WorldWideScience

Sample records for international emergency relief

  1. Crisis Communication Practices at an International Relief Agency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genova, Gina L.

    2006-01-01

    When a disaster strikes, the affected population relies upon the swift response and aid rendered by relief organizations such as the California-based Direct Relief International. Since 1948, Direct Relief's mission has been to provide essential material resources to locally run health programs in areas affected by natural disasters, wars, and…

  2. Effective International Medical Disaster Relief: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broby, Nicolette; Lassetter, Jane H; Williams, Mary; Winters, Blaine A

    2018-04-01

    Purpose The aim of this study was to assist organizations seeking to develop or improve their medical disaster relief effort by identifying fundamental elements and processes that permeate high-quality, international, medical disaster relief organizations and the teams they deploy. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Data were gathered from interviews with key personnel at five international medical response organizations, as well as during field observations conducted at multiple sites in Jordan and Greece, including three refugee camps. Data were then reviewed by the research team and coded to identify patterns, categories, and themes. The results from this qualitative, descriptive design identified three themes which were key characteristics of success found in effective, well-established, international medical disaster relief organizations. These characteristics were first, ensuring an official invitation had been extended and the need for assistance had been identified. Second, the response to that need was done in an effective and sustainable manner. Third, effective organizations strived to obtain high-quality volunteers. By following the three key characteristics outlined in this research, organizations are more likely to improve the efficiency and quality of their work. In addition, they will be less likely to impede the overall recovery process. Broby N , Lassetter JH , Williams M , Winters BA . Effective international medical disaster relief: a qualitative descriptive study. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(2):119-126.

  3. Technology for a Social Cause: Formulated Emergency Relief Foods for Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan Survivors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Patricia V. Azanza

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study details how ready-to-eat (RTE rice and rice-cornstarch noodle (bihon product formulations of the College of Home Economics (CHE of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD were used to produce emergency relief foods for the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan in the Philippines. The RTE products were developed using established pasteurization technologies covered with commercial sterility test certifications from the Pilot Food Plant (PFP of UPD-CHE and published food safety considerations for acidified foods. They do not require any cooking or reheating before consumption. They were prescribed with a one-month shelflife at ambient storage temperature (28±2°C during deployment as relief foods. About 5,000 and 3,000 production units of the RTE cooked rice (200 g/pack and bihon (150 g/pack, respectively, were produced at the PFP. Around 300 volunteers composed of faculty, staff, alumni, students, and acquaintances of UPD-CHE’s departments and organizations manned the two-week staggered production, scheduled from late November to the f irst week of December 2013. In cooperation with organizations and private entities, the RTE products were deployed without cost from UPD to the stricken areas of Aklan, Iloilo, and Leyte. Feedback from the recipients of the products was favorable, indicating that the RTE foods are useful as emergency relief ration.

  4. 78 FR 33467 - Second Allocation of Public Transportation Emergency Relief Funds in Response to Hurricane Sandy...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Second Allocation of Public Transportation Emergency Relief Funds in Response to Hurricane Sandy: Response, Recovery & Resiliency; Correction... allocation of $3.7 billion under the Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program to the four FTA...

  5. Inventory slack routing application in emergency logistics and relief distributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xianfeng; Hao, Wei; Lu, Yang

    2018-01-01

    Various natural and manmade disasters during last decades have highlighted the need of further improving on governmental preparedness to emergency events, and a relief supplies distribution problem named Inventory Slack Routing Problem (ISRP) has received increasing attentions. In an ISRP, inventory slack is defined as the duration between reliefs arriving time and estimated inventory stock-out time. Hence, a larger inventory slack could grant more responsive time in facing of various factors (e.g., traffic congestion) that may lead to delivery lateness. In this study, the relief distribution problem is formulated as an optimization model that maximize the minimum slack among all dispensing sites. To efficiently solve this problem, we propose a two-stage approach to tackle the vehicle routing and relief allocation sub-problems. By analyzing the inter-relations between these two sub-problems, a new objective function considering both delivery durations and dispensing rates of demand sites is applied in the first stage to design the vehicle routes. A hierarchical routing approach and a sweep approach are also proposed in this stage. Given the vehicle routing plan, the relief allocation could be easily solved in the second stage. Numerical experiment with a comparison of multi-vehicle Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) has demonstrated the need of ISRP and the capability of the proposed solution approaches.

  6. The Nuclear Emergency Assistance Team, an Institution for Nuclear Emergency Relief

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boldyreff, P.; Kiefer, H.; Krause, H.; Zuehlke, K. [Gesellschaft fuer Kernforschung mbH, Karlsruhe, Federal Republic of Germany (Germany)

    1969-10-15

    The design of nuclear facilities is to exclude serious damage to the environment, even in case of the MCA (maximum credible accident). Although the likelihood of accidents exceeding the expected consequences of the MCA is extremely small, it is deemed reasonable to take general precautions against such accidents. Precautions of this type are customary also in the conventional field, and in this case they are to be implemented in part through the Nuclear Emergency Assistance Team. If the internal safety provisions of a nuclear facility are unable to prevent an impermissible leakage of radioactivity as the result of a major accident there is, at present, no possibility of decisively curbing the spread of activity throughout the environment in the first few hours after the accident. Hence the measures taken by the authorities as a result of the emission and immediately following upon it will have to be restricted to the protection of the population: analysis of intensity and pattern of distribution of activity, instructions.to seek closed shelters, or prohibition of the consumption of certain foodstuffs, distribution of blocking agents, etc. It is the purpose of the Nuclear Emergency Assistance Team to bring relief in the phase following the end of the emission. This may comprise the following steps: exact investigation of the external scope of the damage, in particular assessment of the contamination of ground, persons, and material; rapid personnel decontamination; securing and shielding radiation sources; fixing contamination and removing it immediately where this is deemed urgent for reasons of traffic or to keep the drinking water free from contamination; external containment of the source of danger; support in limiting the damage within the facility. In addition to these tasks of emergency protection, the Nuclear Emergency Assistance Team can take action also in disturbances within the facility which have no influence on the environment and where the operator

  7. 78 FR 8691 - Notice of Availability of Emergency Relief Funds in Response to Hurricane Sandy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-06

    ...-competitive basis, subject to the priorities set forth below. The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013..., reconstruct, or replace equipment and facilities of a public transportation system operating in the United... affects public transportation systems. The Emergency Relief Program allows FTA to make grants for eligible...

  8. Evaluation of an International Disaster Relief Team After Participation in an ASEAN Regional Forum Disaster Relief Exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jeong Il; Lee, Kang Hyun; Kim, Oh Hyun; Cha, Yong Sung; Hwang, Sung Oh; Kim, Hyun; Cha, Kyung Chul

    2016-10-01

    Devastating disasters around the world directly contribute to significant increases in human mortality and economic costs. The objective of this study was to examine the current state of the Korea Disaster Relief Team that participated in an international training module. The whole training period was videotaped in order to observe and evaluate the respondents. The survey was carried out after completion of the 3-day training, and the scores were reported by use of a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 43 respondents were interviewed for the survey, and the results showed that the overall preparedness score for international disasters was 3.4±1.6 (mean±SD). The awareness of the Incident Command System for international disasters was shown to be low (3.5±1.1). Higher scores were given to personnel who took on leadership roles in the team and who answered "I knew my duty" (4.4±0.6) in the survey, as well as to the training participants who answered "I clearly knew my duty" (4.5±0.5). The preparedness level of the Korea Disaster Relief Team was shown to be insufficient, whereas understanding of the roles of leaders and training participants in the rescue team was found to be high. It is assumed that the preparedness level for disaster relief must be improved through continued training. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;1-5).

  9. Modeling attitude towards drug treament: the role of internal motivation, external pressure, and dramatic relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Bradley T; Longshore, Douglas; Anglin, M Douglas

    2009-04-01

    Motivation for change has historically been viewed as the crucial element affecting responsiveness to drug treatment. Various external pressures, such as legal coercion, may engender motivation in an individual previously resistant to change. Dramatic relief may be the change process that is most salient as individuals internalize such external pressures. Results of structural equation modeling on data from 465 drug users (58.9% male; 21.3% Black, 34.2% Hispanic/Latino, and 35.1% White) entering drug treatment indicated that internal motivation and external pressure significantly and positively predicted dramatic relief and that dramatic relief significantly predicted attitudes towards drug treatment: chi (2) = 142.20, df = 100, p relief is also likely to be high. When dramatic relief is high, attitudes towards drug treatment are likely to be positive. The findings indicate that interventions to get individuals into drug treatment should include processes that promote Dramatic Relief. Implications for addictions health services are discussed.

  10. 78 FR 19357 - Allocation of Public Transportation Emergency Relief Funds in Response to Hurricane Sandy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Allocation of Public Transportation...) announces the allocation of $2,000,000,000 under the Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program... after an emergency or major disaster that affects public transportation systems. The Appropriations Act...

  11. Building relations with women's organisations in relief work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gell, F

    1997-02-01

    An Oxfam Emergency Team arrived in Ingushetia in the Northern Caucasus region of the former Soviet Union in August 1996 to set up a program of shelter, rehabilitation, and relief in response to the large influx of people displaced by conflicts in the neighboring republics of Chechnya and North Ossetia. The team was also tasked with contacting community organizations such as women's groups and developing a relationship with them through joint relief work. The Chechen population was comprised of mainly women, children, and the elderly. The internally displaced population of 100,000 people is now scattered throughout the republic in collective centers and host families. Small committees of women were formed to help identify the most vulnerable residents and to distribute winter clothing. It was found during the relief work that fledgling women's groups are establishing themselves as vehicles for change, increasingly open to work with and learn from international organizations such as Oxfam. The Chechen branch of the Union of North Caucasian Women and the Ingushetian ALMOS played leading roles in peacemaking, human rights observance, and humanitarian relief.

  12. Tethered Balloon Technology in Design Solutions for Rescue and Relief Team Emergency Communication Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsamhi, Saeed Hamood; Ansari, Mohd Samar; Ma, Ou; Almalki, Faris; Gupta, Sachin Kumar

    2018-05-23

    The actions taken at the initial times of a disaster are critical. Catastrophe occurs because of terrorist acts or natural hazards which have the potential to disrupt the infrastructure of wireless communication networks. Therefore, essential emergency functions such as search, rescue, and recovery operations during a catastrophic event will be disabled. We propose tethered balloon technology to provide efficient emergency communication services and reduce casualty mortality and morbidity for disaster recovery. The tethered balloon is an actively developed research area and a simple solution to support the performance, facilities, and services of emergency medical communication. The most critical requirement for rescue and relief teams is having a higher quality of communication services which enables them to save people's lives. Using our proposed technology, it has been reported that the performance of rescue and relief teams significantly improved. OPNET Modeler 14.5 is used for a network simulated with the help of ad hoc tools (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 8).

  13. The socioeconomic impact of international aid: a qualitative study of healthcare recovery in post-earthquake Haiti and implications for future disaster relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kligerman, Maxwell; Walmer, David; Bereknyei Merrell, Sylvia

    2017-05-01

    We assessed healthcare provider perspectives of international aid four years after the Haiti Earthquake to better understand the impact of aid on the Haitian healthcare system and learn best practices for recovery in future disaster contexts. We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with the directors of local, collaborative, and aid-funded healthcare facilities in Leogane, Haiti. We coded and analysed the interviews using an iterative method based on a grounded theory approach of data analysis. Healthcare providers identified positive aspects of aid, including acute emergency relief, long-term improved healthcare access, and increased ease of referrals for low-income patients. However, they also identified negative impacts of international aid, including episodes of poor quality care, internal brain drain, competition across facilities, decrease in patient flow to local facilities, and emigration of Haitian doctors to abroad. As Haiti continues to recover, it is imperative for aid institutions and local healthcare facilities to develop a more collaborative relationship to transition acute relief to sustainable capacity building. In future disaster contexts, aid institutions should specifically utilise quality of care metrics, NGO Codes of Conduct, Master Health Facility Lists, and sliding scale payment systems to improve disaster response.

  14. Occupational accidents among ambulance drivers in the emergency relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeda, Elisabete; do Carmo Cruz Robazzi, Maria Lúcia

    2007-01-01

    We analyzed the occurrence of occupational accidents (OA) among ambulance drivers in Emergency Relief (ER), with a view to disclosing the types of events and their causes. A quantitative-qualitative study was carried out through the interview of 22 workers in a city in São Paulo, Brazil. The subjects were male, between 36 and 40 years old (40.9%), married (81.82%), with uncompleted primary education (40.9%), individual (90.9%) and family (54.55%) income between two and four Brazilian minimum wages, not performing any other paid occupation (45.45%). The majority of the OA were typical, due to an excess of exercises and vigorous and repeated movements (42.11%) and aggression through body strength and other means (26.33%). The OA occurs mainly because drivers carry out tasks that do not suit their professional formation.

  15. Numerical study of emergency cryogenics gas relief into confined spaces

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    The presented work focuses on the risk analysis and the consequences of the unexpected leak to the tunnel of cryogenics gases. Formation of the gas mixture and its propagation along tunnels is an important issue for the safe operation of cryogenic machines, including superconducting accelerators or free electron lasers. As the cryogenics gas the helium and argon will be considered. A minimal numerical model will be presented and discussed. Series of numerical results related to emergency helium relief to the CERN tunnel and related to unexpected leak of the argon to an underground tunnel, will be shown. The numerical results will show temperature distribution, oxygen deficiency and gas cloud propagation in function of intensity of the leak and intensity of the ventilation.

  16. 78 FR 19136 - Emergency Relief Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-29

    ... issuing this interim final rule in order to comply with the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013... FTA-2013-0004. All electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic site at http... operating costs in the event of a catastrophic event, such as a natural disaster, that affects a wide area...

  17. Iraq's Debt Relief: Procedure and Potential Implications for International Debt Relief

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Weiss, Martin A

    2009-01-01

    .... Reducing this debt to a sustainable level has been a priority of the U.S. government. Since 2003, debt relief negotiations have taken place in a variety of fora and led to the cancellation of a significant amount of Iraq's external debt...

  18. Emergency networking: famine relief in ant colonies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sendova-Franks, A.B.; Hayward, R.; Wulf, B.; Klimek, T.; James, R.; Planque, R.; Britton, N.F.; Franks, N.R.

    2009-01-01

    Resource distribution is fundamental to social organization, but it poses a dilemma. How to facilitate the spread of useful resources but restrict harmful substances? This dilemma reaches a zenith in famine relief. Survival depends on distributing food fast but that could increase vulnerability to

  19. 19 CFR 210.52 - Motions for temporary relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ....52 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT Temporary Relief § 210.52 Motions for temporary relief... issuance of temporary relief, the Commission will be guided by practice under Rule 65 of the Federal Rules...

  20. Will a Twenty-First Century Logistics Management System Improve Federal Emergency Management Agency's Capability to Deliver Supplies to Critical Areas, during Future Catastrophic Disaster Relief Operations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Gill, Glenda A

    2007-01-01

    The United States Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must be prepared at all times to supplement state and local emergency personnel, or to provide logistics support during disaster relief operations...

  1. Nuclear emergency preparedness and management the international nuclear emergency exercise Inex 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mundigl, St.

    2003-01-01

    With the initiation of the first international nuclear emergency exercise INEX 1, performed as a table-top exercise in 1993, the international community tested, for the first time, approaches and policies in place to manage a nuclear or radiological emergency. INEX 1 with its related workshops led to a wealth of lessons learned and to an improvement in nuclear emergency management. The INEX 2 exercise series, initiated by the NEA and performed between 1996 and 1999, established an international nuclear emergency 'exercise culture' leading to a clear improvement of the international aspects of nuclear emergency preparedness and management. INEX 2 was a series of four command post exercises based on national nuclear emergency exercises in Switzerland, Finland, Hungary and Canada. Simulated accidents at nuclear power plants were used to test existing procedures in emergency response and management, and to analyse local, regional, national and international emergency plans under realistic conditions. In addition, the exercises allowed the participating countries to gain experience using new concepts and tools. The most significant result of INEX 2 and a major step forward in nuclear emergency management was the development of a new communication and information exchange strategy, which is currently implemented by various NEA member countries as well as by the international community in general. The objective of this new strategy is to assist the decision-maker by improving the selection of the data transmitted, by encouraging the transmission and reception of such data and information using modern communication methods, e.g. secure world wide web technologies, and by defining emergency monitoring and modelling needs. To test the validity and usefulness of the newly-developed strategy, the NEA proposed to organize an international nuclear emergency exercise, INEX 2000, similar in scope to the INEX 2 exercises. In addition, the NEA suggested to include, for the first

  2. Disability and health-related rehabilitation in international disaster relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinhardt, Jan D.; Li, Jianan; Gosney, James; Rathore, Farooq A.; Haig, Andrew J.; Marx, Michael; Delisa, Joel A.

    2011-01-01

    Background Natural disasters result in significant numbers of disabling impairments. Paradoxically, however, the traditional health system response to natural disasters largely neglects health-related rehabilitation as a strategic intervention. Objectives To examine the role of health-related rehabilitation in natural disaster relief along three lines of inquiry: (1) epidemiology of injury and disability, (2) impact on health and rehabilitation systems, and (3) the assessment and measurement of disability. Design Qualitative literature review and secondary data analysis. Results Absolute numbers of injuries as well as injury to death ratios in natural disasters have increased significantly over the last 40 years. Major impairments requiring health-related rehabilitation include amputations, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries (SCI), and long bone fractures. Studies show that persons with pre-existing disabilities are more likely to die in a natural disaster. Lack of health-related rehabilitation in natural disaster relief may result in additional burdening of the health system capacity, exacerbating baseline weak rehabilitation and health system infrastructure. Little scientific evidence on the effectiveness of health-related rehabilitation interventions following natural disaster exists, however. Although systematic assessment and measurement of disability after a natural disaster is currently lacking, new approaches have been suggested. Conclusion Health-related rehabilitation potentially results in decreased morbidity due to disabling injuries sustained during a natural disaster and is, therefore, an essential component of the medical response by the host and international communities. Significant systematic challenges to effective delivery of rehabilitation interventions during disaster include a lack of trained responders as well as a lack of medical recordkeeping, data collection, and established outcome measures. Additional development of health

  3. The Emergence of an International New Software Venture from an Emerging Economy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Turcan, Romeo V.; Fraser, Norman

    2012-01-01

    This study is positioned at the intersection of legitimation and international entrepreneurship theories. It is a longitudinal ethnographic case study that explores the process of emergence of an international new software venture from an emerging economy and the effect this venture has on the pr......This study is positioned at the intersection of legitimation and international entrepreneurship theories. It is a longitudinal ethnographic case study that explores the process of emergence of an international new software venture from an emerging economy and the effect this venture has...... invoking familiar cues and scripts, promote and defend incentives and operating mechanisms in political negotiations, and overcome the country-of-origin effect by pursuing a technology legitimation strategy....

  4. Development of emergency department load relief area--gauging benefits in empirical terms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasheed, Farrukh; Lee, Young Hoon; Kim, Seung Ho; Park, In Cheol

    2012-12-01

    The primary goal of this investigation was to develop a simulation model to evaluate the various internal and external factors affecting patient flow and crowding in the emergency department (ED). In addition, a few recommendations are proposed to reconfigure the patient flow to improve ED capacity while maintaining service quality. In this research, we present a simulation study conducted in the ED at the "S Hospital" located in Seoul. Based on patient flow data and process analysis, a simulation model of patient throughput in the ED has been developed. We evaluated simulations of diverting the specific patient load in the light of our proposed recommendations to a separately managed area named as the ED load relief area (ED-LRA) and analyzing potential effects on overall length of stay (LOS) and waiting time (WT). What-if analyses have been proposed to identify key issues and investigate the improvements as per our proposed recommendations. The simulation results suggest that specific patient load diversion is needed to ensure desired outcomes. With the diversion of specific patient load to ED-LRA, there is a reduction of 40.60% in mean LOS and 42.5% in WT with improved resource utilization. As a result, opening of an ED-LRA is justified. Real-world systems are often too intricate for analytical models and often too expensive to trial with directly. Simulation models allow the modeling of this intricacy and enable experimentation to make inferences about how the actual system might perform. Our simulation study modeled that diverting the specific patient load to ED-LRA produced an improvement in overall ED's LOS and WT.

  5. The French governmental organisation and relief in France planning in case of a nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guizard, C.

    1992-01-01

    Despite of the unlikeliness of a nuclear accident, emergency planning is a must. It has several aspects: Internal Emergency PLan, Specific Intervention Plan, Post Accident and Relief specialized Plan. As a whole, the organisation is similar to the one used for others industrial risks. In a 'Department', the supervisor for overall emergency action is the 'Prefet', a high civil servant appointed by the Cabinet and responsible for nuclear security; all the other civil servants are under the Prefet's command and assist him. A national post-accident plan is being worked out; it will cover all the fields of intervention: control, administration of stable iodine, sheltering or evacuation. (author)

  6. Developing post-disaster physical rehabilitation: role of the World Health Organization Liaison Sub-Committee on Rehabilitation Disaster Relief of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosney, James; Reinhardt, Jan Dietrich; Haig, Andrew J; Li, Jianan

    2011-11-01

    This special report presents the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) Liaison Sub-Committee on Rehabilitation Disaster Relief (CRDR) of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM) in developing an enhanced physical rehabilitation relief response to large-scale natural disasters. The CRDR has stated that disaster rehabilitation is an emerging subspecialty within physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM). In reviewing the existing literature it was found that large natural disasters result in many survivors with disabling impairments, that these survivors may have better clinical outcomes when they are treated by PRM physicians and teams of rehabilitation professionals, that the delivery of these rehabilitation services to disaster sites is complicated, and that their absence can result in significant negative consequences for individuals, communities and society. To advance its agenda, the CRDR sponsored an inaugural Symposium on Rehabilitation Disaster Relief as a concurrent scientific session at the 2011 ISPRM 6th World Congress in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The symposium included oral and poster presentations on a range of relevant topics and concluded with an international non-governmental organization panel discussion that addressed the critical question "How can rehabilitation actors coordinate better in disaster?" Building upon the symposium, the CRDR is developing a disaster rehabilitation evidence-base, which will inform and educate the global professional rehabilitation community about needs and best practices in disaster rehabilitation. The Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine (JRM) has commissioned this special report to announce a series of papers on disaster rehabilitation from the symposium's scientific programme. Authors are invited to submit papers on the topic for inclusion in this special series. JRM also encourages expert commentary in the form of Letters to the Editor.

  7. Modeling Attitude towards Drug Treament: The Role of Internal Motivation, External Pressure, and Dramatic Relief

    OpenAIRE

    Conner, Bradley T.; Longshore, Douglas; Anglin, M. Douglas

    2008-01-01

    Motivation for change has historically been viewed as the crucial element affecting responsiveness to drug treatment. Various external pressures, such as legal coercion, may engender motivation in an individual previously resistant to change. Dramatic relief may be the change process that is most salient as individuals internalize such external pressures. Results of structural equation modeling on data from 465 drug users (58.9% male; 21.3% Black, 34.2% Hispanic/Latino, and 35.1% White) enter...

  8. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems for Disaster Relief: Tornado Alley

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeBusk, Wesley M.

    2009-01-01

    Unmanned aerial vehicle systems are currently in limited use for public service missions worldwide. Development of civil unmanned technology in the United States currently lags behind military unmanned technology development in part because of unresolved regulatory and technological issues. Civil unmanned aerial vehicle systems have potential to augment disaster relief and emergency response efforts. Optimal design of aerial systems for such applications will lead to unmanned vehicles which provide maximum potentiality for relief and emergency response while accounting for public safety concerns and regulatory requirements. A case study is presented that demonstrates application of a civil unmanned system to a disaster relief mission with the intent on saving lives. The concept utilizes unmanned aircraft to obtain advanced warning and damage assessments for tornados and severe thunderstorms. Overview of a tornado watch mission architecture as well as commentary on risk, cost, need for, and design tradeoffs for unmanned aerial systems are provided.

  9. International health law : an emerging field of public international law

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toebes, Brigit

    This article discusses the nature and scope of international health law as an emerging field of public international law. It is argued that the protection of health reflects a pressing social need that should now be spoken of in the vocabulary of international law. Furthermore, there is an urgent

  10. Humanitarian power : Canadian electrical techies help hurricane relief in Honduras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mallett, N.

    1999-01-01

    A review of the emergency assistance provided to Honduras by Canada following Hurricane Mitch that struck the country with a ferocity not seen in 200 years, was described. Thousands of Hondurans were killed and three million were left homeless as vast regions of the country were literally washed away. The secondary effects of the storm - famine and disease - set in to claim even more lives. The Canadian Forces' Disaster Response Team (DART) was dispatched to conduct emergency relief operations for up to 40 days in order to bridge the gap until members of the international community arrive to provide long-term help. DART focused on providing medical care, clean drinking water, an engineering capability, and reliable communications. The medical team consisting of a small field hospital with a staff of 45 provided care for up to 500 outpatients and 30 inpatients daily, depending on the severity of injuries. The engineering team of about 40 provided a wide range of services, such as water purification, using a reverse osmosis water purification unit, fresh water distribution and power generation. The communications unit provided contact with headquarters in Honduras, and communicated with bases back in Canada. The operation was a great success, and well received by the Honduran people. This was the first deployment of DART, a team initially conceived after the Canadian Forces participated in relief efforts in Rwanda in 1994 and 1995

  11. Emergency preparedness and response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffiths, M.

    1996-01-01

    After the Chernobyl accident, it became painfully obvious to the international community that there was an urgent need to establish a system for the coordination of international disaster assistance. It became the task of the United Nations Office for Disaster Relief (UNDRO) to develop such a system. The former UNDRO was subsumed into the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), established in January 1992 on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 adopted in December 1991, and the disaster relief system presently found in DHA is a further evolution of the system established by UNDRO. One particular importance in relation to nuclear accidents is the fact that UNDRO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding defining their respective responsibilities and the need for cooperation in case of accidents involving the unintentional release of nuclear radiation. In essence, the MOU makes it clear that the responsibilities of the IAEA, in connection with accidents at Nuclear Power Plants, related to the technical and radiological aspects, in particular to accident prevention, to the on-site preparedness, and to remedial measures within the 30-km zone outside the NPP. DHA's responsibilities, on the other hand, relate to the general preparedness and the rescue efforts outside the 30 km zone. In this respect, the preparedness and emergency response system is no different from the system employed in any other type of sudden-onset emergency

  12. Impacts of Emerging Economies and Firms on International Business

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The internationalization of emerging economies has brought new perspectives to international business development. Focusing on the extensive impact these emerging economies and firms have had, this volume covers the strong players, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as dynamically d...... originating from emerging economies. It explores new horizons in international business development and addresses challenging perspectives.......The internationalization of emerging economies has brought new perspectives to international business development. Focusing on the extensive impact these emerging economies and firms have had, this volume covers the strong players, such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as dynamically...

  13. Emerging themes in international business research

    OpenAIRE

    David A Griffith; Salih Tamer Cavusgil; Shichun Xu

    2008-01-01

    This study is motivated by two research questions: (1) Which recent contributions have been driving the research agenda in international business? (2) Which emerging themes in the literature are likely to set the stage for future work? To examine these questions, the study examined scholarly work in international business over the time period 1996–2006 in six leading international business journals (Journal of International Business Studies, Management International Review, Journal of World B...

  14. 44 CFR 5.59 - Judicial relief available to the public.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Judicial relief available to the public. 5.59 Section 5.59 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY... the complainant resides, or has his principal place of business, or in which the agency records are...

  15. Reward, motivation and emotion of pain and its relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porreca, Frank; Navratilova, Edita

    2016-01-01

    The experience of pain depends on interpretation of context and past experience that guide the choice of an immediate behavioral response and influence future decisions of actions to avoid harm. The aversive qualities of pain underlie its physiological role in learning and motivation. In this review, we highlight findings from human and animal investigations that suggest that both pain, and the relief of pain, are complex emotions that are comprised of feelings and their motivational consequences. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. How relief of pain aversiveness occurs is not well understood. Termination of aversive states can directly provide relief as well as reinforce behaviors that result in avoidance of pain. Emerging preclinical data also suggests that relief may elicit a positive hedonic value that results from activation of neural cortical and mesolimbic brain circuits that may also motivate behavior. Brain circuits mediating the reward of pain relief, as well as relief-induced motivation are significantly impacted as pain becomes chronic. In chronic pain states, the negative motivational value of nociception may be increased while the value of the reward of pain relief may decrease. As a consequence, the impact of pain on these ancient, and conserved brain limbic circuits suggest a path forward for discovery of new pain therapies. PMID:28106670

  16. Mutual emergency assistance arrangements at the international level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swindell, G.E.; Ha Vinh Phuong

    1979-01-01

    All countries do not necessarily have resources in skilled manpower and equipment enabling them to deal satisfactorily with the consequences of a nuclear incident. Therefore, a mechanism whereby such countries could obtain or provide mutual emergency assistance at international level is extremely useful. This article analyses the provisions of the Nordic Mutual Emergency Assistance Agreement and the measures taken in respect of emergency assistance by international organisations such as IAEA. (NEA) [fr

  17. 19 CFR 210.68 - Complainant's temporary relief bond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Section 210.68 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT Temporary Relief § 210.68 Complainant's temporary... by Individual Surety United States International Trade Commission Affidavit by Individual Surety 19...

  18. 19 CFR 210.69 - Approval of complainant's temporary relief bond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Approval of complainant's temporary relief bond. 210.69 Section 210.69 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT Temporary Relief § 210.69 Approval of...

  19. Emerging Economies Research Dialogue | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    This grant will allow the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations to bridge the gap by organizing two research dialogues in the form of international conferences for emerging economy professionals, academics and policymakers on issues of contemporary relevance to the global economy and polity.

  20. 75 FR 39204 - Notice of Public Information Collections Being Reviewed by the U.S. Agency for International...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-08

    ... Emergency Relief Information. Type of Review: Renewal of Information Collection. Purpose: The purpose of... AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Notice of Public Information Collections Being Reviewed by... International Development (USAID) is making efforts to reduce the paperwork burden. USAID invites the general...

  1. Study on IAEA international emergency response exercise convEx-3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamoto, Kazuya

    2007-05-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carried out a large-scale international emergency response exercise in 2005 under the designated name of ConvEx-3(2005), at Romania. This review report summarizes a study about ConvEx-3(2005) based on several related open literature. The ConvEx-3 was conducted in accordance with Agency's safety standard series and requirements in the field of Emergency Preparedness and Response. The study on the preparation, conduct and evaluation of ConvEx-3(2005) exercise is expected to provide very useful knowledge for development of drills and educational programs conducted by Nuclear Emergency Assistance and Training Center (NEAT). Especially, study on the exercise evaluations is instrumental in improving evaluations of drills planned by the national government and local governments. As international cooperation among Asian countries in the field of nuclear emergency preparedness and response is going to realize, it is very useful to survey and consider scheme and methodology about international emergency preparedness, response and exercise referring the knowledge of this ConvEx-3 study. The lessons learned from this study of ConvEx-3(2005) are summarized in four chapters; methodology of exercises and educational programs, exercise evaluation process, amendments/verification of the emergency response plan of NEAT, and technical issues of systems for emergency response and assistance of NEAT relevant to interface for international emergency communication. (author)

  2. Development of radionuclide parameter database on internal contamination in nuclear emergencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Li; Xu Cuihua; Li Wenhong; Su Xu

    2010-01-01

    Objective: To develop a radionuclide parameter database on internal contamination in nuclear emergencies. Methods: By researching the radionuclides composition discharged from different nuclear emergencies, the radionuclide parameters were achieved on physical decay, absorption and metabolism in the body from ICRP publications and some other publications. The database on internal contamination for nuclear incidents was developed by using MS Visual Studio 2005 C and MS Access programming language. Results: The radionuclide parameter database on internal contamination in nuclear emergency was established. Conclusions: The database may be very convenient for searching radionuclides and radionuclide parameter data discharged from different nuclear emergencies, which would be helpful to the monitoring and assessment and assessment of internal contamination in nuclear emergencies. (authors)

  3. National audit of the quality of pain relief provided in emergency departments in Aotearoa, New Zealand: The PRiZED 1 Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-04-01

    Pain is a common feature of ED presentations and the timely provision of adequate analgesia is important for patient care. However, there is currently no New Zealand data with respect to this indicator of care quality. The present study aimed to provide a baseline for the quality of care with respect to the provision of timely and adequate analgesia in New Zealand EDs. The present study is a secondary analysis of data initially collected for the Shorter Stays in Emergency Department Study, using a retrospective chart review of 1685 randomly selected ED presentations (2006-2012) from 26 New Zealand public hospital EDs. Of the 1685 charts randomly selected, 1547 (91%) were reviewed from 21 EDs. There were 866 ED presentations with painful conditions, of whom 132 (15%) did not have pain recorded, 205 (24%) did not receive pain relief and 19 (2%) did not have time of analgesia documented leaving 510 (59%) for the analysis of time to analgesia. Four hundred and fifty-seven (53%) did not have pain well documented sufficiently to assess adequacy, leaving 277 (32%) for the analysis of adequacy of analgesia. The median (interquartile range) time to analgesia was 62 (30-134) min and the provision of adequate analgesia was 141/277 (51%, 95% CI: 45-57%); however, there was some variation between hospitals for both outcomes. Although these outcomes are on a par with other countries, this baseline audit has shown both poor documentation and variation in the provision of timely and adequate pain relief in New Zealand EDs, with room for improvement with respect to this quality indicator. © 2017 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

  4. Mutual emergency assistance for radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-03-01

    A revised document on ''Mutual Emergency Assistance for Radiation Accidents'' jointly prepared by the Agency with the participation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator (UNDRO) was issued in 1980 as TECDOC-237. The present document lists the additional information received after publication of the 1980 edition and is issued as a Supplement to TECDOC-237 (1980 Edition). Some useful information contained in TECDOC-237 such as the IAEA arrangement and the WHO Collaborating Centres for Radiation Emergency Assistance are reprinted for ready reference

  5. 19 CFR 210.70 - Forfeiture or return of complainant's temporary relief bond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... relief bond. 210.70 Section 210.70 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT Temporary Relief § 210.70... and the Commission will be guided by practice under Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure...

  6. 76 FR 3307 - Hazardous Materials: Harmonization With the United Nations Recommendations, International...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-19

    ... article or substance does not significantly hinder or prohibit fire fighting or emergency response efforts... international counterparts. E. Metal Hydride Storage Systems in Conveyances A metal hydride storage system is a single complete hydrogen storage system that includes a receptacle, metal hydride, a pressure relief...

  7. Exploration of the perceptions of emergency physicians and interns regarding the medical documentation practices of interns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isoardi, Jonathon; Spencer, Lyndall; Sinnott, Michael; Nicholls, Kim; O'Connor, Angela; Jones, Fleur

    2013-08-01

    The primary objective of the present study was to learn the factors that influence the documentation practices of ED interns. A second objective was to identify the expectations of emergency physicians (EPs) towards the medical record documentation of ED interns. A qualitative design was adopted using semi-structured interviews in convenience samples drawn from both groups. Eighteen interviews were conducted with intern volunteers and 10 with EP volunteers. One (5%) intern and two (20%) EPs had received medical documentation training. Factors that encouraged interns' documentation included: patient acuity (the more critical the condition, the more comprehensive the documentation) and the support of senior colleagues. Inhibiting factors included uncertainty about how much to write, and the shift being worked (interns indicated they wrote less at night). Factors of consequence to senior personnel included the apparent reluctance of interns to document management plans. They noted that interns frequently confine their notes to assessment, investigations and treatments, whereas EPs preferred records that demonstrated intern thought processes and included such matters as future actions to follow immediate treatment. A positive theme that emerged included the high level of support interns received from their senior colleagues. Another theme, the influence of patient acuity, held both positive and negative implications for intern writing practices. The lack of formal training is an impediment to the production of useful medical records by ED interns. One solution proposed by both interns and senior personnel was the introduction of the subject into intern education programmes. © 2013 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

  8. The simple query "Do you want more pain medication?" is not a reliable way to assess acute pain relief in patients in the emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauny, Jean-Marc; Marquis, Martin; Paquet, Jean; Lavigne, Gilles; Cournoyer, Alexis; Manzini, Christiane; Daoust, Raoul

    2018-01-01

    The management of acute pain constitutes an essential skill of emergency department (ED) physicians. However, the accurate assessment of pain intensity and relief represents a clinically challenging undertaking. Some studies have proposed to define effective pain relief as the patient's refusal for additional analgesic administration. The aim of this study was to verify whether such a refusal is effectively indicative of pain relief. This prospective cohort study included ED patients who received single or multiple doses of pain medication for an acute pain problem. Patients were evaluated for pain relief using one Likert scale and two dichotomous questions: Is your pain relieved? and Do you want more analgesics? Non-relieved patients were further analysed using a checklist as to the reasons behind their refusal for supplemental pain medication. We have recruited 378 adult patients with a mean age of 50.3 years (±19.1); 60% were women and had an initial mean pain level of 7.3 (±2.0) out of 10. We observed that 68 out of 244 patients who were adequately relieved from pain asked for more analgesics (28%), whereas 51 out of 134 patients who were not relieved from pain refused supplemental drugs (38%). Reasons for refusal included wanting to avoid side effects, feeling sufficiently relieved, and disliking the medication's effects. Over a third of ED patients in acute pain were not relieved but refused supplemental pain medication. Patients have reported legitimate reasons to decline further analgesics, and this refusal cannot be used as an indication of pain relief.

  9. 2nd International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters

    CERN Document Server

    Nagurney, Anna; Pardalos, Panos

    2016-01-01

    This volume results from the “Second International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters” held in Kalamata, Greece, June 29-July 2, 2015. The conference covered particular topics involved in natural and man-made disasters such as war, chemical spills, and wildfires. Papers in this volume examine the finer points of disasters through: · Critical infrastructure protection · Resiliency · Humanitarian logistic · Relief supply chains · Cooperative game theory · Dynamical systems · Decision making under risk and uncertainty · Spread of diseases · Contagion · Funding for disaster relief · Tools for emergency preparedness · Response, and risk mitigation Multi-disciplinary theories, tools, techniques and methodologies are linked with disasters from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery. The interdisciplinary approach to problems in economics, optimization, government, management, business, humanities, engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, behavioral studies, emergency servi...

  10. Consequence Management and International Nuclear Emergency Exercises: Lessons from INEX 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wim Molhoek; Vince McClelland; Amanda Stegen; Brian Ahier; Ted Lazo

    2006-01-01

    The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (Nea) has a long tradition of expertise in the area of nuclear emergency policy, preparedness, and management. The 1986 Chernobyl accident demonstrated that nuclear accidents may have consequences over wide areas, highlighting the need for international cooperation, coordination and communication. From the beginning, the Nea focus of work, as carried out by the Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters, has been on improving the effectiveness of international nuclear emergency preparedness and management. A major pillar of this work has been the preparation and organisation of the International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (I.N.E.X.) series. Beginning in 1993, the Nea I.N.E.X. series has proved successful in testing and developing arrangements for nuclear emergency response. The I.N.E.X.-1,-2 and -2000 series, which focussed on the early-phase of an emergency, provided a unique forum for testing existing as well as new arrangements and concepts for international nuclear emergency management, and succeeded in establishing a recognised international nuclear emergency exercise culture. In response to international interest in the longer term consequence management issues that will arise after an emergency, the Nea developed a third generation of exercises, I.N.E.X. 3. The I.N.E.X. 3 series of national level table-top exercises focused on the response to widespread radiological contamination of the environment and the issues likely to be raised in the medium to longer term period after such an event. Exercise objectives included an investigation of decisions on agricultural countermeasures and food restrictions, countermeasures such as travel and trade, recovery management and public information. The evaluation aimed to identify aspects of national decision-making which would benefit from international co-ordination, compare national approaches and identify 'best' practices in these circumstances. An International Evaluation Workshop will

  11. Brief report: Assessing youth well-being in global emergency settings: Early results from the Emergency Developmental Assets Profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scales, Peter C; Roehlkepartain, Eugene C; Wallace, Teresa; Inselman, Ashley; Stephenson, Paul; Rodriguez, Michael

    2015-12-01

    The 13-item Emergency Developmental Assets Profile measures the well-being of children and youth in emergency settings such as refugee camps and armed conflict zones, assessing whether young people are experiencing adequate positive relationships and opportunities, and developing positive values, skills, and self-perceptions, despite being in crisis circumstances. The instrument was found to have acceptable and nearly identical internal consistency reliability in 22 administrations in non-emergency samples in 15 countries (.75), and in 4 samples of youth ages 10-18 (n = 1550) in the emergency settings (war refugees and typhoon victims, .74) that are the measure's focus, and evidence of convergent validity. Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed acceptable model fit among those youth in emergency settings. Measures of model fit showed that the Em-DAP has configural and metric invariance across all emergency contexts and scalar invariance across some. The Em-DAP is a promising brief cross-cultural tool for assessing the developmental quality of life as reported by samples of youth in a current humanitarian crisis situation. The results can help to inform international relief program decisions about services and activities to be provided for children, youth, and families in emergency settings. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Corruption in emergency procurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, Jessica; Søreide, Tina

    2008-12-01

    Corruption in emergency procurement reduces the resources available for life-saving operations, lowers the quality of products and services provided, and diverts aid from those who need it most.(1) It also negatively influences public support for humanitarian relief, both in the affected country and abroad. This paper aims to unpack and analyse the following question in order to mitigate risk: how and where does corruption typically occur, and what can be done? Suggested strategies reflect a multi-layered approach that stresses internal agency control mechanisms, conflict-sensitive management, and the need for common systems among operators.

  13. Community-based assessment of human rights in a complex humanitarian emergency: the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma and Cyclone Nargis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suwanvanichkij, Voravit; Murakami, Noriyuki; Lee, Catherine I; Leigh, Jen; Wirtz, Andrea L; Daniels, Brock; Mahn, Mahn; Maung, Cynthia; Beyrer, Chris

    2010-04-19

    Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2, 2008, killing over 138,000 and affecting at least 2.4 million people. The Burmese military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), initially blocked international aid to storm victims, forcing community-based organizations such as the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma (EAT) to fill the void, helping with cyclone relief and long-term reconstruction. Recognizing the need for independent monitoring of the human rights situation in cyclone-affected areas, particularly given censorship over storm relief coverage, EAT initiated such documentation efforts. A human rights investigation was conducted to document selected human rights abuses that had initially been reported to volunteers providing relief services in cyclone affected areas. Using participatory research methods and qualitative, semi-structured interviews, EAT volunteers collected 103 testimonies from August 2008 to June 2009; 42 from relief workers and 61 from storm survivors. One year after the storm, basic necessities such as food, potable water, and shelter remained insufficient for many, a situation exacerbated by lack of support to help rebuild livelihoods and worsening household debt. This precluded many survivors from being able to access healthcare services, which were inadequate even before Cyclone Nargis. Aid efforts continued to be met with government restrictions and harassment, and relief workers continued to face threats and fear of arrest. Abuses, including land confiscation and misappropriation of aid, were reported during reconstruction, and tight government control over communication and information exchange continued. Basic needs of many cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy Delta remained unmet over a year following Cyclone Nargis. Official impediments to delivery of aid to storm survivors continued, including human rights abrogations experienced by civilians during reconstruction efforts. Such issues remain unaddressed in official assessments

  14. International nuclear emergency exercises: lessons learned from the I.N.E.X. series

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahier, B.

    2008-01-01

    Since the early 1990's, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has offered its member countries a forum for improving efficiency and effectiveness in nuclear emergency management, with a particular focus on international aspects. A central approach to this has been the International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEXI series. Since 1993, the INEX series has proved successful in testing and advancing arrangements for nuclear emergency response. INEX 1, 2 and 2000, which focused on early-phase issues, provided a unique forum to test arrangements and concepts for international nuclear emergency management, particularly international communications, coordination and decision-making. Importantly, these exercises established a recognised international nuclear emergency exercise culture. The most recent exercise, INEX 3, was developed in response to international interest in longer term post-emergency issues. Conducted in 2005-2006, INEX 3 focused on later-phase consequence management issues following discovery of serious radio-logical contamination in the environment. The post-exercise evaluation identified several aspects of national consequence management which would benefit from international cooperation, and to which the international community could usefully contribute as part of planning and preparedness. (author)

  15. Importance of International Cooperation for Emergency Preparedness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregoric, M.; Grlicarev, I.

    1998-01-01

    The paper contains a brief review of reactor accidents and their consequences. The bilateral, regional and interregional agreements on early exchange of information and mutual assistance in case of a nuclear and radiological accident are presented in a table and discussed. The international projects in emergency preparedness are briefly outlined and the situation in the field of emergency preparedness in Slovenia is given for the comparison. (author)

  16. 3D internal reconstruction by the use of terahertz time domain imaging (THz-TDI): an application on a 15th century stucco relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoi Ching, M. Cheung; Giovannacci, D.; Gariani, G.; Brissaud, D.; Leroux, L.; Goubard, F.; Bouquillon, A.; Bormand, M.

    2017-07-01

    In the field of Cultural Heritage and conservation science the development of non-invasive tools to retrieve information on artworks and historical artifacts remains one of the most important and increasing demands. In this work a focus was made on the capability of THz imaging to investigate the internal structure of objects made of superposed plaster layers. In particular, a first attempt of investigation was made for gypsum based plaster used for a stucco reliefs. After a feasibility phase on plaster moke up samples, a 15th century painted stucco relief was investigated by means of THz-TDI in the framework of the ESPRIT project, promoted by the Louvre Museum. The objectives were to assess the presence of internal layers made of different plaster mixtures, to locate them and give useful information about the supposed manufacturing techniques. The refractive indexes of different plasters were measured. Due to multiple scattering inside the samples and the impact of the heterogeneity of the material on this refractive index, the interface between plaster/plaster seems difficult to detect.

  17. Enhancing nuclear emergency response through international co-operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ugletveit, F.; Aaltonen, H.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: A large number of different national plans and procedures have been established and substantial resources allocated world wide with varying comprehensiveness and quality depending an the national requirements and the possible threat scenarios considered. These national plans are only to a small degree harmonized. It is clear that it is the responsibility of the authorities in the respective countries or utilities under their jurisdiction, to decide upon and implement appropriate response actions to a nuclear emergency. The basic needs for responding properly are: infrastructure in terms of plans, procedures etc.; information regarding the accident, its development and consequences; resources in terms of expertise, man power and tools for acquiring and processing information, making assessments and decisions and carry out the actions. When a large number of countries are making assessments and decisions for their own country and providing the public with information, it is important that assessments, decisions and public information become correct, complete and consistent across boarders. In order to achieve this, they should all have access to the same information as basis for their actions. Lack of information or wrong information could easily lead to wrong assessments, wrong decisions and misleading information to the public. If there is a serious nuclear emergency somewhere that could potentially affect several or many States in one way or another, 'everyone' would like to know 'everything' that happens 'everywhere'. In this case, all States should have the obligation to share with the international community the relevant information they have available themselves and that could be of interest for other States responding to the situation. During a serious nuclear or radiological emergency, the demand for different kinds of resources is huge and could, in many countries, probably exceed national capabilities. Looking at the situation in a global

  18. International Business Education: Identifying the Emergent Topics in International Business and Their Relevance for Knowledge Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeoh, Poh-Lin

    2001-01-01

    Sampled faculty in international business (IB) to better understand emerging themes in that area. Seven major topical areas were uncovered: general knowledge of IB, international trade and institutions, cross-cultural issues, managing global operations, international ethics, international monetary systems, and international political/regulatory…

  19. Alternative medicine - pain relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acupuncture - pain relief; Hypnosis - pain relief; Guided imagery - pain relief ... neck, shoulder, knee, or elbow) Osteoarthritis Rheumatoid arthritis Hypnosis is a focused state of concentration. With self- ...

  20. Simulation of durability the evaluation of relief-dot Braille images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svitlana Havenko

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a model of factors that influence on the quality of relief-dot Braille inscriptions in their intensive use by blind people. It was constructed matrix of depending and distancing by using a directed graph. It allowed establish a hierarchy between studied criteria’s of impact the on durability of relief prints. It was developed a basic structure of digital system of assessment the conformity of Braille symbols to applicable international standards and definition of operational stability.

  1. Joint Radiation Emergency Management Plan of the International Organizations of the International Organizations. Date Effective: 1 March 2017

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-01-01

    This Joint Emergency Management Plan of the International Organizations (Joint Plan) describes the interagency framework of preparedness for and response to an actual, potential or perceived nuclear or radiological emergency independent of whether it arises from an accident, natural disaster, negligence, nuclear security event or any other cause. The IAEA is the main coordinating body for development and maintenance of the Joint Plan. The Joint Plan is intended to support and underpin the efforts of national governments and seeks to ensure a coordinated and harmonized international response to nuclear or radiological emergencies. It is not intended to interfere with or replace the emergency preparedness and response arrangements of international organizations (or States).

  2. Sociology of International Education--An Emerging Field of Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnik, Julia

    2012-01-01

    This article points to international education in elementary and post-elementary schools as an emerging and promising field of enquiry. It describes the state of art of this new field and sets out the nature of the research. The rapid development of international networks in recent decades; the contribution of international education policies to…

  3. GIS plays key role in NYC Rescue and Relief Operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Showstack, Randy

    New York City, Sept. 17—The posters of missing loved ones are pasted onto New York City walls and street signs six days after 2 hijacked commercial airlines destroyed the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan on September 11. Several miles uptown from “ground zero,” heightened security hovers around the city's Office of Emergency Management rescue and relief command center, an around-the-clock operation. Police, firefighters, military, officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, communications technicians, and a beehive of others work in controlled chaos in this cavernous, convention center-sized hall, lined with computers and adorned with several American flags.After the original command center at 7 World Trade Center collapsed to rubble as an after-effect of the plane strikes, city officials scrambled to recreate it. Alan Leidner, director of New York's citywide geographic information systems (GIS), and who is with the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, knew that maps would be an integral component of the rescue and relief efforts. Maps provide emergency workers and others with accurate and detailed scientific data in the form of visual aids upon which they can make informed decisions.

  4. International migration as a determinant of emergency caesarean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merry, Lisa; Semenic, Sonia; Gyorkos, Theresa W; Fraser, William; Small, Rhonda; Gagnon, Anita J

    2016-10-01

    High caesarean rates are of concern given associated risks. International migrant women (women born abroad) represent a substantial proportion of women giving birth in high-income countries (HICs) and face social conditions that may exacerbate childbearing health risks. Among migrant women, emergency rather than planned caesareans, tend to be more prevalent. This method of delivery can be stressful, physically harmful and result in an overall negative birth experience. Research establishing evidence of risk factors for emergency caesareans in migrants is insufficient. (1) Describe potential pathways (with a focus on modifiable factors) by which migration, using internationally recommended migration indicators: country of birth, length of time in country, fluency in receiving-country language, migration classification and ethnicity, may lead to emergency caesarean; and (2) propose a framework to guide future research for understanding "potentially preventable" emergency caesareans in migrant women living in HICs. "Potentially preventable" emergency caesareans in migrant women are likely due to several modifiable, interrelated factors pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and during labour. Migration itself is a determinant and also shapes other determinants. Complications and ineffective labour progress and/or foetal distress and ultimately the decision to perform an emergency caesarean may be the result of poor health (i.e., physiological effects), lack of support and disempowerment (i.e., psychological effects) and sub-optimal care. Understanding the direct and indirect effects of migration on emergency caesarean is crucial so that targeted strategies can be developed and implemented for reducing unnecessary caesareans in this vulnerable population. Copyright © 2016 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Research on Disaster Early Warning and Disaster Relief Integrated Service System Based on Block Data Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, J.; Zhang, H.; Wang, C.; Tang, D.

    2018-04-01

    With the continuous development of social economy, the interaction between mankind and nature has become increasingly evident. Disastrous global catastrophes have occurred from time to time, causing huge losses to people's lives and property. All governments recognize the importance of the establishment of disaster early warning and release mechanisms, and it is also an urgent issue to improve the comprehensive service level of emergency response and disaster relief. However, disaster early warning and emergency relief information is usually generated by different departments, and the diverse data sources, difficult integration, and limited release speed have always been difficult issues to be solved. Block data is the aggregation of various distributed (point data) and segmentation (data) big data on a specific platform and make them happen continuous polymerization effect, block data theory is a good solution to cross-sectoral, cross-platform Disaster information data sharing and integration problems. This paper attempts to discuss the integrated service mechanism of disaster information aggregation and disaster relief based on block data theory and introduces a location-based integrated service system for disaster early warning and disaster relief.

  6. Consequences for the emergency protection - international; Konsequenzen fuer den Notfallschutz - international

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weiss, Wolfgang

    2015-06-01

    Extreme disasters as the earthquake and tsunami caused accidents in the NPP Fukushima Daiichi in 2011 are not only health hazardous situations for the respective population but also hazards for their material prosperity and the social cohesion. In order to minimize such consequences the responsible governmental authorities are committed to provide conceptual and material provisions in the frame of emergency planning. The concepts concerning radiation protection should be based on the recommendations and standards of international organizations like IAEA and ICRP, including the evaluation results from previous emergency situations and scientific findings (UNSCEAR).

