Needs for International Benchmarking of Road Safety Management Based on Mobility Exposure Measures and Risk Patterns

Each year, 1.35 million people worldwide die due to Road Traffic Injuries (RTI), highlighting the need for further research. The risk of RTI is usually estimated as the number of casualties divided by the level of exposure in a population. Identifying the most appropriate exposure measures is one of the most important current challenges in this field. This paper presents an analysis of exposure measures used in empirical studies on road accidents. The results show a large variability in the exposure measures used, ranging from more general measures (such as population figures or vehicle fleet) to more specific measures related to mobility (such as number of trips, distances or travel time). A comparison of the risk patterns found shows that there is a partial consensus on the profiles with the highest risk of road traffic injuries. In conclusion, there is a need for the international standardization of criteria and data to be recorded, at least injury severity and measures of exposure to mobility, as the travel time disaggregated by socio-demographic variables and mode of transport. Such data would provide higher-quality results on risk profiles and facilitate the implementation of more effective, knowledge-based road safety policies.

Immunogenicity and potential protection of DNA vaccine of Leishmania martiniquensis against Leishmania infection in mice

Introduction: In Thailand, Leishmania martiniquensis is the predominant species causing cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Its incidence has been increasing among immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. We developed a prototype DNA vaccine using a partial consensus sequence of the cysteine protease B (cpb) gene derived from L. martiniquensis from Thai patients. Methodology: The laboratory inbred strain of albino BALB/c mice were immunized intramuscularly three times at 2-week intervals (weeks 0, 2, and 4) with cpb plasmid DNA (pcDNA_cpb) with or without the adjuvant, monoolein (pcDNA_cpb-MO). Mice were challenged at week 6 with L. martiniquensis promastigotes. Sera were analysed for IgG1, IgG2a, interferon gamma and interleukin 10 (IFN-γ and IL-10, respectively) levels at weeks 0, 4, and 9. Additionally, livers and spleens were also analysed for parasite burden using immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain (qPCR) assays. Results: Three weeks after promastigote challenge, vaccinated mice showed significantly increased levels of IgG2a and IFN-γ while IL-10 level was significantly reduced when compared with those in the control group (p < 0.01). Parasite burden in the livers and spleens of vaccinated mice significantly decreased. In addition, a significant increase in mature granuloma formation in the livers when compared with those of the control group (p < 0.05) was found, indicating increased T-helper cells (Th1)-induced inflammation and destruction of amastigotes. Monoolein produced a booster effect to enhance the mouse Th1 protective immunity. Conclusions: The prototype DNA vaccine could induce a Th1 immune response that conferred potential protection to the L. martiniquensis promastigote challenge in BALB/c mice.

Multilevel comprehension for labor market inclusion: a qualitative study on experts' perspectives on Industry 4.0 competences

PurposeGiven the exponential and massive technological disruption in work that Industry 4.0 will lead to, nowadays, authors and practitioners within the field of education and training are witnessing increased attention on the features of and threats to employability and integration in current labor transformations. The purpose of this paper is to address current education and training challenges as related to the fourth industrial revolution by investigating which skills and competences will be crucial for the 4.0 era.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative field study with semi-structured interviews has been conducted. Qualitative data on a sample of N = 16 vocational training experts has been analyzed via the grounded theory approach for a bottom-up perspective on Industry 4.0 competences.FindingsData analysis revealed a partial consensus between current scientific literature and practitioners' views on skills and competences for Industry 4.0. Indeed, practioners support the need for a mix of competences comprising the broad group of disciplines of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), technical skills and transversal competences. Moreover, the perspective of practitioners supports a multilevel comprehension of the needs of Industry 4.0 for education and training. Drawing on these findings, an evaluation tool for an applied field intervention for inclusion in the labor market is proposed.Originality/valueThe paper advances current knowledge within the field of education and training by proposing a novel perspective to address market integration as a means to tackle the risk of technological disruption.

