Search

In Saudi Arabia, the construction industry has been growing remarkably during the past several years. However, the most hazardous worksites in the country may be found in this industry. This study identified the causes of accidents and injuries in the construction industry among 300 workers in Jeddah City, situated on the coast of the Red Sea. Results from the questionnaire showed that the major cause of accidents and injuries is the lack of awareness about occupational safety and lack of experience among the workers (>82%); and the most common type of accidents and injuries that occur in the construction industry, are workers falling from a height (>80%), and electrical shock (>60%). Recommendations to prevent accidents and injuries in this industry are provided in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the acoustical conditions in high-school Technology-Education Shops (TES) and the conflict that may exist due to their use at the same time as classrooms for learning and as industrial workshops for fabrication. This was done by measuring relevant acoustical characteristics in twenty TES in British Columbia when unoccupied with building services operating, and in ten of them when occupied and in normal operation with shop equipment running. The results were compared to existing acceptability/design criteria for classrooms and industrial workshops, related to background-noise level, teacher noise exposure, reverberation time, speech-intelligibility index (SII) and sound-level reduction with distance doubling (DL2), and pass/fail ratings were assigned. Noise levels and reverberation times in most unoccupied TES were higher than the acceptability/design criteria for core learning spaces. Teacher daily noise exposures in occupied TES were high and often exceeded regulatory limits. SII values often indicated 'poor' speech intelligibility for 'normal' and 'raised' vocal outputs, and 'good' speech intelligibility only for 'loud' and 'shout' vocal outputs. DL2 values were unacceptable in most of the TES. Most TES received a failing grade with respect to most evaluation criteria. The results confirm the existence of an acoustical conflict; the acoustical conditions in the TES as industrial rooms are generally unsatisfactory for their use as classrooms. In general, the results suggest that TES provide poor acoustical conditions, overexposing teachers and students to noise, and are in need of effective sound-design and noise-control measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to high levels of noise causes physiological and psychological effects such as hearing loss, fatigue and reduction in performance. This study was aimed to evaluate the auditory effects of exposure to different levels of occupational noise in some industries in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results indicated that 97% of the 33 examined workers, representing three factories were exposed to high noise levels (Leq), -- greater than the recommended standard (85 dBA / 8hrs-day) in Saudi Arabia. Of those workers, 76% didn't wear any hearing protectors. Hearing loss was developed mostly after the first ten years of employment in 20% of workers. Audiometric examinations of the studied workers showed that 6% had severe hearing loss at high frequencies of 4 kHz and 8 kHz. Moderately severe to mild hearing loss was observed both at high (4 kHz-8 kHz) and low (250 Hz-500 Hz) frequencies. There was a strong positive significant correlation between hearing loss and noise dose, age, and duration of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High raw material prices and rivalry from the food industry have hampered the adoption of renewable resource-based goods. It has necessitated the investigation of cost-cutting strategies such as locating low-cost raw material supplies and adopting cleaner manufacturing processes. Exploiting waste streams as substitute resources for the operations is one low-cost option. The present study evaluates the environmental burden of biopolymer (polyhydroxyalkanoate) production from slaughtering residues. The sustainability of the PHA production process will be assessed utilising the Emergy Accounting methodology. The effect of changing energy resources from business as usual (i.e., electricity mix from the grid and heat provision utilising natural gas) to different renewable energy resources is also evaluated. The emergy intensity for PHA production (seJ/g) shows a minor improvement ranging from 1.5% to 2% by changing only the electricity provision resources. This impact reaches up to 17% when electricity and heat provision resources are replaced with biomass resources. Similarly, the emergy intensity for PHA production using electricity EU27 mix, coal, hydropower, wind power, and biomass is about 5% to 7% lower than