Journal of Disaster and Emergency Research
Volume:2 Issue: 2, May 2019

Disasters can impact national economies in many ways, one of which is through international trade components such as export. with estimated direct damages of over US$211 billion, the Great Eastern Japan earthquake of 2011 has been the costliest disaster in the history of Japan. Although this disaster occurred in an area with lower share in the national and global economy, many Japanese and non-Japanese firms outside the affected area were affected by the ripple effects of this disaster. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which changes in post disaster exports of Japan can be attributed to this disaster.

A modified version of shift-share method was employed to examine the impacts of the disaster on Japan’s export. Considering the regional economic analysis, shift-share analysis is often used to compare regional economic changes with regard to national changes. It decomposes the regional economy changes into universal, industry mix, and competitive advantage components. In this study, an up-scaled shift share analysis was conducted that examined the changes of Japan export versus the world. Two datasets were used in this study. The first dataset included Japan’s exports and the other contained the world’s exports. . The World Trade Organization (WTO)’s online database constituted the main data source.

According to the shift-share analysis, Japan experienced some increase in export during the study years, which was due to the overall universal export increases. In the same period, Japan lost some of its exports due to the industry mix component. The results showed that the 2011 Great East Japan disaster had a substantial impact on Japan’s exports through the export reduction caused by the competitive effect.

Large-scale disasters may have a significant impact on the overall national economy and export. The results of this study highlighted that the disaster had a negative competitive advantage for all economic sectors of Japan.

Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major are the causative agents of Anthroponotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) and Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL) in various areas of Iran, respectively. Yazd province is one of the endemic centers of ZCL. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate and predict the effects of the climate change on the potential scattering of the vector and reservoir species of ZCL disease in Yazd province, as one of the endemic centers of ZCL in Iran in the present (1950-2000) and prospective time (2030).

According to the findings of prior studies conducted in Yazd province, the data related to the vectors and reservoir of the ZCL were collected and recorded in the databank. ArcGIS 10.3 and MaxEnt software were used to estimate the suitable ecological niches using 19 variables. In this study, Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model and scenario of  Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 were applied with respect to 2030 horizon.

According to results of Jackknife test, the climate variables of Bio8 & Bio6 for the current period, and climate variables of Bio8 & Bio7 for the future (2030) produced the most effects on the distribution of vector and reservoir species in Yazd province. These results indicated that temperature had the greatest impact on the vector’s distribution in the present and future. Currently, eastern and central areas of the province are more likely to receive most of the vector and reservoir species. It is anticipated that in the future, we will observe an increase in the presence of vector in the western districts and reservoirs in the northern and central regions of the province. 

Climate conditions provide suitable habitats for easy transfer of ZCL disease in Yazd province. This research confirmed that suitable climatic conditions for the vector and reservoir will be expanded in coming years in comparison with the current period.

To survive is the first concern of people after disasters. The ability to keep performing and offering services in hospitals at the same time as appropriate responding to the medical needs of disaster victims, matters tremendously. An effective element in this regard is having appropriate safety level in hospitals. The aim of this study was to specify the safety index of hospitals covered by Alborz University of Medical Sciences.

This descriptive-provisional study was conducted between 2014 and 2015 in Alborz province. Nine public hospitals, affiliated with Alborz University of Medical Sciences, were chosen by the means of census method. The data collection tool was the standard tool of hospital safety index, WHO / PAHO, through which the level of hospital safety (in three structural, non-structural and functional areas) were determined. Data were analyzed through Excel software. The outcomes were rated between zero to one, and accordingly, in terms of safety, hospitals were classified as either A, B or C.

Based on the results of this study, most of the examined hospitals were at B level of safety. Although the group B hospitals can put up with disasters in time but, their vital equipment and services will be put at jeopardy.

Measuring the safety index of hospitals as well as determining their level of safety, it can be figured out how much a hospital can preserve its organization and function in disasters. This index will be helpful for decision makers and policymakers, when it comes to prioritizing management and civil interventions.

Each economic and non-economic institute is inevitably forced to pay special attention  to the post-crisis phase to keep its organizational alive, carry out its missions, and reduce the damages and costs caused by various crises. In this research, we tried to extract the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) after the natural disaster of earthquake in the staff area of Water and Wastewater Company of Tehran within the localized framework of BS-25999 British Standards Institution (BSI).

In this regard, a questionnaire was used for data collection. Analysis of the questionnaire results was performed by SPSS19 and Expertchoice11 applications.

The manager of Water and Wastewater Company of  Tehran was found to be the best authority for managing the emergency so that the company can continue its operation and return to normal situation. According to the findings, the hot site was selected as the best location for business continuity of Water and Wastewater Company of Tehran, which could be an alternative site to continue the activities and services after the disaster.

A localized post-earthquake Business Continuity Plan (BCP) was suggested in the staff area of Water and Wastewater Company of Tehran. In this site,  necessary actions can be perfromed to continue the activities before, during, and after the disaster. Furthermore, organizational chart and task description can be redefined in it.

Considering the unexpected events that may occur in disasters, breastfeeding and risks of the artificial feeding need more investigations in such severe conditions.To review the literature regarding to the status of breastfeeding practices during and after disasters.We conducted a narrative review to support and investigate breastfeeding in austere conditions of disasters. Furthermore, the consequences of depriving infants from breast milk were studied.
 

The electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct were explored and English articles published in 2000-2014 over breastfeeding in disasters were extracted and reviewed.

According to the findings, despite the frequent emphasizes on breastfeeding, natural and manmade disasters are strong contributors to its disruption. Uncontrolled distribution of the artificial milk should be avoided, since it is associated with lower rate of breastfeeding. Artificially-fed infants are more prone to diarrheal diseases and malnutrition, particularly in disaster situations, which healthy water is not available for preparing the artificial milk.

Healthcare workers should encourage mothers to continue lactation in austere conditions of disasters and monitor distribution of the artificial formula strictly.

Due to the increasing mortality rate from trauma, determining the severity of injury has a very important role in the prognosis of the injured person. On the other hand, the quality of medical care provided to the casualties is evaluated using the Trauma Scoring System. Various scales were used to determine the trauma severity of injured. In this study, the most commonly used tools are investigated.

This review was conducted by searching throughout the Persian data bases of Magiran, Barakat, SID and English databases of Scopus, Web of sciences, PubMed, and Google scholar. To conduct the search, the following keywords were used: "Severity of Trauma", "Trauma scoring", and "Trauma Scoring System" without considering any time intervals. Our early search resulted in 2125 articles. Finally, 17 articles were analyzed and different functions of traumatic assessment tools were compared and studied.

Traumatic assessment methods vary based on the anatomical and physiological parameters and composition of these two methods. In this study, the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and New Injury Severity Score (NISS) were considered as anatomical parameters; Revised Trauma Score (RTS) as physiological parameters; Trauma Score Injury Severity Score (TRISS) and A Severity Characterization of Trauma (ASCOST) were mentioned as a hybrid ranking system.

Application of accurate scientific evaluations in trauma severity assessment methods and application of each method in its appropriate position would result in appropriate improvements in the development of trauma care.  In addition, these systems can play an important role in providing care to patients with traumatic injuries in the present and future.