Journal articles on the topic 'Cartons Classification'

Carton detection is an important technique in the automatic logistics system and can be applied to many applications such as the stacking and unstacking of cartons and the unloading of cartons in the containers. However, there is no public large-scale carton dataset for the research community to train and evaluate the carton detection models up to now, which hinders the development of carton detection. In this article, we present a large-scale carton dataset named Stacked Carton Dataset (SCD) with the goal of advancing the state-of-the-art in carton detection. Images were collected from the Internet and several warehouses, and objects were labeled for precise localization using instance mask annotation. There were a total of 250,000 instance masks from 16,136 images. Naturally, a suite of benchmarks was established with several popular detectors and instance segmentation models. In addition, we designed a carton detector based on RetinaNet by embedding our proposed Offset Prediction between the Classification and Localization module (OPCL) and the Boundary Guided Supervision module (BGS). OPCL alleviates the imbalance problem between classification and localization quality, which boosts AP by 3.1∼4.7% on SCD at the model level, while BGS guides the detector to pay more attention to the boundary information of cartons and decouple repeated carton textures at the task level. To demonstrate the generalization of OPCL for other datasets, we conducted extensive experiments on MS COCO and PASCAL VOC. The improvements in AP on MS COCO and PASCAL VOC were 1.8∼2.2% and 3.4∼4.3%, respectively.

The current study tries to investigate approaches to communication, including dysphemism and euphemisms in political cartoons. Free expression of public opinion and personal, political cartoon humor and got an essential part of the information and data arena. That makes the political cartoons genre more related and remarkable than before. This given cartoon comprises visual and verbal components, making the selection of communication means in the text particularly challenging. That defines the problem of our survey. The paper has investigated political cartoons published in the USA media. Making use of the content analysis method, we chose 174 dysphemisms and euphemisms, split into lexical-semantic classifications. As a consequence, euphemisms are utilized more commonly in political cartoon than dysphemisms, which stemmed from the genre specificity; hence, the ironic impact is attained by the contrast between the visual and verbal components.

Early American visual culture has played a substantial role in advancing American Imperialism in the early 1900s. Using publication as an instrument of expansionism, America’s distribution of visual images depicting its conquered nations, has resulted in consequences that have perpetually categorized its once-dominated territories as inferior. The Philippines reveal the consequences of this classification. Seized by the United States in 1899, the Philippines was repeatedly a subject of American print culture. Primarily, editorial cartoons were used to illustrate recurring images of Filipinos to justify its annexation. Employing illusive and sensational tropes, these cartoons were widely distributed through magazines and periodicals, informing the American population of debasing assumptions to characterize the Filipino individual. As a result, the Philippines gained false attributions and stereotypes brought upon by their erroneous portrayal in early American media. This research argues that the deceptive representation of the Philippines in early American visual culture, has aided in creating false Filipino stereotypes, hence, sustaining the nation in the periphery. Visual codings used in editorial cartoons repeatedly exemplified the Filipino character as incompetent and inferior. Filtration of Filipino representation is, likewise, apparent. By exaggerating damaging visual tropes that painted the Filipino individual as primitive and savage, and eliminating its progressive and modern characteristics, editorial cartoons helped reinforce the supposed ‘benevolent assimilation’ America used in defending its colonialism. Such reinforcement produced lasting consequences that not only perpetuated false Filipino stereotypes in the global platform, but also encouraged the Philippines’ inadvertent participation to cultural imperialism in present society.

The regulation and reception of anime in Britain has, historically, been fraught with difficulty. In 1992, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rejected the first instalment of Urotsukidoji, a controversial series of erotic anime, on the grounds of its sexually explicit content; this decision set a precedent for the way in which they would continue to censor anime for the following two decades. Nearly twenty years later, in 2009, Clause 62 of the Coroners and Justice Act, also colloquially known as the ‘Dangerous Cartoons Act’, made it a criminal offence to possess non-photographic pornographic images of children, including CGI, cartoons, manga images and drawings. Through an examination of the BBFC's archival materials on Urotsukidoji – Legend of the Overfiend, supplemented by references to a small number of newspaper articles published during this period, this article offers a range of insights into the historical context in which the current series of debates surrounding the ‘Dangerous Cartoons Act’ can be situated and assessed. These are used to consider the transcultural flow of genres across national borders, and the difficulties that a regulator from one culture encounters when dealing with controversial material originating from another, such as Japan, that has a substantially different set of social values and artistic conventions. Furthermore, this case highlights the important role played by distribution companies in shaping the production and evolution of genres within the transcultural marketplace.

The main objective of this work was to design and implement a support vector machine-based classification system to classify video data into predefined classes. Video data has to be structured and indexed for any video classification methodology. Video structure analysis involves shot boundary detection and keyframe extraction. Shot boundary detection is performed using a two-pass block-based adaptive threshold method. The seek spread strategy is used for keyframe extraction. In most of the video classification methods, selection of features is important. The selected features contribute to the efficiency of the classification system. It is very hard to find out which combination of features is most effective. Feature selection makes relevance to the proposed system. Herein, a support vector machine-based classifier was considered for the classification of video clips. The performance of the proposed system considered six categories of video clips: cartoons, commercials, cricket, football, tennis, and news. When shot level features and keyframe features, along with motion vectors, were used, 86% correct classification was achieved, which was comparable with the existing methods. The research concentrated on feature extraction where combination of selected features was given to a classifier to get the best classification performance.

There are many different types of sports training films, and categorizing them can be difficult. As a result, this research introduces an autonomous video content classification system that makes managing large amounts of video data easier. This research provides a video feature extraction approach using a support vector machine (SVM) video classification algorithm and a mix of video and audio dual-mode characteristics. It automates the classification of cartoons, ads, music, news, and sports videos, as well as the detection of terrorist and violent moments in films. To begin, a new feature expression scheme, the MPEG-7 visual descriptor subcombination, is proposed based on an analysis of the existing video classification algorithms, with the goal of addressing the problems in these algorithms. This is accomplished by analyzing the visual differences of the five video classification algorithms. The model was able to extract 9 descriptors from the four characteristics of color, texture, shape, and motion, resulting in a new overall visual feature with good results. The results suggest that the algorithm optimizes video segmentation by highlighting disparities in feature selection between different categories of films. Second, the support vector machine’s multivideo classification performance is improved by the enhanced secondary prediction method. Finally, a comparison experiment with current related similar algorithms was conducted. The suggested method outperformed the competition in the accuracy of video classification in five different types of videos, as well as in the recognition of terrorist and violent incidents.

Failed humour in conversational exchanges has received increasing attention in humour research (see Bell 2015; Bell & Attardo 2010). However, tensions between what constitutes successful and failed humour have yet to be fully explored outside conversational humour. Drawing on Hay’s (2001) classification of humour stages and using a socio-cognitive approach to pragmatics to examine responses from Spanish L1 and L2 users to differing combinations of structural and content features in cartoons, the present study aims to explore what factors contribute to successful and failed responses to multimodal humour. Previous research has predominantly investigated the role of caricature as one of the prototypical features of cartoons affecting humour communication, suggesting that this feature plays an active role in the recognition of the humoristic genre (Padilla & Gironzetti 2012). Findings from the present study indicate that caricature operates not only in the recognition, but also in the understanding and appreciation stages. In particular, our results point to two other roles of caricature as a secondary incongruity and as a factor that can trigger appreciation through empathy and/or a sense of superiority. Importantly, this investigation indicates that the presence of secondary incongruities can compensate for a partial lack of understanding, highlighting the relevance that this type of incongruity has in humour appreciation.

This book systematizes and analyzes the visual material of “red” and “white” propaganda from the period of the Russian Civil war. Representation of war is considered through the prism of images of its participants, found on posters, cartoons, postcards, leaflets, propaganda porcelain and other visual artifacts of the period. The classification of images is based on the social group affiliation of the depicted characters. Given such an approach, the focus is on representatives of groups — participants of civil confrontation, typical actors, visual clichés of “friends” and “enemies”. The work is carried out using an extensive source base concerning the ideological confrontation of that time, domestic and foreign literature devoted to the visualization of the events taking place then.

AbstractA stochastic algorithm for bound-constrained global optimization is described. The method can be applied to objective functions that are nonsmooth or even discontinuous. The algorithm forms a partition on the search region using classification and regression trees (CART), which defines a region where the objective function is relatively low. Further points are drawn directly from the low region before a new partition is formed. Alternating between partition and sampling phases provides an effective method for nonsmooth global optimization. The sequence of iterates generated by the algorithm is shown to converge to an essential global minimizer with probability one under mild conditions. Nonprobabilistic results are also given when random sampling is replaced with points taken from the Halton sequence. Numerical results are presented for both smooth and nonsmooth problems and show that the method is effective and competitive in practice.

With greater understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms by which carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistulas occur, and with improved endovascular devices, more appropriate and definitive treatments are being performed. The authors define cartoid cavernous fistulas based on an accepted classification system and the signs and symptoms related to these fistulas are described. Angiographic evaluation of the risk the lesion may pose for precipitating stroke or visual loss in the patient is discussed. The literature on treatment alternatives for the different types of fistulas including transvenous, transarterial, and conservative management is reviewed.

A través de los años, los medios de comunicación se han posicionado como el cuarto poder del estado al ser una herramienta transmisora de contenido “valioso” para la sociedad. Ese contenido se despliega en diversos géneros, con el objetivo de transmitir mensajes, impartir conceptos y entretener, utilizando diversas técnicas, especialmente los dibujos animados, para captar en su audiencia a la niñez, especialmente. Estos dibujos son producidos en una diversidad de colores, tamaños y temas, muchas veces presentando contenido no aptos para su audiencia. Esta investigación propone, primero una clasificación de esos dibujos animados, según su contenido. Y en segunda instancia, comprender las preferencias de dibujos animados que los estudiantes de sexto grado de escuelas primarias oficiales urbanas, demuestran. La investigación focalizo dos casos de estudio, el de mayor y menor puntaje según las pruebas TERCE. Abstract Over the years, the media has positioned itself as the fourth power in the world to be a transmitting tool of "valuable" content for society. This content is deployed in different genres, with the aim of transmitting messages, imparting concepts and entertaining, using different techniques, especially cartoons, to capture in their audience the childhood, especially. These drawings are produced in a variety of colors, sizes and themes, often presenting content not suitable for your audience. This research proposes, first, a classification of these cartoons, according to their content. And second, understand the cartoon preferences that sixth grade students from urban official elementary schools demonstrate. The research focused on two case studies, the highest and lowest score according to TERCE tests.

