1,720,979 research outputs found
Biomechanical risk assessment of pathologists in the morgue
No full textThe purpose of this study is to research the risk of biomechanical overload in pathologists during autopsies performed in dissection room. During autopsies, operators are exposed both to the risks of manual handling, in transferring the cadaver from the trolley to the dissection table (and vice versa), and to awkward postures during the incision and opening of the cadaver to examine the organs. Following task analysis, we decided to use, according to the task, the methods that best describes it and include its peculiar characteristics. The methods used were: the REBA protocol, 3DSSPP software and surface electromyography. The results show that, in almost all the tasks investigated and with all the methods used, there was a medium-high risk of biomechanical overload. In the light of these results, we suggest possible intervention strategies for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) during the performance of autopsies
Back and Shoulder Biomechanical Load in Curbside Waste Workers
No full textData from various countries (USA, Great Britain, Brazil, Italy, India, etc.) shows a significant prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal disorders in kerbside waste collection workers. We investigated some biomechanical parameters of the task of pouring bins in collection kerb through 3DSSPP software. (v 7.0.6). Bins manual handling was investigated in four different operating modes: through 1) a lorry side window; 2) at the back of the lorry; 3) in a certified container; 4) in a non-certified container. 3DSSPP risk assessment showed that bin pouring implies a high level of biomechanical load in each of the four modes. The most dangerous mode was that in which the worker empties the bin directly into the back of the van (mode 2). 3DSSPP showed significant values of percentage of maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC) for trunk flexion (67% MVC), left shoulder abduction (30% MVC) and left wrist ulnar deviation (50% MVC). These values imply a low level of the maximum recommended exertion duty cycle (1% for trunk flexion, 3.2% for left wrist ulnar deviation). Also the balance was unacceptable. Emptying technique that showed the lowest level of risk was mode 3 (certified container) that reported 29% of MVC for trunk flexion and a maximum recommended exertion duty cycle of 13.6%. 3DSSPP showed no relevant values of orthogonal and shear forces at L4/L5 and L5/S1 levels. Finally, this technique was the only one that showed an acceptable balance. It would be desirable to design the vehicles for collection with easier access, as the operator is continuously getting on and off
Kerbside Waste Collection Round Risk Assessment by Means of Physiological Parameters: sEMG and Heart Rate
No full textThe occupational health risks in waste collection workers have been widely investigated. Many studies show that workers are exposed to several risk factors. Aim of the study is biomechanical risk assessment of kerbside waste collection workers. The paper focused on the task that literature showed as the most overloading, that is emptying the bin in the lorry. Simulations were made in a rubbish dump where upper limbs and trunk muscles activity were recorded through surface electromyography (sEMG) to verify the biomechanical load for the four emptying techniques usually adopted. It was also recorded heart rate of workers during the collection round to determine their Relative Cardiac Cost (RCC). sEMG results for the task of emptying the bin, showed a significant effort of the paravertebral muscles for each techniques. About upper limbs, sEMG showed that emptying the bin directly into the collection lorry from the back was the most overloading technique. This is due to the workers arms raise well over shoulder height. The lightest technique was the emptying of the bin inside a certified container but, due to its small volume, this led to an increase in collection round time. RCC results showed moderate activity, according to the Chamoux scale, in three of the four workers, only one of them showed a quite heavy activity. A redesign of the collection lorries with certified and larger containers would reduce the risk. It would be also desirable a turnover of employees to allow them to work alternatively in areas of high population density, with higher risk, and in low-density areas with lower risk
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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