  7. Community-based assessment of human rights in a complex humanitarian emergency: the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma and Cyclone Nargis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahn Mahn

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2, 2008, killing over 138,000 and affecting at least 2.4 million people. The Burmese military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, initially blocked international aid to storm victims, forcing community-based organizations such as the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma (EAT to fill the void, helping with cyclone relief and long-term reconstruction. Recognizing the need for independent monitoring of the human rights situation in cyclone-affected areas, particularly given censorship over storm relief coverage, EAT initiated such documentation efforts. Methods A human rights investigation was conducted to document selected human rights abuses that had initially been reported to volunteers providing relief services in cyclone affected areas. Using participatory research methods and qualitative, semi-structured interviews, EAT volunteers collected 103 testimonies from August 2008 to June 2009; 42 from relief workers and 61 from storm survivors. Results One year after the storm, basic necessities such as food, potable water, and shelter remained insufficient for many, a situation exacerbated by lack of support to help rebuild livelihoods and worsening household debt. This precluded many survivors from being able to access healthcare services, which were inadequate even before Cyclone Nargis. Aid efforts continued to be met with government restrictions and harassment, and relief workers continued to face threats and fear of arrest. Abuses, including land confiscation and misappropriation of aid, were reported during reconstruction, and tight government control over communication and information exchange continued. Conclusions Basic needs of many cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy Delta remained unmet over a year following Cyclone Nargis. Official impediments to delivery of aid to storm survivors continued, including human rights abrogations experienced by civilians during

  8. The nurse’s leadership within the context of emergency care services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Soares Silva

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze the contributions that research has made to leadership in nursing within the context of emergency care services from 2001 to 2012. This Integrative Literature Review included studies indexed in the following databases: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences (LILACS, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval Systems Online (MEDLINE and SCOPUS. Publications were grouped into three categories: “The styles of leadership adopted by the nurses of the emergency unit”; “Leadership as a strategy to improve nursing care management”; “The development of the nurses’ leadership in emergency care services”. A large part of the publications have a poor level of evidence and is indexed in international journals, showing that there is need for investments from both national and international scientific communities. In conclusion, the most commonly used theories among the nurses are: situational and transformational. Larger investments are necessary in communication and leadership training for nurses. Descriptors: Leadership; Emergency Relief; Emergency Nursing; Nursing Administration Research; Practice Management.

  9. International legal framework for geoengineering: Managing the risks of an emerging technology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Du, Haomiao

    2016-01-01

    The present book “International Legal Framework for Geoengineering – Managing the Risks of an Emerging Technology” is about international law and an emerging technology called geoengineering, which refers to the large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment for counteracting anthropogenic

  10. International IAEA Emergency Response Workshop in Fukushima Concludes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    Full text: An IAEA workshop aimed at further strengthening nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness and response capabilities concluded today in Fukushima, Japan. More than 40 participants from 18 countries took part in the four-day Response and Assistance Network (RANET) workshop, which included a field exercise in areas affected following the March 2011 accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. During the exercise, participants conducted radiation monitoring and environmental sampling and analysis. They measured the contamination level of the ground surface and conducted gamma spectrum analysis and vehicle-based monitoring - activities that are conducted following any nuclear or radiological incident or emergency. Results were then compared amongst participants. RANET is a network currently comprising 22 countries through which the IAEA can facilitate the provision of expert support and equipment on request under the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. Pat Kenny, IAEA RANET Officer, said the workshop provided an opportunity to practice cooperation between international teams that would be deployed through RANET following an emergency. 'By bringing together so many experts from different countries in one place, the workshop helped us learn how international teams can work together to provide assistance in a nuclear or radiological emergency situation,' he said. 'It also enabled us to improve the coordination of such assistance, and it gave participants the opportunity to learn from each other.' The workshop was the first activity conducted from the IAEA RANET Capacity Building Centre, a new training centre based in the city of Fukushima that was designated earlier this week with the support of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and Fukushima Prefecture. The Centre will host RANET and other training courses, workshops and exercises aimed at enhancing nuclear emergency preparedness and response

  11. The relief operation in puno district, peru, after the 1986 floods of lake titicaca.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sztorch, L; Gicquel, V; Desenclos, J C

    1989-03-01

    The 1985-86 rainy season in Peru was disastrous due to very high precipitation. Because of the unusual level of floods in the Lake Titicaca area and the increasing number of affected people, the Peruvian Government established an emergency relief plan and appealed for international aid. At that time the situation was already very critical. The lack of preparedness made the implementation of the relief operation difficult. Our paper describes the intervention of a French N.G.O. (Médecins Sans Trontières), requested by the Peruvian authorities. The early phase of the relief programme and its methodology are described. Problems within this relief programme and the further long-term development action that should be undertaken are discussed. Au Pérou, la saison des pluies 85-86 a été catastrophique par l'importance des précipitations. Au cours des premiers mois de l'année 1986, devant l'ampleur inhabituelle des inondations dans la région du lac Titicaca et le nombre sans cesse croissant de sinistrés, le gouvernement pbruvien décide de mettre en route un plan national de secours d'urgence enfaisant appel à l'aide internationale. Mais la réponse est déjá tardive et le manque de mesures préventives fait que l'organisation des secours se heurte à un grand nombre de difficultés. Notre étude se situe dans le cadre de l'intervention d'une organisation non gouvernementale européenne, sollicitée par le gouvernement péruvien pour une collaboration dans la phase des premiers secours à cette population. Les problémes posés lors de cette opération et la suite à donner à l'assistance a moyen et a long terme sont discutés.

  12. International Organizations: the Main Factors of Emergence and Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lev S. Voronkov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The author argues that the emergence of the first permanent intergovernmental (IIGO and non-governmental (INGO organizationsin the second half of the XIX-th century was due to common causes. He tries to justify the need to consider them not as independent objects of study, but as the phenomenon, caused by the high level of internationalization of economic life of states and of socio-economic consequences of the industrial revolution, reached in this period. The emergence of IIGOs, based on international treaty, was accompanied by establishment of a large number of INGOs operating in similar fields of human activity, which performed supplementary functions and regulated areas of cooperation and public needs, not covered by interstate agreements. The article presents the main factors that in later stages of internationalization and development of contemporary international relations gave the impetus to emergence and development of international organizations, including the military-technological revolution, that gave birth to mass destruction weapons and avalanche-like growth of the number of human and material losses during wars and military conflicts, the Cold War between world communism and world capitalism, the collapse of the colonial system and formation ofa new main contradiction of the world politics between the "Club of rich countries" and states of the "global periphery", beginning of development of regional integration processes and, finally, the emergence of global problems. The article emphasizes that both IIGOs and INGOs evolved from the supportive tools in implementation of multilateral interaction of sovereign states towards becoming an integral part of contemporary international relations, fulfilling many vital functions of modern human society and its citizens. Given the involvement of the overwhelming majority of modern sovereign states and tens of thousands of civil society organizations in activity of numerical IIGOs and INGOs

  13. Training teams for emergency management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafstal, A.M.; Johnston, J.H.; Oser, R.L.

    2001-01-01

    Emergency management (EM), the decision making involved in directing the relief operation after a disaster or otherwise catastrophic accident is an issue of great public and private concern because of the high stakes involved. Due to the nature of emergencies, and especially mass emergencies, EM

  14. Knowledge Creation in International Joint Ventures in Emerging Economies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Ulrik B.

    Entering and developing presence in emerging economies often require foreign firms to set up International Joint Ventures (IJVs) with local partners, especially when the prime motive of the operation is to capture opportunities in the local markets (Mohr & Puck, 2005). IJVs have therefore become...... an important way for firms to enter these markets and a significant force in shaping a firm’s global strategy in expanding international activities abroad. However, research has shown that IJVs in emerging economies are unstable, and firms have experienced that performance of their IJVs in these emerging...... economies often does not meet their expectations (Fang & Zou, 2010). Extant research has shown that, in general, management of IJVs appears to be a difficult issue. 60-70% of all partnerships are not successful (Lambe, Spekman, & Hunt, 2002). Inter-partner learning has been proposed in the literature...

  15. Joint radiation emergency management plan of the international organizations. Emergency preparedness and response. Date effective: 1 December 2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-11-01

    The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (the 'Early Notification Convention') and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (the 'Assistance Convention') are the prime legal instruments that establish an international framework to facilitate the exchange of information and the prompt provision of assistance in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, with the aim of minimizing the consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has specific functions allocated to it under these Conventions, to which, in addition to a number of States, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are full Parties. Since 1989, the arrangements between these organizations for facilitating the practical implementation of those articles of the two Conventions that are operational in nature have been documented by the IAEA in the Emergency Notification and Assistance Technical Operations Manual (ENATOM). The manual is intended for use primarily by Contact Points as identified in the Conventions. Pursuant to the obligations placed on it by the Conventions, the IAEA regularly convenes the Inter-Agency Committee on Response to Nuclear Accidents (lACRNA), whose purpose is to co-ordinate the arrangements of the relevant international intergovernmental organizations ('international organizations') for preparing for and responding to nuclear or radiological emergencies. Although the Conventions assign specific response functions and responsibilities to the IAEA and the Parties, various international organizations have - by virtue of their statutory functions or of related legal instruments - general functions and responsibilities that encompass aspects of preparedness and response. Moreover, some regional organizations (e.g. the European Union) are party to legally binding treaties and have

  16. Comparative Analysis of Emergency Response Operations: Haiti Earthquake in January 2010 and Pakistan’s Flood in 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-01

    Earthquake, Pakistan, Flood, Emergency Response Operations, International Community, HA/DR, United Nations , FRC, NDMA , ICT 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY...Registration Authority NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NDMA National Disaster and Management Authority NDMC National Disaster Management...complicates relief efforts. 6 NDMA Pakistan, “Pakistan Floods-Summary of Damages,” No Author. Accessed 24

  17. Surface Relief and Internal Structure in Fatigued Stainless Sanicro 25 Steel

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Polák, Jaroslav; Kuběna, Ivo; Mazánová, Veronika; Heczko, Milan; Man, Jiří

    47A, č. 5 (2016), s. 1907-1911 ISSN 1073-5623 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-32665S; GA ČR(CZ) GA13-23652S; GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0068 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : surface relief * dislocation structure * Sanicro 25 * extrusion * intrusion Subject RIV: JL - Materials Fatigue, Friction Mechanics Impact factor: 1.874, year: 2016

  18. The livelihoods of Haitian health-care providers after the january 2010 earthquake: a pilot study of the economic and quality-of-life impact of emergency relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haar, Rohini J; Naderi, Sassan; Acerra, John R; Mathias, Maxwell; Alagappan, Kumar

    2012-03-02

    An effective international response to a disaster requires cooperation and coordination with the existing infrastructure. In some cases, however, international relief efforts can compete with the local work force and affect the balance of health-care systems already in place. This study seeks to evaluate the impact of the international humanitarian response to the 12 January 2010 earthquake on Haitian health-care providers (HHP). Fifty-nine HHPs were surveyed in August of 2010 using a modified World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief questionnaire (WHOQoL-B) that included questions on respondents' workload before the earthquake, immediately after, and presently. The study population consisted of physicians, nurses, and technicians at public hospitals, non-governmental organization (NGO) clinics, and private offices in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Following the earthquake, public hospital and NGO providers reported a significant increase in their workload (15 of 17 and 22 of 26 respondents, respectively). Conversely, 12 of 16 private providers reported a significant decrease in workload (p working a similar number of hours prior to the earthquake (average 40 h/week), they reported working significantly different amounts following the earthquake. Public hospital and NGO providers averaged more than 50 h/week, and private providers averaged just over 33 h/week of employment (p working at public hospitals and NGOs, however, had significantly lower scores on the WHOQoL-B when answering questions about their environment (p work among HHPs. To create a robust health-care system in the long term while meeting short-term needs, humanitarian responses should seek to better integrate existing systems and involve local providers in the design and implementation of an emergency program.

  19. 54 countries and 5 international organizations join in a worldwide exercise in nuclear emergency management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    As part of ongoing international cooperation to deal with possible nuclear emergencies, on 22-23 May 2001, an extensive international nuclear emergency exercise will be carried out at the Gravelines NPP. The main objectives of the exercise are to test existing national and international procedures and arrangements for responding to nuclear emergency, co-ordinate the release of information and assess the effectiveness of advisory and decision making mechanism. The IAEA has specific responsibilities under two international conventions related to emergencies involving ionizing radiation - the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency

  20. [Experience of Handicap International in providing humanitarian relief in region near Aceh, Indonesia from March 1 to 27, 2005].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillet, Y

    2005-01-01

    This report describes the experience of the author in March 2005 during the relief efforts deployed in the region near Aceh, Indonesia (North Sumatra) by Handicap International, one of the 400 NGO that provided humanitarian aid following the tsunami disaster that struck Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004. Working in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, the author was confronted with the extent of the devastation both in terms of property damage and human suffering. Clinical cases were often severe and rarely encountered in industrialized countries. The tsunami worsened the already poor sanitary conditions: rundown care facilities, poorly trained health care personnel, tropical disease, poor hygiene, and AVP.

  1. Joint radiation emergency management plan of the international organizations. Emergency preparedness and response. Date effective: 1 January 2007

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (the 'Early Notification Convention') and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (the 'Assistance Convention') are the prime legal instruments that establish an international framework to facilitate the exchange of information and the prompt provision of assistance in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, with the aim of minimizing the consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has specific functions assigned to it under these Conventions, to which, in addition to a number of States, the European Union (EURATOM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are full Parties. Since 1989, the arrangements between these organizations for facilitating the practical implementation of those articles of the two Conventions that are operational in nature have been documented by the IAEA in the Emergency Notification and Assistance Technical Operations Manual (ENATOM)1. The manual is intended for use primarily by contact points as identified in the Conventions. Pursuant to the obligations placed on it by the Conventions, the IAEA regularly convenes the Inter-Agency Committee on Response to Nuclear Accidents (IACRNA)2, whose purpose is to co-ordinate the arrangements of the relevant international intergovernmental organizations ('international organizations') for preparing for and responding to nuclear or radiological emergencies. Although the Conventions assign specific response functions and responsibilities to the IAEA and the Parties, various international organizations have - by virtue of their statutory functions or of related legal instruments - general functions and responsibilities that encompass aspects of preparedness and response. Moreover, some regional organizations (e.g. the European Union) are party to legally

  2. The process of learning from emergency preparedness cooperation in international schools

    OpenAIRE

    Pham, Hanh

    2014-01-01

    Master's thesis in Risk management and societal safety The cooperation between schools and organizations can encourage schools to learn about safety procedures and preparation for emergencies to improve the school emergency preparedness. In the international schools in Stavanger, learning from emergency preparedness cooperation can be optimized when knowledge creation contributes to improve the school capability and update or change the school emergency preparedness activities. However, de...

  3. [Disaster relief through inter-professional collaboration --from the standpoint of a dietitian].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inamura, Yukiko

    2013-01-01

    The present study examined disaster relief efforts by registered and other dietitians following the Great East Japan Earthquake to identify related problems. Based on this, the study discussed what is required to develop a "disaster relief system through inter-professional collaboration" to cope with unanticipated disasters. On March 15, 2011, the Japan Dietetic Association (JDA) independently established the "Great East Japan Earthquake relief emergency headquarters". The association along with these volunteers was committed to the establishment of a system for disaster relief activities with the support of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures: the number of registered volunteers was 978; a total of 1,588 dietitians were dispatched; and 602 became involved in relief work in the disaster-stricken areas. Registered and other dietitians dispatched for disaster relief provided support and home care for evacuation centers, elderly facilities, and temporary housing, including dietary and nutrition advice and consultation, in cooperation and collaboration with administrative dietitians in disaster areas, registered and other dietitians of disaster headquarters in disaster-stricken prefectures, the Primary Care for All Teams (PCAT) of the Japan Primary Care Association, disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs), and volunteer groups. Through the course of the relief activities, the following problems were identified: difficulties in responding to varying needs in different phases, nutritional measures (population-based and high-risk approaches), nutritional disparities among evacuation centers, necessity of a section to collect ever-changing information on disaster areas in a comprehensive manner, importance of working cooperatively to establish a support system, and differences in volunteers' support skills. To facilitate disaster relief through inter-professional collaboration, it is necessary for many different organizations to understand each other's capabilities

  4. Why are older peoples' health needs forgotten post-natural disaster relief in developing countries? A healthcare provider survey of 2005 Kashmir, Pakistan earthquake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Emily Ying Yang

    2009-01-01

    Although older people may be recognized as a vulnerable group post-natural disasters, their particular needs are rarely met by the providers of emergency services. Studies about older people's health needs post disasters in the South East Asia Tsunami, Kashmir, Pakistan, China, and United States has revealed the lack of concern for older people's health needs. Recent study of older people's health needs post the Kashmir Pakistan earthquake (2005) found older peoples' health needs were masked within the general population. This survey study examines the providers' perceptions of older people's vulnerabilities post-2005 Pakistan earthquake. It aims to understand the awareness of geriatric issues and issues related to current service provision/planning for older people's health needs post disasters. Specifically, service delivery patterns will be compared among different relief agencies. Cross-sectional, structured stakeholder interviews were conducted within a 2 weeks period in February 2006, 4 months post-earthquake in Pakistan-administrated Kashmir. Health/medical relief agencies of three different types of organizational nature: international nongovernmental organization (INGO), national organization, and local/community group were solicited to participate in the study. Descriptive analysis was conducted. Important issues identified include the need to sensitize relief and health workers about older people's health needs post disaster the development of relevant clinical guidelines for chronic disease management postdisaster in developing countries and the advocacy of building in geriatric related components in natural disaster medical relief programs. To effectively address the vulnerability of older people, it is important for governments, relief agencies, and local partners to include and address these issues during their relief operations and policy planning.

  5. 38 CFR 17.1003 - Emergency transportation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Emergency transportation... Facilities § 17.1003 Emergency transportation. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 17.1002, payment or... the emergency transportation; (c) The veteran has no coverage under a health-plan contract for...

  6. 19 CFR 206.55 - Investigations to evaluate the effectiveness of relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... relief. 206.55 Section 206.55 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION NONADJUDICATIVE INVESTIGATIONS INVESTIGATIONS RELATING TO GLOBAL AND BILATERAL SAFEGUARD ACTIONS, MARKET DISRUPTION, TRADE... facilitating positive adjustment by the domestic industry to import competition, consistent with the reasons...

  7. Assessment of internal doses in emergency situations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rahola, T.; Muikku, M. [Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority - STUK (Finland); Falk, R.; Johansson, J. [Swedish Radiation Protection Authority - SSI (Sweden); Liland, A.; Thorshaug, S. [NRPA (Norway)

    2006-04-15

    The need for assessing internal radiation doses in emergency situations was demonstrated after accidents in Brazil, Ukraine and other countries. Lately more and more concern has been expressed regarding malevolent use of radiation and radioactive materials. The scenarios for such use are more difficult to predict than for nuclear power plant or weapons accidents. Much of the results of the work done in the IRADES project can be adopted for use in various accidental situations involving radionuclides that are not addressed in this report. If an emergency situation occurs in only one or a few of the Nordic countries, experts from the other countries could be called upon to assist in monitoring. A big advantage is then our common platform. In the Nordic countries much work has been put down on quality assurance of measurements and on training of dose assessment calculations. Attention to this was addressed at the internal dosimetry course in October 2005. Nordic emergency preparedness exercises have so far not included training of direct measurements of people in the early phase of an emergency. The aim of the IRADES project was to improve the preparedness especially for thyroid measurements. The modest financial support did not enable the participants to make big efforts but certainly acted as a much appreciated reminder of the importance of being prepared also to handle situations with malevolent use of radioactive materials. It was left to each country to decide to which extent to improve the practical skills. There is still a need for detailed national implementation plans. Measurement strategies need to be developed in each country separately taking into account national regulations, local circumstances and resources. End users of the IRADES report are the radiation protection authorities. (au)

  8. Assessment of internal doses in emergency situations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahola, T.; Muikku, M.; Falk, R.; Johansson, J.; Liland, A.; Thorshaug, S.

    2006-04-01

    The need for assessing internal radiation doses in emergency situations was demonstrated after accidents in Brazil, Ukraine and other countries. Lately more and more concern has been expressed regarding malevolent use of radiation and radioactive materials. The scenarios for such use are more difficult to predict than for nuclear power plant or weapons accidents. Much of the results of the work done in the IRADES project can be adopted for use in various accidental situations involving radionuclides that are not addressed in this report. If an emergency situation occurs in only one or a few of the Nordic countries, experts from the other countries could be called upon to assist in monitoring. A big advantage is then our common platform. In the Nordic countries much work has been put down on quality assurance of measurements and on training of dose assessment calculations. Attention to this was addressed at the internal dosimetry course in October 2005. Nordic emergency preparedness exercises have so far not included training of direct measurements of people in the early phase of an emergency. The aim of the IRADES project was to improve the preparedness especially for thyroid measurements. The modest financial support did not enable the participants to make big efforts but certainly acted as a much appreciated reminder of the importance of being prepared also to handle situations with malevolent use of radioactive materials. It was left to each country to decide to which extent to improve the practical skills. There is still a need for detailed national implementation plans. Measurement strategies need to be developed in each country separately taking into account national regulations, local circumstances and resources. End users of the IRADES report are the radiation protection authorities. (au)

  9. Reward and motivation in pain and pain relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navratilova, Edita; Porreca, Frank

    2015-01-01

    Pain is fundamentally unpleasant, a feature that protects the organism by promoting motivation and learning. Relief of aversive states, including pain, is rewarding. The aversiveness of pain, as well as the reward from relief of pain, is encoded by brain reward/motivational mesocorticolimbic circuitry. In this Review, we describe current knowledge of the impact of acute and chronic pain on reward/motivation circuits gained from preclinical models and from human neuroimaging. We highlight emerging clinical evidence suggesting that anatomical and functional changes in these circuits contribute to the transition from acute to chronic pain. We propose that assessing activity in these conserved circuits can offer new outcome measures for preclinical evaluation of analgesic efficacy to improve translation and speed drug discovery. We further suggest that targeting reward/motivation circuits may provide a path for normalizing the consequences of chronic pain to the brain, surpassing symptomatic management to promote recovery from chronic pain. PMID:25254980

  10. 28 CFR 36.504 - Relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... COMMERCIAL FACILITIES Enforcement § 36.504 Relief. (a) Authority of court. In a civil action under § 36.503, the court— (1) May grant any equitable relief that such court considers to be appropriate, including... disabilities; (2) May award other relief as the court considers to be appropriate, including monetary damages...

  11. Joint radiation emergency management plan of the international organizations. Emergency preparedness and response. Date effective: 1 December 2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-11-01

    The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (the 'Early Notification Convention') and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (the 'Assistance Convention') are the prime legal instruments that establish an international framework to facilitate the exchange of information and the prompt provision of assistance in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, with the aim of minimizing the consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has specific functions assigned to it under these Conventions, to which, in addition to a number of States, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are full Parties. Since 1989, the arrangements between these organizations for facilitating the practical implementation of those articles of the two Conventions that are operational in nature have been documented by the IAEA in the Emergency Notification and Assistance Technical Operations Manual (ENATOM). The manual is intended for use primarily by contact points as identified in the Conventions. Pursuant to the obligations placed on it by the Conventions, the IAEA regularly convenes the Inter-Agency Committee on Response to Nuclear Accidents (IACRNA)2, whose purpose is to co-ordinate the arrangements of the relevant international intergovernmental organizations ('international organizations') for preparing for and responding to nuclear or radiological emergencies. Although the Conventions assign specific response functions and responsibilities to the IAEA and the Parties, various international organizations have - by virtue of their statutory functions or of related legal instruments - general functions and responsibilities that encompass aspects of preparedness and response. Moreover, some regional organizations (e.g. the European Union) are party to legally binding treaties and have

  12. Usage patterns and attitudes towards emergency contraception: the International Emergency Contraception Research Initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krassovics, Miklós; Virágh, Gabriella

    2016-08-01

    The aim of the survey was to gain understanding of women's usage patterns and attitudes towards emergency contraception (i.e., the 'morning after pill') and to gain insight into the role and attitudes of pharmacists as providers of emergency contraception. As part of the International Emergency Contraception Research Initiative, approximately 6500 women (15-49 years) and nearly 500 pharmacists from 14 countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia completed questionnaires via web-based interrogation or computer-assisted/paper-assisted personal interviews. Common to almost all countries and cultures was that, while awareness of emergency contraception was high (≥84% of respondents, except in Kazakhstan), usage was generally low (4-18%). In Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, and the UK, better underlying protection with hormonal contraceptives or male condoms would have meant less need for emergency contraception. In Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, and Russia, greater dependence on less reliable contraceptive methods such as calendar + withdrawal was associated with higher use of the emergency contraceptive pill (11-18%) but also with higher abortion rates (19-21%). Overt rejection of emergency contraception in the event of an accident was low, except in countries (e.g., Austria, Poland) where the misperception that it acts as an abortifacient was common. Except for Bulgaria, pharmacists elsewhere tended to have limited knowledge and moralistic attitudes towards emergency contraception. Improved educational efforts, probably country-specific, are required to increase the use of highly effective methods of regular contraception and overcome barriers to acceptance of emergency contraception as a suitable postcoital solution to avoid unwanted pregnancy or abortion.

  13. Evaluating acute pain intensity relief: challenges when using an 11-point numerical rating scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauny, Jean-Marc; Paquet, Jean; Lavigne, Gilles; Marquis, Martin; Daoust, Raoul

    2016-02-01

    Percentage of pain intensity difference (PercentPID) is a recognized way of evaluating pain relief with an 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS) but is not without flaws. A new metric, the slope of relative pain intensity difference (SlopePID), which consists in dividing PercentPID by the time between 2 pain measurements, is proposed. This study aims to validate SlopePID with 3 measures of subjective pain relief: a 5-category relief scale (not, a little, moderate, very, complete), a 2-category relief question ("I'm relieved," "I'm not relieved"), and a single-item question, "Wanting other medication to treat pain?" (Yes/No). This prospective cohort study included 361 patients in the emergency department who had an initial acute pain NRS > 3 and a pain intensity assessment within 90 minutes after analgesic administration. Mean age was 50.2 years (SD = 19.3) and 59% were women. Area under the curves of receiver operating characteristic curves analyses revealed similar discriminative power for PercentPID (0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-0.88) and SlopePID (0.82; 95% CI, 0.77-0.86). Considering the "very" category from the 5-category relief scale as a substantial relief, the average cutoff for substantial relief was a decrease of 64% (95% CI, 59-69) for PercentPID and of 49% per hour (95% CI, 44-54) for SlopePID. However, when a cutoff criterion of 50% was used as a measure of pain relief for an individual patient, PercentPID underestimated pain-relieved patients by 12.1% (P pain intensity at baseline was an odd number compared with an even number (32.9% vs 45.0%, respectively). SlopePID should be used instead of PercentPID as a metric to evaluate acute pain relief on a 0 to 10 NRS.

  14. Flood, disaster, and turmoil: social issues in cleft and craniofacial care and crisis relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, Ronald P; van Aalst, John A; Fox, Lynn; Stein, Margot; Moses, Michael; Cassell, Cynthia H

    2011-11-01

    To examine social issues in the conduct of cleft and craniofacial care through relief programs in disrupted crisis contexts. Social, health policy, and ethical analyses. At best, craniofacial team care is multidisciplinary, coordinated, and sustained, requiring a long-term relationship between team members, patients, and families. Disasters and societal turmoil interrupt such relationships, causing craniofacial care to become a secondary concern. Providing craniofacial team care in a crisis setting requires rebuilding disrupted coordination and communication. Crisis relief care involves a complex set of expectations and responsibilities and raises issues such as (1) quality assurance, infection control, appropriate standards of care, and follow-up care/continuity; (2) equity of access to services and clinical ethics in the context of war and/or deprivation; (3) training of visitors in the local nation or site; (4) disciplinary composition of teams, interprofessional communication/rivalry, and credentials of clinicians; (5) ownership of the site and local visitor relations; (6) fundraising and marketing strategies; and (7) ethical issues in the doctor-patient relationship. Specific ethical standards for international cleft and craniofacial care delivery also apply to domestic and global crisis relief contexts. Guidance on issues related to professional experience, informed consent, and continuity of care will help care providers address social and ethical issues raised in crisis relief programs. This paper proposes that the Position Paper of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) on International Treatment Programs should be used as a template to develop and disseminate a set of standards that apply to crisis relief.

  15. Joint Radiation Emergency Management Plan of the International Organizations. Date Effective: 1 January 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this Plan is to describe the inter-agency framework for preparedness for and response to a radiation5 incident or emergency irrespective of its cause. In particular, its objectives are: 1. To provide a common understanding of the emergency preparedness and response roles and responsibilities, objectives, authorities, capabilities and arrangements of each participating international organization, and any relevant inter-agency arrangements; 2. To provide an overall concept of operations between the international organizations based on the emergency response objectives, responsibilities, authorities, capabilities and arrangements of each participating international organization, and any existing inter-agency arrangements, in order to facilitate a timely, effective and co-ordinated response; 3. To facilitate development of agreements among the participating international organizations on practical issues, if appropriate; 4. To provide a common understanding of the process for improving and changing the inter-agency response arrangements; 5. To provide a common understanding of roles and responsibilities of the participating international organizations with respect to: international standards, supporting national capabilities through provision of guidance and training, relevant research, emergency exercises and other preparedness considerations; 6. To guide the managers in each participating organization who need to ensure that all appropriate arrangements are given the necessary support within their organization; 7. To facilitate the well founded development, maintenance and training of plans and procedures for each organization; 8. To draw the attention of personnel in States and international organizations6 to these arrangements and to facilitate the development of compatible arrangements, if appropriate. The Joint Plan describes the arrangements of the participating international organizations7 for responding to a radiation incident or emergency

  16. Drivers of the international expansion of emerging-market multinationals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Boșcor

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the present paper is to analyze the drivers of the international expansion of emerging market multinationals and the strategies applied by these companies in other emerging and developed markets. The paper applies a conceptual approach combined with analyses of statistics and secondary material and presents the company and the country specific advantages. The proposals for the Romanian companies and institutions are based on the comparison between the drivers of expansion in the BRIC countries.

  17. Joint Radiation Emergency Management Plan of the International Organizations. Date Effective: 1 July 2013

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (the 'Early Notification Convention') and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (the 'Assistance Convention') are prime legal instruments that establish an international framework to facilitate the exchange of information and the prompt provision of assistance in the event of a radiation emergency, with the aim of minimizing the consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has specific functions assigned to it under these Conventions, to which the the European Commission, through the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are full Parties. The arrangements between the IAEA, States and international intergovernmental organizations ('international organizations') for facilitating the practical implementation of those articles of the two Conventions that are operational in nature are documented in the IAEA's Operations Manual for Incident and Emergency Communication (IEComm). In addition to the IEComm arrangements and pursuant to the obligations placed on the IAEA by the Conventions, the IAEA regularly convenes the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies (IACRNE), whose purpose is to coordinate the arrangements of the relevant international organizations for preparing for and responding to radiation incidents or emergencies. Although the Conventions assign specific response functions and responsibilities to the IAEA and the Parties, various international organizations have - by virtue of their statutory functions or of related legal instruments (including, for example, the WHO International Health Regulations 2005) - functions and responsibilities that encompass aspects of preparedness and response in this context. Moreover, some regional organizations/bodies (e.g. the

  18. Joint Radiation Emergency Management Plan of the International Organizations. Date Effective: 1 July 2013

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-07-01

    The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (the 'Early Notification Convention') and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (the 'Assistance Convention') are prime legal instruments that establish an international framework to facilitate the exchange of information and the prompt provision of assistance in the event of a radiation emergency, with the aim of minimizing the consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has specific functions assigned to it under these Conventions, to which the the European Commission, through the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are full Parties. The arrangements between the IAEA, States and international intergovernmental organizations ('international organizations') for facilitating the practical implementation of those articles of the two Conventions that are operational in nature are documented in the IAEA's Operations Manual for Incident and Emergency Communication (IEComm). In addition to the IEComm arrangements and pursuant to the obligations placed on the IAEA by the Conventions, the IAEA regularly convenes the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies (IACRNE), whose purpose is to coordinate the arrangements of the relevant international organizations for preparing for and responding to radiation incidents or emergencies. Although the Conventions assign specific response functions and responsibilities to the IAEA and the Parties, various international organizations have - by virtue of their statutory functions or of related legal instruments (including, for example, the WHO International Health Regulations 2005) - functions and responsibilities that encompass aspects of preparedness and response in this context. Moreover, some regional organizations/bodies (e.g. the

  19. Planning an innovation marathon at an infectious disease conference with results from the International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance 2016 Hackathon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John W. Ramatowski

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available A hackathon is best described as an ‘innovation marathon’. Derived from the words ‘hacking’ and ‘marathon’, it brings together multidisciplinary teams to collaborate intensely over a short period of time to define a problem, devise a solution, and design a working prototype. International scientific meetings are conducive to successful hackathons, providing an audience of expert professionals who describe challenges and ensure the proposed solutions address end-user needs. Collaborations with local organizations and academic centers are crucial to attracting complementary specialties such as IT advisors, engineers, and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable projects. The core process of first identifying and deconstructing a problem followed by solution iteration is applicable to challenges at workplaces around the world. Ultimately, this model can be used to drive innovation and catalyze change in the global health community. The planning, execution, and outcomes of a hackathon event organized in conjunction with the International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance (IMED 2016 are described in this article. Physicians, public health practitioners, veterinarians, IT professionals, engineers, and entrepreneurs came together for 2 days to develop solutions at the intersection of emerging infectious diseases and climate change. Projects that resulted from the IMED 2016 Hackathon included environmental impact assessment software for humanitarian organization relief efforts; enhanced communication tools to prevent disease outbreaks; a participatory mobile application to speed the elimination of rabies in Indonesia; integrated disease surveillance platforms; and an improved search function for infectious disease outbreak reports in the ProMED-mail network. Keywords: Hackathon, Innovation, Infectious diseases, Public health, Medical meeting, Interdisciplinary, Emerging infectious diseases

  20. International entrepreneurship research in emerging economies : A critical review and research agenda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kiss, A.N.; Danis, W.D.; Cavusgil, S.T.

    This article systematically reviews and critically examines international entrepreneurship research in emerging economies (IEEE research), and articulates its importance, timeliness and relevance in consideration of the growing influence of emerging markets in the global economy. A systematic

  1. Cordaid's post-disaster shelter strategy in Haiti : Linking relief and development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janse, H.C.; Van der Flier, C.L.

    2014-01-01

    Haiti was struck by a heavy earthquake in 2010 and international aid poured into the country. News reports in 2011 were not very positive about the results of post-disaster reconstruction: “The relief efforts are only putting Haiti on lifesupport instead of evolving into the next stage of

  2. Optimized maritime emergency resource allocation under dynamic demand.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenfen Zhang

    Full Text Available Emergency resource is important for people evacuation and property rescue when accident occurs. The relief efforts could be promoted by a reasonable emergency resource allocation schedule in advance. As the marine environment is complicated and changeful, the place, type, severity of maritime accident is uncertain and stochastic, bringing about dynamic demand of emergency resource. Considering dynamic demand, how to make a reasonable emergency resource allocation schedule is challenging. The key problem is to determine the optimal stock of emergency resource for supplier centers to improve relief efforts. This paper studies the dynamic demand, and which is defined as a set. Then a maritime emergency resource allocation model with uncertain data is presented. Afterwards, a robust approach is developed and used to make sure that the resource allocation schedule performs well with dynamic demand. Finally, a case study shows that the proposed methodology is feasible in maritime emergency resource allocation. The findings could help emergency manager to schedule the emergency resource allocation more flexibly in terms of dynamic demand.

  3. Emergency preparedness and internal contamination monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahola, T.; Suomela, M.

    2000-01-01

    After the radiation accidents in Chernobyl, Ukraina in 1986 and in Goiania, Brasil in 1987, much resource have been spent on improving emergency preparedness. Especially regarding transfer of information using the most recent techniques and establishment of 24 hour emergency service of radiation safety experts the development has been fast. The very first measures in a possible emergency situation have been trained nationally and internationally. Less attention has been paid to measures in a somewhat later phase. To be able to react fast enough in an emergency situation it is essential to have well documented plans, written instructions and suitable measurement equipment ready for use. Equally important is that there is trained staff prepared to do measurements without delay. In the first phase of a nuclear accident radioactive iodine is of primary concern regarding internal contamination. After the Chernobyl accident the number of childhood thyroidea cancer clearly exceeded the expected number. Reliable direct measurements of I-131 in the thyroidea in Ukraina, Russia and Belarussia were done only to a limited number of children. Many uncertainties are involved in the data used for dose estimation. Later the body burdens of radiocesium or other radionuclides might be of most importance. Normal whole-body counting instruments can be used if only small groups need to be measured. For large groups of people in an emergency situation faster methods are needed. Different types of monitors installed at places where radiation workers are controlled for internal contamination as well as gamma cameras at hospitals can be used. Rapid field measurements of the whole-body and especially of the thyroid can been done with less sophisticated instruments. In the acute phase of a nuclear accident such measurements should be done without delay. Instruments and staff trained to use them should be available and plans for which groups of people to measure prepared. The detection level

  4. Planning an innovation marathon at an infectious disease conference with results from the International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance 2016 Hackathon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramatowski, John W; Lee, Christopher Xiang; Mantzavino, Aikaterini; Ribas, João; Guerra, Winter; Preston, Nicholas D; Schernhammer, Eva; Madoff, Lawrence C; Lassmann, Britta

    2017-12-01

    A hackathon is best described as an 'innovation marathon'. Derived from the words 'hacking' and 'marathon', it brings together multidisciplinary teams to collaborate intensely over a short period of time to define a problem, devise a solution, and design a working prototype. International scientific meetings are conducive to successful hackathons, providing an audience of expert professionals who describe challenges and ensure the proposed solutions address end-user needs. Collaborations with local organizations and academic centers are crucial to attracting complementary specialties such as IT advisors, engineers, and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable projects. The core process of first identifying and deconstructing a problem followed by solution iteration is applicable to challenges at workplaces around the world. Ultimately, this model can be used to drive innovation and catalyze change in the global health community. The planning, execution, and outcomes of a hackathon event organized in conjunction with the International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance (IMED 2016) are described in this article. Physicians, public health practitioners, veterinarians, IT professionals, engineers, and entrepreneurs came together for 2days to develop solutions at the intersection of emerging infectious diseases and climate change. Projects that resulted from the IMED 2016 Hackathon included environmental impact assessment software for humanitarian organization relief efforts; enhanced communication tools to prevent disease outbreaks; a participatory mobile application to speed the elimination of rabies in Indonesia; integrated disease surveillance platforms; and an improved search function for infectious disease outbreak reports in the ProMED-mail network. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. A new series of international nuclear emergency exercises (INEX)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halil-Burcin Okyar; Lazo, Edward; Siemann, Michael

    2014-01-01

    The INEX series of international nuclear emergency exercises, organised under the auspices of the NEA Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters (WPNEM), has proven successful in testing, investigating and improving national and international response arrangements for nuclear accidents and radiological emergencies. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident occurred during INEX-4 and had a direct impact on NEA technical standing committees' work programmes. The WPNEM played an important role during the emergency, following and studying the insights and ideas that drive nuclear emergency management decision making. It collected crucial information on governmental decisions and recommendations with respect to the accident situation, and implemented a framework study to assist in the collection of NEA member country experiences that would facilitate the identification of commonalities in national assessment approaches and results. The findings triggered the INEX-5 exercise, which will build upon the experiences and lessons learnt from past nuclear accidents/incidents, and the success of previous INEX exercises. This exercise is intended to test mechanisms for decision making at the national level, particularly in uncertain circumstances or in the absence of data, to examine arrangements for international co-operation and coordination of data and information exchange among countries and arrangements for practical support and assistance between groups of countries or geographical regions. It will also investigate the long-term issues beyond the early response phase. The WPNEM agreed on a tightly focused scope, which will consist of a tabletop exercise or moderated workshop that is not based on a real time test. The exercise will be a common scenario based on a re-enactment of a nuclear power plant accident, although not the Fukushima accident. It will consider coincident impacts on multiple units and include impacts on other critical national

  6. Fire Service Emergency Management Handbook

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-01-01

    Adapted from Formulating Public Policy in Emergency Management Course Book and ResourceMRanual for Public OTTicials, ILMA Emergency Management Institute...659-2447 (202) 785-2757 Christian Reformed World Relief Presbyterian Church in U.S. Committee General Assemby Mission Board C. Neil Molenaar 341 Ponce...Healer, Mind as Slayer. New York: Delta Books , 1977. 86B:6 B-45 4) Mitchell, J.T., & Resnik, HLP: Emergency Response to Crisis: A Crisis Intervention

  7. Emerging markets and the international financial architecture: a blueprint for reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JAN KREGEL

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available If emerging markets are to achieve their objective of joining the ranks of industrialized, developed countries, they must use their economic and political influence to support radical change in the international financial system. This working paper recommends John Maynard Keynes's "clearing union" as a blueprint for reform of the international financial architecture that could address emerging market grievances more effectively than current approaches. Keynes's proposal for the postwar international system sought to remedy some of the same problems currently facing emerging market economies. It was based on the idea that financial stability was predicated on a balance between imports and exports over time, with any divergence from balance providing automatic financing of the debit countries by the creditor countries via a global clearinghouse or settlement system for trade and payments on current account. This eliminated national currency payments for imports and exports; countries received credits or debits in a notional unit of account fixed to national currency. Since the unit of account could not be traded, bought, or sold, it would not be an international reserve currency. The credits with the clearinghouse could only be used to offset debits by buying imports, and if not used for this purpose they would eventually be extinguished; hence the burden of adjustment would be shared equally - credit generated by surpluses would have to be used to buy imports from the countries with debit balances. Emerging market economies could improve upon current schemes for regionally governed financial institutions by using this proposal as a template for the creation of regional clearing unions using a notional unit of account.

  8. Full text publication rates of studies presented at an international emergency medicine scientific meeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Jannet W M; Graham, Colin A

    2011-09-01

    The publication rate of full text papers following an abstract presentation at a medical conference is variable, and few studies have examined the situation with respect to international emergency medicine conferences. This retrospective study aimed to identify the publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2006 International Conference on Emergency Medicine (ICEM) held in Halifax, Canada. The full text publication rate was 33.2%, similar to previous emergency medicine meetings. English language barriers may play a role in the low publication rate seen.

  9. International Emergency Psychiatry Challenges: Disaster Medicine, War, Human Trafficking, Displaced Persons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaung, Michael; Jani, Suni; Banu, Sophia; Mackey, Joy M

    2017-09-01

    Mental health disorders are a major cause of morbidity and a growing burden in low-income and middle-income countries; but there is little existing literature on the detailed epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment in low-resource settings. Special situations with vulnerable populations, such as those created by international humanitarian emergencies, refugees or internally displaced people, and victims of human trafficking, are increasing in prevalence. These victims are often resettled in developed countries and come to the emergency department seeking care. To better care for these populations, knowledge of specialized psychosocial and cultural considerations should inform the comprehensive psychiatric assessment and treatment plan. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. 78 FR 32296 - Second Allocation of Public Transportation Emergency Relief Funds in Response to Hurricane Sandy...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Second Allocation of Public... disaster that affects public transportation systems. The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act provides $10.9... projected total recovery costs for the four most severely affected public transportation systems, not...

  11. Analysis of inservice inspection relief requests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldrich, D.A.; Cook, J.F.

    1989-08-01

    Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations require inspection (ISI) of boiling or pressurized water-cooled nuclear power plants be performed in accordance with a referenced edition and addenda of Section XI, ''Rules for Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant components,'' of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The regulations permit licensees to request relief from the NRC from specific ASME Code requirements that are determined to be impractical for the specific licensee. The NRC evaluates these requests and may grant such relief, but the NRC may also impose alternative or augmented inspections to assure structural reliability. The purpose,of this task was to evaluate the basis for ISI nondestructive examination (NDE) relief requests and to evaluate the effect of proposed ASME Code changes that would reduce the need for such requests or provide for more complete information in relief requests. This report contains the results of an analysis of an ISI relief request data base that has been expanded to include 1195 ISI relief requests versus the 296 relief requests covered in the first report in April 1987, EGG-SD-7430. Also relief requests were added to the data base which came from both first and second 10-year inspection intervals for several facilities. This provided the means to analyze the effect of recently approved ASME Code cases and updated Code requirements, some of which have been published as a result of earlier work on this task

  12. Barriers to spousal contribution to childbirth pain relief in Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emelonye, A U; Pitkäaho, T; Aregbesola, A; Vehviläinen-Julkunen, K

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the barriers inhibiting the use of spousal presence for childbirth pain relief in health facilities and recommendations from three perspectives: the midwife, the woman, and the spouse. Spousal presence is a non-invasive, participatory and inexpensive technique used in pain management during childbirth. Although it contributes to a large extent in relieving childbirth pain, it is underutilized in Nigerian hospitals. Overcoming the challenges impeding spousal presence and participation during childbirth will improve maternal outcome, satisfaction and midwifery care practices. A cross-sectional survey conducted in four hospitals in Nigeria involving midwives (n = 100), women (n = 142) and their spouses (n = 142) from June to December 2014 using pretested questionnaires. Five themes were identified: poor infrastructural facility, lack of adequate pain management policy, lack of midwife pain management practices, midwives' attitudes towards spousal presence during childbirth and feelings about spousal presence during childbirth pain relief. Infrastructural defects in the health facilities resulting in the lack of privacy in maternity units for both spouses and partners negatively influence the presence of a spouse during childbirth and pain relief. Adopting effective strategies such as good infrastructural facilities, staff training and spouse-friendly hospital policies will encourage spouses to fully participate in and contribute to childbirth pain relief. This study identified poor staff attitudes towards pain relief and spousal presence during childbirth as barriers. Providing adequate policies on pain management, continuous staff education and orientation on spousal relationship will improve active spousal participation and maternal satisfaction during childbirth. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

  13. Overview of radiation emergencies: international perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindell, B.

    1986-01-01

    The author gives an international perspective to emergency planning focusing on the situation in Sweden after the Chernobyl accident. The situation in Sweden, as in other European countries outside the USSR, was not covered by emergency plans. There was no accident site within the country and, therefore, no local authority responsible for remedial action. Nevertheless, the central authorities had to deal with the immediate situation. The most urgent task was to find areas where milk-producing cattle could be released to the fields. The Swedish authorities decided that an appropriate level for rejecting food on the market would be 300 Bq/kg. In order to ascertain that dairy milk would not exceed 300 Bq/l, the Swedish authorities requested farmers in the most contaminated regions to keep milk-producing cattle indoors about six weeks. Sweden, like many other countries, was lucky that the accident did not happen later in the grazing season and that the rain-out of radioactive material from the cloud did not occur over the main agricultural areas; otherwise, the consequences would have been much worse

  14. Laparoscopic Adhesiolysis and Relief of Chronic Pelvic Pain

    OpenAIRE

    Nezhat, Farr R.; Crystal, Ruth Ann; Nezhat, Ceana H.; Nezhat, Camran R.

    2000-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the short- and long-term results of laparoscopic enterolysis in patients with chronic pelvic pain following hysterectomy. Methods: Forty-eight patients were evaluated at time intervals from 2 weeks to 5 years after laparoscopic enterolysis. Patients were asked to rate postoperative relief of their pelvic pain as complete/near complete relief (80-100% pain relief), significant relief (50-80% pain relief), or less than 50% or no pain relief. Results: We found that after 2...

  15. Impact of international humanitarian service-learning on emerging adult social competence: A mixed-methods evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Schvaneveldt

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the results from a study into international humanitarian service-learning experiences on young adult volunteers. Specifically, the service-learning experiences of emerging adults who had served in orphanages in Latin America were assessed, in a pre- and post-test design, for their development in areas of social competency such as identity, self-efficacy, self-esteem and ethnocentric attitudes. A mixed-methods design using both qualitative and quantitative measures was used. Both qualitative and quantitative results identified significant and important impacts on the development of the social competencies of these emerging adults. In addition, several qualitative themes illustrated that longer term international service-learning experiences have a profound impact on the social competence of emerging adults. Keywords: International humanitarian service, service-learning, emerging adult competency

  16. Joint radiation emergency management plan of the International Organizations. Emergency preparedness and response. Date effective: 1 December 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-12-01

    The Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (the 'Early Notification Convention') and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (the 'Assistance Convention') are the prime legal instruments that establish an international framework to facilitate the exchange of information and the prompt provision of assistance in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, with the aim of minimizing the consequences. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has specific functions allocated to it under these Conventions, to which the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are full Parties. Since 1989, the arrangements between these organizations for facilitating the practical implementation of those articles of the two Conventions which are operational in nature have been documented by the IAEA in the Emergency Notification and Assistance Technical Operations Manual (ENATOM). This manual describes the conceptual link between the IAEA, all other relevant international intergovernmental organizations, States which are IAEA Member States and/or Parties to one or both Conventions, and other States under the terms of the two Conventions. The ENATOM is intended for use primarily by Contact Points as defined in the Convention

  17. Pain management : Internationally a nursing responsibility

    OpenAIRE

    Petrini, Marcia, A

    1999-01-01

    Pain management by nurses internationally has increased with the awareness of the importance of relief from pain in the healing process. Studies of the physiological mechanisms of pain and the impact on healing havepromoted the recognition for pain relief

  18. Emergency preparedness in Finland with special emphasis on internal contamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahola, Tua; Suomela, Matti

    1999-01-01

    Rapid development in the field of emergency preparedness has taken place during recent years. The very first measures in a possible emergency situation have been trained nationally and internationally. Less attention has been paid to measures in a later phase. To be able to react fast enough in an emergency situation it is essential to have well documented plans, written instructions and suitable measurement equipment ready for use. In the first phase of a nuclear accident iodine is of primary concern. The Finnish radiation protection authority - STUK has already some instruments calibrated for thyroidea measurements in field conditions outside the laboratory. In a Nordic project experts on internal contamination measurements will be trained to make rapid measurements with relatively simple instruments on large groups of people. The general public knows that it is possible to do direct measurements on people and will not accept prognoses based only on external radiation and foodstuff measurements. In the future it will be necessary to do also direct measurements on people for reassurance of the general public even if such measurement would not be necessary from a strict radiation protection point of view. (au)

  19. Cortisol Awakening Response, Internalizing Symptoms, and Life Satisfaction in Emerging Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Shen Chong

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The cortisol awakening response (CAR has been associated with depression and a broader range of internalizing problems. Emerging adulthood is characterized by numerous stressful transitional life events. Furthermore, the functioning of the neurobiological stress system changes across development. These considerations underscore the importance of evaluating the physiological stress system in emerging adults in identifying the extent to which cortisol levels vary with risk and protective factors for mental health. The present study evaluated the association between internalizing symptoms and perceived life satisfaction with CAR in 32 young adults. Three saliva samples were collected to measure cortisol levels upon awakening and participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS. Results show a significant positive correlation between area under the curve for CAR with internalizing symptoms (DASS total and the DASS-depression subscale, but not with life satisfaction. Study limitations, implications, and future directions for these finding were discussed.

  20. Impact of Tax Relief on Public Finance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bikas Egidijus

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Tax reliefs are optional, but a very important element of the taxation system. This element is used for different purposes by a country’s government institutions. Tax reliefs are a form of tax expenditure that helps to reduce budget revenues. Tax reliefs influence individual and corporate financial behaviour and can have positive or negative effects on the economic and social factors. In the last few years, expansion of tax relief has attracted worldwide attention because of the fact that, after the global financial crisis, many countries are still suffering from fiscal deficits, and expansion of tax relief has not contributed to solving this problem. Tax reliefs are presupposed to be a fiscal policy tool of significance in various subsystems of public finances. The main aim of this article is to examine the impact of personal income tax reliefs on Lithuanian public finances. To achieve this aim, statistical information was systemized; Monte Carlo method was used to group data by horizontal rows and logical links analysed, which helped to evaluate the influence of tax reliefs on public finances. In the simulations, the Monte Carlo method helped to simulate random samples, which were then examined by adapting the conclusions of the theory of probability and mathematical statistics methods.