Improvement of procurement procedures and their digitization help prevent and identify cartels, but at the same time lead to the emergence of new anticompetitive schemes. In this paper we focus on electronic auctions, which have become the main method of public procurement in Russia in recent years. As e-auctions provide access to many big government orders; the incentives for bidders to join anti-competitive agreements are increased. Therefore, the development of methods to detect bid rigging at electronic auctions is of high practical importance. The aim of this work was to develop a method for detecting signs of horizontal collusion at an auction. We use machine learning methods to train classifiers that predict the presence or absence of cartel in electronic auctions, depending on the distribution of bidders, the time of submission of applications, the duration of the auction and the number of participants. Variables for the model were selected on the basis of distribution plots built for sample of cartels and random sample. The study is based on data from public procurement Web portal and the information about bid rigging from cases of the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The results showed that the Random forest model most accurately predicts the detection of the cartels on electronic auctions. The accuracy of the prediction is 84%, and the recall and precision of the model are 83 and 87%, respectively. The most significant variables for the classification are the level of price reduction, the difference in the time of application filing of participants and the value of the maximum starting price of contract.

Characterization of recyclable solid waste fraction of the villa area in Beni Mellal Moroccan Territorial Commune was appreciated across the weighing parameters refusal, cardboard, paper, packaging, HDPE, PET, glass, metal and tires. The tire parameter was measured twice (February and December 2014) and presented 2,80% of the monthly average fraction (5,03 tons / month). The rest of the parameters was considered between February and December 2014. The most important results indicate that recyclable waste fraction reached 80,69% dominated by the Carton (88,86 tons or 49,50%), followed by paper (28,81 tons or 16,05%). While the less dominant parameter is the glass (0,91 tonnes) with a percentage of 0,51%. Other parameters such as packaging, HDPE, PET and metal present respectively 4,20%, 3,44%, 3,09% and 1,09% of the fraction of 2014. These results contributed to the classification and quantification of solid waste from the villa area of the city of Beni Mellal.

The article deals with the problem of developing the ability of third-graders to retell a work of art in the process of creating a cartoon. The authors turn to the research of Russian scientists devoted to retelling as an interpretation of a literary text, reveal the concept, meaning, classification and stages of the retelling. The possibilities of the method of creating a cartoon in the development of children’s ability to retell a work of art are determined. This is possible under specially created conditions: compliance with all stages of work on a work of art, the inclusion of third-graders in joint creative activities to create a series of illustrations for the episodes of the work, conducting a clear and understandable instruction in the computer program for creating a cartoon from a series of illustrations, compliance with the stages of creating a cartoon based on the read work. The authors developed and experimentally tested a series of classes aimed at developing the ability to retell a work of art. Quantitative data on the evaluation of their effectiveness using a specially developed diagnostic technique are presented. The effectiveness of the tested classes in the development of the ability to retell a work of art through the creation of a cartoon is empirically proven. This article will be useful for primary school teachers.

Food packaging marketing techniques which appeal to children (such as cartoon characters and brand mascots) affect children’s choices, preferences, and eating habits. Several studies have assessed the nutritional quality of food intended to children in various countries and concluded that most were high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) and ultra-processed foods. The aim of this study is to analyse products intended for children over the age of 3 (foods and beverages with relevant marketing elements on the packaging) available on the French market as regards: (1) nutritional quality, based on the Nutri-Score labelling system, (2) compliance with expected nutritional profile suitable for children, according to the criteria of the WHO Europe Nutrient Profile Model, and (3) degree of processing, as defined by the NOVA classification, from packaging collected in 20 stores (hyper/supermarkets, hard-discount retail chains, and organic food stores). The marketing strategies most often used on children’s products are cartoons (97.22%; n = 1120) and mascots (77.78%; n = 896). A total of 1155 products were included in the study, most of which were sugary foods: almost a quarter of the products in the sample (23.81%; n = 275) list a sweetener as the first ingredient, and most of them (89.52%; n = 1034) contain free sugars according to the WHO definition. All the products included in our study feature marketing elements targeting on the packaging, yet 94.88% do not meet the criteria of the WHO Europe Nutrient Profile Model. Most (58.68%; n = 676) belong to Nutri-Score groups D and E, with the highest proportion in group D (39.32%; n = 453) and are ultra-processed (87.97%; n = 1016), especially through the use of flavourings and ultra-processed sugars. Using the Nutri-Score, the WHO Europe Nutrient Profile Model, and the NOVA classification, this study suggests that a significant share of pre-packaged foods marketed to children do not have an adequate nutritional profile. As such, measures are needed to regulate what marketing elements aimed at children can be included on packaging, based on these criteria.

Введение. Исследуется актуальная проблема реализации педагогического потенциала мультипликации в образовании детей дошкольного и младшего школьного возраста. Представлены этапы развития детской мультипликации, отечественный и зарубежный опыт использования мультипликации в образовательной практике с дошкольниками и младшими школьниками, проблемы влияния мультипликации на детей, перспективы развития педагогического потенциала мультипликации в обучении детей на ступени дошкольного и начального общего образования. Цель – провести теоретическое исследование реализации педагогического потенциала мультипликации в образовании детей дошкольного и младшего школьного возраста. Материал и методы. Материалом для исследования стали отечественные и зарубежные научные источники, которые содержат информацию о становлении мультипликации как вида киноискусства и образовательной технологии, а также результаты изучения проблемы применения мультипликации в воспитательной, образовательной и коррекционно-развивающей работе с детьми дошкольного и младшего школьного возраста. Использовались следующие методы: ретроспективный, сравнительно-сопоставительный анализ, контент-анализ, анализ и обобщение педагогического опыта, классификация. Результаты и обсуждение. Применение мультипликации в образовании связано с эволюцией ее образных средств (движение, время, пространство, цвет, графика и др.), в соответствии с этим можно выделить два основных этапа: первый – классический (докомпьютерный) и второй – современный (с применением компьютерных технологий). На первом этапе происходит становление мультипликации как вида киноискусства, в образовательной практике используются мультфильмы, созданные по мотивам народных и авторских сказок, басен, детских литературных произведений, а также мультфильмы с выраженным познавательным и дидактическим содержанием. Второй этап в развитии детской мультипликации связан с применением компьютерных технологий. Педагогический потенциал компьютерной анимации заключается в наглядности, воздействии выразительных средств анимации на восприятие учебного материала, интерактивности. Сформировались основные направления применения мультипликации в образовании: воспитание, обучение, творческая деятельность, коррекция, реабилитация. В настоящее время образовательная мультипликация представляет обобщающее название группы технологий, объединенных использованием анимации как образовательного инструмента и способствующих достижению образовательных результатов (личностных, метапредметных, предметных). В то же время существуют проблемы влияния современной мультипликации на детей. Мультфильмы с негативным содержанием (сцены убийства, насилия и т. п.) приводят к изменению поведения ребенка, появляются агрессивность, грубость, жестокость, эгоизм. Приоритетной задачей является разработка образовательного контента с использованием современного потенциала мультипликации для обучения, развития у детей и подростков навыков коммуникации, социализации, медиамышления и медиакультуры. Заключение. Перспективы развития педагогического потенциала детской мультипликации заключаются в создании целостной комплексной системы развивающего обучения на ступени дошкольного и начального общего образования с использованием мультипликации как образовательного инструмента. Introduction. The actual problem of realization of pedagogical potential of animation in education of preschool and primary school age children is investigated. The article presents the stages of development of children’s animation, domestic and foreign experience of using animation in educational practice with pre-school and primary schoolchildren, the problems of influence of animation on children, the prospects of development of pedagogical potential of animation in teaching children at the level of pre-school and primary general education. Material and methods. The materials for the research were domestic and foreign scientific sources, which contain information about the formation of animation as a kind of film art and as an educational technology, the results of the study of the problem of applying animation in educational, educational and correctional development work with children of preschool and primary school age. The following methods were used: retrospective, comparative analysis, content analysis, analysis and generalization of pedagogical experience, and classification. Purpose: to conduct a theoretical study of the implementation of the pedagogical potential of animation in the education of children of preschool and primary school age. Results and discussion. The application of animation in education is connected with the evolution of its figurative means (movement, time, space, color, graphics, etc.), in accordance with this, two main stages can be distinguished: the first – classical (pre-computer) and the second – modern (using computer technologies). The first stage is the formation of animation as a kind of film art, in educational practice used cartoons created on the basis of folk and author’s tales, fables, children’s literary works, as well as cartoons with a pronounced cognitive and didactic content. The second stage in the development of children’s animation involves the use of computer technology. The pedagogical potential of computer animation lies in the visualization and impact of expressive means of animation on the perception of educational material and interactivity. The main directions of animation application in education were formed: education, training, creative activity, correction, rehabilitation. Nowadays, educational animation represents a generalizing name of a group of technologies united by the use of animation as an educational tool and contributing to the achievement of educational results (personal, metaproject, subject). At the same time, there are problems with the impact of modern animated products on children. Cartoons with negative content (scenes of murder, violence, etc.) lead to changes in the behavior of the child, there is aggression, rudeness, cruelty, selfishness. The priority task is to develop educational content using the modern potential of animation for learning, developing communication, socialization, media and media culture skills in children and adolescents. Conclusion. The prospects for developing the pedagogical potential of children’s animation are to create a holistic integrated system of developing education at the level of preschool and primary general education using animation as an educational tool.

<p><strong><em>The purpose</em></strong><em> of the study is to identify and characterize social narratives in modern Ukrainian political cartoons («NV» and «</em><em>Tyzhden.ua</em><em>» </em><em>web </em><em>sites) for 2015–2020).</em></p><p><strong><em>Research methodology. </em></strong><em>In the course of the research the following methods were used: method of monitoring and analysis of documentary sources (</em><em>«</em><em>NV</em><em>»</em><em> and </em><em>«</em><em>Tyzhden.ua</em><em>»</em><em> web sites in </em><em><br /> </em><em>2015</em><em>–</em><em>2020); descriptive method, structural-typological one in the study of genre-typological features of caricature; method of generalization to determine the patterns of modern political caricature development; elements of the classification method to characterize the image creation in a satirical drawing.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> The visual and pictorial complex of print media has repeatedly been the subject of scientific research, but caricature as a pictorial genre of modern journalism, including features of image creation, mythologizing of public opinion, mechanisms of meanings incorporation </em><em>–</em><em> they </em><em>do not yet have a deep thorough comprehension. The development of these issues will allow determining the main narratives of modern political caricature, to clarify the visual and thematic transformations in caricatures on political topics. Analyzing the socio-political </em><em>«</em><em>NV</em><em>»</em><em> and </em><em>«</em><em>Tyzhden.ua</em><em>»</em><em> media resources, we found the following patterns: the active use of grotesque cartoons of famous politicians, the use of allusions </em><em>–</em><em> borrowing and rethinking of images-symbols (Biblical, mythological, folklore, cinema ones, etc.). Modern visualization of political satire demonstrates the combination of classical artistic and visual means with the latest ideas and approaches to the content implementation. The main method of political satire is still the use of grotesque cartoon </em><em>–</em><em> a modified portrait of a famous politician. Caricatures use such artistic means as metaphor, personification, stereotyping, allusion, grotesque, etc. Important semantic elements in the cartoon are the symbols and images-symbols, which help to present the stand-alone information blocks concisely and clearly.</em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty. </em></strong><em>The article on the «NV» and «Tyzhden.ua» web-sites material characterizes social narratives in modern Ukrainian political caricature. The analysis and description of political caricature is carried out, features of image creation, their functions, etc. are defined.</em></p><p><strong><em>Practical significance.</em></strong><em> The results of the study can be used for further research on pictorial genres of journalism.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> visual and pictorial genres of journalism, visual content, political caricature, drawing (grotesque cartoon, caricature).</em></p>

Background:Systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is the main cause of death in SSc and accounts for up to 30-35% of SSc-mortality (1-2). All SSc cases, irrespective of the extent of the skin disease, should be evaluated for ILD (3). The epidemiology of SSc-ILD in Belgium is unknown. In literature, the prevalence of ILD in SSc varies between 19% and 52%. However, different criteria were used to diagnose ILD (4). In 2008, Goh et al. proposed a flow diagram to diagnose SSc-ILD based on chest high-resolution CT-scan (HRCT) and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). Their categorization into limited or extensive ILD has prognostic value (5).Objectives:To determine the prevalence and incidence rate of SSc-ILD in Flanders.Methods:Up to 12-year follow-up data of consecutive SSc patients were obtained by 2 Flemish expert centres (University Hospitals Ghent and Leuven). Patients fulfilling the LeRoy and/or ACR-EULAR classification criteria were included consecutively in the prospective cohort (6). Patients received HRCT at baseline and on indication thereafter, as well as yearly PFT. All HRCTs were centrally analyzed (Ghent) and patients were categorized according to the Goh criteria as without ILD, with limited ILD (limILD) or with extensive ILD (extILD) (5).Results:Between 2006 and 2018, 797 SSc patients (557 Ghent/240 Leuven; 22% limited SSc (LSSc)/59% limited cutaneous SSc (LcSSc)/19% diffuse cutaneous SSc (DcSSc)) had baseline HRCT and PFT. The baseline characteristics are depicted in the table. The mean age (SD) was 53 +/-15 years and the majority of patients was female (76%).272 SSc patients had ILD at baseline, implicating a baseline prevalence of 34% (272/797). The baseline prevalences were 35% and 55% for the LcSSc and DcSSc subgroups respectively. During a median follow-up of 39 months (IQR: 11-79 months), 44 patients were diagnosed with incidental SSc-ILD, resulting in an incidence rate of 21,0/1000 person-years (PY), 95% CI:15,2-28,1. The incidence rates were 21,7/1000 PY, 95%CI: 14,3-31,6 and 43.9/1000PY, 95%CI: 22.7-76.8 for the LcSSc and DcSSc subgroups respectively.Table.Baseline characteristicsSSc (n=797)LcSSc (n=470)DcSSc (n=149)age (years) °53+/-1554+/-1554+/-14♂/♀ *193(24%)/604(76%)109(23%)/361(77%)58(39%)/91(61%)Disease Duration (months) #for 718: 22 (5-72)for 443: 25 (5-80)for 145: 16 (7-52)LSSc/LcSSc/DcSSc *178(22%)/470(59%)/149(19%)follow-up (months) #39 (11-79)38.5 (9.75-81)44 (17.5-78)Anti-centromere antibodies§252/538 (47%)163/317 (51%)19/108 (18%)Anti-topoisomeraseI antibodies§119/519 (23%)66/297 (22%)45/112 (40%)ILD at baseline, *272 (34%)163 (35%)82 (55%)LimILD, *230 (29%)139 (30%)67 (45%)ExtILD, *42 (5%)24 (5%)15 (10%)New ILD during follow-up, §44/52527/30712/67°: mean +/- standard deviation, *: number of patients (percent), #: median (interquartile range), §= number of patients/total number of patients with available data (%)Conclusion:In an unselected cohort of SSc patients, a third of the patients has ILD at baseline which is in line with previous prevalence reports. Importantly, this is the first study reporting incidence rates of SSc-ILD.References:[1]Steen VD and Medsger TA, Ann Rheum Dis 2007;66:940-4[2]Elhai M et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2017;76:1897-1905[3]Smith V et al. RMD Open 2019;4:e000782. doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2018-000782[4]Bergamasco A et al. Clinical Epidemiology 2019;11:257-73[5]Goh N et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2008;177:1248-54[6]van den Hoogen et al. Arthritis Rheumatol 2013;65:2737-47Disclosure of Interests:Els Vandecasteele Grant/research support from: my institution has received a research grant from the Research Foundation Flanders FWO), Speakers bureau: my institution has received speaker fees from Actelion, Karin Melsens: None declared, Daniel Blockmans Consultant of: yes, Speakers bureau: yes, Charlotte Carton: None declared, Filip De Keyser: None declared, Ellen De Langhe Consultant of: member of advisory board for Boehringer, Bernard Lauwerys: None declared, Yves Piette: None declared, Amber Vanhaecke: None declared, Koen Verbeke: None declared, Wim Wuyts Grant/research support from: my institution has received a grant from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche, Consultant of: my institution has received payments for consultancy from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche, Speakers bureau: my institution has received speaker fees from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche, Guy Brusselle: None declared, Vanessa Smith Grant/research support from: The affiliated company received grants from Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), Belgian Fund for Scientific Research in Rheumatic diseases (FWRO), Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co and Janssen-Cilag NV, Consultant of: Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co, Speakers bureau: Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co and UCB Biopharma Sprl

In this era of startling developments in the medical field there remains a serious worry about the hazardous potential of various by products which if not properly addressed can lead to consequences of immense public concern. Hospitals and other health care facilities generate waste products which are evidently hazardous to all those exposed to its potentially harmful effects. Need for effective legislation ensuring its safe disposal is supposed to be an integral part of any country's health related policy. This issue is of special importance in developing countries like Pakistan which in spite of framing various regulations for safeguarding public health, seem to overlook its actual implementation. The result unfortunately is the price wehave to pay not only in terms of rampant spread of crippling infections but a significant spending of health budget on combating epidemics which could easily have been avoided through effective waste disposal measures in the first place. Waste classified under the heading 'bio-hazardous' includes any infectious or potentially infectious material which can be injurious or harmful to humans and other living organisms. Amongst the many potential sources are the hospitals or other health delivery centres which are ironically supposed to be the centres of infection control and treatment. Whilst working in these setups, health care workers such as doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and sanitation workers are actually the ones most exposed and vulnerable to these challenges. Biomedical waste may broadly be classified into Infectious and toxic waste. Infectious waste includes sharps, blood, body fluids and tissues etcwhile substances such as radioactive material and by-products of certain drugs qualify as toxic waste. Furthermore health institutions also have to cater for general municipal waste such as carton boxes, paper and plastics. The World Health Organisation has its own general classification of hospital waste divided into almost eight categories of which almost 15% (10% infectious and 5% toxic) is estimated to be of a hazardous nature while the remaining 85% is general non hazardous content.1A recent study from Faisalabad, Pakistan has estimated hospital waste generation around 1 to 1.5 kg / bed /day for public sector hospitals in the region,2while figures quoted from neighbouring India are approximately 0.5 to 2 KG / hospital bed /day.3 Elsewhere in the world variable daily hospital waste production has been observed ranging from as low as 0.14 to 0.49 kg /day in Korea4 and 0.26 to 0.89 kg/day in Greece5to as high as 2.1 to 3.83 kg/day in Turkey6 and 0.84 to 5.8 kg/day in Tanzania.7Ill effects of improper management of hospital waste can manifest as nosocomial infections or occupational hazards such as needle stick injuries. Pathogens or spores can be borne either through the oro-faecal or respiratory routes in addition to direct inoculation through contact with infected needles or sharps. Environmental pollution can result from improper burning of toxic material leading to emission of dioxins, particulate matter or furans into the air. The habitat can also be affected by illegal dumping and landfills or washing up of medical waste released into the sea or river. Potential organisms implicated in diseases secondary to mismanagement of hospital waste disposal include salmonella, cholera, shigella, helminths, strep pneumonia, measles, tuberculosis, herpesvirus, anthrax, meningitis, HIV, hepatitis and candida etc. These infections can cause a considerable strain on the overall health and finances of the community or individuals affected. The basic principal of Public health management i.e 'prevention is better than cure' cannot be more stressed in this scenario as compared to any other health challenge. Health facilities must have a clear policy on hazardous waste management. To ensure a safe environment hospitals need to adopt and implement international and local systems of waste disposal. Hospital waste management plan entails policy and procedures addressing waste generation, accumulation, handling, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal. Waste needs to be collected in marked containers usually colour coded and leak proof. Segregation at source is of vital importance. The standard practice in many countries is the Basic Three Bin System ie to segregate the waste into RED bags/ boxes for sharps, YELLOW bags for biological waste and BLUE or BLACK ones for general/ municipal waste. All hospital staff needs to be trained in the concept of putting the right waste in relevant containers/ bags. They need to know that more than anything else this practice is vital for their own safety. The message can be reinforced through appropriate labelling on the bins and having posters with simple delineations to avoid mixing of different waste types. Sharps essentially should be kept in rigid, leak and puncture-resistant containers which are tightly lidded and labelled. Regular training sessions for nurses and cleaning staff can be organised as they are the personnel who are more likely to deal with waste disposition at the level of their respective departments. Next of course is transportation of waste products to the storage or disposal. Sanitary staff and janitors must be aware of the basic concepts of waste handling and should wear protective clothing, masks and gloves etc, besides ensuring regular practice of disinfection and sterilization techniques.8Special trolleys or vehicles exclusively designed and reserved for biomedical waste and operated by trained individuals should be used for transportation to the dumping or treatment site. Biomedical waste treatment whether on site or off site is a specialised entity involving use of chemicals and equipment intended for curtailing the hazardous potential of the material at hand. Thermal treatment via incinerators, not only results in combustion of organic substances but the final product in the form of non-toxicash is only 10 to 15% of the original solid mass of waste material fed to the machine. Dedicated autoclaves and microwaves can also be used for the purpose of disinfection. Chemicals such as bleach, sodium hydroxides, chlorine dioxide and sodiumhypochlorite are also effective disinfectants having specialised indications. Countries around the world have their own regulations for waste management. United Kingdom practices strict observance of Environmental protection act 1990, Waste managementlicensing regulations 1994 and Hazardous waste regulations 2005 making it one of thesafest countries in terms of hazardous waste disposal. Similar regulations specific for each state have been adopted in United States following passage of the Medical Waste tracking act 1988. In Pakistan, every hospital must comply with the Waste Management Rules 2005 (Environment Protection Act 1997), though actual compliance is far from satisfactory. It is high time that the government and responsible community organisations shape up to seriously tackle the issue of bio hazardous waste management through enforcement of effective policies and standard operating procedures for safeguarding the health and lives of the public in general and health workers in particular.

