UNLABELLED Due to the high cost of conducting field measurements, questionnaires are usually preferred for the assessment of physical workloads and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This study compares the physical workloads of whole-body vibration (WBV) and awkward postures by direct field measurements and self-reported data of 45 occupational drivers. Manual materials handling (MMH) and MSDs ...

Nine macaque monkeys were injected on two occasions with either 2.5 or 5.0 mg/kg of monomethylhydrazine (MMH). Operant task performance was measured, and clinical symptoms were noted. No difference in performance resulted from the two dosage levels, but there was a greater incidence of clinical symptoms in those subjects exposed to 5.0 mg/kg. In over half the cases a performance decrement prece...

The lifting and carrying of loads in agriculture on small landholdings are unavoidable. Rural communities often lack access to appropriate technologies which may result in various health hazards. The objective was to study gender participation in agricultural activities involving manual material handling tasks, to assess MSDs experienced in various MMH tasks and to evaluate traditional method a...

8-Hydroxyguanine (8-OH-G) is one of the major DNA oxidation products implicated in mutagenesis induced by oxygen radical-forming agents, including ionizing radiation. It is also believed to be involved in spontaneous mutation induced by metabolically produced oxygen radicals. A mammalian homologue of 8-OH-G glycosylase/apurinic, apyrimidinic lyase (mutM homologue, MMH) has been identified in th...

A novel algorithm for the detection of precipitation is described and tested. The algorithm is applicable to any modern passive microwave radiometer on board polar orbiting satellites independent of the observation geometry and channel frequency assortment. The algorithm is based on the application of canonical correlation analysis and on the definition of a threshold to be applied to the resul...

A simple, highly selective and rapid gas chromatography method (packed column with flame ionization detection) has been developed to determine hydrazine and monomethylhydrazine individually and for selective determination of hydrazine in the UH 25 mixture in organic medium. This method is based on the derivatization of hydrazine (at ambient temperature) with 1,1,1-trifluoro-4-(3-thienyl) (CF3 e...

The objective of this study was to investigate potential associations between an individual's psychophysical maximum acceptable force (MAF) during pushing tasks and biomechanical tissue loads within the lumbar spine. Ten subjects (eight males, two females) pushed a cart with an unknown weight at one push every two minute for a distance of 3.9 m. Two independent variables were investigated, cart...

Fixed performance venturi devices should provide a predetermined oxygen concentration at an outflow which exceeds an adult's peak resting inspiratory flow rate (approximately 30 l.min(-1)). Campbell's original description mentioned the sensitivity of the venturi device to downstream resistance but gave no further details. This study examined outflow and oxygen concentration from the five standa...

AIM In this study, we employed chimeric human/mouse Proteinase 3 (PR3) proteins as tools to induce an autoantibody response to PR3 in rats and mice. METHOD Rats and mice were immunised with recombinant human PR3 (HPR3), recombinant murine PR3 (mPR3), single chimeric human/mouse PR3 (HHm, HmH, mHH, mmH, mHm, Hmm) or pools of chimeric proteins. Antibodies to mPR3 and HPR3 were measured by ELISA...

Accurate fault prognosis of machine component is important to maintain industry operation system. Faults analysis can be very helpful in fault early warning and reducing maintenance cost. The goal of our work is to design an integrated approach of machine faults analysis. A method widely used is Fuzzy Neural Networks (FNNs), but such method lacks of flexibility. We present a Membership-based Mu...