  1. Vehicle scheduling schemes for commercial and emergency logistics integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaohui; Tan, Qingmei

    2013-01-01

    In modern logistics operations, large-scale logistics companies, besides active participation in profit-seeking commercial business, also play an essential role during an emergency relief process by dispatching urgently-required materials to disaster-affected areas. Therefore, an issue has been widely addressed by logistics practitioners and caught researchers' more attention as to how the logistics companies achieve maximum commercial profit on condition that emergency tasks are effectively and performed satisfactorily. In this paper, two vehicle scheduling models are proposed to solve the problem. One is a prediction-related scheme, which predicts the amounts of disaster-relief materials and commercial business and then accepts the business that will generate maximum profits; the other is a priority-directed scheme, which, firstly groups commercial and emergency business according to priority grades and then schedules both types of business jointly and simultaneously by arriving at the maximum priority in total. Moreover, computer-based simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of these two models by comparing them with two traditional disaster-relief tactics in China. The results testify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed models.

  2. THE STABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS VERSUS EMERGING ECONOMIES VULNERABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiza Loredana Nastase

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available If during the global economic and monetary-financial felt in the last seven-eight years was observed that the most affected countries were those with a developed economy currently it seems that the wheel turns and target countries with an emerging economy. Thus, the financial markets of advanced countries seem to be characterized by stability in opposition to those of emerging markets, which seem to become increasingly vulnerable. This paper tries to capture the current economic situation of the two categories of states, from the major aspects that determined the evolution of socio-political and macroeconomic indicators, presenting the statistical data and trying to predict future period. A special importance should be given to international markets. Given that the extension of global economic integration and cooperation on the international market participants are relative conditioning is required for a consensual approach and multilateral thereof, for reducing and avoiding imbalances in the international trading system. We will take into account the need to involve politics in parallel with the adoption of measures specific to each category of state. All these issues will be addressed further

  3. The international emergency management society conference 1997. National and international issues concerning research and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, V.; Hansen, V.

    1997-01-01

    The International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) is a non-profit organisation that aims to bring together users, planners, researchers, managers, technicians, response personell, and other interested emergency management parties to learn, teach, and exchange experience, knowledge, and ideas about how information management tools can be used to avoid, mitigate, and recover from disasters and other emergencies; and consequently, how the use of information management methods and technologies may improve efficiency in emergency management. TIEMS'97 is the fourth conference in the sequence of conferences. The conferences emphasise the major goal of TIEMS: to bring together people with diverse backgrounds but who share a dedication to improve emergency management. In the discussions, formal and informal, at the conferences, nuclear scientists listen to psychologists, sociologists share ideas with engineers, and practitioners discuss emergency management issues with scientists. In recent years we have experienced a tremendous advancement in information and communication technologies and, consequently, increased the possibilities in coping with emergency situations. At the same time the management of emergency situations has typically become more complex due to the increased complexity of industrial plants which are often the sources of manmade catastrophes. Besides the aspects normally covered in the TIEMS conferences, such as decision support, modelling, handling of man-made or natural disasters, training, etc., this conference has been enhanced by including aspects involving medical car and economic constraints. (EG)

  4. Institutional Distance and International Business Strategies in Emerging Economies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ionascu, Delia Simona; Meyer, Klaus E.; Estrin, Saul

    2004-01-01

    The concept of `distance' has been used by international business scholars to explain variations in international business strategies and operations across countries. The more distant a host country is from the organizational centre of a multinational enterprise (MNE), the more it has to manage...... for the investing MNE. Using a unique dataset of foreign direct investment in emerging economies that incorporates multi-host as well as multi-home countries, we find empirical support for our propositions, and provide an explanation for apparently inconsistent results in the previous literature....... on Hofstede's work on culture. However, these measures capture only very partially the dimensions of distance of concern to international business. In this paper, we show how the broader theoretical concept of institutional distance, which incorporates normative, regulatory and cognitive aspects, affects...

  5. International Collaboration Patterns and Effecting Factors of Emerging Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Xu; Liu, Yun

    2016-01-01

    With the globalization of the world economy, international innovation collaboration has taken place all over the world. This study selects three emerging technologies (3D printing, big data and carbon nanotubes and graphene technology) among 20 countries as the research objects, using three patent-based indicators and network relationship analysis to reflect international collaboration patterns. Then we integrate empirical analyses to show effecting factors of international collaboration degrees by using panel data. The results indicate that while 3D printing technology is associated with a “balanced collaboration” mode, big data technology is more accurately described by a radial pattern, centered on the United States, and carbon nanotubes and graphene technology exhibits “small-world” characteristics in this respect. It also shows that the factors GDP per capita (GPC), R&D expenditure (RDE) and the export of global trade value (ETV) negatively affect the level of international collaboration. It could be useful for China and other developing countries to make international scientific and technological collaboration strategies and policies in the future. PMID:27911926

  6. International Collaboration Patterns and Effecting Factors of Emerging Technologies.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Bai

    Full Text Available With the globalization of the world economy, international innovation collaboration has taken place all over the world. This study selects three emerging technologies (3D printing, big data and carbon nanotubes and graphene technology among 20 countries as the research objects, using three patent-based indicators and network relationship analysis to reflect international collaboration patterns. Then we integrate empirical analyses to show effecting factors of international collaboration degrees by using panel data. The results indicate that while 3D printing technology is associated with a "balanced collaboration" mode, big data technology is more accurately described by a radial pattern, centered on the United States, and carbon nanotubes and graphene technology exhibits "small-world" characteristics in this respect. It also shows that the factors GDP per capita (GPC, R&D expenditure (RDE and the export of global trade value (ETV negatively affect the level of international collaboration. It could be useful for China and other developing countries to make international scientific and technological collaboration strategies and policies in the future.

  7. Benefits of International Diversification: The Case of Asian Emerging Equity Markets

    OpenAIRE

    Apong, Matusin

    2005-01-01

    Abstract The main purpose of this study is to examine whether, from the Brunei Investment Agency's perspective, the benefits of international diversification gain exist in equity investment in emerging markets in Asia. The quantitative research that was used is based on Markowitz's Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). This method utilized data from December 1998 to July 2005 for sixteen indices of developed and emerging countries. The countries selected for the study were grouped into devel...

  8. Pain relief by Cyberknife radiosurgery for spinal metastasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sunyoung; Chun, Mison

    2012-01-01

    To report pain relief effect in patients with spinal metastases treated with Cyberknife® and to analyze the factors associated with pain relapse after initial pain relief. We retrospectively analyzed patients with spinal metastasis treated with stereotactic body radiosurgery between April 2007 and June 2009. A total of 57 patients with 73 lesions were available for analysis with a median follow-up of 6.8 months (range, 1-30). Pain was assessed by a verbal/visual analogue scale at each visit: from 0 to 10. Pain relief was defined as a decrease of at least three levels of the pain score without an increase in analgesic use. Complete relief was defined as no analgesics or a score 0 or 1. Pain relief was achieved in 88% of the lesions, with complete relief in 51% within 7 days from the start of radiosurgery. The median duration of pain relief was 3.2 months (range, 1-30). Pain reappeared in 16 patients (27%). Spinal cord compression (P = 0.001) and performance status (P = 0.01) were predictive of pain relapse by multivariate Cox analysis. All 6 patients treated with solitary spinal metastasis experienced pain relief; 5 of them were alive without evidence of disease at a median of 16 months (range, 7-30). As previous studies have shown, our study confirms that pain relief with spinal radiosurgery is around 90%. In particular, long-term pain relief and disease control was observed in patients with solitary spinal metastasis.

  9. Developing emergency medical dispatch systems in Africa – Recommendations of the African Federation for Emergency Medicine/International Academies of Emergency Dispatch Working Group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nee-Kofi Mould-Millman

    2015-09-01

    To facilitate the development of EMD systems appropriate for the African setting, the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM and the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED convened a working group in November 2014 to provide conceptual, technical, and innovative recommendations for contextually appropriate EMD systems for African settings. It is hoped that these recommendations will augment efficiency, effectiveness, and standardisation within and among African EMD systems, thereby improving health outcomes for sufferers of acute illness or injury.

  10. Variation in Emergency Department vs Internal Medicine Excess Charges in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Tim; Park, Angela; Bai, Ge; Joo, Sarah; Hutfless, Susan M; Mehta, Ambar; Anderson, Gerard F; Makary, Martin A

    2017-08-01

    Uninsured and insured but out-of-network emergency department (ED) patients are often billed hospital chargemaster prices, which exceed amounts typically paid by insurers. To examine the variation in excess charges for services provided by emergency medicine and internal medicine physicians. Retrospective analysis was conducted of professional fee payment claims made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for all services provided to Medicare Part B fee-for-service beneficiaries in calendar year 2013. Data analysis was conducted from January 1 to July 31, 2016. Markup ratios for ED and internal medicine professional services, defined as the charges submitted by the hospital divided by the Medicare allowable amount. Our analysis included 12 337 emergency medicine physicians from 2707 hospitals and 57 607 internal medicine physicians from 3669 hospitals in all 50 states. Services provided by emergency medicine physicians had an overall markup ratio of 4.4 (340% excess charges), which was greater than the markup ratio of 2.1 (110% excess charges) for all services performed by internal medicine physicians. Markup ratios for all ED services ranged by hospital from 1.0 to 12.6 (median, 4.2; interquartile range [IQR], 3.3-5.8); markup ratios for all internal medicine services ranged by hospital from 1.0 to 14.1 (median, 2.0; IQR, 1.7-2.5). The median markup ratio by hospital for ED evaluation and management procedure codes varied between 4.0 and 5.0. Among the most common ED services, laceration repair had the highest median markup ratio (7.0); emergency medicine physician review of a head computed tomographic scan had the greatest interhospital variation (range, 1.6-27.7). Across hospitals, markups in the ED were often substantially higher than those in the internal medicine department for the same services. Higher ED markup ratios were associated with hospital for-profit ownership (median, 5.7; IQR, 4.0-7.1), a greater percentage of uninsured patients seen

  11. Report on the observation of IAEA international emergency response exercise ConvEx-3(2008)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamoto, Kazuya; Sumiya, Akihiro

    2009-02-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA carried out a large-scale international emergency response exercise under the designated name of ConvEx-3(2008), accompanying the national exercise of Mexico in July 2008. This review report summarizes two simultaneous observations of the exercises in Mexico and the IAEA headquarter during ConvEx-3(2008). Mexico has established a very steady nuclear emergency response system based on that of US, while only two BWR nuclear power units have been operated yet. The Mexican nuclear emergency response system and the emergency response activities of the Incident and Emergency Centre of the IAEA headquarter impressed important knowledge on observers that is helpful for enhancement of Japanese nuclear emergency response system in the future, e.g. establishment of Emergency Action Level and of implementation of long time exercise and enhancement of prompt protective actions. Japan had established the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and has developed the nuclear disaster prevention system since the JCO Criticality Accident in Tokai-mura. Now is the new stage to enhance the system on the view point of prevention of a nuclear disaster affecting the neighboring countries' or prevention of a nuclear disaster which arise from the neighboring countries'. The ConvEx-3(2008) suggested key issues about nuclear disaster prevention related to the neighboring countries, e.g. establishment of much wider environmental monitoring and of international assistance system against a foreign nuclear disaster. The observations of the IAEA ConvEx-3(2008) exercise described in this review report were funded by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). (author)

  12. 19 CFR 210.45 - Review of initial determinations on matters other than temporary relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Review of initial determinations on matters other than temporary relief. 210.45 Section 210.45 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT Determinations and...

  13. 48 CFR 252.229-7001 - Tax relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Tax relief. 252.229-7001... Clauses 252.229-7001 Tax relief. As prescribed in 229.402-70(a), use the following clause: Tax Relief (JUN 1997) (a) Prices set forth in this contract are exclusive of all taxes and duties from which the United...

  14. Emergency Vehicle Scheduling Problem with Time Utility in Disasters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaobing Gan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a flexible emergency rescue system which is chiefly composed of three parts, namely, disaster assistance center, relief vehicles, and disaster areas. A novel objective of utility maximization is used to evaluate the entire system in disasters. Considering the uncertain road conditions in the relief distribution, we implement triangular fuzzy number to calculate the vehicle velocity. As a consequence, a fuzzy mathematical model is built to maximize the utility of emergency rescue system and then converted to the crisp counterpart. Finally, the results of numerical experiments obtained by particle swarm optimization (PSO prove the validity of this proposed mathematical model.

  15. Performance of balanced bellows safety relief valves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai, Y.S.

    1992-01-01

    By the nature of its design, the set point and lift of a conventional spring loaded safety relief valve are sensitive to back pressure. One way to reduce the adverse effects of the back pressure on the safety relief valve function is to install a balanced bellows in a safety relief valve. The metallic bellows has a rather wide range of manufacturing tolerance which makes the design of the bellows safety relief valve very complicated. The state-of-the-art balanced bellows safety relief valve can only substantially minimize, but cannot totally eliminate the back pressure effects on its set point and relieving capacity. Set point change is a linear function of the back pressure to the set pressure ratio. Depending on the valve design, the set point correction factor can be either greater or smaller than unity. There exists an allowable back pressure and critical back pressure for each safety relief valve. When total back pressure exceeds the R a , the relieving capacity will be reduced mainly resulting from the valve lift being reduced by the back pressure and the capacity reduction factor should be applied in valve sizing. Once the R c is exceeded, the safety relief valve becomes unstable and loses its over pressure protection capability. The capacity reduction factor is a function of system overpressure, but their relationship is non-linear in nature. (orig.)

  16. 'Relief of oppression': an organizing principle for researchers' obligations to participants in observational studies in the developing world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavery, James V; Bandewar, Sunita V S; Kimani, Joshua; Upshur, Ross E G; Plummer, Frances A; Singer, Peter A

    2010-06-30

    A central question in the debate about exploitation in international research is whether investigators and sponsors from high-income countries (HIC) have obligations to address background conditions of injustice in the communities in which they conduct their research, beyond the healthcare and other research-related needs of participants, to aspects of their basic life circumstances. In this paper, we describe the Majengo sexually transmitted disease (STD) Cohort study, a long-term prospective, observational cohort of sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. Despite important scientific contributions and a wide range of benefits to the women of the cohort, most of the women have remained in the sex trade during their long-standing participation in the cohort, prompting allegations of exploitation. The Majengo STD cohort case extends the debate about justice in international research ethics beyond clinical trials into long-term observational research. We sketch the basic features of a new approach to understanding and operationalizing obligations of observational researchers, which we call 'relief of oppression'. 'Relief of oppression' is an organizing principle, analogous to the principle of harm reduction that is now widely applied in public health practice. Relief of oppression aims to help observational researchers working in conditions of injustice and deprivation to clarify their ethical obligations to participants. It aims to bridge the gap between a narrow, transaction-oriented account of avoiding exploitation and a broad account emphasizing obligations of reparation for historic injustices. We propose that relief of oppression might focus researchers' consideration of benefits on those that have some relevance to background conditions of injustice, and so elevate the priority of these benefits, in relation to others that might be considered and negotiated with participants, according to the degree to which the participating communities are constrained in their

  17. Effectiveness of Property Tax Relief in Oregon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartman, William T.; Hwang, C. S.

    This study examines the effects of the 1979 Oregon Property Tax Relief Plan on 1980-81 school district budget decisions by comparing the available tax relief, the school expenditures, and the tax levies in the state for the years 1975-81. The history of direct and indirect property tax relief in Oregon is sketched for the years prior to 1979; the…

  18. Emerging Trends in Development of International Information Security Regime

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena S. Zinovieva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the key trends shaping the international regime on information security. International cooperation in this area at the global level encounters contradictions of state interest. The main actors of the information security are the United States, Russia, China and the EU countries (Britain, France and Germany. The main contradiction is developing between the US on one side and Russia and China on the other. EU countries occupy the middle position, gravitating to that of US. The article proves that international cooperation on information security will reflect the overall logic of the development of international cooperation, which is characterized by a new model of cooperation, with the participation of state and non-state actors, known as multi-stakeholder partnerships and multi-level cooperation. The logic of the formation of an international regime on information security is closest to the logic of the formation of the international non-proliferation regime. It is in the interest of Russia to support the trend towards regionalization of information security regime. Russia can form a regional information security regime in the former Soviet Union on the basis of the CSTO and SCO and potentially on a wider Eurasian space. Such regional regime would give Russia an opportunity to shape the international regime and closely monitor emerging information security issues in the former Soviet Union, and remove the potential threat of "color revolutions".

  19. Food provision among food relief agencies in rural Australia, and perceived barriers and enablers to provide healthy food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortolin, Natalia; Priestly, Jaqueline; Sangster, Janice

    2018-04-01

    Food insecurity affects 4-14% of Australians, and up to 82% of vulnerable groups. Food relief agencies commonly provide food parcels or food vouchers. Little research has been undertaken on food relief agencies within rural Australia. This study determined the type of food assistance provided by rural food relief agencies, and barriers and enablers to provide healthy food. Cross-sectional study, using telephone questionnaires with qualitative and quantitative aspects. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Rural New South Wales, Australia. Representatives of 10 food relief agencies. Types of food assistance and food provided, and the barriers and enablers to provide healthy food to clients. Most agencies provided food hampers and perishable and non-perishable food. Rural food relief agencies had a greater capacity to provide non-perishable compared to perishable food. Grains, breads and cereals, and canned fruit and vegetables were most popular. Nine key themes emerged including 'Ability to purchase and provide healthy food', 'Ability to regulate food purchased or chosen by clients', 'Financial constraints of the agency' and 'Lack of storage'. There are many variables to consider in order to understand the capacity of rural food relief agencies to provide healthy food. There are also opportunities for food relief agencies to appraise current practices and make changes. Initiatives to improve storage facilities and food availability are key and include networking with local businesses, community organisations and government. Rural food relief agency clients could benefit from accessing food literacy and health programs like FoodREDi, OzHarvest NEST and SecondBite Fresh NED. © 2017 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

  20. Pain relief in childbirth: changing historical and feminist perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skowronski, G A

    2015-07-01

    Pain during human childbirth is ubiquitous and severe. Opium and its derivatives constitute the oldest effective method of pain relief and have been used in childbirth for several thousand years, along with numerous folk medicines and remedies. Interference with childbirth pain has always been criticised by doctors and clergy. The 19th century saw the introduction of three much more effective approaches to childbirth pain; diethyl ether, chloroform and nitrous oxide. Access to pain relief was demanded by the first wave of feminist activists as a woman's right. They popularised the use of 'twilight sleep', a combination of morphine and scopolamine, which fell into disrepute as its adverse effects became known. From the 1960s, as epidural analgesia became more popular, a second wave of feminists took the opposite position, calling for a return to non-medicalised, female-controlled, 'natural' childbirth and, in some cases, valorising the importance of the pain experience as empowering for women. However, from the 1990s, a third wave of feminist thought has begun to emerge, revalidating a woman's right to choose a 'technological', pain-free birth, rather than a 'natural' one, and regarding this as a legitimate feminist position.

  1. Relief valve testing study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BROMM, R.D.

    2001-01-01

    Reclosing pressure-actuated valves, commonly called relief valves, are designed to relieve system pressure once it reaches the set point of the valve. They generally operate either proportional to the differential between their set pressure and the system pressure (gradual lift) or by rapidly opening fully when the set pressure is reached (pop action). A pop action valve allows the maximum fluid flow through the valve when the set pressure is reached. A gradual lift valve allows fluid flow in proportion to how much the system pressure has exceeded the set pressure of the valve (in the case of pressure relief) or has decreased below the set pressure (vacuum relief). These valves are used to protect systems from over and under pressurization. They are used on boilers, pressure vessels, piping systems and vacuum systems to prevent catastrophic failures of these systems, which can happen if they are under or over pressurized beyond the material tolerances. The construction of these valves ranges from extreme precision of less than a psi tolerance and a very short lifetime to extremely robust construction such as those used on historic railroad steam engines that are designed operate many times a day without changing their set pressure when the engines are operating. Relief valves can be designed to be immune to the effects of back pressure or to be vulnerable to it. Which type of valve to use depends upon the design requirements of the system

  2. Design of emergency relief system to flare; Projeto de sistemas de alivio de emergencia para tocha

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Britto, Joelson de Carvalho [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    The relief system has for objective to protect the unit equipment and piping system for high pressures developed during eventual operational upset. As examples of operational upset could mention: human failure (operational mistake - example: inadvertent closure of a block valve), heat exchange tube rupture, utility failure (cooling water, electric power, steam, instrument air) and fire. The relieved products are piping to flare system in order to burn the waste gas. The burned or unburned relieved stream shall be dispersed in order to not to cause damages to the people and the environment. That system should operate automatically without the need of interference of the personnel of the operation. The system is basically constituted of Pressure Safety and Relief Valves (PSVs), piping net, gas-liquid separation vessel, separation vessel residual liquid pump (if necessary) and flare for burning waste gas without liquid. They are necessary also some utilities as fuel gas (to be used as purge gas by flare tip and as fuel gas by pilots in order to guarantee the continuous operation of the flare pilots), electric power, instrument/service air and compressed air or steam (if necessary) to improve the quality of the burns. (author)

  3. Corporate governance, competition, the new international financial architecture and large corporations in emerging markets

    OpenAIRE

    Ajit Singh; Bruce Weisse; Alaka Singh

    2002-01-01

    This paper examines from the developing countries perspective important analytical and policy issues arising from: a) the current international discussions about corporate governance in relation to the New International Financial Architecture; b) changes in the international competitive environment being caused by the enormous international merger movement in advanced countries. The background to a) above is the emergence of corporate governance as a key issue in the current G7 proposals...

  4. Experience from the third international nuclear emergency exercise (INEX 3) on consequence management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    Since the beginning of the 1990's, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has offered its member countries a forum for improving efficiency and effectiveness in nuclear emergency management, focusing in particular on the international aspects of emergency preparedness and response. A central approach to this has been the preparation and conduct of the International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEX) series. The INEX 3 consequence management exercises were developed by the NEA Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters in response to its members desire to better prepare for the longer-term response following a nuclear or radiological emergency. The INEX 3 exercise series was developed in 2002-2004, and conducted throughout 2005 and early 2006 by 15 participating countries. The INEX 3 evaluation workshop held in Paris (France) in May 2006 was convened with the objective of allowing participants to share their national experiences with INEX 3, compare approaches, analyse the implications on decision making and identify key needs in longer-term consequence management. In addition to providing a valuable discussion forum for participants, the workshop concluded by establishing a set of identified needs in longer-term consequence management to which the participants felt that the NEA and international community could usefully contribute. These included the four main areas addressed by the exercise agriculture and food countermeasures, decisions on countermeasures such as travel, trade or tourism, recovery management and public information as well as stakeholder involvement and liability/compensation issues. This report summarises the development of the INEX 3 exercise, the major evaluation outcomes of the national exercises, and the key policy-level outcomes, recommendations and follow-up activities arising from the exercise and workshop. (authors)

  5. Emerging Trends in China’s Development of Unmanned Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    electronic warfare (EW); mine warfare/mine countermeasures; combat applications/strike missions; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR...emerged in February 2013 that China had consid- ered launching a drone strike in Myanmar to kill a drug traf- ficker who was wanted for killing 13 Chinese...HA/DR humanitarian assistance and disaster relief HALE high altitude, long endurance ISR intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance MALE medium

  6. Brain Circuits Encoding Reward from Pain Relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navratilova, Edita; Atcherley, Christopher W; Porreca, Frank

    2015-11-01

    Relief from pain in humans is rewarding and pleasurable. Primary rewards, or reward-predictive cues, are encoded in brain reward/motivational circuits. While considerable advances have been made in our understanding of reward circuits underlying positive reinforcement, less is known about the circuits underlying the hedonic and reinforcing actions of pain relief. We review findings from electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and behavioral studies supporting the concept that the rewarding effect of pain relief requires opioid signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), activation of midbrain dopamine neurons, and the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Understanding of circuits that govern the reward of pain relief may allow the discovery of more effective and satisfying therapies for patients with acute or chronic pain.

  7. Relief memory consolidation requires protein synthesis within the nucleus accumbens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruning, Johann E A; Breitfeld, Tino; Kahl, Evelyn; Bergado-Acosta, Jorge R; Fendt, Markus

    2016-06-01

    Relief learning refers to the association of a stimulus with the relief from an aversive event. The thus-learned relief stimulus then can induce, e.g., an attenuation of the startle response or approach behavior, indicating positive valence. Previous studies revealed that the nucleus accumbens is essential for the acquisition and retrieval of relief memory. Here, we ask whether the nucleus accumbens is also the brain site for consolidation of relief memory into a long-term form. In rats, we blocked local protein synthesis within the nucleus accumbens by local infusions of anisomycin at different time points during a relief conditioning experiment. Accumbal anisomycin injections immediately after the relief conditioning session, but not 4 h later, prevented the consolidation into long-term relief memory. The retention of already consolidated relief memory was not affected by anisomycin injections. This identifies a time window and site for relief memory consolidation. These findings should complement our understanding of the full range of effects of adverse experiences, including cases of their distortion in humans such as post-traumatic stress disorder and/or phobias. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Bas-Relief Modeling from Normal Images with Intuitive Styles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Zhongping; Ma, Weiyin; Sun, Xianfang

    2014-05-01

    Traditional 3D model-based bas-relief modeling methods are often limited to model-dependent and monotonic relief styles. This paper presents a novel method for digital bas-relief modeling with intuitive style control. Given a composite normal image, the problem discussed in this paper involves generating a discontinuity-free depth field with high compression of depth data while preserving or even enhancing fine details. In our framework, several layers of normal images are composed into a single normal image. The original normal image on each layer is usually generated from 3D models or through other techniques as described in this paper. The bas-relief style is controlled by choosing a parameter and setting a targeted height for them. Bas-relief modeling and stylization are achieved simultaneously by solving a sparse linear system. Different from previous work, our method can be used to freely design bas-reliefs in normal image space instead of in object space, which makes it possible to use any popular image editing tools for bas-relief modeling. Experiments with a wide range of 3D models and scenes show that our method can effectively generate digital bas-reliefs.

  9. 44 CFR 206.225 - Emergency work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... communications. Emergency communications necessary for the purpose of carrying out disaster relief functions may... HOMELAND SECURITY DISASTER ASSISTANCE FEDERAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE Public Assistance Eligibility § 206.225... economically eliminates the need for temporary housing. The work will be limited to that necessary for the...

  10. The Role of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a Response to Nuclear and Radiological Incidents and Emergencies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buglova, E.; Baciu, F., E-mail: E.Buglova@iaea.org [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna (Austria)

    2014-10-15

    Full text: The role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a response to nuclear and radiological incidents and emergencies has been defined and further expanded through the IAEA Statute, the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, IAEA safety standards, relevant decisions by Policy Making Organs of the IAEA, inter-agency agreements and other documents such as the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety. The IAEA Secretariat fulfils its roles through the Agency's Incident and Emergency System (IES) and the Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC). The IEC is the global focal point for international preparedness and response to nuclear and radiological safety or security related incidents, emergencies, threats or events of media interest and for coordination of International assistance. During a response the IEC performs and facilitates for Member States many specific functions which include: prompt notification; official information exchange; assessment of potential consequences; prognosis of emergency progression; provision, facilitation and coordination of International assistance; provision of timely, accurate and easily understandable public information; coordination of inter-agency response at the International level. Through officially designated contact points of Member States the IEC is able to communicate at any time with national authorities to ensure the prompt and successful sharing of information and resources. The IEC routinely performs internal exercising of all aspects of the IAEA response and in cooperation with Member States, the IAEA organizes and facilitates the conduct of large scale international exercises to practice cooperation and coordination. This presentation outlines in detail the specific functions of the IAEA IEC during a response. (author)

  11. Does Immediate Pain Relief After an Injection into the Sacroiliac Joint with Anesthetic and Corticosteroid Predict Subsequent Pain Relief?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Byron J; Huynh, Lisa; Levin, Josh; Rinkaekan, Pranathip; Kordi, Ramin; Kennedy, David J

    2018-02-01

    To determine if immediate pain response following an injection with local anesthetic and corticosteroid predicts subsequent relief. Prospective observational cohort. An institutional review board-approved prospective study from a single academic medical center. Patients with clinical diagnosis of sacroiliac (SIJ) pain and referred for SIJ injection were enrolled; 1 cc of 2% lidocaine and 1 cc of triamcinolone 40 mg/mL were injected into the SIJ. Pain score on 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS) during provocation maneuvers was recorded immediately before injection, immediately after injection, and at two and four weeks of follow-up. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was also recorded. Various cutoffs were identified to establish positive anesthetic response and successful outcomes at follow-up. These were used to calculated likelihood ratios. Of those with 100% anesthetic response, six of 11 (54.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]+/-29.4%, +LR 2.6, 95% CI = 1.1-5.9) demonstrated 50% or greater pain relief at follow-up, and four of 11 (36.5%, 95% CI+/-28.4%, +LR 3.00, 95% CI = 1.4-5.1) had 100% relief at two to four weeks. Fourteen of 14 (100%, 95% CI+/-21.5%, -LR 0.0, 95% CI = 0.0-2.1) with an initial negative block failed to achieve 100% relief at follow-up. Patients who fail to achieve initial relief after SIJ injection with anesthetic and steroid are very unlikely to achieve significant pain relief at follow-up; negative likelihood ratios (LR) in this study, based on how success is defined, range between 0 and 0.9. Clinically significant positive likelihood ratios of anesthetic response to SIJ injection are more limited and less robust, but are valuable in predicting 50% relief or 100% relief at two to four weeks. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  12. 19 CFR 210.43 - Petitions for review of initial determinations on matters other than temporary relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... matters other than temporary relief. 210.43 Section 210.43 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE ADJUDICATION AND ENFORCEMENT..., the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Customs Service, and such other departments and agencies as the...

  13. Late-Cenozoic relief evolution under evolving climate: A review

    OpenAIRE

    Champagnac Jean Daniel; Valla Pierre G.; Herman Frédéric

    2014-01-01

    The present review paper is an attempt to summarize quantitative evidence of Late Cenozoic changes in topographic relief. Different meanings of the word "relief" as it is commonly used and detail the metrics used to quantify it. We then specify methodological tools used to quantify relief change (primarily low temperature thermochronometry and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides) and analyze published evidence for different regions.Our review first shows that relief changes and rates of changes a...

  14. A sigh of relief or a sigh to relieve: The psychological and physiological relief effect of deep breaths.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlemincx, Elke; Van Diest, Ilse; Van den Bergh, Omer

    2016-10-15

    Both animal and human research have revealed important associations between sighs and relief. Previously we argued to conceive of sighs as resetters which temporarily induce relief. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological and physiological relief effect of sighs by instructed deep breaths and spontaneous sighs compared to a control breathing maneuver. Participants completed three blocks of 40 trials during which uncertainty cues were followed by either safety cues followed by a positive picture, or danger cues followed by a negative picture. One block was presented without breathing instructions, two subsequent blocks with breathing instructions. During the presentation of the safety and danger cues, an instruction was given to either 'take a deep breath' or 'postpone the next inhalation for 2 s (breath hold). Continuously, participants rated relief and Frontalis electromyography was recorded. Trait anxiety sensitivity was assessed by the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Self-reported relief and physiological tension were compared 5s before and after instructed deep breaths and breath holds, and before and after spontaneous deep breaths and breath holds in the respective blocks. Results show that self-reported relief following an instructed deep breath was higher than before. Physiological tension decreased following a spontaneous sigh in high anxiety sensitive persons and following a spontaneous breath hold in low anxiety sensitive persons. These results are the first to show that a deep breath relieves and, in anxiety sensitive persons, reduces physiological tension. These findings support the hypothesis that sighs are psychological and physiological resetters. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Patient expectations of emergency dental services: a qualitative interview study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, R

    2004-09-25

    To describe the expectations of walk-in patients seeking emergency dental care out-of-hours. Consecutive patients attending two emergency dental clinics at weekends were interviewed prior to seeing the dentist. The audio-recorded interview transcripts were analysed using the "framework" method of applied qualitative data analysis. Forty-four walk-in emergency dental patients at a community-based dental clinic and a dental hospital emergency clinic at the weekend. In addition to symptom relief, the main desired outcome for emergency dental patients may be informational and psychological--especially reassurance that the problem is not serious, and reduced uncertainty about the cause of the pain. In general, patients' stated expectations for specific treatments (such as antibiotics, or tooth extraction) were not absolute: rather, they implied these expectations were conditional upon the dentist deciding they were necessary. Emergency dental services, some of which are still dominantly treatment-focused, should reflect that many emergency dental attenders want advice and reassurance as much as relief from symptoms. This reinforces the importance of effective and sympathetic dentist-patient communication within emergency or out-of-hours consultations. It also implies that dentists' skills in listening, explaining and reassuring should be captured in any patient satisfaction or outcome measure designed for this patient group.

  16. International Space Station (ISS) Emergency Mask (EM) Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toon, Katherine P.; Hahn, Jeffrey; Fowler, Michael; Young, Kevin

    2011-01-01

    The Emergency Mask (EM) is considered a secondary response emergency Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) designed to provide respiratory protection to the International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers in response to a post-fire event or ammonia leak. The EM is planned to be delivered to ISS in 2012 to replace the current air purifying respirator (APR) onboard ISS called the Ammonia Respirator (AR). The EM is a one ]size ]fits ]all model designed to fit any size crewmember, unlike the APR on ISS, and uses either two Fire Cartridges (FCs) or two Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) 3M(Trademark). Ammonia Cartridges (ACs) to provide the crew with a minimum of 8 hours of respiratory protection with appropriate cartridge swap ]out. The EM is designed for a single exposure event, for either post ]fire or ammonia, and is a passive device that cannot help crewmembers who cannot breathe on their own. The EM fs primary and only seal is around the wearer fs neck to prevent a crewmember from inhaling contaminants. During the development of the ISS Emergency Mask, several design challenges were faced that focused around manufacturing a leak free mask. The description of those challenges are broadly discussed but focuses on one key design challenge area: bonding EPDM gasket material to Gore(Registered Trademark) fabric hood.

  17. International exchange of emergency phase information and assessments: An aid to national/international decision makers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sullivan, T. J.; Chino, M.; Ehrhardt, J.; Shershakov, V.

    2004-01-01

    This paper discusses a collaborative project (1) to demonstrate the feasibility and benefit of a system seeking early review, in a 'quasi peer review' mode, of nuclear accident plume and dose assessment predictions by four major international nuclear accident emergency response systems before release of calculations to respective national authorities followed by (2) sharing these results with responsible national/international authorities, (3) development of an affordable/accessible system to distribute results to countries without prediction capabilities and (4) utilisation for exercises and collaboration studies. The project exploits Internet browser technology and low-cost PC hardware, incorporates an Internet node, with access control, for depositing a minimal set of XML-based graphics files for presentation in an identical map format. Side-by-side viewing and tele-video conferencing will permit rapid evaluation, data elaboration and recalculation (if necessary) and should produce strong consensus among decision makers. Successful completion affords easy utilisation by national/international organisations and non-nuclear states at risk of trans-boundary incursion. (authors)

  18. Doubling Your Payoff: Winning Pain Relief Engages Endogenous Pain Inhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Susanne; Gandhi, Wiebke; Kwan, Saskia; Ahmed, Alysha-Karima; Schweinhardt, Petra

    2015-01-01

    When in pain, pain relief is much sought after, particularly for individuals with chronic pain. In analogy to augmentation of the hedonic experience ("liking") of a reward by the motivation to obtain a reward ("wanting"), the seeking of pain relief in a motivated state might increase the experience of pain relief when obtained. We tested this hypothesis in a psychophysical experiment in healthy human subjects, by assessing potential pain-inhibitory effects of pain relief "won" in a wheel of fortune game compared with pain relief without winning, exploiting the fact that the mere chance of winning induces a motivated state. The results show pain-inhibitory effects of pain relief obtained by winning in behaviorally assessed pain perception and ratings of pain intensity. Further, the higher participants scored on the personality trait novelty seeking, the more pain inhibition was induced. These results provide evidence that pain relief, when obtained in a motivated state, engages endogenous pain-inhibitory systems beyond the pain reduction that underlies the relief in the first place. Consequently, such pain relief might be used to improve behavioral pain therapy, inducing a positive, perhaps self-amplifying feedback loop of reduced pain and improved functionality.

  19. 26 CFR 1.6015-1 - Relief from joint and several liability on a joint return.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... they claim losses attributable to H's limited partnership interest in Partnership A. In January 2006... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Relief from joint and several liability on a... joint and several liability on a joint return. (a) In general. (1) An individual who qualifies and...

  20. Syrian Crisis in the Context of Emerging Multipolar International Order

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria S. Khodynskaya-Golenischeva

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article looks into the Syria crisis in the context of emerging multipolar, polycentric system of international relations. The author focuses on Washington's attempts to maintain its dominance in world affairs by any means, by consciously destabilizing political situations in certain countries to weaken them and then act according to the "divide and rule" principle. Syria is no exception. In this context, the author lists methods implied before in a number of specific regions aimed at destabilizing situations in different countries and describes specific objectives that the US and its allies are seeking to achieve thereby. The author also shows how these methods have been used in Syria. At the same the article says that objective trends in the world system, including emergence of new centers of political and economic power and, as a consequence, formation of a democratic multi-dimensional system of international relations, lead to a situation when the methods used by Washington to destabilize internal political situations, cease to work properly. The most powerful levers of political, economic, financial and informational pressure lose their effectiveness. In the case of Syria, the new political realities literally "squeezed" Washington into political and legal sphere, and instead of US bombardment of Syria the world saw an agreement on the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons which was carried out under international community control. It is emphasized that these trends will only be strengthened, and multipolar world order will gradually neutralize new Western attempts to destabilize regions for gaining geopolitical advantage. This in turn gives a chance to create an atmosphere for a process of finding a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in Syria, which Russia is currently making efforts to launch.

  1. Do international acquisitions by emerging-economy firms create shareholder value? The case of Indian firms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gubbi, Sathyajit R.; Aulakh, Preet S.; Ray, Sougata; Sarkar, M. B.; Chittoor, Raveendra

    While overseas acquisitions by emerging-economy firms are gaining increased attention from the business press, our understanding of whether and why this inorganic mode of international expansion creates value to acquirer firms is limited. We argue that international acquisitions facilitate

  2. Dispatching Plan Based on Route Optimization Model Considering Random Wind for Aviation Emergency Rescue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Aviation emergency rescue is an effective means of nature disaster relief that is widely used in many countries. The dispatching plan of aviation emergency rescue guarantees the efficient implementation of this relief measure. The conventional dispatching plan that does not consider random wind factors leads to a nonprecise quick-responsive scheme and serious safety issues. In this study, an aviation emergency rescue framework that considers the influence of random wind at flight trajectory is proposed. In this framework, the predicted wind information for a disaster area is updated by using unscented Kalman filtering technology. Then, considering the practical scheduling problem of aircraft emergency rescue at present, a multiobjective model is established in this study. An optimization model aimed at maximizing the relief supply satisfaction, rescue priority satisfaction, and minimizing total rescue flight distance is formulated. Finally, the transport times of aircraft with and without the influence of random wind are analyzed on the basis of the data of an earthquake disaster area. Results show that the proposed dispatching plan that considers the constraints of updated wind speed and direction is highly applicable in real operations.

  3. A Cultural Hybridization Perspective: Emerging Academic Subculture among International Students from East Asia in U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jian

    2016-01-01

    This research examines the emerging academic subculture of international students from East Asia in U.S. academics from the cultural hybridization perspective. In a knowledge-based economy, international education plays a pivotal role in the global educational environment. Advocacy of international student mobility is essential; international…

  4. Glovebox pressure relief and check valve

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blaedel, K.L.

    1986-03-17

    This device is a combined pressure relief valve and check valve providing overpressure protection and preventing back flow into an inert atmosphere enclosure. The pressure relief is embodied by a submerged vent line in a mercury reservior, the releif pressure being a function of the submerged depth. The pressure relief can be vented into an exhaust system and the relieving pressure is only slightly influenced by the varying pressure in the exhaust system. The check valve is embodied by a ball which floats on the mercury column and contacts a seat whenever vacuum exists within the glovebox enclosure. Alternatively, the check valve is embodied by a vertical column of mercury, the maximum back pressure being a function of the height of the column of mercury.

  5. Glovebox pressure relief and check valve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blaedel, K.L.

    1986-01-01

    This device is a combined pressure relief valve and check valve providing overpressure protection and preventing back flow into an inert atmosphere enclosure. The pressure relief is embodied by a submerged vent line in a mercury reservior, the releif pressure being a function of the submerged depth. The pressure relief can be vented into an exhaust system and the relieving pressure is only slightly influenced by the varying pressure in the exhaust system. The check valve is embodied by a ball which floats on the mercury column and contacts a seat whenever vacuum exists within the glovebox enclosure. Alternatively, the check valve is embodied by a vertical column of mercury, the maximum back pressure being a function of the height of the column of mercury

  6. Emergency Response and the International Charter Space and Major Disasters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, B.; Lamb, R.

    2011-12-01

    Responding to catastrophic natural disasters requires information. When the flow of information on the ground is interrupted by crises such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, hurricanes, and floods, satellite imagery and aerial photographs become invaluable tools in revealing post-disaster conditions and in aiding disaster response and recovery efforts. USGS is a global clearinghouse for remotely sensed disaster imagery. It is also a source of innovative products derived from satellite imagery that can provide unique overviews as well as important details about the impacts of disasters. Repeatedly, USGS and its resources have proven their worth in assisting with disaster recovery activities in the United States and abroad. USGS has a well-established role in emergency response in the United States. It works closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by providing first responders with satellite and aerial images of disaster-impacted sites and products developed from those images. The combination of the USGS image archive, coupled with its global data transfer capability and on-site science staff, was instrumental in the USGS becoming a participating agency in the International Charter Space and Major Disasters. This participation provides the USGS with access to international members and their space agencies, to information on European and other global member methodology in disaster response, and to data from satellites operated by Charter member countries. Such access enhances the USGS' ability to respond to global emergencies and to disasters that occur in the United States (US). As one example, the Charter agencies provided imagery to the US for over 4 months in response to the Gulf oil spill. The International Charter mission is to provide a unified system of space data acquisition and delivery to those affected by natural or man-made disasters. Each member space agency has committed resources to support the provisions of the Charter and

  7. Effects of perceived and exerted pain control on neural activity during pain relief in experimental heat hyperalgesia: a fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohr, C; Leyendecker, S; Petersen, D; Helmchen, C

    2012-04-01

    Perceived control over pain can attenuate pain perception by mechanisms of endogenous pain control and emotional reappraisal irrespective of whether this control is exerted or only perceived. Self-initiated termination of pain elicits different expectations of subsequent pain relief as compared to perceived pain control. It is unknown whether and how this perceived vs. exerted control on pain differs and affects subsequent pain relief. Using fMRI, we studied two factors of pain control on pain relief: the (i) sense of control (perceived control but no execution) and (ii) the execution of control (exerted control). To account for the impact of factual execution of pain control on pain relief we applied bearable short and hardly bearable long contact-heat stimuli which were applied either controllable or not. Using controllability as factor, there was dissociable neural activity during pain relief: following the perceived control condition neural activity was found in the orbitofrontal and mediofrontal cortex and, following the exerted control condition, in the anterolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex. We conclude that (i) pain controllability has an impact on pain relief and (ii) the prefrontal cortex shows dissociable neural activity during pain relief following exerted vs. perceived pain control. This might reflect the higher grade of uncertainty during pain relief following perceived pain control mediated by the orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal cortex and processes of working memory and updating expectations during pain relief following exerted control mediated by the lateral prefrontal cortex. © 2011 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

  8. 47 CFR 52.19 - Area code relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... meetings to which the telecommunications industry and the public are invited on area code relief for a... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Area code relief. 52.19 Section 52.19 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) NUMBERING...

  9. A new analgesic method, two-minute sciatic nerve press, for immediate pain relief: a randomized trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Fenglin

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Current analgesics have drawbacks such as delays in acquisition, lag-times for effect, and side effects. We recently presented a preliminary report of a new analgesic method involving a two-minute sciatic nerve press, which resulted in immediate short-term relief of pain associated with dental and renal diseases. The present study investigated whether this technique was effective for pain associated with other disease types, and whether the relief was effective for up to one hour. Methods This randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial was conducted in four hospitals in Anhui Province, China. Patients with pain were sequentially recruited by participating physicians during clinic visits, and 135 patients aged 15 – 80 years were enrolled. Dental disease patients included those with acute pulpitis and periapical abscesses. Renal disease patients included those with kidney infections and/or stones. Tumor patients included those with nose, breast, stomach and liver cancers, while Emergency Room patients had various pathologies. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a "sciatic nerve press" in which pressure was applied simultaneously to the sciatic nerves at the back of both thighs, or a "placebo press" in which pressure was applied to a parallel region on the front of the thighs. Each fist applied a pressure of 11 – 20 kg for 2 minutes. Patients rated their level of pain before and after the procedure. Results The "sciatic nerve press" produced immediate relief of pain in all patient groups. Emergency patients reported a 43.5% reduction in pain (p th minutes, and the relief decreased 47% by the 60th minutes. Conclusion Two minutes of pressure on both sciatic nerves produced immediate significant short-term conduction analgesia. This technique is a convenient, safe and powerful method for the short-term treatment of clinical pain associated with a diverse range of pathologies. Trial registration Current

  10. Next Generation Public Safety and Emergency Technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bonde, Camilla; Tadayoni, Reza; Skouby, Knud Erik

    2014-01-01

    The paper researches the existing European standards for Public Safety and Emergency (PSE) services (also called Public Protection Disaster Relief “PPDR”), and identifies based on user studies in Denmark conflicts between the current deployments of the standards and the user requirements. The aim...

  11. Analysis of United States Marine Corps Operations in Support of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-01

    water and waste resulting from the storm surge (GoB, 2008). The MEU was criticized for a lack of organic relief supplies, and appropriately...equipping personnel with waste bags and sanitation equipment prior to debarkation from the ships (CO, SCMAGTF, APS-10, 2010). 39 As a result of...clearance are always greatly demanded during the emergency response (Carafano, 2011). Rice and bread was provided for victims to provide basic

  12. Social Work or Relief Work? A Crisis in Professional Social Work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adhikari Harasankar

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Social work is a sharing and caring profession based on scientific methods. This problem solving profession makes people self-reliant and self-dependent when he/she is in any sorts of crises. Thus, it differs from relief work, social services or social welfare delivered during emergence crises. This paper examined the application of professional social work as relief work, which did not bring any change among the beneficiaries; rather it set their mind as opportunist. For this purpose, the programme sponsored by the government of India and implemented by nongovernmental organizations for rehabilitation of the street children (i.e., pavements and slums dwellers, children of sex workers, and so forth of Metro cities like Kolkata had priority. This evaluative study assessed the progress and changes among 500 street children who were the beneficiaries for 10 years of the programme, selected according to their parental residents/occupation through stratified sampling. Interviews, case studies and group interaction were used to collect data on various aspects, i.e. personal background, education, and occupation of these children. It revealed that after almost 10 years of services, the problem of children was static. Firstly, service delivery system was as relief work. The methods of social work were not implied while the professionals were in implementation. On the other hand, the scope of monitoring and evaluation of the programme by government was suspended due to several reasons. Definitely, the politicalization in human development would be restricted. The problems of suffering would be root out and it should not be a continued process.

  13. Paper relief architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Latka, J.F.

    2014-01-01

    The article presents two contemporary projects of paper structures relief architecture designed and built by Shigeru Ban Architects and Voluntary Architect Network. Author of the article took part in design and construction process of one of the projects. The project of Yaan Nursery School, which

  14. Digital Shaded-Relief Image of Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riehle, J.R.; Fleming, Michael D.; Molnia, B.F.; Dover, J.H.; Kelley, J.S.; Miller, M.L.; Nokleberg, W.J.; Plafker, George; Till, A.B.

    1997-01-01

    Introduction One of the most spectacular physiographic images of the conterminous United States, and the first to have been produced digitally, is that by Thelin and Pike (USGS I-2206, 1991). The image is remarkable for its crispness of detail and for the natural appearance of the artificial land surface. Our goal has been to produce a shaded-relief image of Alaska that has the same look and feel as the Thelin and Pike image. The Alaskan image could have been produced at the same scale as its lower 48 counterpart (1:3,500,000). But by insetting the Aleutian Islands into the Gulf of Alaska, we were able to print the Alaska map at a larger scale (1:2,500,000) and about the same physical size as the Thelin and Pike image. Benefits of the 1:2,500,000 scale are (1) greater resolution of topographic features and (2) ease of reference to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (1987) Alaska Map E and the statewide geologic map (Beikman, 1980), which are both 1:2,500,000 scale. Manually drawn, shaded-relief images of Alaska's land surface have long been available (for example, Department of the Interior, 1909; Raisz, 1948). The topography depicted on these early maps is mainly schematic. Maps showing topographic contours were first available for the entire State in 1953 (USGS, 1:250,000) (J.H. Wittmann, USGS, written commun., 1996). The Alaska Map E was initially released in 1954 in both planimetric (revised in 1973 and 1987) and shaded-relief versions (revised in 1973, 1987, and 1996); topography depicted on the shaded-relief version is based on the 1:250,000-scale USGS topographic maps. Alaska Map E was later modified to include hypsometric tinting by Raven Maps and Images (1989, revised 1993) as copyrighted versions. Other shaded-relief images were produced for The National Geographic Magazine (LaGorce, 1956; 1:3,000,000) or drawn by Harrison (1970; 1:7,500,000) for The National Atlas of the United States. Recently, the State of Alaska digitally produced a shaded-relief image

  15. The emerging international constitutional order: the implications of hierarchy in international law for the coherence and legitimacy of international decision-making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E de Wet

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the contours and implications of the emerging international constitutional order. The "constitutional" nature of this order relates to the fact that it contains certain fundamental substantive and structural norms that form a supreme legal framework for the exercise of public power. The substantive elements primarily include the value system of the international legal order, meaning norms of positive law with a strong ethical underpinning (notably human rights norms that have acquired a special hierarchical standing vis-à-vis other international norms through state practice. The structural elements refer to the subjects of the international legal order that collectively constitute the international community (polity, as well as the mechanisms for enforcement of the international value system. This vision of an international constitutional model is inspired by the intensification in the shift of public decision-making away from the nation state towards international actors of a regional (for example EU or functional (for example WTO, UN nature, and its eroding impact on the notion of a “total” constitutional order, where the fundamental substantive and structural norms that form the supreme legal framework for the exercise of public power are concentrated in the nation state. It is also inspired by the belief that such a supreme legal framework is only possible in a system where different national, regional and functional legal orders complement each other in order to form an international constitutional order.

  16. Development | Page 17 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... per square kilometre and offer precarious hygiene and housing conditions. ... Much has been written about the need to build local capacities in emergency and ... Many relief programs, however, remain characterized by externality: in their ...

  17. Increasing the Useful Life of Quench Reliefs with Inconel Bellows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soyars, W. M. [Fermilab

    1999-01-01

    Reliable quench relief valves are an important part of superconducting magnet systems. Fermilab developed bellows-actuated cryogenic quench reliefs which have been in use since the early l 980's. The original design uses a stainless steel bellows. A high frequency, low amplitude vibration during relieving events has resulted in fatigue failures in the original design. To take advantage of the improved resistance to fatigue of Inconel, a nickel-chromium alloy, reliefs using Inconel 625 bellows were made. Design, development, and testing of the new version reliefs will be discussed. Tests show that relief valve lifetimes using Inconel bellows are more than five times greater than when using the original stainless steel bellows. Inconel bellows show great promise in increasing the lifetime of quench relief valves, and thus the reliability of accelerator cryogenic systems.

  18. Optimal Laser Phototherapy Parameters for Pain Relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kate, Rohit J; Rubatt, Sarah; Enwemeka, Chukuka S; Huddleston, Wendy E

    2018-03-27

    Studies on laser phototherapy for pain relief have used parameters that vary widely and have reported varying outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal parameter ranges of laser phototherapy for pain relief by analyzing data aggregated from existing primary literature. Original studies were gathered from available sources and were screened to meet the pre-established inclusion criteria. The included articles were then subjected to meta-analysis using Cohen's d statistic for determining treatment effect size. From these studies, ranges of the reported parameters that always resulted into large effect sizes were determined. These optimal ranges were evaluated for their accuracy using leave-one-article-out cross-validation procedure. A total of 96 articles met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis and yielded 232 effect sizes. The average effect size was highly significant: d = +1.36 (confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.04-1.68). Among all the parameters, total energy was found to have the greatest effect on pain relief and had the most prominent optimal ranges of 120-162 and 15.36-20.16 J, which always resulted in large effect sizes. The cross-validation accuracy of the optimal ranges for total energy was 68.57% (95% CI = 53.19-83.97). Fewer and less-prominent optimal ranges were obtained for the energy density and duration parameters. None of the remaining parameters was found to be independently related to pain relief outcomes. The findings of meta-analysis indicate that laser phototherapy is highly effective for pain relief. Based on the analysis of parameters, total energy can be optimized to yield the largest effect on pain relief.

  19. 77 FR 71131 - Implementation of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012; Establishment of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-29

    ... access to OADEs. Some OADEs are marketers that make autodialed calls on behalf of other entities, e.g... adopts the existing definition in its rules, as set forth in the TCPA context, and defines an ``emergency.... Definitions. As noted above, the Tax Relief Act does not define ``automatic dialing'' or ``robocall...

