MORU Tropical Health Network annual report 2021

2021 Annual Report for the MORU Tropical Health Network, Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Uni

Raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance: development of an 'antibiotic footprint calculator'

Non-academic partners can be vital in successful public engagement activities on antimicrobial resistance. With collaboration between academic and non-academic partners, we developed and launched an open-access web-based application, the 'antibiotic footprint calculator', in both Thai and English. The application focused on a good user experience, addressing antibiotic overuse and its impact, and encouraging immediate action. The application was unveiled in joint public engagement activities. From 1 Nov 2021 to 31 July 2022 (9 month period), 2554 players estimated their personal antibiotic footprint by using the application

The response of spider (Araneae) assemblages to structural heterogeneity and prey abundance in sub-montane vegetation modified by conservation grazing

AbstractThe effect of experimental livestock grazing regimens (4 treatments×6 replicates) on spiders via habitat structure and prey abundance was investigated on sub-montane habitats in the Southern Highlands of Scotland. The study, 2002–2004 included a baseline survey under the prior, commercial sheep grazing regimen and two assessments of spider assemblages post-treatment: commercial stocking density of sheep; 1/3 stocking density with sheep; 1/3 stocking density cattle with sheep; and no grazing. Spiders were sampled with a suction sampler, five sucks at each of 25 sample units by 24 plots (600 samples in 2003 and 2004, ca. 320 in 2002). Spider abundance and species richness increased under reduced stocking density, mixed herbivore and ungrazed treatments indirectly via changes in vegetation structure and prey abundance. The results refuted a meta-analysis that concluded species richness of spiders is unaffected by grazing. Grazing regimens caused turnover in species composition more than the net difference in species richness suggested, implying that no single, optimal grazing regimen will support as many species as a patchwork under varied grazing management. Conservation grazing benefits spiders and will have significant benefits for food webs in sub-montane ecosystems but the period to equilibrium after changes to grazing requires further investigation

The utility of an AMR dictionary as an educational tool to improve public understanding of antimicrobial resistance

Background: Communicating about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to the public is challenging.   Methods: We developed a dictionary of terms commonly used to communicate about AMR. For each term, we developed learning points to explain AMR and related concepts in plain language.  We conducted a pilot evaluation in 374 high school students in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. In three 50-minute sessions, students were asked to answer five true/false questions using a paper-based questionnaire. The first session assessed their understanding of AMR at baseline, the second after searching the internet, and the third after the provision of the printed AMR dictionary and its web address.    Results: We developed the AMR dictionary as a web-based application (www.amrdictionary.net). The Thai version of the AMR dictionary included 35 terms and associated learning points, seven figures displaying posters promoting AMR awareness in Thailand, and 66 recommended online videos. In the pretest, the proportion of correct responses to each question ranged from 10% to 57%; 10% of the students correctly answered that antibiotics cannot kill viruses and 57% correctly answered that unnecessary use of antibiotics makes them ineffective. After the internet searches, the proportions of correct answers increased, ranging from 62% to 89% (all p&lt;0.001). After providing the AMR dictionary, the proportions of correct answers increased further, ranging from 79% to 89% for three questions (p&lt;0.001), and did not change for one question (p=0.15). Correct responses as to whether taking antibiotics often has side-effects such as diarrhoea reduced from 85% to 74% (p&lt;0.001). The dictionary was revised based on the findings and comments received. Conclusions: Understanding of AMR among Thai high school students is limited. The AMR dictionary can be a useful supportive tool to increase awareness and improve understanding of AMR. Our findings support the need to evaluate the effectiveness of communication tools in the real-world setting.</ns3:p

