Quality Management System and Risk Analysis

Many business leaders believe that a comprehensive risk management system provides an essential foundation for maintaining competitive advantages. Moreover, the company is today in the need to set up this device since its environment is unstable and it is constantly changing. In the current circumstances of the virulent pandemic COVID-19, risk management is gaining importance. The majority of Moroccan companies, especially SMEs, are still in an embryonic stage with regard to the practice of risk management. It should be noted that certain SMEs have set up, in particular in the food industry, a food risk management system since this is of a regulatory nature. The results of empirical research have shown that the implementation of a quality management system or an integrated quality and food safety system in the companies promotes risk management. The risk approach is a transversal approach that allows companies to improve their operation and be resilient.

Predicting Persistent Developmental Stuttering Using a Cumulative Risk Approach

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how well a cumulative risk approach, based on empirically supported predictive factors, predicts whether a young child who stutters is likely to develop persistent developmental stuttering. In a cumulative risk approach, the number of predictive factors indicating a child is at risk to develop persistent stuttering is evaluated, and a greater number of indicators of risk are hypothesized to confer greater risk of persistent stuttering. Method: We combined extant data on 3- to 5-year-old children who stutter from two longitudinal studies to identify cutoff values for continuous predictive factors (e.g., speech and language skills, age at onset, time since onset, stuttering frequency) and, in combination with binary predictors (e.g., sex, family history of stuttering), used all-subsets regression and receiver operating characteristic curves to compare the predictive validity of different combinations of 10 risk factors. The optimal combination of predictive factors and the odds of a child developing persistent stuttering based on an increasing number of factors were calculated. Results: Based on 67 children who stutter (i.e., 44 persisting and 23 recovered) with relatively strong speech-language skills, the predictive factor model that yielded the best predictive validity was based on time since onset (≥ 19 months), speech sound skills (≤ 115 standard score), expressive language skills (≤ 106 standard score), and stuttering severity (≥ 17 Stuttering Severity Instrument total score). When the presence of at least two predictive factors was used to confer elevated risk to develop persistent stuttering, the model yielded 93% sensitivity and 65% specificity. As a child presented with a greater number of these four risk factors, the odds for persistent stuttering increased. Conclusions: Findings support the use of a cumulative risk approach and the predictive utility of assessing multiple domains when evaluating a child's risk of developing persistent stuttering. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Spatiotemporal elements in a poisoned bait strategy against the long-tailed silverfish (Lepismatidae: Zygentoma)

The long-tailed silverfish Ctenolepisma longicaudatum (Lepismatidae: Zygentoma) is a nuisance problem in buildings and a major concern in museums, libraries and archives where it cause damage to historical and priceless items. We used laboratory bioassays and two field studies of infested buildings to evaluate spatial and temporal elements of a poisoned bait strategy. In both laboratory experiments and field studies, the efficiency of poisoned bait with indoxacarb as the active ingredient was significantly improved by placing many small bait droplets evenly distributed along all edges of the treated area compared to more clustered distributions. Extended duration of bait presence and removal of competing food sources improved the control effect significantly in the laboratory bioassays. Bait-treated populations also showed a significant decline in the number of eggs deposited and emergence of new nymphs. The study supports poisoned bait as an efficient and low risk approach against the long-tailed silverfish in which extended duration of bait presence, wide distribution of bait droplets in combination with sanitation was crucial for control in the infested premises.

Indexes to evaluate risk based metrological performance in companies in the energy sector

The metrological performance evaluation is a tool that allows feedback in the management of measurements and the monitoring of the results achieved by the organizations that apply it. In many companies this type of evaluation does not show relevant results, mainly due to limitations in the procedures and indicators used to carry it out. The objective of this work was to develop metrological risk indices for the evaluation of metrological performance in companies in the energy sector. For the development of the research, three organizations belonging to said sector are selected. From the use in the organizations of the risk approach and interviews, document review, brainstorming and mathematical statistical methods, the metrological risk index and the risk index in metrological management are defined for companies in the aforementioned sector. The results achieved showed that it is possible to create this prototype tool, as well as its usefulness to provide feedback on the management of measurements, in addition to guiding the management decision-making process in metrological matters.

SARS-CoV-2 reinfection trends in South Africa: analysis of routine surveillance data

