RESUMEN
The steady increase of the world population and economy leads to an increase in both types and amounts of goods transported over seas, which further inevitably leads to an increase of criminal activities in the maritime arena. In order to stifle criminal activities nations are forced to develop sophisticated sensor networks. The backbone of any sensor network is a communication network which connects all sensors with the command centers, most often located hundreds of kilometers away from the sensors. In developing countries, communication networks are very often poorly developed, leaving only satellite links as somewhat reliable means of communication. Henceforth, in this paper, a laboratory for the Internet of Things (IoT) communication infrastructure environment designed to facilitate maritime sensor network design process in areas where communication network is dependent on data transfer over satellite links is presented. In order to successfully describe and develop a laboratory for IoT communication infrastructure environment, necessary data are collected during the design and deployment of a maritime surveillance network in the Gulf of Guinea. The main advantage of the proposed laboratory environment is the inclusion of satellite link simulation in the IoT laboratory environment. This feature provides an opportunity to cover a much broader scope of IoT solutions compared to other IoT laboratories.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Injection drug use is a major public health problem. Oral health problems and the appearance of dental disease among injection drug users (IDUs) are caused by their lifestyle. The aim of the present study was to examine the relations between socioeconomic factors, drug use, and oral hygiene habits on the oral health of heroin drug users. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey on oral health was carried out as part of UNICEF's research on the biological and behaviours survey among injection drug users in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A sample of 519 IDUs participated in the survey. Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) was used to obtain the sample. The data were obtained through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire related to socio-demographic characteristics, duration of drug injection, frequency of drug injection in the last month and oral health. RESULTS: Older participants (OR = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.02 -1.10), part-time employment (OR = 3.57; 95% CI = 1.02 - 12.20) and unemployment (OR = 3.23; 95% CI = 1.23 - 8.33) in comparison to full-time employment as the referent category, and longer duration of drug injection (OR = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.003 - 1.12) were predictors of bad oral health. A higher level of education (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.39 - 0.79), more frequent tooth brushing (OR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.49 - 0.71), and regular dental checkups (OR = 3.30; 95% CI = 1.42 - 7.67) were predictors of good oral health. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic characteristics of IDUs as well as their lifestyles may contribute to oral health problems. Heroin drug users have specific dental needs, and programmes to improve their oral health should be an integral part of strategies to prevent addictions including treatments and harm reduction programmes.