Experimental system for measuring the force load of a single blade pump

Precise evaluation and anticipation of the radial and axial force loads acting on the impeller of a spiral casing pump are essential to ensure that the pump operates efficiently and dependably. This study presents an experimental system for measuring the force load of a single blade pump and explores the fluid mechanics involved in its operation. The experimental system consists of a strain gauge and a data acquisition system, which measures the force load on the blade as the pump rotates. In addition, our investigation delves into various approaches for measuring radial force loads, which include the evaluation of reaction forces on bearings. For the case of experimental measurement of the radial and axial force in the pump bearings, it is necessary to make some design modifications on the pump body. The measurement methodology is based on the principle of a “relaxed” shaft that performs a so-called spherical motion around the rotation axis during pump operation

Numerical Analysis of the Radial Load, Pressure and Velocity Fields of a Single Blade Pump

The centrifugal screw-type pump is a type of pump which, due to its hydraulic and mechanical properties, is used in several areas of the industry (e.g., for sludge and rainwater disposal). To avoid impeller passage clogging, the 3D impeller geometry is designed as a helically curved blade added to a conical hub. The passability through the fluid canal of the modelled impeller is 100 mm. In this paper, the magnitude of the radial force on an impeller blade is investigated as a function of the flow rate. The digital model was designed in Catia V5 and calculated using the commercial Ansys CFX software. A numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to investigate the performance characteristics of the pump, specifically discussing internal flow conditions such as velocity, pressure and the radial force mentioned above

Radial Force Loads on the Impeller of a Spiral Casing Pump – Comparison of Experiment and CFD Simulation

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is becoming a widely used tool in the industrial fields. Experimental methods are expensive and time-consuming and CFD is a suitable substitute. In order to investigate the accuracy between the two methods, the radial force on a 6-bladed impeller was measured. The results reveal that the steady-steady analysis method fails, and higher accuracy is achieved using transient simulation. Fairly good accuracy is achieved when simulating the power parameters, where it is sufficient to use the steady-state method as well to save time. On the other hand, for force load detection, where the magnitude of the radial force varies with the position of the impeller, the transient method should be used. The distribution of the non-stationary radial force vectors is symmetric around the origin and lies mainly in 6 regions, which are the same as the number of impeller blades

Numerical Analysis of the Radial Load, Pressure and Velocity Fields of a Single Blade Pump

The centrifugal screw-type pump is a type of pump which, due to its hydraulic and mechanical properties, is used in several areas of the industry (e.g., for sludge and rainwater disposal). To avoid impeller passage clogging, the 3D impeller geometry is designed as a helically curved blade added to a conical hub. The passability through the fluid canal of the modelled impeller is 100 mm. In this paper, the magnitude of the radial force on an impeller blade is investigated as a function of the flow rate. The digital model was designed in Catia V5 and calculated using the commercial Ansys CFX software. A numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to investigate the performance characteristics of the pump, specifically discussing internal flow conditions such as velocity, pressure and the radial force mentioned above

Habitat filtering influences plant-pollinator interactions in prairie ecosystems

The xeric hypothesis is that bees are more abundant pollinators in dry, temperate biomes than anthophilous flies, and the habitat filtering hypothesis is that differences in the proportions will impact plant community composition because different pollinators favour different floral traits. However, few studies have examined the predictive value of these hypotheses. In particular, differences in plant-pollinator compositions within biomes, such as the Prairie Ecozone, have not been compared. We documented plant-pollinator interactions and plant abundance in three Canadian prairie types. Flower visits in moist tall grass prairie were mainly by flies in the Syrphidae, while visits in the drier fescue and mixed grass prairie were mainly by long-tongued bees in the Apidae. Short-tongued bee visits were not significantly different between the prairie types. Insect visits to tubular, zygomorphic, violet/blue- and white-flowered plants were higher in drier fescue and mixed grass prairie than in moister tall grass prairie. Further, proportions of plants with these features were lower in the tall grass prairie. Thus differences in the proportion of flies and long-tongued bees, likely affected by habitat conditions including moisture levels, appear to be influencing the types of plants that dominate each prairie type providing some support for these hypotheses.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author