Radiological Investigation on Sediments: A Case Study of Wadi Rod Elsayalla the Southeastern Desert of Egypt

The presence of heavy radioactive minerals in the studied granitoids from which the Wadi sediments leads to the study of the exposure to emitted gamma rays from the terrestrial radionuclides, such as 238U, 232Th, and 40K. The geological study revealed that the Wadi sediments derived from the surrounding granitoids, such as syenogranite, alkali feldspar granite, and quartz syenite. The mineral analysis confirmed that the granitoids were enriched with radioactive minerals, such as uranothorite as well as monazite, zircon, yttrocolumbite, and allanite. The mean activity of the 238U, 232Th, and 40K concentrations are 62.2 ± 20.8, 84.2 ± 23.3, and 949.4 ± 172.5 Bq kg−1, respectively, for the investigated Wadi sediments, exceeding the reported limit of 33, 45 and 412 Bq kg−1, respectively. Public exposure to emitted gamma radiation is detected by estimating many radiological hazard indices, such as the radium equivalent content (Raeq), external and internal hazard indices (Hex and Hin), annual effective dose (AED), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), and excess lifetime cancer (ELCR). The obtained results of the radiological hazards parameters showed that public exposure to emitted gamma radiation can induce various dangerous health effects. Thus, the application of the investigated sediments in different building materials and infrastructures fields is not safe. A multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) was applied to detect radionuclide correlations with the radiological hazard parameters estimated in the granite samples.

Thread/Warp

Thread/Warp was an online durational performance that investigated into the idea of stamina amidst our performance-obsessed, techno-contemporary world. Performed live on July 14 in a span of 12 hours via Zoom (and occasionally streamed via Facebook Live), Thread/Warp featured two performers in separate screen windows as they navigated the spectacle and exploitation of their bodies in two intersecting spaces: 1) the confines and confidentiality of their private domestic space(s); and 2) the expansive and exposing nature of the public space via their relationship with the video cameras.  Thread/Warp sought to explore what it meant to sustain energy, tenacity, resilience, and patience—especially in a climate wherein we are relentlessly expected to perform beyond what’s necessary; to tirelessly create infinite yet exhausted spectacles of both our physical and virtual bodies; and to constantly amplify our human stamina in order to brutally compete with the stamina of technology itself.  To put the concept into methodical exploration, this project utilized the concept of space as a crucial stimulus in conditioning one’s body to perform beyond what’s necessary. Specifically, the project took into account two spaces that had radically shaped our relationship with stamina —the private and the public—no longer as two distinct and separate entities, but rather as spheres that constantly intersect, overlap, blur, and at times even trade with one another. Firstly was the method on the private space, in which Thread/Warp examined the shifting conditions of the private domestic space—from a supposed place of rest and rejuvenation to a place of perpetual labor and recycled productions—and how these unprecedented  changes either deflate or escalate our stamina. Secondly was the method on public space, in which the project investigated how public exposure (via Zoom and Facebook Live) radically maneuvered our sense of stamina, and how this further warped and manipulated our relationship with rest, recuperation, production, performance, labor, and ultimately, individual purpose and meaning. By considering the interjections of the private and public space, the project explored how this further affected tremendous change in the dynamic, potency, and frailty in the performer’s body. 

Visit restrictions highlight crucial role of family members in long-term care: The British Columbia experience

The COVID-19 pandemic has created much-needed attention on long-term care in Canada. Public exposure of life in long-term care has generated tremendous public support for improvements that to a large extent focus on staffing and ageing infrastructure. However, the impact of visit restrictions on long-term care residents during the pandemic highlights the need for changes to how long-term care has traditionally viewed the role and value of family members. The Office of the Seniors Advocate of British Columbia published a report Staying Apart to Stay Safe that highlighted the impact of visit restrictions from the perspective of over 13,000 residents and family members directly affected. The results provide compelling evidence of the need for health leaders to re-evaluate current practice and embrace a more holistic role for family members of residents in long-term care.