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> This work is on development within the framework of the project Eureca: <i>EUropean Region Enrichment in City Archives and collections</i> of the University of Ghent (IDLab, CartoGIS), the Technical University of Vienna (Research Group Cartography) and several city and state archives. <i>Eureca</i> focuses on revealing traces (i.e. origins or influences) of European regions that have shaped the cities in which we live today and will further develop tools to explore these traces when visiting a city. Different historical, architectural, economic, political, and cultural reasons form the base of these traces, and will be used as input to disclose cultural heritage items that can be linked to specific European regions and origins. The enriched metadata that will result in this project will be further usable to perform new fundamental research and applied studies, and to facilitate the exploitation of the collections to a broader public and attract new groups of cultural heritage consumers.</p><p>The specific focus of this work is on Geo-Social media (GSM) (Ostermann, 2015) as a source of information to identify these European traces of the past. The objective of this research is finding the <i>footprint</i> of Europeans visiting other euro-cities by determining areas of preference in a city for specific nationalities and during certain periods. The footprints represent areas of attraction for visitors in the city and the reasons for this attraction could be multiple: available services, architecture, historical/cultural hotspots, etc. Finding these modern footprints will be a base to identify the most visited cultural heritage points of interest (POIs) for specific nationalities or even cities of origin and during specific periods of the year. Finally, this will contribute to the development of location based services (LBS) that will help users to explore traces of their own region of origin in other European cities.</p><p>Social media data have been used in research widely and despite their multiple limitations, they have been proven useful for geographic research in different fields. Geotagged social media provide better insights on the spatial behaviour of their users. Some of the most used media in the literature include Foursquare, Twitter or Flickr. Foursquare is the least interesting for us because of its user base and amount of data available. Twitter provides a huge amount of geotagged text for semantic analysis but Flickr’s user profile is more suited for tourist behaviour analysis. Furthermore, Flickr provides a well-developed set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable easier access to their data.</p><p>The first phase of this research involved the data collection from Flickr via two of its APIs. There are several Flickr datasets openly available, nevertheless we opted for building our own collection to avoid problems related to accessibility, accuracy and temporal coverage. Metadata of each uploaded picture such as photo owner, uploading date, geolocation, etc. was retrieved. In a second process, another API will be used to obtain the user name, location (user manually-provided) and other attributes. This location attribute have to be processed because of the heterogeneity of the data format. If only <i>city</i> is provided, the places have to be matched to a gazetteer to determine the country.</p><p>The data retrieved covered a squared area of 68 Mill.&amp;thinsp;km² representing a huge area around the continental Europe. In order to determine the nationality of each user the first source of information is the self-reported location included in her profile. Unfortunately, this information is often missing or can be simply false. For the majority of the users, the home location has to be inferred by some kind of method. A simple method based on previous works on home determination from user’s GSM data (Li &amp; Goodchild, 2012; Bojic et al., 2015) was developed and tested. To identify a country as user’s home location, all the pictures uploaded during a year in each country were considered. If the temporal difference between last and first photo was greater than 6 months, the user was labelled as local resident in that country. For comparison purposes, a second threshold of 3 months was also applied. With both thresholds, in some cases users were labelled with double home location because of being present in both cities in the same year.</p><p>We are aware of some limitations of this approach. For instance, a user can visit two times the same city in the same year. Besides, those users uploading pictures between the end of one year and the beginning of the following one will not be classified in that country. The nature of the Flickr user is a limitation itself; some individuals can upload one single photo and others may contribute thousands.</p><p>The method will be improved in future work by requiring a minimum of images uploaded during the chosen period. Also, it will be analysed the continuous stream of uploads during time instead of simply considering natural years. Additionally, the language of the title and tags could be used to infer the nationality. Moreover, the first information that will be taken into consideration is the self-reported home location obtained from the user’s profile. This new approach will increase the number of users correctly labelled so that we can get a better differentiation between locals and tourists and between different nationalities. This will be key for our further analysis.</p><p>The uploaded photos can be visualised as points in the space given that we have their geolocation. We can generate a continuous raster surface from these points using Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) (Grothe &amp; Schaab, 2009). These raster are heatmaps that represent areas of high concentration of pictures. These heatmaps represent a footprint of the visitors in the city. Thus, the areas more visited by tourists from a specific origin will be visible and also an analysis of the temporal evolution will be possible. The continuous surfaces built with KDE are very well suited for the task of determining vague areas open enough for further POIs identification in <i>Eureca</i>. In addition, to include areas of interest (AOIs) when dealing with open spaces like parks, squares or large buildings. Figure 1 shows examples of footprints in Vienna and Ghent.</p><p>The footprints will reveal the most preferred places for specific origins. Furthermore, all the footprints will be compared through spatial analysis. Using map algebra (Tomlin, 1990), we will obtain areas of common interest for Europeans and for instance classify the areas as high, moderate or low “Euro-visitor interest”. This can be applied for aggregated groups e.g. Mediterranean nations, German-speaking countries, etc. In further steps, Flickr data from the rest of the world will be collected to apply the same approach for more groups.</p><p>Regarding the results already obtained, the final number of points retrieved was about 66 million and covered a period (2004&amp;ndash;2018) representing Flickr photos from 62 countries. Initial research was done with a selection of 2 European cities and countries: Ghent (Belgium) and Vienna (Austria). Next steps will include all those countries fully retrieved from Flickr and the 10 European capitals with the highest amount of data available.</p><p>Several conclusions can be drawn from the initial results. The number of photos available for each city can vary greatly; this has to be considered in terms of relative representativeness. The inclusion of the self-reported user information should improve the theoretical accuracy of the user home location determination. It could serve as some kind of ground truth to estimate precision and recall of our own classification method. Increasing the dataset with world coverage and classifying the home location of all the global users should reduce the number of ambivalent cases by applying other strategies. In sum, further work is required but this initial approach seems to be useful for establishing GSM as a valuable modern source of information to identify cultural heritage POIs/AOIs that will reveal European traces of the past within the <i>Eureca</i> project.</p>

