safety Analyses: Criticality (k eff) Predictions

DOE PAGES

Scaglione, John M.; Mueller, Don E.; Wagner, John C.

2014-12-01

One of the most important remaining challenges associated with expanded implementation of burnup credit in the United States is the validation of depletion and criticality calculations used in the safety evaluation—in particular, the availability and use of applicable measured data to support validation, especially for fission products (FPs). Applicants and regulatory reviewers have been constrained by both a scarcity of data and a lack of clear technical basis or approach for use of the data. In this study, this paper describes a validation approach for commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) criticality safety (k eff) evaluations based on best-available data andmore » methods and applies the approach for representative SNF storage and transport configurations/conditions to demonstrate its usage and applicability, as well as to provide reference bias results. The criticality validation approach utilizes not only available laboratory critical experiment (LCE) data from the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments and the French Haut Taux de Combustion program to support validation of the principal actinides but also calculated sensitivities, nuclear data uncertainties, and limited available FP LCE data to predict and verify individual biases for relevant minor actinides and FPs. The results demonstrate that (a) sufficient critical experiment data exist to adequately validate k eff calculations via conventional validation approaches for the primary actinides, (b) sensitivity-based critical experiment selection is more appropriate for generating accurate application model bias and uncertainty, and (c) calculated sensitivities and nuclear data uncertainties can be used for generating conservative estimates of bias for minor actinides and FPs. Results based on the SCALE 6.1 and the ENDF/B-VII.0 cross-section libraries indicate that a conservative estimate of the bias for the minor actinides and FPs is 1.5% of their worth within the

Personalized medicine in human space flight: using Omics based analyses to develop individualized countermeasures that enhance astronaut safety and performance.

PubMed

Schmidt, Michael A; Goodwin, Thomas J

2013-01-01

Space flight is one of the most extreme conditions encountered by humans. Advances in Omics methodologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) have revealed that unique differences exist between individuals. These differences can be amplified in extreme conditions, such as space flight. A better understanding of individual differences may allow us to develop personalized countermeasure packages that optimize the safety and performance of each astronaut. In this review, we explore the role of "Omics" in advancing our ability to: (1) more thoroughly describe the biological response of humans in space; (2) describe molecular attributes of individual astronauts that alter the risk profile prior to entering the space environment; (3) deploy Omics techniques in the development of personalized countermeasures; and (4) develop a comprehensive Omics-based assessment and countermeasure platform that will guide human space flight in the future. In this review, we advance the concept of personalized medicine in human space flight, with the goal of enhancing astronaut safety and performance. Because the field is vast, we explore selected examples where biochemical individuality might significantly impact countermeasure development. These include gene and small molecule variants associated with: (1) metabolism of therapeutic drugs used in space; (2) one carbon metabolism and DNA stability; (3) iron metabolism, oxidative stress and damage, and DNA stability; and (4) essential input (Mg and Zn) effects on DNA repair. From these examples, we advance the case that widespread Omics profiling should serve as the foundation for aerospace medicine and research, explore methodological considerations to advance the field, and suggest why personalized medicine may become the standard of care for humans in space.

Office-based anesthesia: new frontiers, better outcomes, and emphasis on safety.

PubMed

Desai, Meena S

2008-12-01

Office-based anesthesia has grown and continues to grow very rapidly in the ever-changing medical environment. The demand of patients, surgeons and the evolving economic environment has set off a dynamic growth explosion. This explosion has created aggressive and tumultuous enhancements, some of which have been adapted well and some of which have led to disastrous results. As we institute rules and regulations to govern this 'wild west' of anesthesia, the landscape is set with some new guidelines that continue to evolve.Practice recommendations have been outlined for fire safety especially on patient fires. Closed claim studies offer valuable recommendations for MAC claims in the office based setting. Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and the ASA have outlined valuable information regarding the nonsilencing of equipment alarms.New equipment enhancements have generated successful mobile general anesthesia platforms. Finally, as we forge ahead we must construct measurements of our safety and success as outcome parameters are developed. The review of recent literature and technological advances has provided some valuable lessons in the evolution of patient safety and office based technology for the surgical office-based environment. As this specialty grows, measures of its outcome parameters will allow a gauge of performance.

Toward a Safety Risk-Based Classification of Unmanned Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2016-01-01

There is a trend of growing interest and demand for greater access of unmanned aircraft (UA) to the National Airspace System (NAS) as the ongoing development of UA technology has created the potential for significant economic benefits. However, the lack of a comprehensive and efficient UA regulatory framework has constrained the number and kinds of UA operations that can be performed. This report presents initial results of a study aimed at defining a safety-risk-based UA classification as a plausible basis for a regulatory framework for UA operating in the NAS. Much of the study up to this point has been at a conceptual high level. The report includes a survey of contextual topics, analysis of safety risk considerations, and initial recommendations for a risk-based approach to safe UA operations in the NAS. The next phase of the study will develop and leverage deeper clarity and insight into practical engineering and regulatory considerations for ensuring that UA operations have an acceptable level of safety.

Safety of soya-based infant formulas in children.

PubMed

Vandenplas, Yvan; Castrellon, Pedro Gutierrez; Rivas, Rodolfo; Gutiérrez, Carlos Jimenez; Garcia, Luisa Diaz; Jimenez, Juliana Estevez; Anzo, Anahi; Hegar, Badriul; Alarcon, Pedro

2014-04-28

Soya-based infant formulas (SIF) containing soya flour were introduced almost 100 years ago. Modern soya formulas are used in allergy/intolerance to cows' milk-based formulas (CMF), post-infectious diarrhoea, lactose intolerance and galactosaemia, as a vegan human milk (HM) substitute, etc. The safety of SIF is still debated. In the present study, we reviewed the safety of SIF in relation to anthropometric growth, bone health (bone mineral content), immunity, cognition, and reproductive and endocrine functions. The present review includes cross-sectional, case-control, cohort studies or clinical trials that were carried out in children fed SIF compared with those fed other types of infant formulas and that measured safety. The databases that were searched included PubMed (1909 to July 2013), Embase (1988 to May 2013), LILACS (1990 to May 2011), ARTEMISA (13th edition, December 2012), Cochrane controlled trials register, Bandolier and DARE using the Cochrane methodology. Wherever possible, a meta-analysis was carried out. We found that the anthropometric patterns of children fed SIF were similar to those of children fed CMF or HM. Despite the high levels of phytates and aluminium in SIF, Hb, serum protein, Zn and Ca concentrations and bone mineral content were found to be similar to those of children fed CMF or HM. We also found the levels of genistein and daidzein to be higher in children fed SIF; however, we did not find strong evidence of a negative effect on reproductive and endocrine functions. Immune measurements and neurocognitive parameters were similar in all the feeding groups. In conclusion, modern SIF are evidence-based safety options to feed children requiring them. The patterns of growth, bone health and metabolic, reproductive, endocrine, immune and neurological functions are similar to those observed in children fed CMF or HM.

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems : third annual report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

The Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program is a five-year, two-phase cooperative : research program being conducted by an industry consortium led by the University of Michigan : Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The goal of ...

Safety climate and culture: Integrating psychological and systems perspectives.

PubMed

Casey, Tristan; Griffin, Mark A; Flatau Harrison, Huw; Neal, Andrew

2017-07-01

Safety climate research has reached a mature stage of development, with a number of meta-analyses demonstrating the link between safety climate and safety outcomes. More recently, there has been interest from systems theorists in integrating the concept of safety culture and to a lesser extent, safety climate into systems-based models of organizational safety. Such models represent a theoretical and practical development of the safety climate concept by positioning climate as part of a dynamic work system in which perceptions of safety act to constrain and shape employee behavior. We propose safety climate and safety culture constitute part of the enabling capitals through which organizations build safety capability. We discuss how organizations can deploy different configurations of enabling capital to exert control over work systems and maintain safe and productive performance. We outline 4 key strategies through which organizations to reconcile the system control problems of promotion versus prevention, and stability versus flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Implementing evidence-based policy in a network setting: road safety policy in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Bax, Charlotte; de Jong, Martin; Koppenjan, Joop

2010-01-01

In the early 1990s, in order to improve road safety in The Netherlands, the Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV) developed an evidence-based "Sustainable Safety" concept. Based on this concept, Dutch road safety policy, was seen as successful and as a best practice in Europe. In The Netherlands, the policy context has now changed from a sectoral policy setting towards a fragmented network in which safety is a facet of other transport-related policies. In this contribution, it is argued that the implementation strategy underlying Sustainable Safety should be aligned with the changed context. In order to explore the adjustments needed, two perspectives of policy implementation are discussed: (1) national evidence-based policies with sectoral implementation; and (2) decentralized negotiation on transport policy in which road safety is but one aspect. We argue that the latter approach matches the characteristics of the newly evolved policy context best, and conclude with recommendations for reformulating the implementation strategy.

Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems Third Annual Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

The Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) program is a five-year, two-phase cooperative research program being conducted by an industry consortium led by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The goal of the ...

Preventing Road Rage by Modelling the Car-following and the Safety Distance Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Si; Fang, Ni; Zhao, Huanming; Ye, Shiqi

2017-11-01

Starting from the different behaviours of the driver’s lane change, the car-following model based on the distance and speed and the safety distance model are established in this paper, so as to analyse the impact on traffic flow and safety, helping solve the phenomenon of road anger.

Drug safety data mining with a tree-based scan statistic.

PubMed

Kulldorff, Martin; Dashevsky, Inna; Avery, Taliser R; Chan, Arnold K; Davis, Robert L; Graham, David; Platt, Richard; Andrade, Susan E; Boudreau, Denise; Gunter, Margaret J; Herrinton, Lisa J; Pawloski, Pamala A; Raebel, Marsha A; Roblin, Douglas; Brown, Jeffrey S

2013-05-01

In post-marketing drug safety surveillance, data mining can potentially detect rare but serious adverse events. Assessing an entire collection of drug-event pairs is traditionally performed on a predefined level of granularity. It is unknown a priori whether a drug causes a very specific or a set of related adverse events, such as mitral valve disorders, all valve disorders, or different types of heart disease. This methodological paper evaluates the tree-based scan statistic data mining method to enhance drug safety surveillance. We use a three-million-member electronic health records database from the HMO Research Network. Using the tree-based scan statistic, we assess the safety of selected antifungal and diabetes drugs, simultaneously evaluating overlapping diagnosis groups at different granularity levels, adjusting for multiple testing. Expected and observed adverse event counts were adjusted for age, sex, and health plan, producing a log likelihood ratio test statistic. Out of 732 evaluated disease groupings, 24 were statistically significant, divided among 10 non-overlapping disease categories. Five of the 10 signals are known adverse effects, four are likely due to confounding by indication, while one may warrant further investigation. The tree-based scan statistic can be successfully applied as a data mining tool in drug safety surveillance using observational data. The total number of statistical signals was modest and does not imply a causal relationship. Rather, data mining results should be used to generate candidate drug-event pairs for rigorous epidemiological studies to evaluate the individual and comparative safety profiles of drugs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Protocol for a mixed-methods study on leader-based interventions in construction contractors' safety commitments.

PubMed

Pedersen, Betina Holbaek; Dyreborg, Johnny; Kines, Pete; Mikkelsen, Kim Lyngby; Hannerz, Harald; Andersen, Dorte Raaby; Spangenberg, Søren

2010-06-01

Owing to high injury rates, safety interventions are needed in the construction industry. Evidence-based interventions tailored to this industry are, however, scarce. Leader-based safety interventions have proven more effective than worker-based interventions in other industries. To test a leader-based safety intervention for construction sites. The intervention consists of encouraging safety coordinators to provide feedback on work safety to the client and line management. The intention is to increase communication and interactions regarding safety within the line management and between the client and the senior management. It is hypothesised that this, in turn, will lead to increased communication and interaction about safety between management and coworkers as well as an increased on-site safety level. A group-randomised double-blinded case study of six Danish construction sites (three intervention sites and three control sites). The recruitment of the construction sites is performed continuously from January 2010 to June 2010. The investigation of each site lasts 20 continuous weeks. Confirmatory statistical analysis is used to test if the safety level increased, and if the probability of safety communications between management and coworkers increases as a consequence of the intervention. The data collection will be blinded. Qualitative methods are used to evaluate if communication and interactions about safety at all managerial levels, including the client, increase. (1) The proportion of safety-related communications out of all studied communications between management and coworkers. (2) The safety level index of the construction sites.

Prediction of main factors’ values of air transportation system safety based on system dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiridonov, A. Yu; Rezchikov, A. F.; Kushnikov, V. A.; Ivashchenko, V. A.; Bogomolov, A. S.; Filimonyuk, L. Yu; Dolinina, O. N.; Kushnikova, E. V.; Shulga, T. E.; Tverdokhlebov, V. A.; Kushnikov, O. V.; Fominykh, D. S.

2018-05-01

On the basis of the system-dynamic approach [1-8], a set of models has been developed that makes it possible to analyse and predict the values of the main safety indicators for the operation of aviation transport systems.

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems : first annual report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-10-01

The IVBSS (Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems) program is a four-year, two phase cooperative research program being conducted by an industry team led by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The program began in N...

Patterns of use and impact of standardised MedDRA query analyses on the safety evaluation and review of new drug and biologics license applications.

PubMed

Chang, Lin-Chau; Mahmood, Riaz; Qureshi, Samina; Breder, Christopher D

2017-01-01

Standardised MedDRA Queries (SMQs) have been developed since the early 2000's and used by academia, industry, public health, and government sectors for detecting safety signals in adverse event safety databases. The purpose of the present study is to characterize how SMQs are used and the impact in safety analyses for New Drug Application (NDA) and Biologics License Application (BLA) submissions to the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). We used the PharmaPendium database to capture SMQ use in Summary Basis of Approvals (SBoAs) of drugs and biologics approved by the USFDA. Characteristics of the drugs and the SMQ use were employed to evaluate the role of SMQ safety analyses in regulatory decisions and the veracity of signals they revealed. A comprehensive search of the SBoAs yielded 184 regulatory submissions approved from 2006 to 2015. Search strategies more frequently utilized restrictive searches with "narrow terms" to enhance specificity over strategies using "broad terms" to increase sensitivity, while some involved modification of search terms. A majority (59%) of 1290 searches used descriptive statistics, however inferential statistics were utilized in 35% of them. Commentary from reviewers and supervisory staff suggested that a small, yet notable percentage (18%) of 1290 searches supported regulatory decisions. The searches with regulatory impact were found in 73 submissions (40% of the submissions investigated). Most searches (75% of 227 searches) with regulatory implications described how the searches were confirmed, indicating prudence in the decision-making process. SMQs have an increasing role in the presentation and review of safety analysis for NDAs/BLAs and their regulatory reviews. This study suggests that SMQs are best used for screening process, with descriptive statistics, description of SMQ modifications, and systematic verification of cases which is crucial for drawing regulatory conclusions.

Patterns of use and impact of standardised MedDRA query analyses on the safety evaluation and review of new drug and biologics license applications

PubMed Central

Chang, Lin-Chau; Mahmood, Riaz; Qureshi, Samina

2017-01-01

Purpose Standardised MedDRA Queries (SMQs) have been developed since the early 2000’s and used by academia, industry, public health, and government sectors for detecting safety signals in adverse event safety databases. The purpose of the present study is to characterize how SMQs are used and the impact in safety analyses for New Drug Application (NDA) and Biologics License Application (BLA) submissions to the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Methods We used the PharmaPendium database to capture SMQ use in Summary Basis of Approvals (SBoAs) of drugs and biologics approved by the USFDA. Characteristics of the drugs and the SMQ use were employed to evaluate the role of SMQ safety analyses in regulatory decisions and the veracity of signals they revealed. Results A comprehensive search of the SBoAs yielded 184 regulatory submissions approved from 2006 to 2015. Search strategies more frequently utilized restrictive searches with “narrow terms” to enhance specificity over strategies using “broad terms” to increase sensitivity, while some involved modification of search terms. A majority (59%) of 1290 searches used descriptive statistics, however inferential statistics were utilized in 35% of them. Commentary from reviewers and supervisory staff suggested that a small, yet notable percentage (18%) of 1290 searches supported regulatory decisions. The searches with regulatory impact were found in 73 submissions (40% of the submissions investigated). Most searches (75% of 227 searches) with regulatory implications described how the searches were confirmed, indicating prudence in the decision-making process. Conclusions SMQs have an increasing role in the presentation and review of safety analysis for NDAs/BLAs and their regulatory reviews. This study suggests that SMQs are best used for screening process, with descriptive statistics, description of SMQ modifications, and systematic verification of cases which is crucial for drawing regulatory

What Happened, and Why: Toward an Understanding of Human Error Based on Automated Analyses of Incident Reports. Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferryman, Thomas A.; Posse, Christian; Rosenthal, Loren J.; Srivastava, Ashok N.; Statler, Irving C.

2006-01-01

The objective of the Aviation System Monitoring and Modeling project of NASA's Aviation Safety and Security Program was to develop technologies to enable proactive management of safety risk, which entails identifying the precursor events and conditions that foreshadow most accidents. Information about what happened can be extracted from quantitative data sources, but the experiential account of the incident reporter is the best available source of information about why an incident happened. In Volume I, the concept of the Scenario was introduced as a pragmatic guide for identifying similarities of what happened based on the objective parameters that define the Context and the Outcome of a Scenario. In this Volume II, that study continues into the analyses of the free narratives to gain understanding as to why the incident occurred from the reporter s perspective. While this is just the first experiment, the results of our approach are encouraging and indicate that it will be possible to design an automated analysis process guided by the structure of the Scenario that can achieve the level of consistency and reliability of human analysis of narrative reports.

Safety incidents involving confused and forgetful older patients in a specialised care setting--analysis of the safety incidents reported to the HaiPro reporting system.

PubMed

Kinnunen-Luovi, Kaisa; Saarnio, Reetta; Isola, Arja

2014-09-01

To describe the safety incidents involving confused and forgetful older patients in a specialised care setting entered in the HaiPro reporting system. About 10% of patients experience a safety incident during hospitalisation, which causes or could cause them harm. The possibility of a safety incident during hospitalisation increases significantly with age. A mild or moderate memory disorder and acute confusion are often present in the safety incidents originating with an older patient. The design of the study was action research with this study using findings from one of the first-phase studies, which included qualitative and quantitative analysed data. Data were collected from the reporting system for safety incidents (HaiPro) in a university hospital in Finland. There were 672 reported safety incidents from four acute medical wards during the years 2009-2011, which were scrutinised. Seventy-five of them were linked to a confused patient and were analysed. The majority of the safety incidents analysed involved patient-related accidents. In addition to challenging behaviour, contributing factors included ward routines, shortage of nursing staff, environmental factors and staff knowledge and skills. Nurses tried to secure the patient safety in many different ways, but the modes of actions were insufficient. Nursing staff need evidence-based information on how to assess the cognitive status of a confused patient and how to encounter such patients. The number of nursing staff and ward routines should be examined critically and put in proportion to the care intensity demands caused by the patient's confused state. The findings can be used as a starting point in the prevention of safety incidents and in improving the care of older patients. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Analyser-based mammography using single-image reconstruction.

PubMed

Briedis, Dahliyani; Siu, Karen K W; Paganin, David M; Pavlov, Konstantin M; Lewis, Rob A

2005-08-07

We implement an algorithm that is able to decode a single analyser-based x-ray phase-contrast image of a sample, converting it into an equivalent conventional absorption-contrast radiograph. The algorithm assumes the projection approximation for x-ray propagation in a single-material object embedded in a substrate of approximately uniform thickness. Unlike the phase-contrast images, which have both directional bias and a bias towards edges present in the sample, the reconstructed images are directly interpretable in terms of the projected absorption coefficient of the sample. The technique was applied to a Leeds TOR[MAM] phantom, which is designed to test mammogram quality by the inclusion of simulated microcalcifications, filaments and circular discs. This phantom was imaged at varying doses using three modalities: analyser-based synchrotron phase-contrast images converted to equivalent absorption radiographs using our algorithm, slot-scanned synchrotron imaging and imaging using a conventional mammography unit. Features in the resulting images were then assigned a quality score by volunteers. The single-image reconstruction method achieved higher scores at equivalent and lower doses than the conventional mammography images, but no improvement of visualization of the simulated microcalcifications, and some degradation in image quality at reduced doses for filament features.

Systematic review of economic analyses in patient safety: a protocol designed to measure development in the scope and quality of evidence.

PubMed

Carter, Alexander W; Mandavia, Rishi; Mayer, Erik; Marti, Joachim; Mossialos, Elias; Darzi, Ara

2017-08-18

Recent avoidable failures in patient care highlight the ongoing need for evidence to support improvements in patient safety. According to the most recent reviews, there is a dearth of economic evidence related to patient safety. These reviews characterise an evidence gap in terms of the scope and quality of evidence available to support resource allocation decisions. This protocol is designed to update and improve on the reviews previously conducted to determine the extent of methodological progress in economic analyses in patient safety. A broad search strategy with two core themes for original research (excluding opinion pieces and systematic reviews) in 'patient safety' and 'economic analyses' has been developed. Medline, Econlit and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database bibliographic databases will be searched from January 2007 using a combination of medical subject headings terms and research-derived search terms (see table 1). The method is informed by previous reviews on this topic, published in 2012. Screening, risk of bias assessment (using the Cochrane collaboration tool) and economic evaluation quality assessment (using the Drummond checklist) will be conducted by two independent reviewers, with arbitration by a third reviewer as needed. Studies with a low risk of bias will be assessed using the Drummond checklist. High-quality economic evaluations are those that score >20/35. A qualitative synthesis of evidence will be performed using a data collection tool to capture the study design(s) employed, population(s), setting(s), disease area(s), intervention(s) and outcome(s) studied. Methodological quality scores will be compared with previous reviews where possible. Effect size(s) and estimate uncertainty will be captured and used in a quantitative synthesis of high-quality evidence, where possible. Formal ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer

On Building an Ontological Knowledge Base for Managing Patient Safety Events.

PubMed

Liang, Chen; Gong, Yang

2015-01-01

Over the past decade, improving healthcare quality and safety through patient safety event reporting systems has drawn much attention. Unfortunately, such systems are suffering from low data quality, inefficient data entry and ineffective information retrieval. For improving the systems, we develop a semantic web ontology based on the WHO International Classification for Patient Safety (ICPS) and AHRQ Common Formats for patient safety event reporting. The ontology holds potential in enhancing knowledge management and information retrieval, as well as providing flexible data entry and case analysis for both reporters and reviewers of patient safety events. In this paper, we detailed our efforts in data acquisition, transformation, implementation and initial evaluation of the ontology.

Causal Relationship Analysis of the Patient Safety Culture Based on Safety Attitudes Questionnaire in Taiwan.

PubMed

Lee, Yii-Ching; Zeng, Pei-Shan; Huang, Chih-Hsuan; Wu, Hsin-Hung

2018-01-01

This study uses the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method to identify critical dimensions of the safety attitudes questionnaire in Taiwan in order to improve the patient safety culture from experts' viewpoints. Teamwork climate, stress recognition, and perceptions of management are three causal dimensions, while safety climate, job satisfaction, and working conditions are receiving dimensions. In practice, improvements on effect-based dimensions might receive little effects when a great amount of efforts have been invested. In contrast, improving a causal dimension not only improves itself but also results in better performance of other dimension(s) directly affected by this particular dimension. Teamwork climate and perceptions of management are found to be the most critical dimensions because they are both causal dimensions and have significant influences on four dimensions apiece. It is worth to note that job satisfaction is the only dimension affected by the other dimensions. In order to effectively enhance the patient safety culture for healthcare organizations, teamwork climate, and perceptions of management should be closely monitored.

Causal Relationship Analysis of the Patient Safety Culture Based on Safety Attitudes Questionnaire in Taiwan

PubMed Central

Zeng, Pei-Shan; Huang, Chih-Hsuan

2018-01-01

This study uses the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method to identify critical dimensions of the safety attitudes questionnaire in Taiwan in order to improve the patient safety culture from experts' viewpoints. Teamwork climate, stress recognition, and perceptions of management are three causal dimensions, while safety climate, job satisfaction, and working conditions are receiving dimensions. In practice, improvements on effect-based dimensions might receive little effects when a great amount of efforts have been invested. In contrast, improving a causal dimension not only improves itself but also results in better performance of other dimension(s) directly affected by this particular dimension. Teamwork climate and perceptions of management are found to be the most critical dimensions because they are both causal dimensions and have significant influences on four dimensions apiece. It is worth to note that job satisfaction is the only dimension affected by the other dimensions. In order to effectively enhance the patient safety culture for healthcare organizations, teamwork climate, and perceptions of management should be closely monitored. PMID:29686825

A root cause analysis project in a medication safety course.

PubMed

Schafer, Jason J

2012-08-10

To develop, implement, and evaluate team-based root cause analysis projects as part of a required medication safety course for second-year pharmacy students. Lectures, in-class activities, and out-of-class reading assignments were used to develop students' medication safety skills and introduce them to the culture of medication safety. Students applied these skills within teams by evaluating cases of medication errors using root cause analyses. Teams also developed error prevention strategies and formally presented their findings. Student performance was assessed using a medication errors evaluation rubric. Of the 211 students who completed the course, the majority performed well on root cause analysis assignments and rated them favorably on course evaluations. Medication error evaluation and prevention was successfully introduced in a medication safety course using team-based root cause analysis projects.

Safety management of an underground-based gravitational wave telescope: KAGRA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohishi, Naoko; Miyoki, Shinji; Uchiyama, Takashi; Miyakawa, Osamu; Ohashi, Masatake

2014-08-01

KAGRA is a unique gravitational wave telescope with its location underground and use of cryogenic mirrors. Safety management plays an important role for secure development and operation of such a unique and large facility. Based on relevant law in Japan, Labor Standard Act and Industrial Safety and Health Law, various countermeasures are mandated to avoid foreseeable accidents and diseases. In addition to the usual safety management of hazardous materials, such as cranes, organic solvents, lasers, there are specific safety issues in the tunnel. Prevention of collapse, flood, and fire accidents are the most critical issues for the underground facility. Ventilation is also important for prevention of air pollution by carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, organic solvents and radon. Oxygen deficiency should also be prevented.

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.

Research on Early Warning of Chinese Food Safety Based on Social Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yonghuan; Niu, Wenyuan; Li, Qianqian

Based on social physics, this paper designs the index system of food safety, builds early warning model of food safety, calculates the degree of food safety, and assesses the state of early warning of 2007 in China. The result shows the degree of food safety is near 0.7 in securer state, belonging to slight emergency. It is much lower in eastern areas of developed regions, belonging to insecure state in the mass. That the food safety is ensured in major grain producing areas, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Xinjiang is the prerequisite of realizing the food safety of China. The result also shows four significant indices, grain production capacity, grain circulation order, grain demand and grain supply, which are important indicatio to control food safety.

The effect of workers' visibility on effectiveness of intervention programs: supervisory-based safety interventions.

PubMed

Luria, Gil; Zohar, Dov; Erev, Ido

2008-01-01

This paper discusses an organizational change intervention program targeting safety behaviors and addresses important considerations concerning the planning of organizational change. Using layout of the plant as a proxy for ease of daily leader-member interaction, the effect of workers' visibility on the effectiveness of supervisory-based safety (SBS) interventions is examined. Through a reinforcement-learning framework, it is suggested that visibility can affect supervisors' incentive to interact with subordinates regarding safety-related issues. Data were collected during SBS intervention studies in five manufacturing companies. Results suggest a reinforcement cycle model whereby increased visibility generates more frequent exchanges between supervisors and employees, resulting in improved safety behavior among employees. In turn, employees' safer behavior reinforces continued supervisory safety-related interaction. CONCLUSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Visibility is an important moderator in supervisory based safety interventions, and can serve to increase workplace safety. Implications of these findings for safety are discussed.

Safety Guided Design Based on Stamp/STPA for Manned Vehicle in Concept Design Phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ujiie, Ryo; Katahira, Masafumi; Miyamoto, Yuko; Umeda, Hiroki; Leveson, Nancy; Hoshino, Nobuyuki

2013-09-01

In manned vehicles, such as the Soyuz and the Space Shuttle, the crew and computer system cooperate to succeed in returning to the earth. While computers increase the functionality of system, they also increase the complexity of the interaction between the controllers (human and computer) and the target dynamics. In some cases, the complexity can produce a serious accident. To prevent such losses, traditional hazard analysis such as FTA has been applied to system development, however it can be used after creating a detailed system because it focuses on detailed component failures. As a result, it's more difficult to eliminate hazard cause early in the process when it is most feasible.STAMP/STPA is a new hazard analysis that can be applied from the early development phase, with the analysis being refined as more detailed decisions are made. In essence, the analysis and design decisions are intertwined and go hand-in-hand. We have applied STAMP/STPA to a concept design of a new JAXA manned vehicle and tried safety guided design of the vehicle. As a result of this trial, it has been shown that STAMP/STPA can be accepted easily by system engineers and the design has been made more sophisticated from a safety viewpoint. The result also shows that the consequences of human errors on system safety can be analysed in the early development phase and the system designed to prevent them. Finally, the paper will discuss an effective way to harmonize this safety guided design approach with system engineering process based on the result of this experience in this project.

Memantine in patients with Alzheimer's disease receiving donepezil: new analyses of efficacy and safety for combination therapy.

PubMed

Atri, Alireza; Molinuevo, José L; Lemming, Ole; Wirth, Yvonne; Pulte, Irena; Wilkinson, David

2013-01-01

Memantine and cholinesterase inhibitors potentially offer additional benefits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) when used together. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of combination treatment with memantine added to stable donepezil in patients with moderate to severe AD, and in a subset with moderate AD. Post hoc meta-analyses of data combined from two 24-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of memantine 20 mg/day versus placebo, added to a stable cholinesterase inhibitor, were conducted. Data were included for all patients receiving donepezil 10 mg/day with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores < 20 (n = 510). Efficacy was assessed using measures of cognition, function, and global status. Furthermore, marked clinical worsening, defined as concurrent deterioration from baseline in the three main efficacy domains, and safety, measured by treatment-emergent adverse events, were assessed. Analyses were performed for patients with moderate to severe AD (MMSE 5-19; MOD-SEV subgroup), and also for patients with moderate AD (MMSE 10-19; MOD subgroup; n = 367). At week 24, in the MOD-SEV subgroup, patients receiving memantine added to donepezil significantly outperformed those receiving placebo added to donepezil in measures of cognition (P < 0.0001), function (P = 0.02), and global status (P = 0.010), with standardised mean differences (SMDs) of 0.36, 0.21, and 0.23, respectively (all last observation carried forward). Similarly, in the MOD subgroup, significant benefits were observed for cognition (P = 0.008), function (P = 0.04) and global status (P = 0.008), with SMDs of 0.28, 0.21, and 0.28, respectively. Significantly fewer patients receiving memantine added to donepezil showed marked clinical worsening than those receiving placebo added to donepezil, in both subgroups (MOD-SEV: 8.7% versus 20.4%, P = 0.0002; MOD: 5.9% versus 15.0%, P = 0.006). The incidence of adverse events was similar between treatment groups. These results support

Challenges in Developing Competency-based Training Curriculum for Food Safety Regulators in India.

PubMed

Thippaiah, Anitha; Allagh, Komal Preet; Murthy, G V

2014-07-01

The Food Safety and Standards Act have redefined the roles and responsibilities of food regulatory workforce and calls for highly skilled human resources as it involves complex management procedures. 1) Identify the competencies needed among the food regulatory workforce in India. 2) Develop a competency-based training curriculum for food safety regulators in the country. 3) Develop training materials for use to train the food regulatory workforce. The Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, led the development of training curriculum on food safety with technical assistance from the Royal Society for Public Health, UK and the National Institute of Nutrition, India. The exercise was to facilitate the implementation of new Act by undertaking capacity building through a comprehensive training program. A competency-based training needs assessment was conducted before undertaking the development of the training materials. THE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FOOD SAFETY OFFICERS WAS DESIGNED TO COMPRISE OF FIVE MODULES TO INCLUDE: Food science and technology, Food safety management systems, Food safety legislation, Enforcement of food safety regulations, and Administrative functions. Each module has a facilitator guide for the tutor and a handbook for the participant. Essentials of Food Hygiene-I (Basic level), II and III (Retail/ Catering/ Manufacturing) were primarily designed for training of food handlers and are part of essential reading for food safety regulators. The Food Safety and Standards Act calls for highly skilled human resources as it involves complex management procedures. Despite having developed a comprehensive competency-based training curriculum by joint efforts by the local, national, and international agencies, implementation remains a challenge in resource-limited setting.

Safety profile of levetiracetam.

PubMed

Arroyo, Santiago; Crawford, Pamela

2003-05-01

A good balance between safety and tolerability is necessary for an antiepileptic drug (AED) to be successful in the management of patients with epilepsy. Levetiracetam is one of the new generation of AEDs licensed as an add-on therapy for the treatment of patients with partial-onset seizures. Leveti-racetam's mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Controlled clinical trials, open-label studies, and postmarketing surveillance indicate that leveti-racetam has a favorable safety profile characterized by little effect on vital signs or clinical laboratory values, reported adverse events that are mild to moderate, and no known drug-drug interactions. The tolerability of levetiracetam may extend to both pediatric and elderly patients based on analyses of small numbers of patients. Tolerability is maintained over the long term. Levetirac-etam does not appear to have a different safety profile in learning-disabled patients. Levetiracetam appears to have a good balance between tolerability and efficacy in the treatment of a wide variety of patients with partial epilepsy.