  20. Medications for Pain Relief during Labor and Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... FAQ086 LABOR, DELIVERY, AND POSTPARTUM CARE Medications for Pain Relief During Labor and Delivery • What types of medications for pain relief are used during labor and delivery? • What are ...

  1. Summary of the Fourth International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEX-4) and Topical Session

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-01-01

    The INEX-4 consequence management exercise, part of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's ongoing series of International Nuclear Emergency Exercises (INEX), was developed under the auspices of the NEA/CRPPH Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters (WPNEM) in response to members desire to better prepare for the longer-term response to a nuclear or radiological emergency. The INEX-4 exercise was designed to allow participants to investigate the national and, in some cases, international arrangements for responding to widespread radiological contamination of the urban environment from a radiological dispersal device (or dirty bomb) and the consequence management issues likely to be raised in the medium to longer term after such an event. The experiences of participating countries were gathered through an evaluation questionnaire and are summarised in this report. The INEX-4 series was developed in 2008, and conducted throughout 2010 and 2011 with 17 participating countries using the INEX-4 scenario for an event involving a radiological dispersal device. An INEX-4 evaluation questionnaire was developed to document the process and results of the exercise, which was designed mainly to test emergency responses/actions related to consequence management and transition to recovery. The conclusions drawn from the INEX-4 experiences varied greatly, but this was to be expected given the nature of the scenario and the involvement of organisations outside of the nuclear community. The evaluation questionnaires completed by each participating country provided detailed information on the national approaches taken with respect to each of the exercise objectives and on issues relating to the international interfaces between countries. In collaboration with the NEA Secretariat, staff from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) reviewed each completed questionnaire to identify and summarise the essential information derived from the exercise for consideration by WPNEM members

  2. A Review of Cyber Threats and Defence Approaches in Emergency Management

    OpenAIRE

    Tuan Vuong; Diane Gan; George Loukas

    2013-01-01

    Emergency planners, first responders and relief workers increasingly rely on computational and communication systems that support all aspects of emergency management, from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery. Failure of these systems, whether accidental or because of malicious action, can have severe implications for emergency management. Accidental failures have been extensively documented in the past and significant effort has been put into the development and introduction ...

  3. Pain relief at the end of life: nurses' experiences regarding end-of-life pain relief in patients with dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brorson, Hanna; Plymoth, Henrietta; Örmon, Karin; Bolmsjö, Ingrid

    2014-03-01

    Patients with dementia receive suboptimal palliative care, and this patient group is at risk to have pain at the end of life. Because communicative impairments are common in this patient group, nurses play an important caregiver role in identifying, assessing, and relieving patients' pain. This study aimed to describe nurses' experiences regarding end-of-life pain relief in patients with dementia. This descriptive exploratory qualitative study was based on seven semistructured interviews. Burnard's content analysis inspired the data analysis. Two main categories were identified: (1) nurses' experience of difficulties concerning pain relief and (2) nurses' experience of resources concerning pain relief. Nurses experienced difficulties, such as feeling of powerlessness because of difficulties in obtaining adequate prescriptions for analgesics, ethical dilemmas, feeling of inadequacy because analgesia did not have the desired effect, and a feeling of not being able to connect with the patient. Factors, including knowledge about the patient, professional experience, utilization of pain assessment tools, interpersonal relationships, and interprofessional cooperation, served as resources and enabled end-of-life pain relief. The results of this study highlight the complexity of pain relief in patients with dementia at the end of life from a nursing perspective. The inability of patients with dementia to verbally communicate their pain makes them a vulnerable patient group, dependent on their caregivers. Knowing the life story of the patient, professional experience, teamwork based on good communication, and use of a pain assessment tool were reported by the nurses to improve pain relief at the end of life for patients with dementia. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. 30 CFR 204.201 - Who may obtain accounting and auditing relief?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Who may obtain accounting and auditing relief... MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR MARGINAL PROPERTIES Accounting and Auditing Relief § 204.201 Who may obtain accounting and auditing relief? (a) You may obtain accounting and auditing relief under...

  5. Emergency preparedness in Finland: improvement of the measurement equipment used in the assessment of internal doses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muikku, M.; Rahola, T. [STUK - Radiation and nuclear safety authority, Helsinki (Finland)

    2006-07-01

    The need for assessing internal radiation doses in emergency situations is evident. Internal exposure can be assessed using direct measurement results or by using information on activity concentrations in inhaled air and in foodstuffs combined with inhalation and consumption data. As a part of the continuous improving of emergency preparedness in Finland, S.T.U.K. - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority has obtained 35 monitors for thyroid measurements in field conditions and initiated a project to revise the radiation measurement equipment in local food and environmental laboratories. (authors)

  6. International Conference on Emerging Trends in Science, Engineering and Technology

    CERN Document Server

    Caroline, B; Jayanthi, J

    2012-01-01

    The present book is based on the research papers presented in the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Science, Engineering and Technology 2012, held at Tiruchirapalli, India. The papers presented bridges the gap between science, engineering and technology. This book covers a variety of topics, including mechanical, production, aeronautical, material science, energy, civil and environmental energy, scientific management, etc. The prime objective of the book is to fully integrate the scientific contributions from academicians, industrialists and research scholars.

  7. Defining Flexible Standards for Post-Disaster Emergency Sheltering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tafahomi, M.; Egyedi, T.M.

    2008-01-01

    Post-disaster emergency-sheltering requires that various relief agencies and other actors with different backgrounds cooperate in a tremendously short amount of time and under very different circumstances. Lives depend on the quality of aid and, specifically, on the quality of sheltering. Standards

  8. 46 CFR 154.801 - Pressure relief systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pressure relief systems. 154.801 Section 154.801 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES SAFETY... Vent Systems § 154.801 Pressure relief systems. (a) Each cargo tank that has a volume of 20m3 (706 ft.3...

  9. Internal and external hazards inside the containment in case of an emergency situation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdelhady, Amr [Atomic Energy Authoriy (Egypt). Nuclear Research Center

    2017-11-15

    The objective of this paper is to estimating radionuclide concentrations in air and radiological dose consequences to indoor workers in a containment of MTR open pool type reactor during emergency situations. A postulated core degradation accident causes fission products to release and the ventilation system will be converted automatically from the normal situation into emergency situation in order to purify the contaminated air by forcing it to pass through a group of filters. The study computes internal and external worker doses from inhalation and submersion in a finite cloud of contaminated air during the emergency mode. A radiological toolbox version 2 was used to evaluate the radiation dose levels inside the containment.

  10. Internal and external hazards inside the containment in case of an emergency situation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelhady, Amr

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to estimating radionuclide concentrations in air and radiological dose consequences to indoor workers in a containment of MTR open pool type reactor during emergency situations. A postulated core degradation accident causes fission products to release and the ventilation system will be converted automatically from the normal situation into emergency situation in order to purify the contaminated air by forcing it to pass through a group of filters. The study computes internal and external worker doses from inhalation and submersion in a finite cloud of contaminated air during the emergency mode. A radiological toolbox version 2 was used to evaluate the radiation dose levels inside the containment.

  11. Creating a Strain Relief Loop during S1 Transforaminal Lead Placement for Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation for Foot Pain: A Technical Note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Velsen, Valery; van Helmond, Noud; Chapman, Kenneth B

    2018-04-01

    Chronic neuropathic pain is often refractory to conventional medical treatments and leads to significant disability and socio-economic burden. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation has recently emerged as a treatment for persistent neuropathic pain, but creating a strain relief loop at the S1 level has thus far been a challenging technical component of DRG lead placement. We describe a refined technique for strain relief loop formation at the S1 level using a transforaminal approach that we employed in a 45-year-old patient with intractable foot pain. We successfully placed a strain relief loop in the sacral space in a predictable and easily reproducible manner using a transforaminal anchorless approach. The patient experienced a decrease in visual analog pain score (85%), and improvement in function during the trial period, and proceeded with permanent implantation. The described sacral transforaminal strain relief loop formation technique appears to be a more reliable and predictable technique of DRG lead placement in the sacrum than those previously documented. © 2017 World Institute of Pain.

  12. Multi-Objective Emergency Material Vehicle Dispatching and Routing under Dynamic Constraints in an Earthquake Disaster Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jincheng Jiang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Emergency material vehicle dispatching and routing (EMVDR is an important task in emergency relief after large-scale earthquake disasters. However, EMVDR is subject to dynamic disaster environment, with uncertainty surrounding elements such as the transportation network and relief materials. Accurate and dynamic emergency material dispatching and routing is difficult. This paper proposes an effective and efficient multi-objective multi-dynamic-constraint emergency material vehicle dispatching and routing model. Considering travel time, road capacity, and material supply and demand, the proposed EMVDR model is to deliver emergency materials from multiple emergency material depositories to multiple disaster points while satisfying the objectives of maximizing transport efficiency and minimizing the difference of material urgency degrees among multiple disaster points at any one time. Furthermore, a continuous-time dynamic network flow method is developed to solve this complicated model. The collected data from Ludian earthquake were used to conduct our experiments in the post-quake and the results demonstrate that: (1 the EMVDR model adapts to the dynamic disaster environment very well; (2 considering the difference of material urgency degree, the material loss ratio is −10.7%, but the variance of urgency degree decreases from 2.39 to 0.37; (3 the EMVDR model shows good performance in time and space, which allows for decisions to be made nearly in real time. This paper can provide spatial decision-making support for emergency material relief in large-scale earthquake disasters.

  13. The control of tonic pain by active relief learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mano, Hiroaki; Lee, Michael; Yoshida, Wako; Kawato, Mitsuo; Robbins, Trevor W

    2018-01-01

    Tonic pain after injury characterises a behavioural state that prioritises recovery. Although generally suppressing cognition and attention, tonic pain needs to allow effective relief learning to reduce the cause of the pain. Here, we describe a central learning circuit that supports learning of relief and concurrently suppresses the level of ongoing pain. We used computational modelling of behavioural, physiological and neuroimaging data in two experiments in which subjects learned to terminate tonic pain in static and dynamic escape-learning paradigms. In both studies, we show that active relief-seeking involves a reinforcement learning process manifest by error signals observed in the dorsal putamen. Critically, this system uses an uncertainty (‘associability’) signal detected in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex that both controls the relief learning rate, and endogenously and parametrically modulates the level of tonic pain. The results define a self-organising learning circuit that reduces ongoing pain when learning about potential relief. PMID:29482716

  14. The control of tonic pain by active relief learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Suyi; Mano, Hiroaki; Lee, Michael; Yoshida, Wako; Kawato, Mitsuo; Robbins, Trevor W; Seymour, Ben

    2018-02-27

    Tonic pain after injury characterises a behavioural state that prioritises recovery. Although generally suppressing cognition and attention, tonic pain needs to allow effective relief learning to reduce the cause of the pain. Here, we describe a central learning circuit that supports learning of relief and concurrently suppresses the level of ongoing pain. We used computational modelling of behavioural, physiological and neuroimaging data in two experiments in which subjects learned to terminate tonic pain in static and dynamic escape-learning paradigms. In both studies, we show that active relief-seeking involves a reinforcement learning process manifest by error signals observed in the dorsal putamen. Critically, this system uses an uncertainty ('associability') signal detected in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex that both controls the relief learning rate, and endogenously and parametrically modulates the level of tonic pain. The results define a self-organising learning circuit that reduces ongoing pain when learning about potential relief. © 2018, Zhang et al.

  15. Strengthening international standards to prepare for and respond to an emergency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nogueira de Oliveira, C.

    2006-01-01

    Radiological emergencies of various types continue to occur - often accidents with orphan sources. In addition, the possibility of a severe nuclear accident that could result in transboundary radioactive release requiring protective actions in several countries, although extremely unlikely, can never be ruled out. Many Member States are currently not adequately prepared to respond to such emergency situations. Moreover, without standard procedures or common approaches, protective actions can differ between countries, resulting in confusion and mistrust among the public, interfering with recovery operations and possibly leading to severe socioeconomic and political consequences. Many of the lessons from past accidents, including even the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents, have still not been completely incorporated into emergency plans of all States. Furthermore, there is a heightened awareness of the need to strengthen arrangements to respond to emergencies that could arise from criminal or terrorist activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials. Many Member States have expressed a desire to strengthen their national nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness arrangements, to harmonize them with their neighbours and to learn from international experience in responding to these relatively rare events. The Agency has a statutory function to develop standards for the protection of health and the environment and to provide on request for their application, through encouraging research and development; fostering information exchange; promoting education and training; and rendering services. (author)

  16. Emerging Computation and Information teChnologies for Education : Proceeding of 2012 International Conference on Emerging Computation and Information teChnologies for Education

    CERN Document Server

    Xu, Linli; Tian, Wenya

    2012-01-01

    The 2012 International Conference on Emerging Computation and Information teChnologies for Education (ECICE 2012) was  held on Jan. 15-16, 2012, Hangzhou, China.  The main results of the conference are presented in this proceedings book of carefully reviewed and accepted paper addressing the hottest issues in emerging computation and information technologies used for education. The volume covers a wide series of topics in the area, including Computer-Assisted Education, Educational Information Systems, Web-based Learning, etc.

  17. What are decision making styles for international apparel brands in a large emerging market?

    OpenAIRE

    De Mattos, Claudio; Salciuviene, Laura; Auruskeviciene, Vilte; Juneja, Garima

    2015-01-01

    The main purpose of the paper is to identify consumer decision making styles based on Sproles & Kendall's (1986) framework in a large emerging market for international apparel brands. An online questionnaire-based survey with individual Indian consumers was conducted. The results of this study identify five consumer decision making styles among Indian consumers when selecting international apparel brands. The findings also suggest significant statistical differences between males and fema...

  18. The expanding role of civil society in the global HIV/AIDS response: what has the President's Emergency Program For AIDS Relief's role been?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutinho, Alex; Roxo, Uchechi; Epino, Henry; Muganzi, Alex; Dorward, Emily; Pick, Billy

    2012-08-15

    Civil society has been part of the HIV/AIDS response from the very beginning of the epidemic, often becoming engaged before national governments. Traditional roles of civil society--advocacy, activism, serving as government watchdog, and acting as community caretaker--have been critical to the response. In addition, civil society organizations (CSOs) play an integral part in providing world-class HIV prevention and treatment services and helping to ensure continuity of care. The President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has significantly increased the global scale-up of combination antiretroviral therapy reaching for more than 5 million people in developing countries, as well as implementation of effective evidence-based combination prevention approaches. PEPFAR databases in 5 countries and annual reports from a centrally managed initiative were mined and analyzed to determine the numbers and types of CSOs funded by PEPFAR over a 5-year period (2006-2011). Data are also presented from Uganda showing the overall resource growth in CSO working for HIV. Case studies document the evolution of 3 indigenous CSOs that increased the capacity to implement activities with PEPFAR funding. A legacy of PEPFAR has been the growth of civil society to address social and health issues as well as recognition by governments that partnerships with beneficiaries and civil society result in better outcomes. Scale-up of the global response could not have happened without the involvement of civil society and people living with HIV. This game changing partnership to jointly tackle the problems that countries face may well be the greatest benefit emerging from the HIV epidemic.

  19. Refuge alternatives relief valve testing and design with updated test stand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lutz, T J; Bissert, P T; Homce, G T; Yonkey, J A

    2018-03-01

    Underground refuge alternatives require an air source to supply breathable air to the occupants. This requires pressure relief valves to prevent unsafe pressures from building up within the refuge alternative. The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) mandates that pressure relief valves prevent pressure from exceeding 1.25 kPa (0.18 psi), or as specified by the manufacturer, above mine atmospheric pressure when a fan or compressor is used for the air supply. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) tested a variety of pressure relief valves using an instrumented test fixture consisting of data acquisition equipment, a centrifugal blower, ductwork and various sensors to determine if the subject pressure relief valves meet the MSHA requirement. Relief pressures and flow characteristics, including opening pressure and flow rate, were measured for five different pressure relief valves under a variety of conditions. The subject pressure relief valves included two off-the-shelf modified check valves, two check valves used in MSHA-approved built-in-place refuge alternatives, and a commercially available valve that was designed for a steel refuge alternative and is currently being used in some built-in-place refuge alternatives. The test results showed relief pressures ranging from 0.20 to 1.53 kPa (0.03 to 0.22 psi) and flow rates up to 19.3 m 3 /min (683 scfm). As tested, some of the pressure relief valves did not meet the 1.25 kPa (0.18 psi) relief specification.

  20. International Conference on Emerging Technologies for Information Systems, Computing, and Management

    CERN Document Server

    Ma, Tinghuai; Emerging Technologies for Information Systems, Computing, and Management

    2013-01-01

    This book aims to examine innovation in the fields of information technology, software engineering, industrial engineering, management engineering. Topics covered in this publication include; Information System Security, Privacy, Quality Assurance, High-Performance Computing and Information System Management and Integration. The book presents papers from The Second International Conference for Emerging Technologies Information Systems, Computing, and Management (ICM2012) which was held on December 1 to 2, 2012 in Hangzhou, China.

  1. Exclusive Minilateralism: An Emerging Discourse within International Climate Change Governance?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey Scott McGee

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Over the past five years there have been a series of significant international climate change agreements involving only elite state actors. The Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, APEC Sydney Leaders Declaration and US Major Economies Process all displayed a shift towards a model of international climate change governance involving a small group of economically powerful states, to the exclusion of less powerful states and environmental NGOs. The modest result from the UNFCCC COP 15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 and subsequent UNFCCC meetings has strengthened calls for international climate governance to be pared down to smaller decision making forums of key states only. This article argues that these developments evidence an emerging discourse of ‘exclusive minilateralism’ in international climate policy that is challenging the inclusive multilateral discourse that has formed the bedrock of international climate change governance since the inception of UN climate regime in the early 1990s. The exclusive minilateralism discourse offers a significant challenge to both the cosmopolitan and discursive democratic aspirations of international climate change governance. One response to the exclusive minilateral discourse is to reform the UNFCCC consensus-based decision making rule to provide the COP with greater ease of decision making on key issues relating to mitigation and adaptation. Another response is to more formally include the exclusive minilateralism discourse within the UNFCCC COP process. This could be achieved by forming a small peak body of states and key NGO groups to act as an influential advisor to the COP process on key issues requiring expedition and resolution.

  2. Does pain relief by CT-guided indirect cervical nerve root injection with local anesthetics and steroids predict pain relief after decompression surgery for cervical nerve root compression?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antoniadis, Alexander; Dietrich, Tobias J; Farshad, Mazda

    2016-10-01

    The relationship of pain relief from a recently presented CT-guided indirect cervical nerve root injection with local anesthetics and steroids to surgical decompression as a treatment for single-level cervical radiculopathy is not clear. This retrospective study aimed to compare the immediate and 6-week post-injection effects to the short- and long-term outcomes after surgical decompression, specifically in regard to pain relief. Patients (n = 39, age 47 ± 10 years) who had undergone CT-guided indirect injection with local anesthetics and steroids as an initial treatment for single cervical nerve root radiculopathy and who subsequently needed surgical decompression were included retrospectively. Pain levels (VAS scores) were monitored before, immediately after, and 6 weeks after injection (n = 34), as well as 6 weeks (n = 38) and a mean of 25 months (SD ± 12) after surgical decompression (n = 36). Correlation analysis was performed to find potential associations of pain relief after injection and after surgery to investigate the predictive value of post-injection pain relief. There was no correlation between immediate pain relief after injection (-32 ± 27 %) and 6 weeks later (-7 ± 19 %), (r = -0.023, p = 0.900). There was an association by tendency between immediate pain relief after injection and post-surgical pain relief at 6 weeks (-82 ± 27 %), (r = 0.28, p = 0.08). Pain relief at follow-up remained high at -70 ± 21 % and was correlated with the immediate pain amelioration effect of the injection (r = 0.37, p = 0.032). Five out of seven patients who reported no pain relief from injection had a pain relief from surgery in excess of 50 %. The amount of immediate radiculopathic pain relief after indirect cervical nerve root injection is associated with the amount of pain relief achieved at long-term follow-up after surgical decompression of single-level cervical radiculopathy

  3. SYSTEMIC APPROACH AND ROUGHNESS APPLICATION TO CAUSE EMERGING PROPERTIES IN THE RESTORATION OF DEGRADED SOILS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juarês José Aumond

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509815737Based on the general systems theory, an ecological model for the restoration of ecosystems has been developed, which soils are highly degraded, and treating the ecosystem as a complex dynamic system, hyper-sensitive to initial conditions of soil preparation. Assuming that degraded ecosystems are sensitive to initial conditions of soil preparation, the technique of roughness was evaluated (relief variations alternating between concave and convex surfaces to trigger over time emergent properties that accelerate the process of ecological restoration. The degraded ecosystems can be understood as organizationally open systems, as a dissipative structure, in which irreversibly matter and energy flow. The main task in ecological restoration in areas that had the soil degraded is to achieve the internalization of matter and energy to induce the system to organizational closure. The roughness, represented by soil micro-topography is an effective technique in the internalization of matter, retaining water, sediment, organic matter, nutrients and seeds. Variations of relief trigger environmental changes over time in a dynamic and heterogeneous way, which influence the interactions between solar radiation, moisture and nutrients, creating different opportunities for plants and animal species. There must be an oriented concentration to flow structures and processes between the degraded ecosystem (system and the environment (neighborhood. In this approach, a particular concentration on the interrelationships between the system and the environment is dedicated. For ecological restoration, whose area is with degraded soil, such as mining and ranching, a new integrative degraded systemic approach is proposed, in which the roughness of the soil might trigger spatial and temporal patterns and emergent environmental properties due to the hyper-sensitivity to initial conditions of the land preparation.

  4. 30 CFR 204.205 - How do I obtain accounting and auditing relief?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I obtain accounting and auditing relief... MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR MARGINAL PROPERTIES Accounting and Auditing Relief § 204.205 How do I obtain accounting and auditing relief? (a) To take cumulative reports and payments relief...

  5. Safety relief valve instabilities; Instabiles Verhalten beim Betrieb von direkt belasteten Sicherheitsventilen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neuhaus, Thorsten; Bloemeling, Frank; Jung, Andreas; Schaffrath, Andreas [TUeV NORD SysTec GmbH und Co. KG, Hamburg (Germany)

    2012-11-01

    The opening and closing of safety relief valves induce pressure vibrations and respective loads on the piping system. The quantification of the internal pressure load and the pipe segment forces for the proof of the structural integrity of the piping system and the supports is performed using the code DYVRO. It is not clear whether the calculated result of high-frequent opening and closing shows a realistic behavior or is caused by a simplified modeling. The contribution offers strategic recommendations to avoid unrealistic calculations.

  6. How absent negativity relates to affect and motivation: an integrative relief model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Roland; Smith, Kevin J M; Kordts-Freudinger, Robert; Reichardt, Regina

    2015-01-01

    The present paper concerns the motivational underpinnings and behavioral correlates of the prevention or stopping of negative stimulation - a situation referred to as relief. Relief is of great theoretical and applied interest. Theoretically, it is tied to theories linking affect, emotion, and motivational systems. Importantly, these theories make different predictions regarding the association between relief and motivational systems. Moreover, relief is a prototypical antecedent of counterfactual emotions, which involve specific cognitive processes compared to factual or mere anticipatory emotions. Practically, relief may be an important motivator of addictive and phobic behaviors, self destructive behaviors, and social influence. In the present paper, we will first provide a review of conflicting conceptualizations of relief. We will then present an integrative relief model (IRMO) that aims at resolving existing theoretical conflicts. We then review evidence relevant to distinctive predictions regarding the moderating role of various procedural features of relief situations. We conclude that our integrated model results in a better understanding of existing evidence on the affective and motivational underpinnings of relief, but that further evidence is needed to come to a more comprehensive evaluation of the viability of IRMO.

  7. How absent negativity relates to affect and motivation: an integrative relief model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Roland; Smith, Kevin J. M.; Kordts-Freudinger, Robert; Reichardt, Regina

    2015-01-01

    The present paper concerns the motivational underpinnings and behavioral correlates of the prevention or stopping of negative stimulation – a situation referred to as relief. Relief is of great theoretical and applied interest. Theoretically, it is tied to theories linking affect, emotion, and motivational systems. Importantly, these theories make different predictions regarding the association between relief and motivational systems. Moreover, relief is a prototypical antecedent of counterfactual emotions, which involve specific cognitive processes compared to factual or mere anticipatory emotions. Practically, relief may be an important motivator of addictive and phobic behaviors, self destructive behaviors, and social influence. In the present paper, we will first provide a review of conflicting conceptualizations of relief. We will then present an integrative relief model (IRMO) that aims at resolving existing theoretical conflicts. We then review evidence relevant to distinctive predictions regarding the moderating role of various procedural features of relief situations. We conclude that our integrated model results in a better understanding of existing evidence on the affective and motivational underpinnings of relief, but that further evidence is needed to come to a more comprehensive evaluation of the viability of IRMO. PMID:25806008

  8. 30 CFR 204.211 - When may MMS rescind relief for a property?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false When may MMS rescind relief for a property? 204... MMS rescind relief for a property? (a) MMS may retroactively rescind the relief for your property if MMS determines that your property was not eligible for the relief obtained under this subpart because...

  9. The link between off-site-emergency planning and plant-internal accident management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Braun, H.; Goertz, R.

    1995-02-01

    A variety of accident management measures has been developed and implemented in the German nuclear power plants. They constitute a fourth level of safety in the defence-in-depth concept. The containment venting system is an important example. A functioning link with well defined lines of communication between plant-internal accident management and off-site disaster emergency planning has been established.

  10. Financialization at the international level: evidence from emerging market economies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel A. Ramos

    Full Text Available Abstract The paper focuses on the manifestations of financialization in the international sphere, which it defines as the increasing magnitude of finance and its decoupling from earlier functions and logic as the speculative motive is strengthened. With financialization the motive of finance is no longer to finance trade and production but to accumulate wealth, which in emerging market economies (EMEs takes place through innovative products and practices that have in common the focus on exchange rate returns, resulting in a strengthened speculative motive. The article reviews the financialization literature highlighting how the different closed-economy aspects impact the international sphere. It conducts empirical analyses based on the financial integration of a country and on the characteristics of its currencies’ FX markets to assess the presence of financialization and its characteristics among EMEs, indicating certain countries where this process is more intense.

  11. Discretion in the “Backyard of Law”: Case Handling of Debt Relief in Sweden

    OpenAIRE

    Bengt Larsson; Bengt Jacobsson

    2013-01-01

    This article explores discretion in welfare professional work. The aim is to analyse what room for discretionary decision-making that exist in case handling of debt relief at the Swedish Enforcement Authority (SEA). The analysis is guided by a conceptual distinction between structural and epistemic aspects of discretion, as well as between substantive and procedural aspects. The data comprises official and internal SEA documents, interviews with management and staff and field notes from obser...

  12. 21 CFR 882.5840 - Implanted intracerebral/subcortical stimulator for pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... pain relief. 882.5840 Section 882.5840 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Devices § 882.5840 Implanted intracerebral/subcortical stimulator for pain relief. (a) Identification. An implanted intracerebral/subcortical stimulator for pain relief is a device that applies electrical current...

  13. A neurogenetic dissociation between punishment-, reward- and relief-learning in Drosophila

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ayse Yarali

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available What is particularly worth remembering about a traumatic experience is what brought it about, and what made it cease. For example, fruit flies avoid an odour which during training had preceded electric shock punishment; on the other hand, if the odour had followed shock during training, it is later on approached as a signal for the relieving end of shock. We provide a neurogenetic analysis of such relief learning. Blocking, using UAS-shibirets1, the output from a particular set of dopaminergic neurons defined by the TH-Gal4 driver partially impaired punishment learning, but left relief learning intact. Thus, with respect to these particular neurons, relief learning differs from punishment learning. Targeting another set of dopaminergic/ serotonergic neurons defined by the DDC-Gal4 driver on the other hand affected neither punishment nor relief learning. As for the octopaminergic system, the tbhM18 mutation, compromising octopamine biosynthesis, partially impaired sugar-reward learning, but not relief learning. Thus, with respect to this particular mutation, relief learning and reward learning are dissociated. Finally, blocking output from the set of octopaminergic/ tyraminergic neurons defined by the TDC2-Gal4 driver affected neither reward, nor relief learning. We conclude that regarding the used genetic tools, relief learning is neurogenetically dissociated from both punishment and reward learning.

  14. Analysis of preservice inspection relief requests and recommendations for ASME code changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, J.F.

    1985-05-01

    NRC regulations require that preservice inspection (PSI) of nuclear plants be performed in accordance with referenced editions and addenda of Division 1 rules of Section XI, ''Rules for Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components'', of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code). The regulations permit applicants to request and obtain relief from the NRC from specific ASME Code requirements that are determined to be impractical. Applicant requests for relief from preservice inspection (PSI) requirements were compiled and analyzed. From this data, covering a total of 178 relief requests, common problems with examination requirements were identified. Changes to examination requirements to solve selected problems are proposed. By following later ASME Code requirements, 46 out of the 178 relief requests can be eliminated. Implementing proposed Code changes would eliminate another 25 relief requests, leaving 107 relief requests out of the original 178 relief requests covered by this survey

  15. Experiments on the quick-relief medical communications via the Japan's domestic communication satellite CS-2 for the case of disasters and emergencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otsu, Y; Choh, T; Yamazaki, I; Kosaka, K; Iguchi, M; Nakajima, I

    1986-01-01

    Experiments on the quick-relief medical communications via the CS-2 satellite were carried out by using two types of 30/20 GHz small transportable earth stations whose antenna diameters are 1 and 2 m. As the terminal equipments, FM-SCPC systems with a one-telephone-equivalent channel were prepared for the transmission of voice, color freezed picture (9.6 kbps), supersonic echo signal and heart sound from a electrocardiograph. Signals from various medical equipments were transmitted by an FM-SCPC system from Simizu harbour (1 m station) to Tokyo transportable station (2 m), assuming that a person was injured in the ship and the ship came alongside the pier. Transmitted materials are mainly various kinds of pictures of affected parts, X-ray films and electrocardiograph with breathing sounds. It was found possible to send various medical information mentioned above via CS-2 by the 30/20 GHz simple communication systems with one-telephone-equivalent channel. Doctors suggested it would be possible to judge very well about the patients' emergency conditions and to give quick consult with inevitable treatment procedures for them. However, a few problems were found in the Hi-Fi reproduction of original colors and in the transmission of heart sounds in the very low frequency band less than 300 Hz.

  16. Knowledge, attitude and anxiety pertaining to basic life support and medical emergencies among dental interns in Mangalore City, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somaraj, Vinej; Shenoy, Rekha P; Panchmal, Ganesh Shenoy; Jodalli, Praveen S; Sonde, Laxminarayan; Karkal, Ravichandra

    2017-01-01

    This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and anxiety pertaining to basic life support (BLS) and medical emergencies among interns in dental colleges of Mangalore city, Karnataka, India. The study subjects comprised of interns who volunteered from the four dental colleges. The knowledge and attitude of interns were assessed using a 30-item questionnaire prepared based on the Basic Life Support Manual from American Heart Association and the anxiety of interns pertaining to BLS and medical emergencies were assessed using a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) Questionnaire. Chi-square test was performed on SPSS 21.0 (IBM Statistics, 2012) to determine statistically significant differences ( P <0.05) between assessed knowledge and anxiety. Out of 183 interns, 39.89% had below average knowledge. A total of 123 (67.21%) reported unavailability of professional training. The majority (180, 98.36%) felt the urgent need of training in basic life support procedures. Assessment of stress showed a total of 27.1% participants to be above high-stress level. Comparison of assessed knowledge and stress was found to be insignificant ( P =0.983). There was an evident lack of knowledge pertaining to the management of medical emergencies among the interns. As oral health care providers moving out to the society, a focus should be placed on the training of dental interns with respect to Basic Life Support procedures.

  17. 21 CFR 882.5890 - Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator for pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... pain relief. 882.5890 Section 882.5890 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Devices § 882.5890 Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator for pain relief. (a) Identification. A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator for pain relief is a device used to apply an electrical current to...

  18. International Conference on Emerging Research in Electronics, Computer Science and Technology

    CERN Document Server

    Sheshadri, Holalu; Padma, M

    2014-01-01

    PES College of Engineering is organizing an International Conference on Emerging Research in Electronics, Computer Science and Technology (ICERECT-12) in Mandya and merging the event with Golden Jubilee of the Institute. The Proceedings of the Conference presents high quality, peer reviewed articles from the field of Electronics, Computer Science and Technology. The book is a compilation of research papers from the cutting-edge technologies and it is targeted towards the scientific community actively involved in research activities.

  19. How Absent Negativity Relates to Affect and Motivation: An Integrative Relief Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roland eDeutsch

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The present paper concerns the motivational underpinnings and behavioral correlates of the prevention or stopping of negative stimulation – a situation referred to as relief. Relief is of great theoretical and applied interest. Theoretically, it is tied to theories linking affect, emotion and motivational systems (Carver & Scheier, 1990; Gray & McNaughton, 2000; Higgins, 1997; Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 1990. Importantly, these theories make different predictions regarding the association between relief and motivational systems. Moreover, relief is a prototypical antecedent of counterfactual emotions, which involve specific cognitive processes compared to factual or mere anticipatory emotions. Practically, relief may be an important motivator of addictive and phobic behaviors (Mowrer, 1951; Ostafin & Brooks, 2011, self destructive behaviors (Favazza, 1998; Franklin, Lee, Hanna, & Prinstein, 2013, and social influence (Dolinski & Nawrat, 1998. In the present paper, we will first provide a review of conflicting conceptualizations of relief. We will then present an integrative relief model (IRMO that aims at resolving existing theoretical conflicts. We then review evidence relevant to distinctive predictions regarding the moderating role of various procedural features of relief situations. We conclude that our integrated model results in a better understanding of existing evidence on the affective and motivational underpinnings of relief, but that further evidence is needed to come to a more comprehensive evaluation of the viability of IRMO.

  20. 21 CFR 882.5880 - Implanted spinal cord stimulator for pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Implanted spinal cord stimulator for pain relief... Implanted spinal cord stimulator for pain relief. (a) Identification. An implanted spinal cord stimulator for pain relief is a device that is used to stimulate electrically a patient's spinal cord to relieve...

  1. Southern Alaska Coastal Relief Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) is building coastal-relief models (CRM) for select U.S. coastal regions. Bathymetric, topographic, and shoreline data...

  2. Non-Drug Pain Relief: Imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    PATIENT EDUCATION patienteducation.osumc.edu Non-Drug Pain Relief: Imagery Relaxation helps lessen tension. One way to help decrease pain is to use imagery. Imagery is using your imagination to create a ...

  3. Intern as Patient: A Patient Experience Simulation to Cultivate Empathy in Emergency Medicine Residents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara W. Nelson

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Prior work links empathy and positive physician-patient relationships to improved healthcare outcomes. The objective of this study was to analyze a patient experience simulation for emergency medicine (EM interns as a way to teach empathy and conscientious patient care. Methods We conducted a qualitative descriptive study on an in situ, patient experience simulation held during EM residency orientation. Half the interns were patients brought into the emergency department (ED by ambulance and half were family members. Interns then took part in focus groups that discussed the experience. Data collected during these focus groups were coded by two investigators using a grounded theory approach and constant comparative methodology. Results We identified 10 major themes and 28 subthemes in the resulting qualitative data. Themes were in three broad categories: the experience as a patient or family member in the ED; application to current clinical practice; and evaluation of the exercise itself. Interns experienced firsthand the physical discomfort, emotional stress and confusion patients and families endure during the ED care process. They reflected on lessons learned, including the importance of good communication skills, frequent updates on care and timing, and being responsive to the needs and concerns of patients and families. All interns felt this was a valuable orientation experience. Conclusion Conducting a patient experience simulation may be a practical and effective way to develop empathy in EM resident physicians. Additional research evaluating the effect of participation in the simulation over a longer time period and assessing the effects on residents’ actual clinical care is warranted.

  4. 38 CFR 3.754 - Emergency officers' retirement pay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ...' retirement pay. 3.754 Section 3.754 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS... officers' retirement pay. A retired emergency officer of World War I has basic eligibility to retirement pay by the Department of Veterans Affairs under Pub. L. 87-875 (sec. 11(b), Pub. L. 85-857) from date...

  5. Emergence of ethnochoreology internationally: The Janković sisters, Maud Karpeles, and Gertrude Kurath

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dunin Elsie Ivancich

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A fifty-year (1962-2012 period has been shown as a history of ethnochoreology supported by living memories of members of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM Study Group on Ethnochoreology. Recently uncovered and juxtapositioned correspondence of three predecessors within earlier years of the International Folk Music Council (IFMC broadens the history. This article reveals the emergence of ethnochoreology during the 1950s with publications of the two Janković sisters in Serbia with that of Gertrude Kurath in the United States, alongside correspondence with Maud Karpeles, the unheralded founder of the IFMC.

  6. Intra-articular hip injection: does pain relief correlate with radiographic severity of osteoarthritis?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deshmukh, Ajit J.; Rodriguez, Jose A.; Panagopoulos, Georgia; Alizadeh, Ahmadreza; Klein, Devon A.

    2011-01-01

    Intra-articular injection is being used widely for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in the hip. However, its efficacy is not always predictable in patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to determine whether the degree of radiographic severity of OA was predictive of the response to intra-articular injection of local anesthetic with corticosteroid and to determine the relationship between immediate pain relief resulting from the anesthetic and delayed pain relief resulting from corticosteroid administration. This retrospective study included 217 patients (220 injections) with diagnosis of hip OA who underwent a fluoroscopically guided therapeutic hip injection of local anesthetic and corticosteroid. Hip radiographs were scored using the Kellgren-Lawrence scale. Immediate and delayed pain relief was documented using a visual analog scale. Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate whether age, gender or radiographic severity of OA were independent predictors of pain relief. Degree of agreement between immediate and delayed response was assessed with the kappa coefficient. Immediate pain relief was reported in 68.2% of hips and delayed relief in 71.4% of hips. A high level of agreement was observed between immediate and delayed pain relief (kappa = 0.80, p < 0.001). 94% of patients reporting immediate relief also reported relief 2 weeks later. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that neither gender nor age was related to immediate or delayed pain relief. Only severity of OA (based on radiographic analysis) was observed to be predictive of pain relief. Pain relief following intra-articular hip injection correlated with radiographic severity of OA. This intervention may be of therapeutic and prognostic value in patients awaiting hip arthroplasty. (orig.)

  7. Allergy Relief for Your Child

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Products For Consumers Home For Consumers Consumer Updates Allergy Relief for Your Child Share Tweet Linkedin Pin ... at the FDA. Avoid Pollen, Mold and Other Allergy Triggers If your child has seasonal allergies, pay ...

  8. An analysis of the impact of emerging technology on organisations’ internal controls

    OpenAIRE

    2013-01-01

    M.Comm. (Computer Auditing) This study presents an evaluation of emerging information communication technology (ICT) solutions to the security internal control systems in South African organisations. Information systems have enabled companies to communicate more efficiently, gain competitive advantage and get a larger market share. These information systems therefore need to be protected securely as they are the vehicles and containers for critical information assets in decision-making pro...

  9. The visiting internet Fiancé/ée (VIF): an emerging group of international travelers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sofarelli, Theresa A; Birich, Holly K; Hale, DeVon C

    2014-01-01

    Here we describe an emerging category of travelers called the Visiting Internet Fiancé/ée (VIF), characterized by their travel to pursue a romantic relationship with an individual they have only encountered online. The VIF is not well identified in travel medicine literature despite having a higher risk for several travel-related issues including sexually transmitted infections, monetary fraud, and international scams. We also propose specific counseling interventions designed to minimize the adverse outcomes faced by the VIF traveler. © 2014 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  10. Summary of the Fourth International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEX-4). Exercise Conduct and Evaluation Questionnaires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auclair, Jean Patrice; Duchesne, David; Caamano, Delphine; Cessac, Bruno; Mehl-auget, Isabelle; Gering, Florian; Macsuga, Geza; Fukumoto, Masahiro; Holo, Eldri Naadland; Ugletveit, Finn; Griffiths, Mike; Breitinger, Mark; Heinrich, Ann; Mcclelland, Vincent; Ahier, Brian; Lazo, Ted; Mcinturff, Sandi; Kawabata, Masanori; Lazo, Ted; Okyar, Halil Burcin

    2013-01-01

    The INEX-4 consequence management exercise, part of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's ongoing series of International Nuclear Emergency Exercises (INEX), was developed under the auspices of the NEA/CRPPH Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters (WPNEM) in response to members desire to better prepare for the longer-term response to a nuclear or radiological emergency. The INEX-4 exercise was designed to allow participants to investigate the national and, in some cases, international arrangements for responding to widespread radiological contamination of the urban environment from a radiological dispersal devise (or dirty bomb) and the consequence management issues likely to be raised in the medium to longer term after such an event. The experiences of participating countries were gathered through an evaluation questionnaire and are summarised in this report. The INEX-4 series was developed in 2008, and conducted throughout 2010 and 2011 with 17 participating countries using the INEX-4 scenario for an event involving a radiological dispersal device. An INEX-4 evaluation questionnaire was developed to document the process and results of the exercise, which was designed mainly to test emergency responses/actions related to consequence management and transition to recovery. The conclusions drawn from the INEX-4 experiences varied greatly, but this was to be expected given the nature of the scenario and the involvement of organisations outside of the nuclear community. The evaluation questionnaires completed by each participating country provided detailed information on the national approaches taken with respect to each of the exercise objectives and on issues relating to the international interfaces between countries. In collaboration with the NEA Secretariat, staff from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) reviewed each completed questionnaire to identify and summarise the essential information derived from the exercise for consideration by WPNEM members

  11. U.S. Coastal Relief Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  12. Mesenteric defect with internal herniation in the pediatric emergency department: an unusual presentation of acute abdomen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Mei-Hua; Huang, Go-Shine; Chen, Jeng-Chang; Wu, Chang-Teng

    2014-04-01

    Internal herniation is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction, especially in the emergency department. We report a child with acute abdomen resulting from transmesenteric internal herniation of the small bowel. Radiographic findings revealed gaseous distension of the bowel loops in the upper abdominal area with a paucity of gas in the lower abdomen. Operative finding showed gangrenous small bowel due to mesenteric defect with an internal herniation. The gangrenous bowel was resected and the patient was discharged with an uneventful outcome. We emphasize that early recognition of internal herniation warrants further evaluation and appropriate management. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. The dynamic implications of debt relief for low-income countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alma Lucía Romero-Barrutieta

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Debt relief provides low-income countries with an incentive to accumulate debt, boost consumption, and reduce investment over time. We quantify this incentive effect employing a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model, calibrated to 1982–2006 Ugandan data, and find that long-run debt and consumption-to-GDP ratios are about twice as high with debt relief than without it, while the investment-to-GDP ratio is sixty percent lower. Our simulations show that debt-relief episodes are likely to have only a temporary impact on debt levels but may have a lasting effect over the size of the economy, lowering GDP growth up to twenty percent over time. These results fill a gap in the debt relief literature since, to the best of our knowledge, the quantification of incentive effects is rather scarce. The paper further contributes to the literature by constructing a tractable structural model that is able to replicate the data well and captures key features of low-income countries facing the possibility of debt relief.

  14. Emergency control center of the nuclear Regulatory Authority: a national, regional and international tool to coordinate the response to radiological and nuclear emergencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordan, Osvaldo; Hernandez, Daniel; Telleria, Diego; Bruno, Hector; Boutet, Luis; Kunst, Juan; Sadaniowski, Ivana; Rey, Hugo

    2008-01-01

    Full text: In the year 1998, with the regulation of the Nuclear Law, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) is constituted as the national coordinator of the response in case of nuclear or radiological emergencies. The ARN builds his first operative center installed in his Head quarter in Buenos Aires. Likewise, from the obligations that come with the Convention of Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, the ARN is the National Warning Point and the National Competent Authority. Therefore, the operative capacity of the center needs to be expanded to cover not only the national territory but also its link with the region and the IAEA, as an access point to the International community, as the conventions demand. For the purpose of giving ARN capacities which reflect the state of art at the international level on Nuclear Emergency Centers and warrant that its equipment and technology will be compatible with those abroad (mainly with IAEA), the ARN made an arrangements with Department of Energy of United States, in the framework of an existing bilateral Argentine Foreign Office/US Government agreement (Joint Standing Committee on Nuclear Cooperation). This agreement allows a deep experience exchange, high level specialists support and last generation equipment access. As a result, the center of ARN can be considerate as the most advanced civil nuclear emergency center in the region. This work describes the implementation process of the emergency center and the technical features, like the physical distribution, hardware and software resources, communication equipment, Geographic Information Systems, etc. (author)

  15. Studies on the visualization of the fine relief of the colon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persigehl, M.; Niemann, G.; Klose, K.C.

    1983-01-01

    The possibility of visualizing the fine relief of the colon was examined by studying human intestinal segments removed post mortem. The visualization depends, among other things, on the extent of expansion of the colon wall. The visualization of the fine relief structure becomes progressively poorer, the greater the extension of the wall. This might indicate that fold formation of the mucosa through a state of contraction of the tunica mucosa is done of the responsible factors for the visualization of the fine relief structures. The article discusses, apart from this factor, the course of the vessels as an anatomical basic pattern determining the manifestation of the fine relief structure; for this purpose, the course of the vessels in the intestine of the dog was visualized by intra-arterial contrast medium injection and then compared with the human fine relief. (orig.) [de

  16. Mutual emergency assistance for radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-11-01

    In 1963 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a document, WP.35, dated 23 November 1963, based on information provided by a number of its Member States on the type of radiological assistance that they might be able to make available in the event of a radiation emergency in another country at the request of that country. The document was subsequently revised in 1968 and 1971 with the participation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In 1979, an expanded questionnaire to ascertain what could be required by the State in the event of a major radiation accident, was sent jointly by these organizations with the participation of the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator (UNDRO), to all their Member States. The text of the expanded questionnaire is reproduced. The present document lists all the information, received up to mid 1980, that contains offers of assistance made by a State. It also lists information on the assistance that might be required by the State. In general, the replies have been reproduced in the form in which they were received, although a few changes in presentation have been introduced in the interest of brevity and clarity. Some countries have pointed out that their replies are necessarily of a general character and that the full extent of the assistance they would be capable of providing could be determined only after a specific request had been received. The information given in this document should therefore be regarded only as a guide to the type of radiological assistance that might be available and/or needed. Other available international assistance includes that provided by the Agency through the IAEA Radiation (Emergency) Assistance Procedures, by WHO through its system of Collaborating Centres on human radiation pathology, and by various States via regional or inter-countries' agreements on

  17. Spontaneous formation of optically induced surface relief gratings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leblond, H; Barille, R; Ahmadi-Kandjani, S; Nunzi, J-M; Ortyl, E; Kucharski, S

    2009-01-01

    We develop a model based on Fick's law of diffusion as a phenomenological description of the molecular motion, and on the coupled mode theory, to describe single-beam surface relief grating formation in azopolymer thin films. The model allows us to explain the mechanism of spontaneous patterning, and self-organization. It allows us to compute the surface relief profile and its evolution, with good agreement with experiments.

  18. All projects related to indonesia | Page 4 | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2009-10-25

    End Date: October 25, 2009. Topic: NATURAL DISASTERS, EMERGENCY RELIEF, ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION, AID PROGRAMMES, CONFLICTS, CIVIL WAR, AID EVALUATION, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. Region: Far East Asia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Central Asia, South Asia. Program: Governance and Justice.

  19. Integration of real-time mapping technology in disaster relief distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-01

    Vehicle routing for disaster relief distribution involves many challenges that distinguish this problem from those in commercial settings, given the time sensitive and resource constrained nature of relief activities. While operations research approa...

  20. Doubling Your Payoff: Winning Pain Relief Engages Endogenous Pain Inhibition1,2,3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwan, Saskia; Schweinhardt, Petra

    2015-01-01

    Abstract When in pain, pain relief is much sought after, particularly for individuals with chronic pain. In analogy to augmentation of the hedonic experience (“liking”) of a reward by the motivation to obtain a reward (“wanting”), the seeking of pain relief in a motivated state might increase the experience of pain relief when obtained. We tested this hypothesis in a psychophysical experiment in healthy human subjects, by assessing potential pain-inhibitory effects of pain relief “won” in a wheel of fortune game compared with pain relief without winning, exploiting the fact that the mere chance of winning induces a motivated state. The results show pain-inhibitory effects of pain relief obtained by winning in behaviorally assessed pain perception and ratings of pain intensity. Further, the higher participants scored on the personality trait novelty seeking, the more pain inhibition was induced. These results provide evidence that pain relief, when obtained in a motivated state, engages endogenous pain-inhibitory systems beyond the pain reduction that underlies the relief in the first place. Consequently, such pain relief might be used to improve behavioral pain therapy, inducing a positive, perhaps self-amplifying feedback loop of reduced pain and improved functionality. PMID:26464995

  1. Elevation-relief ratio, hypsometric integral, and geomorphic area-altitude analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pike, R. J.; Wilson, S. E.

    1971-01-01

    Mathematical proof establishes identity of hypsometric integral and elevation-relief ratio, two quantitative topographic descriptors developed independently of one another for entirely different purposes. Operationally, values of both measures are in excellent agreement for arbitrarily bounded topographic samples, as well as for low-order fluvial watersheds. By using a point-sampling technique rather than planimetry, elevation-relief ratio (defined as mean elevation minus minimum elevation divided by relief) is calculated manually in about a third of the time required for the hypsometric integral.

  2. Decongestants: OTC Relief for Congestion

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... CorrectlyPain Relievers: Understanding Your OTC OptionsAntacids and Acid Reducers: OTC Relief for Heartburn and Acid RefluxOTC Cough ... Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional Info Sugar and Sugar Substitutes Exercise and Fitness Exercise Basics ...

  3. Synapsin determines memory strength after punishment- and relief-learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niewalda, Thomas; Michels, Birgit; Jungnickel, Roswitha; Diegelmann, Sören; Kleber, Jörg; Kähne, Thilo; Gerber, Bertram

    2015-05-13

    Adverse life events can induce two kinds of memory with opposite valence, dependent on timing: "negative" memories for stimuli preceding them and "positive" memories for stimuli experienced at the moment of "relief." Such punishment memory and relief memory are found in insects, rats, and man. For example, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) avoid an odor after odor-shock training ("forward conditioning" of the odor), whereas after shock-odor training ("backward conditioning" of the odor) they approach it. Do these timing-dependent associative processes share molecular determinants? We focus on the role of Synapsin, a conserved presynaptic phosphoprotein regulating the balance between the reserve pool and the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles. We find that a lack of Synapsin leaves task-relevant sensory and motor faculties unaffected. In contrast, both punishment memory and relief memory scores are reduced. These defects reflect a true lessening of associative memory strength, as distortions in nonassociative processing (e.g., susceptibility to handling, adaptation, habituation, sensitization), discrimination ability, and changes in the time course of coincidence detection can be ruled out as alternative explanations. Reductions in punishment- and relief-memory strength are also observed upon an RNAi-mediated knock-down of Synapsin, and are rescued both by acutely restoring Synapsin and by locally restoring it in the mushroom bodies of mutant flies. Thus, both punishment memory and relief memory require the Synapsin protein and in this sense share genetic and molecular determinants. We note that corresponding molecular commonalities between punishment memory and relief memory in humans would constrain pharmacological attempts to selectively interfere with excessive associative punishment memories, e.g., after traumatic experiences. Copyright © 2015 Niewalda et al.

  4. Synapsin Determines Memory Strength after Punishment- and Relief-Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niewalda, Thomas; Michels, Birgit; Jungnickel, Roswitha; Diegelmann, Sören; Kleber, Jörg; Kähne, Thilo

    2015-01-01

    Adverse life events can induce two kinds of memory with opposite valence, dependent on timing: “negative” memories for stimuli preceding them and “positive” memories for stimuli experienced at the moment of “relief.” Such punishment memory and relief memory are found in insects, rats, and man. For example, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) avoid an odor after odor-shock training (“forward conditioning” of the odor), whereas after shock-odor training (“backward conditioning” of the odor) they approach it. Do these timing-dependent associative processes share molecular determinants? We focus on the role of Synapsin, a conserved presynaptic phosphoprotein regulating the balance between the reserve pool and the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles. We find that a lack of Synapsin leaves task-relevant sensory and motor faculties unaffected. In contrast, both punishment memory and relief memory scores are reduced. These defects reflect a true lessening of associative memory strength, as distortions in nonassociative processing (e.g., susceptibility to handling, adaptation, habituation, sensitization), discrimination ability, and changes in the time course of coincidence detection can be ruled out as alternative explanations. Reductions in punishment- and relief-memory strength are also observed upon an RNAi-mediated knock-down of Synapsin, and are rescued both by acutely restoring Synapsin and by locally restoring it in the mushroom bodies of mutant flies. Thus, both punishment memory and relief memory require the Synapsin protein and in this sense share genetic and molecular determinants. We note that corresponding molecular commonalities between punishment memory and relief memory in humans would constrain pharmacological attempts to selectively interfere with excessive associative punishment memories, e.g., after traumatic experiences. PMID:25972175

  5. COUNTING THE COST: THE POLITICS OF RELIEF OPERATIONS IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR, A CRITICAL APPRAISAL

    OpenAIRE

    NWOKO, Kenneth Chukwuemeka

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the role of international humanitarian organizations and the politics of relief operations during the Nigerian Civil War. It investigates the nexus between the politicization of humanitarian operations during the three-year conflict, and the death, hunger and starvation of millions of Biafrans. The study explores how the triangular politics among the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, the Biafran authorities, and the humanitarian organizations, in particular, the Inte...