In this era of startling developments in the medical field there remains a serious worry about the hazardous potential of various by products which if not properly addressed can lead to consequences of immense public concern. Hospitals and other health care facilities generate waste products which are evidently hazardous to all those exposed to its potentially harmful effects. Need for effective legislation ensuring its safe disposal is supposed to be an integral part of any country's health related policy. This issue is of special importance in developing countries like Pakistan which in spite of framing various regulations for safeguarding public health, seem to overlook its actual implementation. The result unfortunately is the price wehave to pay not only in terms of rampant spread of crippling infections but a significant spending of health budget on combating epidemics which could easily have been avoided through effective waste disposal measures in the first place. Waste classified under the heading 'bio-hazardous' includes any infectious or potentially infectious material which can be injurious or harmful to humans and other living organisms. Amongst the many potential sources are the hospitals or other health delivery centres which are ironically supposed to be the centres of infection control and treatment. Whilst working in these setups, health care workers such as doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and sanitation workers are actually the ones most exposed and vulnerable to these challenges. Biomedical waste may broadly be classified into Infectious and toxic waste. Infectious waste includes sharps, blood, body fluids and tissues etcwhile substances such as radioactive material and by-products of certain drugs qualify as toxic waste. Furthermore health institutions also have to cater for general municipal waste such as carton boxes, paper and plastics. The World Health Organisation has its own general classification of hospital waste divided into almost eight categories of which almost 15% (10% infectious and 5% toxic) is estimated to be of a hazardous nature while the remaining 85% is general non hazardous content.1A recent study from Faisalabad, Pakistan has estimated hospital waste generation around 1 to 1.5 kg / bed /day for public sector hospitals in the region,2while figures quoted from neighbouring India are approximately 0.5 to 2 KG / hospital bed /day.3 Elsewhere in the world variable daily hospital waste production has been observed ranging from as low as 0.14 to 0.49 kg /day in Korea4 and 0.26 to 0.89 kg/day in Greece5to as high as 2.1 to 3.83 kg/day in Turkey6 and 0.84 to 5.8 kg/day in Tanzania.7Ill effects of improper management of hospital waste can manifest as nosocomial infections or occupational hazards such as needle stick injuries. Pathogens or spores can be borne either through the oro-faecal or respiratory routes in addition to direct inoculation through contact with infected needles or sharps. Environmental pollution can result from improper burning of toxic material leading to emission of dioxins, particulate matter or furans into the air. The habitat can also be affected by illegal dumping and landfills or washing up of medical waste released into the sea or river. Potential organisms implicated in diseases secondary to mismanagement of hospital waste disposal include salmonella, cholera, shigella, helminths, strep pneumonia, measles, tuberculosis, herpesvirus, anthrax, meningitis, HIV, hepatitis and candida etc. These infections can cause a considerable strain on the overall health and finances of the community or individuals affected. The basic principal of Public health management i.e 'prevention is better than cure' cannot be more stressed in this scenario as compared to any other health challenge. Health facilities must have a clear policy on hazardous waste management. To ensure a safe environment hospitals need to adopt and implement international and local systems of waste disposal. Hospital waste management plan entails policy and procedures addressing waste generation, accumulation, handling, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal. Waste needs to be collected in marked containers usually colour coded and leak proof. Segregation at source is of vital importance. The standard practice in many countries is the Basic Three Bin System ie to segregate the waste into RED bags/ boxes for sharps, YELLOW bags for biological waste and BLUE or BLACK ones for general/ municipal waste. All hospital staff needs to be trained in the concept of putting the right waste in relevant containers/ bags. They need to know that more than anything else this practice is vital for their own safety. The message can be reinforced through appropriate labelling on the bins and having posters with simple delineations to avoid mixing of different waste types. Sharps essentially should be kept in rigid, leak and puncture-resistant containers which are tightly lidded and labelled. Regular training sessions for nurses and cleaning staff can be organised as they are the personnel who are more likely to deal with waste disposition at the level of their respective departments. Next of course is transportation of waste products to the storage or disposal. Sanitary staff and janitors must be aware of the basic concepts of waste handling and should wear protective clothing, masks and gloves etc, besides ensuring regular practice of disinfection and sterilization techniques.8Special trolleys or vehicles exclusively designed and reserved for biomedical waste and operated by trained individuals should be used for transportation to the dumping or treatment site. Biomedical waste treatment whether on site or off site is a specialised entity involving use of chemicals and equipment intended for curtailing the hazardous potential of the material at hand. Thermal treatment via incinerators, not only results in combustion of organic substances but the final product in the form of non-toxicash is only 10 to 15% of the original solid mass of waste material fed to the machine. Dedicated autoclaves and microwaves can also be used for the purpose of disinfection. Chemicals such as bleach, sodium hydroxides, chlorine dioxide and sodiumhypochlorite are also effective disinfectants having specialised indications. Countries around the world have their own regulations for waste management. United Kingdom practices strict observance of Environmental protection act 1990, Waste managementlicensing regulations 1994 and Hazardous waste regulations 2005 making it one of thesafest countries in terms of hazardous waste disposal. Similar regulations specific for each state have been adopted in United States following passage of the Medical Waste tracking act 1988. In Pakistan, every hospital must comply with the Waste Management Rules 2005 (Environment Protection Act 1997), though actual compliance is far from satisfactory. It is high time that the government and responsible community organisations shape up to seriously tackle the issue of bio hazardous waste management through enforcement of effective policies and standard operating procedures for safeguarding the health and lives of the public in general and health workers in particular. Outbreaks, defined as excess cases of a particular disease or illness which outweighs the response capabilities, have the capacity to overwhelm health care facilities and need timely response and attention to details in order to avoid potentially disastrous sequelae . In this day and age when improvement in public health practices have significantly curtailed outbreak of various diseases, certain viral illnesses continue to make headlines. One of the notable vector borne infectious disease affecting significant portions of south east Asia in the early part of twenty first century is 'Dengue fever'. Dreaded as it is by those suffering from the illness, a lot of the hysteria created is secondary to a lack of education and understanding of the nature of the disease and at times a result of disinformation campaign for vested interests by certain political and media sections.'Dengue' in fact is a Spanish word, assumed to have originated from the Swahili phrase -ka dinga peppo -which describes the disease as being caused by evil spirit. 1 Over the course of time it has been called 'breakbone fever', 'bilious vomiting fever', 'break heart fever', 'dandy fever', 'la dengue' and 'Phillipine, Thai and Singapore hemorrhagic fever' Whilst the first reported case referring to dengue fever as a water poison spread by flying insects, exists in the Chinese medical encyclopedia from Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD), the disease is believed to have disseminated from Africa with the spread of the primary vector, aedes egypti, in the 15th to 19th century as a result of globalisation of slave trade 45In 80% of the patients affected by this condition the presentation is rather insidious and at best characterized by mild fever. The classical 'Dengue fever' present in about 5% of the cases is characterized by high temperature, body aches, vomiting and at times a skin rash. The disease may regresses in two to seven days. However inrare instances (<5%) it may develop into more serious conditions such as Dengue hemorrhagic fever whereby the platelet count is significantly reduced leading to bleeding tendencies and may even culminate in a more life threatening presentation i.e Dengue shock syndrome.6To understand the actual dynamics of Dengue epidemic it is important to understand the mode of its spread in affected areas. Aedes mosquito (significantly Aedes Egypti) acts a vector for this disease. Early morning and evening times7 are favoured by these mosquitos to feed on their prey. There is some evidence that the disease may be transmitted via blood products and organ donation. 8 Moreover vertical transmission (mother to child) has also been reported 9Diagnostic investigations include blood antigen detection through NS-I or nucleic acid detection via PCR. IO Cell cultures and specific serology may also be used for confirming the underlying disease. Whilst sporadic and endemic cases are part of routine medical practice and may not raise any alarm bells, outbreaks certainly need mobilization of appropriate resources for effective control. Needless to say 'prevention is better than cure' and should be the primary target of the health authorities in devising strategies for disease control.The WHO recommended 'Integrated Vector control programme', lays stress on social mobilisation and strengthening of public health bodies, coherent response of health and related departments and effective capacity building of relevant personnel and organisations as well as the community at risk. For Aedes Egypti the primary control revolves around eliminating its habitats such as open sources of water. In a local perspective in our city Peshawar, venue of the recent dengue epidemic, it may be seen in the form of incidental reservoirs such as receptacles and tyres dumped in open areas such as roof tops with rain water accumulating in them and provtdjng excellent breeding habitats, Larvicidal and insecticides may be added to more permanent sources such as watertanks and farm lands. There is not much of a role for spraying with organophosphorous agents which is at times resorted to for public consumption. Public education is the key to any effective strategy which must highlight the need for wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, avoiding unnecessary early morning and evening exposure to vector agents, application of insect repellents and use of mosquito nets. It is also important not to panic if affliction with the disease is suspected as in a vast majority of instances it is a self limiting illness without any long term harmful effects and needs simple conservative management like antipyretics and analgesics.An important consideration for responsible authorities in a dengue epidemic is to ensure that maximum management facilities for simple cases are provided at the community level through primary and secondary health care facilities and that the tertiary care hospitals are not inundated with all sort of patients demanding consultation. These later facilities should be reserved for those patients who end up with any complications or more severe manifestation of the disease.Research is underway to develop an ideal vaccine for Dengue fever. In 2016, a vaccine by the name 'Dengvaxia' was marketed in Phillipines and Indonesia. However with development of new serotypes of the virus, its efficacy has been somewhat compromised.As for treatment , there are no specific antiviral drugs. Management is symptomatic revolving mainly around oral and intravenous hydration. Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) is used for fever as compared to NSAIDS such as Ibuprophen infusion as well as blood and platelet transfusion.Data to date shows that slightly more than twenty three thousand people have been diagnosed with dengue over the past three months ie August to October there is a lower risk of bleeding with the former. Those with more severe form of the disease may need Dextran 2017, in Peshawar, Pakistan with around fourteen thousand needing admission and about sixty nine recorded deaths. The mortality is well within the acceptable international standards of less than 1% for the disease. In the backdrop of all the debate surrounding the current epidemic, one can infer that such outbreaks are best addressed with effective planningwell ahead of the time before the disease threatens to spiral out of control. Simple measures such as covering water storage facilities, using larvicidals where practical, use of insect repellents, mosquito nets and avoiding unnecessary exposure can offerthe best protection. Public health messages via print and electronic media can help educate people in affected areas and allay any anxiety building up from a fear of developing life threatening complications. Health department must mobilise all its resources to ensure local management of diagnosed patients with simple dengue fever and facilitate hospital admission only for those suffering from more severe form of the disease. Moreover the media hype into such situations needs to be addressed through constant updates and discouraging any negative politicking on the issue. To sum up Dengue fever is not really an affliction to be dreaded provided it is viewed and managed in the right perspective.