Exploring the Effects of Cultural Variables in the Implementation of Behavior-Based Safety in Two Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumstead, Alaina; Boyce, Thomas E.

2005-01-01

The present case study examines how culture can influence behavior-based safety in different organizational settings and how behavior-based safety can impact different organizational cultures. Behavior-based safety processes implemented in two culturally diverse work settings are described. Specifically, despite identical implementation plans,…

What Happened, and Why: Toward an Understanding of Human Error Based on Automated Analyses of Incident Reports. Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maille, Nicolas P.; Statler, Irving C.; Ferryman, Thomas A.; Rosenthal, Loren; Shafto, Michael G.; Statler, Irving C.

2006-01-01

The objective of the Aviation System Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) project of NASA s Aviation Safety and Security Program was to develop technologies that will enable proactive management of safety risk, which entails identifying the precursor events and conditions that foreshadow most accidents. This presents a particular challenge in the aviation system where people are key components and human error is frequently cited as a major contributing factor or cause of incidents and accidents. In the aviation "world", information about what happened can be extracted from quantitative data sources, but the experiential account of the incident reporter is the best available source of information about why an incident happened. This report describes a conceptual model and an approach to automated analyses of textual data sources for the subjective perspective of the reporter of the incident to aid in understanding why an incident occurred. It explores a first-generation process for routinely searching large databases of textual reports of aviation incident or accidents, and reliably analyzing them for causal factors of human behavior (the why of an incident). We have defined a generic structure of information that is postulated to be a sound basis for defining similarities between aviation incidents. Based on this structure, we have introduced the simplifying structure, which we call the Scenario as a pragmatic guide for identifying similarities of what happened based on the objective parameters that define the Context and the Outcome of a Scenario. We believe that it will be possible to design an automated analysis process guided by the structure of the Scenario that will aid aviation-safety experts to understand the systemic issues that are conducive to human error.

Intensive care nurses' perceptions of simulation-based team training for building patient safety in intensive care: a descriptive qualitative study.

PubMed

Ballangrud, Randi; Hall-Lord, Marie Louise; Persenius, Mona; Hedelin, Birgitta

2014-08-01

To describe intensive care nurses' perceptions of simulation-based team training for building patient safety in intensive care. Failures in team processes are found to be contributory factors to incidents in an intensive care environment. Simulation-based training is recommended as a method to make health-care personnel aware of the importance of team working and to improve their competencies. The study uses a qualitative descriptive design. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 intensive care nurses from May to December 2009, all of which had attended a simulation-based team training programme. The interviews were analysed by qualitative content analysis. One main category emerged to illuminate the intensive care nurse perception: "training increases awareness of clinical practice and acknowledges the importance of structured work in teams". Three generic categories were found: "realistic training contributes to safe care", "reflection and openness motivates learning" and "finding a common understanding of team performance". Simulation-based team training makes intensive care nurses more prepared to care for severely ill patients. Team training creates a common understanding of how to work in teams with regard to patient safety. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Challenges in Developing Competency-based Training Curriculum for Food Safety Regulators in India

PubMed Central

Thippaiah, Anitha; Allagh, Komal Preet; Murthy, G. V.

2014-01-01

Context: The Food Safety and Standards Act have redefined the roles and responsibilities of food regulatory workforce and calls for highly skilled human resources as it involves complex management procedures. Aims: 1) Identify the competencies needed among the food regulatory workforce in India. 2) Develop a competency-based training curriculum for food safety regulators in the country. 3) Develop training materials for use to train the food regulatory workforce. Settings and Design: The Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad, led the development of training curriculum on food safety with technical assistance from the Royal Society for Public Health, UK and the National Institute of Nutrition, India. The exercise was to facilitate the implementation of new Act by undertaking capacity building through a comprehensive training program. Materials and Methods: A competency-based training needs assessment was conducted before undertaking the development of the training materials. Results: The training program for Food Safety Officers was designed to comprise of five modules to include: Food science and technology, Food safety management systems, Food safety legislation, Enforcement of food safety regulations, and Administrative functions. Each module has a facilitator guide for the tutor and a handbook for the participant. Essentials of Food Hygiene-I (Basic level), II and III (Retail/ Catering/ Manufacturing) were primarily designed for training of food handlers and are part of essential reading for food safety regulators. Conclusion: The Food Safety and Standards Act calls for highly skilled human resources as it involves complex management procedures. Despite having developed a comprehensive competency-based training curriculum by joint efforts by the local, national, and international agencies, implementation remains a challenge in resource-limited setting. PMID:25136155

Evaluation of aviation-based safety team training in a hospital in The Netherlands.

PubMed

De Korne, Dirk F; Van Wijngaarden, Jeroen D H; Van Dyck, Cathy; Hiddema, U Francis; Klazinga, Niek S

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of a broad-scale team resource management (TRM) program on safety culture in a Dutch eye hospital, detailing the program's content and procedures. Aviation-based TRM training is recognized as a useful approach to increase patient safety, but little is known about how it affects safety culture. Pre- and post-assessments of the hospitals' safety culture was based on interviews with ophthalmologists, anesthesiologists, residents, nurses, and support staff. Interim observations were made at training sessions and in daily hospital practice. The program consisted of safety audits of processes and (team) activities, interactive classroom training sessions by aviation experts, a flight simulator session, and video recording of team activities with subsequent feedback. Medical professionals considered aviation experts inspiring role models and respected their non-hierarchical external perspective and focus on medical-technical issues. The post-assessment showed that ophthalmologists and other hospital staff had become increasingly aware of safety issues. The multidisciplinary approach promoted social (team) orientation that replaced the former functionally-oriented culture. The number of reported near-incidents greatly increased; the number of wrong-side surgeries stabilized to a minimum after an initial substantial reduction. The study was observational and the hospital's variety of efforts to improve safety culture prevented us from establishing a causal relation between improvement and any one specific intervention. Aviation-based TRM training can be a useful to stimulate safety culture in hospitals. Safety and quality improvements are not single treatment interventions but complex socio-technical interventions. A multidisciplinary system approach and focus on "team" instead of "profession" seems both necessary and difficult in hospital care.

Perceived school safety is strongly associated with adolescent mental health problems.

PubMed

Nijs, Miesje M; Bun, Clothilde J E; Tempelaar, Wanda M; de Wit, Niek J; Burger, Huibert; Plevier, Carolien M; Boks, Marco P M

2014-02-01

School environment is an important determinant of psychosocial function and may also be related to mental health. We therefore investigated whether perceived school safety, a simple measure of this environment, is related to mental health problems. In a population-based sample of 11,130 secondary school students, we analysed the relationship of perceived school safety with mental health problems using multiple logistic regression analyses to adjust for potential confounders. Mental health problems were defined using the clinical cut-off of the self-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. School safety showed an exposure-response relationship with mental health problems after adjustment for confounders. Odds ratios increased from 2.48 ("sometimes unsafe") to 8.05 ("very often unsafe"). The association was strongest in girls and young and middle-aged adolescents. Irrespective of the causal background of this association, school safety deserves attention either as a risk factor or as an indicator of mental health problems.

FEM Analysis of Glass/Epoxy Composite Based Industrial Safety Helmet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ram, Khushi; Bajpai, Pramendra Kumar

2017-08-01

Recently, the use of fiber reinforced polymer in every field of engineering (automobile, industry and aerospace) and medical has increased due to its distinctive mechanical properties. The fiber based polymer composites are more popular because these have high strength, light in weight, low cost and easily available. In the present work, the finite element analysis (FEA) of glass/epoxy composite based industrial safety helmet has been performed using solid-works simulation software. The modeling results show that glass fiber reinforced epoxy composite can be used as a material for fabrication of industrial safety helmet which has good mechanical properties than the existing helmet material.

Safety climate and attitude as evaluation measures of organizational safety.

PubMed

Isla Díaz, R; Díaz Cabrera, D

1997-09-01

The main aim of this research is to develop a set of evaluation measures for safety attitudes and safety climate. Specifically it is intended: (a) to test the instruments; (b) to identify the essential dimensions of the safety climate in the airport ground handling companies; (c) to assess the quality of the differences in the safety climate for each company and its relation to the accident rate; (d) to analyse the relationship between attitudes and safety climate; and (e) to evaluate the influences of situational and personal factors on both safety climate and attitude. The study sample consisted of 166 subjects from three airport companies. Specifically, this research was centered on ground handling departments. The factor analysis of the safety climate instrument resulted in six factors which explained 69.8% of the total variance. We found significant differences in safety attitudes and climate in relation to type of enterprise.

Safety Aspects of Bio-Based Nanomaterials.

PubMed

Catalán, Julia; Norppa, Hannu

2017-12-01

Moving towards a bio-based and circular economy implies a major focus on the responsible and sustainable utilization of bio-resources. The emergence of nanotechnology has opened multiple possibilities, not only in the existing industrial sectors, but also for completely novel applications of nanoscale bio-materials, the commercial exploitation of which has only begun during the last few years. Bio-based materials are often assumed not to be toxic. However, this pre-assumption is not necessarily true. Here, we provide a short overview on health and environmental aspects associated with bio-based nanomaterials, and on the relevant regulatory requirements. We also discuss testing strategies that may be used for screening purposes at pre-commercial stages. Although the tests presently used to reveal hazards are still evolving, regarding modifi-cations required for nanomaterials, their application is needed before the upscaling or commercialization of bio-based nanomaterials, to ensure the market potential of the nanomaterials is not delayed by uncertainties about safety issues.

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.

[Assessment of the patient-safety culture in a healthcare district].

PubMed

Pozo Muñoz, F; Padilla Marín, V

2013-01-01

1) To describe the frequency of positive attitudes and behaviours, in terms of patient safety, among the healthcare providers working in a healthcare district; 2) to determine whether the level of safety-related culture differs from other studies; and 3) to analyse negatively valued dimensions, and to establish areas for their improvement. A descriptive, cross-sectional study based on the results of an evaluation of the safety-related culture was conducted on a randomly selected sample of 247 healthcare providers, by using the Spanish adaptation of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as the evaluation tool. Positive and negative responses were analysed, as well as the global score. Results were compared with international and national results. A total of 176 completed survey questionnaires were analysed (response rate: 71.26%); 50% of responders described the safety climate as very good, 37% as acceptable, and 7% as excellent. Strong points were: «Teamwork within the units» (80.82%) and «Supervisor/manager expectations and actions» (80.54%). Dimensions identified for potential improvement included: «Staffing» (37.93%), «Non-punitive response to error» (41.67%), and «Frequency of event reporting» (49.05%). Strong and weak points were identified in the safety-related culture of the healthcare district studied, together with potential improvement areas. Benchmarking at the international level showed that our safety-related culture was within the average of hospitals, while at the national level, our results were above the average of hospitals. Copyright © 2013 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Lunar mission safety and rescue: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

An executive summary is presented of the escape/rescue and the hazards analyses for manned missions and operations in the 1980 time frame. The method of approach, basic data generated, and significant results are outlined, and highlights of the two analyses are given. Areas in which research or technical development efforts could improve mission safety, and specific suggestions for additional effort studies on safety analyses are listed.

Fire safety of ground-based space facilities on the spaceport ;Vostochny;

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artamonov, Vladimir S.; Gordienko, Denis M.; Melikhov, Anatoly S.

2017-06-01

The facilities of the spaceport ;Vostochny; and the innovative technologies for fire safety to be implemented are considered. The planned approaches and prospects for fire safety ensuring at the facilities of the spaceport ;Vostochny; are presented herein, based on the study of emergency situations having resulted in fire accidents and explosion cases at the facilities supporting space vehicles operation.

Development of safety performance monitoring procedures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-02-01

Highway safety is an ongoing concern to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As part of its : proactive commitment to improving highway safety, TxDOT is moving toward including quantitative safety : analyses earlier in the project developm...

Seismic performance assessment of base-isolated safety-related nuclear structures

USGS Publications Warehouse

Huang, Y.-N.; Whittaker, A.S.; Luco, N.

2010-01-01

Seismic or base isolation is a proven technology for reducing the effects of earthquake shaking on buildings, bridges and infrastructure. The benefit of base isolation has been presented in terms of reduced accelerations and drifts on superstructure components but never quantified in terms of either a percentage reduction in seismic loss (or percentage increase in safety) or the probability of an unacceptable performance. Herein, we quantify the benefits of base isolation in terms of increased safety (or smaller loss) by comparing the safety of a sample conventional and base-isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) located in the Eastern U.S. Scenario- and time-based assessments are performed using a new methodology. Three base isolation systems are considered, namely, (1) Friction Pendulum??? bearings, (2) lead-rubber bearings and (3) low-damping rubber bearings together with linear viscous dampers. Unacceptable performance is defined by the failure of key secondary systems because these systems represent much of the investment in a new build power plant and ensure the safe operation of the plant. For the scenario-based assessments, the probability of unacceptable performance is computed for an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 at a distance 7.5 km from the plant. For the time-based assessments, the annual frequency of unacceptable performance is computed considering all potential earthquakes that may occur. For both assessments, the implementation of base isolation reduces the probability of unacceptable performance by approximately four orders of magnitude for the same NPP superstructure and secondary systems. The increase in NPP construction cost associated with the installation of seismic isolators can be offset by substantially reducing the required seismic strength of secondary components and systems and potentially eliminating the need to seismically qualify many secondary components and systems. ?? 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Navigating towards improved surgical safety using aviation-based strategies.

PubMed

Kao, Lillian S; Thomas, Eric J

2008-04-01

Safety practices in the aviation industry are being increasingly adapted to healthcare in an effort to reduce medical errors and patient harm. However, caution should be applied in embracing these practices because of limited experience in surgical disciplines, lack of rigorous research linking these practices to outcome, and fundamental differences between the two industries. Surgeons should have an in-depth understanding of the principles and data supporting aviation-based safety strategies before routinely adopting them. This paper serves as a review of strategies adapted to improve surgical safety, including the following: implementation of crew resource management in training operative teams; incorporation of simulation in training of technical and nontechnical skills; and analysis of contributory factors to errors using surveys, behavioral marker systems, human factors analysis, and incident reporting. Avenues and challenges for future research are also discussed.

Safety of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: Evidence Based Update 2016

PubMed Central

Bikson, Marom; Grossman, Pnina; Thomas, Chris; Zannou, Adantchede Louis; Jiang, Jimmy; Adnan, Tatheer; Mourdoukoutas, Antonios P; Kronberg, Greg; Truong, Dennis; Boggio, Paulo; Brunoni, André R.; Charvet, Leigh; Fregni, Felipe; Fritsch, Brita; Gillick, Bernadette; Hamilton, Roy H.; Hampstead, Benjamin M.; Jankord, Ryan; Kirton, Adam; Knotkova, Helena; Liebetanz, David; Liu, Anli; Loo, Colleen; Nitsche, Michael A.; Reis, Janine; Richardson, Jessica D.; Rotenberg, Alexander; Turkeltaub, Peter E.; Woods, Adam J.

2016-01-01

This review updates and consolidates evidence on the safety of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). Safety is here operationally defined by, and limited to, the absence of evidence for a Serious Adverse Effect, the criteria for which are rigorously defined. This review adopts an evidence-based approach, based on an aggregation of experience from human trials, taking care not to confuse speculation on potential hazards or lack of data to refute such speculation with evidence for risk. Safety data from animal tests for tissue damage are reviewed with systematic consideration of translation to humans. Arbitrary safety considerations are avoided. Computational models are used to relate dose to brain exposure in humans and animals. We review relevant dose-response curves and dose metrics (e.g. current, duration, current density, charge, charge density) for meaningful safety standards. Special consideration is given to theoretically vulnerable populations including children and the elderly, subjects with mood disorders, epilepsy, stroke, implants, and home users. Evidence from relevant animal models indicates that brain injury by Direct Current Stimulation (DCS) occurs at predicted brain current densities (6.3–13 A/m2) that are over an order of magnitude above those produced by conventional tDCS. To date, the use of conventional tDCS protocols in human trials (≤40 min, ≤4 mA, ≤7.2 Coulombs) has not produced any reports of a Serious Adverse Effect or irreversible injury across over 33,200 sessions and 1,000 subjects with repeated sessions. This includes a wide variety of subjects, including persons from potentially vulnerable populations. PMID:27372845

Does Employee Safety Matter for Patients Too? Employee Safety Climate and Patient Safety Culture in Health Care.

PubMed

Mohr, David C; Eaton, Jennifer Lipkowitz; McPhaul, Kathleen M; Hodgson, Michael J

2015-04-22

We examined relationships between employee safety climate and patient safety culture. Because employee safety may be a precondition for the development of patient safety, we hypothesized that employee safety culture would be strongly and positively related to patient safety culture. An employee safety climate survey was administered in 2010 and assessed employees' views and experiences of safety for employees. The patient safety survey administered in 2011 assessed the safety culture for patients. We performed Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between a composite measure of employee safety with subdimensions of patient safety culture. The regression models controlled for size, geographic characteristics, and teaching affiliation. Analyses were conducted at the group level using data from 132 medical centers. Higher employee safety climate composite scores were positively associated with all 9 patient safety culture measures examined. Standardized multivariate regression coefficients ranged from 0.44 to 0.64. Medical facilities where staff have more positive perceptions of health care workplace safety climate tended to have more positive assessments of patient safety culture. This suggests that patient safety culture and employee safety climate could be mutually reinforcing, such that investments and improvements in one domain positively impacts the other. Further research is needed to better understand the nexus between health care employee and patient safety to generalize and act upon findings.

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.

Safety models incorporating graph theory based transit indicators.

PubMed

Quintero, Liliana; Sayed, Tarek; Wahba, Mohamed M

2013-01-01

There is a considerable need for tools to enable the evaluation of the safety of transit networks at the planning stage. One interesting approach for the planning of public transportation systems is the study of networks. Network techniques involve the analysis of systems by viewing them as a graph composed of a set of vertices (nodes) and edges (links). Once the transport system is visualized as a graph, various network properties can be evaluated based on the relationships between the network elements. Several indicators can be calculated including connectivity, coverage, directness and complexity, among others. The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between network-based transit indicators and safety. The study develops macro-level collision prediction models that explicitly incorporate transit physical and operational elements and transit network indicators as explanatory variables. Several macro-level (zonal) collision prediction models were developed using a generalized linear regression technique, assuming a negative binomial error structure. The models were grouped into four main themes: transit infrastructure, transit network topology, transit route design, and transit performance and operations. The safety models showed that collisions were significantly associated with transit network properties such as: connectivity, coverage, overlapping degree and the Local Index of Transit Availability. As well, the models showed a significant relationship between collisions and some transit physical and operational attributes such as the number of routes, frequency of routes, bus density, length of bus and 3+ priority lanes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using US EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability’s Comptox Chemistry Dashboard and Tools for Bioactivity, Chemical and Toxicokinetic Modeling Analyses (Course at 2017 ISES Annual Meeting)

EPA Science Inventory

Title: Using US EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability’s Comptox Chemistry Dashboard and Tools for Bioactivity, Chemical and Toxicokinetic Modeling Analyses • Class format: half-day (4 hours) • Course leader(s): Barbara A. Wetmore and Antony J. Williams,...

Biological therapies in Crohn's disease: are they cost-effective? A critical appraisal of model-based analyses.

PubMed

Marchetti, Monia; Liberato, Nicola Lucio

2014-12-01

In refractory Crohn's disease, anti-TNF and anti-α 4 integrin agents are used for ameliorating disease activity but impose high costs to health-care systems. The authors systematically reviewed cost-effectiveness analyses based on decision models: most of the studies were judged to have a good quality, but a large portion assessed health and costs in a short time horizon, usually disregarding fistulizing disease and not considering safety. Infliximab induction followed by on-demand retreatment consistently proved to have a good cost per quality-adjusted life year, while maintenance treatment never satisfied commonly accepted cost-utility thresholds. Challenges in cost-effectiveness analysis include the lack of a standard model structure, a large variability in the costs of surgery and poor data on indirect costs. As clinical practice is moving to mucosal healing as a robust response marker, personalized schedules of anti-TNF therapies might prove cost-effective even in the perspective of the health-care system in the near future.

Internet-Based Training to Improve Preschool Playground Safety: Evaluation of the Stamp-in-Safety Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwebel, David C.; Pennefather, Jordan; Marquez, Brion; Marquez, Jessie

2015-01-01

Objective: Playground injuries result in over 200,000 US pediatric emergency department visits annually. One strategy to reduce injuries is improved adult supervision. The Stamp-in-Safety programme, which involves supervisors stamping rewards for children playing safely, has been demonstrated in preliminary classroom-based work to reduce child…

Valid randomization-based p-values for partially post hoc subgroup analyses.

PubMed

Lee, Joseph J; Rubin, Donald B

2015-10-30

By 'partially post-hoc' subgroup analyses, we mean analyses that compare existing data from a randomized experiment-from which a subgroup specification is derived-to new, subgroup-only experimental data. We describe a motivating example in which partially post hoc subgroup analyses instigated statistical debate about a medical device's efficacy. We clarify the source of such analyses' invalidity and then propose a randomization-based approach for generating valid posterior predictive p-values for such partially post hoc subgroups. Lastly, we investigate the approach's operating characteristics in a simple illustrative setting through a series of simulations, showing that it can have desirable properties under both null and alternative hypotheses. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Preliminary Results Obtained in Integrated Safety Analysis of NASA Aviation Safety Program Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reveley, Mary S.

2003-01-01

The goal of the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is to develop and demonstrate technologies that contribute to a reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate by a factor of 5 by the year 2007 and by a factor of 10 by the year 2022. Integrated safety analysis of day-to-day operations and risks within those operations will provide an understanding of the Aviation Safety Program portfolio. Safety benefits analyses are currently being conducted. Preliminary results for the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) and Weather Accident Prevention (WxAP) projects of the AvSP have been completed by the Logistics Management Institute under a contract with the NASA Glenn Research Center. These analyses include both a reliability analysis and a computer simulation model. The integrated safety analysis method comprises two principal components: a reliability model and a simulation model. In the reliability model, the results indicate how different technologies and systems will perform in normal, degraded, and failed modes of operation. In the simulation, an operational scenario is modeled. The primary purpose of the SVS project is to improve safety by providing visual-flightlike situation awareness during instrument conditions. The current analyses are an estimate of the benefits of SVS in avoiding controlled flight into terrain. The scenario modeled has an aircraft flying directly toward a terrain feature. When the flight crew determines that the aircraft is headed toward an obstruction, the aircraft executes a level turn at speed. The simulation is ended when the aircraft completes the turn.

Integrating teamwork, clinician occupational well-being and patient safety - development of a conceptual framework based on a systematic review.

PubMed

Welp, Annalena; Manser, Tanja

2016-07-19

There is growing evidence that teamwork in hospitals is related to both patient outcomes and clinician occupational well-being. Furthermore, clinician well-being is associated with patient safety. Despite considerable research activity, few studies include all three concepts, and their interrelations have not yet been investigated systematically. To advance our understanding of these potentially complex interrelations we propose an integrative framework taking into account current evidence and research gaps identified in a systematic review. We conducted a literature search in six major databases (Medline, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Psyndex, ScienceDirect, and Web of Knowledge). Inclusion criteria were: peer reviewed papers published between January 2000 and June 2015 investigating a statistical relationship between at least two of the three concepts; teamwork, patient safety, and clinician occupational well-being in hospital settings, including practicing nurses and physicians. We assessed methodological quality using a standardized rating system and qualitatively appraised and extracted relevant data, such as instruments, analyses and outcomes. The 98 studies included in this review were highly diverse regarding quality, methodology and outcomes. We found support for the existence of independent associations between teamwork, clinician occupational well-being and patient safety. However, we identified several conceptual and methodological limitations. The main barrier to advancing our understanding of the causal relationships between teamwork, clinician well-being and patient safety is the lack of an integrative, theory-based, and methodologically thorough approach investigating the three concepts simultaneously and longitudinally. Based on psychological theory and our findings, we developed an integrative framework that addresses these limitations and proposes mechanisms by which these concepts might be linked. Knowledge about the mechanisms underlying the

Extended time-to-collision measures for road traffic safety assessment.

PubMed

Minderhoud, M M; Bovy, P H

2001-01-01

This article describes two new safety indicators based on the time-to-collision notion suitable for comparative road traffic safety analyses. Such safety indicators can be applied in the comparison of a do-nothing case with an adapted situation, e.g. the introduction of intelligent driver support systems. In contrast to the classical time-to-collision value, measured at a cross section, the improved safety indicators use vehicle trajectories collected over a specific time horizon for a certain roadway segment to calculate the overall safety indicator value. Vehicle-specific indicator values as well as safety-critical probabilities can easily be determined from the developed safety measures. Application of the derived safety indicators is demonstrated for the assessment of the potential safety impacts of driver support systems from which it appears that some Autonomous Intelligent Cruise Control (AICC) designs are more safety-critical than the reference case without these systems. It is suggested that the indicator threshold value to be applied in the safety assessment has to be adapted when advanced AICC-systems with safe characteristics are introduced.

A Study on Urban Road Traffic Safety Based on Matter Element Analysis

PubMed Central

Hu, Qizhou; Zhou, Zhuping; Sun, Xu

2014-01-01

This paper examines a new evaluation of urban road traffic safety based on a matter element analysis, avoiding the difficulties found in other traffic safety evaluations. The issue of urban road traffic safety has been investigated through the matter element analysis theory. The chief aim of the present work is to investigate the features of urban road traffic safety. Emphasis was placed on the construction of a criterion function by which traffic safety achieved a hierarchical system of objectives to be evaluated. The matter element analysis theory was used to create the comprehensive appraisal model of urban road traffic safety. The technique was used to employ a newly developed and versatile matter element analysis algorithm. The matter element matrix solves the uncertainty and incompatibility of the evaluated factors used to assess urban road traffic safety. The application results showed the superiority of the evaluation model and a didactic example was included to illustrate the computational procedure. PMID:25587267

Time pressure in scenario-based online construction safety quizzes and its effect on students' performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeger, Martin; Adair, Desmond

2017-05-01

Online quizzes have been shown to be effective learning and assessment approaches. However, if scenario-based online construction safety quizzes do not include time pressure similar to real-world situations, they reflect situations too ideally. The purpose of this paper is to compare engineering students' performance when carrying out an online construction safety quiz with time pressure versus an online construction safety quiz without time pressure. Two versions of an online construction safety quiz are developed and administered to randomly assigned engineering students based on a quasi-experimental post-test design. The findings contribute to scenario-based learning and assessment of construction safety in four ways. First, the results confirm earlier findings that 'intrinsic stress' does not seem to impair students' performance. Second, students who carry out the online construction safety quiz with time pressure are less likely to 'learn by trial and error'. Third, students exposed to time pressure appreciate that they become better prepared for real life. Finally, preparing students to work under time pressure is an important industry requirement. The results of this study should encourage engineering educators to explore and implement ways to include time pressure in scenario-based online quizzes and learning.

Integration of Behaviour-Based Safety Programme into Engineering Laboratories and Workshops Conceptually

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koo, Kean Eng; Zain, Ahmad Nurulazam Md; Zainal, Siti Rohaida Mohamed

2012-01-01

The purpose of this conceptual research framework is to develop and integrate a safety training model using a behaviour-based safety training programme into laboratories for young adults, during their tertiary education, particularly in technical and vocational education. Hence, this research will be investigating the outcome of basic safety…

On the safety assessment of human exposure in the proximity of cellular communications base-station antennas at 900, 1800 and 2170 MHz.

PubMed

Martínez-Búrdalo, M; Martín, A; Anguiano, M; Villar, R

2005-09-07

In this work, the procedures for safety assessment in the close proximity of cellular communications base-station antennas at three different frequencies (900, 1800 and 2170 MHz) are analysed. For each operating frequency, we have obtained and compared the distances to the antenna from the exposure places where electromagnetic fields are below reference levels and the distances where the specific absorption rate (SAR) values in an exposed person are below the basic restrictions, according to the European safety guidelines. A high-resolution human body model has been located, in front of each base-station antenna as a worst case, at different distances, to compute whole body averaged SAR and maximum 10 g averaged SAR inside the exposed body. The finite-difference time-domain method has been used for both electromagnetic fields and SAR calculations. This paper shows that, for antenna-body distances in the near zone of the antenna, the fact that averaged field values be below the reference levels could, at certain frequencies, not guarantee guidelines compliance based on basic restrictions.

Safety of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: Evidence Based Update 2016.

PubMed

Bikson, Marom; Grossman, Pnina; Thomas, Chris; Zannou, Adantchede Louis; Jiang, Jimmy; Adnan, Tatheer; Mourdoukoutas, Antonios P; Kronberg, Greg; Truong, Dennis; Boggio, Paulo; Brunoni, André R; Charvet, Leigh; Fregni, Felipe; Fritsch, Brita; Gillick, Bernadette; Hamilton, Roy H; Hampstead, Benjamin M; Jankord, Ryan; Kirton, Adam; Knotkova, Helena; Liebetanz, David; Liu, Anli; Loo, Colleen; Nitsche, Michael A; Reis, Janine; Richardson, Jessica D; Rotenberg, Alexander; Turkeltaub, Peter E; Woods, Adam J

2016-01-01

This review updates and consolidates evidence on the safety of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). Safety is here operationally defined by, and limited to, the absence of evidence for a Serious Adverse Effect, the criteria for which are rigorously defined. This review adopts an evidence-based approach, based on an aggregation of experience from human trials, taking care not to confuse speculation on potential hazards or lack of data to refute such speculation with evidence for risk. Safety data from animal tests for tissue damage are reviewed with systematic consideration of translation to humans. Arbitrary safety considerations are avoided. Computational models are used to relate dose to brain exposure in humans and animals. We review relevant dose-response curves and dose metrics (e.g. current, duration, current density, charge, charge density) for meaningful safety standards. Special consideration is given to theoretically vulnerable populations including children and the elderly, subjects with mood disorders, epilepsy, stroke, implants, and home users. Evidence from relevant animal models indicates that brain injury by Direct Current Stimulation (DCS) occurs at predicted brain current densities (6.3-13 A/m(2)) that are over an order of magnitude above those produced by conventional tDCS. To date, the use of conventional tDCS protocols in human trials (≤40 min, ≤4 milliamperes, ≤7.2 Coulombs) has not produced any reports of a Serious Adverse Effect or irreversible injury across over 33,200 sessions and 1000 subjects with repeated sessions. This includes a wide variety of subjects, including persons from potentially vulnerable populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Educating Immigrant Hispanic Foodservice Workers about Food Safety Using Visual-Based Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajagopal, Lakshman

2013-01-01

Providing food safety training to a diverse workforce brings with it opportunities and challenges that must be addressed. The study reported here provides evidence for benefits of using visual-based tools for food safety training when educating immigrant, Hispanic foodservice workers with no or minimal English language skills. Using visual tools…

Strengthening safety compliance in nuclear power operations: a role-based approach.

PubMed

Martínez-Córcoles, Mario; Gracia, Francisco J; Tomás, Inés; Peiró, José M

2014-07-01

Safety compliance is of paramount importance in guaranteeing the safe running of nuclear power plants. However, it depends mostly on procedures that do not always involve the safest outcomes. This article introduces an empirical model based on the organizational role theory to analyze the influence of legitimate sources of expectations (procedures formalization and leadership) on workers' compliance behaviors. The sample was composed of 495 employees from two Spanish nuclear power plants. Structural equation analysis showed that, in spite of some problematic effects of proceduralization (such as role conflict and role ambiguity), procedure formalization along with an empowering leadership style lead to safety compliance by clarifying a worker's role in safety. Implications of these findings for safety research are outlined, as well as their practical implications. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

Composition, labelling, and safety of food supplements based on bee products in the legislative framework of the European Union - Croatian experiences.

PubMed

Vujić, Mario; Pollak, Lea

2015-12-01

The European Union market is overflown by food supplements and an increasing number of consumers prefer those where bee products play an important part in their composition. This paper deals with complex European Union legislation concerning food supplements based on bee products, placing a special emphasis on their composition, labelling, and safety. Correct labelling of food supplements also represents a great challenge since, in spite of legal regulations in force, there are still open issues regarding the statements on the amount of propolis, which is not clearly defined by the legal framework. One of the key issues are the labels containing health claims from the EU positive list approved by the European Food Safety Authority. Emphasis will also be placed on informing consumers about food, as statements which imply the healing properties of food supplements and their capacity to cure diseases are forbidden. One of the key elements of product safety is HACCP based on the EU Regulations EC 178/02 and 852/2004. Health safety analyses of food supplements with bee products used as raw materials, which are standardised by legal regulations will also be discussed. In the future, attention should also be paid to establishing the European Union "nutrivigilance" system. Croatian experiences in addressing challenges faced by producers, supervisory entities, and regulatory and inspection bodies may serve as an example to countries aspiring to become part of the large European family.

Evaluating the Performance of the NASA LaRC CMF Motion Base Safety Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gupton, Lawrence E.; Bryant, Richard B., Jr.; Carrelli, David J.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the initial measured performance results of the previously documented NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Cockpit Motion Facility (CMF) motion base hardware safety devices. These safety systems are required to prevent excessive accelerations that could injure personnel and damage simulator cockpits or the motion base structure. Excessive accelerations may be caused by erroneous commands or hardware failures driving an actuator to the end of its travel at high velocity, stepping a servo valve, or instantly reversing servo direction. Such commands may result from single order failures of electrical or hydraulic components within the control system itself, or from aggressive or improper cueing commands from the host simulation computer. The safety systems must mitigate these high acceleration events while minimizing the negative performance impacts. The system accomplishes this by controlling the rate of change of valve signals to limit excessive commanded accelerations. It also aids hydraulic cushion performance by limiting valve command authority as the actuator approaches its end of travel. The design takes advantage of inherent motion base hydraulic characteristics to implement all safety features using hardware only solutions.

