Considerations regarding test methods against dust and water ingress protection for Ex equipment

The explosion danger in all industries where explosive atmospheres generated by the mixture of combustible dusts or flammable gases with air may form, must be treated as a major hazard, as the explosions that may occur can seriously affect both health and safety people, as well as the environment. It is therefore necessary to assess the explosion risk and to establish appropriate measures to reduce it to acceptable levels in accordance with the requirements of the European Directives. An essential element in the assessment of the explosion risk for electrical and non-electrical equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres is the way in which an appropriate normal degree of protection is provided through the equipment housing (protection against touching of dangerous parts inside the equipment housing and protection against the ingress of dust and water inside it). The aim of the paper is to highlight compliance with the requirements of the ATEX Directive, given that this protection is a basic requirement for explosion protection and to present the important elements to be considered for the assessment of the normal degree of protection and the development of harmonized test methods with the requirements of European standards.

Assessment of Depression Severity During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Among the Palestinian Population: A Growing Concern and an Immediate Consideration

Background: Aggressive quarantine and lockdown measures were implemented as protective public health actions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Assessing the psychological effects associated with these measures is an important attempt to inform local policymakers in an early stage. Yet little is known about these effects, specifically depression, among the Palestinians. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of depression among the Palestinian community during this pandemic.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey throughout social media (Facebook and Instagram) was carried out using an anonymous online questionnaire. The validated and standardized depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS) was used to measure depression severity. A snowball technique recruiting the general public living in Palestine was conducted. Data were collected between 6 and 16 April 2020, which corresponded to the middle interval of strict massive lockdown in Palestine on 22 March to 5 May 2020. Multinomial logistic regression model was developed to predict depression severity.Results: About 2,819 respondents filled out the questionnaire. Depression prevalence was (57.5%; n = 1,621). Out of them, 66% had mild/moderate severity, and 34% had severe/extremely severe degree. Depression severity was negatively associated with age {mild/moderate degree [OR (95% CI) = 0.98 (0.97–0.99)] and severe/extremely severe [OR (95% CI) = 0.96 (0.94–0.97)]} degrees compared with normal degree. Males were significantly less likely to have higher depression than females {mild/moderate degree [OR (95% CI) = 0.69 (0.57–0.85)] and severe/extremely severe [OR (95% CI) = 0.52 (0.40–0.86)]} degree. However, those who reported having inadequate food supply and lesser monthly incomes were more likely to have a higher degree of depression as compared with normal degree. Single persons were significantly more likely to have mild/moderate depression than those in a relationship [OR (95% CI) = 1.31 (1.05–1.64)].Conclusions: High depression prevalence (57.5%) among the Palestinian community during the COVID-19 pandemic is a growing public health concern. It is essential to provide psychological counseling and treatment during and after the pandemic for the targeted people at high risk (young age/female gender) who were affected psychologically. Strategic long-term policy to address pandemic ramifications, including depression, by implementing comprehensive interventions taking into account socioeconomic disparities, vulnerability, and inequities, is crucial to emerge from this crisis in Palestine.

Harrodian Instability: An Unhelpful Analytical Concept

By reconsidering the concept of normal degree of utilization in view of the fact that growth occurs through irregular fluctuations, the paper points out elements of weakness in the formalizations of the principles that underlie the notion of Harrodian instability. Since the latter was at the origin of the adoption of fully adjusted positions to represent long-term trends of the economy, such arguments call into question this way of addressing demand-led growth. JEL Classification: O40, E12

Contributory Qualifying and Non-Qualifying Triggers in the Loss of Control Defence: A Wrong Turn on Sexual Infidelity

This article considers the decision of the Court of Appeal in R v Clinton where Lord Judge CJ speaking for the Court of Appeal held that sexual infidelity could be considered under the third prong of the new partial defence of loss of control, even though it is expressly excluded under the second prong. We argue that sexual infidelity is excluded from being considered under all the prongs of the new defence. It is expressly excluded as a form of qualifying provocation, which means it cannot be considered as a ‘circumstance’ that might prevent a person of D's sex and age with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint from killing. The objective tests in the new defence overlap, because the jury already has objective self-restraint in mind when it is considering the objectiveness of the provocation. When the jury is considering whether a normal person would have been provoked by the victim's conduct, it is also considering whether a normal person would have exercised self-restraint. Conceptually, these are two aspects of a single broader question: Was it reasonable for the defendant to lose control? Therefore, the jury cannot consider whether sexual infidelity prevented a person of a normal degree of tolerance from exercising control, even if it is a circumstance that relates to some other qualifying trigger. Where sexual infidelity is a (major) contributory trigger for the loss of control, it should not be considered under any of the prongs of the defence. If D has been taunted about his impotence in circumstances where he is enraged by his wife's sexual infidelity, the defence will only be made out if the jury accepts that the taunts about the impotence constituted objective provocation on their own, and that the taunts about the impotence per se might have prevented a person of normal control and tolerance from exercising self-restraint. The sexual infidelity would have to be compartmentalised, so that the jury would not be influenced by it.

Intrusion Detection Method Based on Frequent Pattern

As the surging development of the information technology, Intrusion Detection System has been devised for the safety of computer network. This paper focuses on the method of frequent pattern based intrusion detection. A new formula measuring the normal degree of a transaction is presented. We propose a new algorithm to calculate each transaction’s normal degree as well as detect intrusions. Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm is competent in detecting intrusions with high detection rate and relatively low false positive rate.

A Fieldwork Award: Rewarding Excellence in Practice

Fieldwork is a substantial and compulsory component of a first-degree programme in occupational therapy. A student must demonstrate competence in fieldwork in order to practise. This vital element of the course receives little recognition. Fieldwork is either marked on a pass/fall basis or included in the degree classification. This is hardly satisfactory because neither student nor prospective employer has a clear indication about competence to practise, other than that the student has attained the minimum level to graduate. This article seeks to show how the occupational therapy course at Nene-University College in Northampton has addressed the problem. Students are now able to demonstrate excellence in fieldwork with a separate fieldwork award in addition to the normal degree classification.

The `Mafia Feeling': A Transcultural Theme of Sicily

In this article, the Mafia feeling is analysed as an anthropological and cultural theme which through the family establishes personal and individual identity (in the sense of identicalness) which needs set certainties. The presence of a code of certainties suggests the hypothesis that the Mafia feeling is structured on a specific cultural transpersonal level which guarantees the survival, the cohesion and the sense of belonging to the members of a subculture. It is argued that, from the Group-analytic standpoint the Mafia feeling can be considered as a pre-thoughtful and dogmatic thinking which, beginning from a normal degree of dogmatism (adaptive dogmatism), flows through a matrix entirely saturated with meaning into a pathological dogmatism.