  6. 2nd International Conference on Emerging Trends in Electrical, Communication and Information Technologies

    CERN Document Server

    Kumar, Amit; Sankar, V; Rao, N; Sarma, T

    2017-01-01

    This book includes the original, peer-reviewed research from the 2nd International Conference on Emerging Trends in Electrical, Communication and Information Technologies (ICECIT 2015), held in December, 2015 at Srinivasa Ramanujan Institute of Technology, Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh, India. It covers the latest research trends or developments in areas of Electrical Engineering, Electronic and Communication Engineering, and Computer Science and Information.

  7. Search Results | Page 125 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... GROWTH filter · ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE 41 Apply ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE filter ... East Africa Evaluation Hub - Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) ... Science and Technology Policy Review 2005-2009 (Panama) ... A massive emergency relief effort is underway and planning for long-term reconstruction of ...

  8. Groundbreaking approach to disaster relief

    OpenAIRE

    2008-01-01

    The humanitarian response to Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May, heralds a fundamentally new approach to relief coordination. As a result, a unique survey showed what really happened to the survivors. Sarah Cumberland reports.

  9. 30 CFR 203.53 - What relief will MMS grant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What relief will MMS grant? 203.53 Section 203.53 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE...-Life Leases § 203.53 What relief will MMS grant? (a) If we approve your application and you meet...

  10. 38 CFR 17.1000 - Payment or reimbursement for emergency services for nonservice-connected conditions in non-VA...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... for emergency services for nonservice-connected conditions in non-VA facilities. 17.1000 Section 17.1000 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL Payment Or Reimbursement for Emergency Services for Nonservice-Connected Conditions in Non-Va Facilities § 17.1000 Payment...

  11. Spontaneous formation of optically induced surface relief gratings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leblond, H; Barille, R; Ahmadi-Kandjani, S; Nunzi, J-M [Laboratoire POMA, Universite d' Angers, CNRS FRE 2988, 2, Bd Lavoisier, 49045 Angers (France); Ortyl, E; Kucharski, S, E-mail: herve.leblond@univ-angers.f [Wroclaw University of Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Polymer Engineering and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw (Poland)

    2009-10-28

    We develop a model based on Fick's law of diffusion as a phenomenological description of the molecular motion, and on the coupled mode theory, to describe single-beam surface relief grating formation in azopolymer thin films. The model allows us to explain the mechanism of spontaneous patterning, and self-organization. It allows us to compute the surface relief profile and its evolution, with good agreement with experiments.

  12. Zika virus epidemic: the newest international emergency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Minamisava

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Infection from the Zika virus is a relatively new disease with limited publications reporting cases and research on outbreaks. It was initially described before 2007 in Africa and Asia, then later in the French Polynesia in the Pacific, and finally in the Americas, in 2015. Brazil confirmed its first case of infection from the Zika virus in March 2015(1 and since October 2015 it has recorded an explosive growth in the number of babies born with microcephaly and also an increase in neurological conditions, including Guillain-Barré syndrome. The strong suspicion that the infection from the Zika virus is related to these manifestations is what brought the Public Health Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization to declare on February 1st of 2016 that the spread of the virus is an emergency international public health problem, meaning that it is a serious, unexpected extraordinary event that could potentially require a coordinated international action(2-3. The absence of another explanation for the dramatic increase in cases of microcephaly and the Guillain-Barré syndrome, both concentrated in areas newly infected by the Zika virus, supports the recommendation of aggressive measures to prevent and reduce infection with the Zika virus, especially among pregnant women and those of reproductive age. In the same document, the World Health Organization recommends monitoring cases of microcephaly and the Guillain-Barré syndrome in the areas of risk and etiological studies of these events to determine whether infection by the Zika virus is causal and if there are other risk factors associated. Measures of additional precautions are as follows: (i             Related to the transmission of the virus: epidemiological surveillance, vector control, protection measures, information and counseling for pregnant women and to those who wish to get pregnant. (ii           Long-term measures: investment in research for vaccine

  13. All projects related to Uganda | Page 9 | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Strengthening Scholarly Publishing in Africa : Assessing the Potential of Online Systems ... Technology Systems in Urban and Rural Eastern Africa (PICTURE Africa) ... the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the World Bank. ... TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELEPHONE, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE.

  14. The Americans with Disabilities Act: prescription for tax relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, E D; Judice, A K; Hazelwood, A C

    1996-01-01

    As employers, healthcare organizations must comply with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990-Employment Discrimination by Private Entities-which covers virtually all aspects of employment and prohibits employers from discriminating against otherwise qualified job applicants and workers who have disabilities or who become disabled. Further, healthcare organizations must comply with the provisions of Title III of the act-Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities-which requires places of public accommodations and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with the accessibility standards of the act. While compliance with the ADA can be costly, four specific sections of the Internal Revenue Code offer tax relief to organizations that meet the guidelines of Titles I and III.

  15. RELIEF JENIS-JENIS FAUNA DAN SETTING LINGKUNGANNYA PADA PAHATAN DINDING CANDI BOROBUDUR (Fauna and Environmental Setting Reliefs on Sculptured Wall of the Borobudur Temple

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bambang Agus Suripto

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRAK Dalam perkembangan kebudayaannya, manusia selalu akrab dengan fauna yang hidup di sekitar lingkungannya. Pada dinding gua yang pernah dihuni oleh manusia, bangunan candi, piramid, sphinx dsb. dijumpai gambaran tentang fauna. Pada dinding Candi Borobudur banyak dijumpai relief berbagai kelompok fauna tetapi belum diketahui apakah fauna itu semuanya berasal dari India atau terdapat pula kelompok yang ada atau pernah ada di Pulau Jawa. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui relief jenis-jenis fauna yang dipahat pada dinding candi Borobudur, dan mengetahui asal-usul jenis yang tergarnbar pada relief itu dari Pulau Jawa atau dari India. Informasi itu diharapkan dapat diungkapkan ada tidaknya gambaran setting lingkungan Pulau Jawa tercermin pada pahatan di dinding Candi itu. Relief fauna pada pahatan dinding langkan, dinding utama bagian atas-bawah di tingkatan Rupadhatu dipotret dan nama kelompok fauna diindentifikasi dengan buku-buku kunci identifikasi bergambar, kemudian penyebaran alami masing-masing kelompok fauna diketahui melalui kajian pustaka. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis secara deskriptif untuk mengungkap ada atau tidaknya gambaran setting lingkungan Pulau Jawa yang tercermin pada pahatan di dinding Candi Borsbudur. Pada dinding Candi Borobudur terdapat relief paling sedikit 25 jenis anggota Osteichthyes, Reptilia, Aves dan Mammalia yang dipahat secara natural, dan terdapat paling sedikit 5 jenis hewan yang dipahat secara setilir. Semua jenis fauna itu terdapat di Asia Selatan, dan beberapa di anlaranya secara alami tidak pernah hidup di Pulau Jawa, misalnya singa Pantera leo. Setting lingkungan India Abad VII tervisualisasi dengan baik pada relief pahatan dinding Candi Borobudur, tetapi setting lingkungan Pulau Jawa sampai sebelum masa penjajahan Belanda tidak tergambar dengan baik.   ABSTRACT In the cource of culture development, human was always close to fauna in their surrounding areas. Pictures of fauna are found in

  16. Neoliberal Global Assemblages: The Emergence of "Public" International High-School Curriculum Programs in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shuning

    2018-01-01

    Since 2010, the number of urban Chinese high-school students applying to US universities has rapidly grown. Many of these students have chosen emerging international curriculum programs established by elite public high schools in China. These programs prepare wealthy Chinese students for the US college application process by exposing them to an…

  17. The Rise of Global Science and the Emerging Political Economy of International Research Collaborations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Michael A.

    2006-01-01

    This article charts the rise of global science and a global science infrastructure as part of the emerging international knowledge system exemplifying a geography of knowledge and the importance of new info-communications networks. The article theorises the rise of global science, which still strongly reflects a Western bias and is highly…

  18. The internal audit of clinical areas: a pilot of the internal audit methodology in a health service emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Alison; Santilli, Mario; Scott, Belinda

    2015-12-01

    Governing bodies of health services need assurance that major risks to achieving the health service objectives are being controlled. Currently, the main assurance mechanisms generated within the organization are through the review of implementation of policies and procedures and review of clinical audits and quality data. The governing bodies of health services need more robust, objective data to inform their understanding of the control of clinical risks. Internal audit provides a methodological framework that provides independent and objective assurance to the governing body on the control of significant risks. The article describes the pilot of the internal audit methodology in an emergency unit in a health service. An internal auditor was partnered with a clinical expert to assess the application of clinical criteria based on best practice guidelines. The pilot of the internal audit of a clinical area was successful in identifying significant clinical risks that required further management. The application of an internal audit methodology to a clinical area is a promising mechanism to gain robust assurance at the governance level regarding the management of significant clinical risks. This approach needs further exploration and trial in a range of health care settings. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

  19. Analysis of residual stress relief mechanisms in post-weld heat treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong, Pingsha; Song, Shaopin; Zhang, Jinmiao

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a recent study on weld residual stress relief mechanisms associated with furnace-based uniform post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). Both finite element and analytical methods are used to quantitatively examine how plastic deformation and creep relaxation contribute to residual stress relief process at different stages of PWHT process. The key contribution of this work to an improved understanding of furnace based uniform PWHT can be summarized as follows: (1)Plastic deformation induced stress relief during PWHT can be analytically expressed by the change in material elastic deformation capacity (or elastic deformation limit) measured in terms of material yield strength to Young's modulus ratio, which has a rather limited role in overall residual stress relief during furnace based uniform PWHT. (2)The most dominant stress relief mechanism is creep strain induced stress relaxation, as expected. However, a rapid creep strain development accompanied by a rapid residual stress reduction during heating stage before reaching PWHT temperature is shown to contribute to most of the stress relief seen in overall PWHT process, suggesting PWHT hold time can be significantly reduced as far as residual stress relief is concerned. (3)A simple engineering scheme for estimating residual stress reduction is proposed based on this study by relating material type, PWHT temperature, and component wall thickness. - Highlights: • The paper clarified effects of plastic deformation and creep relaxation on weld residual stress relief during uniform PWHT. • Creep strain development is far more important than plastic strain, mostly completed even before hold time starts. • Plastic strain development is insignificant and be analytically described by a material elastic deformation capacity parameter. • An engineering estimation scheme is proposed for determining residual stress reduction resulted from furnace based PWHT

  20. Search Results | Page 58 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Results 571 - 580 of 650 ... ... ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE 23 Apply ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE filter ... Africa's Great Lakes region is home to violent and prolonged conflicts that cause a ... Poverty and Information and Communication Technology Systems in ... Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the World Bank.

  1. Music for pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cepeda, M S; Carr, D B; Lau, J; Alvarez, H

    2006-04-19

    The efficacy of music for the treatment of pain has not been established. To evaluate the effect of music on acute, chronic or cancer pain intensity, pain relief, and analgesic requirements. We searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, LILACS and the references in retrieved manuscripts. There was no language restriction. We included randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effect of music on any type of pain in children or adults. We excluded trials that reported results of concurrent non-pharmacological therapies. Data was extracted by two independent review authors. We calculated the mean difference in pain intensity levels, percentage of patients with at least 50% pain relief, and opioid requirements. We converted opioid consumption to morphine equivalents. To explore heterogeneity, studies that evaluated adults, children, acute, chronic, malignant, labor, procedural, or experimental pain were evaluated separately, as well as those studies in which patients chose the type of music. Fifty-one studies involving 1867 subjects exposed to music and 1796 controls met inclusion criteria. In the 31 studies evaluating mean pain intensity there was a considerable variation in the effect of music, indicating statistical heterogeneity ( I(2) = 85.3%). After grouping the studies according to the pain model, this heterogeneity remained, with the exception of the studies that evaluated acute postoperative pain. In this last group, patients exposed to music had pain intensity that was 0.5 units lower on a zero to ten scale than unexposed subjects (95% CI: -0.9 to -0.2). Studies that permitted patients to select the music did not reveal a benefit from music; the decline in pain intensity was 0.2 units, 95% CI (-0.7 to 0.2). Four studies reported the proportion of subjects with at least 50% pain relief; subjects exposed to music had a 70% higher likelihood of having pain relief than unexposed subjects (95% CI: 1.21 to 2.37). NNT = 5 (95% CI: 4 to 13). Three

  2. Experiences from tsunami relief activity: implications for medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramaniam, Sudharsanam Manni; Mohan, Yogesh; Roy, Gautam

    2012-01-01

    A tsunami struck the coast of Tamilnadu and Pondicherry on 26 December 2004. Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, (JIPMER) in Pondicherry played a vital role in providing medical relief. The experiences from the relief activities revealed areas of deficiency in medical education in regards to disaster preparedness. A qualitative study using focus group discussion was employed to find the lacunae in skills in managing medical relief measures. Many skills were identified; the most important of which was addressing the psychological impact of the tsunami on the victims. Limited coordination and leadership skills were also identified. It is recommended that activity-based learning can be included in the curriculum to improve these skills.

  3. Patient expectations predict greater pain relief with joint arthroplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandhi, Rajiv; Davey, John Roderick; Mahomed, Nizar

    2009-08-01

    We examined the relationship between patient expectations of total joint arthroplasty and functional outcomes. We surveyed 1799 patients undergoing primary hip or knee arthroplasty for demographic data and Western Ontario McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index scores at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year of follow-up. Patient expectations were determined with 3 survey questions. The patients with the greatest expectations of surgery were younger, male, and had a lower body mass index. Linear regression modeling showed that a greater expectation of pain relief with surgery independently predicted greater reported pain relief at 1 year of follow-up, adjusted for all relevant covariates (P relief after joint arthroplasty is an important predictor of outcomes at 1 year.

  4. Mechanical Designs for Relief Valves for Cryogenic Apparatuses and Installations

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    There are also pressure relief valves with warm seat available on which the set pressure is based on an adjustment of forces by permanent magnets. Pressure vessel rules allows also the choice for an active triggered pressure relief valve (Cont...

  5. The Activities of UN Specialized Agencies in the Area of Disaster Relief of Population and Territories against Disasters in the beginning of the XXI century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksey Vladimirovich Kuvshinov

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the analysis of the structure and main directions of the activities of UN specialized agencies as well as other international organizations and entities such as ICDO aimed at the organization of the measures for disaster relief and civil defence. The urgency of the article is in the fact that it is for the first time in Russian academic literature devoted to this topic with the specific examples of conducting of such measures. The main conclusions of the article stresses that the specialized U.N. agencies and other international and national entities have already demonstrated the urgent nature and efficiency of providing disaster relief to affected countries and population in the beginning of the XXI century but they should upgrade their potential in that regard in the coming years.

  6. Pictorial relief for equiluminant images

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Doorn, A.J.; De Ridder, H.; Koenderink, J.J.

    2005-01-01

    Pictorial relief depends strongly on “cues” in the image. For isoluminant renderings some cues are missing, namely all information that is related to luminance contrast (e.g., shading, atmospheric perspective). It has been suggested that spatial discrimination and especially pictorial space suffer

  7. Service Learning Through Disaster Relief

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donna J. Duerst

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The Rock County 4-H Disaster Relief Committee raised $1,550 to aid tsunami victims in Sri Lanka and then turned its attention to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Thirty-one 4-H youth participated in a service learning trip to the South with the objectives of helping hurricane victims, learning about new cultures and achieving personal growth during three days of service projects in Louisiana and Mississippi. Their written reflections and other evaluative measures revealed they learned about southern culture, gained a greater appreciation for their lives, gained self confidence and developed a desire to help others more often. The trip was a valuable developmental experience for the youth, and information from the trip could be utilized to create similar experiences based on service learning. This article provides an overview of the trip and describes the evaluation methods used to measure learning and assess personal growth.

  8. Pain management in the emergency department and its relationship to patient satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Downey, La Vonne A; Zun, Leslie S

    2010-10-01

    Pain is the most common reason due to which patients come to the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study was to measure the correlation, if any, between pain reduction and the level of satisfaction in patients who presented to the ED with pain as their chief complaint. This study used a randomly selected group of patients who presented to the ED with pain of 4 or more on the Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS) as their chief complaint to a level one adult and pediatric trauma center. Instruments that were used in this study were the VAS, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), and the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS). They were administered to patients by research fellows in the treatment rooms. Statistical analysis included frequencies, descriptive, and linear regression. This study was approved by the Internal Review Board. A total of 159 patients were enrolled in the study. All patients were given some type of treatment for their pain upon arrival to the ED. A logistic regression showed a significant relationship to reduction in pain by 40% or more and customer service questions. A reduction in perceived pain levels does directly relate to several indicators of customer service. Patients who experienced pain relief during their stay in the ED had significant increases in distress relief, rapport with their doctor, and intent to comply with given instructions.

  9. Epidural morphine for postoperative pain relief in children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henneberg, S W; Hole, P; Haas, Inge Madsen De

    1993-01-01

    Epidural morphine for postoperative pain relief is in general use, and has proved to be very efficient in adults. The epidural technique and the use of epidural morphine are much less frequent in children. For 2 years we have prospectively followed 76 children who had epidural morphine...... for postoperative pain relief after major abdominal surgery. The age distribution was from newborn to 13 years, with a median age of 12 months. It was estimated that 94% of the patients had good analgesia for the first 24 postoperative hours and no other opioids were given. The side effects were few, but one case...... the investigation. We observed a change in the sleeping pattern with an increased number of sleep-induced myoclonia during the administration of epidural morphine. In conclusion, the use of epidural morphine in children for postoperative pain relief is very efficient. The minimal effective dose has not been...

  10. Multinarasi Relief Yeh Pulu Basis Penciptaan Seni Lukis Kontemporer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Wayan Adnyana

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Kajian ini merupakan skema penelitian terapan, yang bertujuan untuk mengungkap konsep multinarasi relief Yeh Pulu, Bedulu, Gianyar, Bali, sebagai basis penciptaan seni lukis kontemporer. Secara metodologis penelitian ini dilakukan dalam dua tahapan: penelitian lapangan (kajian atas narasi relief berdasar perspektif ikonologi Panofsky (1971, dan berikutnya penelitian eksperimen terkait penciptaan seni lukis kontemporer berdasar perspektif ‘art practice as a research’ (Sullivan, 2005 yang menunjuk pada tiga tahapan: eksperimen medium, bahasa visual, dan penyusunan konteks yang relevan. Berdasar kajian ikonologi, terutama tahap analisis ikonografi, ditemukan bahwa narasi relief Yeh Pulu bersifat multinarasi, yakni pahatan relief yang memiliki beragam jenis tema cerita, seperti praktik pertanian, berburu, meditasi, pesta, asmara, dan lain-lain. Kemudian konsep multinarasi dalam penciptaan seni lukis kontemporer, menjadi: (a secara medium menggunakan multiteknik dan medium; (b bahasa visual, menghadirkan berbagai adegan secara berulang, terpadu dan bahkan terkesan saling berlawanan; (c konteks yang relevan, dengan memasukan ikon tokok-toko pahlawan dunia pop, seperti superman, superwomen, dan lain-lain. Secara ikonologis, bangunan visual yang mempertemukan adegan multinarasi relief Yeh Pulu dengan narasi kepahlawanan dunia pop, menjadi semakin menguatkan konsep multinarasi dalam membangun pesan kepahlawanan dunia sehari-hari dalam karya seni lukis kontemporer semakin berhasil. Penelitian ini melibatkan: Anak Agung Rai Remawa (pengumpul data, dan  Ni Luh Desi In Diana Sari (fotografi dan layout. This paper serves as an applied research scheme which aims to reveal the concept of multiple narratives of Yeh Pulu Relief, located in Bedulu, Bali, as the basis for the creation of contemporary painting. Methodologically speaking, this study was conducted in two stages: a field research (a field study on the relief narratives based on Panofsky

  11. Donation to disaster relief campaigns: underlying social cognitive factors exposed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oosterhof, Liesbeth; Heuvelman, A.; Peters, O.

    2009-01-01

    number of very serious natural disasters have put an enormous pressure on relief organizations in the last few years. The present study exposes underlying social cognitive factors for donation to relief campaigns. A causal model was constructed, based on social cognitive theory, research on

  12. Ultrasonic evaluation of heat treatment for stress relief in steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bittencourt, Marcelo de S.Q.; Lamy, Carlos A.; Goncalves Filho, Orlando J.A.; Payao Filho, Joao da C.

    2000-01-01

    Residual stresses in materials arise due to the manufacturing processes. As a consequence, in the nuclear area some components must suffer a stress relief treatment according to strict criteria. Although these treatments are carefully carried on, concern with nuclear safety is constantly growing. This work proposes a nondestructive ultrasonic method to guarantee the efficiency of the heat treatment. It was used a short peened steel plate with tensile and compressive stresses which was submitted to a stress relief treatment. The results show that the proposed ultrasonic method could be used to confirm the efficiency of the stress relief heat treatment. (author)

  13. Helium pressures in RHIC vacuum cryostats and relief valve requirements from magnet cooling line failure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liaw, C.J.; Than, Y.; Tuozzolo, J.

    2011-03-28

    A catastrophic failure of the RHIC magnet cooling lines, similar to the LHC superconducting bus failure incident, would pressurize the insulating vacuum in the magnet and transfer line cryostats. Insufficient relief valves on the cryostats could cause a structural failure. A SINDA/FLUINT{reg_sign} model, which simulated the 4.5K/4 atm helium flowing through the magnet cooling system distribution lines, then through a line break into the vacuum cryostat and discharging via the reliefs into the RHIC tunnel, had been developed to calculate the helium pressure inside the cryostat. Arc flash energy deposition and heat load from the ambient temperature cryostat surfaces were included in the simulations. Three typical areas: the sextant arc, the Triplet/DX/D0 magnets, and the injection area, had been analyzed. Existing relief valve sizes were reviewed to make sure that the maximum stresses, caused by the calculated maximum pressures inside the cryostats, did not exceed the allowable stresses, based on the ASME Code B31.3 and ANSYS results. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The S/F simulation results show that the highest internal pressure in the cryostats, due to the magnet line failure, is {approx}37 psig (255115 Pa); (2) Based on the simulation, the temperature on the cryostat chamber, INJ Q8-Q9, could drop to 228 K, which is lower than the material minimum design temperature allowed by the Code; (3) Based on the ASME Code and ANSYS results, the reliefs on all the cryostats inside the RHIC tunnel are adequate to protect the vacuum chambers when the magnet cooling lines fail; and (4) In addition to the pressure loading, the thermal deformations, due to the temperature decrease on the cryostat chambers, could also cause a high stress on the chamber, if not properly supported.

  14. Helium pressures in RHIC vacuum cryostats and relief valve requirements from magnet cooling line failure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liaw, C.J.; Than, Y.; Tuozzolo, J.

    2011-01-01

    A catastrophic failure of the RHIC magnet cooling lines, similar to the LHC superconducting bus failure incident, would pressurize the insulating vacuum in the magnet and transfer line cryostats. Insufficient relief valves on the cryostats could cause a structural failure. A SINDA/FLUINT(reg s ign) model, which simulated the 4.5K/4 atm helium flowing through the magnet cooling system distribution lines, then through a line break into the vacuum cryostat and discharging via the reliefs into the RHIC tunnel, had been developed to calculate the helium pressure inside the cryostat. Arc flash energy deposition and heat load from the ambient temperature cryostat surfaces were included in the simulations. Three typical areas: the sextant arc, the Triplet/DX/D0 magnets, and the injection area, had been analyzed. Existing relief valve sizes were reviewed to make sure that the maximum stresses, caused by the calculated maximum pressures inside the cryostats, did not exceed the allowable stresses, based on the ASME Code B31.3 and ANSYS results. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The S/F simulation results show that the highest internal pressure in the cryostats, due to the magnet line failure, is ∼37 psig (255115 Pa); (2) Based on the simulation, the temperature on the cryostat chamber, INJ Q8-Q9, could drop to 228 K, which is lower than the material minimum design temperature allowed by the Code; (3) Based on the ASME Code and ANSYS results, the reliefs on all the cryostats inside the RHIC tunnel are adequate to protect the vacuum chambers when the magnet cooling lines fail; and (4) In addition to the pressure loading, the thermal deformations, due to the temperature decrease on the cryostat chambers, could also cause a high stress on the chamber, if not properly supported.

  15. New and Emerging Technologies in Treatment of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms From Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Nikhil K; Gange, Steven N; McVary, Kevin T

    2018-03-29

    Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) from bladder outlet obstruction from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) occur in a large percentage of urologic patients. Treatment of this condition with medical and surgical therapy provides symptom relief but has serious adverse effects and causes sexual dysfunction. New technologies to treat BPH-associated LUTS aim to effectively treat urinary symptoms and minimize side effects and sexual dysfunction. To review the efficacy of new and emerging therapies for treatment of LUTS from BPH. A literature search was performed to identify therapies for LUTS from BPH with early outcomes data within the past 5 years. Improvement in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and effect on sexual functions such as erectile and ejaculatory functions as measured on the International Index of Erectile Function and the Male Sexual Health Questionnaire. Technologies introduced within the past 5 years include techniques using intraprostatic injectables, mechanical devices, and prostatic tissue ablation. Most technologies remain in the development phase and have only phase I and II studies available that show promising alleviation of urinary symptoms. Injectables have not typically surpassed placebo or sham effects, although special cohorts could be exceptions. Thus far, convective water vapor ablation therapy and prostatic urethral lift have shown the most promise, with short- and medium-term data available on phase III studies demonstrating significant improvement in IPSS with minimal impact on sexual function. Many of these technologies are limited in their potential treatment population by prostate size and conformation, whereas other therapies might be more generalizable. Many new technologies aim to treat LUTS from BPH and minimize sexual side effects. Most therapies remain experimental, although prostatic urethral lift and water vapor ablation therapy have been brought to market and show promise. Long-term durability of symptom relief

  16. ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE QUALITY FOR CHOSEN MILLING STRATEGIES WHEN PRODUCING RELIEF SURFACES

    OpenAIRE

    Jan Varga; Jozef Stahovec; Jozef Beno; Marek Vrabeľ

    2014-01-01

    The paper deals with design and modeling of the relief surfaces that are produced in milling. Modeled and real surface quality is presented for the chosen fragments of the relief surfaces. Fragmentation of the relief surfaces has been made by the surface sampling. Milling strategies are compared with regard to surface formation. Surface quality was checked with regard to applied cutting conditions.

  17. Modeling the onset and offset of dental pain relief by ibuprofen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hanbin; Mandema, Jaap; Wada, Russell; Jayawardena, Shyamalie; Desjardins, Paul; Doyle, Geraldine; Kellstein, David

    2012-01-01

    Onset and offset of dental pain relief by ibuprofen following third molar extraction were modeled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, 8-hour study of patients receiving either a novel effervescent ibuprofen tablet (400 mg; N = 30), standard ibuprofen tablets (Nurofen(®) 2 × 200 mg; N = 22), or placebo (N = 37). An Emax model was fit to pain relief scores. Linear hazard models were used to analyze the time to first perceptible relief (TFPR), the time to meaningful pain relief (TMPR), and time to remedication (REMD). Nomograms were created to correlate TFPR, TMPR, and REMD with different ibuprofen pharmacokinetic profiles. Effervescent ibuprofen was absorbed rapidly with 95% completion within 15 minutes. Maximum pain relief score by ibuprofen was 1.8 units greater than placebo, with an EC50 (effect-site) for ibuprofen concentration of 10.2 µg·mL(-1). The likelihood to achieve TFPR and TMPR was doubled for every 10 µg·mL(-1) increase in ibuprofen plasma concentration. REMD risk decreased 40-fold as the categorical pain relief score increased from 0 to 3. Rapid absorption of ibuprofen effervescent resulted in an earlier TFPR and TMPR, and a lower REMD rate than standard ibuprofen. The nomograms may be useful in predicting the onset and offset of new faster acting ibuprofen formulations, based on pharmacokinetic profiles.

  18. Estimation of Erosion Dissection of North-Eastern Caucasus Relief for Recreational Land Use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zagir V. Ataev

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The digital model of the relief (DMR of North-East Caucasus relief was used for an estimation of an erosive partition of territory. The card of usages of erosive forms and density of an erosive partition of a relief was made on basis of GIS-technology. The analysis of these parameters has allowed to estimate the potential of a relief of studied territory for such kinds of touristic and recreational activity, as foot and a cycle tourism

  19. Lake Bathymetric DEM Shaded Relief Image

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Geo-referenced, shaded relief image of lake bathymetry classified at 5-foot depth intervals. This dataset has a cell resolution of 5 meters (occasionally 10m) as...

  20. Asthma Patients in US Overuse Quick-Relief Inhalers, Underuse Control Medications

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... quick-relief inhalers, underuse control medications Share | Asthma patients in US overuse quick-relief inhalers, underuse control ... and uncontrolled asthma result in poor health outcomes. Patients with well-controlled asthma are at lower risk ...

  1. Pain Management in the Emergency Chain: The Use and Effectiveness of Pain Management in Patients With Acute Musculoskeletal Pain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pierik, Jorien; IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Gaakeer, Menno I.; Berben, Sivera A.; Eenennaam, Fred L.; van Vugt, Arie B.; Doggen, Catharina Jacoba Maria

    2015-01-01

    Objective While acute musculoskeletal pain is a frequent complaint in emergency care, its management is often neglected, placing patients at risk for insufficient pain relief. Our aim is to investigate how often pain management is provided in the prehospital phase and emergency department (ED) and

  2. The Team Approach to Pain Relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Navigation Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues The Team Approach to Pain Relief Past Issues / Fall 2007 ... Roberts is seen here with some of the team members, (left to right) Dr. Berger, Jacques Bolle, ...

  3. 30 CFR 204.204 - What accounting and auditing relief will MMS not allow?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What accounting and auditing relief will MMS... INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR MARGINAL PROPERTIES Accounting and Auditing Relief § 204.204 What accounting and auditing relief will MMS not allow? MMS will not approve your request for...

  4. Prevalence and relief of pain in trauma patients in Emergency Medical Services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lisette Schoonhoven; T. Meijs; Sivera Berben; A. van Vugt; P. van Grunsven

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to give insight in the prevalence of pain, and the (effect of) pain management according to the national emergency medical services analgesia protocol in trauma patients in the Netherlands. The retrospective document study included adult and alert trauma patients. Data

  5. Direct Magnetic Relief Recording Using As40S60: Mn-Se Nanocomposite Multilayer Structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stronski, A; Achimova, E; Paiuk, O; Meshalkin, A; Prisacar, A; Triduh, G; Oleksenko, P; Lytvyn, P

    2017-12-01

    Processes of holographic recording of surface relief structures using As 2 S 3 :Mn-Se multilayer nanostructures as registering media were studied in this paper. Optical properties of As 2 S 3 :Mn, Se layers, and As 2 S 3 :Mn-Se multilayer nanostructures were investigated. Values of optical bandgaps were obtained from Tauc dependencies. Surface relief diffraction gratings were recorded. Direct one-stage formation of surface relief using multilayer nanostructures is considered. For the first time, possibility of direct formation of magnetic relief simultaneous with surface relief formation under optical recording using As 2 S 3 :Mn-Se multilayer nanostructures is shown.

  6. Prevention of sexually transmitted HIV infections through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: a history of achievements and lessons learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Caroline A; Conly, Shanti R; Stanton, David L; Hasen, Nina S

    2012-08-15

    HIV prevention in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) began when both data on HIV prevalence and the toolbox of interventions for prevention of sexual transmission were relatively limited. PEPFAR's early focus was on scaling-up information, education, and communication programs that included messaging on abstinence for youth and faithfulness primarily through nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based organizations. Additional activities included condom promotion, distribution, and social marketing. In epidemics concentrated within key populations, PEPFAR's prevention efforts focused on a minimum package of services including outreach, information, education, and communication programs, STI treatment (where appropriate), and condom promotion and distribution. As more epidemiological data became available and with experience gleaned in these early efforts, the need for tailored and flexible approaches became evident. The next iteration of prevention efforts still emphasized behavioral interventions, but incorporated a sharper focus on key epidemic drivers, especially multiple partners; a data-driven emphasis on high transmission areas and populations, including prevention with people living with HIV; and a more strategic and coordinated approach at the national level. Recently, the paradigm for prevention efforts has shifted yet again. Evidence that biomedical interventions such as male circumcision, treatment for prevention of vertical and horizontal transmission, and treatment itself could lead to declines in incidence has refocused PEPFAR's prevention portfolio. New guidance on sexually transmitted HIV focuses on combination prevention, emphasizing biomedical, behavioral and structural approaches. Landmark speeches by the President and the Secretary of State and new ambitious targets for PEPFAR point toward a new goal: an AIDS-free generation.

  7. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Hawaii

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  8. Pain relief by touch: a quantitative approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mancini, Flavia; Nash, Thomas; Iannetti, Gian Domenico; Haggard, Patrick

    2014-03-01

    Pain relief by touch has been studied for decades in pain neuroscience. Human perceptual studies revealed analgesic effects of segmental tactile stimulation, as compared to extrasegmental touch. However, the spatial organisation of touch-pain interactions within a single human dermatome has not been investigated yet. In 2 experiments we tested whether, how, and where within a dermatome touch modulates the perception of laser-evoked pain. We measured pain perception using intensity ratings, qualitative descriptors, and signal detection measures of sensitivity and response bias. Touch concurrent with laser pulses produced a significant analgesia, and reduced the sensitivity in detecting the energy of laser stimulation, implying a functional loss of information within the ascending Aδ pathway. Touch also produced a bias to judge laser stimuli as less painful. This bias decreased linearly when the distance between the laser and tactile stimuli increased. Thus, our study provides evidence for a spatial organisation of intrasegmental touch-pain interactions. Copyright © 2013 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Estimating the impact of royalty relief on oil and gas production on marginal state leases in the US

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dismukes, David E.; Burke, Jeffrey M.; Mesyanzhinov, Dmitry V.

    2006-01-01

    An emerging challenge for several energy-producing states will be the development of policies that encourage the continued economic development of maturing oil and gas properties. Production rates naturally decline as wells age. This is particularly true for properties approaching 'marginal' status in many energy-producing states where continued operation under expected economic conditions becomes questionable. Premature shut-in of these wells may entail loss of production, economic output, employment, and state revenues. This paper examines the potential impact of royalty relief on state leases and economic production using Louisiana as a case study. Two production related measures for state leases are estimated: (1) current production position relative to the age of the property and (2) the current costs of production for the given property at a given or anticipated level of output. Those wells/leases that are estimated as having negative profitability (i.e., losses) or operating at break-even levels are candidates for 'marginal' classification. The number of wells and production associated with these marginal leases will then be estimated. The economic impacts of offering royalty relief at the 25% level are considered. Under the royalty relief scenario, a minimal amount of increased revenues is realized by the state and the discount provides only incremental production from marginal wells relative to total state production

  10. Measuring Paleolandscape Relief in Alluvial River Systems from the Stratigraphic Record

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajek, E. A.; Trampush, S. M.; Chamberlin, E.; Greenberg, E.

    2017-12-01

    Aggradational alluvial river systems sometimes generate relief in the vicinity of their channel belts (i.e. alluvial ridges) and it has been proposed that this process may define important thresholds in river avulsion. The compensation scale can be used to estimate the maximum relief across a landscape and can be connected to the maximum scale of autogenic organization in experimental and numerical systems. Here we use the compensation scale - measured from outcrops of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene fluvial deposits - to estimate the maximum relief that characterized ancient fluvial landscapes. In some cases, the compensation scale significantly exceeds the maximum channel depth observed in a deposit, suggesting that aggradational alluvial systems organize to sustain more relief than might be expected by looking only in the immediate vicinity of the active channel belt. Instead, these results indicate that in some systems, positive topographic relief generated by multiple alluvial ridge complexes and/or large-scale fan features may be associated with landscape-scale autogenic organization of channel networks that spans multiple cycles of channel avulsion. We compare channel and floodplain sedimentation patterns among the studied ancient fluvial systems in an effort to determine whether avulsion style, channel migration, or floodplain conditions influenced the maximum autogenic relief of ancient landscapes. Our results emphasize that alluvial channel networks may be organized at much larger spatial and temporal scales than previously realized and provide an avenue for understanding which types of river systems are likely to exhibit the largest range of autogenic dynamics.

  11. Adequacy of Flood Relief Shelters: A Case Study in Perak, Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zawani Zahari, Nur; Mustafa Hashim, Ahmad

    2018-03-01

    The recent flood event occurred in 2014 had caused disastrous effects in Peninsular Malaysia in states of Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu, Perak, Johor and Perlis. Perak state was reported with 12,115 victims from 2,896 families registered at 77 relief shelters. There are several issues encountered by the victims and related agencies which caused inconveniences and interruptions during the flooding period. Besides, the usage of public buildings as relief shelters contributes to deterioration of the infrastructures whereby their suitability, convenient, capacity and safety might not be optimum for longer period of time. This paper focuses on the assessment of relief shelters established in Perak Tengah district, Perak. Standards and guidelines for relief shelters were reviewed according to the most relevant agreed principles for humanitarian response. Data and information in this study were obtained from survey activities, interview sessions and observations. In Perak Tengah, more than 50% of the previous relief shelters were public buildings with low capacity areas. Strategic location of shelters with proper design standards should be established to ensure safe and healthy environment for the victims. Findings from this paper provide important outcomes to serve as better preparation in handling future disaster.

  12. Numerical investigation on cavitation in pressure relief valve for coal liquefaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ou, G F; Li, W Z; Xiao, D H; Zheng, Z J; Dou, H S; Wang, C

    2015-01-01

    The pressure relief valve for regulating the level of the high-pressure separator works under a pressure difference up to 15 MPa in the temperature of 415 °C. Severe cavitation erosion and particle impact lead to the valve disc's mass loss. In this paper, three-dimensional turbulent cavitating flows in the pressure relief valve are numerically simulated to reveal the mechanism of mass loss at valve disc. The RNG k-ε turbulence model and the mixture model with a mass transfer for cavitation are employed to simulate the cavitating flow in the pressure relief valve. The result shows that there is phase change in the pressure relief process and cavitation bubbles would be transported by high-velocity backflow to the head of valve disc. For the local pressure higher than the saturated vapor pressure, the bubbles collapse at the head of disc and cavitation erosion is formed at the head of the disc. By comparing the cases of opening of 40%, 50%, and 60%, backflow velocity and cavitation region in front of the disc decrease with the opening increase. Therefore, during the actual operation, the pressure relief valve should be kept to a relatively large opening

  13. Bringing the Flipped Classroom to Day 1: A Novel Didactic Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Intern Orientation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael G. Barrie

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Most emergency medicine (EM residency programs provide an orientation program for their incoming interns, with the lecture being the most common education activity during this period. Our orientation program is designed to bridge the gap between undergraduate and graduate medical education by ensuring that all learners demonstrate competency on Level 1 Milestones, including medical knowledge (MK. To teach interns core medical knowledge in EM, we reformulated orientation using the flipped-classroom model by replacing lectures with small group, case-based discussions. Interns demonstrated improvement in medical knowledge through higher scores on a posttest. Evaluation survey results were also favorable for the flipped-classroom teaching format.

  14. Bringing the Flipped Classroom to Day 1: A Novel Didactic Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Intern Orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrie, Michael G; Amick, Christopher; Mitzman, Jennifer; Way, David P; King, Andrew M

    2018-01-01

    Most emergency medicine (EM) residency programs provide an orientation program for their incoming interns, with the lecture being the most common education activity during this period. Our orientation program is designed to bridge the gap between undergraduate and graduate medical education by ensuring that all learners demonstrate competency on Level 1 Milestones, including medical knowledge (MK). To teach interns core medical knowledge in EM, we reformulated orientation using the flipped-classroom model by replacing lectures with small group, case-based discussions. Interns demonstrated improvement in medical knowledge through higher scores on a posttest. Evaluation survey results were also favorable for the flipped-classroom teaching format.

  15. Shaded Relief of Minnesota Elevation - Color

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This file is a product of a shaded relief process on the 30 meter resolution Digital Elevation Model data (dem30im3). This image was created using a custom AML...

  16. Suicide Prevention for Local Public and Volunteer Relief Workers in Disaster-Affected Areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao Lu; Yip, Paul S F; Chan, Cecilia L W

    2016-01-01

    Local workforces play a critical role in disaster relief and reconstruction. However, the mental health of local relief workers might be affected by disasters, threatening the sustainability of local workforces. In this study, we tried to address this concern by investigating the well-being of local relief workers and its association with suicidal ideation. A retrospective study was conducted. Surveys were designed to collect data from a purposive sample of local disaster relief workers who survived a disaster. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to test hypotheses. The study sample was from a population of local relief workers in the worst quake-hit regions in China in 2008. The respondents were local relief workers from a town in these regions. All of the 83 local relief workers were invited 11 months after the earthquake, and 70 joined the study, resulting in a response rate of 84.3%. The dependent variable was postdisaster suicidal ideation. The independent variables were bereavement, depression and posttraumatic stress, daily work hours, job burnout, work-family conflict, and work engagement. Approximately 21.4% of participants reported suicidal ideation after the earthquake in comparison with 7.1% before the earthquake. One potential risk factor was an interaction effect of job burnout and work-family conflict (odds ratio [OR] = 3.738; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.086-12.868). Potential protective factors included daily work hours (OR = 0.317; 95% CI, 0.106-0.952) and work engagement (OR = 0.297; 95% CI, 0.091-0.969). Findings suggest that for local relief workers who are also disaster survivors, meaningful engagement such as participation in disaster relief could be salutary to their mental health, but overwork and interference with personal life could be harmful and increase the risk of suicidal ideation. Discretion is needed in managing local workforces, particularly with long work hours and work-family balance.

  17. Eksplorasi Pose dalam Pemotretan Model Melalui Kajian Visual Relief Karmawibhangga

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noor Latif CM

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Karmawibhangga Relief panel located at the foot of Borobudur is a relic of the visual artifacts that contains fragments of past life with a very high historical value. 160 Karmawibhangga panels tell the reality of people's lives at the time wrapped with a moral message plight. The relief provides a lot of visual references to be excavated and reconstructed again for the benefit of the creative industries today. This research digged one small part of the masterpieces of the past through photography. Understanding visual artists who create these reliefs will be beauty in the show gestures in building a very interesting story to be re-examined. Visual communication through gestures in relief Karmawibhangga enables new assumptions about body language dialect differences to current conditions. Through model genre photography, it is very useful in connection with the development of local nuanced scientific photography. Efforts to develop the traditions and culture through new media are expected to be creative commodity with a very strong product differentiation. 

  18. Coordinating International Response to Emergencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bice, S. D.

    2007-01-01

    Pandemic disease, natural disasters and terrorism can affect thousands of people in a relatively short period of time anywhere in the world. Our recent international experience with hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and infectious diseases (AIDS, TB and highly pathogenic avian influenza) show us that we must respond with a coordinated approach or we will fail the very people we intend to help. Nations from around the world are often eager to send assistance to the site of a disaster, but coordinating the incoming aid is more often flawed and imprecise than it must be in order to save lives and mitigate suffering. How can any one country, suffering from a horrendous calamity coordinate the incoming aid from around the world? Can any one agency hope to coordinate the myriad nation's response let alone that of the hundreds of non-governmental organizations? Currently, the answer is sadly, no. The purpose of this presentation is not to recommend one over the many international bodies which claim to oversee humanitarian assistance; the purpose of this presentation is to discuss the elements of only one aspect of the overall response effort: public health and medical response coordination. Public health response is of course different than a purely medical response. Traditionally, in a natural disaster, immediate public health concerns center around water, sewerage/waste disposal, potential for disease outbreaks, etc, whereas medical response concentrates on triage, saving those who can be saved, patching up the injured, and to a lesser extent, primary care to the survivors. In order to avoid political controversy, this presentation will use the example of Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii, September 1992, to illustrate key concepts. The State of Hawaii is no stranger to natural disasters. Their emergency response mechanisms are well honed, exercised and quite capable. However, the local community leaders on Kauai Island went thru each of the following phases before they

  19. Relief Evolution in Tectonically Active Mountain Ranges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whipple, Kelin X.

    2004-01-01

    The overall aims of this 3-yr project, as originally proposed were to: (1) investigate quantitatively the roles of fluvial and glacial erosion in the evolution of relief in mountainous regions, and (2) test rigorously the quality and accuracy of SRTM topographic data in areas of rugged relief - both the most challenging and of greatest interest to geomorphic, neotectonic, and hazards applications. Natural laboratories in both the western US and the Southern Alps of New Zealand were identified as most promising. The project has been both successful and productive, despite the fact that no SRTM data for our primary field sites in New Zealand were released on the time frame of the work effort. Given the delayed release of SRTM data, we pursued the scientific questions of the roles of fluvial and, especially, glacial erosion in the evolution of relief in mountainous regions using available digital elevation models (DEMs) for the Southern Alps of New Zealand (available at both 25m and 50m pixel sizes), and USGS 10m and 30m DEMs within the Western US. As emphasized in the original proposal, we chose the emphasis on the role of glacial modification of topographic relief because there has been little quantitative investigation of glacial erosion processes at landscape scale. This is particularly surprising considering the dramatic sculpting of most mid- and high-latitude mountain ranges, the prodigious quantities of glacially-derived sediment in terrestrial and marine basins, and the current cross-disciplinary interest in the role of denudational processes in orogenesis and the evolution of topography in general. Moreover, the evolution of glaciated landscapes is not only a fundamental problem in geomorphology in its own right, but also is at the heart of the debate over Late Cenozoic linkages between climate and tectonics.

  20. Pain relief of sore throat with a new anti-inflammatory throat lozenge, ibuprofen 25 mg: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, international phase III study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouroubi, Athmane; Donazzolo, Yves; Donath, Franck; Eccles, Ron; Russo, Marc; Harambillet, Nadine; Gautier, Stéphanie; Montagne, Agnès

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of a new oromucosal ibuprofen form, ibuprofen 25 mg lozenge, in single and repeat dosing for up to 4 days, to the matched placebo, in the treatment of acute sore throat pain in adults. In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adult patients with non-streptococcal sore throat and signs of moderate-to-severe associated pain (≥5 on the objective Tonsillo-Pharyngitis Assessment 21-point scale and ≥60 mm on the subjective 0-100 mm visual analogue Sore Throat Pain Intensity Scale [STPIS]) were assigned ibuprofen 25 mg (n=194) or matching placebo (n=191) lozenge treatment. Efficacy was assessed (at the investigating centre up to 2 hours after first dosing, then on an ambulatory basis) by parameters derived from patient's scores on scales of pain relief, pain intensity, and global efficacy assessment. The primary efficacy end-point was the time-weighted TOTal PAin Relief (TOTPAR) over 2 hours after first dosing using the Sore Throat Relief Scale (STRS). Safety and local tolerability were assessed. Ibuprofen 25 mg was superior to placebo on numerous pain relief parameters; TOTPAR was significantly higher with ibuprofen 25 mg over 2 hours after first dosing (Ppain (n=128), after an average 4 days (Prelief of sore throat pain and is as well tolerated as placebo. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01785862. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. The Chicago Fire of 1871: A Bottom Up Approach to Disaster Relief

    OpenAIRE

    Skarbek, Emily C.

    2014-01-01

    Can bottom-up relief efforts lead to recovery after disasters? Conventional wisdom and contemporary public policy suggest that major crises require centralized authority to provide disaster relief goods. Using a novel set of comprehensive donation and expenditure data collected from archival records, this paper examines a bottom-up relief effort following one of the most devastating natural disasters of the nineteenth century: the Chicago Fire of 1871. Findings show that while there was no ce...

  2. Lessons from DoD Disaster Relief Efforts in the Asia-Pacific Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Orientation & Review,” USARPAC briefing, undated; “USARPAC OSInt Support to Cyclone nargis Relief Efforts in Burma 2008,” USARPAC briefing, undated; phone...all organizations relied, to a large extent, on the staff and national partners they already had 71 “USARPAC OSINT Support to Cyclone Nargis Relief...undated. As of September 8, 2012: http://www.kadena.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-120426-002.pdf “USARPAC OSINT Support to Cyclone Nargis Relief

  3. 31 CFR 309.12 - Relief on account of loss, theft or destruction, etc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Relief on account of loss, theft or... BILLS § 309.12 Relief on account of loss, theft or destruction, etc. (a) Relief on account of the loss, theft, destruction, mutilation or defacement of Treasury bills may be given only under the authority of...

  4. 77 FR 9665 - Submission for OMB Emergency Review; Comment Request: A Multi-Center International Hospital-Based...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-17

    ... Review; Comment Request: A Multi- Center International Hospital-Based Case-Control Study of Lymphoma in... the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for emergency review and processing this... Hospital- Based Case-Control Study of Lymphoma in Asia (AsiaLymph) (NCI). Type of Information Collection...

  5. Building emergency medicine in Ethiopia | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2014-09-05

    Sep 5, 2014 ... Ethiopia faces a critical gap in emergency medical care. ... Dr Biruk Germa, Senior Emergency Medicine Resident at Addis Ababa University, also ... The issue Inaccessibility to veterinary services in Ethiopia's livestock sector.

  6. Emerging Powers and the Notion of International Responsibility: moral duty or shifting goalpost?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Michael Kenkel

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The rise of new powers and attendant shifts in the global balance of power have led to calls for UN Security Council reform. Established powers have often responded by linking increased influence in the international system with the assumption of more international responsibility by aspirant powers. Based on ethical and philosophical approaches from the individual and state levels, and a case study of Brazil, this article analyses the way in which the notion of responsibility is discursively constructed, demonstrating the manner in which it has been used as an ever-shifting goalpost to deny emerging powers participation at the highest levels of global strategic decision-making. Most often, this is done by equating “responsibility” with the ability and willingness to use robust military force.

  7. Partially wrong? Partial equilibrium and the economic analysis of public health emergencies of international concern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beutels, P; Edmunds, W J; Smith, R D

    2008-11-01

    We argue that traditional health economic analysis is ill-equipped to estimate the cost effectiveness and cost benefit of interventions that aim at controlling and/or preventing public health emergencies of international concern (such as pandemic influenza or severe acute respiratory syndrome). The implicit assumption of partial equilibrium within both the health sector itself and--if a wider perspective is adopted--the economy as a whole would be violated by such emergencies. We propose an alternative, with the specific aim of accounting for the behavioural changes and capacity problems that are expected to occur when such an outbreak strikes. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Optimization and Simulation Modeling of Disaster Relief Supply Chain: A Literature Review

    OpenAIRE

    Feng, Keli; Bizimana, Emmanuel; Agu, Deedee D.; Issac, Tana T.

    2012-01-01

    Recent natural and man-made disasters underscore the need of a resilient and agile disaster relief supply chain to mitigate the damages and save people’s lives. Optimization and simulation modeling have become powerful and useful tools to help decision makers tackle problems related to disaster relief supply chain. This paper reviews optimization and simulation models used in the field of disaster relief supply chain. We review the literature of the facility location optimization problems of ...

  9. Feeling worse to feel better: pain-offset relief simultaneously stimulates positive affect and reduces negative affect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Joseph C; Lee, Kent M; Hanna, Eleanor K; Prinstein, Mitchell J

    2013-04-01

    Although pain itself induces negative affect, the removal (or offset) of pain induces a powerful state of relief. Despite being implicated in a wide range of psychological and behavioral phenomena, relief remains a poorly understood emotion. In particular, some theorists associate relief with increased positive affect, whereas others associate relief with diminished negative affect. In the present study, we examined the affective nature of relief in a pain-offset paradigm with psychophysiological measures that were specific to negative valence (startle eyeblink reactivity) and positive valence (startle postauricular reactivity). Results revealed that pain offset simultaneously stimulates positive affect and diminishes negative affect for at least several seconds. Results also indicated that pain intensity differentially affects the positive and negative valence aspects of relief. These findings clarify the affective nature of relief and provide insight into why people engage in both normal and abnormal behaviors associated with relief.