Semi-Markov Approach to the Shipping Safety Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guze, Sambor; Smolarek, Leszek

2012-02-01

In the paper the navigational safety model of a ship on the open area has been studied under conditions of incomplete information. Moreover the structure of semi-Markov processes is used to analyse the stochastic ship safety according to the subjective acceptance of risk by the navigator. In addition, the navigator’s behaviour can be analysed by using the numerical simulation to estimate the probability of collision in the safety model.

[Evidence-based effectiveness of road safety interventions: a literature review].

PubMed

Novoa, Ana M; Pérez, Katherine; Borrell, Carme

2009-01-01

Only road safety interventions with scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness should be implemented. The objective of this study was to identify and summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of road safety interventions in reducing road traffic collisions, injuries and deaths. All literature reviews published in scientific journals that assessed the effectiveness of one or more road safety interventions and whose outcome measure was road traffic crashes, injuries or fatalities were included. An exhaustive search was performed in scientific literature databases. The interventions were classified according to the evidence of their effectiveness in reducing road traffic injuries (effective interventions, insufficient evidence of effectiveness, ineffective interventions) following the structure of the Haddon matrix. Fifty-four reviews were included. Effective interventions were found before, during and after the collision, and across all factors: a) the individual: the graduated licensing system (31% road traffic injury reduction); b) the vehicle: electronic stability control system (2 to 41% reduction); c) the infrastructure: area-wide traffic calming (0 to 20%), and d) the social environment: speed cameras (7 to 30%). Certain road safety interventions are ineffective, mostly road safety education, and others require further investigation. The most successful interventions are those that reduce or eliminate the hazard and do not depend on changes in road users' behavior or on their knowledge of road safety issues. Interventions based exclusively on education are ineffective in reducing road traffic injuries.

Results of a community-based survey of construction safety climate for Hispanic workers.

PubMed

Marin, Luz S; Cifuentes, Manuel; Roelofs, Cora

2015-01-01

Hispanic construction workers experience high rates of occupational injury, likely influenced by individual, organizational, and social factors. To characterize the safety climate of Hispanic construction workers using worker, contractor, and supervisor perceptions of the workplace. We developed a 40-item interviewer-assisted survey with six safety climate dimensions and administered it in Spanish and English to construction workers, contractors, and supervisors. A safety climate model, comparing responses and assessing contributing factors was created based on survey responses. While contractors and construction supervisors' (n = 128) scores were higher, all respondents shared a negative perception of safety climate. Construction workers had statistically significantly lower safety climate scores compared to supervisors and contractors (30·6 vs 46·5%, P<0·05). Safety climate scores were not associated with English language ability or years lived in the United States. We found that Hispanic construction workers in this study experienced a poor safety climate. The Hispanic construction safety climate model we propose can serve as a framework to guide organizational safety interventions and evaluate safety climate improvements.

Results of a community-based survey of construction safety climate for Hispanic workers

PubMed Central

Marin, Luz S; Cifuentes, Manuel; Roelofs, Cora

2015-01-01

Background: Hispanic construction workers experience high rates of occupational injury, likely influenced by individual, organizational, and social factors. Objectives: To characterize the safety climate of Hispanic construction workers using worker, contractor, and supervisor perceptions of the workplace. Methods: We developed a 40-item interviewer-assisted survey with six safety climate dimensions and administered it in Spanish and English to construction workers, contractors, and supervisors. A safety climate model, comparing responses and assessing contributing factors was created based on survey responses. Results: While contractors and construction supervisors’ (n = 128) scores were higher, all respondents shared a negative perception of safety climate. Construction workers had statistically significantly lower safety climate scores compared to supervisors and contractors (30.6 vs 46.5%, P<0.05). Safety climate scores were not associated with English language ability or years lived in the United States. Conclusions: We found that Hispanic construction workers in this study experienced a poor safety climate. The Hispanic construction safety climate model we propose can serve as a framework to guide organizational safety interventions and evaluate safety climate improvements. PMID:26145454

Towards a Food Safety Knowledge Base Applicable in Crisis Situations and Beyond.

PubMed

Falenski, Alexander; Weiser, Armin A; Thöns, Christian; Appel, Bernd; Käsbohrer, Annemarie; Filter, Matthias

2015-01-01

In case of contamination in the food chain, fast action is required in order to reduce the numbers of affected people. In such situations, being able to predict the fate of agents in foods would help risk assessors and decision makers in assessing the potential effects of a specific contamination event and thus enable them to deduce the appropriate mitigation measures. One efficient strategy supporting this is using model based simulations. However, application in crisis situations requires ready-to-use and easy-to-adapt models to be available from the so-called food safety knowledge bases. Here, we illustrate this concept and its benefits by applying the modular open source software tools PMM-Lab and FoodProcess-Lab. As a fictitious sample scenario, an intentional ricin contamination at a beef salami production facility was modelled. Predictive models describing the inactivation of ricin were reviewed, relevant models were implemented with PMM-Lab, and simulations on residual toxin amounts in the final product were performed with FoodProcess-Lab. Due to the generic and modular modelling concept implemented in these tools, they can be applied to simulate virtually any food safety contamination scenario. Apart from the application in crisis situations, the food safety knowledge base concept will also be useful in food quality and safety investigations.

System theory and safety models in Swedish, UK, Dutch and Australian road safety strategies.

PubMed

Hughes, B P; Anund, A; Falkmer, T

2015-01-01

Road safety strategies represent interventions on a complex social technical system level. An understanding of a theoretical basis and description is required for strategies to be structured and developed. Road safety strategies are described as systems, but have not been related to the theory, principles and basis by which systems have been developed and analysed. Recently, road safety strategies, which have been employed for many years in different countries, have moved to a 'vision zero', or 'safe system' style. The aim of this study was to analyse the successful Swedish, United Kingdom and Dutch road safety strategies against the older, and newer, Australian road safety strategies, with respect to their foundations in system theory and safety models. Analysis of the strategies against these foundations could indicate potential improvements. The content of four modern cases of road safety strategy was compared against each other, reviewed against scientific systems theory and reviewed against types of safety model. The strategies contained substantial similarities, but were different in terms of fundamental constructs and principles, with limited theoretical basis. The results indicate that the modern strategies do not include essential aspects of systems theory that describe relationships and interdependencies between key components. The description of these strategies as systems is therefore not well founded and deserves further development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Railroad Safety: DoD can Improve the Safety of On-Base Track and Equipment

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-06-01

explosives are secured on rail cars for on-base movement. Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report...and rail cars thatare used to haul ammunition, explosives, or other hazardous material . The safe transport of this material both on military...commercial operating conditions. When transporting haz- ardous materials , cars operating in commerce must also comply with safety requirements established

The development of regulatory expectations for computer-based safety systems for the UK nuclear programme

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

Hughes, P. J.; Westwood, R.N; Mark, R. T.

2006-07-01

The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of the UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has completed a review of their Safety Assessment Principles (SAPs) for Nuclear Installations recently. During the period of the SAPs review in 2004-2005 the designers of future UK naval reactor plant were optioneering the control and protection systems that might be implemented. Because there was insufficient regulatory guidance available in the naval sector to support this activity the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) invited the NII to collaborate with the production of a guidance document that provides clarity of regulatory expectations for the production of safety casesmore » for computer based safety systems. A key part of producing regulatory expectations was identifying the relevant extant standards and sector guidance that reflect good practice. The three principal sources of such good practice were: IAEA Safety Guide NS-G-1.1 (Software for Computer Based Systems Important to Safety in Nuclear Power Plants), European Commission consensus document (Common Position of European Nuclear Regulators for the Licensing of Safety Critical Software for Nuclear Reactors) and IEC nuclear sector standards such as IEC60880. A common understanding has been achieved between the NII and DNSR and regulatory guidance developed which will be used by both NII and DNSR in the assessment of computer-based safety systems and in the further development of more detailed joint technical assessment guidance for both regulatory organisations. (authors)« less

Safety and Efficacy of Methotrexate in Psoriasis: A Meta-Analysis of Published Trials

PubMed Central

West, Jonathan; Ogston, Simon; Foerster, John

2016-01-01

Background Methotrexate (MTX) has been used to treat psoriasis for over half a century. Even so, clinical data characterising its efficacy and safety are sparse. Objective In order to enhance the available evidence, we conducted two meta-analyses, one for efficacy and one for safety outcomes, respectively, according to PRISMA checklist. (Data sources, study criteria, and study synthesis methods are detailed in Methods). Results In terms of efficacy, only eleven studies met criteria for study design and passed a Cochrane risk of bias analysis. Based on this limited dataset, 45.2% [95% confidence interval 34.1–60.0] of patients achieve PASI75 at primary endpoint (12 or 16 weeks, respectively, n = 705 patients across all studies), compared to a calculated PASI75 of 4.4 [3.5–5.6] for placebo, yielding a relative risk of 10.2 [95% C.I. 7.1–14.7]. For safety outcomes, we extended the meta-analysis to include studies employing the same dose range of MTX for other chronic inflammatory conditions, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, in order not to maximise capture of relevant safety data. Based on 2763 patient safety years, adverse events (AEs) were found treatment limiting in 6.9 ± 1.4% (mean ± s.e.) of patients treated for six months, with an adverse effect profile largely in line with that encountered in clinical practice. Finally, in order to facilitate prospective clinical audit and to help generate long-term treatment outcomes under real world conditions, we also developed an easy to use documentation form to be completed by patients without requirement for additional staff time. Limitations Meta-analyses for efficacy and safety, respectively, employed non-identical selection criteria. Conclusions These meta-analyses summarise currently available evidence on MTX in psoriasis and should be of use to gauge whether local results broadly fall within outcomes. PMID:27168193

The Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel's Galileo safety evaluation report

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

Nelson, R.C.; Gray, L.B.; Huff, D.A.

The safety evaluation report (SER) for Galileo was prepared by the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel (INSRP) coordinators in accordance with Presidential directive/National Security Council memorandum 25. The INSRP consists of three coordinators appointed by their respective agencies, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). These individuals are independent of the program being evaluated and depend on independent experts drawn from the national technical community to serve on the five INSRP subpanels. The Galileo SER is based on input provided by the NASA Galileo Program Office, review and assessment ofmore » the final safety analysis report prepared by the Office of Special Applications of the DOE under a memorandum of understanding between NASA and the DOE, as well as other related data and analyses. The SER was prepared for use by the agencies and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the Present for use in their launch decision-making process. Although more than 20 nuclear-powered space missions have been previously reviewed via the INSRP process, the Galileo review constituted the first review of a nuclear power source associated with launch aboard the Space Transportation System.« less

Restaurant manager and worker food safety certification and knowledge.

PubMed

Brown, Laura G; Le, Brenda; Wong, Melissa R; Reimann, David; Nicholas, David; Faw, Brenda; Davis, Ernestine; Selman, Carol A

2014-11-01

Over half of foodborne illness outbreaks occur in restaurants. To combat these outbreaks, many public health agencies require food safety certification for restaurant managers, and sometimes workers. Certification entails passing a food safety knowledge examination, which is typically preceded by food safety training. Current certification efforts are based on the assumption that certification leads to greater food safety knowledge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted this study to examine the relationship between food safety knowledge and certification. We also examined the relationships between food safety knowledge and restaurant, manager, and worker characteristics. We interviewed managers (N=387) and workers (N=365) about their characteristics and assessed their food safety knowledge. Analyses showed that certified managers and workers had greater food safety knowledge than noncertified managers and workers. Additionally, managers and workers whose primary language was English had greater food safety knowledge than those whose primary language was not English. Other factors associated with greater food safety knowledge included working in a chain restaurant, working in a larger restaurant, having more experience, and having more duties. These findings indicate that certification improves food safety knowledge, and that complex relationships exist among restaurant, manager, and worker characteristics and food safety knowledge.

Restaurant Manager and Worker Food Safety Certification and Knowledge

PubMed Central

Brown, Laura G.; Le, Brenda; Wong, Melissa R.; Reimann, David; Nicholas, David; Faw, Brenda; Davis, Ernestine; Selman, Carol A.

2017-01-01

Over half of foodborne illness outbreaks occur in restaurants. To combat these outbreaks, many public health agencies require food safety certification for restaurant managers, and sometimes workers. Certification entails passing a food safety knowledge examination, which is typically preceded by food safety training. Current certification efforts are based on the assumption that certification leads to greater food safety knowledge. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted this study to examine the relationship between food safety knowledge and certification. We also examined the relationships between food safety knowledge and restaurant, manager, and worker characteristics. We interviewed managers (N = 387) and workers (N = 365) about their characteristics and assessed their food safety knowledge. Analyses showed that certified managers and workers had greater food safety knowledge than noncertified managers and workers. Additionally, managers and workers whose primary language was English had greater food safety knowledge than those whose primary language was not English. Other factors associated with greater food safety knowledge included working in a chain restaurant, working in a larger restaurant, having more experience, and having more duties. These findings indicate that certification improves food safety knowledge, and that complex relationships exist among restaurant, manager, and worker characteristics and food safety knowledge. PMID:25361386

Staying silent about safety issues: Conceptualizing and measuring safety silence motives.

PubMed

Manapragada, Archana; Bruk-Lee, Valentina

2016-06-01

Communication between employees and supervisors about safety-related issues is an important component of a safe workplace. When supervisors receive information from employees about safety issues, they may gain otherwise-missed opportunities to correct these issues and/or prevent negative safety outcomes. A series of three studies were conducted to identify various safety silence motives, which describe the reasons that employees do not speak up to supervisors about safety-related issues witnessed in the workplace, and to develop a tool to assess these motives. Results suggest that employees stay silent about safety issues based on perceptions of altering relationships with others (relationship-based), perceptions of the organizational climate (climate-based), the assessment of the safety issue (issue-based), or characteristics of the job (job-based). We developed a 17-item measure to assess these four motives, and initial evidence was found for the construct and incremental validity of the safety silence motives measure in a sample of nurses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DNA Analyses in Food Safety and Quality: Current Status and Expectations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchelli, Rosangela; Tedeschi, Tullia; Tonelli, Alessandro

Food safety and quality are very important issues receiving a lot of attention in most countries by producers, consumers and regulatory and control authorities. In particular, DNA analysis in food is becoming popular not only in relation to genetically modified products (GMOs), in which DNA modification is the "clue" of the novelty, but also in other fields like microbiology and pathogen detection, which require long times for the cultivation and specially in cases in which the microorganisms are not cultivable like some viruses, as well as for authenticity and allergen detection. A new topic concerning "nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics" has also been mentioned, very important but still in its infancy, which could lead in the future to a personalized diet. In this chapter we have described the main areas of food research and fields of application where DNA analysis is being performed and the relative methods of detection, which are generally based on PCR. The possibility/opportunity to detect DNA without previous amplification (PCR-free) will be discussed. We have examined the following areas: (1) genetically modified foods (GMOs); (2) food allergens; (3) microbiological contaminations; (4) food authenticity; (5) nutrigenetics/nutrigenomics.

Integrating evidence-based practices for increasing cancer screenings in safety net health systems: a multiple case study using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

PubMed

Liang, Shuting; Kegler, Michelle C; Cotter, Megan; Emily, Phillips; Beasley, Derrick; Hermstad, April; Morton, Rentonia; Martinez, Jeremy; Riehman, Kara

2016-08-02

Implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) to increase cancer screenings in safety net primary care systems has great potential for reducing cancer disparities. Yet there is a gap in understanding the factors and mechanisms that influence EBP implementation within these high-priority systems. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), our study aims to fill this gap with a multiple case study of health care safety net systems that were funded by an American Cancer Society (ACS) grants program to increase breast and colorectal cancer screening rates. The initiative funded 68 safety net systems to increase cancer screening through implementation of evidence-based provider and client-oriented strategies. Data are from a mixed-methods evaluation with nine purposively selected safety net systems. Fifty-two interviews were conducted with project leaders, implementers, and ACS staff. Funded safety net systems were categorized into high-, medium-, and low-performing cases based on the level of EBP implementation. Within- and cross-case analyses were performed to identify CFIR constructs that influenced level of EBP implementation. Of 39 CFIR constructs examined, six distinguished levels of implementation. Two constructs were from the intervention characteristics domain: adaptability and trialability. Three were from the inner setting domain: leadership engagement, tension for change, and access to information and knowledge. Engaging formally appointed internal implementation leaders, from the process domain, also distinguished level of implementation. No constructs from the outer setting or individual characteristics domain differentiated systems by level of implementation. Our study identified a number of influential CFIR constructs and illustrated how they impacted EBP implementation across a variety of safety net systems. Findings may inform future dissemination efforts of EBPs for increasing cancer screening in similar settings. Moreover

Audio-visual perception of 3D cinematography: an fMRI study using condition-based and computation-based analyses.

PubMed

Ogawa, Akitoshi; Bordier, Cecile; Macaluso, Emiliano

2013-01-01

The use of naturalistic stimuli to probe sensory functions in the human brain is gaining increasing interest. Previous imaging studies examined brain activity associated with the processing of cinematographic material using both standard "condition-based" designs, as well as "computational" methods based on the extraction of time-varying features of the stimuli (e.g. motion). Here, we exploited both approaches to investigate the neural correlates of complex visual and auditory spatial signals in cinematography. In the first experiment, the participants watched a piece of a commercial movie presented in four blocked conditions: 3D vision with surround sounds (3D-Surround), 3D with monaural sound (3D-Mono), 2D-Surround, and 2D-Mono. In the second experiment, they watched two different segments of the movie both presented continuously in 3D-Surround. The blocked presentation served for standard condition-based analyses, while all datasets were submitted to computation-based analyses. The latter assessed where activity co-varied with visual disparity signals and the complexity of auditory multi-sources signals. The blocked analyses associated 3D viewing with the activation of the dorsal and lateral occipital cortex and superior parietal lobule, while the surround sounds activated the superior and middle temporal gyri (S/MTG). The computation-based analyses revealed the effects of absolute disparity in dorsal occipital and posterior parietal cortices and of disparity gradients in the posterior middle temporal gyrus plus the inferior frontal gyrus. The complexity of the surround sounds was associated with activity in specific sub-regions of S/MTG, even after accounting for changes of sound intensity. These results demonstrate that the processing of naturalistic audio-visual signals entails an extensive set of visual and auditory areas, and that computation-based analyses can track the contribution of complex spatial aspects characterizing such life-like stimuli.

ECC-based grouping-proof RFID for inpatient medication safety.

PubMed

Lin, Qiping; Zhang, Fangguo

2012-12-01

Several papers were proposed in which symmetric cryptography was used to design RFID grouping-proof for medication safety in the Journal of Medical Systems. However, if we want to ensure privacy, authentication and protection against the tracking of RFID-tags without losing system scalability, we must design an asymmetric cryptography-based RFID. This paper will propose a new ECC-based grouping-proof for RFID. Our ECC-based grouping-proof reduces the computation of tags and prevents timeout problems from occurring in n-party grouping-proof protocol. Based on asymmetric cryptography, the proposed scheme is practical, secure and efficient for medication applications.

Assessing causality in drug policy analyses: How useful are the Bradford Hill criteria in analysing take-home naloxone programs?

PubMed

Olsen, Anna; McDonald, David; Lenton, Simon; Dietze, Paul M

2018-05-01

The Bradford Hill criteria for assessing causality are useful in assembling evidence, including within complex policy analyses. In this paper, we argue that the implementation of take-home naloxone (THN) programs in Australia and elsewhere reflects sensible, evidence-based public health policy, despite the absence of randomised controlled trials. However, we also acknowledge that the debate around expanding access to THN would benefit from a careful consideration of causal inference and health policy impact of THN program implementation. Given the continued debate around expanding access to THN, and the relatively recent access to new data from implementation studies, two research groups independently conducted Bradford Hill analyses in order to carefully consider causal inference and health policy impact. Hill's criteria offer a useful analytical tool for interpreting current evidence on THN programs and making decisions about the (un)certainty of THN program safety and effectiveness. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

An update on safety and immunogenicity of vaccines containing emulsion-based adjuvants.

PubMed

Fox, Christopher B; Haensler, Jean

2013-07-01

With the exception of alum, emulsion-based vaccine adjuvants have been administered to far more people than any other adjuvant, especially since the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. The number of clinical safety and immunogenicity evaluations of vaccines containing emulsion adjuvants has correspondingly mushroomed. In this review, the authors introduce emulsion adjuvant composition and history before detailing the most recent findings from clinical and postmarketing data regarding the effects of emulsion adjuvants on vaccine immunogenicity and safety, with emphasis on the most widely distributed emulsion adjuvants, MF59® and AS03. The authors also present a summary of other emulsion adjuvants in clinical development and indicate promising avenues for future emulsion-based adjuvant development. Overall, emulsion adjuvants have demonstrated potent adjuvant activity across a number of disease indications along with acceptable safety profiles.

A probability-based approach for assessment of roadway safety hardware.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-03-14

This report presents a general probability-based approach for assessment of roadway safety hardware (RSH). It was achieved using a reliability : analysis method and computational techniques. With the development of high-fidelity finite element (FE) m...

Patient safety education to change medical students' attitudes and sense of responsibility.

PubMed

Roh, Hyerin; Park, Seok Ju; Kim, Taekjoong

2015-01-01

This study examined changes in the perceptions and attitudes as well as the sense of individual and collective responsibility in medical students after they received patient safety education. A three-day patient safety curriculum was implemented for third-year medical students shortly before entering their clerkship. Before and after training, we administered a questionnaire, which was analysed quantitatively. Additionally, we asked students to answer questions about their expected behaviours in response to two case vignettes. Their answers were analysed qualitatively. There was improvement in students' concepts of patient safety after training. Before training, they showed good comprehension of the inevitability of error, but most students blamed individuals for errors and expressed a strong sense of individual responsibility. After training, students increasingly attributed errors to system dysfunction and reported more self-confidence in speaking up about colleagues' errors. However, due to the hierarchical culture, students still described difficulties communicating with senior doctors. Patient safety education effectively shifted students' attitudes towards systems-based thinking and increased their sense of collective responsibility. Strategies for improving superior-subordinate communication within a hierarchical culture should be added to the patient safety curriculum.

Predicting performance and safety based on driver fatigue.

PubMed

Mollicone, Daniel; Kan, Kevin; Mott, Chris; Bartels, Rachel; Bruneau, Steve; van Wollen, Matthew; Sparrow, Amy R; Van Dongen, Hans P A

2018-04-02

Fatigue causes decrements in vigilant attention and reaction time and is a major safety hazard in the trucking industry. There is a need to quantify the relationship between driver fatigue and safety in terms of operationally relevant measures. Hard-braking events are a suitable measure for this purpose as they are relatively easily observed and are correlated with collisions and near-crashes. We developed an analytic approach that predicts driver fatigue based on a biomathematical model and then estimates hard-braking events as a function of predicted fatigue, controlling for time of day to account for systematic variations in exposure (traffic density). The analysis used de-identified data from a previously published, naturalistic field study of 106 U.S. commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Data analyzed included drivers' official duty logs, sleep patterns measured around the clock using wrist actigraphy, and continuous recording of vehicle data to capture hard-braking events. The curve relating predicted fatigue to hard-braking events showed that the frequency of hard-braking events increased as predicted fatigue levels worsened. For each increment on the fatigue scale, the frequency of hard-braking events increased by 7.8%. The results provide proof of concept for a novel approach that predicts fatigue based on drivers' sleep patterns and estimates driving performance in terms of an operational metric related to safety. The approach can be translated to practice by CMV operators to achieve a fatigue risk profile specific to their own settings, in order to support data-driven decisions about fatigue countermeasures that cost-effectively deliver quantifiable operational benefits. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety in Acute Pain Medicine-Pharmacologic Considerations and the Impact of Systems-Based Gaps.

PubMed

Weingarten, Toby N; Taenzer, Andreas H; Elkassabany, Nabil M; Le Wendling, Linda; Nin, Olga; Kent, Michael L

2018-05-02

In the setting of an expanding prevalence of acute pain medicine services and the aggressive use of multimodal analgesia, an overview of systems-based safety gaps and safety concerns in the setting of aggressive multimodal analgesia is provided below. Expert commentary. Recent evidence focused on systems-based gaps in acute pain medicine is discussed. A focused literature review was conducted to assess safety concerns related to commonly used multimodal pharmacologic agents (opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, gabapentanoids, ketamine, acetaminophen) in the setting of inpatient acute pain management. Optimization of systems-based gaps will increase the probability of accurate pain assessment, improve the application of uniform evidence-based multimodal analgesia, and ensure a continuum of pain care. While acute pain medicine strategies should be aggressively applied, multimodal regimens must be strategically utilized to minimize risk to patients and in a comorbidity-specific fashion.

Towards a Food Safety Knowledge Base Applicable in Crisis Situations and Beyond

PubMed Central

Falenski, Alexander; Weiser, Armin A.; Thöns, Christian; Appel, Bernd; Käsbohrer, Annemarie; Filter, Matthias

2015-01-01

In case of contamination in the food chain, fast action is required in order to reduce the numbers of affected people. In such situations, being able to predict the fate of agents in foods would help risk assessors and decision makers in assessing the potential effects of a specific contamination event and thus enable them to deduce the appropriate mitigation measures. One efficient strategy supporting this is using model based simulations. However, application in crisis situations requires ready-to-use and easy-to-adapt models to be available from the so-called food safety knowledge bases. Here, we illustrate this concept and its benefits by applying the modular open source software tools PMM-Lab and FoodProcess-Lab. As a fictitious sample scenario, an intentional ricin contamination at a beef salami production facility was modelled. Predictive models describing the inactivation of ricin were reviewed, relevant models were implemented with PMM-Lab, and simulations on residual toxin amounts in the final product were performed with FoodProcess-Lab. Due to the generic and modular modelling concept implemented in these tools, they can be applied to simulate virtually any food safety contamination scenario. Apart from the application in crisis situations, the food safety knowledge base concept will also be useful in food quality and safety investigations. PMID:26247028

Identification of Behavior Based Safety by Using Traffic Light Analysis to Reduce Accidents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansur, A.; Nasution, M. I.

2016-01-01

This work present the safety assessment of a case study and describes an important area within the field production in oil and gas industry, namely behavior based safety (BBS). The company set a rigorous BBS and its intervention program that implemented and deployed continually. In this case, observers requested to have discussion and spread a number of determined questions related with work behavior to the workers during observation. Appraisal of Traffic Light Analysis (TLA) as one tools of risk assessment used to determine the estimated score of BBS questionnaire. Standardization of TLA appraisal in this study are based on Regulation of Minister of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health No:PER.05/MEN/1996. The result shown that there are some points under 84%, which categorized in yellow category and should corrected immediately by company to prevent existing bad behavior of workers. The application of BBS expected to increase the safety performance at work time-by-time and effective in reducing accidents.

Algorithm-based arterial blood sampling recognition increasing safety in point-of-care diagnostics.

PubMed

Peter, Jörg; Klingert, Wilfried; Klingert, Kathrin; Thiel, Karolin; Wulff, Daniel; Königsrainer, Alfred; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Schenk, Martin

2017-08-04

To detect blood withdrawal for patients with arterial blood pressure monitoring to increase patient safety and provide better sample dating. Blood pressure information obtained from a patient monitor was fed as a real-time data stream to an experimental medical framework. This framework was connected to an analytical application which observes changes in systolic, diastolic and mean pressure to determine anomalies in the continuous data stream. Detection was based on an increased mean blood pressure caused by the closing of the withdrawal three-way tap and an absence of systolic and diastolic measurements during this manipulation. For evaluation of the proposed algorithm, measured data from animal studies in healthy pigs were used. Using this novel approach for processing real-time measurement data of arterial pressure monitoring, the exact time of blood withdrawal could be successfully detected retrospectively and in real-time. The algorithm was able to detect 422 of 434 (97%) blood withdrawals for blood gas analysis in the retrospective analysis of 7 study trials. Additionally, 64 sampling events for other procedures like laboratory and activated clotting time analyses were detected. The proposed algorithm achieved a sensitivity of 0.97, a precision of 0.96 and an F1 score of 0.97. Arterial blood pressure monitoring data can be used to perform an accurate identification of individual blood samplings in order to reduce sample mix-ups and thereby increase patient safety.

Safety climate in Swiss hospital units: Swiss version of the Safety Climate Survey

PubMed Central

Gehring, Katrin; Mascherek, Anna C.; Bezzola, Paula

2015-01-01

Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives Safety climate measurements are a broadly used element of improvement initiatives. In order to provide a sound and easy‐to‐administer instrument for the use in Swiss hospitals, we translated the Safety Climate Survey into German and French. Methods After translating the Safety Climate Survey into French and German, a cross‐sectional survey study was conducted with health care professionals (HCPs) in operating room (OR) teams and on OR‐related wards in 10 Swiss hospitals. Validity of the instrument was examined by means of Cronbach's alpha and missing rates of the single items. Item‐descriptive statistics group differences and percentage of ‘problematic responses’ (PPR) were calculated. Results 3153 HCPs completed the survey (response rate: 63.4%). 1308 individuals were excluded from the analyses because of a profession other than doctor or nurse or invalid answers (n = 1845; nurses = 1321, doctors = 523). Internal consistency of the translated Safety Climate Survey was good (Cronbach's alpha G erman = 0.86; Cronbach's alpha F rench = 0.84). Missing rates at item level were rather low (0.23–4.3%). We found significant group differences in safety climate values regarding profession, managerial function, work area and time spent in direct patient care. At item level, 14 out of 21 items showed a PPR higher than 10%. Conclusions Results indicate that the French and German translations of the Safety Climate Survey might be a useful measurement instrument for safety climate in Swiss hospital units. Analyses at item level allow for differentiating facets of safety climate into more positive and critical safety climate aspects. PMID:25656302

A red-flag-based approach to risk management of EHR-related safety concerns.

PubMed

Sittig, Dean F; Singh, Hardeep

2013-01-01

Although electronic health records (EHRs) have a significant potential to improve patient safety, EHR-related safety concerns have begun to emerge. Based on 369 responses to a survey sent to the memberships of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management and the American Health Lawyers Association and supplemented by our previous work in EHR-related patient safety, we identified the following common EHR-related safety concerns: (1) incorrect patient identification; (2) extended EHR unavailability (either planned or unplanned); (3) failure to heed a computer-generated warning or alert; (4) system-to-system interface errors; (5) failure to identify, find, or use the most recent patient data; (6) misunderstandings about time; (7) incorrect item selected from a list of items; and (8) open or incomplete orders. In this article, we present a "red-flag"-based approach that can be used by risk managers to identify potential EHR safety concerns in their institutions. An organization that routinely conducts EHR-related surveillance activities, such as the ones proposed here, can significantly reduce risks associated with EHR implementation and use. © 2013 American Society for Healthcare Risk Management of the American Hospital Association.

Good practices on cost - effective road infrastructure safety investments.

PubMed

Yannis, George; Papadimitriou, Eleonora; Evgenikos, Petros; Dragomanovits, Anastasios

2016-12-01

The paper presents the findings of a research project aiming to quantify and subsequently classify several infrastructure-related road safety measures, based on the international experience attained through extensive and selected literature review and additionally on a full consultation process including questionnaire surveys addressed to experts and relevant workshops. Initially, a review of selected research reports was carried out and an exhaustive list of road safety infrastructure investments covering all types of infrastructure was compiled. Individual investments were classified according to the infrastructure investment area and the type of investment and were thereafter analysed on the basis of key safety components. These investments were subsequently ranked in relation to their safety effects and implementation costs and on the basis of this ranking, a set of five most promising investments was selected for an in-depth analysis. The results suggest that the overall cost effectiveness of a road safety infrastructure investment is not always in direct correlation with the safety effect and is recommended that cost-benefit ratios and safety effects are always examined in conjunction with each other in order to identify the optimum solution for a specific road safety problem in specific conditions and with specific objectives.

Development and Validation of Career Development Guidelines by Task/Activity Analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Professions: Industrial Hygiene and Safety Professional. Final Report. Technical Report XII.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon, Ralph J.; And Others

This report summarizes research findings which resulted in development of curricula for occupational safety and health professions based on task/activity analyses and related performance objectives. The first seven chapters focus on the seven objectives. Chapter 1, Literature Review and Selection of Employers, concerns tasks required for…

Transition to Office-based Obstetric and Gynecologic Procedures: Safety, Technical, and Financial Considerations.

PubMed

Peacock, Lisa M; Thomassee, May E; Williams, Valerie L; Young, Amy E

2015-06-01

Office-based surgery is increasingly desired by patients and providers due to ease of access, overall efficiency, reimbursement, and satisfaction. The adoption of office-based surgery requires careful consideration of safety, efficacy, cost, and feasibility within a providers practice. This article reviews the currently available data regarding patient and provider satisfaction as well as practical considerations of staffing, equipment, and supplies. To aid the practitioner, issues of office-based anesthesia and safety with references to currently available national guidelines and protocols are provided. Included is a brief review of billing, coding, and reimbursement. Technical procedural aspects with information and recommendations are summarized.

