No description available.

This study examined the effects of response restriction (blocking and protective equipment) on subsequent durations of self-injury with two female participants with developmental disabilities. First, a functional analysis was conducted with each participant to identify potential maintaining variables of the self-injury. Second, access to the response was systematically restricted in a multiple schedule restriction paradigm. A baseline extended alone was conducted without the restriction component in place as a control condition. For one participant the results suggested that response restriction may have increased subsequent durations of responding once the restriction element was removed. For a second participant responding did not appear to be affected by the restriction component.

Thermal textiles used in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are used to protect individuals from the hazards of thermal energy. An analytical model of the diffusion of thermal energy within the fabric was developed to simulate the transfer of thermal energy due to a hot liquid splash. Based on the model results, it was determined that that the use of an orthotropic material in which the thermal conductivities in the radial and axial directions are different can be used to decrease the amount of heat transferred through the fabric and thereby increase amount of protection in PPE. An orthotropic material particularly performs well under situations where splashes are small in size and short in time duration. The increased level of protection may be enough to prevent a second-degree burn as determined by the Stoll criterion for materials in which the radial thermal conductivity is much larger than the axial thermal conductivity. , However, situations with larger splashes over longer duration, the benefits are minimal and at best may reduce the amount of energy transferred over part of the splash site thereby minimizing potential size of burn areas. A semi empirical test method in which analytical results are matched to experimental results by iteratively changing the radial thermal conductivity was presented as a way to extract information about the extent that a fabric is orthotropic. Preliminary results as compared to numerical CFD experimentation show that with a calibrated model, the method has potential of giving good results. Further physical experimentation is recommended to further validate that this method could be of use in determining the extent that a fabric is orthotropic.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / The purpose of this study was to establish whether PPE were used effectively, and to determine the knowledge about, attitude towards and practices of PPE by SLM employees. A quantitative research study was conducted using a questionnaire to gather data from employees who were working in a production area and who were exposed to possible occupational injuries and diseases. Two hundred and six employees responded to the questionnaire. The findings revealed that employees demonstrated inadequate knowledge about PPE and compliance while using PPE was not satisfactory. Conclusion There was an inappropriate response to the majority of the questions which indicated that the respondents had little understanding of PPE. They also demonstrated a negative attitude, and non-use of PPE. Key words: knowledge, attitude, practice, personal protective equipment

Bakgrund: Vid operativa ingrepp finns en risk för överföring av smitta mellan personal och patienter. Lokala riktlinjer ska reglera användningen av personlig skyddsutrustning. Huvudskydd används för att hindra hår och partiklar att falla ner på sterilt område. Ögonskydd skyddar personalens ögonslemhinna mot stänk av kroppsvätskor och användandet av dubbla handskar minskar risk för blodsmitta vid stick- och skärskador. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka preoperativa val av och motivering till val av huvudskydd, ögonskydd och handskar hos operatörer och operationssjuksköterskor.  Metod: I en empirisk, deskriptiv studie med tvärsnittsdesign undersöktes val av och motivering till val av huvudskydd, ögonskydd och handskar. Operationssjuksköterskor och operatörer observerades och tillfrågades med stöd av ett strukturerat frågeformulär. Resultat: På två operationsavdelningar i Stockholms län utfördes 240 observationer. Hjälmmössa valdes vid samtliga observationer inom ortopedi och vid mindre än hälften av övriga tillfällen. Ögonskydd valdes i mycket liten utsträckning av operatörer med motiveringen att de var obekväma. Operationssjuksköterskor valde att använda ögonskydd vid mer än hälften av observationerna med säkerhet som motivering. Dubbla handskar valdes vid 232 av 240 tillfällen. Slutsats: Mössa valdes för att den var bekväm och hjälm för att den rekommenderades. Ögonskydd valdes sällan. Förekomsten av att välja att använda dubbla handskar var god. Klinisk betydelse: Denna studie visar behov av information och utbildning om risken för smittoöverföring under operation. Fler och mer utförliga lokala riktlinjer för personlig skyddsutrustning skulle kunna öka användningen av hjälm och ögonskydd. / Background: Local guidelines are supposed to regulate the use of personal protective equipment to reduce the risk of transmission of infection between patients and staff during surgery. Headwear prevents hair and debris from falling down on the sterile field. Eyewear protects the eye mucosa from splashes of body fluids and the use of double gloving reduces the risk of blood contamination from sharps injuries. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the preoperative choices and motives of headwear, protective eyewear and gloves for surgeons and surgical nurses. Method: This is an empirical, descriptive study with cross-sectional design, examining the choices and motives of headwear, protective eyewear and gloves. Surgical nurses and surgeons were observed and questioned using structured questionnaires’. Results: A total of 240 observations were conducted in two surgical wards in the province of Stockholm. The staff chose to wear surgical helmets in all orthopedic surgeries and in less than half of the other surgical procedures. Surgeons did not choose to were protective eyewear, claiming they were uncomfortable. In more than half of the observations surgical nurses wore protective eyewear motivated by security reasons. Double gloving occurred in 232 occasions out of 240. Conclusion: Surgical helmets were chosen due to recommendations. Other types of headwear were chosen because they were comfortable. Eye protection was rarely chosen. The occurrence of double gloving was good. Clinical significance: This study demonstrates the need for information and education regarding the risk of transmission of infection during surgery. More and detailed local guidelines for personal protective equipment could increase the use of helmets and eye protection.