Insights into Gastrointestinal Virome: Etiology and Public Exposure

Recycled wastewater is widely used owing to the potential shortage of water resources for drinking purposes, recreational activities, and irrigation. However, gut microbiomes of both human beings and animals negatively affect this water quality. Wastewater contamination is continuously monitored, using fecal contamination indicators or microbial source tracking approaches, to oppose arising enteric infections. Viral gastroenteritis is considered a principal manifestation of waterborne pathogenic virome-mediated infections, which are mainly transmitted via the fecal-oral route. Furthermore, acquired enteric viromes are the common cause of infantile acute diarrhea. Moreover, public exposure to wastewater via wastewater discharge or treated wastewater reuse has led to a significant surge of public health concerns. In this review, we discussed the etiology of waterborne enteric viromes, notably gastrointestinal virus infections, and public exposure to municipal wastewater. Conclusively, the early human virome is affected mainly by birth mode, dietary behavior, and maternal health, and could provide a signature of disease incidence, however, more virome diversification is acquired in adulthood. A multi-phase treatment approach offered an effective means for the elimination of wastewater reuse mediated public risks. The insights highlighted in this paper offer essential information for defining probable etiologies and assessing risks related to exposure to discharged or reused wastewater.

(Ad)Dressing Foreign Women: Ancient Exegesis of Numbers 25 and Roman Prostitution

Does the infinitive לזנות in Num 25:1 suggest that the foreign women were prostitutes? Analyzing four Roman-period Jewish sources—Biblical Antiquities 18:13–14; Philo, Moses 1.294–304 and Virtues 34–50; and Sifre Numbers 131—this article demonstrates that the public exposure of naked bodies in LAB reflects Roman norms relating to prostitutes. Philo even more explicitly depicts the women as brothel prostitutes, projecting the Roman repugnance towards upper-class men openly entering such establishments onto the Israelites and presenting them as immoral by dressing them in the elaborate costume typically worn by courtesans in Greek sources. Sifre Numbers 131 is a satirical variation on the theme, the Israelites being tricked into entering the prostitute’s cubicle due to their ignorance of the (male elite Roman) stereotyping of female vendor markets as prostitutes and old women as bawds.

APPLICATION OF LEGISLATIVE AND NONLEGISLATIVE MORATORIES IN THE MATTER OF SUSPENSION OF BANK LOANS

In order to avoid blocking the capacity of the banking system to finance the domestic economy, a legislative package was issued in order to protect the interests of bank debtors, at the suggestion of EBA and against the background of the crisis caused by COVID-19. In addition, the legislative moratorium was supplemented by a non-legislative moratorium, and as a result of their application, the payment obligations of the debtors who requested the postponement were suspended. The analysis of the effects produced on the banking market leads to the conclusion that the government's measures caused both positive and some negative effects - the risk of default for banks and public exposure being the sensitive factors. As a result, the state and the B.N.R. intervened with specific means.

No Way, That’s Gross! How Public Exposure Therapy Can Overcome Disgust Preventing Consumer Adoption of Sustainable Food Alternatives

Two prominently discussed sustainable food alternatives—lab-meat and edible insects—elicit disgust among consumers, thereby preventing acceptance. While providing prospective consumers with more information on, for instance, the environmental benefits of lab-meat has shown some success in increasing consumer acceptance, we argue that the disgust response—the main barrier to the societal acceptance of these foods—is not addressed. This is, we argue, because disgust is not the result of misperceptions (e.g., edible insects carry diseases) and thus unlikely to be overcome by information alone. Building on the latest insights into the social origins of disgust, this manuscript reviews an alternative strategy to foster the broader acceptance of sustainable food alternatives that currently elicit disgust. Specifically, we explain why and how public exposure could be a promising avenue for marketers to reduce consumers’ disgust response and thus increase the acceptance of sustainable food alternatives.

5G Radiation and Potential Risks to the Environment and Human Health

The rapid development in wireless communication technology and the urgent need to develop it has led to an increase in the public exposure to more radio spectrum frequencies. The mountain increases in terms of the damage caused by these wireless technologies for the 2G, 3G and 4G generations ending with the new technique, which is 5G. As a result of the urgent need for fast communications and wide packages of data, only a new generation of communications has emerged, which is 5G, which enjoys high speed and broadcasts in short waves and high frequency. There is great concern about the impact of these technologies on human health and safety. This technique works at relatively higher frequencies than the previously used technologies. This research sheds light on some of the expected harms of these technologies and the result of using these techniques, where the damages on the human body in general, the skin and the human eye in particular, are addressed, as well as their impact on the environment and plants in general.