Safety Early Warning Research for Highway Construction Based on Case-Based Reasoning and Variable Fuzzy Sets

PubMed Central

Liu, Yan; Xu, Zhen-Jun

2013-01-01

As a high-risk subindustry involved in construction projects, highway construction safety has experienced major developments in the past 20 years, mainly due to the lack of safe early warnings in Chinese construction projects. By combining the current state of early warning technology with the requirements of the State Administration of Work Safety and using case-based reasoning (CBR), this paper expounds on the concept and flow of highway construction safety early warnings based on CBR. The present study provides solutions to three key issues, index selection, accident cause association analysis, and warning degree forecasting implementation, through the use of association rule mining, support vector machine classifiers, and variable fuzzy qualitative and quantitative change criterion modes, which fully cover the needs of safe early warning systems. Using a detailed description of the principles and advantages of each method and by proving the methods' effectiveness and ability to act together in safe early warning applications, effective means and intelligent technology for a safe highway construction early warning system are established. PMID:24191134

Safety early warning research for highway construction based on case-based reasoning and variable fuzzy sets.

PubMed

Liu, Yan; Yi, Ting-Hua; Xu, Zhen-Jun

2013-01-01

As a high-risk subindustry involved in construction projects, highway construction safety has experienced major developments in the past 20 years, mainly due to the lack of safe early warnings in Chinese construction projects. By combining the current state of early warning technology with the requirements of the State Administration of Work Safety and using case-based reasoning (CBR), this paper expounds on the concept and flow of highway construction safety early warnings based on CBR. The present study provides solutions to three key issues, index selection, accident cause association analysis, and warning degree forecasting implementation, through the use of association rule mining, support vector machine classifiers, and variable fuzzy qualitative and quantitative change criterion modes, which fully cover the needs of safe early warning systems. Using a detailed description of the principles and advantages of each method and by proving the methods' effectiveness and ability to act together in safe early warning applications, effective means and intelligent technology for a safe highway construction early warning system are established.

On Some Methods in Safety Evaluation in Geotechnics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puła, Wojciech; Zaskórski, Łukasz

2015-06-01

The paper demonstrates how the reliability methods can be utilised in order to evaluate safety in geotechnics. Special attention is paid to the so-called reliability based design that can play a useful and complementary role to Eurocode 7. In the first part, a brief review of first- and second-order reliability methods is given. Next, two examples of reliability-based design are demonstrated. The first one is focussed on bearing capacity calculation and is dedicated to comparison with EC7 requirements. The second one analyses a rigid pile subjected to lateral load and is oriented towards working stress design method. In the second part, applications of random field to safety evaluations in geotechnics are addressed. After a short review of the theory a Random Finite Element algorithm to reliability based design of shallow strip foundation is given. Finally, two illustrative examples for cohesive and cohesionless soils are demonstrated.

Software Safety Risk in Legacy Safety-Critical Computer Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Janice; Baggs, Rhoda

2007-01-01

Safety-critical computer systems must be engineered to meet system and software safety requirements. For legacy safety-critical computer systems, software safety requirements may not have been formally specified during development. When process-oriented software safety requirements are levied on a legacy system after the fact, where software development artifacts don't exist or are incomplete, the question becomes 'how can this be done?' The risks associated with only meeting certain software safety requirements in a legacy safety-critical computer system must be addressed should such systems be selected as candidates for reuse. This paper proposes a method for ascertaining formally, a software safety risk assessment, that provides measurements for software safety for legacy systems which may or may not have a suite of software engineering documentation that is now normally required. It relies upon the NASA Software Safety Standard, risk assessment methods based upon the Taxonomy-Based Questionnaire, and the application of reverse engineering CASE tools to produce original design documents for legacy systems.

Commentary: Status of road safety in Asia.

PubMed

Wismans, Jac; Skogsmo, Ingrid; Nilsson-Ehle, Anna; Lie, Anders; Thynell, Marie; Lindberg, Gunnar

2016-01-01

The objective of this article is to assess the status of road safety in Asia and present accident and injury prevention strategies based on global road safety improvement experiences and discuss the way forward by indicating opportunities and countermeasures that could be implemented to achieve a new level of safety in Asia. This study provides a review and analyses of data in the literature, including from the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank, and a review of lessons learned from best practices in high-income countries. In addition, an estimation of costs due to road transport injuries in Asia and review of future trends in road transport is provided. Data on the global and Asian road safety problem and status of prevention strategies in Asia as well as recommendations for future actions are discussed. The total number of deaths due to road accidents in the 24 Asian countries, encompassing 56% of the total world population, is 750,000 per year (statistics 2010). The total number of injuries is more than 50 million, of which 12% are hospital admissions. The loss to the economy in the 24 Asian countries is estimated to around US$800 billion or 3.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP). This article clearly shows that road safety is causing large problems and high costs in Asia, with an enormous impact on the well-being of people, economy, and productivity. In many Asian low- and middle-income countries, the yearly number of fatalities and injuries is increasing. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists combined) are particularly at risk. Road safety in Asia should be given rightful attention, including taking powerful, effective actions. This review stresses the need for reliable accident data, because there is considerable underreporting in the official statistics. Reliable accident data are imperative to determine evidence-based intervention strategies and monitor the success of these interventions and analyses. On the other

Offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships.

PubMed

Wang, J

2002-01-01

Tragic marine and offshore accidents have caused serious consequences including loss of lives, loss of property, and damage of the environment. A proactive, risk-based "goal setting" regime is introduced to the marine and offshore industries to increase the level of safety. To maximize marine and offshore safety, risks need to be modeled and safety-based decisions need to be made in a logical and confident way. Risk modeling and decision-making tools need to be developed and applied in a practical environment. This paper describes both the offshore safety case approach and formal safety assessment of ships in detail with particular reference to the design aspects. The current practices and the latest development in safety assessment in both the marine and offshore industries are described. The relationship between the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment is described and discussed. Three examples are used to demonstrate both the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The study of risk criteria in marine and offshore safety assessment is carried out. The recommendations on further work required are given. This paper gives safety engineers in the marine and offshore industries an overview of the offshore safety case approach and formal ship safety assessment. The significance of moving toward a risk-based "goal setting" regime is given.

Quality and Safety Aspects of Cereals (Wheat) and Their Products.

PubMed

Varzakas, Theo

2016-11-17

Cereals and, most specifically, wheat are described in this chapter highlighting on their safety and quality aspects. Moreover, wheat quality aspects are adequately addressed since they are used to characterize dough properties and baking quality. Determination of dough properties is also mentioned and pasta quality is also described in this chapter. Chemometrics-multivariate analysis is one of the analyses carried out. Regarding production weighing/mixing of flours, kneading, extruded wheat flours, and sodium chloride are important processing steps/raw materials used in the manufacturing of pastry products. Staling of cereal-based products is also taken into account. Finally, safety aspects of cereal-based products are well documented with special emphasis on mycotoxins, acrylamide, and near infrared methodology.

Safety analysis and review system (SARS) assessment report

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

Browne, E.T.

1981-03-01

Under DOE Order 5481.1, Safety Analysis and Review System for DOE Operations, safety analyses are required for DOE projects in order to ensure that: (1) potential hazards are systematically identified; (2) potential impacts are analyzed; (3) reasonable measures have been taken to eliminate, control, or mitigate the hazards; and (4) there is documented management authorization of the DOE operation based on an objective assessment of the adequacy of the safety analysis. This report is intended to provide the DOE Office of Plans and Technology Assessment (OPTA) with an independent evaluation of the adequacy of the ongoing safety analysis effort. Asmore » part of this effort, a number of site visits and interviews were conducted, and FE SARS documents were reviewed. The latter included SARS Implementation Plans for a number of FE field offices, as well as safety analysis reports completed for certain FE operations. This report summarizes SARS related efforts at the DOE field offices visited and evaluates the extent to which they fulfill the requirements of DOE 5481.1.« less

Audio-Visual Perception of 3D Cinematography: An fMRI Study Using Condition-Based and Computation-Based Analyses

PubMed Central

Ogawa, Akitoshi; Bordier, Cecile; Macaluso, Emiliano

2013-01-01

The use of naturalistic stimuli to probe sensory functions in the human brain is gaining increasing interest. Previous imaging studies examined brain activity associated with the processing of cinematographic material using both standard “condition-based” designs, as well as “computational” methods based on the extraction of time-varying features of the stimuli (e.g. motion). Here, we exploited both approaches to investigate the neural correlates of complex visual and auditory spatial signals in cinematography. In the first experiment, the participants watched a piece of a commercial movie presented in four blocked conditions: 3D vision with surround sounds (3D-Surround), 3D with monaural sound (3D-Mono), 2D-Surround, and 2D-Mono. In the second experiment, they watched two different segments of the movie both presented continuously in 3D-Surround. The blocked presentation served for standard condition-based analyses, while all datasets were submitted to computation-based analyses. The latter assessed where activity co-varied with visual disparity signals and the complexity of auditory multi-sources signals. The blocked analyses associated 3D viewing with the activation of the dorsal and lateral occipital cortex and superior parietal lobule, while the surround sounds activated the superior and middle temporal gyri (S/MTG). The computation-based analyses revealed the effects of absolute disparity in dorsal occipital and posterior parietal cortices and of disparity gradients in the posterior middle temporal gyrus plus the inferior frontal gyrus. The complexity of the surround sounds was associated with activity in specific sub-regions of S/MTG, even after accounting for changes of sound intensity. These results demonstrate that the processing of naturalistic audio-visual signals entails an extensive set of visual and auditory areas, and that computation-based analyses can track the contribution of complex spatial aspects characterizing such life-like stimuli

Sarma-based key-group method for rock slope reliability analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yarahmadi Bafghi, A. R.; Verdel, T.

2005-08-01

The methods used in conducting static stability analyses have remained pertinent to this day for reasons of both simplicity and speed of execution. The most well-known of these methods for purposes of stability analysis of fractured rock masses is the key-block method (KBM).This paper proposes an extension to the KBM, called the key-group method (KGM), which combines not only individual key-blocks but also groups of collapsable blocks into an iterative and progressive analysis of the stability of discontinuous rock slopes. To take intra-group forces into account, the Sarma method has been implemented within the KGM in order to generate a Sarma-based KGM, abbreviated SKGM. We will discuss herein the hypothesis behind this new method, details regarding its implementation, and validation through comparison with results obtained from the distinct element method.Furthermore, as an alternative to deterministic methods, reliability analyses or probabilistic analyses have been proposed to take account of the uncertainty in analytical parameters and models. The FOSM and ASM probabilistic methods could be implemented within the KGM and SKGM framework in order to take account of the uncertainty due to physical and mechanical data (density, cohesion and angle of friction). We will then show how such reliability analyses can be introduced into SKGM to give rise to the probabilistic SKGM (PSKGM) and how it can be used for rock slope reliability analyses. Copyright

Bricks-and-mortar and patient safety culture.

PubMed

Brandis, Susan; Schleimer, Stephanie; Rice, John

2017-06-19

Purpose Building a new hospital requires a major investment in capital infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of bricks-and-mortar on patient safety culture before and two years after the move of a large tertiary hospital to a greenfield site. The difference in patient safety perceptions between clinical and non-clinical staff is also explored. Design/methodology/approach This research uses data collected from the same workforce across two time periods (2013 and 2015) in a large Australian healthcare service. Validated surveys of patient safety culture ( n=306 and 246) were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings Using two-way analysis of variance, the authors found that perceived patient safety culture remains unchanged for staff despite a major relocation and upgrade of services and different perceptions of patient safety culture between staff groups remains the same throughout change. Practical implications A dramatic change in physical context, such as moving an entire hospital, made no measurable impact on perceived patient safety culture by major groups of staff. Improving patient safety culture requires more than investment in buildings and infrastructure. Understanding differences in professional perspectives of patient safety culture may inform organisational management approaches, and enhance the targeting of specific strategies. Originality/value The authors believe this to be the first empirically based paper that investigates the impact of a large investment into hospital capital and a subsequent relocation of services on clinical and non-clinical staff perceptions of patient safety culture.

Inherent Safety Characteristics of Advanced Fast Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bochkarev, A. S.; Korsun, A. S.; Kharitonov, V. S.; Alekseev, P. N.

2017-01-01

The study presents SFR transient performance for ULOF events initiated by pump trip and pump seizure with simultaneous failure of all shutdown systems in both cases. The most severe cases leading to the pin cladding rupture and possible sodium boiling are demonstrated. The impact of various features on SFR inherent safety performance for ULOF events was analysed. The decrease in hydraulic resistance of primary loop and increase in primary pump coast down time were investigated. Performing analysis resulted in a set of recommendations to varying parameters for the purpose of enhancing the inherent safety performance of SFR. In order to prevent the safety barrier rupture for ULOF events the set of thermal hydraulic criteria defining the ULOF transient processes dynamics and requirements to these criteria were recommended based on achieved results: primary sodium flow dip under the natural circulation asymptotic level and natural circulation rise time.

Integrated Safety Risk Reduction Approach to Enhancing Human-Rated Spaceflight Safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikula, J. F. Kip

2005-12-01

This paper explores and defines the current accepted concept and philosophy of safety improvement based on a Reliability enhancement (called here Reliability Enhancement Based Safety Theory [REBST]). In this theory a Reliability calculation is used as a measure of the safety achieved on the program. This calculation may be based on a math model or a Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) of the system, or on an Event Tree Analysis (ETA) of the system's operational mission sequence. In each case, the numbers used in this calculation are hardware failure rates gleaned from past similar programs. As part of this paper, a fictional but representative case study is provided that helps to illustrate the problems and inaccuracies of this approach to safety determination. Then a safety determination and enhancement approach based on hazard, worst case analysis, and safety risk determination (called here Worst Case Based Safety Theory [WCBST]) is included. This approach is defined and detailed using the same example case study as shown in the REBST case study. In the end it is concluded that an approach combining the two theories works best to reduce Safety Risk.

Patient safety climate and worker safety behaviours in acute hospitals in Scotland.

PubMed

Agnew, Cakil; Flin, Rhona; Mearns, Kathryn

2013-06-01

To obtain a measure of hospital safety climate from a sample of National Health Service (NHS) acute hospitals in Scotland and to test whether these scores were associated with worker safety behaviors, and patient and worker injuries. Data were from 1,866 NHS clinical staff in six Scottish acute hospitals. A Scottish Hospital Safety Questionnaire measured hospital safety climate (Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture), worker safety behaviors, and worker and patient injuries. The associations between the hospital safety climate scores and the outcome measures (safety behaviors, worker and patient injury rates) were examined. Hospital safety climate scores were significantly correlated with clinical workers' safety behavior and patient and worker injury measures, although the effect sizes were smaller for the latter. Regression analyses revealed that perceptions of staffing levels and managerial commitment were significant predictors for all the safety outcome measures. Both patient-specific and more generic safety climate items were found to have significant impacts on safety outcome measures. This study demonstrated the influences of different aspects of hospital safety climate on both patient and worker safety outcomes. Moreover, it has been shown that in a hospital setting, a safety climate supporting safer patient care would also help to ensure worker safety. The Scottish Hospital Safety Questionnaire has proved to be a usable method of measuring both hospital safety climate as well as patient and worker safety outcomes. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Financial Effect of Value-Based Purchasing and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program on Safety-Net Hospitals in 2014: A Cohort Study.

PubMed

Gilman, Matlin; Hockenberry, Jason M; Adams, E Kathleen; Milstein, Arnold S; Wilson, Ira B; Becker, Edmund R

2015-09-15

Medicare's value-based purchasing (VBP) and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) could disproportionately affect safety-net hospitals. To determine whether safety-net hospitals incur larger financial penalties than other hospitals under VBP and HRRP. Cross-sectional analysis. United States in 2014. 3022 acute care hospitals participating in VBP and the HRRP. Safety-net hospitals were defined as being in the top quartile of the Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) patient percentage and Medicare uncompensated care (UCC) payments per bed. The differences in penalties in both total dollars and dollars per bed between safety-net hospitals and other hospitals were estimated with the use of bivariate and graphical regression methods. Safety-net hospitals in the top quartile of each measure were more likely to be penalized under VBP than other hospitals (62.9% vs. 51.0% under the DSH definition and 60.3% vs. 51.5% under the UCC per-bed definition). This was also the case under the HRRP (80.8% vs. 69.0% and 81.9% vs. 68.7%, respectively). Safety-net hospitals also had larger payment penalties ($115 900 vs. $66 600 and $150 100 vs. $54 900, respectively). On a per-bed basis, this translated to $436 versus $332 and $491 versus $314, respectively. Sensitivity analysis setting the cutoff at the top decile rather than the top quartile decile led to similar conclusions with somewhat larger differences between safety-net and other hospitals. The quadratic fit of the data indicated that the larger effect of these penalties is in the middle of the distribution of the DSH and UCC measures. Only 2 measures of safety-net status were included in the analyses. Safety-net hospitals were disproportionately likely to be affected under VBP and the HRRP, but most incurred relatively small payment penalties in 2014. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Factors influencing patient safety in Sweden: perceptions of patient safety officers in the county councils

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background National, regional and local activities to improve patient safety in Sweden have increased over the last decade. There are high ambitions for improved patient safety in Sweden. This study surveyed health care professionals who held key positions in their county council’s patient safety work to investigate their perceptions of the conditions for this work, factors they believe have been most important in reaching the current level of patient safety and factors they believe would be most important for achieving improved patient safety in the future. Methods The study population consisted of 218 health care professionals holding strategic positions in patient safety work in Swedish county councils. Using a questionnaire, the following topics were analysed in this study: profession/occupation; number of years involved in a designated task on patient safety issues; knowledge/overview of the county council’s patient safety work; ability to influence this work; conditions for this work; and the importance of various factors for current and future levels of patient safety. Results The response rate to the questionnaire was 79%. The conditions that had the highest number of responses in complete agreement were “patients’ involvement is important for patient safety” and “patient safety work has good support from the county council’s management”. Factors that were considered most important for achieving the current level of patient safety were root cause and risk analyses, incident reporting and the Swedish Patient Safety Law. An organizational culture that encourages reporting and avoids blame was considered most important for improved patient safety in the future, closely followed by improved communication between health care practitioners and patients. Conclusion Health care professionals with important positions in the Swedish county councils’ patient safety work believe that conditions for this work are somewhat constrained. They attribute

A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the Make Safe Happen® app-a mobile technology-based safety behavior change intervention for increasing parents' safety knowledge and actions.

PubMed

McKenzie, Lara B; Roberts, Kristin J; Clark, Roxanne; McAdams, Rebecca; Abdel-Rasoul, Mahmoud; Klein, Elizabeth G; Keim, Sarah A; Kristel, Orie; Szymanski, Alison; Cotton, Christopher G; Shields, Wendy C

2018-03-12

Many unintentional injuries that occur in and around the home can be prevented through the use of safety equipment and by consistently following existing safety recommendations. Unfortunately, uptake of these safety behaviors is unacceptably low. This paper describes the design of the Make Safe Happen® smartphone application evaluation study, which aims to evaluate a mobile technology-based safety behavior change intervention on parents' safety knowledge and actions. Make Safe Happen® app evaluation study is a randomized controlled trial. Participants will be parents of children aged 0-12 years who are recruited from national consumer online survey panels. Parents will complete a pretest survey, and will be randomized to receive the Make Safe Happen® app or a non-injury-related app, and then complete a posttest follow-up survey after 1 week. Primary outcomes are: (1) safety knowledge; (2) safety behaviors; (3) safety device acquisition and use, and (4) behavioral intention to take safety actions. Anticipated study results are presented. Wide-reaching interventions, to reach substantial parent and caregiver audiences, to effectively reduce childhood injuries are needed. This study will contribute to the evidence-base about how to increase safety knowledge and actions to prevent home-related injuries in children. NCT02751203 ; Pre-results.

Study of Evaluation OSH Management System Policy Based On Safety Culture Dimensions in Construction Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latief, Yusuf; Armyn Machfudiyanto, Rossy; Arifuddin, Rosmariani; Mahendra Fira Setiawan, R.; Yogiswara, Yoko

2017-07-01

Safety Culture in the construction industry is very influential on the socio economic conditions that resulted in the country’s competitiveness. Based on the data, the accident rate of construction projects in Indonesia is very high. In the era of the Asian Economic Community (AEC) Indonesian contractor is required to improve competitiveness, one of which is the implementation of the project without zero accident. Research using primary and secondary data validated the results of the literature experts and questionnaire respondents were analyzed using methods SmartPLS, obtained pattern of relationships between dimensions of safety culture to improve the performance of Safety. The results showed that the behaviors and Cost of Safety into dimensions that significantly affect the performance of safety. an increase in visible policy-based on Regulation of Public Work and Housing No 5/PRT/M/2014 to improve to lower the accident rate.

Overview of Energy Systems` safety analysis report programs. Safety Analysis Report Update Program

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

Not Available

1992-03-01

The primary purpose of an Safety Analysis Report (SAR) is to provide a basis for judging the adequacy of a facility`s safety. The SAR documents the safety analyses that systematically identify the hazards posed by the facility, analyze the consequences and risk of potential accidents, and describe hazard control measures that protect the health and safety of the public and employees. In addition, some SARs document, as Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs, which include Technical Specifications and Operational Safety Requirements), technical and administrative requirements that ensure the facility is operated within prescribed safety limits. SARs also provide conveniently summarized information thatmore » may be used to support procedure development, training, inspections, and other activities necessary to facility operation. This ``Overview of Energy Systems Safety Analysis Report Programs`` Provides an introduction to the programs and processes used in the development and maintenance of the SARs. It also summarizes some of the uses of the SARs within Energy Systems and DOE.« less

Using game technologies to improve the safety of construction plant operations.

PubMed

Guo, Hongling; Li, Heng; Chan, Greg; Skitmore, Martin

2012-09-01

Many accidents occur world-wide in the use of construction plant and equipment, and safety training is considered by many to be one of the best approaches to their prevention. However, current safety training methods/tools are unable to provide trainees with the hands-on practice needed. Game technology-based safety training platforms have the potential to overcome this problem in a virtual environment. One such platform is described in this paper - its characteristics are analysed and its possible contribution to safety training identified. This is developed and tested by means of a case study involving three major pieces of construction plant, which successfully demonstrates that the platform can improve the process and performance of the safety training involved in their operation. This research not only presents a new and useful solution to the safety training of construction operations, but illustrates the potential use of advanced technologies in solving construction industry problems in general. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Development of crash imminent test scenarios for Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-04-01

This report identifies crash imminent test scenarios based on common pre-crash scenarios for integrated vehicle-based safety systems that alert the driver of a light vehicle or a heavy truck to an impending rear-end, lane change, or run-off-road cras...

An Operational Safety and Certification Assessment of a TASAR EFB Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koczo, Stefan; Wing, David

2013-01-01

This paper presents an overview of a Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) Electronic Flight Bag application intended to inform the pilot of trajectory improvement opportunities while en route that result in operational benefits. The results of safety analyses and a detailed review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulatory documents that establish certification and operational approval requirements are presented for TASAR. The safety analyses indicate that TASAR has a likely Failure Effects Classification of “No Effect,” and at most, is no worse than “Minor Effect.” Based on this safety assessment and the detailed review of FAA regulatory documents that determine certification and operational approval requirements, this study concludes that TASAR can be implemented in the flight deck as a Type B software application hosted on a Class 2 Portable Electronic Device (PED) Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). This implementation approach would provide a relatively low-cost path to certification and operational approval for both retrofit and forward fit implementation, while at the same time facilitating the business case for early ADS-B IN equipage. A preliminary review by FAA certification and operational approvers of the analyses presented here confirmed that the conclusions are appropriate and that TASAR will be considered a Type B application.

Unconscious analyses of visual scenes based on feature conjunctions.

PubMed

Tachibana, Ryosuke; Noguchi, Yasuki

2015-06-01

To efficiently process a cluttered scene, the visual system analyzes statistical properties or regularities of visual elements embedded in the scene. It is controversial, however, whether those scene analyses could also work for stimuli unconsciously perceived. Here we show that our brain performs the unconscious scene analyses not only using a single featural cue (e.g., orientation) but also based on conjunctions of multiple visual features (e.g., combinations of color and orientation information). Subjects foveally viewed a stimulus array (duration: 50 ms) where 4 types of bars (red-horizontal, red-vertical, green-horizontal, and green-vertical) were intermixed. Although a conscious perception of those bars was inhibited by a subsequent mask stimulus, the brain correctly analyzed the information about color, orientation, and color-orientation conjunctions of those invisible bars. The information of those features was then used for the unconscious configuration analysis (statistical processing) of the central bars, which induced a perceptual bias and illusory feature binding in visible stimuli at peripheral locations. While statistical analyses and feature binding are normally 2 key functions of the visual system to construct coherent percepts of visual scenes, our results show that a high-level analysis combining those 2 functions is correctly performed by unconscious computations in the brain. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

GPU based framework for geospatial analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cosmin Sandric, Ionut; Ionita, Cristian; Dardala, Marian; Furtuna, Titus

2017-04-01

Parallel processing on multiple CPU cores is already used at large scale in geocomputing, but parallel processing on graphics cards is just at the beginning. Being able to use an simple laptop with a dedicated graphics card for advanced and very fast geocomputation is an advantage that each scientist wants to have. The necessity to have high speed computation in geosciences has increased in the last 10 years, mostly due to the increase in the available datasets. These datasets are becoming more and more detailed and hence they require more space to store and more time to process. Distributed computation on multicore CPU's and GPU's plays an important role by processing one by one small parts from these big datasets. These way of computations allows to speed up the process, because instead of using just one process for each dataset, the user can use all the cores from a CPU or up to hundreds of cores from GPU The framework provide to the end user a standalone tools for morphometry analyses at multiscale level. An important part of the framework is dedicated to uncertainty propagation in geospatial analyses. The uncertainty may come from the data collection or may be induced by the model or may have an infinite sources. These uncertainties plays important roles when a spatial delineation of the phenomena is modelled. Uncertainty propagation is implemented inside the GPU framework using Monte Carlo simulations. The GPU framework with the standalone tools proved to be a reliable tool for modelling complex natural phenomena The framework is based on NVidia Cuda technology and is written in C++ programming language. The code source will be available on github at https://github.com/sandricionut/GeoRsGPU Acknowledgement: GPU framework for geospatial analysis, Young Researchers Grant (ICUB-University of Bucharest) 2016, director Ionut Sandric

Analysis of Material Handling Safety in Construction Sites and Countermeasures for Effective Enhancement

PubMed Central

Anil Kumar, C. N.; Sakthivel, M.; Elangovan, R. K.; Arularasu, M.

2015-01-01

One of many hazardous workplaces includes the construction sites as they involve several dangerous tasks. Many studies have revealed that material handling equipment is a major cause of accidents at these sites. Though safety measures are being followed and monitored continuously, accident rates are still high as either workers are unaware of hazards or the safety regulations are not being strictly followed. This paper analyses the safety management systems at construction sites through means of questionnaire surveys with employees, specifically referring to safety of material handling equipment. Based on results of the questionnaire surveys, two construction sites were selected for a safety education program targeting worker safety related to material handling equipment. Knowledge levels of the workers were gathered before and after the program and results obtained were subjected to a t-test analysis to mark significance level of the conducted safety education program. PMID:26446572

Relationship between organizational justice and organizational safety climate: do fairness perceptions influence employee safety behaviour?

PubMed

Gyekye, Seth Ayim; Haybatollahi, Mohammad

2014-01-01

This study investigated the relationships between organizational justice, organizational safety climate, job satisfaction, safety compliance and accident frequency. Ghanaian industrial workers participated in the study (N = 320). Safety climate and justice perceptions were assessed with Hayes, Parender, Smecko, et al.'s (1998) and Blader and Tyler's (2003) scales respectively. A median split was performed to dichotomize participants into 2 categories: workers with positive and workers with negative justice perceptions. Confirmatory factors analysis confirmed the 5-factor structure of the safety scale. Regression analyses and t tests indicated that workers with positive fairness perceptions had constructive perspectives regarding workplace safety, expressed greater job satisfaction, were more compliant with safety policies and registered lower accident rates. These findings provide evidence that the perceived level of fairness in an organization is closely associated with workplace safety perception and other organizational factors which are important for safety. The implications for safety research are discussed.

Safety evaluation methodology for advanced coal extraction systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimmerman, W. F.

1981-01-01

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods for coal extraction systems were developed. The analysis examines the soundness of the design, whether or not the major hazards have been eliminated or reduced, and how the reduction would be accomplished. The quantitative methodology establishes the approximate impact of hazards on injury levels. The results are weighted by peculiar geological elements, specialized safety training, peculiar mine environmental aspects, and reductions in labor force. The outcome is compared with injury level requirements based on similar, safer industries to get a measure of the new system's success in reducing injuries. This approach provides a more detailed and comprehensive analysis of hazards and their effects than existing safety analyses.

Exploratory Analyses of the Effects of Managerial Support and Feedback Consequences on Behavioral Safety Maintenance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, M. Dominic

2006-01-01

Reviews indicate management commitment is vital to maintain behavioral safety processes. Similarly, the impact of observation frequency on safety behaviors is thought to be important. An employee-driven process which encompassed behavioral observations, goal-setting, and feedback was implemented in a paper mill with 55 workgroups using a…

Classification of antecedents towards safety use of health information technology: A systematic review.

PubMed

Salahuddin, Lizawati; Ismail, Zuraini

2015-11-01

This paper provides a systematic review of safety use of health information technology (IT). The first objective is to identify the antecedents towards safety use of health IT by conducting systematic literature review (SLR). The second objective is to classify the identified antecedents based on the work system in Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model and an extension of DeLone and McLean (D&M) information system (IS) success model. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted from peer-reviewed scholarly publications between January 2000 and July 2014. SLR was carried out and reported based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. The related articles were identified by searching the articles published in Science Direct, Medline, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases. Data extracted from the resultant studies included are to be analysed based on the work system in Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model, and also from the extended DeLone and McLean (D&M) information system (IS) success model. 55 articles delineated to be antecedents that influenced the safety use of health IT were included for review. Antecedents were identified and then classified into five key categories. The categories are (1) person, (2) technology, (3) tasks, (4) organization, and (5) environment. Specifically, person is attributed by competence while technology is associated to system quality, information quality, and service quality. Tasks are attributed by task-related stressor. Organisation is related to training, organisation resources, and teamwork. Lastly, environment is attributed by physical layout, and noise. This review provides evidence that the antecedents for safety use of health IT originated from both social and technical aspects. However, inappropriate health IT usage potentially increases the incidence of errors and produces new safety risks. The review cautions future

Creating the Web-based Intensive Care Unit Safety Reporting System

PubMed Central

Holzmueller, Christine G.; Pronovost, Peter J.; Dickman, Fern; Thompson, David A.; Wu, Albert W.; Lubomski, Lisa H.; Fahey, Maureen; Steinwachs, Donald M.; Engineer, Lilly; Jaffrey, Ali; Morlock, Laura L.; Dorman, Todd

2005-01-01

In an effort to improve patient safety, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University designed and implemented a comprehensive Web-based Intensive Care Unit Safety Reporting System (ICUSRS). The ICUSRS collects data about adverse events and near misses from all staff in the ICU. This report reflects data on 854 reports from 18 diverse ICUs across the United States. Reporting is voluntary, and data collected is confidential, with patient, provider, and reporter information deidentified. Preliminary data include system factors reported, degree of patient harm, reporting times, and evaluations of the system. Qualitative and quantitative data are reported back to the ICU site study teams and frontline staff through monthly reports, case discussions, and a quarterly newsletter. PMID:15561794

Improving patient safety in Libya: insights from a British health system perspective.

PubMed

Elmontsri, Mustafa; Almashrafi, Ahmed; Dubois, Elizabeth; Banarsee, Ricky; Majeed, Azeem

2018-04-16

Purpose Patient safety programmes aim to make healthcare safe for both patients and health professionals. The purpose of this paper is to explore the UK's patient safety improvement programmes over the past 15 years and explore what lessons can be learnt to improve Libyan healthcare patient safety. Design/methodology/approach Publications focusing on UK patient safety were searched in academic databases and content analysed. Findings Several initiatives have been undertaken over the past 15 years to improve British healthcare patient safety. Many stakeholders are involved, including regulatory and professional bodies, educational providers and non-governmental organisations. Lessons can be learnt from the British journey. Practical implications Developing a national patient safety strategy for Libya, which reflects context and needs is paramount. Above all, Libyan patient safety programmes should reference internationally approved guidelines, evidence, policy and learning from Britain's unique experience. Originality/value This review examines patient safety improvement strategies adopted in Britain to help developing country managers to progress local strategies based on lessons learnt from Britain's unique experience.

Implementing Software Safety in the NASA Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wetherholt, Martha S.; Radley, Charles F.

