scholarly journals Investigation on heat stress of construction workers in summer in Chongqing, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 03005
Author(s):  
Longqian Li ◽  
Hong Liu ◽  
Lu Chen ◽  
Jiaze He
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Main Research

The heat stress of workers at construction sites in Chongqing, China, was studied in this paper. The investigation included measurement of environmental parameters, measurement of physiological parameters, questionnaire survey and tracking record of their self-regulation of the behaviour. Scaffolder, carpenter, porter, plasterer and handymen were taken as the main research subjects. Five subjects were selected daily to conduct a questionnaire survey and to measure their physiological parameters, 60 construction workers were investigated. The results show that in sizzling summer, the average effective Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGTeff) is 35.8 ° C. Under these circumstances, workers are in a poor working environment based on some Chinese and international standards. During the experiment, the researchers recorded the work behaviour and self-regulation of workers. It is found that the average heart rate of workers with different job is significantly different, and the average metabolic rate of handymen is significantly lower than that of piling rig workers. Different type of workers should be protected by different protection rules to avoid suffering heat injury.

Occupational and environmental safety standards in nanotechnology: International Organization for Standardization, Latin America and beyond

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 538-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Foladori
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Occupational Risk ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Iso Standards ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
Management Standards

In the absence of government safety regulation in the field of nanotechnology, ISO standards are being used as the basis for establishing technical and management guidelines at an international level. There are more than 50 current ISO standards on nanotechnology. Some of these relate to the working environment and occupational risk management. In Latin America, entities that are members of ISO are enunciating national versions of the international standards. In this article, this context is analysed critically, starting from the Mexican standard on occupational risk management in the working environment. Even though risk management standards may guarantee better and safer working conditions, in the field of nanotechnology, they simultaneously unlock detrimental implications for workers and society. Reliance on such private and voluntary forms of industry self-regulation is identified as a by-product of global neoliberalism.

scholarly journals Estimation of Heat Stress and Maximum Acceptable Work Time Based on Physiological and Environmental Response in Hot-Dry Climate: A Case Study in Traditional Bakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-202
Author(s):  
Davood Afshari ◽  
Saeid Moradi ◽  
Kambiz Ahmadi Angali ◽  
Gholam-Abbas Shirali
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
Environmental Response ◽  
Work Time ◽  
Rest Time ◽  
Dry Climates ◽  
Globe Temperature ◽  
Suitable Index

Background: Heat stress is common among workers in hot-dry areas. To take preventive strategies for the protection of workers against heat stress, it is important to choose a suitable index that can accurately explain environmental parameters relative to physiological responses. Objective: To evaluate heat stress and maximum acceptable work time (MAWT) based on physiological and environmental response in hot-dry climate among traditional bakers. Methods: The current study was carried out on 30 traditional bakers of 3 different bread baking systems in Ahvaz, Iran. Environmental and physiological parameters were measured simultaneously for a work shift. The work-rest time was also determined based on the relative heart rate (RHR) and the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index. Results: The average WBGT index was estimated to be higher than the standard limit for all baking stations. Despite the higher-than-the-recommended-limit WBGT index, there was no significant relationship between the WBGT index and physiological parameters. The results indicated a significant (p<0.05) difference between the percentages of work-rest time estimated using the WBGT and RHR index. Conclusion: Based on the results of environmental and physiological monitoring of this study as well as the limitations of the use of the WBGT index, it seems that using WBGT as a standard index would not suit heat stress management in hot-dry climates. A revision of this standard to adapt to hot climatic conditions should be in order.

Secure Cloud Quantum Computing with Verification Based on Quantum Interactive Proof

Impact ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (10) ◽  
pp. 30-32
Author(s):  
Tomoyuki Morimae
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Computing ◽  
Quantum Information ◽  
Theoretical Physics ◽  
View Point ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Interactive Proof ◽  
Open Problems ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Proof Systems ◽  
Information Group

In cloud quantum computing, a classical client delegate quantum computing to a remote quantum server. An important property of cloud quantum computing is the verifiability: the client can check the integrity of the server. Whether such a classical verification of quantum computing is possible or not is one of the most important open problems in quantum computing. We tackle this problem from the view point of quantum interactive proof systems. Dr Tomoyuki Morimae is part of the Quantum Information Group at the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics at Kyoto University, Japan. He leads a team which is concerned with two main research subjects: quantum supremacy and the verification of quantum computing.

Conflicts of Interest in Human Subject Research: The Insufficiency of U.S. and International Standards

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-330
Author(s):  
Marc A. Rodwin
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Human Subject Research ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Ineffective Efforts ◽  
Human Research Subjects ◽  
Current Standards

Researchers, as well as individuals and institutions that oversee their conduct, sometimes have conflicts of interest that weaken or render ineffective efforts to protect human research subjects. This article analyzes United States and international standards used to address conflicts of interest and reviews evidence regarding compliance. It finds current standards are insufficient and recommends that the federal government and international organizations adopt stronger legal standards that require resolving most significant conflicts of interest and specifying how to manage conflicts of interest not resolved.

The conceptual profile of Equilibrium and its contributions to the teaching of Chemical Equilibrium

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurício Silva Costa ◽  
Bruno Ferreira Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Chemical Equilibrium ◽  
Scientific Concepts ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Conceptual Profile

The learning of scientific concepts is one of the main research subjects in science education. Although little used, the theory of conceptual profiles allows to study this knowledge, taking into...

