Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

Author(s):  
John D. Meeker

This chapter covers occupational and environmental hygiene principles and their application. This information is vital to understanding and preventing hazardous exposures and associated adverse health effects, among workers and the general population. The chapter addresses anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards, including toxic materials, noise, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, air pollution, water contamination, and related topics. Illustrative examples of these topics are described, such as common industrial processes that may result in exposure to hazardous agents, important exposure pathways, strategies to characterize exposure, the hierarchy of exposure control strategies, and known sources of environmental contaminants of concern. The chapter also includes lists of resources that provide additional information on relevant topics of interest.

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-97
Author(s):  
Jesus H Lugo

Safe interactions between humans and robots are needed in several industrial processes and service tasks. Compliance design and control of mechanisms is a way to increase safety. This article presents a compliant revolute joint mechanism using a biphasic media variable stiffness actuator. The actuator has a member configured to transmit motion that is connected to a fluidic circuit, into which a biphasic control fluid circulates. Stiffness is controlled by changing pressure of control fluid into distribution lines. A mathematical model of the actuator is presented, a model-based control method is implemented to track the desired position and stiffness, and equations relating to the dynamics of the mechanism are provided. Results from force loaded and unloaded simulations and experiments with a physical prototype are discussed. The additional information covers a detailed description of the system and its physical implementation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Poremski ◽  
Sandra Henrietta Subner ◽  
Grace Lam Fong Kin ◽  
Raveen Dev Ram Dev ◽  
Mok Yee Ming ◽  
...  

The Institute of Mental Health in Singapore continues to attempt to prevent the introduction of COVID-19, despite community transmission. Essential services are maintained and quarantine measures are currently unnecessary. To help similar organizations, strategies are listed along three themes: sustaining essential services, preventing infection, and managing human and consumable resources.


1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-477
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Nutt

Abstract Based on discussions in workshop sessions, several recurring themes became evident with respect to the optimization and control of petroleum refinery wastewater treatment systems to achieve effective removal of toxic contaminants. It was apparent that statistical process control (SPC) techniques are finding more widespread use and have been found to be effective. However, the implementation of real-time process control strategies in petroleum refinery wastewater treatment systems is in its infancy. Considerable effort will need to be expended to demonstrate the practicality of on-line sensors, and the utility of automated process control in petroleum refinery wastewater treatment systems. This paper provides a summary of the discussions held at the workshop.


Author(s):  
Ann M. Krake

This chapter covers extremes of temperature conditions, physiological effects, and prevention. All deaths caused by exposure to hot and cold temperature extremes are preventable when proper measures are taken. Described in this chapter are the effects of extreme heat and extreme cold on the health of members of the public, particularly older people and young people, and workers employed in various workplace settings. The differences between heat stress and heat strain are also discussed, as are various regulations governing exposure to temperature extremes. The nature and magnitude of heat- and cold-related conditions and symptoms are described in detail. Final sections of the chapter address various assessment and evaluation tools as well as prevention and control measures. In addition, an appendix describes the hazards related to hyperbaric and hypobaric environments and adverse health effects.


Author(s):  
Ivan Herreros

This chapter discusses basic concepts from control theory and machine learning to facilitate a formal understanding of animal learning and motor control. It first distinguishes between feedback and feed-forward control strategies, and later introduces the classification of machine learning applications into supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning problems. Next, it links these concepts with their counterparts in the domain of the psychology of animal learning, highlighting the analogies between supervised learning and classical conditioning, reinforcement learning and operant conditioning, and between unsupervised and perceptual learning. Additionally, it interprets innate and acquired actions from the standpoint of feedback vs anticipatory and adaptive control. Finally, it argues how this framework of translating knowledge between formal and biological disciplines can serve us to not only structure and advance our understanding of brain function but also enrich engineering solutions at the level of robot learning and control with insights coming from biology.


Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wu ◽  
Tong Qi ◽  
Dan Li ◽  
Huijuan Yang ◽  
Guoqing Liu ◽  
...  

The surface water of 10 major river systems across China has been under intermediate pollution with striking eutrophication problems in major lakes (reservoirs). More data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China showed that underground water in 57% of monitoring sites across Chinese cities was polluted or extremely polluted. Rural water pollution, the rising number of incidents of industrial pollution, outdated sewerage systems, and the overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers also endanger the health of rural inhabitants in China. Nearly 0.2 billion rural residents could not use drinking water in accordance with the national standard, and there were reports of ‘cancer villages' and food-borne diseases (cancer village refers to a village where a certain proportion of its inhabitants suffer from the same kind of cancer or where there is a hike in cancer incidence in that area). This study aims to raise awareness of the prevention and control of water pollution and to propose a set of national research and policy initiatives for the future safety of the water environment in China.


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