The origins of karate and its evolution as a sport are described. Karate injuries tend to occur in three main areas: the head and neck, the viscera, and the limbs. Effective legislation controlling karate, which could help prevent injuries, is lacking at the moment and should be established. Recommendations for the prevention of injury include the introduction of weight classes, mandatory prov...

Ceramic tiles have become very popular and are used in the flooring of offices and shopping malls. As testing the quality of tiles manually in a highly polluted environment in the manufacturing industry is a laborintensive and time consuming process, analysis is carried out on the tile images. This paper discusses an automated system to detect the defects on the surface of ceramic tiles based o...

Background: Asthma is a chronic multifactorial disease with a high prevalence. Among asthma risk factors, the effect of baking in wood tenor ovens (traditional form of baking) on bronchial asthma is still debated. The aim of this study was to determine the association between baking in wood tenor ovens and incidence and control of bronchial asthma. Materials and Methods: This descriptive stu...

Non-reactive gas-phase pollutants such as benzene diffuse into indoor furnishings and leave behind a unique materialphase concentration profile that serves as a record of the past gas-phase indoor concentrations. The inverse problem to be solved is the diffusion equation in a slab such as vinyl flooring. Using knowledge of the present material-phase concentration profile in the slab, we seek to...

Inadvertent soil ingestion, especially by young children, can be an important route of exposure for many environmental contaminants. The introduction of exterior soil into the interior environment is a significant element of the exposure pathway. The unintentional collection of outside soil on footwear followed by subsequent deposition indoors is a principal route of soil ingress. Here we have ...

Recharge of the alluvial aquifers flooring Wadi El-Arish in central and northern Sinai, Egypt was investigated. A hydrological model that combined the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall, suitable infiltration parameters, and appropriate sub-basin unit hydrographs to estimate rainfall excess, transmission losses along stream networks, and downstream runoff was developed. The Wadi El-A...

PURPOSE Several studies over the past 4 decades have indicated a significant reduction in house dust mite (HDM) and HDM allergen concentration in areas higher than 1,500 m above sea level. These have served as basis of allergen avoidance therapies for HDM allergy and asthma. However, modern construction techniques used in the insulation, heating, and glazing of buildings as well as global warmi...