Objective: To examine whether SARS-CoV-2 reinfection risk has changed through time in South Africa, in the context of the emergence of the Beta and Delta variants Design: Retrospective analysis of routine epidemiological surveillance data Setting: Line list data on SARS-CoV-2 with specimen receipt dates between 04 March 2020 and 30 June 2021, collected through South Africa's National Notifiable Medical Conditions Surveillance System Participants: 1,551,655 individuals with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 who had a positive test result at least 90 days prior to 30 June 2021. Individuals having sequential positive tests at least 90 days apart were considered to have suspected reinfections. Main outcome measures: Incidence of suspected reinfections through time; comparison of reinfection rates to the expectation under a null model (approach 1); empirical estimates of the time-varying hazards of infection and reinfection throughout the epidemic (approach 2) Results: 16,029 suspected reinfections were identified. The number of reinfections observed through the end of June 2021 is consistent with the null model of no change in reinfection risk (approach 1). Although increases in the hazard of primary infection were observed following the introduction of both the Beta and Delta variants, no corresponding increase was observed in the reinfection hazard (approach 2). Contrary to expectation, the estimated hazard ratio for reinfection versus primary infection was lower during waves driven by the Beta and Delta variants than for the first wave (relative hazard ratio for wave 2 versus wave 1: 0.75 (95% CI: 0.59-0.97); for wave 3 versus wave 1: 0.70 (95% CI: 0.55-0.90)). Although this finding may be partially explained by changes in testing availability, it is also consistent with a scenario in which variants have increased transmissibility but little or no evasion of immunity. Conclusion: We conclude there is no population-wide epidemiological evidence of immune escape and recommend ongoing monitoring of these trends.

AIRPORT ALoSP AND INTEGRATED RISK APPROACH FOR SSPs

This work proposed the development of a methodology for risk management in airports for ICAO’s State Safety Programmes (SSP). To do so we investigated the nature of the airport safety events occurred in busiest Brazilian airports and proposed a risk index capable to provide the Acceptable Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP) ICAO demands to their signatory States. The approach allowed us to rank airports per their risk in relation to the ALoSP calculated and proposed State optimized regulatory actions to where the risk is. Research found the high concentration on risk recurrence among 31 airports. Only 4 concentrated 30% of all the recurrence of risk, 8 were responsible for 50% and 17 represented approximately 80% of the total risk load in Brazilian airport operations. Five groups of airports are proposed as per their safety performance (Safety+2, Safety+1, Neutral, Safety-1 and Safety-2). Their measured performance showed statistically significant differences. Safety+1 group presented a safety performance 1.49 times better than ALoSP and 3.52 times better than worst group of airports (Safety-2). The Safety+2 group is 3.76 times safer than ALoSP and 8.88 times safer than Safety-2 group. Safety-1 group presented a risk level 1.51 times higher than ALoSP and Safety-2 performed 2.35 times riskier than the ALoSP. This matrix way of problem solving brings more effectiveness and rationality to the SSP’s, amplifying their effectiveness.

A Preliminary Assessment of the Potential Health and Genetic Impacts of Releasing Confiscated Passerines Into the Wild: A Reduced-Risk Approach

The illegal capture and trade of wild birds have long been threats to biodiversity. The rehabilitation and release of confiscated animals may be a useful conservation tool in species management. However, differences between populations regarding health (e.g., different pathogens) and adaptation (e.g., local adaptation) must be taken into account, since both can negatively impact the recipient population. In this pilot study, we used two of the most illegally trafficked Brazilian wild passerine species, namely the red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata) and green-winged saltator (Saltator similis) as case studies and assessed some of the health threats that the release of confiscated passerines may pose to free-living birds. We also investigated the level of difference in mitochondrial genetic structure among populations living in different ecoregions. Blood, feces, and oropharyngeal swabs from confiscated (n = 115) and free-living (n = 120) passerines from the release sites were tested for the Newcastle disease virus, Salmonella spp., and Mycoplasma gallisepticum. These are considered major avian diseases by the Brazilian National Avian Health Program. We analyzed mtDNA to study the difference in genetic structure between populations using samples from 127 free-living passerines. We found no evidence of the Newcastle disease virus or Salmonella spp. in confiscated or free-living passerines from either species. However, the levels of infection with M. galissepticum detected in our study for red-crested cardinals and green-winged saltators calls for a high degree of caution in captive release programs. The difference in genetic structure between populations occurring in different regions was low, and was not significant between those from the Pampa/Subtropical Grasslands region. These results suggest that it may be possible to establish a cost-effective and sensitive protocol for releasing confiscated songbirds, provided that further genome-wide studies indicate that the functional genetic diversity among (at least some of the) populations is also low.

Scrutinising the Exceptionalism of Young Rural NEETs: A Bibliometric Review

The situation of rural NEETs aged 15 to 24 remains understudied. However, transitions from adolescence to emerging adulthood are very demanding for those in the countryside. Our paper discusses this gap by characterising the scholarship focusing on rural NEETs. We undertook a bibliometric review based on 325 entries on Web of Science (WoS) using the Bibliometrix analysis package. Our approach included descriptive bibliometric analysis, co-citation networks assessment, and thematic analysis. Our findings show that the investigation efforts depicting younger rural NEET are recent and marginal in the larger context of international NEETs scholarship. The field is dominated by economy- and sociology-led networks. Concerns regarding health and employment issues are central in international publishing trends, showing a dominant youth-at-risk approach to this group. Still, themes associated with adolescent NEETs and relevant programs’ assessment are gaining traction. Our findings show a need for funding research initiatives to reduce the invisibility of young rural NEETs.