the emergy intensity of polyethylene high density (PE-HD). In comparison, its value is up to 21% lower for electricity and heat provision from biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This study was conducted to investigate whether the positive impact of elevated CO2 (eCO2) on the chemical composition of aniseed (Pimpinella anisum L.) seeds is dependent on seed developmental stages and origin. To this end, we investigated the biochemical changes in eCO2-treated aniseed accessions from Tunisia, Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Yemen, and Egypt during three developmental stages (immature, premature, and mature). The highest dry weight percentages and seed yields were recorded for the Egypt and Morocco accessions. eCO2 has inducing properties on the nutritive and biological values of aniseeds, yet its effectiveness is related to seed maturity and provenances. For instance, seed maturation increased the nutrients and antioxidant metabolites in most eCO2-treated accessions. Conversely, essential oil metabolism was decreased by seed maturation but this effect was significantly reduced by the use of eCO2. The enhanced accumulation of bioactive compounds in eCO2-treated seeds was accompanied by improved health benefits. In this regard, eCO2 induces the antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic activities of aniseeds, particularly at mature stages. Thus, the present study confirms that there are significant interactions between eCO2 exposure, aniseed maturity, and origin on the chemical composition and pharmaceutical properties of aniseed. Besides the lack of studies regarding applying elevated CO2 (eCO2) as a strategy to improve the chemical composition of anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) seeds, studies on its interaction with seed developmental stages and origin are very limited. The seed yield, chemical composition, and biological activity of 6 aniseed accessions (Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, and Morocco) were investigated during three developmental stages (immature, premature, and mature) under control and elevated CO2 conditions. Mature seeds from all aniseed accessions had significantly higher (p < 0.05) dry weight (DW) percentages than premature and immature seeds. The highest DW percentages were recorded in Egypt and Morocco accessions. Seed maturation increased nutrients and antioxidant metabolites in most eCO2-treated accessions. In contrast, essential oils were decreased by seed maturation, while eCO2 reversed this effect. Essential oil-related precursors (e.g., phenylalanine) and enzyme activities (3-Deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DAHPS) and O–methyltransferase) decreased with seed maturity. However, high CO2 reduced this impact and further induced the other essential oil-related precursors (shikimic and cinnamic acids). Consequently, eCO2 provoked changes in the antioxidant and hypocholesterolemic activities of aniseeds, particularly at mature stages. Overall, eCO2 application, as an efficient way to improve aniseed growth, essential oil metabolism, and chemical composition, was affected by seed maturation and origin. Future studies of eCO2-treated aniseeds as a nutraceutical and pharmaceutical product are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to air pollution in general and Particulate Matter (PM) and its constituents, in particular, can be extremely harmful to human health. Given the importance of PM and its constituents concerning human health, this study aimed to evaluate the levels of PM2.5 and some HMs in the atmosphere of Makkah City, Saudi Arabia, and assess the health risks associated with exposure to HMs. The 24-h mean concentration of PM2.5 in Makkah city was 38.0±13.5 µg/m3 which exceeded the WHO air quality guidelines and national ambient air quality standard of Saudi Arabia. The average concentrations of HMs were Mn (54.3±13.3 ng/m3)>Pb (40.3±9.2 ng/m3)>As (27.8±4.1 ng/m3)>Ni (20.5±12.9 ng/m3)> Cr (18.2±6.2 ng/m3)>Cd (13.0±3.1 ng/m3). The non-carcinogenic risks (non-CRs) and carcinogenic risks (CRs) associated with exposure to measured HMs were analyzed using hazard quotient (HQ) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR), respectively. Arsenic was found to be the major contributor to health risk and oral ingestion was found to be the most detrimental pathway of exposure to HMs. For future research, it is recommended to evaluate the HMs and their health risks in various environmental media in different Saudi cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of editors who peer reviewed manuscripts in 2016 for the "Journal of the Acoustical Society of America" (JASA) and the journal "JASA Express Letters" including William M. Hartmann, Jan Rennies-Hochmuth, and Zoi-Heleni Michalopoulou.