1994-01-01

Until recently, NASA did not consider allowing computers total control of flight systems. Human operators, via hardware, have constituted the ultimate safety control. In an attempt to reduce costs, NASA has come to rely more and more heavily on computers and software to control space missions. (For example. software is now planned to control most of the operational functions of the International Space Station.) Thus the need for systematic software safety programs has become crucial for mission success. Concurrent engineering principles dictate that safety should be designed into software up front, not tested into the software after the fact. 'Cost of Quality' studies have statistics and metrics to prove the value of building quality and safety into the development cycle. Unfortunately, most software engineers are not familiar with designing for safety, and most safety engineers are not software experts. Software written to specifications which have not been safety analyzed is a major source of computer related accidents. Safer software is achieved step by step throughout the system and software life cycle. It is a process that includes requirements definition, hazard analyses, formal software inspections, safety analyses, testing, and maintenance. The greatest emphasis is placed on clearly and completely defining system and software requirements, including safety and reliability requirements. Unfortunately, development and review of requirements are the weakest link in the process. While some of the more academic methods, e.g. mathematical models, may help bring about safer software, this paper proposes the use of currently approved software methodologies, and sound software and assurance practices to show how, to a large degree, safety can be designed into software from the start. NASA's approach today is to first conduct a preliminary system hazard analysis (PHA) during the concept and planning phase of a project. This determines the overall hazard potential of

Evaluating a Website to Teach Children Safety with Dogs: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Schwebel, David C.; Li, Peng; McClure, Leslie A.; Severson, Joan

2016-01-01

Dog bites represent a significant threat to child health. Theory-driven interventions scalable for broad dissemination are sparse. A website was developed to teach children dog safety via increased knowledge, improved cognitive skills in relevant domains, and increased perception of vulnerability to bites. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 69 children aged 4–5 randomly assigned to use the dog safety website or a control transportation safety website for ~3 weeks. Assessment of dog safety knowledge and behavior plus skill in three relevant cognitive constructs (impulse control, noticing details, and perspective-taking) was conducted both at baseline and following website use. The dog safety website incorporated interactive games, instructional videos including testimonials, a motivational rewards system, and messaging to parents concerning child lessons. Our results showed that about two-thirds of the intervention sample was not adherent to website use at home, so both intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were conducted. Intent-to-treat analyses yielded mostly null results. Per-protocol analyses suggested children compliant to the intervention protocol scored higher on knowledge and recognition of safe behavior with dogs following the intervention compared to the control group. Adherent children also had improved scores post-intervention on the cognitive skill of noticing details compared to the control group. We concluded that young children’s immature cognition can lead to dog bites. Interactive eHealth training on websites shows potential to teach children relevant cognitive and safety skills to reduce risk. Compliance to website use is a challenge, and some relevant cognitive skills (e.g., noticing details) may be more amenable to computer-based training than others (e.g., impulse control). PMID:27918466

Evaluating a Website to Teach Children Safety with Dogs: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Schwebel, David C; Li, Peng; McClure, Leslie A; Severson, Joan

2016-12-02

Dog bites represent a significant threat to child health. Theory-driven interventions scalable for broad dissemination are sparse. A website was developed to teach children dog safety via increased knowledge, improved cognitive skills in relevant domains, and increased perception of vulnerability to bites. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 69 children aged 4-5 randomly assigned to use the dog safety website or a control transportation safety website for ~3 weeks. Assessment of dog safety knowledge and behavior plus skill in three relevant cognitive constructs (impulse control, noticing details, and perspective-taking) was conducted both at baseline and following website use. The dog safety website incorporated interactive games, instructional videos including testimonials, a motivational rewards system, and messaging to parents concerning child lessons. Our results showed that about two-thirds of the intervention sample was not adherent to website use at home, so both intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were conducted. Intent-to-treat analyses yielded mostly null results. Per-protocol analyses suggested children compliant to the intervention protocol scored higher on knowledge and recognition of safe behavior with dogs following the intervention compared to the control group. Adherent children also had improved scores post-intervention on the cognitive skill of noticing details compared to the control group. We concluded that young children's immature cognition can lead to dog bites. Interactive eHealth training on websites shows potential to teach children relevant cognitive and safety skills to reduce risk. Compliance to website use is a challenge, and some relevant cognitive skills (e.g., noticing details) may be more amenable to computer-based training than others (e.g., impulse control).

Safety impact of an integrated crash warning system based on field test data.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-06-13

This paper provides the results of an analysis : conducted to assess the safety impact of an integrated : vehicle-based crash warning system based on : naturalistic driving data collected from a field : operational test. The system incorporates four ...

Operational and safety-based analyses of varied toll lanes.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-02-01

Over the past decades, fatal crashes and severe injuries have been observed to : increase in highway facilities. This has created a big concern among different : transportation agencies and other organizations such as State Departments of : Transport...

Scientific Approach for Optimising Performance, Health and Safety in High-Altitude Observatories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böcker, Michael; Vogy, Joachim; Nolle-Gösser, Tanja

2008-09-01

The ESO coordinated study “Optimising Performance, Health and Safety in High-Altitude Observatories” is based on a psychological approach using a questionnaire for data collection and assessment of high-altitude effects. During 2007 and 2008, data from 28 staff and visitors involved in APEX and ALMA were collected and analysed and the first results of the study are summarised. While there is a lot of information about biomedical changes at high altitude, relatively few studies have focussed on psychological changes, for example with respect to performance of mental tasks, safety consciousness and emotions. Both, biomedical and psychological changes are relevant factors in occupational safety and health. The results of the questionnaire on safety, health and performance issues demonstrate that the working conditions at high altitude are less detrimental than expected.

Seepage-Based Factor of Safety Analysis Using 3D Groundwater Simulation Results

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

Edris, and D . Richards. 2006. A first-principle, physics- based watershed model: WASH123D. In Watershed models, ed. V. P. Singh and D . K . Frevert...should be cited as follows: Cheng, H.-P., K . D . Winters, S. M. England, and R. E. Pickett. 2014. Factor of safety analysis using 3D groundwater...Journal of Dam Safety 11(3): 33–42. Pickett, R. E., K . D . Winters, H.-P. Cheng, and S. M. England. 2013. Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) flow model. Project

75 FR 8239 - School Food Safety Program Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles (HACCP...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-24

... 0584-AD65 School Food Safety Program Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles... Safety Program Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Principles (HACCP) was published on... of Management and Budget (OMB) cleared the associated information collection requirements (ICR) on...

Integrated therapy safety management system

PubMed Central

Podtschaske, Beatrice; Fuchs, Daniela; Friesdorf, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Aims The aim is to demonstrate the benefit of the medico-ergonomic approach for the redesign of clinical work systems. Based on the six layer model, a concept for an ‘integrated therapy safety management’ is drafted. This concept could serve as a basis to improve resilience. Methods The concept is developed through a concept-based approach. The state of the art of safety and complexity research in human factors and ergonomics forms the basis. The findings are synthesized to a concept for ‘integrated therapy safety management’. The concept is applied by way of example for the ‘medication process’ to demonstrate its practical implementation. Results The ‘integrated therapy safety management’ is drafted in accordance with the six layer model. This model supports a detailed description of specific work tasks, the corresponding responsibilities and related workflows at different layers by using the concept of ‘bridge managers’. ‘Bridge managers’ anticipate potential errors and monitor the controlled system continuously. If disruptions or disturbances occur, they respond with corrective actions which ensure that no harm results and they initiate preventive measures for future procedures. The concept demonstrates that in a complex work system, the human factor is the key element and final authority to cope with the residual complexity. The expertise of the ‘bridge managers’ and the recursive hierarchical structure results in highly adaptive clinical work systems and increases their resilience. Conclusions The medico-ergonomic approach is a highly promising way of coping with two complexities. It offers a systematic framework for comprehensive analyses of clinical work systems and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration. PMID:24007448

Zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test for drug safety signal detection.

PubMed

Huang, Lan; Zheng, Dan; Zalkikar, Jyoti; Tiwari, Ram

2017-02-01

In recent decades, numerous methods have been developed for data mining of large drug safety databases, such as Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Adverse Event Reporting System, where data matrices are formed by drugs such as columns and adverse events as rows. Often, a large number of cells in these data matrices have zero cell counts and some of them are "true zeros" indicating that the drug-adverse event pairs cannot occur, and these zero counts are distinguished from the other zero counts that are modeled zero counts and simply indicate that the drug-adverse event pairs have not occurred yet or have not been reported yet. In this paper, a zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test method is proposed to identify drug-adverse event pairs that have disproportionately high reporting rates, which are also called signals. The maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters of zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test are obtained using the expectation and maximization algorithm. The zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test is also modified to handle the stratified analyses for binary and categorical covariates (e.g. gender and age) in the data. The proposed zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test method is shown to asymptotically control the type I error and false discovery rate, and its finite sample performance for signal detection is evaluated through a simulation study. The simulation results show that the zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test method performs similar to Poisson model based likelihood ratio test method when the estimated percentage of true zeros in the database is small. Both the zero-inflated Poisson model based likelihood ratio test and likelihood ratio test methods are applied to six selected drugs, from the 2006 to 2011 Adverse Event Reporting System database, with varying percentages of observed zero-count cells.

How might health services capture patient-reported safety concerns in a hospital setting? An exploratory pilot study of three mechanisms.

PubMed

O'Hara, Jane Kathryn; Armitage, Gerry; Reynolds, Caroline; Coulson, Claire; Thorp, Liz; Din, Ikhlaq; Watt, Ian; Wright, John

2017-01-01

Emergent evidence suggests that patients can identify and report safety issues while in hospital. However, little is known about the best method for collecting information from patients about safety concerns. This study presents an exploratory pilot of three mechanisms for collecting data on safety concerns from patients during their hospital stay. Three mechanisms for capturing safety concerns were coproduced with healthcare professionals and patients, before being tested in an exploratory trial using cluster randomisation at the ward level. Nine wards participated, with each mechanism being tested over a 3-month study period. Patients were asked to feed back safety concerns via the mechanism on their ward (interviewing at their bedside, paper-based form or patient safety 'hotline'). Safety concerns were subjected to a two-stage review process to identify those that would meet the definition of a patient safety incident. Differences between mechanisms on a range of outcomes were analysed using inferential statistics. Safety concerns were thematically analysed to develop reporting categories. 178 patients were recruited. Patients in the face-to-face interviewing condition provided significantly more safety concerns per patient (1.91) compared with the paper-based form (0.92) and the patient safety hotline (0.43). They were also significantly more likely to report one or more concerns, with 64% reporting via the face-to-face mechanism, compared with 41% via the paper-based form and 19% via the patient safety hotline. No mechanism differed significantly in the number of classified patient safety incidents or physician-rated preventability and severity. Interviewing at the patient's bedside is likely to be the most effective means of gathering safety concerns from inpatients, potentially providing an opportunity for health services to gather patient feedback about safety from their perspective. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use

Comparison of the occupational safety applications in marble quarries of Carrara (Italy) and Iscehisar (Turkey) by using Elmeri method.

PubMed

Ersoy, Metin; Yesilkaya, Liyaddin

2016-01-01

In this paper, a brief summary is given about marble quarries in Carrara (Italy) and Iscehisar (Turkey), the Elmeri method is introduced, work accidents that can happen in marble quarries and their causes besides work safety behaviours in fields are explained, and the Elmeri monitoring method is applied and analysed. For this reason, marble quarries are divided into seven in terms of working conditions and active six quarries both in Carrara and Iscehisar areas, and work safety behaviours are analysed. Analysis process is based on True-False method; there are 18 items in total under six main topics; three items on each topic. The safety index for each section and the main topics are also calculated. According to the calculated safety indexes, Carrara area marble quarries (65.08%) are safer than Iscehisar area marble quarries (46.01%).

Lunar mission safety and rescue: Technical summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

A technical summary is presented of the escape/rescue and the hazards analyses for manned missions and operations in the 1980 time frame. Hazards are interpreted as hazards to man, not to equipment, program schedule, or program objectives. Hazards in 39 individual areas are analyzed, and corrective measures are recommended. Over 200 safety guidelines are proposed, based on significant hazards. Escape and rescue situtations and requirements are identified and analyzed, and escape/survival/rescue concepts are defined to cope with each escape/rescue situation. Areas in which research or technical development efforts could improve mission safety are identified. It is concluded that the primary emphasis should be on survival and escape provisions, with rescue required only where self-help cannot bring the endangered crewmen to a safe haven.

How distributed processing produces false negatives in voxel-based lesion-deficit analyses.

PubMed

Gajardo-Vidal, Andrea; Lorca-Puls, Diego L; Crinion, Jennifer T; White, Jitrachote; Seghier, Mohamed L; Leff, Alex P; Hope, Thomas M H; Ludersdorfer, Philipp; Green, David W; Bowman, Howard; Price, Cathy J

2018-07-01

In this study, we hypothesized that if the same deficit can be caused by damage to one or another part of a distributed neural system, then voxel-based analyses might miss critical lesion sites because preservation of each site will not be consistently associated with preserved function. The first part of our investigation used voxel-based multiple regression analyses of data from 359 right-handed stroke survivors to identify brain regions where lesion load is associated with picture naming abilities after factoring out variance related to object recognition, semantics and speech articulation so as to focus on deficits arising at the word retrieval level. A highly significant lesion-deficit relationship was identified in left temporal and frontal/premotor regions. Post-hoc analyses showed that damage to either of these sites caused the deficit of interest in less than half the affected patients (76/162 = 47%). After excluding all patients with damage to one or both of the identified regions, our second analysis revealed a new region, in the anterior part of the left putamen, which had not been previously detected because many patients had the deficit of interest after temporal or frontal damage that preserved the left putamen. The results illustrate how (i) false negative results arise when the same deficit can be caused by different lesion sites; (ii) some of the missed effects can be unveiled by adopting an iterative approach that systematically excludes patients with lesions to the areas identified in previous analyses, (iii) statistically significant voxel-based lesion-deficit mappings can be driven by a subset of patients; (iv) focal lesions to the identified regions are needed to determine whether the deficit of interest is the consequence of focal damage or much more extensive damage that includes the identified region; and, finally, (v) univariate voxel-based lesion-deficit mappings cannot, in isolation, be used to predict outcome in other patients

Medical Device Safety

MedlinePlus

... Cooling and Heating Systems and HX2™ Temperature Management Systems Due to Revised Cleaning Instructions 05/07/18 More Medical Device Recalls Recent Medical Device Safety Communications FDA analyses and recommendations for patients and health care providers about ongoing ...

Possible consequences of regionally based bundled payments for diabetic amputations for safety net hospitals in Texas.

PubMed

Newhall, Karina; Stone, David; Svoboda, Ryan; Goodney, Philip

2016-12-01

Ongoing health reform in the United States encourages quality-based reimbursement methods such as bundled payments for surgery. The effect of such changes on high-risk procedures is unknown, especially at safety net hospitals. This study quantified the burden of diabetes-related amputation and the potential financial effect of bundled payments at safety net hospitals in Texas. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of diabetic amputation burden and charges using publically available data from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the Texas Department of Health from 2008 to 2012. Using hospital referral region (HRR)-level analysis, we categorized the proportion of safety net hospitals within each region as very low (0%-9%), low (10%-20%), average (20%-33%), and high (>33%) and compared amputation rates across regions using nonparametric tests of trend. We then used charge data to create reimbursement rates based on HRR to estimate financial losses. We identified 51 adult hospitals as safety nets in Texas. Regions varied in the proportion of safety net hospitals from 0% in Victoria to 65% in Harlingen. Among beneficiaries aged >65, amputation rates correlated to the proportion of safety net hospitals in each region; for example, patients in the lowest quartile of safety net had a yearly rate of 300 amputations per 100,000 beneficiaries, whereas those in the highest quartile had a yearly rate of 472 per 100,000 (P = .007). Charges for diabetic amputation-related admissions varied almost 200-fold, from $5000 to $1.4 million. Using reimbursement based on HRR to estimate a bundled payment, we noted net losses would be higher at safety net vs nonsafety net hospitals ($180 million vs $163 million), representing a per-hospital loss of $1.6 million at safety nets vs $700,000 at nonsafety nets (P < .001). Regions with a high proportion of safety net hospitals perform almost half of the diabetic amputations in Texas. Changes to traditional payment models should account for

Concept analysis of safety climate in healthcare providers.

PubMed

Lin, Ying-Siou; Lin, Yen-Chun; Lou, Meei-Fang

2017-06-01

To report an analysis of the concept of safety climate in healthcare providers. Compliance with safe work practices is essential to patient safety and care outcomes. Analysing the concept of safety climate from the perspective of healthcare providers could improve understanding of the correlations between safety climate and healthcare provider compliance with safe work practices, thus enhancing quality of patient care. Concept analysis. The electronic databases of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed and Web of Science were searched for literature published between 1995-2015. Searches used the keywords 'safety climate' or 'safety culture' with 'hospital' or 'healthcare'. The concept analysis method of Walker and Avant analysed safety climate from the perspective of healthcare providers. Three attributes defined how healthcare providers define safety climate: (1) creation of safe working environment by senior management in healthcare organisations; (2) shared perception of healthcare providers about safety of their work environment; and (3) the effective dissemination of safety information. Antecedents included the characteristics of healthcare providers and healthcare organisations as a whole, and the types of work in which they are engaged. Consequences consisted of safety performance and safety outcomes. Most studies developed and assessed the survey tools of safety climate or safety culture, with a minority consisting of interventional measures for improving safety climate. More prospective studies are needed to create interventional measures for improving safety climate of healthcare providers. This study is provided as a reference for use in developing multidimensional safety climate assessment tools and interventional measures. The values healthcare teams emphasise with regard to safety can serve to improve safety performance. Having an understanding of the concept of and interventional measures for safety climate allows healthcare providers to ensure the safety of their

Patient safety climate profiles across time: Strength and level of safety climate associated with a quality improvement program in Switzerland-A cross-sectional survey study.

PubMed

Mascherek, Anna C; Schwappach, David L B

2017-01-01

Safety Climate has been acknowledged as an unspecific factor influencing patient safety. However, studies rarely provide in-depth analysis of climate data. As a helpful approach, the concept of "climate strength" has been proposed. In the present study we tested the hypotheses that even if safety climate remains stable on mean-level across time, differences might be evident in strength or shape. The data of two hospitals participating in a large national quality improvement program were analysed for differences in climate profiles at two measurement occasions. We analysed differences on mean-level, differences in percent problematic response, agreement within groups, and frequency histograms in two large hospitals in Switzerland at two measurement occasions (2013 and 2015) applying the Safety Climate Survey. In total, survey responses of 1193 individuals were included in the analyses. Overall, small but significant differences on mean-level of safety climate emerged for some subgroups. Also, although agreement was strong at both time-points within groups, tendencies of divergence or consensus were present in both hospitals. Depending on subgroup and analyses chosen, differences were more or less pronounced. The present study illustrated that taking several measures into account and describing safety climate from different perspectives is necessary in order to fully understand differences and trends within groups and to develop interventions addressing the needs of different groups more precisely.

Patient safety climate profiles across time: Strength and level of safety climate associated with a quality improvement program in Switzerland—A cross-sectional survey study

PubMed Central

Mascherek, Anna C.

2017-01-01

Safety Climate has been acknowledged as an unspecific factor influencing patient safety. However, studies rarely provide in-depth analysis of climate data. As a helpful approach, the concept of “climate strength” has been proposed. In the present study we tested the hypotheses that even if safety climate remains stable on mean-level across time, differences might be evident in strength or shape. The data of two hospitals participating in a large national quality improvement program were analysed for differences in climate profiles at two measurement occasions. We analysed differences on mean-level, differences in percent problematic response, agreement within groups, and frequency histograms in two large hospitals in Switzerland at two measurement occasions (2013 and 2015) applying the Safety Climate Survey. In total, survey responses of 1193 individuals were included in the analyses. Overall, small but significant differences on mean-level of safety climate emerged for some subgroups. Also, although agreement was strong at both time-points within groups, tendencies of divergence or consensus were present in both hospitals. Depending on subgroup and analyses chosen, differences were more or less pronounced. The present study illustrated that taking several measures into account and describing safety climate from different perspectives is necessary in order to fully understand differences and trends within groups and to develop interventions addressing the needs of different groups more precisely. PMID:28753633

Medication safety and knowledge-based functions: a stepwise approach against information overload.

PubMed

Patapovas, Andrius; Dormann, Harald; Sedlmayr, Brita; Kirchner, Melanie; Sonst, Anja; Müller, Fabian; Pfistermeister, Barbara; Plank-Kiegele, Bettina; Vogler, Renate; Maas, Renke; Criegee-Rieck, Manfred; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Bürkle, Thomas

2013-09-01

The aim was to improve medication safety in an emergency department (ED) by enhancing the integration and presentation of safety information for drug therapy. Based on an evaluation of safety of drug therapy issues in the ED and a review of computer-assisted intervention technologies we redesigned an electronic case sheet and implemented computer-assisted interventions into the routine work flow. We devised a four step system of alerts, and facilitated access to different levels of drug information. System use was analyzed over a period of 6 months. In addition, physicians answered a survey based on the technology acceptance model TAM2. The new application was implemented in an informal manner to avoid work flow disruption. Log files demonstrated that step I, 'valid indication' was utilized for 3% of the recorded drugs and step II 'tooltip for well-known drug risks' for 48% of the drugs. In the questionnaire, the computer-assisted interventions were rated better than previous paper based measures (checklists, posters) with regard to usefulness, support of work and information quality. A stepwise assisting intervention received positive user acceptance. Some intervention steps have been seldom used, others quite often. We think that we were able to avoid over-alerting and work flow intrusion in a critical ED environment. © 2013 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology © 2013 The British Pharmacological Society.

A versatile software package for inter-subject correlation based analyses of fMRI.

PubMed

Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Pajula, Juha; Tohka, Jussi

2014-01-01

In the inter-subject correlation (ISC) based analysis of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, the extent of shared processing across subjects during the experiment is determined by calculating correlation coefficients between the fMRI time series of the subjects in the corresponding brain locations. This implies that ISC can be used to analyze fMRI data without explicitly modeling the stimulus and thus ISC is a potential method to analyze fMRI data acquired under complex naturalistic stimuli. Despite of the suitability of ISC based approach to analyze complex fMRI data, no generic software tools have been made available for this purpose, limiting a widespread use of ISC based analysis techniques among neuroimaging community. In this paper, we present a graphical user interface (GUI) based software package, ISC Toolbox, implemented in Matlab for computing various ISC based analyses. Many advanced computations such as comparison of ISCs between different stimuli, time window ISC, and inter-subject phase synchronization are supported by the toolbox. The analyses are coupled with re-sampling based statistical inference. The ISC based analyses are data and computation intensive and the ISC toolbox is equipped with mechanisms to execute the parallel computations in a cluster environment automatically and with an automatic detection of the cluster environment in use. Currently, SGE-based (Oracle Grid Engine, Son of a Grid Engine, or Open Grid Scheduler) and Slurm environments are supported. In this paper, we present a detailed account on the methods behind the ISC Toolbox, the implementation of the toolbox and demonstrate the possible use of the toolbox by summarizing selected example applications. We also report the computation time experiments both using a single desktop computer and two grid environments demonstrating that parallelization effectively reduces the computing time. The ISC Toolbox is available in https://code.google.com/p/isc-toolbox/

A versatile software package for inter-subject correlation based analyses of fMRI

PubMed Central

Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Pajula, Juha; Tohka, Jussi

2014-01-01

In the inter-subject correlation (ISC) based analysis of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, the extent of shared processing across subjects during the experiment is determined by calculating correlation coefficients between the fMRI time series of the subjects in the corresponding brain locations. This implies that ISC can be used to analyze fMRI data without explicitly modeling the stimulus and thus ISC is a potential method to analyze fMRI data acquired under complex naturalistic stimuli. Despite of the suitability of ISC based approach to analyze complex fMRI data, no generic software tools have been made available for this purpose, limiting a widespread use of ISC based analysis techniques among neuroimaging community. In this paper, we present a graphical user interface (GUI) based software package, ISC Toolbox, implemented in Matlab for computing various ISC based analyses. Many advanced computations such as comparison of ISCs between different stimuli, time window ISC, and inter-subject phase synchronization are supported by the toolbox. The analyses are coupled with re-sampling based statistical inference. The ISC based analyses are data and computation intensive and the ISC toolbox is equipped with mechanisms to execute the parallel computations in a cluster environment automatically and with an automatic detection of the cluster environment in use. Currently, SGE-based (Oracle Grid Engine, Son of a Grid Engine, or Open Grid Scheduler) and Slurm environments are supported. In this paper, we present a detailed account on the methods behind the ISC Toolbox, the implementation of the toolbox and demonstrate the possible use of the toolbox by summarizing selected example applications. We also report the computation time experiments both using a single desktop computer and two grid environments demonstrating that parallelization effectively reduces the computing time. The ISC Toolbox is available in https

Approach for validating actinide and fission product compositions for burnup credit criticality safety analyses

DOE PAGES

Radulescu, Georgeta; Gauld, Ian C.; Ilas, Germina; ...

2014-11-01

This paper describes a depletion code validation approach for criticality safety analysis using burnup credit for actinide and fission product nuclides in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) compositions. The technical basis for determining the uncertainties in the calculated nuclide concentrations is comparison of calculations to available measurements obtained from destructive radiochemical assay of SNF samples. Probability distributions developed for the uncertainties in the calculated nuclide concentrations were applied to the SNF compositions of a criticality safety analysis model by the use of a Monte Carlo uncertainty sampling method to determine bias and bias uncertainty in effective neutron multiplication factor. Application ofmore » the Monte Carlo uncertainty sampling approach is demonstrated for representative criticality safety analysis models of pressurized water reactor spent fuel pool storage racks and transportation packages using burnup-dependent nuclide concentrations calculated with SCALE 6.1 and the ENDF/B-VII nuclear data. Furthermore, the validation approach and results support a recent revision of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Interim Staff Guidance 8.« less

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

Flexible Control of Safety Margins for Action Based on Environmental Variability.

PubMed

Hadjiosif, Alkis M; Smith, Maurice A

2015-06-17

To reduce the risk of slip, grip force (GF) control includes a safety margin above the force level ordinarily sufficient for the expected load force (LF) dynamics. The current view is that this safety margin is based on the expected LF dynamics, amounting to a static safety factor like that often used in engineering design. More efficient control could be achieved, however, if the motor system reduces the safety margin when LF variability is low and increases it when this variability is high. Here we show that this is indeed the case by demonstrating that the human motor system sizes the GF safety margin in proportion to an internal estimate of LF variability to maintain a fixed statistical confidence against slip. In contrast to current models of GF control that neglect the variability of LF dynamics, we demonstrate that GF is threefold more sensitive to the SD than the expected value of LF dynamics, in line with the maintenance of a 3-sigma confidence level. We then show that a computational model of GF control that includes a variability-driven safety margin predicts highly asymmetric GF adaptation between increases versus decreases in load. We find clear experimental evidence for this asymmetry and show that it explains previously reported differences in how rapidly GFs and manipulatory forces adapt. This model further predicts bizarre nonmonotonic shapes for GF learning curves, which are faithfully borne out in our experimental data. Our findings establish a new role for environmental variability in the control of action. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/359106-16$15.00/0.

Long-term impact of community-based information, education and communication activities on food hygiene and food safety behaviors in Vietnam: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Takanashi, Kumiko; Quyen, Dao To; Le Hoa, Nguyen Thi; Khan, Nguyen Cong; Yasuoka, Junko; Jimba, Masamine

2013-01-01

Ingestion of contaminated water or food is a major contributor to childhood diarrhea in developing countries. In Vietnam, the use of community-based information, education and communication (IEC) activities could be a sustainable strategy to improve food hygiene and food safety behaviors. This study thus examined the long-term impact of community-based IEC activities on food hygiene and food safety behaviors. In this longitudinal study, we interviewed caregivers of children aged between six months and four years in suburban Hanoi. Baseline data were collected in January 2006 (n = 125). After conducting IEC interventions, we collected a 1(st) set of evaluation data in January 2007 (n = 132). To examine the long-term impact of the interventions, we then collected a 2(nd) set of evaluation data in January 2008 (n = 185). Changes in childhood diarrhea prevalence, IEC coverage, and food hygiene and food safety behaviors were assessed over a two-year period using bivariate and logistic regression analyses. Effective IEC channels were determined through multiple linear regression analysis. Childhood diarrhea was significantly reduced from 21.6% at baseline to 7.6% at the 1(st) post-intervention evaluation (P = 0.002), and to 5.9% at the 2(nd) evaluation. Among 17 food hygiene and food safety behaviors measured, a total of 11 behaviors were improved or maintained by the 2(nd) evaluation. Handwashing after toilet use was significantly improved at both evaluation points. Overall, 3 food safety behaviors and 7 food hygiene behaviors were found to have significantly improved at the 1(st) and at the 2(nd) evaluations, respectively. Flip chart communication administered by community groups was identified to be the most effective IEC channel for effecting behavior change (P = 0.018). Flip chart communication administered by community groups is effective for improving multiple food hygiene and food safety behaviors in sustainable ways, and should be included in

Vehicle familiarity and safety

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-07-01

A literature review and accident data analyses were conducted to examine the : relationship between vehicle familiarity and safety. The infonmation from these : diverse sources was consistent in suggesting that drivers of passenger cars and . : motor...

Cloud-based bioinformatics workflow platform for large-scale next-generation sequencing analyses

PubMed Central

Liu, Bo; Madduri, Ravi K; Sotomayor, Borja; Chard, Kyle; Lacinski, Lukasz; Dave, Utpal J; Li, Jianqiang; Liu, Chunchen; Foster, Ian T

2014-01-01

Due to the upcoming data deluge of genome data, the need for storing and processing large-scale genome data, easy access to biomedical analyses tools, efficient data sharing and retrieval has presented significant challenges. The variability in data volume results in variable computing and storage requirements, therefore biomedical researchers are pursuing more reliable, dynamic and convenient methods for conducting sequencing analyses. This paper proposes a Cloud-based bioinformatics workflow platform for large-scale next-generation sequencing analyses, which enables reliable and highly scalable execution of sequencing analyses workflows in a fully automated manner. Our platform extends the existing Galaxy workflow system by adding data management capabilities for transferring large quantities of data efficiently and reliably (via Globus Transfer), domain-specific analyses tools preconfigured for immediate use by researchers (via user-specific tools integration), automatic deployment on Cloud for on-demand resource allocation and pay-as-you-go pricing (via Globus Provision), a Cloud provisioning tool for auto-scaling (via HTCondor scheduler), and the support for validating the correctness of workflows (via semantic verification tools). Two bioinformatics workflow use cases as well as performance evaluation are presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed approach. PMID:24462600

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

....0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and... Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety Plan 4.3.1Flight Safety Personnel 4... Safety (§ 415.117) 5.1Ground Safety Analysis Report 5.2Ground Safety Plan 6.0Launch Plans (§ 415.119 and...

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

....0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and... Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety Plan 4.3.1Flight Safety Personnel 4... Safety (§ 415.117) 5.1Ground Safety Analysis Report 5.2Ground Safety Plan 6.0Launch Plans (§ 415.119 and...

Overview of Threats and Failure Models for Safety-Relevant Computer-Based Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2015-01-01

This document presents a high-level overview of the threats to safety-relevant computer-based systems, including (1) a description of the introduction and activation of physical and logical faults; (2) the propagation of their effects; and (3) function-level and component-level error and failure mode models. These models can be used in the definition of fault hypotheses (i.e., assumptions) for threat-risk mitigation strategies. This document is a contribution to a guide currently under development that is intended to provide a general technical foundation for designers and evaluators of safety-relevant systems.

Features of Computer-Based Decision Aids: Systematic Review, Thematic Synthesis, and Meta-Analyses

PubMed Central

Krömker, Dörthe; Meguerditchian, Ari N; Tamblyn, Robyn

2016-01-01

Background Patient information and education, such as decision aids, are gradually moving toward online, computer-based environments. Considerable research has been conducted to guide content and presentation of decision aids. However, given the relatively new shift to computer-based support, little attention has been given to how multimedia and interactivity can improve upon paper-based decision aids. Objective The first objective of this review was to summarize published literature into a proposed classification of features that have been integrated into computer-based decision aids. Building on this classification, the second objective was to assess whether integration of specific features was associated with higher-quality decision making. Methods Relevant studies were located by searching MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and CENTRAL databases. The review identified studies that evaluated computer-based decision aids for adults faced with preference-sensitive medical decisions and reported quality of decision-making outcomes. A thematic synthesis was conducted to develop the classification of features. Subsequently, meta-analyses were conducted based on standardized mean differences (SMD) from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported knowledge or decisional conflict. Further subgroup analyses compared pooled SMDs for decision aids that incorporated a specific feature to other computer-based decision aids that did not incorporate the feature, to assess whether specific features improved quality of decision making. Results Of 3541 unique publications, 58 studies met the target criteria and were included in the thematic synthesis. The synthesis identified six features: content control, tailoring, patient narratives, explicit values clarification, feedback, and social support. A subset of 26 RCTs from the thematic synthesis was used to conduct the meta-analyses. As expected, computer-based decision aids performed better than usual care or alternative aids; however

Features of Computer-Based Decision Aids: Systematic Review, Thematic Synthesis, and Meta-Analyses.