In this era of startling developments in the medical field there remains a serious worry about the hazardous potential of various by products which if not properly addressed can lead to consequences of immense public concern. Hospitals and other health care facilities generate waste products which are evidently hazardous to all those exposed to its potentially harmful effects. Need for effective legislation ensuring its safe disposal is supposed to be an integral part of any country's health related policy. This issue is of special importance in developing countries like Pakistan which in spite of framing various regulations for safeguarding public health, seem to overlook its actual implementation. The result unfortunately is the price wehave to pay not only in terms of rampant spread of crippling infections but a significant spending of health budget on combating epidemics which could easily have been avoided through effective waste disposal measures in the first place. Waste classified under the heading 'bio-hazardous' includes any infectious or potentially infectious material which can be injurious or harmful to humans and other living organisms. Amongst the many potential sources are the hospitals or other health delivery centres which are ironically supposed to be the centres of infection control and treatment. Whilst working in these setups, health care workers such as doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and sanitation workers are actually the ones most exposed and vulnerable to these challenges. Biomedical waste may broadly be classified into Infectious and toxic waste. Infectious waste includes sharps, blood, body fluids and tissues etcwhile substances such as radioactive material and by-products of certain drugs qualify as toxic waste. Furthermore health institutions also have to cater for general municipal waste such as carton boxes, paper and plastics. The World Health Organisation has its own general classification of hospital waste divided into almost eight categories of which almost 15% (10% infectious and 5% toxic) is estimated to be of a hazardous nature while the remaining 85% is general non hazardous content.1A recent study from Faisalabad, Pakistan has estimated hospital waste generation around 1 to 1.5 kg / bed /day for public sector hospitals in the region,2while figures quoted from neighbouring India are approximately 0.5 to 2 KG / hospital bed /day.3 Elsewhere in the world variable daily hospital waste production has been observed ranging from as low as 0.14 to 0.49 kg /day in Korea4 and 0.26 to 0.89 kg/day in Greece5to as high as 2.1 to 3.83 kg/day in Turkey6 and 0.84 to 5.8 kg/day in Tanzania.7Ill effects of improper management of hospital waste can manifest as nosocomial infections or occupational hazards such as needle stick injuries. Pathogens or spores can be borne either through the oro-faecal or respiratory routes in addition to direct inoculation through contact with infected needles or sharps. Environmental pollution can result from improper burning of toxic material leading to emission of dioxins, particulate matter or furans into the air. The habitat can also be affected by illegal dumping and landfills or washing up of medical waste released into the sea or river. Potential organisms implicated in diseases secondary to mismanagement of hospital waste disposal include salmonella, cholera, shigella, helminths, strep pneumonia, measles, tuberculosis, herpesvirus, anthrax, meningitis, HIV, hepatitis and candida etc. These infections can cause a considerable strain on the overall health and finances of the community or individuals affected. The basic principal of Public health management i.e 'prevention is better than cure' cannot be more stressed in this scenario as compared to any other health challenge. Health facilities must have a clear policy on hazardous waste management. To ensure a safe environment hospitals need to adopt and implement international and local systems of waste disposal. Hospital waste management plan entails policy and procedures addressing waste generation, accumulation, handling, transportation, storage, treatment and disposal. Waste needs to be collected in marked containers usually colour coded and leak proof. Segregation at source is of vital importance. The standard practice in many countries is the Basic Three Bin System ie to segregate the waste into RED bags/ boxes for sharps, YELLOW bags for biological waste and BLUE or BLACK ones for general/ municipal waste. All hospital staff needs to be trained in the concept of putting the right waste in relevant containers/ bags. They need to know that more than anything else this practice is vital for their own safety. The message can be reinforced through appropriate labelling on the bins and having posters with simple delineations to avoid mixing of different waste types. Sharps essentially should be kept in rigid, leak and puncture-resistant containers which are tightly lidded and labelled. Regular training sessions for nurses and cleaning staff can be organised as they are the personnel who are more likely to deal with waste disposition at the level of their respective departments. Next of course is transportation of waste products to the storage or disposal. Sanitary staff and janitors must be aware of the basic concepts of waste handling and should wear protective clothing, masks and gloves etc, besides ensuring regular practice of disinfection and sterilization techniques.8Special trolleys or vehicles exclusively designed and reserved for biomedical waste and operated by trained individuals should be used for transportation to the dumping or treatment site. Biomedical waste treatment whether on site or off site is a specialised entity involving use of chemicals and equipment intended for curtailing the hazardous potential of the material at hand. Thermal treatment via incinerators, not only results in combustion of organic substances but the final product in the form of non-toxicash is only 10 to 15% of the original solid mass of waste material fed to the machine. Dedicated autoclaves and microwaves can also be used for the purpose of disinfection. Chemicals such as bleach, sodium hydroxides, chlorine dioxide and sodiumhypochlorite are also effective disinfectants having specialised indications. Countries around the world have their own regulations for waste management. United Kingdom practices strict observance of Environmental protection act 1990, Waste managementlicensing regulations 1994 and Hazardous waste regulations 2005 making it one of thesafest countries in terms of hazardous waste disposal. Similar regulations specific for each state have been adopted in United States following passage of the Medical Waste tracking act 1988. In Pakistan, every hospital must comply with the Waste Management Rules 2005 (Environment Protection Act 1997), though actual compliance is far from satisfactory. It is high time that the government and responsible community organisations shape up to seriously tackle the issue of bio hazardous waste management through enforcement of effective policies and standard operating procedures for safeguarding the health and lives of the public in general and health workers in particular. Outbreaks, defined as excess cases of a particular disease or illness which outweighs the response capabilities, have the capacity to overwhelm health care facilities and need timely response and attention to details in order to avoid potentially disastrous sequelae . In this day and age when improvement in public health practices have significantly curtailed outbreak of various diseases, certain viral illnesses continue to make headlines. One of the notable vector borne infectious disease affecting significant portions of south east Asia in the early part of twenty first century is 'Dengue fever'. Dreaded as it is by those suffering from the illness, a lot of the hysteria created is secondary to a lack of education and understanding of the nature of the disease and at times a result of disinformation campaign for vested interests by certain political and media sections.'Dengue' in fact is a Spanish word, assumed to have originated from the Swahili phrase -ka dinga peppo -which describes the disease as being caused by evil spirit. 1 Over the course of time it has been called 'breakbone fever', 'bilious vomiting fever', 'break heart fever', 'dandy fever', 'la dengue' and 'Phillipine, Thai and Singapore hemorrhagic fever' Whilst the first reported case referring to dengue fever as a water poison spread by flying insects, exists in the Chinese medical encyclopedia from Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD), the disease is believed to have disseminated from Africa with the spread of the primary vector, aedes egypti, in the 15th to 19th century as a result of globalisation of slave trade 45In 80% of the patients affected by this condition the presentation is rather insidious and at best characterized by mild fever. The classical 'Dengue fever' present in about 5% of the cases is characterized by high temperature, body aches, vomiting and at times a skin rash. The disease may regresses in two to seven days. However inrare instances (<5%) it may develop into more serious conditions such as Dengue hemorrhagic fever whereby the platelet count is significantly reduced leading to bleeding tendencies and may even culminate in a more life threatening presentation i.e Dengue shock syndrome.6To understand the actual dynamics of Dengue epidemic it is important to understand the mode of its spread in affected areas. Aedes mosquito (significantly Aedes Egypti) acts a vector for this disease. Early morning and evening times7 are favoured by these mosquitos to feed on their prey. There is some evidence that the disease may be transmitted via blood products and organ donation. 8 Moreover vertical transmission (mother to child) has also been reported 9Diagnostic investigations include blood antigen detection through NS-I or nucleic acid detection via PCR. IO Cell cultures and specific serology may also be used for confirming the underlying disease. Whilst sporadic and endemic cases are part of routine medical practice and may not raise any alarm bells, outbreaks certainly need mobilization of appropriate resources for effective control. Needless to say 'prevention is better than cure' and should be the primary target of the health authorities in devising strategies for disease control.The WHO recommended 'Integrated Vector control programme', lays stress on social mobilisation and strengthening of public health bodies, coherent response of health and related departments and effective capacity building of relevant personnel and organisations as well as the community at risk. For Aedes Egypti the primary control revolves around eliminating its habitats such as open sources of water. In a local perspective in our city Peshawar, venue of the recent dengue epidemic, it may be seen in the form of incidental reservoirs such as receptacles and tyres dumped in open areas such as roof tops with rain water accumulating in them and provtdjng excellent breeding habitats, Larvicidal and insecticides may be added to more permanent sources such as watertanks and farm lands. There is not much of a role for spraying with organophosphorous agents which is at times resorted to for public consumption. Public education is the key to any effective strategy which must highlight the need for wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, avoiding unnecessary early morning and evening exposure to vector agents, application of insect repellents and use of mosquito nets. It is also important not to panic if affliction with the disease is suspected as in a vast majority of instances it is a self limiting illness without any long term harmful effects and needs simple conservative management like antipyretics and analgesics.An important consideration for responsible authorities in a dengue epidemic is to ensure that maximum management facilities for simple cases are provided at the community level through primary and secondary health care facilities and that the tertiary care hospitals are not inundated with all sort of patients demanding consultation. These later facilities should be reserved for those patients who end up with any complications or more severe manifestation of the disease.Research is underway to develop an ideal vaccine for Dengue fever. In 2016, a vaccine by the name 'Dengvaxia' was marketed in Phillipines and Indonesia. However with development of new serotypes of the virus, its efficacy has been somewhat compromised.As for treatment , there are no specific antiviral drugs. Management is symptomatic revolving mainly around oral and intravenous hydration. Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) is used for fever as compared to NSAIDS such as Ibuprophen infusion as well as blood and platelet transfusion.Data to date shows that slightly more than twenty three thousand people have been diagnosed with dengue over the past three months ie August to October there is a lower risk of bleeding with the former. Those with more severe form of the disease may need Dextran 2017, in Peshawar, Pakistan with around fourteen thousand needing admission and about sixty nine recorded deaths. The mortality is well within the acceptable international standards of less than 1% for the disease. In the backdrop of all the debate surrounding the current epidemic, one can infer that such outbreaks are best addressed with effective planningwell ahead of the time before the disease threatens to spiral out of control. Simple measures such as covering water storage facilities, using larvicidals where practical, use of insect repellents, mosquito nets and avoiding unnecessary exposure can offerthe best protection. Public health messages via print and electronic media can help educate people in affected areas and allay any anxiety building up from a fear of developing life threatening complications. Health department must mobilise all its resources to ensure local management of diagnosed patients with simple dengue fever and facilitate hospital admission only for those suffering from more severe form of the disease. Moreover the media hype into such situations needs to be addressed through constant updates and discouraging any negative politicking on the issue. To sum up Dengue fever is not really an affliction to be dreaded provided it is viewed and managed in the right perspective.