Developing a standardized curriculum for teaching chiropractic technique:

Objective This is a report of the results of 4 facilitated workshops aimed at developing a standardized chiropractic technique curriculum. Methods Workshops were held at research conferences during 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019. Participants were tasked with developing recommendations for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures appropriate for chiropractic technique programs. Results For diagnostic procedures, there was general agreement among participants that chiropractic programs should include diagnostic imaging, postural assessment, gait analysis, palpation (static, motion, and joint play/springing), global range of motion, and evidence-based orthopedic/neurological tests. No consensus could be reached with respect to chiropractic x-ray line marking (spinography) nor heat sensing instruments, and there was only partial consensus on leg length assessment. For therapeutic procedures, all participants agreed that the following should be included: high-velocity, low amplitude spinal and extremity manipulation, adjustments assisted by hand-held instruments, drop tables, flexion-distraction tables, and pelvic blocks. There was unanimous support for teaching mobilization of the spine and peripheral joints, as well as for manual and instrument-assisted soft tissue therapies. There were some overarching issues: participants strongly preferred assessment methods known to be reliable and valid and therapeutic procedures known to be safe and effective. Where evidence was lacking, they insisted that diagnostic and therapeutic methods at minimum have face validity and biological plausibility. However, they cautioned against applying aspects of evidence-based care too rigidly. Conclusions Despite differing views on chiropractic terminology, philosophy, and scope of practice, participants' opinions were similar regarding diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that ought to be included in chiropractic technique programs.

Dunes as palaeo-wind vanes: Investigating palaeowind regimes using semi-automated remote sensing approaches to dunefield mapping and orientation quantification

&lt;p&gt;Many dryland regions of the world are at high risk of desertification from combined human land use and anthropogenic climate change. One symptom of desertification is the reactivation of previously stable dunefields. Since morphologies of stable dunes are thought to reflect wind regimes at the time of their formation, the degree to which dune orientation reflects modern winds may be one way to assess changes in wind regimes and the progression of desertification in a region.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here we investigate the relationship between wind dynamics and desert dune orientation in one region at risk of desertification, southeast Kazakhstan in Central Asia, on the basis of open-source software and open-access datasets. Using Google Earth Engine, we map dunes or interdune spaces within six palaeo-dunefields in the Ili-Balkhash area, by performing a multi-layer object-based image analysis (OBIA) on satellite remote sensing data (Sentinel-2 optical imagery and SRTM digital elevation models). A semi-automated GIS approach is used to undertake data cleansing and the quantification of dominant palaeo-dunefield orientations. The resulting orientation trends are concurrent with the region&amp;#8217;s topography: The dunefields within the Ili valley show a narrow, mostly E-W oriented trend concurrent with the course of the valley while the orientation ranges become broader towards the open pre-Balkhash area.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We then predict modern dune orientations by applying the maximum gross bedform-normal transport rule on reanalysed wind data for 2008-2018. This approach by Rubin and Hunter (1987) allows the deduction of sand transport and resulting bedform trends from wind direction frequencies. The predicted modern orientation trends for the dunefields in the Ili-Balkhash area yield only partial consensus with observed palaeo-bedform trends. We therefore propose that modern wind regimes are not exclusively responsible for existing dune morphologies in the region, and that dune orientation may be inherited from earlier wind regimes.&lt;/p&gt;

Assessing and Comparing COVID-19 Intervention Strategies Using a Varying Partial Consensus Fuzzy Collaborative Intelligence Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted our daily lives. For tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, various intervention strategies have been adopted by country (or city) governments around the world. However, whether an intervention strategy will be successful, acceptable, and cost-effective or not is still questionable. To address this issue, a varying partial consensus fuzzy collaborative intelligence approach is proposed in this study to assess an intervention strategy. In the varying partial consensus fuzzy collaborative intelligence approach, multiple decision makers express their judgments on the relative priorities of factors critical to an intervention strategy. If decision makers lack an overall consensus, the layered partial consensus approach is applied to aggregate their judgments for each critical factor. The number of decision makers that reach a partial consensus varies from a critical factor to another. Subsequently, the generalized fuzzy weighted assessment approach is proposed to evaluate the overall performance of an intervention strategy for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed methodology has been applied to compare 15 existing intervention strategies for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.