PubMed

Syrowatka, Ania; Krömker, Dörthe; Meguerditchian, Ari N; Tamblyn, Robyn

2016-01-26

Patient information and education, such as decision aids, are gradually moving toward online, computer-based environments. Considerable research has been conducted to guide content and presentation of decision aids. However, given the relatively new shift to computer-based support, little attention has been given to how multimedia and interactivity can improve upon paper-based decision aids. The first objective of this review was to summarize published literature into a proposed classification of features that have been integrated into computer-based decision aids. Building on this classification, the second objective was to assess whether integration of specific features was associated with higher-quality decision making. Relevant studies were located by searching MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and CENTRAL databases. The review identified studies that evaluated computer-based decision aids for adults faced with preference-sensitive medical decisions and reported quality of decision-making outcomes. A thematic synthesis was conducted to develop the classification of features. Subsequently, meta-analyses were conducted based on standardized mean differences (SMD) from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported knowledge or decisional conflict. Further subgroup analyses compared pooled SMDs for decision aids that incorporated a specific feature to other computer-based decision aids that did not incorporate the feature, to assess whether specific features improved quality of decision making. Of 3541 unique publications, 58 studies met the target criteria and were included in the thematic synthesis. The synthesis identified six features: content control, tailoring, patient narratives, explicit values clarification, feedback, and social support. A subset of 26 RCTs from the thematic synthesis was used to conduct the meta-analyses. As expected, computer-based decision aids performed better than usual care or alternative aids; however, some features performed better than

Self-focused attention and safety behaviors across group therapies for social anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Desnoyers, Amanda J; Kocovski, Nancy L; Fleming, Jan E; Antony, Martin M

2017-07-01

Self-focused attention (SFA) and safety behaviors are two variables implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety disorder (SAD). The present study examined SFA and safety behaviors across two therapies for SAD, cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and mindfulness and acceptance-based group therapy (MAGT). Participants with symptoms meeting criteria for SAD (N = 137) were randomly assigned to the 12-week-treatment groups (n = 53 for each condition) or a waitlist control (n = 31). Variables were assessed at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment, and a 3-month follow-up. Both treatment conditions reported significantly lower SFA and safety behaviors compared to control, but did not differ from one another at posttreatment. Mediation analyses supported the following models: (1) safety behaviors mediating the relationship between SFA and social anxiety, and (2) SFA mediating the relationship between safety behaviors and social anxiety. These models were supported for both treatment groups. Both treatments may have the potential to reduce the SFA and safety behaviors that serve to maintain SAD.

Under the radar: community safety nets for AIDS-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Foster, G

2007-01-01

Safety nets are mechanisms to mitigate the effects of poverty on vulnerable households during times of stress. In sub-Saharan Africa, extended families, together with communities, are the most effective responses enabling access to support for households facing crises. This paper reviews literature on informal social security systems in sub-Saharan Africa, analyses changes taking place in their functioning as a result of HIV/AIDS and describes community safety net components including economic associations, cooperatives, loan providers, philanthropic groups and HIV/AIDS initiatives. Community safety nets target households in greatest need, respond rapidly to crises, are cost efficient, based on local needs and available resources, involve the specialized knowledge of community members and provide financial and psycho-social support. Their main limitations are lack of material resources and reliance on unpaid labour of women. Changes have taken place in safety net mechanisms because of HIV/AIDS, suggesting the resilience of communities rather than their impending collapse. Studies are lacking that assess the value of informal community-level transfers, describe how safety nets assist the poor or analyse modifications in response to HIV/AIDS. The role of community safety nets remains largely invisible under the radar of governments, non-governmental organizations and international bodies. External support can strengthen this system of informal social security that provides poor HIV/AIDS-affected households with significant support.

The Relationship among School Safety, School Liking, and Students' Self-Esteem: Based on a Multilevel Mediation Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Xinghui; Xuan, Xin; Chen, Fumei; Zhang, Cai; Luo, Yuhan; Wang, Yun

2016-01-01

Background: Perceptions of school safety have an important effect on students' development. Based on the model of "context-process-outcomes," we examined school safety as a context variable to explore how school safety at the school level affected students' self-esteem. Methods: We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the link…

Dialysis Facility Safety: Processes and Opportunities.

PubMed

Garrick, Renee; Morey, Rishikesh

2015-01-01

Unintentional human errors are the source of most safety breaches in complex, high-risk environments. The environment of dialysis care is extremely complex. Dialysis patients have unique and changing physiology, and the processes required for their routine care involve numerous open-ended interfaces between providers and an assortment of technologically advanced equipment. Communication errors, both within the dialysis facility and during care transitions, and lapses in compliance with policies and procedures are frequent areas of safety risk. Some events, such as air emboli and needle dislodgments occur infrequently, but are serious risks. Other adverse events include medication errors, patient falls, catheter and access-related infections, access infiltrations and prolonged bleeding. A robust safety system should evaluate how multiple, sequential errors might align to cause harm. Systems of care can be improved by sharing the results of root cause analyses, and "good catches." Failure mode effects and analyses can be used to proactively identify and mitigate areas of highest risk, and methods drawn from cognitive psychology, simulation training, and human factor engineering can be used to advance facility safety. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Independet Component Analyses of Ground-based Exoplanetary Transits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva Martins-Filho, Walter; Griffith, Caitlin Ann; Pearson, Kyle; Waldmann, Ingo; Biddle, Lauren; Zellem, Robert Thomas; Alvarez-Candal, Alvaro

2016-10-01

Most observations of exoplanetary atmospheres are conducted when a "Hot Jupiter" exoplanet transits in front of its host star. These Jovian-sized planets have small orbital periods, on the order of days, and therefore a short transit time, making them more ameanable to observations. Measurements of Hot Jupiter transits must achieve a 10-4 level of accuracy in the flux to determine the spectral modulations of the exoplanetary atmosphere. In order to accomplish this level of precision, we need to extract systematic errors, and, for ground-based measurements, the effects of Earth's atmosphere, from the signal due to the exoplanet, which is several orders of magnitudes smaller. Currently, the effects of the terrestrial atmosphere and the some of the time-dependent systematic errors are treated by dividing the host star by a reference star at each wavelength and time step of the transit. More recently, Independent Component Analyses (ICA) have been used to remove systematic effects from the raw data of space-based observations (Waldmann 2014,2012; Morello et al.,2015,2016). ICA is a statistical method born from the ideas of the blind-source separation studies, which can be used to de-trend several independent source signals of a data set (Hyvarinen and Oja, 2000). One strength of this method is that it requires no additional prior knowledge of the system. Here, we present a study of the application of ICA to ground-based transit observations of extrasolar planets, which are affected by Earth's atmosphere. We analyze photometric data of two extrasolar planets, WASP-1b and GJ3470b, recorded by the 61" Kuiper Telescope at Stewart Observatory using the Harris B and U filters. The presentation will compare the light curve depths and their dispersions as derived from the ICA analysis to those derived by analyses that ratio of the host star to nearby reference stars.References: Waldmann, I.P. 2012 ApJ, 747, 12, Waldamann, I. P. 2014 ApJ, 780, 23; Morello G. 2015 ApJ, 806

Post hoc analyses: after the facts.

PubMed

Srinivas, Titte R; Ho, Bing; Kang, Joseph; Kaplan, Bruce

2015-01-01

Prospective clinical trials are constructed with high levels of internal validity. Sample size and power considerations usually address primary endpoints. Primary endpoints have traditionally included events that are becoming increasingly less common and thus have led to growing use of composite endpoints and noninferiority trial designs in transplantation. This approach may mask real clinical benefit in one or the other domain with regard to either clinically relevant secondary endpoints or other unexpected findings. In addition, endpoints solely chosen based on power considerations are prone to misjudgment of actual treatment effect size as well as consistency of that effect. In the instances where treatment effects may have been underestimated, valuable information may be lost if buried within a composite endpoint. In all these cases, analyses and post hoc analyses of data become relevant in informing practitioners about clinical benefits or safety signals that may not be captured by the primary endpoint. On the other hand, there are many pitfalls in using post hoc determined endpoints. This short review is meant to allow readers to appreciate post hoc analysis not as an entity with a single approach, but rather as an analysis with unique limitations and strengths that often raise new questions to be addressed in further inquiries.

Reaction temperature sensing (RTS)-based control for Li-ion battery safety

PubMed Central

Zhang, Guangsheng; Cao, Lei; Ge, Shanhai; Wang, Chao-Yang; Shaffer, Christian E.; Rahn, Christopher D.

2015-01-01

We report reaction temperature sensing (RTS)-based control to fundamentally enhance Li-ion battery safety. RTS placed at the electrochemical interface inside a Li-ion cell is shown to detect temperature rise much faster and more accurately than external measurement of cell surface temperature. We demonstrate, for the first time, that RTS-based control shuts down a dangerous short-circuit event 3 times earlier than surface temperature- based control and prevents cell overheating by 50 °C and the resultant cell damage. PMID:26658957

Remote Safety Monitoring for Elderly Persons Based on Omni-Vision Analysis

PubMed Central

Xiang, Yun; Tang, Yi-ping; Ma, Bao-qing; Yan, Hang-chen; Jiang, Jun; Tian, Xu-yuan

2015-01-01

Remote monitoring service for elderly persons is important as the aged populations in most developed countries continue growing. To monitor the safety and health of the elderly population, we propose a novel omni-directional vision sensor based system, which can detect and track object motion, recognize human posture, and analyze human behavior automatically. In this work, we have made the following contributions: (1) we develop a remote safety monitoring system which can provide real-time and automatic health care for the elderly persons and (2) we design a novel motion history or energy images based algorithm for motion object tracking. Our system can accurately and efficiently collect, analyze, and transfer elderly activity information and provide health care in real-time. Experimental results show that our technique can improve the data analysis efficiency by 58.5% for object tracking. Moreover, for the human posture recognition application, the success rate can reach 98.6% on average. PMID:25978761

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

Behavior-based safety at Amtrak-Chicago associated with reduced injuries and costs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-02-01

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Human Factors Research and Development (R&D) Program is sponsoring the Clear Signal for Action Program (CSA) to evaluate whether an approach that combines behavior-based safety (BBS) and continuous improvemen...

Hazard Analysis and Safety Requirements for Small Drone Operations: To What Extent Do Popular Drones Embed Safety?

PubMed

Plioutsias, Anastasios; Karanikas, Nektarios; Chatzimihailidou, Maria Mikela

2018-03-01

Currently, published risk analyses for drones refer mainly to commercial systems, use data from civil aviation, and are based on probabilistic approaches without suggesting an inclusive list of hazards and respective requirements. Within this context, this article presents: (1) a set of safety requirements generated from the application of the systems theoretic process analysis (STPA) technique on a generic small drone system; (2) a gap analysis between the set of safety requirements and the ones met by 19 popular drone models; (3) the extent of the differences between those models, their manufacturers, and the countries of origin; and (4) the association of drone prices with the extent they meet the requirements derived by STPA. The application of STPA resulted in 70 safety requirements distributed across the authority, manufacturer, end user, or drone automation levels. A gap analysis showed high dissimilarities regarding the extent to which the 19 drones meet the same safety requirements. Statistical results suggested a positive correlation between drone prices and the extent that the 19 drones studied herein met the safety requirements generated by STPA, and significant differences were identified among the manufacturers. This work complements the existing risk assessment frameworks for small drones, and contributes to the establishment of a commonly endorsed international risk analysis framework. Such a framework will support the development of a holistic and methodologically justified standardization scheme for small drone flights. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Safety management by walking around (SMBWA): a safety intervention program based on both peer and manager participation.

PubMed

Luria, Gil; Morag, Ido

2012-03-01

"Management by walking around" (MBWA) is a practice that has aroused much interest in management science and practice. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate adaptation of this practice to safety management. We describe a three-year long case study that collected empirical data in which a modified MBWA was practiced in order to improve safety in a semiconductor fabrication facility. The main modification involved integrating an information system with the MBWA in order to create a practice that would generate safety leadership development and an organizational safety learning mechanism, while promoting employee safety participation. The results of the case study demonstrate that the SMBWA practice facilitated thousands of tours in which safety leadership behaviors were practiced by managers and by employees (employees performed five times as many tours as managers). The information system collected information about safety behaviors and safety conditions that could not otherwise be obtained. Thus, this study presents a new organizational safety practice SMBWA, and demonstrates the ways in which SMBWA may improve safety in organizations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Research on Safety Management Information System of Railway Passenger Based on Risk Management Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Wenmin; Jia, Yuanhua

2018-01-01

Based on the risk management theory and the PDCA cycle model, requirements of the railway passenger transport safety production is analyzed, and the establishment of the security risk assessment team is proposed to manage risk by FTA with Delphi from both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The safety production committee is also established to accomplish performance appraisal, which is for further ensuring the correctness of risk management results, optimizing the safety management business processes and improving risk management capabilities. The basic framework and risk information database of risk management information system of railway passenger transport safety are designed by Ajax, Web Services and SQL technologies. The system realizes functions about risk management, performance appraisal and data management, and provides an efficient and convenient information management platform for railway passenger safety manager.

Personal digital assistant-based drug information sources: potential to improve medication safety.

PubMed

Galt, Kimberly A; Rule, Ann M; Houghton, Bruce; Young, Daniel O; Remington, Gina

2005-04-01

This study compared the potential for personal digital assistant (PDA)-based drug information sources to minimize potential medication errors dependent on accurate and complete drug information at the point of care. A quality and safety framework for drug information resources was developed to evaluate 11 PDA-based drug information sources. Three drug information sources met the criteria of the framework: Eprocrates Rx Pro, Lexi-Drugs, and mobileMICROMEDEX. Medication error types related to drug information at the point of care were then determined. Forty-seven questions were developed to test the potential of the sources to prevent these error types. Pharmacists and physician experts from Creighton University created these questions based on the most common types of questions asked by primary care providers. Three physicians evaluated the drug information sources, rating the source for each question: 1=no information available, 2=some information available, or 3 = adequate amount of information available. The mean ratings for the drug information sources were: 2.0 (Eprocrates Rx Pro), 2.5 (Lexi-Drugs), and 2.03 (mobileMICROMEDEX). Lexi-Drugs was significantly better (mobileMICROMEDEX t test; P=0.05; Eprocrates Rx Pro t test; P=0.01). Lexi-Drugs was found to be the most specific and complete PDA resource available to optimize medication safety by reducing potential errors associated with drug information. No resource was sufficient to address the patient safety information needs for all cases.

Safety belt laws and disparities in safety belt use among US high-school drivers.

PubMed

García-España, J Felipe; Winston, Flaura K; Durbin, Dennis R

2012-06-01

We compared reported safety belt use, for both drivers and passengers, among teenagers with learner's permits, provisional licenses, and unrestricted licenses in states with primary or secondary enforcement of safety belt laws. Our data source was the 2006 National Young Driver Survey, which included a national representative sample of 3126 high-school drivers. We used multivariate, log-linear regression analyses to assess associations between safety belt laws and belt use. Teenaged drivers were 12% less likely to wear a safety belt as drivers and 15% less likely to wear one as passengers in states with a secondary safety belt law than in states with a primary law. The apparent reduction in belt use among teenagers as they progressed from learner to unrestricted license holder occurred in only secondary enforcement states. Groups reporting particularly low use included African American drivers, rural residents, academically challenged students, and those driving pickup trucks. The results provided further evidence for enactment of primary enforcement provisions in safety belt laws because primary laws are associated with higher safety belt use rates and lower crash-related injuries and mortality.

Predictive models of safety based on audit findings: Part 1: Model development and reliability.

PubMed

Hsiao, Yu-Lin; Drury, Colin; Wu, Changxu; Paquet, Victor

2013-03-01

This consecutive study was aimed at the quantitative validation of safety audit tools as predictors of safety performance, as we were unable to find prior studies that tested audit validity against safety outcomes. An aviation maintenance domain was chosen for this work as both audits and safety outcomes are currently prescribed and regulated. In Part 1, we developed a Human Factors/Ergonomics classification framework based on HFACS model (Shappell and Wiegmann, 2001a,b), for the human errors detected by audits, because merely counting audit findings did not predict future safety. The framework was tested for measurement reliability using four participants, two of whom classified errors on 1238 audit reports. Kappa values leveled out after about 200 audits at between 0.5 and 0.8 for different tiers of errors categories. This showed sufficient reliability to proceed with prediction validity testing in Part 2. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals: Non-clinical and clinical safety signals and non-clinical testing strategies.

PubMed

Mustonen, Enni-Kaisa; Palomäki, Tiina; Pasanen, Markku

2017-11-01

Antisense oligonucleotides, short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and aptamers are oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals with a promising role in targeted therapies. Currently, five oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals have achieved marketing authorization in Europe or USA and many more are undergoing clinical testing. However, several safety concerns have been raised in non-clinical and clinical studies. Oligonucleotides share properties with both chemical and biological pharmaceuticals and therefore they pose challenges also from the regulatory point of view. We have analyzed the safety data of oligonucleotides and evaluated the applicability of current non-clinical toxicological guidelines for assessing the safety of oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals. Oligonucleotide-based pharmaceuticals display a similar toxicological profile, exerting adverse effects on liver and kidney, evoking hematological alterations, as well as causing immunostimulation and prolonging the coagulation time. It is possible to extrapolate some of these effects from non-clinical studies to humans. However, evaluation strategies for genotoxicity testing of "non-natural" oligonucleotides should be revised. Additionally, the selective use of surrogates and prediction of clinical endpoints for non-clinically observed immunostimulation is complicated by its multiple potential manifestations, demanding improvements in the testing strategies. Utilizing more relevant and mechanistic-based approaches and taking better account of species differences, could possibly improve the prediction of relevant immunological/proinflammatory effects in humans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Error Generation in CATS-Based Agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callantine, Todd

2003-01-01

This research presents a methodology for generating errors from a model of nominally preferred correct operator activities, given a particular operational context, and maintaining an explicit link to the erroneous contextual information to support analyses. It uses the Crew Activity Tracking System (CATS) model as the basis for error generation. This report describes how the process works, and how it may be useful for supporting agent-based system safety analyses. The report presents results obtained by applying the error-generation process and discusses implementation issues. The research is supported by the System-Wide Accident Prevention Element of the NASA Aviation Safety Program.

Designing Effective Safety Signs, Based on a Study of Recall for Safety Signs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Dennis W.

Aside from direct supervision at a recreational facility, safety signs, if designed properly, are the most effective approach to facility safety. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of various sign designs: (l) multiple concepts with text; (2) single concept with text; and (3) single concept with graphics. A discussion of…

Analysing task design and students' responses to context-based problems through different analytical frameworks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broman, Karolina; Bernholt, Sascha; Parchmann, Ilka

2015-05-01

Background:Context-based learning approaches are used to enhance students' interest in, and knowledge about, science. According to different empirical studies, students' interest is improved by applying these more non-conventional approaches, while effects on learning outcomes are less coherent. Hence, further insights are needed into the structure of context-based problems in comparison to traditional problems, and into students' problem-solving strategies. Therefore, a suitable framework is necessary, both for the analysis of tasks and strategies. Purpose:The aim of this paper is to explore traditional and context-based tasks as well as students' responses to exemplary tasks to identify a suitable framework for future design and analyses of context-based problems. The paper discusses different established frameworks and applies the Higher-Order Cognitive Skills/Lower-Order Cognitive Skills (HOCS/LOCS) taxonomy and the Model of Hierarchical Complexity in Chemistry (MHC-C) to analyse traditional tasks and students' responses. Sample:Upper secondary students (n=236) at the Natural Science Programme, i.e. possible future scientists, are investigated to explore learning outcomes when they solve chemistry tasks, both more conventional as well as context-based chemistry problems. Design and methods:A typical chemistry examination test has been analysed, first the test items in themselves (n=36), and thereafter 236 students' responses to one representative context-based problem. Content analysis using HOCS/LOCS and MHC-C frameworks has been applied to analyse both quantitative and qualitative data, allowing us to describe different problem-solving strategies. Results:The empirical results show that both frameworks are suitable to identify students' strategies, mainly focusing on recall of memorized facts when solving chemistry test items. Almost all test items were also assessing lower order thinking. The combination of frameworks with the chemistry syllabus has been

[Organisational responsibility versus individual responsibility: safety culture? About the relationship between patient safety and medical malpractice law].

PubMed

Hart, Dieter

2009-01-01

The contribution is concerned with the correlations between risk information, patient safety, responsibility and liability, in particular in terms of liability law. These correlations have an impact on safety culture in healthcare, which can be evaluated positively if--in addition to good quality of medical care--as many sources of error as possible can be identified, analysed, and minimised or eliminated by corresponding measures (safety or risk management). Liability influences the conduct of individuals and enterprises; safety is (probably) also a function of liability; this should also apply to safety culture. The standard of safety culture does not only depend on individual liability for damages, but first of all on strict enterprise liability (system responsibility) and its preventive effects. Patient safety through quality and risk management is therefore also an organisational programme of considerable relevance in terms of liability law.

Safety Considerations in the Use of Ketorolac for Postoperative Pain.

PubMed

Maslin, Benjamin; Lipana, Lawrence; Roth, Brandon; Kodumudi, Gopal; Vadivelu, Nalini

2017-01-01

Ketorolac use has significantly expanded for postoperative pain management since it first became available in the United States, primarily due to well established effects on patient pain scores and its ability to reduce perioperative opioid requirements. As an inhibitor of cyclooxygenase, ketorolac use has raised clinical concern including particular controversy regarding its potential effects on bone healing, postoperative kidney function and perioperative bleeding. To review the supporting data from clinical studies addressing the safety of ketorolac use for postoperative pain. This review highlights the most up-to-date research from clinical trials as well as from retrospective studies and meta-analyses regarding the effects of perioperative use of ketorolac on bone healing, kidney function and blood loss. Based on the most up-to-date literature, ketorolac in normal doses has been demonstrated to be safe with respect to bone healing. In patients with normal kidney function, numerous studies have established the safety of Ketorolac; however other studies have raised safety concerns in patients with comorbid kidney, heart and liver disease. While there is evidence that ketorolac may cause prolonged bleeding time and may be associated with increased postoperative blood loss after tonsillectomy, large scale prospective randomized controlled trials and subsequent meta-analyses have failed to establish an association of ketorolac use and perioperative blood loss. Perioperative administration of ketorolac has been demonstrated to be safe and effective in healthy patients and is particularly beneficial as an opioid-sparing agent in vulnerable patient groups. However, in certain surgical and medical contexts, proper patient selection based on the multidisciplinary collaboration between perioperative clinician specialists will optimize patient safety and pain management outcomes. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Cloud-based bioinformatics workflow platform for large-scale next-generation sequencing analyses.

PubMed

Liu, Bo; Madduri, Ravi K; Sotomayor, Borja; Chard, Kyle; Lacinski, Lukasz; Dave, Utpal J; Li, Jianqiang; Liu, Chunchen; Foster, Ian T

2014-06-01

Due to the upcoming data deluge of genome data, the need for storing and processing large-scale genome data, easy access to biomedical analyses tools, efficient data sharing and retrieval has presented significant challenges. The variability in data volume results in variable computing and storage requirements, therefore biomedical researchers are pursuing more reliable, dynamic and convenient methods for conducting sequencing analyses. This paper proposes a Cloud-based bioinformatics workflow platform for large-scale next-generation sequencing analyses, which enables reliable and highly scalable execution of sequencing analyses workflows in a fully automated manner. Our platform extends the existing Galaxy workflow system by adding data management capabilities for transferring large quantities of data efficiently and reliably (via Globus Transfer), domain-specific analyses tools preconfigured for immediate use by researchers (via user-specific tools integration), automatic deployment on Cloud for on-demand resource allocation and pay-as-you-go pricing (via Globus Provision), a Cloud provisioning tool for auto-scaling (via HTCondor scheduler), and the support for validating the correctness of workflows (via semantic verification tools). Two bioinformatics workflow use cases as well as performance evaluation are presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving safety culture through the health and safety organization: a case study.

PubMed

Nielsen, Kent J

2014-02-01

International research indicates that internal health and safety organizations (HSO) and health and safety committees (HSC) do not have the intended impact on companies' safety performance. The aim of this case study at an industrial plant was to test whether the HSO can improve company safety culture by creating more and better safety-related interactions both within the HSO and between HSO members and the shop-floor. A quasi-experimental single case study design based on action research with both quantitative and qualitative measures was used. Based on baseline mapping of safety culture and the efficiency of the HSO three developmental processes were started aimed at the HSC, the whole HSO, and the safety representatives, respectively. Results at follow-up indicated a marked improvement in HSO performance, interaction patterns concerning safety, safety culture indicators, and a changed trend in injury rates. These improvements are interpreted as cultural change because an organizational double-loop learning process leading to modification of the basic assumptions could be identified. The study provides evidence that the HSO can improve company safety culture by focusing on safety-related interactions. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council.

Space engine safety system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maul, William A.; Meyer, Claudia M.

1991-01-01

A rocket engine safety system was designed to initiate control procedures to minimize damage to the engine or vehicle or test stand in the event of an engine failure. The features and the implementation issues associated with rocket engine safety systems are discussed, as well as the specific concerns of safety systems applied to a space-based engine and long duration space missions. Examples of safety system features and architectures are given, based on recent safety monitoring investigations conducted for the Space Shuttle Main Engine and for future liquid rocket engines. Also, the general design and implementation process for rocket engine safety systems is presented.

Development and perceived effects of an educational programme on quality and safety in medication handling in residential facilities.

PubMed

Mygind, Anna; El-Souri, Mira; Rossing, Charlotte; Thomsen, Linda Aagaard

2018-04-01

To develop and test an educational programme on quality and safety in medication handling for staff in residential facilities for the disabled. The continuing pharmacy education instructional design model was used to develop the programme with 22 learning objectives on disease and medicines, quality and safety, communication and coordination. The programme was a flexible, modular seven + two days' course addressing quality and safety in medication handling, disease and medicines, and medication supervision and reconciliation. The programme was tested in five Danish municipalities. Municipalities were selected based on their application for participation; each independently selected a facility for residents with mental and intellectual disabilities, and a facility for residents with severe mental illnesses. Perceived effects were measured based on a questionnaire completed by participants before and after the programme. Effects on motivation and confidence as well as perceived effects on knowledge, skills and competences related to medication handling, patient empowerment, communication, role clarification and safety culture were analysed conducting bivariate, stratified analyses and test for independence. Of the 114 participants completing the programme, 75 participants returned both questionnaires (response rate = 66%). Motivation and confidence regarding quality and safety in medication handling significantly improved, as did perceived knowledge, skills and competences on 20 learning objectives on role clarification, safety culture, medication handling, patient empowerment and communication. The programme improved staffs' motivation and confidence and their perceived ability to handle residents' medication safely through improved role clarification, safety culture, medication handling and patient empowerment and communication skills. © 2017 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Operational Satellite-based Surface Oil Analyses (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Streett, D.; Warren, C.

2010-12-01

During the Deepwater Horizon spill, NOAA imagery analysts in the Satellite Analysis Branch (SAB) issued more than 300 near-real-time satellite-based oil spill analyses. These analyses were used by the oil spill response community for planning, issuing surface oil trajectories and tasking assets (e.g., oil containment booms, skimmers, overflights). SAB analysts used both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and high resolution visible/near IR multispectral satellite imagery as well as a variety of ancillary datasets. Satellite imagery used included ENVISAT ASAR (ESA), TerraSAR-X (DLR), Cosmo-Skymed (ASI), ALOS (JAXA), Radarsat (MDA), ENVISAT MERIS (ESA), SPOT (SPOT Image Corp.), Aster (NASA), MODIS (NASA), and AVHRR (NOAA). Ancillary datasets included ocean current information, wind information, location of natural oil seeps and a variety of in situ oil observations. The analyses were available as jpegs, pdfs, shapefiles and through Google, KML files and also available on a variety of websites including Geoplatform and ERMA. From the very first analysis issued just 5 hours after the rig sank through the final analysis issued in August, the complete archive is still publicly available on the NOAA/NESDIS website http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/MPS/deepwater.html SAB personnel also served as the Deepwater Horizon International Disaster Charter Project Manager (at the official request of the USGS). The Project Manager’s primary responsibility was to acquire and oversee the processing and dissemination of satellite data generously donated by numerous private companies and nations in support of the oil spill response including some of the imagery described above. SAB has begun to address a number of goals that will improve our routine oil spill response as well as help assure that we are ready for the next spill of national significance. We hope to (1) secure a steady, abundant and timely stream of suitable satellite imagery even in the absence of large-scale emergencies such as

Infusing Reliability Techniques into Software Safety Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shi, Ying

2015-01-01

Software safety analysis for a large software intensive system is always a challenge. Software safety practitioners need to ensure that software related hazards are completely identified, controlled, and tracked. This paper discusses in detail how to incorporate the traditional reliability techniques into the entire software safety analysis process. In addition, this paper addresses how information can be effectively shared between the various practitioners involved in the software safety analyses. The author has successfully applied the approach to several aerospace applications. Examples are provided to illustrate the key steps of the proposed approach.

The driver, the road, the rules … and the rest? A systems-based approach to young driver road safety.

PubMed

Scott-Parker, B; Goode, N; Salmon, P

2015-01-01

The persistent overrepresentation of young drivers in road crashes is universally recognised. A multitude of factors influencing their behaviour and safety have been identified through methods including crash analyses, simulated and naturalistic driving studies, and self-report measures. Across the globe numerous, diverse, countermeasures have been implemented; the design of the vast majority of these has been informed by a driver-centric approach. An alternative approach gaining popularity in transport safety is the systems approach which considers not only the characteristics of the individual, but also the decisions and actions of other actors within the road transport system, along with the interactions amongst them. This paper argues that for substantial improvements to be made in young driver road safety, what has been learnt from driver-centric research needs to be integrated into a systems approach, thus providing a holistic appraisal of the young driver road safety problem. Only then will more effective opportunities and avenues for intervention be realised. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Strategy for Safety: Preventing Crises through Safety Audits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Sara Goldsmith

2013-01-01

In this article the author demonstrates the importance of school safety audits and describes what schools should focus on in a safety audit. Ultimately, each school should determine its own safety audit strategy based on its unique circumstances, including the type of community within which it is located, the age of the students it serves, and the…

Fire safety applications for spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedman, Robert; Olson, Sandra L.

1989-01-01

Fire safety for spacecraft is reviewed by first describing current practices, many of which are adapted directly from aircraft. Then, current analyses and experimental knowledge in low-gravity combustion, with implications for fire safety are discussed. In orbiting spacecraft, the detection and suppression of flames are strongly affected by the large reduction in buoyant flows under low gravity. Generally, combustion intensity is reduced in low gravity. There are some notable exceptions, however, one example being the strong enhancement of flames by low-velocity ventilation flows in space. Finally, the future requirements in fire safety, particularly the needs of long-duration space stations in fire prevention, detection, extinguishment, and atmospheric control are examined. The goal of spacecraft fire-safety investigations is the establishment of trade-offs that promote maximum safety without hampering the useful human and scientific activities in space.

14 CFR Appendix B of Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Performed by Certified Personnel 4.0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and Assumptions 4.1.2Sample Calculation and Products 4.1.3 Launch Specific Updates and Final Flight Safety Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety...

14 CFR Appendix B of Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Performed by Certified Personnel 4.0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and Assumptions 4.1.2Sample Calculation and Products 4.1.3 Launch Specific Updates and Final Flight Safety Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety...

14 CFR Appendix B of Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Performed by Certified Personnel 4.0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and Assumptions 4.1.2Sample Calculation and Products 4.1.3 Launch Specific Updates and Final Flight Safety Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety...

Product-based Safety Certification for Medical Devices Embedded Software.

PubMed

Neto, José Augusto; Figueiredo Damásio, Jemerson; Monthaler, Paul; Morais, Misael

2015-01-01

Worldwide medical device embedded software certification practices are currently focused on manufacturing best practices. In Brazil, the national regulatory agency does not hold a local certification process for software-intensive medical devices and admits international certification (e.g. FDA and CE) from local and international industry to operate in the Brazilian health care market. We present here a product-based certification process as a candidate process to support the Brazilian regulatory agency ANVISA in medical device software regulation. Center of Strategic Technology for Healthcare (NUTES) medical device embedded software certification is based on a solid safety quality model and has been tested with reasonable success against the Class I risk device Generic Infusion Pump (GIP).

Fault Detection and Safety in Closed-Loop Artificial Pancreas Systems

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pumps and continuous glucose monitors enable individuals with type 1 diabetes to achieve tighter blood glucose control and are critical components in a closed-loop artificial pancreas. Insulin infusion sets can fail and continuous glucose monitor sensor signals can suffer from a variety of anomalies, including signal dropout and pressure-induced sensor attenuations. In addition to hardware-based failures, software and human-induced errors can cause safety-related problems. Techniques for fault detection, safety analyses, and remote monitoring techniques that have been applied in other industries and applications, such as chemical process plants and commercial aircraft, are discussed and placed in the context of a closed-loop artificial pancreas. PMID:25049365

The influence of authentic leadership on safety climate in nursing.

PubMed

Dirik, Hasan Fehmi; Seren Intepeler, Seyda

2017-07-01

This study analysed nurses' perceptions of authentic leadership and safety climate and examined the contribution of authentic leadership to the safety climate. It has been suggested and emphasised that authentic leadership should be used as a guidance to ensure quality care and the safety of patients and health-care personnel. This predictive study was conducted with 350 nurses in three Turkish hospitals. The data were collected using the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire and the Safety Climate Survey and analysed using hierarchical regression analysis. The mean authentic leadership perception and the safety climate scores of the nurses were 2.92 and 3.50, respectively. The percentage of problematic responses was found to be less than 10% for only four safety climate items. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that authentic leadership significantly predicted the safety climate. Procedural and political improvements are required in terms of the safety climate in institutions, where the study was conducted, and authentic leadership increases positive perceptions of safety climate. Exhibiting the characteristics of authentic leadership, or improving them and reflecting them on to personnel can enhance the safety climate. Planning information sharing meetings to raise the personnel's awareness of safety climate and systemic improvements can contribute to creating safe care climates. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How and for whom does web-based acceptance and commitment therapy work? Mediation and moderation analyses of web-based ACT for depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Pots, Wendy T M; Trompetter, Hester R; Schreurs, Karlein M G; Bohlmeijer, Ernst T

2016-05-23

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms. However, little is known how and for whom therapeutic change occurs, specifically in web-based interventions. This study focuses on the mediators, moderators and predictors of change during a web-based ACT intervention. Data from 236 adults from the general population with mild to moderate depressive symptoms, randomized to either web-based ACT (n = 82) or one of two control conditions (web-based Expressive Writing (EW; n = 67) and a waiting list (n = 87)), were analysed. Single and multiple mediation analyses, and exploratory linear regression analyses were performed using PROCESS and linear regression analyses, to examine mediators, moderators and predictors on pre- to post- and follow-up treatment change of depressive symptoms. The treatment effect of ACT versus the waiting list was mediated by psychological flexibility and two mindfulness facets. The treatment effect of ACT versus EW was not significantly mediated. The moderator analyses demonstrated that the effects of web-based ACT did not vary according to baseline patient characteristics when compared to both control groups. However, higher baseline depressive symptoms and positive mental health and lower baseline anxiety were identified as predictors of outcome across all conditions. Similar results are found for follow-up. The findings of this study corroborate the evidence that psychological flexibility and mindfulness are distinct process mechanisms that mediate the effects of web-based ACT intervention. The results indicate that there are no restrictions to the allocation of web-based ACT intervention and that web-based ACT can work for different subpopulations. Netherlands Trial Register NTR2736 . Registered 6 February 2011.