The 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak saw a substantial number of healthcare workers (HCWs) being infected, despite the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE is intended to protect HCWs when caring for patients with Ebola virus disease (EVD), but PPE may play a role in the spread of Ebola in healthcare environments. Before the removal of PPE, chemical disinfection may prevent the transfer of pathogens to HCWs, but the efficacy of common disinfectants against enveloped viruses, such as Ebola, on PPE surfaces is relatively unknown. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of two common disinfectants, chlorine bleach (Clorox® bleach) and quaternary ammonium (Micro-Chem Plus®), used in healthcare settings for inactivation of enveloped viruses on PPE. The virucidal activity of the two disinfectants were tested against bacteriophage Φ6, an enveloped, non-pathogenic surrogate for enveloped viruses, on Tyvek suit surfaces. Virus was dried onto Tyvek suit surface, exposed to the disinfectants at use-dilution for a contact time of one minute, and the surviving virus was quantified using a double agar layer (DAL) assay. The Clorox® bleach and Micro-Chem Plus® produced a >3.21 log10 reduction and >4.33 log10 reduction, respectively, in Φ6 infectivity. The results of this study suggest that chlorine bleach and quaternary ammonium are effective in the inactivation of enveloped viruses on Tyvek suit surfaces. Chemical disinfection of PPE should be considered as a viable method to reduce the spread of pathogenic, enveloped viruses to HCWs, patients, and other environmental surfaces in healthcare settings.

På uppdrag av Lindevalls i Östersund har material till skyddsmadrasserstuderats och undersökts för att ta reda på hur förbättringar kan göras. Syftetmed studien har varit att identifiera material och materiella strukturer attanvända i skyddsmadrasserna. Målet med projektet har varit att hitta en bättrelösning än vad som används i dagens skyddsmadrasser med hjälp av tester,materialstudier och lämplig teori. Den slutgiltiga lösningen skall, precis somdagens, inneslutas med en PVC-väv och kräver minst lika bra kraftupptagningsförmåga.Tester kopplat till projektet, har varit avgränsade till endast småskaligaprototyper för att vara anpassad till tillhandahållen testutrustning. Projektethar genomförts i sex olika etapper, förstudie, produktspecificering,prototypgenerering och tester, prototyputvärdering och val samtdetaljkonstruktion och konfigurering. Förstudien och produktspecificeringen gavinformation hur marknaden förhåller sig och vad som skulle genomföras.Prototypgenereringen har drivits framåt med hjälp av prototypdrivenproduktutveckling med stöd från kravspecifikation. Med kontinuerlig utvärderingmed beställare och tester, har etappen “loopats” efter uppdatering av kravspecifikation.En slutgiltig prototyp identifierades efter att den uppfyllt krav och önskemåli etappen prototyputvärdering och val, för att sedan tas vidare tilldetaljkonstruktion. P.g.a. för hög produktionstid skapades en skärmall för atteffektivisera produktion av prototyp, i syfte att minska produktionskostnaden.Slutsatsen av projektet är att projektets syfte och mål har granskats med hjälpav tester och undersökningar. Dock har målet som var att finna en bättre lösning,inte uppfyllts då dagens lösning anses bättre. / On behalf of Lindevalls in Östersund materials forprotective mattresses have been studied and investigated to find out howimprovements can be done. The purpose of the study has been to identifymaterials and material structures for use in the protection mattresses. Thegoal of the project was to find a better solution than what’s used in currentprotective mattresses through using tests, material studies and theory. Thefinal solution, like today's, will be enclosed with a PVC fabric and requiresat least as good power absorption capacity. Tests linked to the project havebeen limited to small-scale prototypes to be adapted to accessed testequipment. The project has been carried out in six stages, preliminary studies,product specification, prototype production and testing, prototype evaluationand selection, detailed design and configuration. The pilot study and productspecification provided information on how the market relates and what should beperformed. Prototype production has been driven forward by using theprototype-driven product development with the support of the requirementspecification. With continuous evaluation with clients and tests, the stage hasbeen "looped" after updating requirement specification. A finalprototype was identified after meeting key requirements and requests in thestage selection, to proceed to detail construction. Because to high productiontime a cutting template was created to streamline prototype production, inorder to reduce production costs. The conclusion of the project is that the project'spurpose and goal have been examined by means of tests and surveys. However, thegoal of finding a better solution has not been met because the solution usedtoday is considered better. / <p>År och termin: 2017 VT</p><p>Datum för betyg: 2017-09-18</p>