ABSTRACT: Information on selective herbicide, including glyphosate that does not affect non-target organisms such as natural enemies, are important in integrated pest management programs in maize. The dose 13.94 L ha-1 of glyphosate was evaluated in females on 10 Trichogrammatidae species. A female of each Trichogrammatidae species was individually positioned per test tube with a card containing approximately 45 Anagasta kuehniella Zeller, 1879 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs. For 48 h parasitism was allowed, and later the cartons were sprayed with the herbicide or with distilled water, for the control treatment. The glyphosate showed variable effects for parasitoids. The emergence of T. acacioi females was lower but that of T. atopovilia, T. demoraesi, and T. pretiosum higher with the glyphosate. The sex ratio of T. galloi was lower and that of T. bruni, T. brasiliensis, T. demoraesi, and T. soaresi higher with glyphosate. This glyphosate was innocuous to all Trichogrammatidae species females based on the classification adopted internationally.

Abstract The voices of heroes and villains in cartoons contribute to their uniqueness and helps shape how we perceive them. However, not much research has looked at the acoustic properties of character voices and the possible contributions these have to cartoon character archetypes. We present a quantitative examination of how voice quality distinguishes between characters based on their alignment as either protagonists or antagonists, performing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the Long-term Average Spectra (LTAS) of concatenated passages of the speech of various characters obtained from four different animated cartoons. We then assessed if the categories of “protagonists” and “antagonists” (determined via an a priori classification) could be distinguished using a classification algorithm, and if so, what acoustic characteristics could help distinguish the two categories. The overall results support the idea that protagonists and antagonists can be distinguished by their voice qualities. Support Vector Machine (SVM) analysis yielded an average classification accuracy of 96% across the cartoons. Visualisation of the spectral traits constituting the difference did not yield consistent results but reveals a low-versus-high frequency energy dominance pattern segregating antagonists and protagonists. Future studies can look into how other variables might be confounded with voice quality in distinguishing between these categories.

Communication has become inextricable part of human lives and the visual modes of communication has been employed in the print media as a veritable means of communicating very serious issues metaphorically. Thus, Semiotic study constitutes a form of discourse which requires visual display of knowledge to understand and interpret any given text. Thus, several attempts have been made on the study of political cartoons using the canonical classifications of Austin’s (1962) and Searle’s (1969) speech acts, implicature, contextual variables as well as Pragmatic Acts theory. However, little attention has been given to van Leeuwen & Gunther kress’ Semiotic Theory in analysing political cartoons in Nigerian newspapers. Hence, this study explores social semiotic theory perceived with the use of language in political cartoons in order to bring to the fore the covert meanings concealed in it, and to correct the societal ills in witty and humorous ways. The study is anchored on van Leeuween and Gunther Kress’ Social Semiotic theory as the theoretical appurtenance. A total of ten (8) political cartoons were selected and analysed from three Nigerian daily newspapers (The Nation, The Sun & Daily Trust). The study revealed that more meaning would have been lost, if not for the advancement of scholars on the exponent of multimodality. This was because people tend to be more concentrated on the monomodal; linguistic approach to meaning, whereas study of data as newspapers’ cartoons and other visual designs transported more than one mode of meaning to communicate a more complete, coherent and complementary meaning. It was also discovered that cartoons enable the readers to understand the difference between the linguistic and non-linguistic resources and how they are used together to create meaning. The study concludes that cartoon has become a haven for journalists in unveiling and satirising delicate political issues. Keywords: Social Semiotic Theory, Political, Nigerian Newspapers, Cartoons and Datum.

AbstractThe problem of classification of $$(P\hbox { and }Q)$$(PandQ)-polynomial association schemes, as a finite analogue of E. Cartan’s classification of compact symmetric spaces, was posed in the monograph “Association schemes” by E. Bannai and T. Ito in the early 1980s. In this expository paper, we report on some recent results towards its solution.

Abstract In this note, we give a classification of the maximal order Abelian subgroups of finite irreducible Coxeter groups. We also prove a Weyl group analog of Cartan’s theorem that all maximal tori in a connected compact Lie group are conjugate.

AbstractIn this study, we aimed to find biomarkers of autism in young children. We recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) in thirty children (4–7 years) with autism and thirty age, gender-matched controls while they were watching cartoons. We focused on characterizing neural oscillations by amplitude (power spectral density, PSD) and phase (preferred phase angle, PPA). Machine learning based classifier showed a higher classification accuracy (88%) for PPA features than PSD features (82%). Further, by a novel fusion method combining PSD and PPA features, we achieved an average classification accuracy of 94% and 98% for feature-level and score-level fusion, respectively. These findings reveal discriminatory patterns of neural oscillations of autism in young children and provide novel insight into autism pathophysiology.

This article introduces and discusses a novel form of scholarly output, the bullshit cartoon abstract, which can be used to illustrate summaries of fictitious research papers for both scholarly and lay readers. Presenting five self-authored examples that meticulously deal with trivial research subjects, from the use of visual mnemonics in education to disaster marketing, the article classifies these abstracts along seven dimensions (analytic, aesthetic, existential, satirical, pedagogical, recreational, and opportunistic) to illuminate how bullshit is enacted in academic writing. Building on this classification, it reappraises academic bullshit(ting) as potentially generative of new and multi-textured expressions of creative scholarship.

Abstract Background To examine the proportion of healthier and less healthy food promotions in circulars of major Belgian supermarket chains. Methods Food promotions were collected from all circulars over 1 year from the five largest Belgian supermarket chains. Foods promoted were classified according to the World Health Organization Europe nutrient profile model categories and the level and purpose of processing as per the NOVA classification. In addition, promotional characters (i.e. cartoons, licensed characters, celebrities) and premium offers within the promotions were analysed. Results In total, 15,271 food promotions were analyzed. The most frequently promoted foods in circulars were processed meat, poultry and fish (11.8%); fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and legumes (9.5%); soft drinks and sweetened beverages (9.0%); fresh and frozen meat, poultry, fish and eggs (8.6%); cakes, sweet biscuits and pastries (8.1%); ready-made and convenience foods (8.0%); chocolate and sugar confectionery; energy bars and sweet toppings (7.7%) and cheeses (5.7%). About 52.2% of food promotions across all circulars were for ultra-processed foods, with considerable variation across chains (42.9–61.6%). Promotional characters and premium offers were found within 5.3 and 19.5% of promotions respectively. For all chains, circular covers were healthier compared to entire circulars, with a lower proportion of ultra-processed foods and a higher proportion of fresh fruit and vegetables promoted. Conclusions Food promotions in circulars were most frequently for ultra-processed foods, with considerable variation across chains. Circular covers were healthier than entire circulars. Policies to reduce less healthy food promotions could contribute to improving the healthiness of supermarket food purchases.

IntroductionThe advertising of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages is a common feature in obesogenic food environments. Such advertising, within and around settings where children live, learn, and play, negatively affects their food acquisition and consumption. We examined the extent and nature of food and beverage advertising around primary and junior high schools in Ghana's most populous and urbanized region, Greater Accra.Materials and methodsOutdoor advertisements for foods and beverages within a 250 m road network distance of 200 randomly sampled schools were geocoded. For each food and beverage advertisement, information was collected on the setting, type, size, and number of product types featured in the advertisement. Promotional techniques (promotional characters and premium offers) used in advertisements were documented. Advertised foods and beverages were classified using the INFORMAS and NOVA food classification systems.ResultsA total of 5,887 advertisements were identified around the schools surveyed, 42% of which were for foods and beverages. Advertisements were most prevalent at food outlets (78% of all food advertisements), but also along roads and on non-food structures. Overall, 70% of food advertisements featured non-core/unhealthy products, while 12 and 14% had core/healthy and miscellaneous (including soup cubes, seasonings, and tea) products. About 4% of food advertisements had only a product/brand name or logo displayed. One out of two of the foods and beverages advertised were ultra-processed foods, 30% processed, 3% processed culinary ingredients, and 17% unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Sugar-sweetened beverages were the most advertised food product type (32%). Promotional characters were found on 14% of all food advertisements (most–69% were cartoons or manufacturer's characters), while 8% of all food advertisements had premium offers (including price discounts and gift/collectables).ConclusionsThere is an abundance of unhealthy food advertisements around primary and junior high schools in the Greater Accra Region. Policy actions such as restricting the promotion of unhealthy foods in children's settings are needed to protect pupils from such advertising practices.

AbstractWe study the local geometry of 4-manifolds equipped with a para-Kähler-Einstein (pKE) metric, a special type of split-signature pseudo-Riemannian metric, and their associated twistor distribution, a rank 2 distribution on the 5-dimensional total space of the circle bundle of self-dual null 2-planes. For pKE metrics with non-zero scalar curvature this twistor distribution has exactly two integral leaves and is ‘maximally non-integrable’ on their complement, a so-called (2,3,5)-distribution. Our main result establishes a simple correspondence between the anti-self-dual Weyl tensor of a pKE metric with non-zero scalar curvature and the Cartan quartic of the associated twistor distribution. This will be followed by a discussion of this correspondence for general split-signature metrics which is shown to be much more involved. We use Cartan’s method of equivalence to produce a large number of explicit examples of pKE metrics with non-zero scalar curvature whose anti-self-dual Weyl tensor have special real Petrov type. In the case of real Petrov type D, we obtain a complete local classification. Combined with the main result, this produces twistor distributions whose Cartan quartic has the same algebraic type as the Petrov type of the constructed pKE metrics. In a similar manner, one can obtain twistor distributions with Cartan quartic of arbitrary algebraic type. As a byproduct of our pKE examples we naturally obtain para-Sasaki-Einstein metrics in five dimensions. Furthermore, we study various Cartan geometries naturally associated to certain classes of pKE 4-dimensional metrics. We observe that in some geometrically distinguished cases the corresponding Cartan connections satisfy the Yang-Mills equations. We then provide explicit examples of such Yang-Mills Cartan connections.