Is it time to reassess current safety standards for glyphosate-based herbicides?

PubMed Central

Blumberg, Bruce; Antoniou, Michael N; Benbrook, Charles M; Carroll, Lynn; Colborn, Theo; Everett, Lorne G; Hansen, Michael; Landrigan, Philip J; Lanphear, Bruce P; Mesnage, Robin; vom Saal, Frederick S; Welshons, Wade V; Myers, John Peterson

2017-01-01

Use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) increased ∼100-fold from 1974 to 2014. Additional increases are expected due to widespread emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds, increased application of GBHs, and preharvest uses of GBHs as desiccants. Current safety assessments rely heavily on studies conducted over 30 years ago. We have considered information on GBH use, exposures, mechanisms of action, toxicity and epidemiology. Human exposures to glyphosate are rising, and a number of in vitro and in vivo studies challenge the basis for the current safety assessment of glyphosate and GBHs. We conclude that current safety standards for GBHs are outdated and may fail to protect public health or the environment. To improve safety standards, the following are urgently needed: (1) human biomonitoring for glyphosate and its metabolites; (2) prioritisation of glyphosate and GBHs for hazard assessments, including toxicological studies that use state-of-the-art approaches; (3) epidemiological studies, especially of occupationally exposed agricultural workers, pregnant women and their children and (4) evaluations of GBHs in commercially used formulations, recognising that herbicide mixtures likely have effects that are not predicted by studying glyphosate alone. PMID:28320775

Predictive models of safety based on audit findings: Part 2: Measurement of model validity.

PubMed

Hsiao, Yu-Lin; Drury, Colin; Wu, Changxu; Paquet, Victor

2013-07-01

Part 1 of this study sequence developed a human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) based classification system (termed HFACS-MA) for safety audit findings and proved its measurement reliability. In Part 2, we used the human error categories of HFACS-MA as predictors of future safety performance. Audit records and monthly safety incident reports from two airlines submitted to their regulatory authority were available for analysis, covering over 6.5 years. Two participants derived consensus results of HF/E errors from the audit reports using HFACS-MA. We adopted Neural Network and Poisson regression methods to establish nonlinear and linear prediction models respectively. These models were tested for the validity of prediction of the safety data, and only Neural Network method resulted in substantially significant predictive ability for each airline. Alternative predictions from counting of audit findings and from time sequence of safety data produced some significant results, but of much smaller magnitude than HFACS-MA. The use of HF/E analysis of audit findings provided proactive predictors of future safety performance in the aviation maintenance field. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Calibration factors handbook : safety prediction models calibrated with Texas highway system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

Highway safety is an ongoing concern to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As part of its : proactive commitment to improving highway safety, TxDOT is moving toward including quantitative safety : analyses earlier in the project developm...

Work stress and patient safety: observer-rated work stressors as predictors of characteristics of safety-related events reported by young nurses.

PubMed

Elfering, A; Semmer, N K; Grebner, S

This study investigates the link between workplace stress and the 'non-singularity' of patient safety-related incidents in the hospital setting. Over a period of 2 working weeks 23 young nurses from 19 hospitals in Switzerland documented 314 daily stressful events using a self-observation method (pocket diaries); 62 events were related to patient safety. Familiarity of safety-related events and probability of recurrence, as indicators of non-singularity, were the dependent variables in multilevel regression analyses. Predictor variables were both situational (self-reported situational control, safety compliance) and chronic variables (job stressors such as time pressure, or concentration demands and job control). Chronic work characteristics were rated by trained observers. The most frequent safety-related stressful events included incomplete or incorrect documentation (40.3%), medication errors (near misses 21%), delays in delivery of patient care (9.7%), and violent patients (9.7%). Familiarity of events and probability of recurrence were significantly predicted by chronic job stressors and low job control in multilevel regression analyses. Job stressors and low job control were shown to be risk factors for patient safety. The results suggest that job redesign to enhance job control and decrease job stressors may be an important intervention to increase patient safety.

Chemical plant innovative safety investments decision-support methodology.

PubMed

Reniers, G L L; Audenaert, A

2009-01-01

This article examines the extent to which investing in safety during the creation of a new chemical installation proves profitable. The authors propose a management supporting cost-benefit model that identifies and evaluates investments in safety within a chemical company. This innovative model differentiates between serious accidents and less serious accidents, thus providing an authentic image of prevention-related costs and benefits. In classic cost-benefit analyses, which do not make such differentiations, only a rudimentary image of potential profitability resulting from investments in safety is obtained. The resulting management conclusions that can be drawn from such classical analyses are of a very limited nature. The proposed model, however, is applied to a real case study and the proposed investments in safety at an appointed chemical installation are weighed against the estimated hypothetical benefits resulting from the preventive measures to be installed at the installation. In the case-study carried out in question, it would appear that the proposed prevention investments are justified. Such an economic exercise may be very important to chemical corporations trying to (further) improve their safety investments.

Payload Safety: Risk and Characteristic-Based Control of Engineered Nanomaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abou, Seraphin Chally; Saad, Maarouf

2013-09-01

In the last decade progress has been made to assist organizations that are developing payloads intended for flight on the International Space Station (ISS) and/or Space Shuttle. Collaboration programs for comprehensive risk assessment have been initiated between the U.S. and the European Union to generate requirements and data needed to comply with payloads safety and to perform risk assessment and controls guidance. Yet, substantial research gaps remain, as do challenges in the translation of these research findings to control for exposure to nanoscale material payloads, and the health effects. Since nanomaterial structures are different from traditional molecules, some standard material properties can change at size of 50nm or less. Changes in material properties at this scale challenge our understanding of hazards posed by nanomaterial payloads in the ISS realistic exposure conditions, and our ability to anticipate, evaluate, and control potential health issues, and safety. The research question addressed in this framework is: what kind of descriptors can be developed for nanomaterial payloads risks assessment? Methods proposed incorporate elements of characteristic- based risk an alysis: (1) to enable characterization of anthropogenic nanomaterials which can result in incidental from natural nanoparticles; and (2) to better understand safety attributes in terms of human health impacts from exposure to varying types of engineered nanomaterials.

9 CFR 590.580 - Laboratory tests and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Laboratory tests and analyses. 590.580 Section 590.580 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... sequence, frequency, and approved laboratory methods as prescribed by the AMS Science Division Director...

9 CFR 590.580 - Laboratory tests and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Laboratory tests and analyses. 590.580 Section 590.580 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... sequence, frequency, and approved laboratory methods as prescribed by the AMS Science Division Director...

9 CFR 590.580 - Laboratory tests and analyses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Laboratory tests and analyses. 590.580 Section 590.580 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... sequence, frequency, and approved laboratory methods as prescribed by the AMS Science Division Director...

A probabilistic bridge safety evaluation against floods.

PubMed

Liao, Kuo-Wei; Muto, Yasunori; Chen, Wei-Lun; Wu, Bang-Ho

2016-01-01

To further capture the influences of uncertain factors on river bridge safety evaluation, a probabilistic approach is adopted. Because this is a systematic and nonlinear problem, MPP-based reliability analyses are not suitable. A sampling approach such as a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) or importance sampling is often adopted. To enhance the efficiency of the sampling approach, this study utilizes Bayesian least squares support vector machines to construct a response surface followed by an MCS, providing a more precise safety index. Although there are several factors impacting the flood-resistant reliability of a bridge, previous experiences and studies show that the reliability of the bridge itself plays a key role. Thus, the goal of this study is to analyze the system reliability of a selected bridge that includes five limit states. The random variables considered here include the water surface elevation, water velocity, local scour depth, soil property and wind load. Because the first three variables are deeply affected by river hydraulics, a probabilistic HEC-RAS-based simulation is performed to capture the uncertainties in those random variables. The accuracy and variation of our solutions are confirmed by a direct MCS to ensure the applicability of the proposed approach. The results of a numerical example indicate that the proposed approach can efficiently provide an accurate bridge safety evaluation and maintain satisfactory variation.

The Safety Culture Enactment Questionnaire (SCEQ): Theoretical model and empirical validation.

PubMed

de Castro, Borja López; Gracia, Francisco J; Tomás, Inés; Peiró, José M

2017-06-01

This paper presents the Safety Culture Enactment Questionnaire (SCEQ), designed to assess the degree to which safety is an enacted value in the day-to-day running of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The SCEQ is based on a theoretical safety culture model that is manifested in three fundamental components of the functioning and operation of any organization: strategic decisions, human resources practices, and daily activities and behaviors. The extent to which the importance of safety is enacted in each of these three components provides information about the pervasiveness of the safety culture in the NPP. To validate the SCEQ and the model on which it is based, two separate studies were carried out with data collection in 2008 and 2014, respectively. In Study 1, the SCEQ was administered to the employees of two Spanish NPPs (N=533) belonging to the same company. Participants in Study 2 included 598 employees from the same NPPs, who completed the SCEQ and other questionnaires measuring different safety outcomes (safety climate, safety satisfaction, job satisfaction and risky behaviors). Study 1 comprised item formulation and examination of the factorial structure and reliability of the SCEQ. Study 2 tested internal consistency and provided evidence of factorial validity, validity based on relationships with other variables, and discriminant validity between the SCEQ and safety climate. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) carried out in Study 1 revealed a three-factor solution corresponding to the three components of the theoretical model. Reliability analyses showed strong internal consistency for the three scales of the SCEQ, and each of the 21 items on the questionnaire contributed to the homogeneity of its theoretically developed scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) carried out in Study 2 supported the internal structure of the SCEQ; internal consistency of the scales was also supported. Furthermore, the three scales of the SCEQ showed the expected correlation

The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Based Coal Ash Impoundments Safety Monitoring System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, E. J.; Nieto, A.; Zhang, X. K.

2017-01-01

Coal ash impoundments are inevitable production of the coal-fired power plants. All coal ash impoundments in North Carolina USA that tested for groundwater contamination are leaking toxic heavy metals and other pollutants. Coal ash impoundments are toxic sources of dangerous pollutants that pose a danger to human and environmental health if the toxins spread to adjacent surface waters and drinking water wells. Coal ash impoundments failures accidents resulted in serious water contamination along with toxic heavy metals. To improve the design and stability of coal ash impoundments, the Development of a Coal Ash Impoundment Safety Monitoring System (CAISM) was proposed based on the implementation of a wireless sensor network (WSN) with the ability to monitor the stability of coal ash impoundments, water level, and saturation levels on-demand and remotely. The monitoring system based on a robust Ad-hoc network could be adapted to different safety conditions.

Accident Analyses in Support of the Sludge Water System Safety Analysis

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

FINFROCK, S.H.

This document quantifies the potential health effects of the unmitigated hazards identified Hey (2002) for retrieval of sludge from the KE basin. It also identifies potential controls and any supporting mitigative analyses.

A systematic review of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE)-based healthcare system redesign for quality of care and patient safety

PubMed Central

Xie, Anping; Carayon, Pascale

2014-01-01

Healthcare systems need to be redesigned to provide care that is safe, effective and efficient, and meets the multiple needs of patients. This systematic review examines how Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) is applied to redesign healthcare work systems and processes and improve quality and safety of care. We identified twelve projects representing 23 studies and addressing different physical, cognitive and organizational HFE issues in a variety of healthcare systems and care settings. Some evidence exists for the effectiveness of HFE-based healthcare system redesign in improving process and outcome measures of quality and safety of care. We assessed risk of bias in 16 studies reporting the impact of HFE-based healthcare system redesign and found varying quality across studies. Future research should further assess the impact of HFE on quality and safety of care, and clearly define the mechanisms by which HFE-based system redesign can improve quality and safety of care. Practitioner Summary Existing evidence shows that HFE-based healthcare system redesign has the potential to improve quality of care and patient safety. Healthcare organizations need to recognize the importance of HFE-based healthcare system redesign to quality of care and patient safety, and invest resources to integrate HFE in healthcare improvement activities. PMID:25323570

Relational approach in managing construction project safety: a social capital perspective.

PubMed

Koh, Tas Yong; Rowlinson, Steve

2012-09-01

Existing initiatives in the management of construction project safety are largely based on normative compliance and error prevention, a risk management approach. Although advantageous, these approaches are not wholly successful in further lowering accident rates. A major limitation lies with the approaches' lack of emphasis on the social and team processes inherent in construction project settings. We advance the enquiry by invoking the concept of social capital and project organisational processes, and their impacts on project safety performance. Because social capital is a primordial concept and affects project participants' interactions, its impact on project safety performance is hypothesised to be indirect, i.e. the impact of social capital on safety performance is mediated by organisational processes in adaptation and cooperation. A questionnaire survey was conducted within Hong Kong construction industry to test the hypotheses. 376 usable responses were received and used for analyses. The results reveal that, while the structural dimension is not significant, the mediational thesis is generally supported with the cognitive and relational dimensions affecting project participants' adaptation and cooperation, and the latter two processes affect safety performance. However, the cognitive dimension also directly affects safety performance. The implications of these results for project safety management are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The goal of value-based medicine analyses: comparability. The case for neovascular macular degeneration.

PubMed

Brown, Gary C; Brown, Melissa M; Brown, Heidi C; Kindermann, Sylvia; Sharma, Sanjay

2007-01-01

To evaluate the comparability of articles in the peer-reviewed literature assessing the (1) patient value and (2) cost-utility (cost-effectiveness) associated with interventions for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). A search was performed in the National Library of Medicine database of 16 million peer-reviewed articles using the key words cost-utility, cost-effectiveness, value, verteporfin, pegaptanib, laser photocoagulation, ranibizumab, and therapy. All articles that used an outcome of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were studied in regard to (1) percent improvement in quality of life, (2) utility methodology, (3) utility respondents, (4) types of costs included (eg, direct healthcare, direct nonhealthcare, indirect), (5) cost bases (eg, Medicare, National Health Service in the United Kingdom), and (6) study cost perspective (eg, government, societal, third-party insurer). To qualify as a value-based medicine analysis, the patient value had to be measured using the outcome of the QALYs conferred by respective interventions. As with value-based medicine analyses, patient-based time tradeoff utility analysis had to be utilized, patient utility respondents were necessary, and direct medical costs were used. Among 21 cost-utility analyses performed on interventions for neovascular macular degeneration, 15 (71%) met value-based medicine criteria. The 6 others (29%) were not comparable owing to (1) varying utility methodology, (2) varying utility respondents, (3) differing costs utilized, (4) differing cost bases, and (5) varying study perspectives. Among value-based medicine studies, laser photocoagulation confers a 4.4% value gain (improvement in quality of life) for the treatment of classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization. Intravitreal pegaptanib confers a 5.9% value gain (improvement in quality of life) for classic, minimally classic, and occult subfoveal choroidal neovascularization, and photodynamic therapy with verteporfin confers

THE GOAL OF VALUE-BASED MEDICINE ANALYSES: COMPARABILITY. THE CASE FOR NEOVASCULAR MACULAR DEGENERATION

PubMed Central

Brown, Gary C.; Brown, Melissa M.; Brown, Heidi C.; Kindermann, Sylvia; Sharma, Sanjay

2007-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the comparability of articles in the peer-reviewed literature assessing the (1) patient value and (2) cost-utility (cost-effectiveness) associated with interventions for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Methods A search was performed in the National Library of Medicine database of 16 million peer-reviewed articles using the key words cost-utility, cost-effectiveness, value, verteporfin, pegaptanib, laser photocoagulation, ranibizumab, and therapy. All articles that used an outcome of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were studied in regard to (1) percent improvement in quality of life, (2) utility methodology, (3) utility respondents, (4) types of costs included (eg, direct healthcare, direct nonhealthcare, indirect), (5) cost bases (eg, Medicare, National Health Service in the United Kingdom), and (6) study cost perspective (eg, government, societal, third-party insurer). To qualify as a value-based medicine analysis, the patient value had to be measured using the outcome of the QALYs conferred by respective interventions. As with value-based medicine analyses, patient-based time tradeoff utility analysis had to be utilized, patient utility respondents were necessary, and direct medical costs were used. Results Among 21 cost-utility analyses performed on interventions for neovascular macular degeneration, 15 (71%) met value-based medicine criteria. The 6 others (29%) were not comparable owing to (1) varying utility methodology, (2) varying utility respondents, (3) differing costs utilized, (4) differing cost bases, and (5) varying study perspectives. Among value-based medicine studies, laser photocoagulation confers a 4.4% value gain (improvement in quality of life) for the treatment of classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization. Intravitreal pegaptanib confers a 5.9% value gain (improvement in quality of life) for classic, minimally classic, and occult subfoveal choroidal neovascularization, and photodynamic therapy

Microbial food safety in Ghana: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Saba, Courage K S; Gonzalez-Zorn, Bruno

2012-12-16

Food safety is a crucial factor in the growth of developing countries worldwide. In this study, we present a meta-analysis of microbiological food safety publications from Ghana. The search words "Ghana food safety", "Ghana food research", and "Ghana food bacteria" were used to search for microbiological food safety publications with related abstracts or titles in PubMed, published between 1997 and 2009. We obtained 183 research articles, from which we excluded articles concerning ready-to-eat microbial fermented foods and waterborne microorganisms as well as articles without abstracts. The criteria used for analysis of these publications were based on an assessment of methodological soundness previously developed for use in the medical field, with some modifications incorporated. The most predominant bacteria in Ghanain foods are Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Klebsiella spp. and Escherichia spp., which were found to be present in 65%, 50%, 46% and 38% respectively, of the food samples considered in the studies analysed. The most contaminated food samples were macaroni, salad, and milk. Although the methodological quality of the articles was generally sound, most of them did not give directions for future research. Several did not state possible reasons for differences between studies. The microbiological food contamination in Ghana is alarming. However, we found that the downward trend in publications of microbial food safety articles is appalling. Hence a concerted effort in research on food safety is needed in Ghana to help curb the incidence of preventable food-borne disease.

Cryptographically supported NFC tags in medication for better inpatient safety.

PubMed

Özcanhan, Mehmet Hilal; Dalkılıç, Gökhan; Utku, Semih

2014-08-01

Reliable sources report that errors in drug administration are increasing the number of harmed or killed inpatients, during healthcare. This development is in contradiction to patient safety norms. A correctly designed hospital-wide ubiquitous system, using advanced inpatient identification and matching techniques, should provide correct medicine and dosage at the right time. Researchers are still making grouping proof protocol proposals based on the EPC Global Class 1 Generation 2 ver. 1.2 standard tags, for drug administration. Analyses show that such protocols make medication unsecure and hence fail to guarantee inpatient safety. Thus, the original goal of patient safety still remains. In this paper, a very recent proposal (EKATE) upgraded by a cryptographic function is shown to fall short of expectations. Then, an alternative proposal IMS-NFC which uses a more suitable and newer technology; namely Near Field Communication (NFC), is described. The proposed protocol has the additional support of stronger security primitives and it is compliant to ISO communication and security standards. Unlike previous works, the proposal is a complete ubiquitous system that guarantees full patient safety; and it is based on off-the-shelf, new technology products available in every corner of the world. To prove the claims the performance, cost, security and scope of IMS-NFC are compared with previous proposals. Evaluation shows that the proposed system has stronger security, increased patient safety and equal efficiency, at little extra cost.

Body mass index, safety hazards, and neighborhood attractiveness.

PubMed

Lovasi, Gina S; Bader, Michael D M; Quinn, James; Neckerman, Kathryn; Weiss, Christopher; Rundle, Andrew

2012-10-01

Neighborhood attractiveness and safety may encourage physical activity and help individuals maintain a healthy weight. However, these neighborhood characteristics may not be equally relevant to health across all settings and population subgroups. To evaluate whether potentially attractive neighborhood features are associated with lower BMI, whether safety hazards are associated with higher BMI, and whether environment-environment interactions are present such that associations for a particular characteristic are stronger in an otherwise supportive environment. Survey data and measured height and weight were collected from a convenience sample of 13,102 adult New York City (NYC) residents in 2000-2002; data analyses were completed 2008-2012. Built-environment measures based on municipal GIS data sources were constructed within 1-km network buffers to assess walkable urban form (density, land-use mix, transit access); attractiveness (sidewalk cafés, landmark buildings, street trees, street cleanliness); and safety (homicide rate, pedestrian-auto collision and fatality rate). Generalized linear models with cluster-robust SEs controlled for individual and area-based sociodemographic characteristics. The presence of sidewalk cafés, density of landmark buildings, and density of street trees were associated with lower BMI, whereas the proportion of streets rated as clean was associated with higher BMI. Interactions were observed for sidewalk cafés with neighborhood poverty, for street-tree density with walkability, and for street cleanliness with safety. Safety hazard indicators were not independently associated with BMI. Potentially attractive community and natural features were associated with lower BMI among adults in NYC, and there was some evidence of effect modification. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of a Simulated Work Setting to Study Behavior-Based Safety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Michael R.; Hayes, Linda J.

2005-01-01

A need exists for a controlled examination of the variables that may affect the results of a behavior-based safety program. These include the rate of risky behaviors and how they relate to a contingent bonus payout (Experiment 1), and the relative amounts of honesty in injury reporting and rule following (Experiment 2). A simple task consisting of…

Seismic Safety Of Simple Masonry Buildings

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

Guadagnuolo, Mariateresa; Faella, Giuseppe

2008-07-08

Several masonry buildings comply with the rules for simple buildings provided by seismic codes. For these buildings explicit safety verifications are not compulsory if specific code rules are fulfilled. In fact it is assumed that their fulfilment ensures a suitable seismic behaviour of buildings and thus adequate safety under earthquakes. Italian and European seismic codes differ in the requirements for simple masonry buildings, mostly concerning the building typology, the building geometry and the acceleration at site. Obviously, a wide percentage of buildings assumed simple by codes should satisfy the numerical safety verification, so that no confusion and uncertainty have tomore » be given rise to designers who must use the codes. This paper aims at evaluating the seismic response of some simple unreinforced masonry buildings that comply with the provisions of the new Italian seismic code. Two-story buildings, having different geometry, are analysed and results from nonlinear static analyses performed by varying the acceleration at site are presented and discussed. Indications on the congruence between code rules and results of numerical analyses performed according to the code itself are supplied and, in this context, the obtained result can provide a contribution for improving the seismic code requirements.« less

A Secure ECC-based RFID Mutual Authentication Protocol to Enhance Patient Medication Safety.

PubMed

Jin, Chunhua; Xu, Chunxiang; Zhang, Xiaojun; Li, Fagen

2016-01-01

Patient medication safety is an important issue in patient medication systems. In order to prevent medication errors, integrating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology into automated patient medication systems is required in hospitals. Based on RFID technology, such systems can provide medical evidence for patients' prescriptions and medicine doses, etc. Due to the mutual authentication between the medication server and the tag, RFID authentication scheme is the best choice for automated patient medication systems. In this paper, we present a RFID mutual authentication scheme based on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) to enhance patient medication safety. Our scheme can achieve security requirements and overcome various attacks existing in other schemes. In addition, our scheme has better performance in terms of computational cost and communication overhead. Therefore, the proposed scheme is well suitable for patient medication systems.

A Review of Sparsity-Based Methods for Analysing Radar Returns from Helicopter Rotor Blades

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

UNCLASSIFIED A Review of Sparsity-Based Methods for Analysing Radar Returns from Helicopter Rotor Blades Ngoc Hung Nguyen 1, Hai-Tan Tran 2, Kutluyıl...TR–3292 ABSTRACT Radar imaging of rotating blade -like objects, such as helicopter rotors, using narrowband radar has lately been of significant...Methods for Analysing Radar Returns from Helicopter Rotor Blades Executive Summary Signal analysis and radar imaging of fast-rotating objects such as

Safety Belt Laws and Disparities in Safety Belt Use Among US High-School Drivers

PubMed Central

Winston, Flaura K.; Durbin, Dennis R.

2012-01-01

Objectives. We compared reported safety belt use, for both drivers and passengers, among teenagers with learner’s permits, provisional licenses, and unrestricted licenses in states with primary or secondary enforcement of safety belt laws. Methods. Our data source was the 2006 National Young Driver Survey, which included a national representative sample of 3126 high-school drivers. We used multivariate, log-linear regression analyses to assess associations between safety belt laws and belt use. Results. Teenaged drivers were 12% less likely to wear a safety belt as drivers and 15% less likely to wear one as passengers in states with a secondary safety belt law than in states with a primary law. The apparent reduction in belt use among teenagers as they progressed from learner to unrestricted license holder occurred in only secondary enforcement states. Groups reporting particularly low use included African American drivers, rural residents, academically challenged students, and those driving pickup trucks. Conclusions. The results provided further evidence for enactment of primary enforcement provisions in safety belt laws because primary laws are associated with higher safety belt use rates and lower crash-related injuries and mortality. PMID:22515851

[Infection control and safety culture in German hospitals].

PubMed

Hansen, Sonja; Schwab, Frank; Gropmann, Alexander; Behnke, Michael; Gastmeier, Petra

2016-07-01

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are the most frequent adverse events in the healthcare setting and their prevention is an important contribution to patient safety in hospitals. To analyse to what extent safety cultural aspects with relevance to infection control are implemented in German hospitals. Safety cultural aspects of infection control were surveyed with an online questionnaire; data were analysed descriptively. Data from 543 hospitals with a median of [IQR] 275 [157; 453] beds were analysed. Almost all hospitals (96.6 %) had internal guidelines for infection control (IC) in place; 82 % defined IC objectives, most often regarding hand hygiene (HH) (93 %) and multidrug resistant organisms (72 %) and less frequently for antibiotic stewardship (48 %) or prevention of specific HAI. In 94 % of hospitals, a reporting system for adverse events was in place, which was also used to report low compliance with HH, outbreaks and Clostridium difficile-associated infections. Members of the IC team were most often seen to hold daily responsibility for IC in the hospital, but rarely other hospital staff (94 versus 19 %). Safety cultural aspects are not fully implemented in German hospitals. IC should be more strongly implemented in healthcare workers' daily routine and more visibly supported by hospital management.

Safety leadership: application in construction site.

PubMed

Cooper, Dominic

2010-01-01

The extant safety literature suggests that managerial Safety Leadership is vital to the success and maintenance of a behavioral safety process. The current paper explores the role of Managerial Safety Leadership behaviors in the success of a behavioral safety intervention in the Middle-East with 47,000 workers from multiple nationalities employed by fourteen sub-contractors and one main contractor. A quasi-experimental repeating ABABAB, within groups design was used. Measurement focused on managerial Safety Leadership and employee safety behaviors as well as Corrective Actions. Data was collected over 104 weeks. During this time, results show safety behavior improved by 30 percentage points from an average of 65% during baseline to an average of 95%. The site achieved 121 million man-hours free of lost-time injuries on the longest run. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated 86% of the variation in employee safety behavior was associated with senior, middle and front-line manager's Safety Leadership behaviors and the Corrective Action Rate. Approximately 38% of the variation in the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) was associated with the Observation rate, Corrective Action Rate and Observers Records of managerial safety leaders (Visible Ongoing Support). The results strongly suggest manager's Safety Leadership influences the success of Behavioral Safety processes.

Safety of oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-based pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention.

PubMed

Mugwanya, Kenneth K; Baeten, Jared M

2016-01-01

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-based pre-exposure prophylaxis is a novel HIV prevention strategy for individuals at increased sexual risk for HIV infection. For any biomedical prevention intervention, the bar for tolerating adverse effects in healthy persons is high compared to therapeutic interventions. We provide a concise summary of the clinical safety of TDF-based pre-exposure prophylaxis with focus on TDF-related effects on tolerability, kidney function, bone density, HIV resistance, sexual and reproductive health. The evidence base for this review is derived from a literature search of both randomized and observational studies evaluating efficacy and safety of TDF-based PrEP, TDF alone or in combination with emtricitabine, identified from PUBMED and EMBASE electronic databases, clinicaltrials.gov and major HIV conferences. TDF-based pre-exposure prophylaxis is a potent intervention against HIV acquisition when taken which is generally safe and well tolerated. The risk of the small, non-progressive, and reversible decline in glomerular filtration rate and bone mineral density as well as the potential selection for drug resistance associated with PrEP are outweighed, at the population level and broadly for individuals, by PrEP's substantial reduction in the risk of HIV infection.

Conducting Meta-Analyses Based on p Values

PubMed Central

van Aert, Robbie C. M.; Wicherts, Jelte M.; van Assen, Marcel A. L. M.

2016-01-01

Because of overwhelming evidence of publication bias in psychology, techniques to correct meta-analytic estimates for such bias are greatly needed. The methodology on which the p-uniform and p-curve methods are based has great promise for providing accurate meta-analytic estimates in the presence of publication bias. However, in this article, we show that in some situations, p-curve behaves erratically, whereas p-uniform may yield implausible estimates of negative effect size. Moreover, we show that (and explain why) p-curve and p-uniform result in overestimation of effect size under moderate-to-large heterogeneity and may yield unpredictable bias when researchers employ p-hacking. We offer hands-on recommendations on applying and interpreting results of meta-analyses in general and p-uniform and p-curve in particular. Both methods as well as traditional methods are applied to a meta-analysis on the effect of weight on judgments of importance. We offer guidance for applying p-uniform or p-curve using R and a user-friendly web application for applying p-uniform. PMID:27694466

Mortality Trends After a Voluntary Checklist-based Surgical Safety Collaborative.

PubMed

Haynes, Alex B; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Molina, George; Neville, Bridget A; Singer, Sara J; Moonan, Aunyika T; Childers, Ashley Kay; Foster, Richard; Gibbons, Lorri R; Gawande, Atul A; Berry, William R

2017-12-01

To determine whether completion of a voluntary, checklist-based surgical quality improvement program is associated with reduced 30-day postoperative mortality. Despite evidence of efficacy of team-based surgical safety checklists in improving perioperative outcomes in research trials, effective methods of population-based implementation have been lacking. The Safe Surgery 2015 South Carolina program was designed to foster state-wide engagement of hospitals in a voluntary, collaborative implementation of a checklist program. We compared postoperative mortality rates after inpatient surgery in South Carolina utilizing state-wide all-payer discharge claims from 2008 to 2013, linked with state vital statistics, stratifying hospitals on the basis of completion of the checklist program. Changes in risk-adjusted 30-day mortality were compared between hospitals, using propensity score-adjusted difference-in-differences analysis. Fourteen hospitals completed the program by December 2013. Before program launch, there was no difference in mortality trends between the completion cohort and all others (P = 0.33), but postoperative mortality diverged thereafter (P = 0.021). Risk-adjusted 30-day mortality among completers was 3.38% in 2010 and 2.84% in 2013 (P < 0.00001), whereas mortality among other hospitals (n = 44) was 3.50% in 2010 and 3.71% in 2013 (P = 0.3281), reflecting a 22% difference between the groups on difference-in-differences analysis (P = 0.0021). Despite similar pre-existing rates and trends of postoperative mortality, hospitals in South Carolina completing a voluntary checklist-based surgical quality improvement program had a reduction in deaths after inpatient surgery over the first 3 years of the collaborative compared with other hospitals in the state. This may indicate that effective large-scale implementation of a team-based surgical safety checklist is feasible.

Office-Based Anesthesia: Safety and Outcomes in Pediatric Dental Patients

PubMed Central

Spera, Allison L.; Saxen, Mark A.; Yepes, Juan F.; Jones, James E.; Sanders, Brian J.

2017-01-01

The number of children with caries requiring general anesthesia to achieve comprehensive dental care and the demand for dentist anesthesiologists to provide ambulatory anesthesia for these patients is increasing. No current published studies examine the safety and outcomes of ambulatory anesthesia performed by dentist anesthesiologists for dental procedures in pediatric patients, and there is no national requirement for reporting outcomes of these procedures. In 2010, the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry was developed. This Web-based database allows providers of ambulatory anesthesia to track patient demographics and various outcomes of procedures. Our study is a secondary analysis of data collected in the registry over a 4-year period, 2010–2014. Of the 7041 cases reviewed, no cases resulted in serious complications, including death, anaphylaxis, aspiration, cardiovascular adverse events, or neurologic adverse events. Of the 7041 cases reviewed, 196 (3.0%) resulted in a predischarge or postdischarge adverse event. The predischarge adverse event occurring with the highest frequency was laryngospasm, occurring in 35 cases (0.50%). The postdischarge adverse event occurring with the highest frequency was nausea, reported by 99 patients (5.0%). This study provides strong clinical outcomes data to support the safety of office-based anesthesia as performed by dentist anesthesiologists in the treatment of pediatric dental patients. PMID:28858554

Office-Based Anesthesia: Safety and Outcomes in Pediatric Dental Patients.