  10. Low-dose ketamine improves pain relief in patients receiving intravenous opioids for acute pain in the emergency department: results of a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaudoin, Francesca L; Lin, Charlie; Guan, Wentao; Merchant, Roland C

    2014-11-01

    Low-dose ketamine has been used perioperatively for pain control and may be a useful adjunct to intravenous (IV) opioids in the control of acute pain in the emergency department (ED). The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of low-dose ketamine as an adjunct to morphine versus standard care with morphine alone for the treatment of acute moderate to severe pain among ED patients. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial with three study groups was conducted at a large, urban academic ED over a 10-month period. Eligible patients were 18 to 65 years old with acute moderate to severe pain (score of at least 5 out of 10 on the numerical pain rating scale [NRS] and pain duration ketamine (group 1), or 3) morphine and 0.3 mg/kg ketamine (group 2). Participants were assessed at 30, 60, and 120 minutes after study medication administration and received rescue analgesia as needed to target a 50% reduction in pain. The primary outcome measure of pain relief, or pain intensity reduction, was derived using the NRS and calculated as the summed pain-intensity (SPID) difference over 2 hours. The amount and timing of rescue opioid analgesia was evaluated as a secondary outcome. The occurrence of adverse events was also measured. Sixty patients were enrolled (n = 20 in each group). There were no differences between study groups with respect to age, sex, race/ethnicity, preenrollment analgesia, or baseline NRS. Over the 2-hour poststudy medication administration period, the SPIDs were higher (greater pain relief) for the ketamine study groups than the control group (standard care 4.0, interquartile range [IQR] = 1.8 to 6.5; group 1 7.0, IQR = 4.3 to 10.8; and group 2 7.8, IQR = 4.8 to 12.8; p ketamine groups were similar (p pain intensity up to 2 hours, whereas group 1 was similar to standard care by 2 hours. Similar numbers of patients received rescue analgesia: standard care group, seven of 20, 35%; group 1, four of 20, 20%; and group 2, four of 20, 20

  11. Fraktalnist deformational relief polycrystalline aluminum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    М.В. Карускевич

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available  The possibility of the fractal geometry method application for the analisys of surface deformation structures under cyclic loading is presented.It is shown, that deformation relief of the alclad aluminium alloyes meets the criteria of the fractality. For the fractal demention estimation the method of  “box-counting”can be applied.

  12. Paracetamol for pain relief after surgical removal of lower wisdom teeth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weil, K.; Hooper, L.; Afzal, Z.; Esposito, M.; Worthington, H.V.; van Wijk, A.J.; Coulthard, P.

    2008-01-01

    Background: Paracetamol has been commonly used for the relief of postoperative pain following oral surgery. In this review we investigated the optimal dose of paracetamol and the optimal time for drug administration to provide pain relief, taking into account the side effects of different doses of

  13. Emergency nurses' knowledge, attitude and clinical decision making skills about pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ucuzal, Meral; Doğan, Runida

    2015-04-01

    Pain is the most common reason that patients come to the emergency department. Emergency nurses have an indispensable role in the management of this pain. The aim of this study was to examine emergency nurses' knowledge, attitude and clinical decision-making skills about pain. This descriptive study was conducted in a state and a university hospital between September and October 2012 in Malatya, Turkey. Of 98 nurses working in the emergency departments of these two hospitals, 57 returned the questionnaires. The response rate was 58%. Data were collected using the Demographic Information Questionnaire, Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire about Pain and Clinical Decision Making Survey. Frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to evaluate data. 75.4% of participant nurses knew that patients' own statement about their pain was the most reliable indicator during pain assessment. Almost half of the nurses believed that patients should be encouraged to endure the pain as much as possible before resorting to a pain relief method. The results also indicate that most of nurses think that a sleeping patient does not have any pain and pain relief should be postponed as it can influence the diagnosis negatively. It is determined that the pain scale was not used frequently. Only 35.1% of nurses reported keeping records of pain. Despite all the recommendations of substantial past research the results of this study indicate that emergency nurses continue to demonstrate inadequate knowledge, clinical decision-making skills and negative attitudes about pain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Gastroparesis: a review of current and emerging treatment options

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enweluzo C

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Chijioke Enweluzo, Fahad AzizHospital Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USAAbstract: Gastroparesis is a motility disorder of the stomach causing delay in food emptying from the stomach without any evidence of mechanical obstruction. The majority of cases are idiopathic. Patients need to be diagnosed properly by formal testing, and the evaluation of the severity of the gastroparesis may assist in guiding therapy. Initially, dietary modifications are encouraged, which include frequent and small semisolid-based meals. Promotility medications, like erythromycin, and antiemetics, like prochlorperazine, are offered for symptom relief. In patients who are refractory to pharmacologic treatment, more invasive options, such as intrapyloric botulinum toxin injections, placement of a jejunostomy tube, or implantation of a gastric stimulator, can be considered. Hemin therapy and gastric electric stimulation are emerging treatment options that are still at different stages of research. Regenerative medicine and stem cell-based therapies also hold promise for gastroparesis in the near future.Keywords: Gastroparesis, gastric emptying, gastric electrical stimulation, hemin

  15. 75 FR 51832 - Rhode Island; Amendment No. 4 to Notice of an Emergency Declaration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-23

    ... concerning Federal funds provided under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency... Unemployment Assistance (DUA); 97.046, Fire Management Assistance Grant; 97.048, Disaster Housing Assistance to... Assistance--Disaster Housing Operations for Individuals and Households; 97.050, Presidentially Declared...

  16. Pain management in the emergency department and its relationship to patient satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Downey La Vonne

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background : Pain is the most common reason due to which patients come to the emergency department (ED. Aim : The purpose of this study was to measure the correlation, if any, between pain reduction and the level of satisfaction in patients who presented to the ED with pain as their chief complaint. Materials and Methods : This study used a randomly selected group of patients who presented to the ED with pain of 4 or more on the Visual Analogue Pain Scale (VAS as their chief complaint to a level one adult and pediatric trauma center. Instruments that were used in this study were the VAS, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI, and the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS. They were administered to patients by research fellows in the treatment rooms. Statistical analysis included frequencies, descriptive, and linear regression. This study was approved by the Internal Review Board. Results : A total of 159 patients were enrolled in the study. All patients were given some type of treatment for their pain upon arrival to the ED. A logistic regression showed a significant relationship to reduction in pain by 40% or more and customer service questions. Conclusions : A reduction in perceived pain levels does directly relate to several indicators of customer service. Patients who experienced pain relief during their stay in the ED had significant increases in distress relief, rapport with their doctor, and intent to comply with given instructions.

  17. 21 CFR 882.5870 - Implanted peripheral nerve stimulator for pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ....5870 Implanted peripheral nerve stimulator for pain relief. (a) Identification. An implanted peripheral nerve stimulator for pain relief is a device that is used to stimulate electrically a peripheral nerve... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Implanted peripheral nerve stimulator for pain...

  18. Search Results | Page 799 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Results 7981 - 7990 of 8490 ... New Partnerships Stimulate Agricultural Innovation, Greater Food Security. Despite some relief from recent skyrocketing food prices, many poor consumers in developing countries are paying much more for their food than they were just a few years ago. Research in Action. International ...

  19. Korean round-robin result for new international program to assess the reliability of emerging nondestructive techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Kyung Cho; Kim, Jin Gyum; Kang, Sung Sik; Jhung, Myung Jo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-04-15

    The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, as a representative organization of Korea, in February 2012 participated in an international Program to Assess the Reliability of Emerging Nondestructive Techniques initiated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The goal of the Program to Assess the Reliability of Emerging Nondestructive Techniques is to investigate the performance of emerging and prospective novel nondestructive techniques to find flaws in nickel-alloy welds and base materials. In this article, Korean round-robin test results were evaluated with respect to the test blocks and various nondestructive examination techniques. The test blocks were prepared to simulate large-bore dissimilar metal welds, small-bore dissimilar metal welds, and bottom-mounted instrumentation penetration welds in nuclear power plants. Also, lessons learned from the Korean round-robin test were summarized and discussed.

  20. 32 CFR 516.19 - Injunctive relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY AID OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LITIGATION Reporting Legal Proceedings to HQDA § 516.19 Injunctive relief. (a) General. Plaintiffs...). Because these actions can quickly impede military functions, immediate and decisive action must be taken...

  1. The Emergence of a Transnational Advocacy Network: International Election Monitoring in the Philippines, Chile, Nicaragua, and Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arturo Santa Cruz

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I question the existence of a global civil society, suggesting that what we have witnessed in recent years is the emergence of myriad transnational advocacy networks (TANs. I illustrate this claim by looking at a recently novel area in world politics: the international monitoring of elections (IEM, a practice which I claim has partially redefined state sovereignty. This paper takes form as follows. In the first section I present a conceptual discussion on world civil society and TANS , and suggest an unexplored way in which emergent norms might be adopted internationally. In the next four sections I follow the evolution of the IEM TAN. Thus, the second section deals with the foundational 1986 Philippine case; the third section with the 1988 Chilean plebiscite; the fourth with the 1990 Nicaraguan elections, and the fifth with the 1994 Mexican electoral process. I conclude in the sixth section by evaluating the usefulness of the path of norm-diffusion, and by discussing how the practice of non-state actors has contributed to the redefinition of both state sovereignty and the international system.

  2. All projects related to | Page 294 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2011-03-01

    The past two decades have seen both a decline in warfare and an increase in state and city fragility resulting from other forms of political and criminal violence. Start Date: March 1, 2011. End Date: September 1, 2014. Topic: URBAN AREAS, DRUG TRAFFIC, CONFLICTS, VIOLENCE, EMERGENCY RELIEF. Region: Brazil ...

  3. The Use of a Social Media Based Curriculum for Newly Matched Interns Transitioning into Emergency Medicine Residency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel C Park, MD

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Audience: This is an online social media curriculum aimed at the incoming Emergency Department (ED intern. This curriculum is designed to foster collaborative learning in preparation for the upcoming intern year. Introduction: Graduating medical students tend to have few clinical experiences at the end of their fourth year. For many students, their last ED rotation is six months or more before the start of their internship. In addition, the transition from being a medical student to an intern can be quite abrupt and jarring, with little time to adjust to the rigorous new clinical demands of internship. To ease this transition, the Slack channels provide an easy medium to share thoughts and ideas regarding clinical cases provided by the Emergency Medicine (EM faculty. After performing a PubMed, Google Scholar, and Medline search, we found that no interventions have been described utilizing social media for helping rising interns to transition from medical school to emergency medicine residency. Medical school curriculum varies widely, and medical students often struggle with this transition.1,2 Multiple authors have evaluated the use of pre-graduation or early internship boot camps as preparation for emergency medicine residencies, but to our knowledge, there is no existing curriculum that is designed specifically for the transition between medical school and internship.3,4,5 We designed a social media based curriculum that addressed several of the competencies targeted by these boot camp programs4 and based on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME level 1 milestones in patient care. This curriculum provides an interactive, case-based learning platform for incoming residents prior to the start of residency. Using Slack, learners can post responses in real-time that can be seen by the entire group of incoming interns. The incoming interns will be able to interact with other users, either in a public or private forum, and

  4. The Evolution of On-Board Emergency Training for the International Space Station Crew

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaBuff, Skyler

    2015-01-01

    The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) receives extensive ground-training in order to safely and effectively respond to any potential emergency event while on-orbit, but few people realize that their training is not concluded when they launch into space. The evolution of the emergency On- Board Training events (OBTs) has recently moved from paper "scripts" to an intranet-based software simulation that allows for the crew, as well as the flight control teams in Mission Control Centers across the world, to share in an improved and more realistic training event. This emergency OBT simulator ensures that the participants experience the training event as it unfolds, completely unaware of the type, location, or severity of the simulated emergency until the scenario begins. The crew interfaces with the simulation software via iPads that they keep with them as they translate through the ISS modules, receiving prompts and information as they proceed through the response. Personnel in the control centers bring up the simulation via an intranet browser at their console workstations, and can view additional telemetry signatures in simulated ground displays in order to assist the crew and communicate vital information to them as applicable. The Chief Training Officers and emergency instructors set the simulation in motion, choosing the type of emergency (rapid depressurization, fire, or toxic atmosphere) and specific initial conditions to emphasize the desired training objectives. Project development, testing, and implementation was a collaborative effort between ISS emergency instructors, Chief Training Officers, Flight Directors, and the Crew Office using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware along with simulation software created in-house. Due to the success of the Emergency OBT simulator, the already-developed software has been leveraged and repurposed to develop a new emulator used during fire response ground-training to deliver data that the crew receives

  5. Internal emergency organization in the Beznau nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wenger, H.

    1989-01-01

    The successful mastering of every emergency situation is based on the strict adherence to frequently reviewed emergency instruction and practice on simulators. This is the primary duty of all plant employees. In addition, executive bodies are necessary. The highest authority in the emergency organization is the emergency staff. Under the leadership of the plant manager, this staff consists of all department heads and several specialists. Outside normal working hours, it can be expected of the emergency staff that it is fully functional within, at most, one hour. Until the emergency staff can take over, the on-duty engineer leads emergency procedures. Several other different teams are responsible to the emergency staff. There are five emergency teams: off-duty plant employees; fire fighters; radiation defence; first-aid; plant guards. Then there is the technical support center (TSC). The responsibilities of the TSC are: giving technical advise to the emergency staff; working out different options for fighting the emergency; checking up on special methods; communication with the reactor manufacturer for additional support. 1 fig

  6. Mental health risks in the local workforce engaged in disaster relief and reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao L; Chan, Cecilia L W; Shi, Zhan B; Wang, Bin

    2013-02-01

    To build a sustainable workforce for long-term disaster relief and reconstruction, more effort must be made to promote local relief workers' mental health. We conducted 25 semistructured interviews with local relief officials 10 months after the 2008 earthquake in China to investigate the stress and coping experiences in their personal lives as survivors. We conducted thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Traumatic bereavement and grief, housing and financial difficulties, and work-family conflict were the three main sources of stress in the respondents' personal lives. The coping themes were finding meaning and purpose in life through relief work, colleagues' support and understanding, suppression or avoidance of grief, appreciation for life, hardiness, optimism, letting nature take its course, and making up for loss. We suggest that relief work has a double-edged-sword effect on workers' coping abilities. We discuss the implications of this effect for work-life balance measures and trauma and grief counseling services.

  7. The role of the International Space University in building capacity in emerging space nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Robert

    The International Space University provides graduate-level training to the future leaders of the emerging global space community at its Central Campus in Strasbourg, France, and at locations around the world. In its two-month Summer Session and one-year Masters program, ISU offers its students a unique Core Curriculum covering all disciplines related to space programs and enterprises - space science, space engineering, systems engineering, space policy and law, business and management, and space and society. Both programs also involve an intense student research Team Project providing international graduate students and young space professionals the opportunity to solve complex problems by working together in an intercultural environment. Since its founding in 1987, ISU has graduated more than 2500 students from 96 countries. Together with hundreds of ISU faculty and lecturers from around the world, ISU alumni comprise an extremely effective network of space professionals and leaders that actively facilitates individual career growth, professional activities and international space cooperation.

  8. Bridging the sanitation gap between disaster relief and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Ka-Man; Ramirez, Claudia; Liu, Weilong; Kirilova, Darina; Vick, David; Mari, Joe; Smith, Rachel; Lam, Ho-Yin; Ostovari, Afshin; Shibakawa, Akifumi; Liu, Yang; Samant, Sidharth; Osaro, Lucky

    2015-10-01

    By interpreting disasters as opportunities to initiate the fulfilment of development needs, realise the vulnerability of the affected community and environment, and extend the legacy of relief funds and effort, this paper builds upon the concept linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) in the sanitation sector. It aims to use a composite of case studies to devise a framework for a semi-hypothetical scenario to identify critical components and generic processes for a LRRD action plan. The scenario is based on a latrine wetland sanitation system in a Muslim community. Several sub-frameworks are developed: (i) latrine design; (ii) assessment of human waste treatment; (iii) connective sanitation promotion strategy; and (iv) ecological systems and environmental services for sanitation and development. This scenario illustrates the complex issues involved in LRRD in sanitation work and provides technical notes and references for a legacy plan for disaster relief and development. © 2015 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2015.

  9. Stress relief of transition zones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woodward, J.; van Rooyen, D.

    1984-01-01

    This paper considers the problem of intergranular stress corrosion cracking, initiated on the primary side, in the expansion transition region of roller expanded Alloy 600 tubing. In general it is believed that residual stresses, arising from the expansion process, are the cause of the problem. The work reported here concentrated on the identification of an optimal, in-situ stress relief treatment

  10. Petroleum industry assists hurricane relief

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that the petroleum industry is aiding victims of last month's Hurricane Andrew with cash, clothing, food, water, and other supplies. Cash contributions announced as of last week totaled more than $2.7 million for distribution in South Florida and South Louisiana. Petroleum industry employees were collecting relief items such as bottled water and diapers for distribution in those areas

  11. Oscillatory neural representations in the sensory thalamus predict neuropathic pain relief by deep brain stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yongzhi; Green, Alexander L; Hyam, Jonathan; Fitzgerald, James; Aziz, Tipu Z; Wang, Shouyan

    2018-01-01

    Understanding the function of sensory thalamic neural activity is essential for developing and improving interventions for neuropathic pain. However, there is a lack of investigation of the relationship between sensory thalamic oscillations and pain relief in patients with neuropathic pain. This study aims to identify the oscillatory neural characteristics correlated with pain relief induced by deep brain stimulation (DBS), and develop a quantitative model to predict pain relief by integrating characteristic measures of the neural oscillations. Measures of sensory thalamic local field potentials (LFPs) in thirteen patients with neuropathic pain were screened in three dimensional feature space according to the rhythm, balancing, and coupling neural behaviours, and correlated with pain relief. An integrated approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple regression analysis is proposed to integrate the multiple measures and provide a predictive model. This study reveals distinct thalamic rhythms of theta, alpha, high beta and high gamma oscillations correlating with pain relief. The balancing and coupling measures between these neural oscillations were also significantly correlated with pain relief. The study enriches the series research on the function of thalamic neural oscillations in neuropathic pain and relief, and provides a quantitative approach for predicting pain relief by DBS using thalamic neural oscillations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Emergency nurses' knowledge of pain management principles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanabe, P; Buschmann, M

    2000-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine areas of emergency nurses' knowledge deficit regarding pain management, and to identify barriers to pain management as perceived by emergency nurses. Data were collected anonymously in a mail survey using a 52-item knowledge questionnaire addressing pain management principles and asking emergency nurses (Illinois Emergency Nurses Association members) to rate various barriers as to how often they affect their practice. Questionnaires were mailed to all Illinois ENA members (n = 1000). Three hundred five emergency nurses' questionnaires were returned. A significant deficit existed on 2 domains of knowledge: understanding of the terms "addiction," "tolerance," and "dependence"; and knowledge of various pharmacologic analgesic principles. Nurses with a master's degree or higher, or those who attended a 1-day seminar on pain management, achieved statistically significantly higher scores. The 2 barriers identified by emergency nurses as the most common were the inability to administer medication until a diagnosis is made (53%), and inadequate assessment of pain and pain relief (48%) (the percentage indicates how often the emergency nurses believed the barrier was present in their practice). The data indicate that emergency nurses may not have a good understanding of the management of pain with drugs, or of such issues as risk of addiction.

  13. Regulation of the State Office of Nuclear Safety No. 318/2002 of 13 June 2002 specifying details to ensure emergency preparedness of nuclear facilities and workplaces handling ionizing radiation sources, and requirements for the contents of internal emergency plans and emergency rules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The Regulation addresses the following issues: definition of a radiological event and interventions to be accomplished if a radiological event takes place; emergency preparedness; establishing a radiological event; assessment of a radiological event; warnings, notifications and alarms during a radiological event; intervention - management, procedures, instructions; radiological situation monitoring programme; provisions to restrict human exposure; health care provisions; documentation; informing the State Office of Nuclear Safety; personnel instructions and training; emergency preparedness inspection; internal emergency plan; emergency rules; and related issues. This Regulation supersedes Regulation No. 219/1997. (P.A.)

  14. Evaluation of radiation therapy for bone metastases: pain relief and quality of life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, H.A.; Kagan, A.R.; Nussbaum, H.; Rao, A.R.; Satzman, J.; Chan, P.; Allen, B.; Forsythe, A.

    1977-01-01

    The records of 158 patients irradiated for bone metastases were reviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of pain relief and to judge the effect of treatment on overall quality of life. Within 3 months 73% of the sites treated had pain relief, with 55 to 65% having sustained relief up to 1 year or death. Of patients surviving more than 3 months, 63% maintained a satisfactory quality of life and were able to take care of most personal needs. The median survival of all patients was 1 year from initial treatment for bone metastasis. Radiation dose and the primary tumor site do not seem to be significant prognostic factors for initial pain relief or quality of life

  15. The Unintended Consequences of Property Tax Relief: New York's STAR Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Tae Ho; Duncombe, William; Nguyen-Hoang, Phuong; Yinger, John

    2014-01-01

    New York's School Tax Relief Program, STAR, provides state-funded property tax relief for homeowners. Like a matching grant, STAR changes the price of education, thereby altering the incentives of voters and school officials and leading to unintended consequences. Using data for New York State school districts before and after STAR was…

  16. Supply Chain Management in Humanitarian Relief Logistics

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rodman, William

    2004-01-01

    Hundreds of millions of people are affected by disasters each year. This thesis explores the use of supply chain management techniques to overcome the barriers encountered by logistics managers during humanitarian relief operations...

  17. 24 CFR 965.508 - Individual relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Individual relief. 965.508 Section 965.508 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued... PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS-GENERAL PROVISIONS Resident Allowances for Utilities § 965.508 Individual...

  18. Effective Stock Selection and Portfolio Construction Within US, International, and Emerging Markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bijan Beheshti

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we explore the ex-post attributes of 120 simulated portfolios across the U.S., International, and Emerging Markets. We estimate expected returns using a given global stock selection model employing Global Equity Rating (GLER and Consensus Temporary Earnings Forecasting (CTEF signals. Our portfolios are constructed under the Markowitz optimization framework and constrained at various tracking error levels. Further, an alpha alignment factor is applied to aid in portfolio construction. As a result of our research, we present the reader with three key findings. First, GLER and CTEF signals employed as the primary inputs to security selection result in portfolios with superior risk adjusted returns relative to the Russell 3000, MSCI AC World ex. US, and MSCI Emerging Markets benchmarks which they are measured against. Second, expanding the investment universe outside the U.S. increases the opportunity set yielding higher risk adjusted performance. Third, the incorporation of an alpha alignment factor within the portfolio construction process improves risk forecasts resulting in ex-post tracking error aligning more closely to ex-ante, and ultimately improving information ratios.

  19. 8th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics

    CERN Document Server

    Tadokoro, Satoshi

    2014-01-01

    FSR, the International Conference on Field and Service Robotics, is the leading single track conference of robotics for field and service applications. This book presents the results of FSR2012, the eighth conference of Field and Service Robotics, which was originally planned for 2011 with the venue of Matsushima in Tohoku region of Japan. However, on March 11, 2011, a magnitude M9.0 earthquake occurred off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, and a large-scale disaster was caused by the Tsunami which resulted, therefore the conference was postponed by one year to July, 2012. In fact, this earthquake raised issues concerning the contribution of field and service robotics technology to emergency scenarios. A number of precious lessons were learned from operation of robots in the resulting, very real and challenging, disaster environments. Up-to-date study on disaster response, relief and recovery was then featured in the conference. This book offers 43 papers on a broad range of topics including: Disaster Response, Se...

  20. Emergency Response Damage Assessment using Satellite Remote Sensing Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clandillon, Stephen; Yésou, Hervé; Schneiderhan, Tobias; de Boissezon, Hélène; de Fraipont, Paul

    2013-04-01

    During disasters rescue and relief organisations need quick access to reliable and accurate information to be better equipped to do their job. It is increasingly felt that satellites offer a unique near real time (NRT) tool to aid disaster management. A short introduction to the International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters', in operation since 2000 promoting worldwide cooperation among member space agencies, will be given as it is the foundation on which satellite-based, emergency response, damage assessment has been built. Other complementary mechanisms will also be discussed. The user access, triggering mechanism, an essential component for this user-driven service, will be highlighted with its 24/7 single access point. Then, a clear distinction will be made between data provision and geo-information delivery mechanisms to underline the user need for geo-information that is easily integrated into their working environments. Briefly, the path to assured emergency response product quality will be presented beginning with user requirements, expressed early-on, for emergency response value-adding services. Initiatives were then established, supported by national and European institutions, to develop the sector, with SERTIT and DLR being key players, providing support to decision makers in headquarters and relief teams in the field. To consistently meet the high quality levels demanded by users, rapid mapping has been transformed via workflow and quality control standardisation to improve both speed and quality. As such, SERTIT located in Alsace, France, and DLR/ZKI from Bavaria, Germany, join their knowledge in this presentation to report about recent standards as both have ISO certified their rapid mapping services based on experienced, well-trained, 24/7 on-call teams and established systems providing the first crisis analysis product in 6 hours after satellite data reception. The three main product types provided are then outlined: up-to-date pre

  1. 30 CFR 204.202 - What is the cumulative royalty reports and payments relief option?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Auditing Relief § 204.202 What is the cumulative royalty reports and payments relief option? (a) The... information on Form MMS-2014 for the calendar year, the same as if it were a monthly report; and (5) Report... section until the date MMS receives it. (d) If you take relief you are not qualified for, you may be...

  2. ICENES '91:Sixth international conference on emerging nuclear energy systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    This document contains the program and abstracts of the sessions at the Sixth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems held June 16--21, 1991 at Monterey, California. These sessions included: The plenary session, fission session, fission and nonelectric session, poster session 1P; (space propulsion, space nuclear power, electrostatic confined fusion, fusion miscellaneous, inertial confinement fusion, μ-catalyzed fusion, and cold fusion); Advanced fusion session, space nuclear session, poster session 2P, (nuclear reactions/data, isotope separation, direct energy conversion and exotic concepts, fusion-fission hybrids, nuclear desalting, accelerator waste-transmutation, and fusion-based chemical recycling); energy policy session, poster session 3P (energy policy, magnetic fusion reactors, fission reactors, magnetically insulated inertial fusion, and nuclear explosives for power generation); exotic energy storage and conversion session; and exotic energy storage and conversion; review and closing session

  3. The impact of global warming on germination and seedling emergence in Alliaria petiolata, a woodland species with dormancy loss dependent on low temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Footitt, S; Huang, Z; Ölcer-Footitt, H; Clay, H; Finch-Savage, W E

    2018-03-23

    The impact of global warming on seed dormancy loss and germination was investigated in Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard), a common woodland/hedgerow plant in Eurasia, considered invasive in North America. Increased temperature may have serious implications, since seeds of this species germinate and emerge at low temperatures early in spring to establish and grow before canopy development of competing species. Dormancy was evaluated in seeds buried in field soils. Seedling emergence was also investigated in the field, and in a thermogradient tunnel under global warming scenarios representing predicted UK air temperatures through to 2080. Dormancy was simple, and its relief required the accumulation of low temperature chilling time. Under a global warming scenario, dormancy relief and seedling emergence declined and seed mortality increased as soil temperature increased along a thermal gradient. Seedling emergence advanced with soil temperature, peaking 8 days earlier under 2080 conditions. The results indicate that as mean temperature increases due to global warming, the chilling requirement for dormancy relief may not be fully satisfied, but seedling emergence will continue from low dormancy seeds in the population. Adaptation resulting from selection of this low dormancy proportion is likely to reduce the overall population chilling requirement. Seedling emergence is also likely to keep pace with the advancement of biological spring, enabling A. petiolata to maintain its strategy of establishment before the woodland canopy closes. However, this potential for adaptation may be countered by increased seed mortality in the seed bank as soils warm. © 2018 German Society for Plant Sciences and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  4. Anticipation and choice heuristics in the dynamic consumption of pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Story, Giles W; Vlaev, Ivo; Dayan, Peter; Seymour, Ben; Darzi, Ara; Dolan, Raymond J

    2015-03-01

    Humans frequently need to allocate resources across multiple time-steps. Economic theory proposes that subjects do so according to a stable set of intertemporal preferences, but the computational demands of such decisions encourage the use of formally less competent heuristics. Few empirical studies have examined dynamic resource allocation decisions systematically. Here we conducted an experiment involving the dynamic consumption over approximately 15 minutes of a limited budget of relief from moderately painful stimuli. We had previously elicited the participants' time preferences for the same painful stimuli in one-off choices, allowing us to assess self-consistency. Participants exhibited three characteristic behaviors: saving relief until the end, spreading relief across time, and early spending, of which the last was markedly less prominent. The likelihood that behavior was heuristic rather than normative is suggested by the weak correspondence between one-off and dynamic choices. We show that the consumption choices are consistent with a combination of simple heuristics involving early-spending, spreading or saving of relief until the end, with subjects predominantly exhibiting the last two.

  5. Anticipation and Choice Heuristics in the Dynamic Consumption of Pain Relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Story, Giles W.; Vlaev, Ivo; Dayan, Peter; Seymour, Ben; Darzi, Ara; Dolan, Raymond J.

    2015-01-01

    Humans frequently need to allocate resources across multiple time-steps. Economic theory proposes that subjects do so according to a stable set of intertemporal preferences, but the computational demands of such decisions encourage the use of formally less competent heuristics. Few empirical studies have examined dynamic resource allocation decisions systematically. Here we conducted an experiment involving the dynamic consumption over approximately 15 minutes of a limited budget of relief from moderately painful stimuli. We had previously elicited the participants’ time preferences for the same painful stimuli in one-off choices, allowing us to assess self-consistency. Participants exhibited three characteristic behaviors: saving relief until the end, spreading relief across time, and early spending, of which the last was markedly less prominent. The likelihood that behavior was heuristic rather than normative is suggested by the weak correspondence between one-off and dynamic choices. We show that the consumption choices are consistent with a combination of simple heuristics involving early-spending, spreading or saving of relief until the end, with subjects predominantly exhibiting the last two. PMID:25793302

  6. Analysis of the loss of coolant accident due to the faiture in the open position of two pressurizer relief valves, for Angra-1 nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freire, C.F.

    1981-06-01

    A study of the modeling techniques adequate for simulating the loss of coolant accident caused by stuck open pressurizer relief valves, using the RELAP4-MOD5 code, is performed and the model developed is applied to the analysis of this kind of accident for the Central Nuclear Almirante Alvaro Alberto Unit (Angra 1). The thermal hydraulic behavior of the reactor cooling system, when subjected to a loss of main feedwater followed by the failure in the open position of two pressurizer relief valves, is determined. The relief valves are assumed to fail in the totally open position, delivering the maximum massflow through the discharge line. The RELAP4-MOD5 code is shown to be adequate for this kind of analysis, and the detailed prediction of the thermal hydraulic behavior of the Reactor Coolant System is thus possible. The eficiency of the emergency core cooling system of Angra 1 is demonstrated, the fuel elements remaining covered by the coolant during all the accident, and the peak clad temperatures are kept within design limites, ensuring the integrity of the core. (Author) [pt

  7. Implementing standardized, inter-unit communication in an international setting: handoff of patients from emergency medicine to internal medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balhara, Kamna S; Peterson, Susan M; Elabd, Mohamed Moheb; Regan, Linda; Anton, Xavier; Al-Natour, Basil Ali; Hsieh, Yu-Hsiang; Scheulen, James; Stewart de Ramirez, Sarah A

    2018-04-01

    Standardized handoffs may reduce communication errors, but research on handoff in community and international settings is lacking. Our study at a community hospital in the United Arab Emirates characterizes existing handoff practices for admitted patients from emergency medicine (EM) to internal medicine (IM), develops a standardized handoff tool, and assesses its impact on communication and physician perceptions. EM physicians completed a survey regarding handoff practices and expectations. Trained observers utilized a checklist based on the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model to observe 40 handoffs. EM and IM physicians collaboratively developed a written tool encouraging bedside handoff of admitted patients. After the intervention, surveys of EM physicians and 40 observations were subsequently repeated. 77.5% of initial observed handoffs occurred face-to-face, with 42.5% at bedside, and in four different languages. Most survey respondents considered face-to-face handoff ideal. Respondents noted 9-13 patients suffering harm due to handoff in the prior month. After handoff tool implementation, 97.5% of observed handoffs occurred face-to-face (versus 77.5%, p = 0.014), with 82.5% at bedside (versus 42.5%, p face-to-face and bedside handoff, positively impacted workflow, and increased perceptions of safety by EM physicians in an international, non-academic setting. Our three-step approach can be applied towards developing standardized, context-specific inter-specialty handoff in a variety of settings.

  8. Emergency management of acute abdomen in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balachandran, Binesh; Singhi, Sunit; Lal, Sadhna

    2013-03-01

    Acute abdomen can be defined as a medical emergency in which there is sudden and severe pain in abdomen with accompanying signs and symptoms that focus on an abdominal involvement. It accounts for about 8 % of all children attending the emergency department. The goal of emergency management is to identify and treat any life-threatening medical or surgical disease condition and relief from pain. In mild cases often the cause is gastritis or gastroenteritis, colic, constipation, pharyngo-tonsilitis, viral syndromes or acute febrile illnesses. The common surgical causes are malrotation and Volvulus (in early infancy), intussusception, acute appendicitis, and typhoid and ischemic enteritis with perforation. Lower lobe pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis and acute porphyria should be considered in patients with moderate-severe pain with little localizing findings in abdomen. The approach to management in ED should include, in order of priority, a rapid cardiopulmonary assessment to ensure hemodynamic stability, focused history and examination, surgical consult and radiologic examination to exclude life threatening surgical conditions, pain relief and specific diagnosis. In a sick patient the initial steps include rapid IV access and normal saline 20 ml/kg (in the presence of shock/hypovolemia), adequate analgesia, nothing per oral/IV fluids, Ryle's tube aspiration and surgical consultation. An ultrasound abdomen is the first investigation in almost all cases with moderate and severe pain with localizing abdominal findings. In patients with significant abdominal trauma or features of pancreatitis, a Contrast enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) abdomen will be a better initial modality. Continuous monitoring and repeated physical examinations should be done in all cases. Specific management varies according to the specific etiology.

  9. Advanced Concepts and Controversies in Emergency Department Pain Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motov, Sergey M; Nelson, Lewis S

    2016-06-01

    Pain is the most common complaint for which patients come to the emergency department (ED). Emergency physicians are responsible for pain relief in a timely, efficient, and safe manner in the ED. The improvement in our understanding of the neurobiology of pain has balanced the utilization of nonopioid and opioid analgesia, and simultaneously has led to more rational and safer opioid prescribing practices. This article reviews advances in pain management in the ED for patients with acute and chronic pain as well as describes several newer strategies and controversies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Northwest Pacific

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  11. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Southeast Atlantic

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  12. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Central Pacific

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  13. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Southern California

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  14. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Northeast Atlantic

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  15. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Puerto Rico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  16. knowledge, attitude and use of pain relief in labour among women

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-07-01

    Jul 1, 2014 ... Objective: To find out the knowledge, attitude and practice of pain relief methods during labour among ... all of which could adversely affect uterine blood flow. Pain relief in ... knowledge was low among women who did not use any form of ... Niven et al found that memories of labour pains can evoke intense ...

  17. Economics and technology in international law

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    This volume presents the main address, the lectures and the discussions of the symposium. The papers presented to the symposium were the following: the Draft Convention on the Law of the Sea and problems of the international deep seabed regime; developments in science and technology, as a challenge to international law; modern fishery engineering and its impact on international law; the EEC agricultural market - a case study of European Law; problems of international law in connection with a new system of the world economy; the GATT and a new world economic system; the Third World and UNCTAD; international disaster relief and mutual assistance in case of accidents, especially with a view to Atomic Energy Law; organisation, scope and limits of international co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. (HSCH) [de

  18. All projects related to | Page 414 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Security Reasoning, Spatial Politics, Patriarchy and the Economic Rights of Palestinian Women in Israel ... and humanitarian conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and to coordinate efforts by stakeholders (United Nations Relief and Works Agency-UNRWA, Lebanese ministries, the international community, etc.

  19. International Monetary Fund’s intervention during crisis in emerging countries. Case study of Argentina

    OpenAIRE

    ANDRONIC (BRĂTULESCU) Maria Letiția

    2018-01-01

    We addressed the theme of the IMF’s intervention in Argentina because we found it challenging to discover how an emerging state with potential could have passed through all economic phases in just a few years. First, the empirical analysis proved that the continuous involvement of international organizations does not always have positive effects. This study aims to analyse the external debt, a cause of the economic collapse of 1998-2002, and what the authorities shoul...

  20. International Responses to Human Protection Crises: Responsibility to Protect and the Emerging Protection Regime*

    OpenAIRE

    Bellamy, Alex J.

    2015-01-01

    This essay examines contemporary debates about human protection by the UN Security Council and others in response to major humanitarian crises. It argues that there are clear signs of an emerging international human protection regime in the evolving practice of the Security Council and suggests that this regime is based on an accommodation between different moral accounts of humanitarian intervention. The first section examines some of the legal and moral debates that have arisen with respect...

  1. Hospitalisation in an emergency department short-stay unit compared to an internal medicine department is associated with fewer complications in older patients - an observational study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strøm, Camilla; Mollerup, Talie Khadem; Kromberg, Laurits Schou

    2017-01-01

    Medicine Department (IMD). METHODS: Observational study evaluating adverse events during hospitalisation in non-emergent, age-matched, internal medicine patients ≥75 years, acutely admitted to either the SSU or the IMD at Holbaek Hospital, Denmark, from January to August, 2014. Medical records were......, unplanned readmission, and nosocomial infection. CONCLUSIONS: Adverse events of hospitalisation were significantly less common in older patients acutely admitted to an Emergency Department Short-stay Unit as compared to admission to an Internal Medicine Department.......BACKGROUND: Older patients are at particular risk of experiencing adverse events during hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequencies and types of adverse events during hospitalisation in older persons acutely admitted to either an Emergency Department Short-stay Unit (SSU) or an Internal...

  2. 'Mind the gap!' rethinking the role of health in the emergency and development divide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dempsey, Tim; Munslow, Barry

    2009-10-01

    The 'Emergency Relief-Rehabilitation-Development' model is highly problematic, especially in fragile states which fluctuate in and out of crisis. Lack of definition as to what constitutes a humanitarian emergency and the absence of rules of engagement of NGOs and donors further complicates the problem. Restricted mandates and budgets of institutions and funding bodies lead to gaps in the provision of health services for affected populations. Reducing the gap between emergency and developmental healthcare requires approaching the issue from both sides, recognizing that the emergency-development gap is not a single uniform entity but a complex dynamic of heterogeneous gaps. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Anti-Seizure Medications: Relief from Nerve Pain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anti-seizure medications: Relief from nerve pain Anti-seizure drugs often are used to help control the type of ... by damaged nerves. By Mayo Clinic Staff Anti-seizure medications were originally designed to treat people with ...

  4. Analysis of liquid relief valves opening demand during pressure increase abnormal scenarios at Embalse nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bedrossian, Gustavo C.; Gersberg, Sara

    2000-01-01

    Two hypothetical scenarios have been analyzed where, after an initiating event, Embalse nuclear power plant primary heat transport system could undergo a pressure increase. These abnormal events are a loss of feedwater to the steam generators and a loss of Class IV power supply with Class III restoration. This analysis focuses on primary system liquid relief valves action, specially on their opening demand. Calculation results show that even when these valves are expected to open during the transient, primary system maximum allowable pressure would not be exceeded if they failed to open. System response was also studied in case that one of these relief valves did not close once primary system pressure decreases. For the scenario of loss of feedwater to steam generators, if the degasser-condenser could not be bottled-up, Emergency Cooling Injection conditions would be reached due to a continuos loss of coolant. In case of loss of Class IV -and assuming degasser-condenser bottling-up as service water would not be available- it was observed that primary system should remain pressurized, and with core cooled by thermo siphoning mechanism. (author)

  5. Regional and international approaches on prevention and control of animal transboundary and emerging diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domenech, J; Lubroth, J; Eddi, C; Martin, V; Roger, F

    2006-10-01

    Transboundary animal diseases pose a serious risk to the world animal agriculture and food security and jeopardize international trade. The world has been facing devastating economic losses from major outbreaks of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) such as foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever, rinderpest, peste des petits ruminants (PPR), and Rift Valley fever. Lately the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) due to H5N1 virus, has become an international crisis as all regions around the world can be considered at risk. In the past decades, public health authorities within industrialized countries have been faced with an increasing number of food safety issues. The situation is equally serious in developing countries. The globalization of food (and feed) trade, facilitated by the liberalization of world trade, while offering many benefits and opportunities, also represents new risks. The GF-TADs Global Secretariat has carried out several regional consultations for the identification of priority diseases and best ways for their administration, prevention and control. In the questionnaires carried out and through the consultative process, it was noted that globally, FMD was ranked as the first and foremost priority. Rift Valley fever, and today highly pathogenic avian influenza, are defined as major animal diseases which also affect human health. PPR and CBPP, a disease which is particularly serious in Africa and finally, African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF) are also regionally recognised as top priorities on which the Framework is determined to work. The FAO philosophy--shared by the OIE--embraces the need to prevent and control TADs and emerging diseases at their source, which is most of the time in developing countries. Regional and international approaches have to be followed, and the FAO and OIE GF-TADs initiative provides the appropriate concepts and objectives as well as an organizational framework to link international and

  6. OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) nerve blocks provide durable pain relief for men with chronic scrotal pain: a pilot open-label trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khambati, Aziz; Lau, Susan; Gordon, Allan; Jarvi, Keith A

    2014-12-01

    Chronic scrotal pain (CSP) is a common, often debilitating, condition affecting approximately 4.75% of men. While nerve blocks using local anesthetics usually provide temporary pain relief, there are no publications on the use of longer acting nerve blocks to provide more durable pain relief for men with CSP. The aim of this study was to determine if onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) cord blocks provide durable pain relief for men with CSP. In this pilot open-label study, men with CSP who had failed medical management but experienced temporary pain relief from a standard cord block underwent a cord block with 100U Botox. The outcomes measured were changes 1, 3, and 6 months post-Botox injection in (i) a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS) pain score; (ii) scrotal tenderness on a three-point scale as rated by physical examination; and (iii) the Chronic Epididymitis Symptom Index (CESI) to measure the severity and impact of scrotal pain on men. Paired t-tests were used to compare groups. Eighteen patients with CSP seen between April and September 2013 had Botox injected as a cord block. At the 1-month follow-up, pain reduction was reported by 72% of patients (mean VAS score: 7.36 vs. 5.61, P pain reduction and reduced tenderness based on the VAS score (mean: 7.36 vs. 6.02, P pain and tenderness. Our pilot study found that Botox cord blocks provide pain reduction for 3 months or more for most men with CSP. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

  7. Effects of surface relief on the high-dose sputtering of amorphous silicon and graphite by Ar ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shulga, V.I.

    2014-01-01

    The effects of ion-induced surface relief on high-dose sputtering of amorphous silicon and graphite targets have been studied using binary-collision computer simulation. The relief was modeled as a wavelike surface along two mutually perpendicular surface axes (a 3D hillock-and-valley relief). Most simulations were carried out for normally-incident 30-keV Ar ions. It was shown that the surface relief can both increase and decrease the sputtering yield compared to that for a flat surface. The results of simulations suggest that stabilization of the surface relief is possible even in the absence of any smoothing processes such as surface diffusion of atoms. Effects of a surface relief on the experimentally measurable angular and energy distributions of sputtered atoms are also considered. The fitting parameters of these distributions are shown to be non-monotonic functions of the relief aspect ratio. The angular distribution of atoms sputtered from a relief surface is modulated to a great extent by the shape of the relief. For a rough surface, azimuthal isotropy of the angular distribution of sputtered atoms was found, but at high bombarding energies only

  8. Shaded Relief of Minnesota Elevation - Black & White

    Data.gov (United States)

    Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This file is a product of a shaded relief process on the 30 meter resolution Digital Elevation Model data (dem30im3). This image was created using a custom AML...

  9. Double Dividend Taxation Relief: A New View From The Corporate Income Tax Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Sebastian Lazar

    2010-01-01

    Double taxation of dividends is a matter of great interest in the actual context of globalization and free movement of capital and persons. As the classical system is more and more abandoned, new solutions for the relief of double taxation are put into practice as a mean to reduce the fiscal burden on shareholders. With few exceptions, all these solutions are based on dividend tax relief. The paper aims at providing alternative solutions for double dividend taxation relief by taking some acti...

  10. An Engineered Resupply System for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-01

    relevant and timely relief. Conduct Supply refers to the procurement, warehousing, and managing of relief supplies. Conduct Deployment and Distribution ...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. AN ENGINEERED...Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time

  11. 77 FR 34149 - Heavy-Duty Highway Program: Revisions for Emergency Vehicles and SCR Maintenance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-08

    ... selective catalytic reduction technologies. Third, EPA is proposing to offer short-term relief for nonroad..., Attention Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-1032. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal..., especially given some emergency vehicles' extreme duty cycles. By this action, EPA intends to help our nation...

  12. A model for emergency medicine education in post-conflict Liberia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Braden Hexom

    2012-12-01

    This article describes a unique paradigm for addressing the deficit in human capacity for emergency health care in the Republic of Liberia. This system was designed and supported by a consortium of academic medical centres in the United States working in conjunction with a local non-governmental organisation, Health Education and Relief Through Teaching (HEARTT. Since 2007, the consortium has delivered virtually uninterrupted emergency medical care and medical education at the largest teaching hospital in Liberia. The Liberian programme objectives included supervising and directing emergency medical care, providing a model for curriculum development, building capacity for medical education, and improving systems-based EM practice. The collaboration of multiple academic institutions in bringing emergency medical services and academic EM teaching to a post-conflict setting remains a unique model for introducing the development of acute care in a developing country.

  13. Sharing Information among Various Organizations in Relief Efforts

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Costur, Gurkan

    2005-01-01

    .... An analysis is presented of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami relief effort; specifically, how different organizations such as the military, United Nations, and non-governmental organizations...

  14. 48 CFR 252.229-7010 - Relief from customs duty on fuel (United Kingdom).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ..., February 1973, entitled “Relief from Customs Duty and/or Value Added Tax on United States Government... Office. (b) Specific information should be included in the request for tax relief, such as the number of...

  15. Introducing embedded indigenous psychological support teams: a suggested addition to psychological first aid in an international context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards-Stewart, Amanda; Ahmad, Zeba S; Thoburn, John W; Furman, Rich; Lambert, Ashly J; Shelly, Lauren; Gunn, Ginger

    2012-01-01

    The current article introduces Embedded Indigenous Psychological Support Teams (IPST) as a possible addition to current disaster relief efforts. This article highlights psychological first aid in an international context by drawing on mainstream disaster relief models such as The American Red Cross, Critical Incident Stress Management, and Flexible Psychological First Aid. IPST are explained as teams utilizing techniques from both CISM and FPFA with a focus on resiliency. It is currently theorized that in utilizing IPST existing disaster relief models may be more effective in mitigating negative physical or mental health consequences post-disaster.

  16. War on Hunger: A Report from the Agency for International Development, December 1975.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhoad, David L., Ed.

    Produced by the Agency for International Development, this magazine presents articles and speeches on international development. Published monthly, the articles focus on developing nations and problems and areas of development. Typical issues offer articles on food and nutrition, education, disaster and humanitarian relief, U.S. government policy,…

  17. Occupational emerging risks affecting international virtual project Team Results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dumitraşcu-Băldău Iulia

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The expansion of internet access, high-speed connection services, collaborative work platforms and tools, allowed employees to interact virtually offering companies the possibility to develop projects around the world, reducing operational costs and gain competitive advantage. Realizing the advantages and disadvantages of developing a project team in an international virtual work environment, requires adopting specific strategies to construct an effective team and ensure the project success. One of the most important disadvantages that we identified is that the new work environment brings new risks for both team members and managers. So, it becomes mandatory to identify and analyze the occupational emerging risks and their impact on the productivity of virtual team members, in order to prevent them efficiently and to ensure the safety and health of employees in a virtual working environment. This paper aims to highlight the necessity for project managers and organizations, to include in their specific project strategies, an efficient occupational risks management in the virtual workplace, to obtain a continuously improved virtual working environment, so to achieve a high performance from virtual employees.

  18. Fluid-structure interaction dynamic simulation of spring-loaded pressure relief valves under seismic wave

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Dongwei; Zhang, Jian; Yu, Xinhai

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, a fluid-structure interaction dynamic simulation method of spring-loaded pressure relief valve was established. The dynamic performances of the fluid regions and the stress and strain of the structure regions were calculated at the same time by accurately setting up the contact pairs between the solid parts and the coupling surfaces between the fluid regions and the structure regions. A two way fluid-structure interaction dynamic simulation of a simplified pressure relief valve model was carried out. The influence of vertical sinusoidal seismic waves on the performance of the pressure relief valve was preliminarily investigated by loading sine waves. Under vertical seismic waves, the pressure relief valve will flutter, and the reseating pressure was affected by the amplitude and frequency of the seismic waves. This simulation method of the pressure relief valve under vertical seismic waves can provide effective means for investigating the seismic performances of the valves, and make up for the shortcomings of the experiment.

  19. Improved SURF Algorithm and Its Application in Seabed Relief Image Matching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Hong-Mei

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The matching based on seabed relief image is widely used in underwater relief matching navigation and target recognition, etc. However, being influenced by various factors, some conventional matching algorithms are difficult to obtain an ideal result in the matching of seabed relief image. SURF(Speeded Up Robust Features algorithm is based on feature points pair to achieve matching, and can get good results in the seabed relief image matching. However, in practical applications, the traditional SURF algorithm is easy to get false matching, especially when the area’s features are similar or not obvious, the problem is more seriously. In order to improve the robustness of the algorithm, this paper proposes an improved matching algorithm, which combines the SURF, and RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus algorithms. The new algorithm integrates the two algorithms advantages, firstly, the SURF algorithm is applied to detect and extract the feature points then to pre-match. Secondly, RANSAC algorithm is utilized to eliminate mismatching points, and then the accurate matching is accomplished with the correct matching points. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm overcomes the mismatching problem effectively and have better precision and faster speed than the traditional SURF algorithm.

  20. Japanese women's experiences of pharmacological pain relief in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doering, Keiko; Patterson, Jean; Griffiths, Christine R

    2014-06-01

    In Japan, most women manage labour pain without pharmacological interventions. However, New Zealand statistics show a high percentage of epidural use amongst Asian women. Entonox (a gas mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen) and pethidine are also available to women in New Zealand. This article investigates how Japanese women in New Zealand respond to the use of pharmacological pain relief in labour. The study was guided by two research questions: (1) How do Japanese women experience and manage labour pain in New Zealand? (2) How do they feel about the use of pharmacological pain relief? Thirteen Japanese women who had given birth in New Zealand were interviewed individually or in a focus group. The conversations were analysed using thematic analysis. Although in Japan very few women use pain relief, nine women received epidural and/or Entonox out of 11 women who experienced labour pain. The contrast between their Japanese cultural expectations and their birth experiences caused some of the women subsequent personal conflict. Japanese women's cultural perspectives and passive attitudes were demonstrated to influence the decision-making process concerning pain relief. It was concluded that understanding Japanese cultural worldviews and approaches to the role of pain in labour would help maternity providers in their provision of appropriate care for Japanese women. Copyright © 2013 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. 29 CFR 1601.23 - Preliminary or temporary relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., or political subdivision. (b) In a case involving a government, governmental agency, or political... private individuals from exercising their rights to seek temporary or preliminary relief on their own...

  2. A Review of Cyber Threats and Defence Approaches in Emergency Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuan Vuong

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Emergency planners, first responders and relief workers increasingly rely on computational and communication systems that support all aspects of emergency management, from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery. Failure of these systems, whether accidental or because of malicious action, can have severe implications for emergency management. Accidental failures have been extensively documented in the past and significant effort has been put into the development and introduction of more resilient technologies. At the same time researchers have been raising concerns about the potential of cyber attacks to cause physical disasters or to maximise the impact of one by intentionally impeding the work of the emergency services. Here, we provide a review of current research on the cyber threats to communication, sensing, information management and vehicular technologies used in emergency management. We emphasise on open issues for research, which are the cyber threats that have the potential to affect emergency management severely and for which solutions have not yet been proposed in the literature.

  3. Exploring the Association of Deliberate Self-Harm With Emotional Relief Using a Novel Implicit Association Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gratz, Kim L.; Chapman, Alexander L.; Dixon-Gordon, Katherine L.; Tull, Matthew T.