The Relationships among Perceived Stress, Athletic Burnout and Leisure Participation for the Badminton Player

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 07-12
Author(s):  
Chih-Wei Lin ◽  
Ching-Chi Wu ◽  
Jen-Wei Chen ◽  
Bo-Hao Lai ◽  
Su-Shiang Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Hierarchical Regression Analysis ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Convenience Sampling ◽  
National Ranking

Objective - This study examines the relationship between perceived stress, athletic burnout and leisure amongst badminton players. Methodology/Technique - The research subjects were all first national ranking tournament badminton players in 2012. The study uses convenience sampling to conduct a questionnaire survey. 350 questionnaires were distrubuted, with 288 valid questionnaires being returned (male 195, female 93). The rate of effectiveness was 82%. All of the data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistic and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings – The research subjects were all first national ranking tournament badminton players in 2012. The study uses convenience sampling to conduct a questionnaire survey. 350 questionnaires were distrubuted, with 288 valid questionnaires being returned (male 195, female 93). The rate of effectiveness was 82%. All of the data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistic and hierarchical regression analysis. Novelty – The study highlights that badminton players who participate in leisure-based activities are able to effectively adjust their perception of pressure to a "reduced sense of accomplishment" which has an effect on athletic burnout. Additionally, the study results give rise to variety of proposed solutions or suggestions for dealing with burnout or stress. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Hierarchical Regression Analysis; Sources of Stress; Leisure; Badminton Players. JEL Classification: M10, Z20.

Robot obstacle avoidance system using deep reinforcement learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Zhu ◽  
Yinghao Liang ◽  
Hanxu Sun ◽  
Xueqian Wang ◽  
Bin Ren
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Collision Avoidance ◽  
Obstacle Avoidance ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Optimal Path ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Human Operators

Purpose Most manufacturing plants choose the easy way of completely separating human operators from robots to prevent accidents, but as a result, it dramatically affects the overall quality and speed that is expected from human–robot collaboration. It is not an easy task to ensure human safety when he/she has entered a robot’s workspace, and the unstructured nature of those working environments makes it even harder. The purpose of this paper is to propose a real-time robot collision avoidance method to alleviate this problem. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a model is trained to learn the direct control commands from the raw depth images through self-supervised reinforcement learning algorithm. To reduce the effect of sample inefficiency and safety during initial training, a virtual reality platform is used to simulate a natural working environment and generate obstacle avoidance data for training. To ensure a smooth transfer to a real robot, the automatic domain randomization technique is used to generate randomly distributed environmental parameters through the obstacle avoidance simulation of virtual robots in the virtual environment, contributing to better performance in the natural environment. Findings The method has been tested in both simulations with a real UR3 robot for several practical applications. The results of this paper indicate that the proposed approach can effectively make the robot safety-aware and learn how to divert its trajectory to avoid accidents with humans within the workspace. Research limitations/implications The method has been tested in both simulations with a real UR3 robot in several practical applications. The results indicate that the proposed approach can effectively make the robot be aware of safety and learn how to change its trajectory to avoid accidents with persons within the workspace. Originality/value This paper provides a novel collision avoidance framework that allows robots to work alongside human operators in unstructured and complex environments. The method uses end-to-end policy training to directly extract the optimal path from the visual inputs for the scene.

Occupational Hot Exposures: Body Physiology and An Approach to Numerical Assessment

1989 ◽  
Vol 203 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
R C McLean ◽  
G H Galbraith ◽  
D Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Heat Balance ◽  
Energy Exchange ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
The Body ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Exchange Processes ◽  
Numerical Assessment ◽  
Physiological Reactions

This paper summarizes the factors which influence the energy exchange processes between an individual and his surroundings and the mechanisms by which the body attempts to maintain itself in a heat balance situation. Thereafter, the important physiological reactions to hot working conditions are described and, on this basis, a numerical assessment procedure is proposed. Examples are given of the use of this method in investigating the possibility of heat stress and estimating the time for which an acclimatized worker can safely be exposed in such circumstances. An increase in the permissible exposure time through a manipulation of the environmental parameters is also considered.

scholarly journals Physiological Parameters of Pigs Raised with and without Environmental Enrichment

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Carlos Syllas Monteiro Luz ◽  
Leonardo Atta Farias ◽  
José Luiz Leonardo Araujo Pimenta ◽  
Joisiane Da Silva Santos ◽  
Richard Átila De Sousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Blood Parameters ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
Pig Farming ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Morning Shift

Ethical and commercial issues are associated with animal welfare in pig farming, in that sense, the objective of this work was to evaluate physiological and blood parameters in addition to weight gain in pigs raised with and without sunlight and environmental enrichment (EE), as well as to correlate physiological and environmental parameters as welfare indicators. Twenty-four pigs distributed in a randomized block design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement were used. Blocks were represented by shifts (morning and afternoon), and factors by the presence or absence of EE and sunlight. Blood and environmental parameters of thermal comfort, in addition to weight gain, were registered. Physiological parameters showed to be shift dependent (p < 0.05), with the afternoon shift being superior when compared to the morning shift, thus indicating climate influence. Weight gain showed significant interactions (p < 0.05) in the presence and absence of sunlight and EE in the stalls. Temperature correlated positively with the physiological parameters. Moisture showed negative correlations with physiological parameters. The packed cell volume was lower (p < 0.05) in the presence of EE. The EE provides physiological well-being and weight gain for pigs in the nursery stage, especially when sunlight was absent in the stalls.

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