BACKGROUND Bricks have been manufactured in Nepal for hundreds of years and are seen as a component of Nepalese sculpture and architecture. Large quantities of hazardous materials including high concentrations of particulate matter are emitted on a daily basis from brick kilns. Exposure to these hazardous materials can lead to adverse consequences on the environment and human health. This study...

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy is often based on anamnesis, and on specific IgE (sIgE) levels and/or Skin Prick Tests (SPT), which have both a good sensitivity but a low specificity, often causing positive results in non-allergic subjects. Thus, oral food challenge is still the gold standard test for diagnosis, though being expensive, time-consuming and possibly at ...

This thesis presents a virtual disk cluster called END, the Expandable Network Disk. END aggregates storage on a cluster of servers into a single virtual disk. END'S main goals are to offer good performance during normal operation, and efficiently handle changes in the cluster membership. END achieves these goals using a two-layer design, in which storage "bricks," servers that consist of CPU, ...

During the summer of 2015, India was hit by a scorching heat wave that melted pavements in Delhi and caused thousands of deaths, mainly among the most marginalized populations. One such group facing growing heat risks from both occupational and meteorological causes are migrant brick kiln workers. This study evaluates both current heat risks and the potential future impacts of heat caused by cl...

Background: In brick kiln and construction industry the exposure to carbon monoxide and silica dust is the most common occupational hazard to the workers in these industries. A study on occupational health hazards of working women in these two unorganized sectors was undertaken by Lokmanya Medical Research Centre. Objectives: To study the effect of work site environment on the health of the wom...

An interesting subclass of Noun-noun combinations in English can take two meanings depending on whether the first or second word is stressed in speech. A BRICK factory is one that makes bricks, whereas a brick FACTORY is one made of brick. An explanation is offered in terms of a bias for nouns from particular ontological categories to trigger particular semantic interpretations for a combinatio...

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are widely used in disinfection of water, surfaces and instruments as well as in textile, leather and food industries because of their relatively low toxicity, broad antimicrobial spectrum, non-volatility and chemical stability. Due to these advantages, QACs are also used in restoration and can be applied on historical material. The aim of this study was to ...