    2017-01-01

    Despite the growing consensus that negative reinforcement in the form of emotional relief plays a key role in the maintenance of deliberate self-harm (DSH), most of the research in this area has relied exclusively on self-report measures of the perceived motives for and emotional consequences of DSH. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to extend extant research on the role of emotional relief in DSH by examining the strength of the association of DSH with emotional relief using a novel version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The strength of the DSH-relief association among both participants with (vs. without) DSH and self-harming participants with (vs. without) BPD, as well as its associations with relevant clinical constructs (including DSH characteristics, self-reported motives for DSH, BPD pathology, and emotion dysregulation and avoidance) were examined in a community sample of young adults (113 with recent recurrent DSH; 135 without DSH). As hypothesized, results revealed stronger associations between DSH and relief among participants with versus without DSH, as well as among DSH participants with versus without BPD. Moreover, the strength of the DSH-relief association was positively associated with DSH frequency and versatility (both lifetime and at 6-month follow-up), BPD pathology, emotion dysregulation, experiential avoidance, and self-reported emotion relief motives for DSH. Findings provide support for theories emphasizing the role of emotional relief in DSH (particularly among individuals with BPD), as well as the construct validity, predictive utility, and incremental validity (relative to self-reported emotion relief motives) of this IAT. PMID:26147069

  4. Topology-optimized broadband surface relief transmission grating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andkjær, Jacob; Ryder, Christian P.; Nielsen, Peter C.

    2014-01-01

    We propose a design methodology for systematic design of surface relief transmission gratings with optimized diffraction efficiency. The methodology is based on a gradient-based topology optimization formulation along with 2D frequency domain finite element simulations for TE and TM polarized plane...

  5. An audit of aspects of informed consent and pain relief in general ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    They were asked what they knew or had been informed about their diagnosis, operation and complications of surgery. On pain relief, patients were asked about their experiences on the first post-operative day and what relief they had from analgesics. Twenty four did not know the diagnosis and 36 were not told what ...

  6. Spatially Uniform ReliefF (SURF for computationally-efficient filtering of gene-gene interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Greene Casey S

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome-wide association studies are becoming the de facto standard in the genetic analysis of common human diseases. Given the complexity and robustness of biological networks such diseases are unlikely to be the result of single points of failure but instead likely arise from the joint failure of two or more interacting components. The hope in genome-wide screens is that these points of failure can be linked to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs which confer disease susceptibility. Detecting interacting variants that lead to disease in the absence of single-gene effects is difficult however, and methods to exhaustively analyze sets of these variants for interactions are combinatorial in nature thus making them computationally infeasible. Efficient algorithms which can detect interacting SNPs are needed. ReliefF is one such promising algorithm, although it has low success rate for noisy datasets when the interaction effect is small. ReliefF has been paired with an iterative approach, Tuned ReliefF (TuRF, which improves the estimation of weights in noisy data but does not fundamentally change the underlying ReliefF algorithm. To improve the sensitivity of studies using these methods to detect small effects we introduce Spatially Uniform ReliefF (SURF. Results SURF's ability to detect interactions in this domain is significantly greater than that of ReliefF. Similarly SURF, in combination with the TuRF strategy significantly outperforms TuRF alone for SNP selection under an epistasis model. It is important to note that this success rate increase does not require an increase in algorithmic complexity and allows for increased success rate, even with the removal of a nuisance parameter from the algorithm. Conclusion Researchers performing genetic association studies and aiming to discover gene-gene interactions associated with increased disease susceptibility should use SURF in place of ReliefF. For instance, SURF should be

  7. Prolonged knee pain relief by saphenous block (new technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajeev Harshe

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Pain in the knee joint can be from a variety of reasons. It can be either from the joint itself, it can be myofascial or it can be neuropathy, radicular pain. The myofascial component can be in different forms, namely, collateral ligament pain, bursitis, tendinitis, and so on. This responds well to local injections of steroids. Pain from the joint can be because of osteoarthritis (OA, rheumatoid arthritis or any other variety of arthritis. Among these osteoarthritis is the most common and naturally occurring pain. There are several modalities used for managing pain in the knee joint. They include medicines and physiotherapy, intra-articular steroid injection, intra-articular Hyalgan, Synvisc injection, prolotherapy, genicular nerve block, ablation, intra-articular pulsed radio frequency (PRF ablation, acupuncture, injection of platelet-rich plasma in the joint, total knee replacement, high tibial osteotomy, arthroscopy and lavage, and so on. All these modalities have their pros and cons. Literature and experience state that the pain relief provided may last for a few months with these modalities except in surgical interventions in advanced OA. The saphenous nerve is termination of femoral nerve and it is essentially sensory nerve. It supplies the medial compartment and some part of the anterior compartment of the knee joint. This nerve has been blocked near the knee joint by way of infiltration by surgeons and anesthetists, for relief of pain after knee surgery, with varying pain relief of postoperative pain. When we block the saphenous in the mid thigh in the sartorial canal, the fluid tends to block the medial branch of the anterior femoral cutaneous nerve also. It is hypothesized that this may give complete medial and anterior knee pain relief and as most of the knee OA patients have medial and anterior knee pain, this may prove useful. Use of ultrasonography helps to locate the nerve better, ensuring perfection. An effort has been made to

  8. Women's preferences and received pain relief in childbirth - A prospective longitudinal study in a northern region of Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindholm, Annika; Hildingsson, Ingegerd

    2015-06-01

    A range of alternatives in pain management during childbirth are available in the western countries. Women's preferences for and use of pain relief methods during labour is not fully investigated. The aim of this study was to describe what pain relief methods pregnant women preferred when asked in late pregnancy and to identify factors associated with preferred and received pain relief methods. A prospective longitudinal study in a northern region of Sweden (n = 936). Data were collected by three questionnaires. Odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval were calculated between preferred and received pain relief methods for several explanatory variables. The most preferred pain relief methods were also the most common received pain relief methods; nitrous oxide, bathing, breathing techniques, epidural analgesia and massage. The strongest factors for using different pain relief methods were primiparity and preferences. Women who used epidural analgesia, regardless of preference, were two to four times more likely to have a less positive birth experience. Women's preferences for a certain pain relief method were largely met. Greater differences were seen between background factors and preferences than the received pain relief methods. Preferences and primiparity were the most important factors for actually using pain relief. Epidural analgesia was associated with a less positive birth experience. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Strain relief InGaN/GaN MQW micro-pillars for high brightness LEDs

    KAUST Repository

    Shen, Chao

    2013-01-01

    Micro-structured group-III-nitrides are considered as promising strain relief structures for high efficiency solid state lighting. In this work, the strain field in InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) micro-pillars is investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and the design of micro-pillars were studied experimentally. We distinguished the strained and strain-relieved signatures of the GaN layer from the E2 phonon peak split from the Raman scattering signatures at 572 cm-1 and 568 cm-1, respectively. The extent of strain relief is examined considering the height and size of micro-pillars fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB) micro-machining technique. A significant strain relief can be achieved when one micro-machined through the entire epi-layers, 3 μm in our study. The dependence of strain relief on micro-pillar diameter (D) suggested that micro-pillar with D < 3 μm showed high degree of strain relief. Our results shed new insights into designing strain-relieved InGaN/GaN microstructures for high brightness light emitting diode arrays. © 2013 IEEE.

  10. Rapid assessment of health needs in mass emergencies: review of current concepts and methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guha-Sapir, D

    1991-01-01

    The increase in the number of natural disasters and their impact on population is of growing concern to countries at risk and agencies involved in health and humanitarian action. The numbers of persons killed or disabled as a result of earthquakes, cyclones, floods and famines have reached record levels in the last decade. Population density, rampant urbanization and climatic changes have brought about risk patterns that are exposing larger and larger sections of populations in developing countries to life-threatening natural disasters. Despite substantial spending on emergency relief, the approaches to relief remain largely ad hoc and amateurish, resulting generally in inappropriate and/or delayed action. In recent years, mass emergencies of the kind experienced in Bangladesh or the Sahelian countries have highlighted the importance of rapid assessment of health needs for better allocation of resources and relief management. As a result, the development of techniques for rapid assessment of health needs has been identified as a priority for effective emergency action. This article sketches the health context of disasters in terms of mortality and morbidity patterns; it describes initial assessment techniques currently used and their methodological biases and constraints; it also discusses assessment needs which vary between different types of disasters and the time frame within which assessments are undertaken. Earthquakes, cyclones, famines, epidemics or refugees all have specific risk profiles and emergency conditions which differ for each situation. Vulnerability to mortality changes according to age and occupation, for earthquakes and famines. These risk factors then have significant implications for the design of rapid assessment protocols and checklists. Experiences from the field in rapid survey techniques and estimation of death rates are discussed, with emphasis on the need for a reliable denominator even for the roughest assessment. Finally, the

  11. Experimental investigation of processes in primary circuit relief system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomas, Z.; Simo, T.; Konecny, A.

    1989-01-01

    The protective condenser (direct contact condenser) is one of the basic components of the primary circuit relief system of WWER power plants. The steam flowing from the surge tank through relief valves into the subcooled water condensates in the protective condenser vessel. Two simple physical models were designed and constructed for investigation of bubbling through (contact condensation). An experimental program was performed with the aim of determining the distribution of temperatures in the axis of the steam jet and its vicinity, determining the velocity field of water into vicinity of steam jets, observing the geometrical shape of jets and their interaction and determining important values for mathematical model. (orig.)

  12. Knowledge, Attitude, and Perceived Confidence in the Management of Medical Emergencies in the Dental Office: A Survey among the Dental Students and Interns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albelaihi, Haifa Fahad; Alweneen, Athar Ibrahim; Ettish, Abeer; Alshahrani, Faleh Ali

    2017-01-01

    Many situations in the dental office can provoke medical emergencies. Lack of training and inability to overcome the medical emergencies can lead to serious consequences and legal actions. The aim of the study is to investigate and assess the knowledge, attitude, and perceived confidence of dental students and interns in the management of medical emergency. A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed to 153 of the undergraduate dental students and interns in Qassim province. Questionnaire consisted of nineteen questions pertaining to knowledge and awareness regarding syncope, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), intravenous drugs, measuring vital signs, and handling situation of aspiration of a foreign body, bleeding, and choking. Data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Fifty-seven percent was the response rate received from the questionnaire. Eighty-nine percent and 30% of the participants inquired about the medical history and vital signs before dental treatment, respectively. Only 37% of participants were confident to handle any medical emergency in the dental office. Seventy percent knew the correct location of chest compression and 67% were familiar about the right compression ventilation ratio showing significant difference between academic years and interns ( P = 0.003). Females were significantly more aware about the management of bleeding after extraction than the males (65%, and 47%, respectively; P = 0.035). Thirty-five percent and 53% chose the correct management to relieve choking in responsive and unresponsive adult or child, respectively. A total of 28% of the participants reported syncope as the most common emergency situation. Participants were lacking confidence in handling medical emergencies even though the majority of them inquired the medical history. Most of them have a good knowledge regarding CPR, but regarding airway obstruction, the knowledge was not at an acceptable level

  13. The psychological and physiological stress relief effect of the green roof

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, H.; Koshimizu, H. [Meiji Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Agriculture

    2007-07-01

    The visual sense influences human psychology and physiology. As such, green gardens in urban environments are touted as being healing gardens that lead to stress relief and improved work efficiency. This paper focused on the visual aspects of such rehabilitation sites. Psychological and physiological experiments were conducted on human response to green roofs in order to quantify the stress relief effect of the green roof scenery. In addition, different green roof designs were tested to determine whether they change the stress relief effect. A 360 degrees panorama photograph of green roofs was shown to 3 male and 3 female students in Meiji University. The experiment was followed by a questionnaire survey based on the semantic differential (SD) method as a psychological evaluation. The SD method is a representative psychological measurement to quantify an image of people for a scene. The changes in heart rate were studied along with blood pressure, and stress degree as a physiological evaluation. The relation between the results of the SD method-based psychological evaluation and the physiological experiment was determined using multiple regression analysis. It was concluded that the stress relief effect can be improved by changing linear scenery to a more curvy one. 15 refs., 4 tabs., 20 figs.

  14. Proactive pressure relief system management of life cycle and ageing in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolenc, J.; Ferrar, S.

    2011-01-01

    The last major power nuclear station built in North America was built when the Altair Company introduced the first microcomputer sparking the PC frenzy. It is safe to assume that there have been a great many changes since 1977 on both accounts. As the world's aging nuclear plants continue to be challenged with maintenance and replacement issues (obsolescence), as well making improvements within their facilities, proper pressure relief system management looms as a growing concern. This problem grows more acute as new engineering best practices are promulgated across industries and regulatory standards become more rigorous with much stricter enforcements. Unlike most pieces of operating equipment in a nuclear facility, pressure relief devices demand an extra level of consideration; as they form the 'last line of defense'. Combine the on-going obsolescence issue, with today's ever increasing demands for overall plant and public safety; pressure relief safety management will require increasing 'proactive' efforts to ensure safe facilities. This paper has been written to address some global pressure relief system management issues with respect the worlds aging nuclear facilities. This paper reflects findings we have discovered while conducting engineering pressure relief system audits on various nuclear power stations. It should be noted that these finding are not atypical of similar findings in pressure relief systems in the hydrocarbon processing world. (author)

  15. CCF analysis of high redundancy systems safety/relief valve data analysis and reference BWR application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mankamo, T.; Bjoere, S.; Olsson, Lena

    1992-12-01

    Dependent failure analysis and modeling were developed for high redundancy systems. The study included a comprehensive data analysis of safety and relief valves at the Finnish and Swedish BWR plants, resulting in improved understanding of Common Cause Failure mechanisms in these components. The reference application on the Forsmark 1/2 reactor relief system, constituting of twelve safety/relief lines and two regulating relief lines, covered different safety criteria cases of reactor depressurization and overpressure protection function, and failure to re close sequences. For the quantification of dependencies, the Alpha Factor Model, the Binomial Probability Model and the Common Load Model were compared for applicability in high redundancy systems

  16. Modeling and simulation for training and support of emergency management teams:the development of CrisisKit

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafstal, A.M.; Post, W.

    2002-01-01

    Emergency management (EM), the decision making involved in directing the relief operation after a disaster or otherwise catastrophic accident is an issue of great public and private concern because of the high stakes involved. It is important to consider what can be done to optimize training and

  17. Ubiquitous Creation of Bas-Relief Surfaces with Depth-of-Field Effects Using Smartphones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bong-Soo Sohn

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a new method to automatically generate digital bas-reliefs with depth-of-field effects from general scenes. Most previous methods for bas-relief generation take input in the form of 3D models. However, obtaining 3D models of real scenes or objects is often difficult, inaccurate, and time-consuming. From this motivation, we developed a method that takes as input a set of photographs that can be quickly and ubiquitously captured by ordinary smartphone cameras. A depth map is computed from the input photographs. The value range of the depth map is compressed and used as a base map representing the overall shape of the bas-relief. However, the resulting base map contains little information on details of the scene. Thus, we construct a detail map using pixel values of the input image to express the details. The base and detail maps are blended to generate a new depth map that reflects both overall depth and scene detail information. This map is selectively blurred to simulate the depth-of-field effects. The final depth map is converted to a bas-relief surface mesh. Experimental results show that our method generates a realistic bas-relief surface of general scenes with no expensive manual processing.

  18. Prediction of renal functional recovery after relief of upper urinary tract obstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalika, V.; Bard, R.H.; Iloreta, A.; Freeman, L.M.; Heller, S.; Blaufox, M.D.

    1981-01-01

    Renal cortical regions of interest were used prospectively to predict recoverability of renal function in 27 patients with unilateral or bilateral urinary tract obstruction. In these 27 patients 36 kidneys with short-term or long-term obstruction were studied. The 131iodine radiohippuran renogram curves were generated from areas of interest from the renal cortex and from the whole kidney. Curves generated during obstruction were evaluated qualitatively to determine if regional cortical renograms exhibited a more normal appearance than total kidney curves. After relief of obstruction renograms generated from the whole kidney were evaluated for evidence of renal functional recovery. Cortical curves obtained before relief obstruction were judged normal, with an abnormal whole kidney renogram in 20 of 36 kidneys. The whole kidney renogram improved after relief of obstruction in all 20 cases. Cortical curves for the remaining 16 kidneys before relief of obstruction had the same abnormal appearance as the whole kidney renogram. After relief of obstruction no evidence of kidney function improvement as measured by the renogram was evident in 14 kidneys. The over-all accuracy of this test of renal functional recoverability was 94 per cent. These data support the hypothesis that when cortical curves appear more normal than total kidney curves there is a strong likelihood of postoperative improvement in renal function when the obstruction is relieved. Abnormal cortical curves are associated with a poor prognosis for renal functional improvement

  19. Differences in health-related quality of life between HIV-positive and HIV-negative people in Zambia and South Africa: a cross-sectional baseline survey of the HPTN 071 (PopART trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr Ranjeeta Thomas, PhD

    2017-11-01

    Funding: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

  20. Pain relief and clinical outcome: from opioids to balanced analgesia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kehlet, H

    1996-01-01

    If it is generally accepted that adequate postoperative pain relief will improve outcome from surgery, several controlled trials demonstrated this only for lower body surgical procedures with epidural and spinal anesthetics. Important effects on outcome were not shown when postoperative opioids...... were administered with patient controlled (PCA) or epidural techniques. However, the most optimal pain relief seems to be best achieved with balanced analgesia techniques using combinations of epidural opioids and local anesthetics and systemic non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Future efforts...... should aim at including physical rehabilitation programs in the pain treatment regimen....

  1. The Application of Electroanalgesia Current for the Relief of Orofacial Pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-09-01

    A-A124 939 THE APPLICATION OF ELECTRORNALGESIA CURRENT FOR THE i/1 RELIEF OF OROFACIAL PAIN (U) OREGON UNIV HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER PORTLAND BIOPHYSICS...COVERED THE APPLICATION OF ELECTROANALGESIA CURRENT FOR Fnl-Fbur 90 and evelpmen Conand September 198 THE RELIEF OF OROFACIAL PAIN Spebr18 27. PERFORMING...of a suitable animal preparation. An excellent site to initiate orofacial pain is found in the tissue vhich also has o - timal relevance, the tooth

  2. Ensuring good governance to address emerging and re-emerging animal disease threats: supporting the veterinary services of developing countries to meet OIE international standards on quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallat, B; Mallet, E

    2006-04-01

    As an effect of increased globalisation, animal diseases, in particular those transmissible to man, have an immediate global economic and social impact. This fact, dramatically illustrated by the current avian influenza epizootic in South-East Asia and Eastern Europe, clearly demonstrates the crucial importance of the national Veterinary Services (VS) for the prevention, early detection and response for the efficient control of animal diseases. Complying with this mission for the VS presupposes the existence of appropriate governance and legislation and of an official system to control their quality and reliability- an obvious weakness in many developing and in transition countries. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has therefore developed a project aiming at strengthening the VS in those countries facing the greatest animal health threats and to bring them into line with OIE international standards already adopted by the same countries. Based on the evaluation of the VS and subsequent actions at the global, regional and national levels, the project will have a significant beneficial impact on the targeted countries as well as the international community as a whole, not only in the fields of agriculture, food security and production, and food safety, but also for the local and global prevention of emerging and re-emerging diseases of veterinary and public health importance. The project will be implemented in strong collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization. The actions proposed must be considered eligible for the concept of International Public Good.

  3. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation once a week induces sustainable long-term relief of central poststroke pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Masahito; Fujimaki, Takamitsu; Mihara, Ban; Ohira, Takayuki

    2015-06-01

    Central poststroke pain is a serious problem for some patients after stroke. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been reported to relieve poststroke pain but its efficacy is still controversial. We tested the possibility that rTMS, when applied once a week, would induce sustainable relief of poststroke pain. Eighteen patients with central poststroke pain were included in this study. rTMS (10 trains of 10-sec 5 Hz-rTMS) was delivered over the primary motor cortex on the affected side. The rTMS session was repeated once a week for 12 weeks, and for six patients the intervention was continued for one year. The degree of the pain was assessed before each weekly rTMS session to evaluate sustainable effects. The effects of the rTMS reached a plateau at the eighth week. At the 12th week, the rTMS was effective in 61.1% of the patients; 5 of the 18 patients showed more than 70% reduction based on a visual analog scale, 6 patients showed 40-69% reduction, and 7 remained at a pain reduction level of less than 40%. When patients were divided into two groups with or without severe dysesthesia, it was found that eight patients with severe dysesthesia showed less pain relief than those without. In the six patients who continued rTMS for one year, the pain relief effects also were sustained. Although this was an open-label study without a control group, our findings suggest that rTMS of the primary motor cortex, when maintained once a week, could help to relieve poststroke pain. © 2015 International Neuromodulation Society.

  4. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern; a Review Article.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safari, Saeed; Baratloo, Alireza; Rouhipour, Alaleh; Ghelichkhani, Parisa; Yousefifard, Mahmood

    2015-01-01

    Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) was first reported in 1976 with two concurrent outbreaks of acute viral hemorrhagic fever centered in Yambuku (near the Ebola river), Democratic Republic of Congo, and in Nzara, Sudan. The current outbreak of the Ebola virus was started by reporting the first case in March 2014 in the forest regions of southeastern Guinea. Due to infection rates raising over 13,000% within a 6-month period, Ebola is now considered as a global public health emergency and on August 8(th), 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. With more than 5000 involved cases and nearly 3000 deaths, this event has turned into the largest and most dangerous Ebola virus outbreak in the world. Based on the above-mentioned, the present article aimed to review the virologic characteristics, transmission, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Ebola virus disease.

  5. Photobiomodulation: Implications for Anesthesia and Pain Relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Roberta T; Armati, Patricia J

    2016-12-01

    This review examines the evidence of neural inhibition as a mechanism underlying pain relief and anesthetic effect of photobiomodulation (PBM). PBM for pain relief has also been used for more than 30 years; however, the mechanism of its effectiveness has not been well understood. We review electrophysiological studies in humans and animal models and cell culture studies to examine neural responses to PBM. Evidence shows that PBM can inhibit nerve function in vivo, in situ, ex vivo, and in culture. Animal studies using noxious stimuli indicate nociceptor-specific inhibition with other studies providing direct evidence of local conduction block, leading to inhibited translation of pain centrally. Evidence of PBM-disrupted neuronal physiology affecting axonal flow, cytoskeleton organization, and decreased ATP is also presented. PBM changes are reversible with no side effects or nerve damage. This review provides strong evidence in neuroscience identifying inhibition of neural function as a mechanism for the clinical application of PBM in pain and anesthesia.

  6. Safety and relief valves in light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, A.

    1985-12-01

    Information is presented to: provide an introduction to and descriptions of various types of safety and relief valves in both PWR and BWR plants; describe anticipated operating conditions for these valves; describe the test facilities, procedures, and major results for both types of valves; present an extensive discussion of modeling and analysis of safety and relief valve performance, including the prediction of flow capacity and stability during operation; deal with the analyses related to the prediction of thermal-hydraulic loads on discharge piping and comparison against test data; discuss results of small-scale valve tests and flow visualization studies through transparent valve models; and describe an EPRI study for optimizing a typical PWR over-pressure protection system to enhance the availability and reliability of plant operation and thus reduce operation costs

  7. THE EMERGING INTERNATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Tanya du Plessis

    CFI) affirmed ... primarily include the value system of the international legal order, meaning norms of ... the existence of such a traditional constitutional demos. Europe's ..... between the African Development Bank (BAD) and one of its employees,.

  8. Modeling Relief Demands in an Emergency Supply Chain System under Large-Scale Disasters Based on a Queuing Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xinhua

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a multiple-rescue model for an emergency supply chain system under uncertainties in large-scale affected area of disasters. The proposed methodology takes into consideration that the rescue demands caused by a large-scale disaster are scattered in several locations; the servers are arranged in multiple echelons (resource depots, distribution centers, and rescue center sites) located in different places but are coordinated within one emergency supply chain system; depending on the types of rescue demands, one or more distinct servers dispatch emergency resources in different vehicle routes, and emergency rescue services queue in multiple rescue-demand locations. This emergency system is modeled as a minimal queuing response time model of location and allocation. A solution to this complex mathematical problem is developed based on genetic algorithm. Finally, a case study of an emergency supply chain system operating in Shanghai is discussed. The results demonstrate the robustness and applicability of the proposed model. PMID:24688367

  9. Modeling Relief Demands in an Emergency Supply Chain System under Large-Scale Disasters Based on a Queuing Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinhua He

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a multiple-rescue model for an emergency supply chain system under uncertainties in large-scale affected area of disasters. The proposed methodology takes into consideration that the rescue demands caused by a large-scale disaster are scattered in several locations; the servers are arranged in multiple echelons (resource depots, distribution centers, and rescue center sites located in different places but are coordinated within one emergency supply chain system; depending on the types of rescue demands, one or more distinct servers dispatch emergency resources in different vehicle routes, and emergency rescue services queue in multiple rescue-demand locations. This emergency system is modeled as a minimal queuing response time model of location and allocation. A solution to this complex mathematical problem is developed based on genetic algorithm. Finally, a case study of an emergency supply chain system operating in Shanghai is discussed. The results demonstrate the robustness and applicability of the proposed model.

  10. Modeling relief demands in an emergency supply chain system under large-scale disasters based on a queuing network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xinhua; Hu, Wenfa

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a multiple-rescue model for an emergency supply chain system under uncertainties in large-scale affected area of disasters. The proposed methodology takes into consideration that the rescue demands caused by a large-scale disaster are scattered in several locations; the servers are arranged in multiple echelons (resource depots, distribution centers, and rescue center sites) located in different places but are coordinated within one emergency supply chain system; depending on the types of rescue demands, one or more distinct servers dispatch emergency resources in different vehicle routes, and emergency rescue services queue in multiple rescue-demand locations. This emergency system is modeled as a minimal queuing response time model of location and allocation. A solution to this complex mathematical problem is developed based on genetic algorithm. Finally, a case study of an emergency supply chain system operating in Shanghai is discussed. The results demonstrate the robustness and applicability of the proposed model.

  11. Editor's Choice-The role of the emergency department in the management of acute heart failure: An international perspective on education and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Peter S; Collins, Sean P; Miró, Òscar; Bueno, Hector; Diercks, Deborah B; Di Somma, Salvatore; Gray, Alasdair; Harjola, Veli-Pekka; Hollander, Judd E; Lambrinou, Ekaterini; Levy, Phillip D; Papa, AnnMarie; Möckel, Martin

    2017-08-01

    Emergency departments are a major entry point for the initial management of acute heart failure (AHF) patients throughout the world. The initial diagnosis, management and disposition - the decision to admit or discharge - of AHF patients in the emergency department has significant downstream implications. Misdiagnosis, under or overtreatment, or inappropriate admission may place patients at increased risk for adverse events, and add costs to the healthcare system. Despite the critical importance of initial management, data are sparse regarding the impact of early AHF treatment delivered in the emergency department compared to inpatient or chronic heart failure management. Unfortunately, outcomes remain poor, with nearly a third of patients dying or re-hospitalised within 3 months post-discharge. In the absence of robust research evidence, consensus is an important source of guidance for AHF care. Thus, we convened an international group of practising emergency physicians, cardiologists and advanced practice nurses with the following goals to improve outcomes for AHF patients who present to the emergency department or other acute care setting through: (a) a better understanding of the pathophysiology, presentation and management of the initial phase of AHF care; (b) improving initial management by addressing knowledge gaps between best practices and current practice through education and research; and (c) to establish a framework for future emergency department-based international education and research.

  12. Proceedings: The Appendix 'K' relief workshop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-11-01

    The licensing and operation of commercial LWRs were impacted significantly when Appendix 'K' requirements for loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and emergency core cooling systems (ECCS) analyses were implemented in 1974. The Appendix K requirements included both criteria and mandatory assumptions for LOCA analysis. Plants must meet these criteria, using analysis methods that have included very conservative assumptions, such as estimating decay heat energy as 20% greater than the 1971 American Nuclear Society standard. Additional constraints were placed on the application of specific models and correlations. The Appendix K requirements had a significant impact on licensing, analysis, fuel design, reload management, plant operation, and some supporting equipment. The overall impact of Appendix K could be translated into increased costs of millions of dollars per year to utilities. The Appendix 'K' Relief Workshop provided an improved understanding of the trade-offs -- both benefits and efforts required -- inherent in continuing to use existing analysis methods or adopting BE analysis under revised NRC rule. A range of options is available to each utility. The workshop explored options and benefits to the utility industry from LOCA/ECCS rule change. A forum for complete and open discussion of the issues germaine to the question of BE methodology versus existing methodology in view of LOCA/ECCS rule changes was incorporated. Both regulatory and utility perspectives on the implementation of proposed changes were discussed. Existing and planned efforts in developing and implementing BE uncertainty methodologies for plant-licensing application have been included. The individual papers have been cataloged separately

  13. International opportunities and value creation in international entrepreneurship.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mainela, Tuija; Puhakka, Vesa; Wakkee, Ingrid; Marinova, Svetla; Larimo, Jorma; Nummela, Niina

    2016-01-01

    International entrepreneurship (IE) as a field of research has emerged at the intersection of internationalization and entrepreneurship theories. At this intersection it has come to emphasize the activities centered on international opportunities. International opportunities, then, are about value

  14. The pre-positioning of warehouses at regional and local levels for a humanitarian relief organisation

    OpenAIRE

    Roh, Saeyeon; Pettit, Stephen John; Harris, Irina; Beresford, Anthony Kenneth Charles

    2015-01-01

    Using pre-positioned warehouses at strategic locations around the world is an approach commonly taken by some humanitarian relief organisations to improve their capacities to deliver sufficient relief aid within a relatively short time frame, and to provide shelter and assistance to disaster victims. Although research into the facility location problem is extensive in both theory and application, such approaches have received little attention from the humanitarian relief perspective. In this ...

  15. Resources available for nuclear power plant emergencies under the Price-Anderson Act and the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-07-01

    Through a series of TABLETOP exercises and other events that involved participation by State and Federal organizations, the need was identified for further explanation of financial and other related resources available to individuals and State and local governments in a major emergency at a nuclear power plant. A group with representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the American Nuclear Insurers/Mutual Atomic Energy Liability Underwriters was established to work toward this end. This report is the result of that effort. This document is not meant to modify, undermine, or replace any other planning document (e.g., the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan or the Federal Response Plan). Its purpose is to clarify issues that have surfaced regarding resources available under the Price-Anderson and Stafford Acts

  16. Psychological aid in crisis and emergency situations: Psychological follow-up by emergency-related professionals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoygu J.S.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The development of contemporary society, the mass media, and new technologies improves living standards on the one hand and, on the other, enhances the risk of large-scale catastrophes, accidents, and natural disasters (Yanitsky, 2004. From year to year the number of people who survive natural disasters and human-caused accidents and catastrophes is growing, as is the number of professionals involved in disaster-relief operations, such as rescuers, medical professionals, and psychologists. The 1990s saw the intensive development of new work for psychologists: rendering psychological aid to people affected by emergencies. During that time, because of a shift in the political system and the democratization of society, these issues gained a public dimension.

  17. Improving Safety on the International Space Station: Transitioning to Electronic Emergency Procedure Books on the International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter-Journet, Katrina; Clahoun, Jessica; Morrow, Jason; Duncan, Gary

    2012-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) originally designed the International Space Station (ISS) to operate until 2015, but have extended operations until at least 2020. As part of this very dynamic Program, there is an effort underway to simplify the certification of Commercial ]of ]the ]Shelf (COTS) hardware. This change in paradigm allows the ISS Program to take advantage of technologically savvy and commercially available hardware, such as the iPad. The iPad, a line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., was chosen to support this endeavor. The iPad is functional, portable, and could be easily accessed in an emergency situation. The iPad Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), currently approved for use in flight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is a fraction of the cost of a traditional Class 2 EFB. In addition, the iPad fs ability to use electronic aeronautical data in lieu of paper in route charts and approach plates can cut the annual cost of paper data in half for commercial airlines. ISS may be able to benefit from this type of trade since one of the most important factors considered is information management. Emergency procedures onboard the ISS are currently available to the crew in paper form. Updates to the emergency books can either be launched on an upcoming visiting vehicle such as a Russian Soyuz flight or printed using the onboard ISS printer. In both cases, it is costly to update hardcopy procedures. A new operations concept was proposed to allow for the use of a tablet system that would provide a flexible platform to support space station crew operations. The purpose of the system would be to provide the crew the ability to view and maintain operational data, such as emergency procedures while also allowing Mission Control Houston to update the procedures. The ISS Program is currently evaluating the safety risks associated with the use of iPads versus paper. Paper products can contribute to the flammability

  18. Recent insights from the international common-cause failure data exchange project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kreuser, Albert [Gesellschaft fur Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH, Cologne (Germany); Johanson, Gunner [AF Industry, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2017-03-15

    Common-cause failure (CCF) events can significantly impact the availability of safety systems of nuclear power plants. For this reason, the International Common Cause Data Exchange (ICDE) project was initiated by several countries in 1994. Since 1997 it has been operated within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) framework and has successfully been operated over six consecutive terms (the current term being 2015–2017). The ICDE project allows multiple countries to collaborate and exchange CCF data to enhance the quality of risk analyses, which include CCF modeling. As CCF events are typically rare, most countries do not experience enough CCF events to perform meaningful analyses. Data combined from several countries, however, have yielded sufficient data for more rigorous analyses. The ICDE project has meanwhile published 11 reports on the collection and analysis of CCF events of specific component types (centrifugal pumps, emergency diesel generators, motor operated valves, safety and relief valves, check valves, circuit breakers, level measurement, control rod drive assemblies, and heat exchangers) and two topical reports. This paper presents recent activities and lessons learnt from the data collection and the results of topical analysis on emergency diesel generator CCF impacting entire exposed population.

  19. Recent Insights from the International Common-Cause Failure Data Exchange Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albert Kreuser

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Common-cause failure (CCF events can significantly impact the availability of safety systems of nuclear power plants. For this reason, the International Common Cause Data Exchange (ICDE project was initiated by several countries in 1994. Since 1997 it has been operated within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA framework and has successfully been operated over six consecutive terms (the current term being 2015–2017. The ICDE project allows multiple countries to collaborate and exchange CCF data to enhance the quality of risk analyses, which include CCF modeling. As CCF events are typically rare, most countries do not experience enough CCF events to perform meaningful analyses. Data combined from several countries, however, have yielded sufficient data for more rigorous analyses. The ICDE project has meanwhile published 11 reports on the collection and analysis of CCF events of specific component types (centrifugal pumps, emergency diesel generators, motor operated valves, safety and relief valves, check valves, circuit breakers, level measurement, control rod drive assemblies, and heat exchangers and two topical reports. This paper presents recent activities and lessons learnt from the data collection and the results of topical analysis on emergency diesel generator CCF impacting entire exposed population.

  20. Rotorcraft Use in Disaster Relief and Mass Casualty Incidents - Case Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-06-01

    Disaster Relief and Mass 6. Performing Organization Code C asuallty Incidents- C ase Studies 8._P rfo minOr ani ati nR porNo 7. Author (s) 8...disaster planning process; and 3) produce a color video tape promoting the need for and the use of rotorcraft and heliports in disaster relief. 17...disaster prepaLedness ageicies for use in the integration of local helicopter assets into the disaster planning process; and 3) produce a color video tape

  1. Opponent appetitive-aversive neural processes underlie predictive learning of pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seymour, Ben; O'Doherty, John P; Koltzenburg, Martin; Wiech, Katja; Frackowiak, Richard; Friston, Karl; Dolan, Raymond

    2005-09-01

    Termination of a painful or unpleasant event can be rewarding. However, whether the brain treats relief in a similar way as it treats natural reward is unclear, and the neural processes that underlie its representation as a motivational goal remain poorly understood. We used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to investigate how humans learn to generate expectations of pain relief. Using a pavlovian conditioning procedure, we show that subjects experiencing prolonged experimentally induced pain can be conditioned to predict pain relief. This proceeds in a manner consistent with contemporary reward-learning theory (average reward/loss reinforcement learning), reflected by neural activity in the amygdala and midbrain. Furthermore, these reward-like learning signals are mirrored by opposite aversion-like signals in lateral orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. This dual coding has parallels to 'opponent process' theories in psychology and promotes a formal account of prediction and expectation during pain.

  2. A Review of Long-Term Pain Relief after Genicular Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation in Chronic Knee Osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iannaccone, Ferdinand; Dixon, Samuel; Kaufman, Andrew

    2017-03-01

    Studies of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of genicular nerves have reportedly significantly decreased pain up to 3 months post ablation, but no longer term effects have been reported. We performed an analysis of long-term pain relief of 31 RFA procedures of the genicular nerves to analyze the degree of pain relief past 3 months, culminating at 6 months. Chart review and study design was approved by Newark Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB). Chart review and follow-up was performed on all patients who underwent genicular nerve RFA during the period of February 2014 through August of 2015. During this inclusion period 41 genicular nerve RFAs were performed on 31 patients, 5 patients received RFA procedure in both knees. Patient follow-up was performed via telephone interview or in-office visit at least 3 months and 6 months post RFA. Procedures were performed in Medical Special Procedures at University Hospital in Newark, NJ, and the Pain Management Center at Overlook Medical Arts Center in Summit, NJ. Chart review and study design was approved by Newark Health Sciences IRB. Chart review was performed from February 2014 and continued through August 2015. Patient follow-up was conducted at 3 and at least 6 months post treatment to gauge degree of pain relief (0 - none, 100% - complete), their current day's pain score, other treatment modalities tried before RFA, and the medications used. Patients were asked to quantify their satisfaction with procedure length, pre-procedure anxiety, complications, and if they would recommend this procedure to others. Primary and secondary goals were the duration of pain relief after RFA, the quality of pain relief, and the efficacy of our approach for RFA of genicular nerves versus prior published techniques. At 3 month follow-up, the average pain relief was 67% improvement from baseline knee pain, 0% being no relief and 100% being complete relief, and average 0 - 10 pain score was 2.9. At 6 month follow-up, of those who

  3. Impact of radiotherapy on pain relief and recalcification in plasma cell neoplasms. Long-term experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balducci, Mario; Chiesa, Silvia; Manfrida, Stefania

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the impact of radiotherapy on pain relief and on recalcification in patients with osteolytic lesions due to plasma cell neoplasm. Patients and Methods: Pain relief was evaluated according to a 0-10 verbal numerical rating scale (NRS) and recalcification was measured using radiological imaging. Results: From 1996-2007, 52 patients were treated. Median total dose was 38 Gy (range, 16-50 Gy). Pain before radiotherapy was reported by 45 of 52 (86.5%) patients as being severe (8 ≤ NRS ≤ 10) in 5 (11%), moderate (5 ≤ NRS ≤ 7) in 27 (60%), and mild in 13 (29%). Pain relief was achieved in 41 of 45 patients (91%): complete relief was obtained in 21 (51.2%) and partial relief in 20 patients (48.8%); patients with severe pain experienced resolution and none presented an increase of pain. Drugs reduction/suspension was achieved in 7 of the 21 patients with complete response. Of 42 patients evaluable for recalcification, 21 (50%) presented a radiological response, which was identified as complete in 16 (38%). Conclusion: Our data confirm the effectiveness of radiotherapy for pain relief, including a reduction in drug intake, and on recalcification, thus, supporting its use in a multidisciplinary approach. (orig.)

  4. Bas-relief map using texture analysis with application to live enhancement of ultrasound images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Huarui; Ma, Rui; Wang, Xiaoying; Zhang, Jue; Fang, Jing

    2015-05-01

    For ultrasound imaging, speckle is one of the most important factors in the degradation of contrast resolution because it masks meaningful texture and has the potential to interfere with diagnosis. It is expected that researchers would explore appropriate ways to reduce the speckle noise, to find the edges of structures and enhance weak borders between different organs in ultrasound imaging. Inspired by the principle of differential interference contrast microscopy, a "bas-relief map" is proposed that depicts the texture structure of ultrasound images. Based on a bas-relief map, an adaptive bas-relief filter was developed for ultrafast despeckling. Subsequently, an edge map was introduced to enhance the edges of images in real time. The holistic bas-relief map approach has been used experimentally with synthetic phantoms and digital ultrasound B-scan images of liver, kidney and gallbladder. Based on the visual inspection and the performance metrics of the despeckled images, it was found that the bas-relief map approach is capable of effectively reducing the speckle while significantly enhancing contrast and tissue boundaries for ultrasonic images, and its speckle reduction ability is comparable to that of Kuan, Lee and Frost filters. Meanwhile, the proposed technique could preserve more intra-region details compared with the popular speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion technique and more effectively enhance edges. In addition, the adaptive bas-relief filter was much less time consuming than the Kuan, Lee and Frost filter and speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion techniques. The bas-relief map strategy is effective for speckle reduction and live enhancement of ultrasound images, and can provide a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Trajectory of phantom limb pain relief using mirror therapy: Retrospective analysis of two studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffin, Sarah C; Curran, Sean; Chan, Annie W Y; Finn, Sacha B; Baker, Chris I; Pasquina, Paul F; Tsao, Jack W

    2017-04-01

    Research indicates that mirror therapy reduces phantom limb pain (PLP). Objectives were to determine when mirror therapy works in those who respond to treatment, the relevance of baseline PLP to when pain relief occurs, and what pain symptoms respond to mirror therapy. Data from two independent cohorts with unilateral lower limb amputation were analyzed for this study (n=33). Mirror therapy consisted of 15-min sessions in which amputees performed synchronous movements of the phantom and intact legs/feet. PLP was measured using a visual analogue scale and the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire. The severity of PLP at the beginning of treatment predicted when pain relief occurred. Those with low baseline PLP experienced a reduction (ppain relief by session 14 of treatment, and those with high baseline PLP experienced pain relief by session 21 of treatment. Mirror therapy reduced throbbing, shooting, stabbing, sharp, cramping, aching, tender, splitting, tiring/exhausting, and punishing-cruel pain symptoms. The degree of PLP at baseline predicts when mirror therapy relieves pain. This article indicates that the degree of baseline PLP affects when mirror therapy relieves pain: relief occurs by session 7 in patients with low PLP but by session 21 in patients with high PLP. Clinicians should anticipate slower pain relief in patients who begin treatment with high levels of pain. ClinicalTrials.gov numbers:NCT00623818 and NCT00662415. Copyright © 2017 Scandinavian Association for the Study of Pain. All rights reserved.

  6. Combined approaches for the relief of spinal cord injury-induced neuropathic pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwak, Young S; Kim, Hee Young; Lee, Bong Hyo; Yang, Chae Ha

    2016-04-01

    The adequate treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced neuropathic pain still remains an unresolved problem. The current medications predominantly used in the SCI-induced neuropathic pain therapy are morphine, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and antiepileptics, which suggests that psychiatric aspects might be important factors in the treatment of neuropathic pain. It is well documented that the modulation of the sensory events is not a unique way for achieving pain relief. In addition, pain patients still express dissatisfaction and complain of unwanted effects of the medications, suggesting that alternative approaches for the treatment of neuropathic pain are essential. In psychiatry, pain relief represents relaxation and a feeling of comfort and satisfaction, which suggests that cognitive and emotional motivations are important factors in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The comorbidity of chronic pain and psychiatric disorders, which is well recognized, suggests that the effective therapeutic relief for neuropathic pain induced by SCI can be achieved in conjunction with the management of the sensory and psychiatric aspects of patient. In this review, we address the feasibility of a combined acupuncture and pharmacotherapy treatment for the relief of neuropathic pain behavior following SCI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Antiemetic Medicines: OTC Relief for Nausea and Vomiting

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... CorrectlyPain Relievers: Understanding Your OTC OptionsAntacids and Acid Reducers: OTC Relief for Heartburn and Acid RefluxOTC Cough ... Loss and Diet Plans Nutrients and Nutritional Info Sugar and Sugar Substitutes Exercise and Fitness Exercise Basics ...

  8. A novel robust chance constrained possibilistic programming model for disaster relief logistics under uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Rahafrooz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a novel multi-objective robust possibilistic programming model is proposed, which simultaneously considers maximizing the distributive justice in relief distribution, minimizing the risk of relief distribution, and minimizing the total logistics costs. To effectively cope with the uncertainties of the after-disaster environment, the uncertain parameters of the proposed model are considered in the form of fuzzy trapezoidal numbers. The proposed model not only considers relief commodities priority and demand points priority in relief distribution, but also considers the difference between the pre-disaster and post-disaster supply abilities of the suppliers. In order to solve the proposed model, the LP-metric and the improved augmented ε-constraint methods are used. Second, a set of test problems are designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed robust model against its equivalent deterministic form, which reveales the capabilities of the robust model. Finally, to illustrate the performance of the proposed robust model, a seismic region of northwestern Iran (East Azerbaijan is selected as a case study to model its relief logistics in the face of future earthquakes. This investigation indicates the usefulness of the proposed model in the field of crisis.

  9. Shaded Relief of Rio Sao Francisco, Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-01-01

    This topographic image acquired by SRTM shows an area south of the Sao Francisco River in Brazil. The scrub forest terrain shows relief of about 400 meters (1300 feet). Areas such as these are difficult to map by traditional methods because of frequent cloud cover and local inaccessibility. This region has little topographic relief, but even subtle changes in topography have far-reaching effects on regional ecosystems. The image covers an area of 57 km x 79 km and represents one quarter of the 225 km SRTM swath. Colors range from dark blue at water level to white and brown at hill tops. The terrain features that are clearly visible in this image include tributaries of the Sao Francisco, the dark-blue branch-like features visible from top right to bottom left, and on the left edge of the image, and hills rising up from the valley floor. The San Francisco River is a major source of water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. Mapping such regions will allow scientists to better understand the relationships between flooding cycles, forestation and human influences on ecosystems.This shaded relief image was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. A computer-generated artificial light source illuminates the elevation data to produce a pattern of light and shadows. Slopes facing the light appear bright, while those facing away are shaded. On flatter surfaces, the pattern of light and shadows can reveal subtle features in the terrain. Shaded relief maps are commonly used in applications such as geologic mapping and land use planning.The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), launched on February 11, 2000, uses the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. The mission is designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200

  10. Ear Acupuncture versus  local anaestethic for pain relief during perineal repair - a randomised controlled trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kindberg, Sara

    2007-01-01

    ACUPUNCTURE OR LOCAL ANAESTETICS FOR PAIN RELIEF DURING PERINEAL REPAIR AFTER VAGINAL DELIVERY: A RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL.   By:  Sara Kindberg. Midwife and PhD student, Sønderborg Hospital, Denmark. Objective: To evaluate acupuncture as a new method of pain relief for postpartum perineal...... as photos of the acupuncture points. Perspectives:  Basic midwifery services such as providing sufficient pain relief during perineal repair still need improvement. Clinical practice should be improved continuously and thus produce reliable evidence on different pain relief methods. Website:        http...

  11. Emergency department radiology: Reality or luxury? An international comparison

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kool, D.R.; Blickman, J.G.

    2010-01-01

    Changes in society and developments within emergency care affect imaging in the emergency department. It is clear that radiologists have to be pro-active to even survive. High quality service is the goal, and if we are to add value to the diagnostic (and therapeutic) chain of healthcare, sub-specialization is the key, and, although specifically patient-oriented and not organ-based, emergency and trauma imaging is well suited for that. The development of emergency radiology in Europe and the United States is compared with emphasis on how different healthcare systems and medical cultures affect the utilization of Acute Care imaging.

  12. Fertility and Symptom Relief following Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Myomectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael C. Pitter

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To examine success of robot-assisted laparoscopic myomectomy (RALM measured by sustained symptom relief and fertility. Methods. This is a retrospective survey of 426 women who underwent RALM for fibroids, symptom relief, or infertility at three practice sites across the US. We examined rates of symptom recurrence and pregnancy and factors associated with these outcomes. Results. Overall, 70% of women reported being symptom-free, with 62.9% free of symptoms after three years. At >3 years, 66.7% of women who underwent surgery to treat infertility and 80% who were also symptom-free reported achieving pregnancy. Factors independently associated with symptom recurrence included greater time after surgery, preoperative dyspareunia, multiple fibroid surgeries, smoking after surgery, and preexisting diabetes. Factors positively correlated with achieving pregnancy included desiring pregnancy, prior pregnancy, greater time since surgery, and Caucasian race. Factors negatively correlated with pregnancy were advanced age and symptom recurrence. Conclusions. This paper, the first to examine symptom recurrence after RALM, demonstrates both short- and long-term effectiveness in providing symptom relief. Furthermore, RALM may have the potential to improve the chance of conception, even in a population at high risk of subfertility, with greater benefits among those who remain symptom-free. These findings require prospective validation.

  13. Pain relief in labor: a survey of awareness, attitude, and practice of health care providers in Zaria, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ogboli-Nwasor E

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available E Ogboli-Nwasor1, SE Adaji2, SB Bature2, OS Shittu21Department of Anesthesia, 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, NigeriaBackground: The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of maternal health care providers to pain relief during labor in Zaria, Nigeria.Methods: This was a multicenter, collaborative, cross-sectional pilot study of provider perspectives concerning pain relief during labor. A structured, self-administered, questionnaire was completed by 95 consenting maternal health care providers at three high-volume facilities in Zaria, an ancient northern Nigerian city. Descriptive statistics was performed on the data.Results: Most respondents (94.8% agreed that pain relief is needed during labor. Only 2.1% of respondents were undecided about the provision of pain relief during labor and 3.2% were of the opinion that pain relief was not necessary during labor. Most respondents (93.7% had attended a woman in labor in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Of these, 56.8% had counseled a parturient in labor. Most of the counseling (42.1% took place during labor. Less than half of the respondents (48.4% had administered pain relief in labor in the preceding 4 weeks and systemic opioids was the most commonly form of pain relief. Among the respondents who did not offer pain relief agents in labor, the majority (54.5% had no reason for not offering it. Unavailability of methods, inability to afford the cost of pain relief, lack of knowledge and skills, as well as lack of essential equipment to provide the procedure were also given by respondents as reasons for not offering pain relief.Conclusion: Even though maternal health care providers in this environment have a positive attitude to pain relief in labor, most women go through labor without the benefit of analgesia. There exists a gap between provider attitudes to pain relief in labor and practice of the same, with many providers

  14. 77 FR 71448 - States' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-30

    ...' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas Marginal Properties... types of accounting and auditing relief for Federal onshore or Outer Continental Shelf lease production... auditing requirements. States make an annual determination of whether or not to allow relief. Two options...

  15. 75 FR 1654 - States' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-12

    ...' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas Marginal Properties... participate in accounting and auditing relief for Federal oil and gas marginal properties located within the... the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), to provide two types of accounting and auditing relief for...

  16. Acupucture as pain relief during delivery - a randomized controlled trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borup, Lissa; Wurlitzer, Winnie; Hedegaard, Morten

    2009-01-01

    Background: Many women need some kind of analgesic treatment to relieve pain during childbirth. The objective of our study was to compare the effect of acupuncture with transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) and traditional analgesics for pain relief and relaxation during delivery...... with respect to pain intensity, birth experience, and obstetric outcome. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 607 healthy women in labor at term who received acupuncture, TENS, or traditional analgesics. Primary outcomes were the need for pharmacological and invasive methods, level of pain...... to existing pain relief methods. (BIRTH 36:1 March 2009)...

  17. STM study on surface relief, ultra-fine structure and transformation mechanism of bainite in steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, H.S.; Yang, Z.G.; Wang, J.J.; Zheng, Y.K.

    1995-01-01

    The surface reliefs accompanying lower bainite transformation in steels have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). With the exclusive vertical resolution of STM, we observed that the surface relief associated with bainite is a group of surface reliefs related to subplates, subunits and sub-subunits. From the bainite plate to the sub-subunit in it, the reliefs are in a tent shape, not of invariant plane strain (IPS) type. The fine structure of bainite in a steel has also been shown by STM and TEM that bainite plate is composed of subplates, subunits and sub-subunits. On the basis of the fine structure inside a bainitic ferrite plate observed under STM, sympathetic-ledgewise mechanism of bainite formation is proposed. (orig.)

  18. 76 FR 6819 - States' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-08

    ...' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas Marginal Properties... or not participate in accounting and auditing relief for Federal oil and gas marginal properties... September 13, 2004 (69 FR 55076), provide two types of accounting and auditing relief for Federal onshore or...

  19. Workplace violence against emergency versus non-emergency nurses in Mansoura university hospitals, Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abou-ElWafa, Hala Samir; El-Gilany, Abdel-Hady; Abd-El-Raouf, Samar E; Abd-Elmouty, Samia Mahmoud; El-Sayed, Rabab El-Sayed Hassan

    2015-03-01

    Workplace violence (WPV) against nurses is a common but neglected problem in Egypt. The objectives are to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of different types of violence against nurses working in the emergency hospital compared with those working in non-emergency clinics, circumstances of violence, type of perpetrators, and victims' response. This cross-sectional comparative study was carried out at Mansoura University Hospitals, Egypt, during January 2013. The data were collected through the adapted version of a self-administered questionnaire developed by the International Labor Office/International Council of Nurses/World Health Organization/Public Services International on WPV in the health sector. All types of WPV are common among nurses. Precipitating factors for violent incidents identified by respondents are emergency specialty, having work shift, and younger age. Violent incidents result in work dissatisfaction and consequently impair work productivity. Nurses working in emergency hospital experienced a higher level of different types of WPV. There is an urgent need to formulate and implement a policy for dealing with violent events. © The Author(s) 2014.