Why does Monopoly have a bad reputation? Is it true that Monopo- lies are always less desirable than competitive markets? The truth is that the concept of Monopoly is one of the most vitiated and badly analyzed in the economy since the analysis seems to tend to “Monopoly yes” or “Monopoly no”, when in reality, the relevant discussion is the existence or not of competi- tion in the market. In this context, it could happen that in a competitive market there are several companies that provide the best service at the best price or it could happen that it is only one; that is, a Monopoly, which achieves the same objective. In other words, the Monopoly is not good or bad per se, but depends on the absence or coercion of the State and that competition is guaranteed through the free entry and exit of companies. Keywords: Monopoly, Competition, Market Prices, Market, Competitive Monop- oly, Legal Monopoly, Cartels JEL Classification: D41, D42, D46, L41, L11, L43, P42, R32 Resumen: ¿Por qué el Monopolio tiene mala fama? ¿Es cierto que los Mono- polios son siempre menos deseables que los mercados competitivos? Lo cierto es que, el término del Monopolio es uno de los más viciados y mal ana- lizados en la economía ya que el análisis pareciera tender a “Monopolio sí” o “Monopolio no”, cuando en realidad, la discusión relevante es la existencia o no de competencia en el mercado. En este marco, podría ocurrir que en un mercado competitivo sean varias empresas las que brindan el mejor servicio al mejor precio o podría ocurrir que sea una sola; es decir, un monopolio, que logra el mismo objetivo. En otras palabras, el Monopolio no es bueno o malo per se, sino que depende de la ausencia o no de coacción del Estado y de que se garantice la competencia mediante la libre entrada y salida de empresas. Palabras clave: Monopolio, Competencia, Precios de Mercado, Mercado, Monopolio Competitivo, Monopolio Legal, Cárteles Clasificación JEL: D41, D42, D46, L41, L11, L43, P42, R32

Last year, the ABC’s Media Watch (17 Oct. 2005) noted the continuing outrage in the tabloid media over “the dirtiest house in NSW”. The program took issue with Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph, and the descriptor “exclusive” attached to their article on a property in beachside Bondi (9 Oct. 2005). In fact, as Media Watch pointed out, Channel Seven’s current affairs flagship Today Tonight had already made repeat visits to the residence. A Current Affair, Channel Nine’s rival show, as well as Bondi’s local newspaper also offered coverage. However, I am interested not in the number of times the story appeared – though this is certainly a symptom of what I do want to talk about. Instead, I want to consider the affect generated by this reportage. In turn, I want to consider what this reveals about our attitudes to refuse, and how these attitudes work to constitute social order in capitalist discourse. The overwhelming affective register of the language deployed to speak about the house is disgust. Adam Bell in The Sunday Telegraph paints a visceral picture entitled “A stinking mess”. He writes that the Bondi premises are engulfed in a stinking three-metre high pile of decaying rubbish that poses a serious health and safety risk. … Stacked with empty boxes, beer cartons, broken furniture, canned fruit, newspapers and cardboard, the waste dump fills the entire front and backyards of the house and spills onto the street. On hot days, the stench of the rotting garbage is detected blocks away while at night, rats and cockroaches are regularly seen running in and out of the mess. … The rubbish is piled so high only the roof of the 1920s Californian bungalow is clearly visible from the front. (9 Oct. 2005) Bell’s follow-up speaks of “the huge pile of filth at the infamous Bondi rubbish house” and of “a team of cleaners dressed in forensic ‘space suits’” (27 Nov. 2005). Other News Limited journalists who subsequently visited the site conjured similar imagery (Goldner; Cummings). Television was not to be outdone: Today Tonight called it “the house from hell”, whilst A Current Affair focused on the “disgraceful pile of rat-infested rubbish [that] just gets higher and higher” (Media Watch). The tonality of the language is a dimension of the prevalent discourse of “aspirationalism” that is central to the popularist politics of Australian Prime Minister John Howard. One key signifier of “aspiration” is property ownership expressed through the rhetoric of the “home.” The affective dimension of the reporting—the disgust—stems from the disjuncture of the exalted (Bondi Beach, high property values) and the abject (refuse). It is a tool used to discursively fix the inappropriate physical and social location of the refuse so as to locate what is culturally valued. Bell’s initial article mentions no less than three times in 600 words that the house is a “million dollar property” and is “located in one of Sydney’s most prestigious and expensive suburbs” (9 Oct. 2005). His second article also mentioned the property’s value (27 Nov. 2005), as did another article by a colleague at The Daily Telegraph (9 Dec. 2005). Today Tonight emphasized that the house was in “an exclusive beachside suburb” and that it was “smack bang in the middle of one of Australia’s most expensive and best known suburbs” (Media Watch). William Ian Miller in Anatomy of Disgust explains how the affective response to an encounter like the one with Bondi’s “rubbish house” can be attributed to feelings about organisation. Miller positions disgust as “a strong sense of aversion to something perceived as dangerous because of its danger to contaminate, infect, or pollute by proximity, contact or ingestion” (2). In other words, disgust is the product of an aversion to something that breaches the lines of containment, and therefore signals a threat to established order. The body – a network of physiological and neurological processes, which constitute multiple systems of order in their own right – cannot cope with such a breakdown and reacts accordingly. David Trotter elaborates: Psychological activity [is] an attempt to impose order on experience: bodily paroxysm is a way of confronting and resolving urgent abstract dilemmas. According to this view, you vomit because you have lost confidence in your ability to make sense of the world: your ability to categorize, order, explain, or tell stories about what has happened to you. Disgust is the product of conceptual trauma. (158-9) The “conceptual trauma” in the case of Bondi’s “rubbish house” is a reaction to a transgression of the order of capitalist social space, which then becomes a discursive conduit for its hegemonic renewal. Indeed, the concern with the malfunction in social order that the misplaced refuse represents confirms what anthropologist Mary Douglas has been telling us for some time: If we can abstract pathogenicity and hygiene from our notion of dirt, we are left with the old definition of dirt as matter out of place. This is a very suggestive approach. It implies two conditions: a set of ordered relations and a contravention of that order. Dirt then, is never a unique, isolated event. Where there is dirt there is a system. Dirt is the by-product of a systematic ordering and classification of matter, in so far as ordering involves rejecting inappropriate elements. (36) Certainly, the associated health risks to Mary Bobolas, the house’s owner/occupier, and the wider community from her hoarding are not purely ideological. However, it is impossible to divorce the social discourses surrounding refuse from the series of social and technological developments that Dominique Laporte in his History of Shit calls the “privatisation” of waste (28). The social and technical apparatuses which enable dominant sociogenetic attitudes regarding refuse include the increasing emphasis on private property, the emergence of the family unit as the primary site for the coalescence of socializing forces and inventions such as the toilet (Elias 137-40). Laporte believes that this process in instrumental in creating the individuated, capitalist subject, which, in the context of contemporary Australian capitalist discourse, is the middle-class homeowner. The construction of complex regulatory architecture to manage practices and tastes substantiates American novelist Don DeLillo’s proposal that civilisation did not rise and flourish as men hammered out hunting scenes on bronze gates and whispered philosophy under the stars, with garbage as a noisome offshoot, swept away and forgotten. No, garbage came first, inciting people to build a civilization in response, in self-defense. We had to find ways to discard our waste, to use what we couldn’t discard, to reprocess what we couldn’t use. … Consume or die. That’s the mandate of the culture. And it all ends up in the dump. We make stupendous amounts of garbage, then we react to it, not only technologically but in our hearts and minds. We let it shape us. We let it control our thinking. Garbage comes first, then we build a system to deal with it. (287-8) Most of the systems to which DeLillo refers are designed to counter the visibility of refuse and channel it to a demarcated, separate space. This is the paradox of refuse: our sense of order depends upon it, yet in affluent society we are anxious about confronting it. Over the years, Bondi Beach has been sanitised both materially and socially. The sewage outfall is a heritage site and the area is no longer working class. Yet, it seems the shit is still washing up on the shore: significantly, the refuse Bobolas accumulates is other people’s rubbish collected from “the streets, garbage bins and council clean-ups” (Bell 9 Oct. 2005). It is produced by the very homeowners whose disgust is so palpable. However, the media coverage of the “rubbish house” does not merely remind the rich and famous residents of their own refuse, nor does it function as a critique of conspicuous consumption. The media event of the “rubbish house” illustrates how “matter out of place” and the resulting affect of disgust are exploited discursively by hegemonic culture in order to maintain the ideology of “aspirationalism” and reiterate the wider capitalist project. References Bell, Adam. “A Stinking Mess – Mountain of Garbage in Sydney Yard.” Sunday Telegraph [Sydney] 9 Oct. 2005: 9. Bell, Adam. “End of the Dirt House.” Sunday Telegraph [Sydney] 27 Nov. 2005: 17. Cummings, Larissa. “Bondi Mountain of Rubbish Rises Again.” Daily Telegraph [Sydney] 20 May 2006: 15. DeLillo, Don. Underworld. New York: Scribner, 1997. Douglas, Mary. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London: Routledge, 2002. Elias, Norbert. The Civilising Process: The History of Manners: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations. Trans. Edmund Jephcott. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978. Goldner, Viva. “Rage over Rubbish – Daughters Defend Garbage Mountain.” Daily Telegraph [Sydney] 9 Dec. 2005: 17. Laporte, Dominique. History of Shit. Cambridge, Mass: MIT P, 2002. Media Watch. ABC TV. 17 Oct. 2005. Transcript. 23 Jul 2006 http://www.abc. net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1483767.htm. net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1483767.htm> Miller, William Ian. The Anatomy of Disgust. Cambridge, Mass & London: Harvard UP, 1997. Trotter, David. Cooking with Mud: The Idea of Mess in Nineteenth-Century Art and Fiction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Seale, Kirsten. "Location, Location: Situating Bondi’s “Rubbish House”." M/C Journal 9.5 (2006). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0610/07-seale.php>. APA Style Seale, K. (Nov. 2006) "Location, Location: Situating Bondi’s “Rubbish House”," M/C Journal, 9(5). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0610/07-seale.php>.