Title: Relationship between hip muscles and dynamics front kick while using ballistic vest and backpack. Objective: Determine the rate of the relationship among isokinetic strength of hip muscles during flexion and extension movement, external and internal rotation and the dynamics of the front kick while using the military personal protective equipment. The method: The master thesis corresponds with an empirically based study of observational type. The measured research sample consisted of students (n = 15) of Military Department attending full-time and combined form of study at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport of Charles University in Prague. Dynamics of front kick were measured by dynamometric Kistler plates and evaluated through computer software BioWare. Isokinetic strength of hip muscles during flexion and extension movement, external and internal rotation was tested and rated by isokinetic dynamometer Humac Norm. The flexibility of selected muscles group was measured by a specialist in physiotherapist area. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient of the order (rs) was chosen for the final evaluation of the rate of relationship. The results: The strongest correlation relationship was between the external hip rotation muscles (at speed 90 řs-1 ) and the impact force on the...

The aim of the dissertation was to assess and evaluate the readiness of the emergency medical services to respond to a potential extraordinary event of a chemical, biological, irradiating or nuclear character. The scope of the dissertation was to map professional, material, technical and legislative preparation in this regard. This data offers an overview of the experiences of emergency personnel from a practical standpoint, gained through action or training, and is enriched by additional specific data from the Emergency Medical Services of the South Bohemian Region. The information gathered for the purpose of authoring the dissertation was obtained by utilisation of quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the case of quantitative research, data was gathered by means of an anonymous questionnaire, where the research file was constituted by physicians and medical emergency personnel. In the case of qualitative research a form of directed interview with the deputy of the crisis management team of the emergency medical services was used.

In order to leverage advances made in body-armor materials, as well as to further the design landscape, considering body armor as a complete human-centric system is becoming more prevalent. This trend necessitates a greater focus on human systems integration (HSI) and human-centric design. Digital human models (DHMs) provide a powerful tool for HSI, but modeling-and-simulation tools, let alone DHMs, have rarely been used with body armor. With respect to analysis, this is changing. New methods for evaluating body armor from a biomechanical perspective have been developed within the SantosTM DHM. It is now possible to import digital models of body-armor systems, place them on an avatar, simulate various tasks (i.e., running, aiming, etc.), and then virtually evaluate the armor's effect on performance, balance, mobility, bulk, etc. However, with respect to design, there are no available simulation tools to help users balance the goals of maximizing mobility and survivability concurrently. In response to these growing needs, there are two new areas of work being proposed and discussed. First, this work leverages a series of new virtual evaluation capabilities for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and implements a filter that automatically evaluates and selects from a library of designs the most advantageous PPE system based on user-selected objectives and constraints. Initial tests have shown realistic results with minimal computational demand. Secondly, this thesis proposes a new method for armor-system topology optimization that optimizes not only biomechanical metrics but also external (to the DHM system) metrics from potentially complex injury and protection models. The design variables for this optimization problem represent the position on the body of small body-armor elements. In addition, the existence of each element is modeled as a variable, such that unnecessary elements are determined and removed automatically. This inclusion of location in combination with the traditional existence variable is a novel inclusion to the topology optimization method. Constraints require that no two elements overlap. The objective functions that govern where the armor elements are moved must be general enough to function with any external data, such as survivability. Thus, a novel process has been developed for importing external data points (i.e., stress at points in the body resulting from a blast simulation) and using regression analysis to represent these points analytically. Then, by using sequential quadratic programming for gradient-based optimization, the armor elements are automatically positioned in order to optimize the objective function (i.e., minimize potential injury). This new approach allows any metric to be used in order to determine general body-armor concepts upstream in the design process. This system has the potential to become especially useful when trying to optimize multiple objectives simultaneously, the results of which are not necessarily intuitive. Thus, given a specified amount of material, one can determine where to place it in order to, for example, maximize mobility, maximize survivability, and maximize balance during a series of specified mission-critical tasks. The intent is not necessarily to provide a final design with one "click"; accurately considering all aspects of hard and soft armor is beyond the scope of this work. However, these methods work towards providing a design aid to help steer system concepts. Test cases have been successfully run to maximize coverage of specific external data for internal organs (and thus survivability) and mobility, while minimizing weight. The weight metric has also been successfully used as a constraint in the optimal armor design. In summary, this work provides 1) initial steps towards an automated design tool for body armor, 2) a means for integrating different analysis models, and 3) a unique example of human-in-the-loop analysis and optimization.