  20. Answering the request for emergency assistance worldwide. The Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    In 2005, the IAEA announced the establishment of a fully integrated Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC). The functions of the IEC include coordinating prompt assistance to requesting States in the case of a nuclear security incident. As the global focal point for international preparedness, communication and response to nuclear and radiological incidents or emergencies irrespective of their cause, the IEC stands at the centre of coordinating effective and efficient activities worldwide. The IEC's work includes the evaluation of emergency plans and assistance in their development. The Centre also develops accident classifications based on plant conditions and supports effective communication between neighbouring countries. In addition, it develops various response procedures and facilitates national exercises on response to reactor emergencies. This includes training a broad range of IAEA staff to respond to emergencies as well as training of external experts. Response to incidents and emergencies can involve the exchange of information, provision of advice and/or the coordination of field response. In order to coordinate a global response, the IEC hosts a Response Assistance Network (RANET) under which Member States, Parties to the Emergency Conventions and relevant international organizations are able to register their response capabilities. This network aims to facilitate assistance in case of a nuclear or radiological incident or emergency in a timely and effective manner. An important component of the global emergency response system is the notification and reporting arrangements and systems operated by the IEC. The IEC operates systems that are reliable and secure. Member States, Non-Member States and international organizations have historically reported events and requests for assistance to the IAEA through the ENATOM arrangements using the ENAC web site, phone or fax. Under these arrangements, States have nominated Competent Authorities and National Warning

  1. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the Humanitarian Industry in Britain, 1963-85.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    This article explores the history of modern British humanitarianism. Specifically, it charts the rise of an extensive humanitarian aid 'industry' in Britain, between 1963 and 1985. It does so through a focus on the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella body for joint emergency fundraising established in 1963. The DEC is an enduring and important presence in the British humanitarian landscape, as it brings together leading aid agencies to make fundraising campaigns on television after major disasters. This article represents the first systematic historical analysis of the DEC, which it uses to illuminate larger questions about the politics of non-state humanitarianism, state-voluntary sector relations, the political impact of television, and the end of empire. It is shown that while DEC appeals fuelled the growth of its members, this was also a problematic process. Many principal aid agencies wished to shift their focus away from short-term disaster relief work to tackling the long-term structural causes of global poverty instead. It is argued that, despite an increasing political focus, humanitarian organizations were constrained from doing so by the power of television; a perceived lack of public support; the interventions of the British government; and competition between aid agencies in a crowded marketplace. Consequently, continued involvement in short-term, apolitical emergency assistance remained a requirement even for agencies sceptical about its value and impact. This analysis complicates linear narratives of a transition from emergency relief to development aid in post-war British humanitarianism, instead presenting the period as characterized by competing and even contradictory trajectories.

  2. [War Relief of Japanese Red Cross Nurses in the Lost Battle of Burma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawahara, Yukari

    2015-12-01

    This paper aims to reveal changes in the relief support of the Japanese Red Cross relief units dispatched to Burma during the Second World War, from the beginning of fighting in Burma to the Japanese withdrawal. Japanese Red Cross relief units began their relief support when Japan invaded Burma in February of 1942. Counterattacks by the British, Indian and Chinese armies from December 1942 caused an increase in the number of patients. There were also many cases of malnutrition and malaria due to the extreme shortage of medical supplies as a result of the Battle of Imphal, which began in March of 1944. Bomb raids became even more intense after the battle ended in July 1944, and patients were carried into bomb shelters and caves on a daily basis. Just prior to invasion by enemy troops, they were ordered to evacuate to neighboring Thailand. Nurses from the Wakayama group hid their identity as members of the Red Cross and evacuated, with 15 out of 23 dying or being reported missing in action.

  3. Patient Preference Before and After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: Which Is More Important, Pain Relief or Strength Return?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virk, Mandeep S; Levy, David M; Kuhns, Benjamin D; Krecher, James S; Parsley, Billy K; Burkhart, Stephen S; Romeo, Anthony A; Verma, Nikhil N; Cole, Brian J

    Our understanding of patients' desired outcomes and expectations of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) is limited, particularly regarding the importance of pain relief and strength return relative to each other. We conducted a study of patient's ratings of the importance of pain relief and strength return after ARCR. Before undergoing surgery, 60 patients completed a shoulder questionnaire on which they assessed severity of symptoms and rated, on a 10-point scale, the importance of postoperative improvements in pain relief and strength return. After surgery, they completed the same questionnaire, again rating the importance of pain relief and strength return. About 50% of the patients valued pain relief and strength return equally before and after ARCR. However, overall patient ratings were higher for strength return over pain relief, both before surgery, mean (SD), 9.2 (2.1) vs 8.6 (2.3) (P = .02), and afterward, at a follow-up of 5.2 (0.2) years, 8.9 (1.9) vs 8.2 (3.1) (P = .03). This significant preference for strength return held irrespective of sex, age, active sports involvement, preoperative self-assessed pain score, and subjective shoulder weakness. Before surgery, increasing age was associated with a stronger preference for pain relief (r = 0.33, P = .01), and retirees preferred pain relief over strength return. These results show the patterns of patient preference for pain relief and strength return after ARCR. Improved understanding of these patients' expectations will allow meaningful changes in patient satisfaction.

  4. 30 CFR 204.207 - Who will approve, deny, or modify my request for accounting and auditing relief?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... for accounting and auditing relief? 204.207 Section 204.207 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT... Accounting and Auditing Relief § 204.207 Who will approve, deny, or modify my request for accounting and auditing relief? (a) If there is not a State concerned for your marginal property, only MMS will decide...

  5. Use, perceived effectiveness, and gender differences of pain relief strategies among the community-dwelling elderly in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hsing-Yi; Tang, Fu-In; Yeh, Ming-Chen; Kuo, Benjamin Ing-Tiau; Yu, Shu

    2011-03-01

    Pain is a common problem among the elderly. The entire scope of chronic pain relief strategies used by community elderly is still unclear. A limited number of studies have investigated this issue from diverse culture perspectives. In the present study, we investigated the use and perceived effectiveness of pain relief strategies adopted by the elderly; gender differences between frequently used relief strategies were also explored. Two hundred nineteen participants living in Taiwan City, Taiwan, were recruited by a random sampling method and interviewed face to face. The prevalence of chronic pain among the elderly was 42.0% (n = 92). The elderly tended to adopt multiple strategies (mean ± SD = 9.08 ± 3.56; range = 2-18) to relieve their chronic pain. In three domains of pain relief strategies, conventional medicine was used more frequently than complementary and alternative medicine and psychologic approaches. Most pain relief strategies were ineffective. Among the 22 strategies used, no strategy was reported as "much improved" by a majority of users. The top five pain relief strategies used by men and women were the same. Elderly women tended to adopt more psychologic approaches, such as acceptance and ignoring to relieve pain, than men. The findings suggest that nurses should pay more attention to the issue of chronic pain relief and provide the elderly with more effective pain relief strategies. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. IDRL in Italy: A Study on Strengthening Legal Preparedness for International Disaster Response

    OpenAIRE

    Gatti, Mauro

    2015-01-01

    This report seeks to identify the main obstacles that existing rules create for international cooperation in the event of disasters in Italy: It does so by looking to the Guidelines for the Domestic Facilitation and Regulation of International Disaster Relief and Initial Recovery Assistance (hereinafter the IDRL Guidelines) and to the EU Host Nation Support Guidelines (HNSG). The analysis seeks to point out solutions (mostly legislative ones) that may contribute to enhancing international coo...

  7. Effects of natural disaster trends: a case study for expanding the pre-positioning network of CARE International.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozkurt, Melda; Duran, Serhan

    2012-08-01

    The increasing number of natural disasters in the last decade necessitates the increase in capacity and agility while delivering humanitarian relief. A common logistics strategy used by humanitarian organizations to respond this need is the establishment of pre-positioning warehouse networks. In the pre-positioning strategy, critical relief inventories are located near the regions at which they will be needed in advance of the onset of the disaster. Therefore, pre-positioning reduces the response time by totally or partially eliminating the procurement phase and increasing the availability of relief items just after the disaster strikes. Once the pre-positioning warehouse locations are decided and warehouses on those locations become operational, they will be in use for a long time. Therefore, the chosen locations should be robust enough to enable extensions, and to cope with changing trends in disaster types, locations and magnitudes. In this study, we analyze the effects of natural disaster trends on the expansion plan of pre-positioning warehouse network implemented by CARE International. We utilize a facility location model to identify the additional warehouse location(s) for relief items to be stored as an extension of the current warehouse network operated by CARE International, considering changing natural disaster trends observed over the past three decades.

  8. Development of an up-to-date NBC self-aid kit for emergency cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, Michael; Schmiechen, Katharina

    2009-01-01

    In accordance with alterations of the political and economical settings of Central Europe in the last decades, the characteristics of NBC hazards have changed. Since war appears unlikely, possible new scenarios involve pandemics, chemical transport accidents or distribution of CB warfare agents and radioactive materials by terroristic acts. Meeting this situation requires new protection and self aid equipment for the German civilian disaster relief forces. The German government has reacted to these risks by designing personal protection equipment for the civilian voluntary and professional disaster relief forces. The new NBC self aid kit will be part of this effort. The scientific approach of the project consisted of an updated risk analysis, a questionnaire for the professionals and volunteers involved in disaster management, a thorough evaluation of commercially available kits and single components, final design of the new kit including user instructions, and validation of a prototype kit in a disaster relief exercise. Results of the questionnaire stressed the need for a NBC self aid kit fulfilling the demands of easy handling, use of commercially available components, stability of materials, consumption adapted supply and portable size and weight of the complete kit. The evaluation of international NBC equipment could not identify any current NBC self aid kit which satisfies all needs of the German civilian disaster relief forces. The authors therefore compiled a new kit consisting of commercially available components. The newly developed kit was evaluated in a disaster relief exercise.

  9. 27 CFR 24.158 - Extent of relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Extent of relief. 24.158 Section 24.158 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT..., until all tax is fully paid. (d) Wine vinegar plant bond. The surety will be relieved of liability for...

  10. IPI tax relief policy and its impact on automotive and related sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Antônio Abrantes

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The policy of IPI tax relief in the automotive industry came from the need of answers to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, which affected Brazil. This way, Brazilian Government set the reduction of the percentages of rates applied to automotive products and related sectors, according to several factors such as engine power, fuel type and production site, in order to restore the sector demand and stimulate the economy. In this context, this work aims to evaluate the implications of IPI tax relief policy, since 2009, on the turnover of joint-stock companies of the automotive and related sectors. The methodology was a multiple regression analysis model with Dynamic Panel data, in order to explain the variations of companies' turnover in the sector, regarding IPI tax relief. The data used were of 84 companies of this sector, for the period from 1998 to 2015, based on the software Economática. The results showed a decrease of IPI tax collection in the periods of relief, both in general and specific scope. In addition, we verified that the adoption of the policy had a negative influence on the turnover of the evaluated companies. Thus, we concluded that the tax policy under analysis did not contribute to an increase of automotive sector companies' turnover.

  11. Neural mechanisms underlying the induction and relief of perceptual curiosity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marieke eJepma

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Curiosity is one of the most basic biological drives in both animals and humans, and has been identified as a key motive for learning and discovery. Despite the importance of curiosity and related behaviors, the topic has been largely neglected in human neuroscience; hence little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying curiosity. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to investigate what happens in our brain during the induction and subsequent relief of perceptual curiosity. Our core findings were that (i the induction of perceptual curiosity, through the presentation of ambiguous visual input, activated the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex, brain regions sensitive to conflict and arousal; (ii the relief of perceptual curiosity, through visual disambiguation, activated regions of the striatum that have been related to reward processing; and (iii the relief of perceptual curiosity was associated with hippocampal activation and enhanced incidental memory. These findings provide the first demonstration of the neural basis of human perceptual curiosity. Our results provide neurobiological support for a classic psychological theory of curiosity, which holds that curiosity is an aversive condition of increased arousal whose termination is rewarding and facilitates memory.

  12. Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Emergencies, and International Law: Understanding the Intersection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brolan, Claire E; Gouda, Hebe

    2017-05-01

    Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems are typically run by governments to record every birth, adoption, death, marriage, and divorce that occurs among a country's population. Registration of vital events provides individuals with a formal relationship with the State and each other, and is the foundation of a person's identity, nationality, and legal status. At a population level, vital statistics are essential for effective planning and implementation of policies and services. Globally, strong CRVS systems are increasingly recognised as a crucial backbone for redressing health inequities and as a priority in strengthening global health and development efforts. Many countries, however, currently lack adequate and reliable CRVS systems, leaving many people vulnerable to statelessness, limited access to important government services (such as education and health services), and effective legal protection. Public health and humanitarian emergencies in such contexts can expose those already disadvantaged and marginalised to heightened risk. CRVS systems weakened by crises make registration difficult or impossible and unregistered people may be displaced or separated from their families, exacerbating their susceptibility. The presence of a strong CRVS system, therefore, can facilitate effective and cost-effective emergency responses, help prevent exploitation of individuals (particularly women and children), and help to rebuild communities post-crisis. This article will consequently review the international legal mandates that exist to strengthen CRVS systems globally, with particular view to public health and humanitarian emergencies. Identity and citizenship, and the socio-political contexts in which these concepts co-exist, are inevitably interconnected with CRVS. This can create potential for CRVS systems and data to be exploited as a political instrument. Grounding CRVS strengthening in a single binding, human rights law instrument is a potential way

  13. Relief of depression and pain improves daily functioning and quality of life in patients with major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ching-Hua; Yen, Yung-Chieh; Chen, Ming-Chao; Chen, Cheng-Chung

    2013-12-02

    The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of depression relief and pain relief on the improvement in daily functioning and quality of life (QOL) for depressed patients receiving a 6-week treatment of fluoxetine. A total of 131 acutely ill inpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) were enrolled to receive 20mg of fluoxetine daily for 6 weeks. Depression severity, pain severity, daily functioning, and health-related QOL were assessed at baseline and again at week 6. Depression severity, pain severity, and daily functioning were assessed using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) Body Pain Index, and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. Health-related QOL was assessed by three primary domains of the SF-36, including social functioning, vitality, and general health perceptions. Pearson's correlation and structural equation modeling were used to examine relationships among the study variables. Five models were proposed. In model 1, depression relief alone improved daily functioning and QOL. In model 2, pain relief alone improved daily functioning and QOL. In model 3, depression relief, mediated by pain relief, improved daily functioning and QOL. In model 4, pain relief, mediated by depression relief, improved daily functioning and QOL. In model 5, both depression relief and pain relief improved daily functioning and QOL. One hundred and six patients completed all the measures at baseline and at week 6. Model 5 was the most fitted structural equation model (χ(2) = 8.62, df = 8, p = 0.376, GFI = 0.975, AGFI = 0.935, TLI = 0.992, CFI = 0.996, RMSEA = 0.027). Interventions which relieve depression and pain improve daily functioning and QOL among patients with MDD. The proposed model can provide quantitative estimates of improvement in treating patients with MDD. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The opium poppy as a symbol of sleep in Bertel Thorvaldsen's relief of 1815.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tekiner, Halil; Kosar, Muberra

    2016-03-01

    Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) is one of the most remarkable representatives of Neoclassicist sculptural art in Europe, which was largely inspired by the classical art and culture of Greek and Roman antiquity. A pair of marble reliefs, Night and Day, exhibited in the Thorvaldsen Museum (Copenhagen), marks the culmination of Thorvaldsen's relief art and is of particular interest to the history of sleep medicine. In the first relief, Night, an angel with her neck bent and eyes closed has two babies in her embrace and seems to be floating down in grief, with an owl hovering behind her. Her hair is also twined with opium poppies, the symbol of sleep and death in antiquity. Our findings suggest that this relief not only indicates a mythological association between the opium poppy and sleep but also has a strong connotation with the poppy's medicinal use for inducing sleep throughout the centuries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Private Sector Investments from Small States in Emerging Markets: Can International Financial Institutions Help Handle the Risks?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The private sector plays an important role in the economic reconstruction of emerging market economies, and international financial institutions (IFIs increasingly work in partnership with the private sector to increase economic growth and reduce poverty in those economies. IFIs, for example, offer: (i equity financing and/or loans for private sector projects, (ii investment guarantees against political risks (or non-commercial risks, (iii technical assistance, and (iv advisory services, etc. This article will briefly discuss the services that IFIs offer the private sector in emerging markets and cases in which these services could be useful for Icelandic companies. The institutions discussed are (i the World Bank Group, (ii the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, (iii the Asian Development Bank (AsDB, (iv the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB, and (v the African Development Bank (AfDB. A few Icelandic firms already have plans for relatively large projects in emerging market economies, especially in the energy sector, some of them in countries that could be classified as being risky. The ongoing economic crisis in Iceland will make project financing in emerging markets more problematic than before and therefore investments in partnership with international financial institutions could be an option that Icelandic firms will increasingly need to consider if they intend to invest abroad. However, increased private sector and IFI partnerships will not happen without government action. Iceland is a member of only two of the above-mentioned IFIs: the World Bank Group and the EBRD. The decision for Iceland to become member of the AsDB, IDB and AfDB rests solely with the government. Further government inaction in this area could become an impediment for foreign direct investment from Iceland to emerging markets and increase risks when the Icelandic private sector invests in those economies. Unnecessary risks might not only hurt

  16. International conference on non-military radiation emergencies: [Final technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    The subject of this report was limited to non-military radiation emergencies because such events needed to be addressed and the topic was considered to be manageable. The Conference theme developed around the lessons learned from the radiation emergencies at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Windscale. Specific topics to be considered included acute and long-term effects of radiation exposure; frequency and nature of radiation emergencies; national standards for exposures to ionizing radiation; plans and procedures for responding to emergencies at the hospital, community, and national levels; and responsibilities of physicians and other health professionals regarding radiation exposures and emergencies

  17. Racial Differences in Opiate Administration for Pain Relief at an Academic Emergency Department

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dickason, R. Myles

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The decision to treat pain in the emergency department (ED is a complex, idiosyncratic process. Prior studies have shown that EDs undertreat pain. Several studies demonstrate an association between analgesia administration and race. This is the first Midwest single institution study to address the question of race and analgesia, in addition to examining the effects of both patient and physician characteristics on race-based disparities in analgesia administration. Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of patients presenting to an urban academic ED with an isolated diagnosis of back pain, migraine, or long bone fracture (LBF from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011. Demographic and medication administration information was collected from patient charts by trained data collectors blinded to the hypothesis of the study. The primary outcome was the proportion of African-Americans who received analgesia and opiates, as compared to Caucasians, using Pearson’s chi-squared test. We developed a multiple logistic regression model to identify which physician and patient characteristics correlated with increased opiate administration. Results: Of the 2,461 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 57% were African-American and 30% Caucasian (n=2136. There was no statistically significant racial difference in the administration of any analgesia (back pain: 86% vs. 86%, p=0.81; migraine: 83% vs. 73%, p=0.09; LBF: 94% vs. 90%, p=0.17, or in opiate administration for migraine or LBF. African-Americans who presented with back pain were less likely to receive an opiate than Caucasians (50% vs. 72%, p<0.001. Secondary outcomes showed that higher acuity, older age, physician training in emergency medicine, and male physicians were positively associated with opiate administration. Neither race nor gender patient-physician congruency correlated with opiate administration. Conclusion: No race-based disparity in overall analgesia administration was

  18. Coordinating Robot Teams for Disaster Relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-01

    eventually guide vehicles in cooperation with its Operator(s), but in this paper we assume static mission goals, a fixed number of vehicles, and a...is tedious and error prone. Kress-Gazit et al. (2009) instead synthesize an FSA from an LTL specification using a game theory approach (Bloem et al...helping an Operator coordinate a team of vehicles in Disaster Relief. Acknowledgements Thanks to OSD ASD (R&E) for sponsoring this research. The

  19. Vibration stress relief treatment in welded samples of ST-3 steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suarez, J.C.; Fernandez, L.M.; Echevarria, J.F.; Estevez, A.; Perez, A.; Aragon, B.

    1996-01-01

    The presented work is aimed to find the optimal vibration frequency and treatment duration for ST-3 steel welded test pieces. In the experiment transversal stresses were not virtually relieved by the application of vibrations at the three natural frecuencies. With regard to the optimal frequency for our system, the firths natural frequency appears to be most effective one, wherewith a maximum 35-70 % longitudinal stress relief was obtained. The influence of the propagation direction (transversal or longitudinal) of vibrations on stress relief in a welded joint was confirmed

  20. Centralized cooperative spectrum sensing for ad-hoc disaster relief network clusters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pratas, Nuno; Marchetti, Nicola; Prasad, Neeli R.

    2010-01-01

    Disaster relief networks have to be highly adaptable and resilient. Cognitive radio enhanced ad-hoc architecture have been put forward as a candidate to enable such networks. Spectrum sensing is the cornerstone of the cognitive radio paradigm, and it has been the target of intensive research....... The main common conclusion was that the achievable spectrum sensing accuracy can be greatly enhanced through the use of cooperative sensing schemes. When considering applying Cognitive Radio to ad-hoc disaster relief networks, spectrum sensing cooperative schemes are paramount. A centralized cluster...

  1. A Surface Relief Meter Based on Trinocular Vision

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ernst, V.G.S.; Sablik, P.W.; Balendonck, J.; Houkes, Z.; Regtien, Paulus P.L.

    1995-01-01

    The concept for the relief meter being developed, appears to function well, when used with the artificial images. The described matching criterion leads to high matching percentages, and accurate results. The percentage of mismatches is reduced to practically zero for the tested scenes. Future work

  2. Cuban internationalism - an alternative form of globalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Maria; Melluish, Steve; Lorenzo, Alexis

    2014-10-01

    This paper looks at how the principles of internationalism have been integral to the Cuban healthcare system and to Cuba's cooperation and medical support in other countries around the world. The paper details the range and scope of Cuban health internationalism and the principles that underpin the Cuban approach of long-term collaboration, humane care, contextualization, trans-disciplinarity, respect for collective/historical memory and an ethical stance. The paper details the role of Cuban psychologists who have contributed to disaster relief work and gives an example of the Cuban approach in relation to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010.

  3. Managing dislocations of the hip, knee, and ankle in the emergency department [digest].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Caylyne; Fayos, Zane; Bruner, David; Arnold, Dylan; Gupta, Nachi; Nusbaum, Jeffrey

    2017-12-20

    Dislocation of the major joints of the lower extremities--hip, knee, and ankle--can occur due to motor-vehicle crashes, falls, and sports injuries. Hip dislocations are the most common, and they require emergent management to prevent avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Knee dislocations are uncommon but potentially dangerous injuries that can result in amputation due to the potential for missed secondary injury, especially if they are reduced spontaneously. Isolated ankle dislocations are relatively rare, as most ankle dislocations involve an associated fracture. This review presents an algorithmic approach to management that ensures that pain relief, imaging, reduction, vascular monitoring, and emergent orthopedic consultation are carried out in a timely fashion. [Points & Pearls is a digest of Emergency Medicine Practice.].

  4. Radiological emergencies - planning and preparedness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1986-12-31

    This information and training film in three parts deals with the technical background for emergency planning, emergency planning concepts and emergency preparedness. It describes the technical characteristics of radiological emergencies on which important emergency planning concepts are based and the purpose of those concepts. The film also demonstrates how emergency organizations must work together to ensure adequate preparedness. The programme reflects the standards, guidance and recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency

  5. The psychological effects of widespread emergencies and a first responder training course on a violent, developing community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jared H. Sun

    2011-12-01

    Conclusion: Violence and emergencies are having a deep, negative impact on the psychology of the Cape Flats’ community members. First responder training is one intervention that can provide stress relief to the community, increase the likeliness community members will help each other during an emergency, and increase their confidence while helping. This was true even for those who were not trained voluntarily, and the more a trainee learned in the course the more likely they improved in initiative and confidence.

  6. The International Curriculum: Current Trends and Emerging Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Jesse Jones

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the current state of tertiary level international curricula and provides groundwork for future research aimed at ongoing needs. Recognized is the premise that existing international curricular programs require maintenance. Burn (1995) called for curriculum reform in international departments two decades ago with the rationale…

  7. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (P.L. 108-189)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Velez Pollack, Estela I

    2004-01-01

    Recognizing the special burdens that members of the military may encounter in trying to meet their financial obligations while serving their country, Congress passed the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 (SSCRA...

  8. The IAEAs incident and emergency centre: the global focal point for nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness and response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buglova, E.

    2016-08-01

    The continuous use of nuclear power to generate electricity and the continued threat of radioactive materials being used for nefarious reasons reminds us of the importance to stay prepared to respond to nuclear or radiological emergencies. Stringent nuclear safety and nuclear security requirements, the training of personnel, operational checks and legal frameworks cannot always prevent radiation-related emergencies. Though these events can range in severity, each has the potential to cause harm to the public, employees, patients, property and the environment. Until the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, there was no international information exchange system. Immediately following that accident, the international community negotiated the so-called Emergency Conventions to ensure that the country suffering an accident with an international transboundary release of radioactive material would issue timely, authenticated information, while the States that could field technical support, would do so in a coordinated fashion. The Conventions also place specific legal obligations on the International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) with regard to emergency preparedness and response. (Author)

  9. Non-destructive Assessment of Relief Marking Parameters of Heat Shrinkable Installation Parts for Aviation Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kondratov Aleksandr P.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article explains a new method of relief marking of heat-shrinkable tubing and sleeves made of polymer materials with “shape memory effect.” Method of instrument evaluation of relief marking stereometry of installation parts for aviation equipment, made of polyvinyl chloride, polyethyleneterephthalate and polystyrene was developed and the results were explained. Parameters of pin-point relief marking and compliance of point forms to the Braille font standard were determined with the use of the non-destructive method based on the color of interference pattern with precision of 0.02 mm.

  10. Improved Pain Relief With Burst Spinal Cord Stimulation for Two Weeks in Patients Using Tonic Stimulation: Results From a Small Clinical Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtney, Peter; Espinet, Anthony; Mitchell, Bruce; Russo, Marc; Muir, Andrew; Verrills, Paul; Davis, Kristina

    2015-07-01

    Conventional spinal cord stimulation (SCS) delivers a tonic waveform with consistent stream of pulses; burst delivers groups of pulses separated by short pulse-free periods. The current study compared the short-term safety and efficacy of burst with tonic stimulation in subjects already receiving SCS. At 4 IRB-approved sites, 22 subjects previously implanted with an SCS device for intractable, chronic pain gave informed consent and received burst stimulation for 14 days. Subjects reported average daily Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for overall, trunk, and limb pain using tonic stimulation and after 7 and 14 days of burst stimulation. Thoughts about pain were assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Areas of paresthesia were assessed during tonic and burst stimulation using body maps. Assessment of patient satisfaction and preferred stimulation occurred after 14 days of burst. Average daily overall VAS reduced 46% from a mean of 53.5 (±20.2) mm during tonic SCS to 28.5 (±18.1) mm during burst (p pain relief was the most common reason cited for preference. A majority of subjects reported improved pain relief using burst compared with tonic stimulation. Most subjects experienced less paresthesia during burst and preferred burst citing better pain relief. © 2015 The Authors. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Neuromodulation Society.

  11. Epidural morphine for postoperative pain relief in children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henneberg, S W; Hole, P; Haas, Inge Madsen De

    1993-01-01

    the investigation. We observed a change in the sleeping pattern with an increased number of sleep-induced myoclonia during the administration of epidural morphine. In conclusion, the use of epidural morphine in children for postoperative pain relief is very efficient. The minimal effective dose has not been...

  12. Quantifying relief on alluvial fans using airborne lidar to reveal patterns of sediment accumulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morelan, A. E., III; Oskin, M. E.

    2017-12-01

    We present a method of quantifying detailed surface relief on alluvial fans from high-resolution topography. Average slope and curvature of the fan are used together to empirically derive an idealized, radially symmetric fan surface, from which we compute residual topography. Maps produced using this technique highlight spatial patterns of fan deposition and avulsion. Regions of high residual topography reveal active and abandoned sediment lobes accumulated from recent depositional events, often with well-defined channels at their apex. Preliminary observations suggest that surface relief is uniform across a collection of fans in a given region and source lithology. Alluvial fans with granitic catchment lithologies in eastern California (n=12), each with varying source catchment size and mean fan slope, all show relief of around 4 meters. A collection of fans from the Carrizo Plain in central California (n=12), with source catchments set within Miocene marine and nonmarine sedimentary rocks, show significantly lower relief values around 2 meters. We hypothesize that particle grain size determines this contrasting relief through its control on the thickness of fan-building debris flows. In both settings we find that sediment lobes tend to extend toward the fan toe. This pattern supports a process, observed in analog experiments, of fan deposition dominated by back-filling and overtopping of distributary channels by debris-flows.

  13. Prescription opioid use among addictions treatment patients: nonmedical use for pain relief vs. other forms of nonmedical use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohnert, Amy S B; Eisenberg, Anna; Whiteside, Lauren; Price, Amanda; McCabe, Sean Esteban; Ilgen, Mark A

    2013-03-01

    Differences between those who engage in nonmedical prescription opioid use for reasons other than pain relief and those who engage in nonmedical use for reasons related to pain only are not well understood. Adults in a residential treatment program participated in a cross-sectional self-report survey. Participants reported whether they used opioids for reasons other than pain relief (e.g., help sleep, improve mood, or relieve stress). Within those with past-month nonmedical opioid use (n=238), logistic regression tested differences between those who reported use for reasons other than pain relief and those who did not. Nonmedical use of opioids for reasons other than pain relief was more common (66%) than nonmedical use for pain relief only (34%), and those who used for reasons other than pain relief were more likely to report heavy use (43% vs. 11%). Nonmedical use for reasons other than pain relief was associated with having a prior overdose (odds ratio [OR]=2.54, 95% CI: 1.36-4.74) and use of heroin (OR=4.08, 95% CI: 1.89-8.79), barbiturates (OR=6.44, 95% CI: 1.47, 28.11), and other sedatives (OR=5.80, 95% CI: 2.61, 12.87). Individuals who reported nonmedical use for reasons other than pain relief had greater depressive symptoms (13.1 vs. 10.5) and greater pain medication expectancies across all three domains (pleasure/social enhancement, pain reduction, negative experience reduction). Among patients in addictions treatment, individuals who report nonmedical use of prescription opioids for reasons other than pain relief represent an important clinical sub-group with greater substance use severity and poorer mental health functioning. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Western Gulf of Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  15. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Central Gulf of Mexico

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides the first comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a...

  16. U.S. Coastal Relief Model - Southern California Version 2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NGDC's U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM) provides a comprehensive view of the U.S. coastal zone integrating offshore bathymetry with land topography into a seamless...

  17. 75 FR 60846 - Notice of Intent To Establish the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Scientific...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... representative of the HIV/AIDS community, academia, international experts, partner government representatives, multilateral and bilateral agency representatives, foundations, advocates, and non-governmental organizations... international strategies and implementation, and the role of PEPFAR in the international discourse regarding...

  18. Exploring Heat Stress Relief Measures among the Australian Labour Force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zander, Kerstin K; Mathew, Supriya; Garnett, Stephen T

    2018-02-26

    Australia experiences frequent heat waves and generally high average temperatures throughout the continent with substantial impacts on human health and the economy. People adapt to heat by adopting various relief measures in their daily lives including changing their behaviour. Many labour intensive outdoor industries implement standards for heat stress management for their workforce. However, little is known about how people cope with heat at their workplaces apart from studies targeting some specific industries where labourers are exposed to extreme heat. Here, we analysed responses from 1719 people in the Australian labour force to self-reported heat stress and associated coping mechanisms. Three quarters of respondents experienced heat stress at their workplace with fatigue and headache being the two most frequently stated symptoms. Almost all of those who were affected by heat would hydrate (88%), 67% would cool, and 44% would rest as a strategy for coping with heat. About 10% intended to change their jobs because of heat stress in the workplace. We found differences in heat relief measures across gender, education, health, level of physical intensity of job, and time spent working outside. People working in jobs that were not very demanding physically were more likely to choose cooling down as a relief measure, while those in labour intensive jobs and jobs that required considerable time outside were more likely to rest. This has potential consequences for their productivity and work schedules. Heat affects work in Australia in many types of industry with impact dependent on workforce acclimatisation, yet public awareness and work relief plans are often limited to outdoor and labour intensive industries. Industries and various levels of government in all sectors need to implement standards for heat management specific to climate zones to help people cope better with high temperatures as well as plan strategies in anticipation of projected temperature

  19. Exploring Heat Stress Relief Measures among the Australian Labour Force

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerstin K. Zander

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Australia experiences frequent heat waves and generally high average temperatures throughout the continent with substantial impacts on human health and the economy. People adapt to heat by adopting various relief measures in their daily lives including changing their behaviour. Many labour intensive outdoor industries implement standards for heat stress management for their workforce. However, little is known about how people cope with heat at their workplaces apart from studies targeting some specific industries where labourers are exposed to extreme heat. Here, we analysed responses from 1719 people in the Australian labour force to self-reported heat stress and associated coping mechanisms. Three quarters of respondents experienced heat stress at their workplace with fatigue and headache being the two most frequently stated symptoms. Almost all of those who were affected by heat would hydrate (88%, 67% would cool, and 44% would rest as a strategy for coping with heat. About 10% intended to change their jobs because of heat stress in the workplace. We found differences in heat relief measures across gender, education, health, level of physical intensity of job, and time spent working outside. People working in jobs that were not very demanding physically were more likely to choose cooling down as a relief measure, while those in labour intensive jobs and jobs that required considerable time outside were more likely to rest. This has potential consequences for their productivity and work schedules. Heat affects work in Australia in many types of industry with impact dependent on workforce acclimatisation, yet public awareness and work relief plans are often limited to outdoor and labour intensive industries. Industries and various levels of government in all sectors need to implement standards for heat management specific to climate zones to help people cope better with high temperatures as well as plan strategies in anticipation of projected

  20. Challenges imposed by International Environmental Law to Classical International Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabian Augusto Cárdenas Castañeda

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of international environmental law has produced important challenges to the very foundations of public international law. Traditional concepts such as state sovereignty, subjects of international law, and the early perspectives of national security are being transformed. The needs of the contemporary international society differ from the ones of the Wesphalian conception, situations which clearly explains the raise of alternative views for the understanding of the current dynamics of international law, where concepts like res communis, common concerns and simply “commons” take a privileged place in the study of international law. The foregoing has been strengthened by the international development of the so called erga ommnes obligations, label which is being used by international environmental law as the perfect explanation of its own existence. This academic article presents and studies the abovementioned concepts trying to compare what international law used to be before the emergence of international environmental law and what it is and what it should be in order to attend the developments and challenges imposed by the contemporary international society, particularly by international environmental law, a new fi eld of the corpus juris of public international law.

  1. Improving low-relief coastal LiDAR DEMs with hydro-conditioning of fine-scale and artificial drainages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Richard Allen

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Improvements in Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR technology and spatial analysis of high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs have advanced the accuracy and diversity of applications for coastal hazards and natural resources management. This article presents a concise synthesis of LiDAR analysis for coastal flooding and management applications in low-relief coastal plains and a case study demonstration of a new, efficient drainage mapping algorithm. The impetus for these LiDAR applications follows historic flooding from Hurricane Floyd in 1999, after which the State of North Carolina and the Federal Emergency Management Agency undertook extensive LiDAR data acquisition and technological developments for high-resolution floodplain mapping. An efficient algorithm is outlined for hydro-conditioning bare earth LiDAR DEMs using available US Geological Survey National Hydrography Dataset canal and ditch vectors. The methodology is illustrated in Moyock, North Carolina, for refinement of hydro-conditioning by combines pre-existing bare earth DEMs with spatial analysis of LiDAR point clouds in segmented and buffered ditch and canal networks. The methodology produces improved maps of fine-scale drainage, reduced omission of areal flood inundation, and subwatershed delineations that typify heavily ditched and canalled drainage areas. These preliminary results illustrate the capability of the technique to improve the representation of ditches in DEMs as well as subsequent flow and inundation modeling that could spur further research on low-relief coastal LiDAR applications.

  2. Features of organization and provision of emergency psychological assistance in an emergency situation (psychologist assistance during fire suppression in Admiral Shopping Center, the city of Kazan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia S. Shoigu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper uses the experience of psychological service of EMERCOM in Russia. The notion of emergency psychological aid in emergency situations involving analyzing and predicting risk of adverse social and psychological mass phenomena in emergency and risk management approaches. For example, a particular emergency situation caused by the fire and the collapse of Admiral Shopping Center in Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan, which took place 11 March 2015, the basic principles of organizing experts of the psychological service of EMERCOM of Russia, involved in elimination of emergency situations effects, including expert practice and challenges. General approach to the provision of emergency psychological assistance to the victims and relatives of those killed and injured during the emergency and organization of such work in specific areas are outlined: on-site emergency, «hotline» phone in the Bureau of Forensic Medicine. Organization of interdepartmental cooperation of EMERCOM psychological service experts of Russia with other services engaged and disaster relief efforts are briefly touched upon. The paper raises issues of cooperation with psychologist organizations within the framework of the unified state system of prevention and liquidation of emergency situations to ensure prolonged psychological assistance to the victims and relatives of those killed and injured.In the conclusion, factors in a given emergency situation that could affect the psychological state of the victims are estimated.

  3. Experience from implementing international standards in national emergency response planning national adjustments and suggestions for improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naadland Holo, E.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: A process has been going on for some time in Norway to establish a harmonized background for emergency response planning for any kind of nuclear or radiological accident. The national emergency preparedness organisation with the crisis committee for nuclear accident, consisting of representatives from civil defence, defence, police-, health-, and food control authorities, has the authority to implement countermeasures to protect health, environment and national interests in case of an accident or in case of nuclear terrorism. However, in an early phase, the response plans need to be fully harmonized to ensure that every operational level knows their responsibility and the responsibilities of others. Our intention is to implement the IAEA standard 'preparedness and response for a nuclear or radiological emergency'. We believe this will simplify national and international communication and also simplify the crisis management if an accident occurs. In revising the national plans, and also the planning basis at regional and local level, as well as the planning basis for response to accidents at national nuclear facilities and in connection with arrival of nuclear submarines in Norwegian harbours, we have seen the need to make national adjustments to the international standards. In addition to the standard, there exist several other processes and routines for reporting different kinds of incidents. We have seen a need to coordinate this internally at the competent authority to simplify the routines. This paper will focus on the challenges we have met, our national solutions and some suggestions for simplification. National adjustments to the international standard. - Firstly, the threat categorization needs to be adjusted. First of all, we do not have nuclear power plants in Norway. In the aftermath of 11 September 2001 we also have focused more an the potential for nuclear terrorism. Nuclear terrorism is unlikely but puts up some new requirements in the

  4. Emergency Support Function 15: Communication Synchronization during Defense Support of Civil Authorities Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-12

    for the future. I would like to thank my parents Juan and Helen for their love, support, and guidance; your hard work and sacrifices have given me...required support to civil authortities during emergency relief operations.9 Once civil authorites are capable of resuming responsibility for the...Freeman posit the researcher has an understanding of the cognitive styles of the program stakeholders which will increase access and comprehension of

  5. Global Innovation in Emerging Economies | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-12-21

    Dec 21, 2010 ... Book cover Global Innovation in Emerging Economies ... These trends are occurring in a dynamic business environment that consists of ... They have both managerial and policy implications for the companies and the ...

  6. Collaborative Audit of Risk Evaluation in Medical Emergency Treatment (CARE-MET I) - an international pilot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subbe, C P; Gauntlett, W; Kellett, J G

    2010-06-01

    The absence of an accepted model for risk-adjustment of acute medical admissions leads to suboptimal clinical triage and serves as a disincentive to compare outcomes in different hospitals. The Simple Clinical Score (SCS) is a model based on 16 clinical parameters affecting hospital mortality. We undertook a feasibility pilot in 21 hospitals in Europe and New Zealand each collecting data for 12 or more consecutive medical emergency admissions. Data from 281 patients was analysed. Severity of illness as estimated by SCS was related to risk of admission to the Intensive Care Unit (pRisk group to 22% in the Very High Risk Group (p<0.0001). Very low scores were associated with earlier discharge as opposed to very high scores (mean length of stay of 2.4 days vs 5.6 days, p<0.001). There were differences in the pattern of discharges in different hospitals with comparable SCS data. Clinicians reported no significant problems with the collection of data for the score in a number of different health care settings. The SCS appears to be a feasible tool to assist clinical triage of medical emergency admissions. The ability to view the profile of the SCS for different clinical centres opens up the possibility of accurate comparison of outcomes across clinical centres without distortion by different regional standards of health care. This pilot study demonstrates that the adoption of the SCS is practical across an international range of hospitals. Copyright 2010 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Over a decade of nuclear emergency management at the Nea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahier, B.

    2005-01-01

    The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has a long tradition of expertise in the area of nuclear emergency policy, planning, preparedness and management. Through its activities in this field, the Agency offers its member countries unbiased assistance on nuclear preparedness matters, with a view to facilitating improvements in nuclear emergency preparedness strategies and response at the international level. The 1986 Chernobyl accident demonstrated that nuclear accidents can have international consequences, highlighting the need for international co-operation, and leading to improvements in the areas of international communication, information exchange and harmonization of response actions between countries. From its inception, the NEA Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters has focused on improving the effectiveness of international nuclear emergency preparedness and management. Part of its work programme is set on exploring and developing new concepts and future procedures to enhance national and international preparedness and response management. A central approach to this has been the preparation and conduct of the International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEX) series. The role and strategies of exercises and future directions are discussed in this presentation. (A.L.B.)

  8. Nuclear emergency preparedness in Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-03-01

    The preparedness of utilities and government agencies at various levels for dealing with nuclear emergencies occurring at nuclear reactors in Canada is reviewed and assessed. The review is centered on power reactors, but selected research reactors are included also. Emergency planning in the U.S.A., Germany and France, and international recommendations on emergency planning are reviewed to provide background and a basis for comparison. The findings are that Canadians are generally well protected by existing nuclear emergency plans at the electric utility and provincial levels but there are improvements that can be made, mainly at the federal level and in federal-provincial coordination. Ten issues of importance are identified: commitment to nuclear emergency planning by the federal government; division of federal and provincial roles and responsibilities; auditing of nuclear emergency preparedness of all levels of government and of electric utilities; the availability of technical guidance appropriate to Canada; protective action levels for public health and safety; communication with the public; planning and response for the later phases of a nuclear emergency; off-site exercises and training; coordination of international assistance; and emergency planning for research reactors. (L.L.) 79 refs., 2 tabs

  9. Modeling of normal contact of elastic bodies with surface relief taken into account

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goryacheva, I. G.; Tsukanov, I. Yu

    2018-04-01

    An approach to account the surface relief in normal contact problems for rough bodies on the basis of an additional displacement function for asperities is considered. The method and analytic expressions for calculating the additional displacement function for one-scale and two-scale wavy relief are presented. The influence of the microrelief geometric parameters, including the number of scales and asperities density, on additional displacements of the rough layer is analyzed.

  10. Sandy PMO Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 Financial Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — Sandy PMO: Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Sandy Supplemental Bill) Financial Data. This is the Sandy Supplemental Quarterly Financial Datasets that are...

  11. Modelling the Influence of Ground Surface Relief on Electric Sounding Curves Using the Integral Equations Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balgaisha Mukanova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The problem of electrical sounding of a medium with ground surface relief is modelled using the integral equations method. This numerical method is based on the triangulation of the computational domain, which is adapted to the shape of the relief and the measuring line. The numerical algorithm is tested by comparing the results with the known solution for horizontally layered media with two layers. Calculations are also performed to verify the fulfilment of the “reciprocity principle” for the 4-electrode installations in our numerical model. Simulations are then performed for a two-layered medium with a surface relief. The quantitative influences of the relief, the resistivity ratios of the contacting media, and the depth of the second layer on the apparent resistivity curves are established.

  12. Internal Bleeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Fractures (Part II) Additional Content Medical News Internal Bleeding By Amy H. Kaji, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, ... Emergency First Aid Priorities Cardiac Arrest Choking Internal Bleeding Severed or Constricted Limbs or Digits Soft-Tissue ...

  13. Globalisation, complex humanitarian emergencies and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dempsey, T J D; Munslow, B

    2006-01-01

    A new political economy of conflict has emerged in the aftermath of colonialism and the Cold War. Complex political emergencies have been simmering in the post-colonial world for more than three decades. Intra-country armed conflict, often combined with natural disasters, at present contributes to the displacement of over 20 million people world-wide. The international community remains profoundly uncomfortable with the complex political emergencies of the new era, torn between the respect for national sovereignty upon which the international political system of the United Nations and other agencies is built, and the growth of concern with human rights and a burgeoning International Humanitarian Law. Globalisation may have brought many benefits to some but there are also many losers. The Word Bank and the International Monetary Fund imposed structural adjustment policies to ensure debt repayment and economic restructuring that have resulted in a net reduction in expenditure on health, education and development. A downward spiral has been created of debt, disease, malnutrition, missed education, economic entrapment, poverty, powerlessness, marginalization, migration and instability. Africa's complex political emergencies are particularly virulent and tenacious. Three examples that are among the most serious humanitarian emergencies to have faced the world in recent times--those in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan--are reviewed here in detail. The political evolution of these emergencies and their impact on the health of the affected populations are also explored.

  14. International Taxation and FDI Strategies: Evidence From US Cross-Border Acquisitions

    OpenAIRE

    Nils Herger; Christos Kotsogiannis; Steve McCorriston

    2011-01-01

    While there is a well-established body of empirical research documenting the negative effect of taxation on foreign direct investment (FDI), there is scant evidence on the extent to which international tax considerations (double taxation, international tax relief stipulated in bilateral tax treaties and the effect of withholding taxes) affect the role of taxation for FDI, and how tax issues differ according to the investment strategies—‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’—pursued by %multinational fir...

  15. Ensuring safe water in post-chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amar, Praveen Kumar

    2010-01-01

    Disaster scenarios are dismal and often result in mass displacement and migration of people. In eventuality of emergency situations, people need to be rehabilitated and provided with an adequate supply of drinking water, the most essential natural resource needed for survival, which is often not easily available even during non-disaster periods. In the aftermath of a natural or human-made disaster affecting mankind and livestock, the prime aim is to ensure supply of safe water to reduce the occurrence and spread of water borne disease due to interrupted, poor and polluted water supply. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies augment the dilemma as an additional risk of “contamination” is added. The associated risks posed to health and life should be reduced to as low as reasonably achievable. Maintaining a high level of preparedness is the crux of quick relief and efficient response to ensure continuous supply of safe water, enabling survival and sustenance. The underlying objective would be to educate and train the persons concerned to lay down the procedures for the detection, cleaning, and treatment, purification including desalination, disinfection, and decontamination of water. The basic information to influence the organization of preparedness and execution of relief measures at all levels while maintaining minimum standards in water management at the place of disaster, are discussed in this article. PMID:21829321

  16. Ensuring safe water in post-chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Praveen Kumar Amar

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Disaster scenarios are dismal and often result in mass displacement and migration of people. In eventuality of emergency situations, people need to be rehabilitated and provided with an adequate supply of drinking water, the most essential natural resource needed for survival, which is often not easily available even during non-disaster periods. In the aftermath of a natural or human-made disaster affecting mankind and livestock, the prime aim is to ensure supply of safe water to reduce the occurrence and spread of water borne disease due to interrupted, poor and polluted water supply. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN emergencies augment the dilemma as an additional risk of "contamination" is added. The associated risks posed to health and life should be reduced to as low as reasonably achievable. Maintaining a high level of preparedness is the crux of quick relief and efficient response to ensure continuous supply of safe water, enabling survival and sustenance. The underlying objective would be to educate and train the persons concerned to lay down the procedures for the detection, cleaning, and treatment, purification including desalination, disinfection, and decontamination of water. The basic information to influence the organization of preparedness and execution of relief measures at all levels while maintaining minimum standards in water management at the place of disaster, are discussed in this article.

  17. Integrated surgical emergency training plan in the internship: A step toward improving the quality of training and emergency center management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhlaghi, Mohammad Reza; Vafamehr, Vajiheh; Dadgostarnia, Mohammad; Dehghani, Alireza

    2013-01-01

    In this study, by using a problem-oriented approach in the needs assessment, identifying the defects and deficiencies in emergency health training centers has been determined as the basis for the requirements. The main objective of the study was the implementation of surgical emergencies integration of the five surgical groups (general surgery, urology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and ENT) to meet the needs and determining its efficacy. THIS INTERVENTIONAL STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN THREE PHASES: (1) Phase I (design and planning): Needs assessment, recognition of implementation barriers and providing the objectives and training program for integrated emergencies. (2) Phase II (implementation): Justification of the main stakeholders of the project, preparation of students' duties in the emergency department, preparation of on-duty plans, supervising the implementation of the program, and reviewing the plan in parallel with the implementation based on the problems. (3) Phase III (evaluation): Reviewing the evidences based on the amount of efficiency of the plan and justification for its continuation. In the first and the second phase, the data were collected through holding focus group meetings and interviews. In the third phase, the opened-reply and closed-reply researcher-made questionnaires were used. The questionnaire face and content validity were confirmed by experts and the reliability was assessed by calculating the Cronbach's alpha. ACCORDING TO THE VIEWS OF THE INTERNS, ASSISTANTS, TEACHERS, AND EMERGENCY PERSONNEL, THE POSITIVE FEATURES OF THE PLAN INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING: Increasing the patients' satisfaction, reducing the patients' stay in the Emergency Department, increasing the speed of handling the patients, balancing the workloads of the interns, direct training of interns by young teachers of emergency medicine, giving the direct responsibility of the patient to the intern, practical and operational training of emergency issues, increasing the teamwork

  18. International electives in neurology training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons, Jennifer L.; Coleman, Mary E.; Engstrom, John W.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To ascertain the current status of global health training and humanitarian relief opportunities in US and Canadian postgraduate neurology programs. Background: There is a growing interest among North American trainees to pursue medical electives in low- and middle-income countries. Such training opportunities provide many educational and humanitarian benefits but also pose several challenges related to organization, human resources, funding, and trainee and patient safety. The current support and engagement of neurology postgraduate training programs for trainees to pursue international rotations is unknown. Methods: A survey was distributed to all program directors in the United States and Canada (December 2012–February 2013) through the American Academy of Neurology to assess the training opportunities, institutional partnerships, and support available for international neurology electives. Results: Approximately half of responding programs (53%) allow residents to pursue global health–related electives, and 11% reported that at least 1 trainee participated in humanitarian relief during training (survey response rate 61%, 143/234 program directors). Canadian programs were more likely to allow residents to pursue international electives than US programs (10/11, 91% vs 65/129, 50%, p = 0.023). The number of trainees participating in international electives was low: 0%–9% of residents (55% of programs) and 10%–19% of residents (21% of programs). Lack of funding was the most commonly cited reason for residents not participating in global health electives. If funding was available, 93% of program directors stated there would be time for residents to participate. Most program directors (75%) were interested in further information on global health electives. Conclusions: In spite of high perceived interest, only half of US neurology training programs include international electives, mostly due to a reported lack of funding. By contrast, the majority

  19. Emergency department radiology: reality or luxury? An international comparison.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kool, D.R.; Blickman, J.G.

    2010-01-01

    Changes in society and developments within emergency care affect imaging in the emergency department. It is clear that radiologists have to be pro-active to even survive. High quality service is the goal, and if we are to add value to the diagnostic (and therapeutic) chain of healthcare,

  20. On the capacity-formula for pressure relief devices of tanks for dangerous goods; Die Kapazitaetsformel fuer Druckentlastungsvorrichtungen von Gefahrguttanks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ludwig, J. [Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin (Germany)

    2000-09-01

    Each tank-container respectively portable tank for multimodal purposes has to be closed and fitted with safety devices (pressure relief devices). Pressure relief devices have to meet essential requirements concerning their total delivery capacity in condition of complete engulfment of the tank in fire. The total capacity of these devices should be sufficient to limit the pressure in the tank in each case to its test pressure, maximally. The total delivery capacity has to be determined by applying a formula which had been developed in the USA and taken over later on into international and national regulations on the transport of dangerous goods. The derivation of this formula will be described and evaluated with regard to given facts related to general thermodynamics and fire test results. (orig.) [German] Wesentliche Anforderung an Sicherheitseinrichtungen (Druckentlastungsvorrichtungen) fuer Tanks und Tankcontainer im multimodalen Verkehr ist, dass diese Einrichtungen im Feuerfall eine Gesamtdurchflussmenge aufweisen muessen, die zumindest einen Druckanstieg ueber den Pruefdruck hinaus verhindert. Die Ermittlung der Gesamtdurchflussmenge erfolgt nach einer in den USA entwickelten, in internationale und nationale Verkehrsvorschriften uebernommenen Zahlenwertgleichung (Kapazitaetsformel). Die Herleitung dieser Zahlenwertgleichung sowohl aus allgemein thermodynamischen als auch empirischen Gegebenheiten wird beschrieben und bewertet. (orig.)