PubMed

Spera, Allison L; Saxen, Mark A; Yepes, Juan F; Jones, James E; Sanders, Brian J

The number of children with caries requiring general anesthesia to achieve comprehensive dental care and the demand for dentist anesthesiologists to provide ambulatory anesthesia for these patients is increasing. No current published studies examine the safety and outcomes of ambulatory anesthesia performed by dentist anesthesiologists for dental procedures in pediatric patients, and there is no national requirement for reporting outcomes of these procedures. In 2010, the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry was developed. This Web-based database allows providers of ambulatory anesthesia to track patient demographics and various outcomes of procedures. Our study is a secondary analysis of data collected in the registry over a 4-year period, 2010-2014. Of the 7041 cases reviewed, no cases resulted in serious complications, including death, anaphylaxis, aspiration, cardiovascular adverse events, or neurologic adverse events. Of the 7041 cases reviewed, 196 (3.0%) resulted in a predischarge or postdischarge adverse event. The predischarge adverse event occurring with the highest frequency was laryngospasm, occurring in 35 cases (0.50%). The postdischarge adverse event occurring with the highest frequency was nausea, reported by 99 patients (5.0%). This study provides strong clinical outcomes data to support the safety of office-based anesthesia as performed by dentist anesthesiologists in the treatment of pediatric dental patients.

Gene sequence analyses and other DNA-based methods for yeast species recognition

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

DNA sequence analyses, as well as other DNA-based methodologies, have transformed the way in which yeasts are identified. The focus of this chapter will be on the resolution of species using various types of DNA comparisons. In other chapters in this book, Rozpedowska, Piškur and Wolfe discuss mul...

Cycling transport safety quantification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drbohlav, Jiri; Kocourek, Josef

2018-05-01

Dynamic interest in cycling transport brings the necessity to design safety cycling infrastructure. In las few years, couple of norms with safety elements have been designed and suggested for the cycling infrastructure. But these were not fully examined. The main parameter of suitable and fully functional transport infrastructure is the evaluation of its safety. Common evaluation of transport infrastructure safety is based on accident statistics. These statistics are suitable for motor vehicle transport but unsuitable for the cycling transport. Cycling infrastructure evaluation of safety is suitable for the traffic conflicts monitoring. The results of this method are fast, based on real traffic situations and can be applied on any traffic situations.

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems (IVBSS) : heavy truck extended pilot test summary report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-05-01

This report describes the findings and recommendations from the heavy-truck (HT) extended pilot test (EPT) conducted by University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and its partners under the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System...

SOCR Analyses - an Instructional Java Web-based Statistical Analysis Toolkit.

PubMed

Chu, Annie; Cui, Jenny; Dinov, Ivo D

2009-03-01

The Statistical Online Computational Resource (SOCR) designs web-based tools for educational use in a variety of undergraduate courses (Dinov 2006). Several studies have demonstrated that these resources significantly improve students' motivation and learning experiences (Dinov et al. 2008). SOCR Analyses is a new component that concentrates on data modeling and analysis using parametric and non-parametric techniques supported with graphical model diagnostics. Currently implemented analyses include commonly used models in undergraduate statistics courses like linear models (Simple Linear Regression, Multiple Linear Regression, One-Way and Two-Way ANOVA). In addition, we implemented tests for sample comparisons, such as t-test in the parametric category; and Wilcoxon rank sum test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Friedman's test, in the non-parametric category. SOCR Analyses also include several hypothesis test models, such as Contingency tables, Friedman's test and Fisher's exact test.The code itself is open source (http://socr.googlecode.com/), hoping to contribute to the efforts of the statistical computing community. The code includes functionality for each specific analysis model and it has general utilities that can be applied in various statistical computing tasks. For example, concrete methods with API (Application Programming Interface) have been implemented in statistical summary, least square solutions of general linear models, rank calculations, etc. HTML interfaces, tutorials, source code, activities, and data are freely available via the web (www.SOCR.ucla.edu). Code examples for developers and demos for educators are provided on the SOCR Wiki website.In this article, the pedagogical utilization of the SOCR Analyses is discussed, as well as the underlying design framework. As the SOCR project is on-going and more functions and tools are being added to it, these resources are constantly improved. The reader is strongly encouraged to check the SOCR site for most

Is Model-Based Development a Favorable Approach for Complex and Safety-Critical Computer Systems on Commercial Aircraft?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2014-01-01

A system is safety-critical if its failure can endanger human life or cause significant damage to property or the environment. State-of-the-art computer systems on commercial aircraft are highly complex, software-intensive, functionally integrated, and network-centric systems of systems. Ensuring that such systems are safe and comply with existing safety regulations is costly and time-consuming as the level of rigor in the development process, especially the validation and verification activities, is determined by considerations of system complexity and safety criticality. A significant degree of care and deep insight into the operational principles of these systems is required to ensure adequate coverage of all design implications relevant to system safety. Model-based development methodologies, methods, tools, and techniques facilitate collaboration and enable the use of common design artifacts among groups dealing with different aspects of the development of a system. This paper examines the application of model-based development to complex and safety-critical aircraft computer systems. Benefits and detriments are identified and an overall assessment of the approach is given.

Recommendations for safety planning, data collection, evaluation and reporting during drug, biologic and vaccine development: a report of the safety planning, evaluation, and reporting team.

PubMed

Crowe, Brenda J; Xia, H Amy; Berlin, Jesse A; Watson, Douglas J; Shi, Hongliang; Lin, Stephen L; Kuebler, Juergen; Schriver, Robert C; Santanello, Nancy C; Rochester, George; Porter, Jane B; Oster, Manfred; Mehrotra, Devan V; Li, Zhengqing; King, Eileen C; Harpur, Ernest S; Hall, David B

2009-10-01

The Safety Planning, Evaluation and Reporting Team (SPERT) was formed in 2006 by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. SPERT's goal was to propose a pharmaceutical industry standard for safety planning, data collection, evaluation, and reporting, beginning with planning first-in-human studies and continuing through the planning of the post-product-approval period. SPERT's recommendations are based on our review of relevant literature and on consensus reached in our discussions. An important recommendation is that sponsors create a Program Safety Analysis Plan early in development. We also give recommendations for the planning of repeated, cumulative meta-analyses of the safety data obtained from the studies conducted within the development program. These include clear definitions of adverse events of special interest and standardization of many aspects of data collection and study design. We describe a 3-tier system for signal detection and analysis of adverse events and highlight proposals for reducing "false positive" safety findings. We recommend that sponsors review the aggregated safety data on a regular and ongoing basis throughout the development program, rather than waiting until the time of submission. We recognize that there may be other valid approaches. The proactive approach we advocate has the potential to benefit patients and health care providers by providing more comprehensive safety information at the time of new product marketing and beyond.

The mediating role of integration of safety by activity versus operator between organizational culture and safety climate.

PubMed

Auzoult, Laurent; Gangloff, Bernard

2018-04-20

In this study, we analyse the impact of the organizational culture and introduce a new variable, the integration of safety, which relates to the modalities for the implementation and adoption of safety in the work process, either through the activity or by the operator. One hundred and eighty employees replied to a questionnaire measuring the organizational climate, the safety climate and the integration of safety. We expected that implementation centred on the activity or on the operator would mediate the relationship between the organizational culture and the safety climate. The results support our assumptions. A regression analysis highlights the positive impact on the safety climate of organizational values of the 'rule' and 'support' type, as well as of integration by the operator and activity. Moreover, integration mediates the relation between these variables. The results suggest to take into account organizational culture and to introduce different implementation modalities to improve the safety climate.

Safety assessment for hair-spray resins: risk assessment based on rodent inhalation studies.

PubMed

Carthew, Philip; Griffiths, Heather; Keech, Stephen; Hartop, Peter

2002-04-01

The methods involved in the safety assessment of resins used in hair-spray products have received little peer review, or debate in the published literature, despite their widespread use, in both hairdressing salons and the home. The safety assessment for these resins currently involves determining the type of lung pathology that can be caused in animal inhalation exposure studies, and establishing the no-observable-effect level (NOEL) for these pathologies. The likely human consumer exposure is determined by techniques that model the simulated exposure under "in use" conditions. From these values it is then possible to derive the likely safety factors for human exposure. An important part of this process would be to recognize the intrinsic differences between rodents and humans in terms of the respiratory doses that each species experiences during inhalation exposures, for the purpose of the safety assessment. Interspecies scaling factors become necessary when comparing the exposure doses experienced by rats, compared to humans, because of basic differences between species in lung clearance rates and the alveolar area in the lungs. The rodent inhalation data and modeled human exposure to Resin 6965, a resin polymer that is based on vinyl acetate, has been used to calculate the safety factor for human consumer exposure to this resin, under a range of "in use" exposure conditions. The use of this safety assessment process clearly demonstrates that Resin 6965 is acceptable for human consumer exposure under the conditions considered in this risk assessment.

Non-reporting of work injuries and aspects of jobsite safety climate and behavioral-based safety elements among carpenters in Washington State.

PubMed

Lipscomb, Hester J; Schoenfisch, Ashley L; Cameron, Wilfrid

2015-04-01

Declining work injury rates may reflect safer work conditions as well as under-reporting. Union carpenters were invited to participate in a mailed, cross-sectional survey designed to capture information about injury reporting practices. Prevalence of non-reporting and fear of repercussions for reporting were compared across exposure to behavioral-based safety elements and three domains of the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50). The majority (>75%) of the 1,155 participants felt they could report work-related injuries to their supervisor without fear of retribution, and most felt that the majority of injuries on their jobsites got reported. However, nearly half indicated it was best not to report minor injuries, and felt pressures to use their private insurance for work injury care. The prevalence of non-reporting and fear of reporting increased markedly with poorer measures of management safety justice (NOSACQ-50). Formal and informal policies and practices on jobsites likely influence injury reporting. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The effect of safety initiatives on safety performance: a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Hoonakker, Peter; Loushine, Todd; Carayon, Pascale; Kallman, James; Kapp, Andrew; Smith, Michael J

2005-07-01

Construction industry is one of the most dangerous industries, not only in the USA, but worldwide. In this longitudinal study we examined the effects of safety initiatives on the safety performance of construction companies. One of the measures commonly used in the USA to track a company's safety performance is the experience modification rate (EMR). The EMR is based on the company's safety records (injury claims) from the past three full years and is used to calculate the workers' compensation insurance premiums. In a longitudinal study, we studied the effects of safety efforts and initiatives on the EMR. The results show that safety initiatives and money spent on safety do improve safety performance, but only over time.

Effect of pirfenidone on mortality: pooled analyses and meta-analyses of clinical trials in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

PubMed

Nathan, Steven D; Albera, Carlo; Bradford, Williamson Z; Costabel, Ulrich; Glaspole, Ian; Glassberg, Marilyn K; Kardatzke, David R; Daigl, Monica; Kirchgaessler, Klaus-Uwe; Lancaster, Lisa H; Lederer, David J; Pereira, Carlos A; Swigris, Jeffrey J; Valeyre, Dominique; Noble, Paul W

2017-01-01

In clinical trials of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, rates of all-cause mortality are low. Thus prospective mortality trials are logistically very challenging, justifying the use of pooled analyses or meta-analyses. We did pooled analyses and meta-analyses of clinical trials of pirfenidone versus placebo to determine the effect of pirfenidone on mortality outcomes over 120 weeks. We did a pooled analysis of the combined patient populations of the three global randomised phase 3 trials of pirfenidone versus placebo-Clinical Studies Assessing Pirfenidone in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Research of Efficacy and Safety Outcomes (CAPACITY 004 and 006; trial durations 72-120 weeks) and Assessment of Pirfenidone to Confirm Efficacy and Safety in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (ASCEND 016; 52 weeks)-for all-cause mortality, treatment-emergent all-cause mortality, idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis-related mortality, and treatment-emergent idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis-related mortality at weeks 52, 72, and 120. We also did meta-analyses of these data and data from two Japanese trials of pirfenidone versus placebo-Shionogi Phase 2 (SP2) and Shionogi Phase 3 (SP3; trial durations 36-52 weeks). At week 52, the relative risk of death for all four mortality outcomes was significantly lower in the pirfenidone group than in the placebo group in the pooled population (all-cause mortality hazard ratio [HR] 0·52 [95% CI 0·31-0·87; p=0·0107]; treatment-emergent all-cause mortality 0·45 [0·24-0·83; 0·0094]; idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis-related mortality 0·35 [0·17-0·72; 0·0029]; treatment-emergent idiopathic-pulmonary-fibrosis-related mortality 0·32 [0·14-0·76; 0·0061]). Consistent with the pooled analysis, meta-analyses for all-cause mortality at week 52 also showed a clinically relevant and significant risk reduction in the pirfenidone group compared with the placebo group. Over 120 weeks, we noted significant differences in the pooled analysis favouring pirfenidone

Safety evaluation of the temporary consolidant based on a zebrafish embryo model.

PubMed

Zhang, Lu; Zhang, Xiao Yan; Hu, Yulan; Zhang, Bing Jian

2018-05-07

Temporary consolidants, such as cyclododecane, menthol, coumarin, and ethyl maltol, are proved to be effective for urgent conservation in archaeological field. However, the safety of these temporary consolidants is still unknown although they are always heavily used in archaeological field. Thus reports on the toxicity of these temporary consolidants are limited. Here, a zebrafish model was used for safety evaluation of these four temporary consolidants. In the present study, four temporary consolidants, including cyclododecane, menthol, coumarin, and ethyl maltol, at different concentrations were incubated with zebrafish embryos, and their biological toxic effects were firstly evaluated. It was shown that embryo exposure to temporary consolidants resulted in an increased mortality and malformation rate, and a decreased hatching rate. The order of embryo toxicity of the four types of temporary consolidants tested was menthol > coumarin > ethyl maltol > cyclododecane. Although the embryo toxicity of cyclododecane was minimal, some studies have indicated that this temporary consolidant could be bioaccumulated. The results also suggested that the zebrafish embryos can serve as a reliable model for the evaluation of embryo toxicity of temporary consolidants, as this model could offer the possibility to perform the rapid, medium throughput, cost-effective analyses. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) Light Vehicle Field Operational Test Independent Evaluation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-10-01

This report presents the methodology and results of the independent evaluation of a prototype integrated crash warning system for : light vehicles as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems initiative of the United States Department of : ...

Columbus safety and reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longhurst, F.; Wessels, H.

1988-10-01

Analyses carried out to ensure Columbus reliability, availability, and maintainability, and operational and design safety are summarized. Failure modes/effects/criticality is the main qualitative tool used. The main aspects studied are fault tolerance, hazard consequence control, risk minimization, human error effects, restorability, and safe-life design.

Running to Safety: Analysis of Disaster Susceptibility of Neighborhoods and Proximity of Safety Facilities in Silay City, Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patiño, C. L.; Saripada, N. A.; Olavides, R. D.; Sinogaya, J.

2016-06-01

Going on foot is the most viable option when emergency responders fail to show up in disaster zones at the quickest and most reasonable time. In the Philippines, the efficacy of disaster management offices is hampered by factors such as, but not limited to, lack of equipment and personnel, distance, and/or poor road networks and traffic systems. In several instances, emergency response times exceed acceptable norms. This study explores the hazard susceptibility, particularly to fire, flood, and landslides, of neighborhoods vis-à-vis their proximity to safety facilities in Silay City, Philippines. Imbang River exposes communities in the city to flooding while the mountainous terrain makes the city landslide prone. Building extraction was done to get the possible human settlements in the city. The building structures were extracted through image processing using a ruleset-based approach in the process of segmentation and classification of LiDAR derivatives and ortho-photos. Neighborhoods were then identified whether they have low to high susceptibility to disaster risks in terms of floods and landslides based on the hazards maps obtained from the Philippines' Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). Service area analyses were performed to determine the safety facilities available to different neighborhoods at varying running times. Locations which are inaccessible or are difficult to run to because of distance and corresponding hazards were determined. Recommendations are given in the form of infrastructure installation, relocation of facilities, safety equipment and vehicle procurement, and policy changes for specific areas in Silay City.

Proceedings of the Nuclear Criticality Technology Safety Workshop

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

Rene G. Sanchez

1998-04-01

This document contains summaries of most of the papers presented at the 1995 Nuclear Criticality Technology Safety Project (NCTSP) meeting, which was held May 16 and 17 at San Diego, Ca. The meeting was broken up into seven sessions, which covered the following topics: (1) Criticality Safety of Project Sapphire; (2) Relevant Experiments For Criticality Safety; (3) Interactions with the Former Soviet Union; (4) Misapplications and Limitations of Monte Carlo Methods Directed Toward Criticality Safety Analyses; (5) Monte Carlo Vulnerabilities of Execution and Interpretation; (6) Monte Carlo Vulnerabilities of Representation; and (7) Benchmark Comparisons.

FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION OF PHYSIOLOGICALLY-BASED PHARMACOKINETIC MODELS FOR USE IN SAFETY OR RISK ASSESSMENT

EPA Science Inventory

ABSTRACT

Proposed applications of increasingly sophisticated biologically-based computational models, such as physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models, raise the issue of how to evaluate whether the models are adequate for proposed uses including safety or risk ...

Evaluation of safety ratings of roads based on frontal crashes with known crash pulse and injury outcome.

PubMed

Stigson, H

2009-06-01

The objective in this study, using data from crashed cars fitted with on-board crash pulse recorders, was to present differences in average crash severity, distribution of crash severity, and injury outcomes, based on an independent safety rating of roads, also taking road type and speed limit into consideration. Furthermore, the objective was to evaluate differences in injury risk, based on the distribution of crash severity. The investigation included both frontal two-vehicle crashes and single-vehicle crashes with known injury outcome. In total, 209 real-world crashes involving cars fitted with crash pulse recorders were included. For all crashes, average mean acceleration and change of velocity of the vehicle acceleration pulse were measured and calculated. All crash spots were classified according to an independent road safety rating program (European Road Assessment Programme Road Protection Score), where the safety quality of roads is rated in relation to posted speed limits. The crash severity and injury outcome in crashes that occurred on roads with good safety ratings were compared with crashes on roads with poor safety ratings. The data were also divided into subcategories according to posted speed limit and road type, to evaluate whether there was a difference in crash severity and injury outcome within the categories. In total, crash severity was statistically significantly lower in crashes occurring on roads with good safety ratings than in crashes occurring on roads with poor safety ratings. It was found that crash severity and injury risk were lower on roads with good safety ratings with a speed limit of above 90 km/h compared with roads with poor safety ratings, irrespective of speed limit. On the other hand, crash severity was higher on roads with good safety ratings with speed limit of 70 km/h than on roads with poor safety ratings with the same speed limit. Though it was found that a higher speed limit resulted in higher crash severity on roads

Evaluating the effectiveness of Behavior-Based Safety education methods for commercial vehicle drivers.

PubMed

Wang, Xuesong; Xing, Yilun; Luo, Lian; Yu, Rongjie

2018-08-01

Risky driving behavior is one of the main causes of commercial vehicle related crashes. In order to achieve safer vehicle operation, safety education for drivers is often provided. However, the education programs vary in quality and may not always be successful in reducing crash rates. Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) education is a popular approach found effective by numerous studies, but even this approach varies as to the combination of frequency, mode and content used by different education providers. This study therefore evaluates and compares the effectiveness of BBS education methods. Thirty-five drivers in Shanghai, China, were coached with one of three different BBS education methods for 13 weeks following a 13-week baseline phase with no education. A random-effects negative binomial (NB) model was built and calibrated to investigate the relationship between BBS education and the driver at-fault safety-related event rate. Based on the results of the random-effects NB model, event modification factors (EMF) were calculated to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the methods. Results show that (1) BBS education was confirmed to be effective in safety-related event reduction; (2) the most effective method among the three applied monthly face-to-face coaching, including feedback with video and statistical data, and training on strategies to avoid driver-specific unsafe behaviors; (3) weekly telephone coaching using statistics and strategies was rated by drivers as the most convenient delivery mode, and was also significantly effective. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety assessment of green tea based beverages and dried green tea extracts as nutritional supplements.

PubMed

Dekant, Wolfgang; Fujii, Kenkichi; Shibata, Eiichiro; Morita, Osamu; Shimotoyodome, Akira

2017-08-05

The safety of green tea infusions and green tea extract (GTE)-based products is reviewed regarding catechins. Epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), the major catechin present in green tea, is suspected of being responsible for liver toxicity reported in humans consuming food supplements. Intake of EGCG with green tea infusions and GTE-based beverages is up to about 450mg EGCG/person/day in Europe and higher in Asia. Consumption of green tea is not associated with liver damage in humans, and green tea infusion and GTE-based beverages are considered safe in the range of historical uses. In animal studies, EGCG's potency for liver effects is highly dependent on conditions of administration. Use of NOAELs from bolus administration to derive a tolerable upper intake level applying the margin of safety concept results in acceptable EGCG-doses lower than those from one cup of green tea. NOAELs from toxicity studies applying EGCG with diet/split of the daily dose are a better point of departure for risk characterization. In clinical intervention studies, liver effects were not observed after intakes below 600mg EGCG/person/day. Thus, a tolerable upper intake level of 300mg EGCG/person/day is proposed for food supplements; this gives a twofold safety margin to clinical studies that did not report liver effects and a margin of safety of 100 to the NOAELs in animal studies with dietary administration of green tea catechins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Earth based approaches to enhancing the health and safety of space operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koller, A. M., Jr.

1985-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the current state of our earth based knowledge of space safety hazards; identification of several key areas of concern for space operations; and proposed approaches to providing technology enhancement and information needed to improve the health and safety to those conducting space operations. Included are a review of the identified hazards for space oeprations by hazard classification; a summarization of the information currently available on space experiences and an assessment of potential hazards for long duration spaceflight; a discussion of potential failure modes and their significance for Space Station work: and an assessment of current work which indicates additional research and experimentation which can only be accomplished in actual space missions.

A framework for the development of patient safety education and training guidelines.

PubMed

Zikos, Dimitrios; Diomidous, Marianna; Mantas, John

2010-01-01

Patient Safety (PS) is a major concern that involves a wide range of roles in healthcare, including those who are directly and indirectly involved, and patients as well. In order to succeed into developing a safety culture among healthcare providers, carers and patients, there should be given great attention into building appropriate education and training tools, especially addressing those who plan patient safety activities. The framework described in this policy paper is based on the results of the European Network for Patient Safety (EUNetPaS) project and analyses the principles and elements of the guidance that should be provided to those who design and implement Patient Safety Education and training activities. The main principles that it should be based on and the core teaching objectives-expected outcomes are addressed. Once the main context and considerations are properly set, the guidance should define the general schema of the content that should be included in the Education and Training activities, as well as how these activities would be delivered. It is also important that the different roles of the recipients are clearly distinguished and linked to their role-specific methods, proper delivery platforms and success stories. Setting these principles into practice when planning and implementing interventions, primarily aims to enlighten and support those who are enrolled to design and implement Patient Safety education and training teaching activities. This is achieved by providing them with a framework to build upon, succeeding to build a collaborative, safety conscious and competent environment, in terms of PS. A guidelines web platform has been developed to support this process.

A toolbox for safety instrumented system evaluation based on improved continuous-time Markov chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wardana, Awang N. I.; Kurniady, Rahman; Pambudi, Galih; Purnama, Jaka; Suryopratomo, Kutut

2017-08-01

Safety instrumented system (SIS) is designed to restore a plant into a safe condition when pre-hazardous event is occur. It has a vital role especially in process industries. A SIS shall be meet with safety requirement specifications. To confirm it, SIS shall be evaluated. Typically, the evaluation is calculated by hand. This paper presents a toolbox for SIS evaluation. It is developed based on improved continuous-time Markov chain. The toolbox supports to detailed approach of evaluation. This paper also illustrates an industrial application of the toolbox to evaluate arch burner safety system of primary reformer. The results of the case study demonstrates that the toolbox can be used to evaluate industrial SIS in detail and to plan the maintenance strategy.

Development and evaluation of a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults.

PubMed

Abbot, Jaclyn Maurer; Policastro, Peggy; Bruhn, Christine; Schaffner, Donald W; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol

2012-06-01

Food safety information campaigns are more likely to be most effective if the messages are tailored to the needs of a specific audience. Designing effective campaigns involves careful study of the target population and working with them using a community-based participatory research model. Thus, the development of the campaign materials for a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults followed intense efforts of working with the target audience to gather the baseline data needed to characterize this audience, to identify the most salient messages for college students, and to create materials and events that would resonate with them. This campaign was implemented and evaluated on eight university campuses in the United States. The results indicate that the campaign significantly increased self-ratings of food safety knowledge and skill, actual food safety knowledge, food safety self-efficacy, stage of change for safe food handling, and reported hand washing behaviors of a geographically and racially diverse group of college students. The positive study outcomes support the value of engaging in these research and development efforts and reflect the usefulness of the audience-specific materials and activities developed for the campaign. The findings also demonstrate the versatility and utility of the materials on different campuses. Developing health media campaigns specifically for unique populations is key to ensuring health messages reach the target audience and, even more importantly, appeal to them. The detailed overview of the development of a food safety media campaign aimed at young adults presented in this article illustrates how health professionals can work with their target population to develop a focused, effective health promotion campaign.

The role of leader influence tactics and safety climate in engaging employees' safety participation.

PubMed

Clarke, Sharon; Ward, Katie

2006-10-01

This study examines the effect of leader influence tactics on employee safety participation in a U.K.-based manufacturing organization, examining the role of safety climate as a mediator. Structural equation modeling showed that leader influence tactics associated with a transformational leadership style had significant relationships with safety participation that were partially mediated by the safety climate (consultation) or fully mediated by the safety climate (inspirational appeals). In addition, leader influence tactics associated with a transactional leadership style had significant relationships with safety participation: rational persuasion (partially mediated by safety climate) and coalition tactics (direct effect). Thus, leaders may encourage safety participation using a combination of influence tactics, based on rational arguments, involvement in decision making, and generating enthusiasm for safety. The influence of building trust in managers is discussed as an underlying mechanism in this relationship. Practical implications are highlighted, including the design of leadership development programs, which may be particularly suited to high-reliability organizations.

Virtual Safety Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuller, Scott; Davis, Jason

2003-01-01

The Multimedia Tool Box Talk is a web-based quick reference safety guide and training tool for construction personnel. An intended outcome of this effort was to provide an efficient and effective way to locate and interpret crucial safety information while at the job site. The tool includes information from the Occupational Safety and Health…

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...

Safety Verification of a Fault Tolerant Reconfigurable Autonomous Goal-Based Robotic Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braman, Julia M. B.; Murray, Richard M; Wagner, David A.

2007-01-01

Fault tolerance and safety verification of control systems are essential for the success of autonomous robotic systems. A control architecture called Mission Data System (MDS), developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, takes a goal-based control approach. In this paper, a method for converting goal network control programs into linear hybrid systems is developed. The linear hybrid system can then be verified for safety in the presence of failures using existing symbolic model checkers. An example task is simulated in MDS and successfully verified using HyTech, a symbolic model checking software for linear hybrid systems.

Volunteer driven home safety intervention results in significant reduction in pediatric injuries: A model for community based injury reduction.

PubMed

Falcone, Richard A; Edmunds, Patrick; Lee, Emily; Gardner, Dawne; Price, Kimberly; Gittelman, Michael; Pomerantz, Wendy; Besl, John; Madhavan, Gowri; Phelan, Kieran J

2016-07-01

Home based injuries account for a significant number of injuries to children between 1 and 5years old. Evidence-based safety interventions delivered in the home with installation of safety equipment have been demonstrated to reduce injury rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a community based volunteer implemented home safety intervention. In partnership with a community with high injury rates for children between 1 and 5years old, a home safety bundle was developed and implemented by volunteers. The safety bundle included installing evidence based safety equipment. Monthly community emergency room attended injury rates as well as emergency room attended injuries occurring in intervention and nonintervention homes was tracked throughout the study. Between May 2012 and May 2014 a total of 207 homes with children 1-5years old received the home safety bundle. The baseline monthly emergency room attended injury rate for children aged 1-5years within our target community was 11.3/1000 and that within our county was 8.7/1000. Following the intervention current rates are now 10.3/1000 and 9.2/1000 respectively. Within intervention homes the injury rate decreased to 4.2/1000 while the rate in the homes not receiving the intervention experienced an increase in injury rate to 12/1000 (p<0.05). When observed vs. expected injuries were examined the intervention group demonstrated 59% fewer injuries while the nonintervention group demonstrated a 6% increase (p<0.05). Children in homes that received a volunteer-provided, free home safety bundle experienced 59% fewer injuries than would have been expected. By partnering with community leaders and organizing volunteers, proven home safety interventions were successfully provided to 207 homes during a two-year period, and a decline in community injury rates for children younger than 5years was observed compared to county wide injury rates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sample size for post-marketing safety studies based on historical controls.

PubMed

Wu, Yu-te; Makuch, Robert W

2010-08-01

As part of a drug's entire life cycle, post-marketing studies are an important part in the identification of rare, serious adverse events. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun to implement new post-marketing safety mandates as a consequence of increased emphasis on safety. The purpose of this research is to provide exact sample size formula for the proposed hybrid design, based on a two-group cohort study with incorporation of historical external data. Exact sample size formula based on the Poisson distribution is developed, because the detection of rare events is our outcome of interest. Performance of exact method is compared to its approximate large-sample theory counterpart. The proposed hybrid design requires a smaller sample size compared to the standard, two-group prospective study design. In addition, the exact method reduces the number of subjects required in the treatment group by up to 30% compared to the approximate method for the study scenarios examined. The proposed hybrid design satisfies the advantages and rationale of the two-group design with smaller sample sizes generally required. 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Risk-based process safety assessment and control measures design for offshore process facilities.

PubMed

Khan, Faisal I; Sadiq, Rehan; Husain, Tahir

2002-09-02

Process operation is the most hazardous activity next to the transportation and drilling operation on an offshore oil and gas (OOG) platform. Past experiences of onshore and offshore oil and gas activities have revealed that a small mis-happening in the process operation might escalate to a catastrophe. This is of especial concern in the OOG platform due to the limited space and compact geometry of the process area, less ventilation, and difficult escape routes. On an OOG platform, each extra control measure, which is implemented, not only occupies space on the platform and increases congestion but also adds extra load to the platform. Eventualities in the OOG platform process operation can be avoided through incorporating the appropriate control measures at the early design stage. In this paper, the authors describe a methodology for risk-based process safety decision making for OOG activities. The methodology is applied to various offshore process units, that is, the compressor, separators, flash drum and driers of an OOG platform. Based on the risk potential, appropriate safety measures are designed for each unit. This paper also illustrates that implementation of the designed safety measures reduces the high Fatal accident rate (FAR) values to an acceptable level.

Using a safety forecast model to calculate future safety metrics.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-05-01

This research sought to identify a process to improve long-range planning prioritization by using forecasted : safety metrics in place of the existing Utah Department of Transportation Safety Indexa metric based on historical : crash data. The res...

Advancing the hydrogen safety knowledge base

DOE PAGES

Weiner, S. C.

2014-08-29

The International Energy Agency's Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (IEA HIA) was established in 1977 to pursue collaborative hydrogen research and development and information exchange among its member countries. Information and knowledge dissemination is a key aspect of the work within IEA HIA tasks, and case studies, technical reports and presentations/publications often result from the collaborative efforts. The work conducted in hydrogen safety under Task 31 and its predecessor, Task 19, can positively impact the objectives of national programs even in cases for which a specific task report is not published. As a result, the interactions within Task 31 illustrate how technologymore » information and knowledge exchange among participating hydrogen safety experts serve the objectives intended by the IEA HIA.« less

Thematic Analysis of Women's Perspectives on the Meaning of Safety During Hospital-Based Birth.

PubMed

Lyndon, Audrey; Malana, Jennifer; Hedli, Laura C; Sherman, Jules; Lee, Henry C

2018-05-01

To explore women's birth experiences to develop an understanding of their perspectives on patient safety during hospital-based birth. Qualitative description using thematic analysis of interview data. Seventeen women ages 29 to 47 years. Women participated in individual or small group interviews about their birth experiences, the physical environment, interactions with clinicians, and what safety meant to them in the context of birth. An interdisciplinary group of five investigators from nursing, medicine, product design, and journalism analyzed transcripts thematically to examine how women experienced feeling safe or unsafe and identify opportunities for improvements in care. Participants experienced feelings of safety on a continuum. These feelings were affected by confidence in providers, the environment and organizational factors, interpersonal interactions, and actions people took during risk moments of rapid or confusing change. Well-organized teams and sensitive interpersonal interactions that demonstrated human connection supported feelings of safety, whereas some routine aspects of care threatened feelings of safety. Physical and emotional safety are inextricably embedded in the patient experience, yet this connection may be overlooked in some inpatient birth settings. Clinicians should be mindful of how the birth environment and their behaviors in it can affect a woman's feelings of safety during birth. Human connection is especially important during risk moments, which represent a liminal space at the intersection of physical and emotional safety. At least one team member should focus on the provision of emotional support during rapidly changing situations to mitigate the potential for negative experiences that can result in emotional harm. Copyright © 2018 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.