Assessing long-term medical remanufacturing emissions with Life Cycle Analysis

The unsustainable take-make-dispose linear economy prevalent in healthcare contributes 4.4% to global Greenhouse Gas emissions. A popular but not yet widely-embraced solution is to remanufacture common single-use medical devices like electrophysiology catheters, significantly extending their lifetimes by enabling a circular life cycle. To support the adoption of catheter remanufacturing, we carried out a holistic comparative evaluation of virgin manufactured and remanufactured carbon emissions with Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). We followed ISO modelling standards and NHS reporting guidelines to ensure industry relevance. We conclude that remanufacturing may lead to a reduction of up to 61% per turn (burden-free) and 58% per life (burdened). Our extensive sensitivity analysis and industry-informed buy-back scheme revealed up to 49% long-term emission reductions per remanufactured catheter life. Our comprehensive results encourage a collaborative approach to remanufacturing to optimise emission savings across a catheter's life cycle.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, 7 table

Population-level approaches to universal health coverage in resource-poor settings: Lessons from tobacco control policy in Vietnam

Population-based health promotion and disease prevention approaches are essential elements in achieving universal health coverage; yet they frequently do not appear on national policy agendas. This paper suggests that resource-poor countries should take greater advantage of such approaches to reach all segments of the population to positively affect health outcomes and equity, especially considering the epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases and associated modifiable risk factors. Tobacco control policy development and implementation in Vietnam provides a case study to discuss opportunities and challenges associated with such strategies

The development of Tobacco Harm Prevention Law in Vietnam: stakeholder tensions over tobacco control legislation in a state owned industry

Background: Building on its National Tobacco Control Policy initiated in 2000, Vietnam is currently considering introducing a comprehensive law to strengthen the implementation of tobacco control policy. This study analyses the positions of key stakeholders in the development of tobacco control legislation in the context of a largely state-owned industry, and discusses their implications for the policy process

The Comparison of Characteristics in Tin Doped Indium Oxide (ITO) Synthesized via Nonaqueous Sol-Gel and Solvothermal Process

Tin doped indium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by nonaqueous sol-gel method and solvothermal process from indium acetylacetonate (In(acac)3) and tin bis(acetylacetonate)dichloride (Sn(acac)2Cl2) in oleyamine as the starting materials. The structure and morphology of ITO samples were analyzed by XRD and TEM. The electrical conductivy and specific surface area of both ITO samples were also determined and compared to each other. The ITO prepared via solvothermal method showed better results that prepared by nonaqueous sol-gel method

Security Improvement for Energy Harvesting based Overlay Cognitive Networks with Jamming-Assisted Full-Duplex Destinations

This work investigates the secrecy capability of energy harvesting based overlay cognitive networks (EHOCNs). To this end, we assume that a message by a licensed transmitter is relayed by an unlicensed sender. Critically, the unlicensed sender uses energy harvested from licensed signals, enhancing the overall energy efficiency and maintaining the integrity of licensed communications. To secure messages broadcast by the unlicensed sender against the wire-tapper, full-duplex destinations - unlicensed recipient and licensed receiver - jam the eavesdropper at the same time they receive signals from the unlicensed sender. To this effect, we derive closed-form formulas for the secrecy outage probability, which then quantify the security performance of both unlicensed and licensed communications for EHOCNs with jamming-assisted full-duplex destinations, namely EHOCNwFD. In addition, optimum operating parameters are established, which can serve as essential design guidelines of such systems.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe