Analytical method to determine the potential of using rice husk for off grid electricity and heat generation

This work develops an analytical method of determining the captive Combined Heat and Power (CHP) potential of the rice husk produced at the rice mills. Technologies whose commercial efficacy has been established for generating electricity and heat from rice husk were analysed using sets of thermo-chemical and thermodynamics equations to determine their CHP potential for the same amount of input rice husk. Four power plants were considered: boiler steam turbine combination labelled Plant A, gasifier - boiler - s team turbine combination labelled Plant B, gasifier - gas turbine combination labelled Plant C and gasifier - Internal Combustion engine combination labelled Plant D. Results from the analysis shows that 4.85 kg, 6.82 kg, 0.87 kg, and 0.97 kg are required to produce a kilowatt-hour of electricity by plants A, B, C and D respectively; while the heat co - generation potential of the plants A, B, C and D obtained are 10,051.09 MJ/hr,  7,136.24 MJ/hr, 4,182.95 MJ/hr and 6,604.67 MJ/hr respectively. Hence, a gasifier - gas turbine CHP plant is the most viable means of utilizing rice husk for off grid CHP generation while a gasifier - boiler steam turbine CHP plant is the least viable. Keywords: rice husk ash, renewable energy, heat generation, CHP, gasifier - gas turbine CH

Effect of light- and chemical-cured composites on microtensile bond strength of simplified-step adhesives

Abstract no. 66published_or_final_versio

Study and implementation of urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba islands) using an integrated multidisciplinary approach

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a parasitic infection that continues to be a major public health problem in many developing countries being responsible for an estimated burden of at least 1.4 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Africa alone. However, morbidity due to schistosomiasis has been greatly reduced in some parts of the world, including Zanzibar. The Zanzibar government is now committed to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis. Over the next 3--5 years, the whole at-risk population will be administered praziquantel (40 mg/kg) biannually. Additionally, snail control and behaviour change interventions will be implemented in selected communities and the impact measured in a randomized intervention trial. METHODS: In this 5-year research study, on both Unguja and Pemba islands, urogenital schistosomiasis will be assessed in 45 communities with urine filtration and reagent strips in 4,500 schoolchildren aged 9--12 years annually, and in 4,500 first-year schoolchildren and 2,250 adults in years 1 and 5. Additionally, from first-year schoolchildren, a finger-prick blood sample will be collected and examined for Schistosoma haematobium infection biomarkers. Changes in prevalence and infection intensity will be assessed annually. Among the 45 communities, 15 were randomized for biannual snail control with niclosamide, in concordance with preventive chemotherapy campaigns. The reduction of Bulinus globosus snail populations and S. haematobium-infected snails will be investigated. In 15 other communities, interventions triggering behaviour change have been designed and will be implemented in collaboration with the community. A change in knowledge, attitudes and practices will be assessed annually through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with schoolchildren, teachers, parents and community leaders. In all 45 communities, changes in the health system, water and sanitation infrastructure will be annually tracked by standardized questionnaire-interviews with community leaders. Additional issues potentially impacting on study outcomes and all incurring costs will be monitored and recorded. DISCUSSION: Elimination of schistosomiasis has become a priority on the agenda of the Zanzibar government and the international community. Our study will contribute to identifying what, in addition to preventive chemotherapy, needs to be done to prevent, control, and ultimately eliminate schistosomiasis, and to draw lessons for current and future schistosomiasis elimination programmes in Africa and elsewhere.Trial registrationISRCTN4883768

Praziquantel coverage in schools and communities targeted for the elimination of urogenital schistosomiasis in Zanzibar: a cross-sectional survey

© 2015 Knopp et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Antenatal care and skilled delivery service utilisation in Somali pastoral communities of Eastern Ethiopia

To assess maternal health care service utilisation and associated factors in Somali pastoral communities of eastern Ethiopia.; Community-based cross-sectional study complemented by qualitative assessments in Adadle district, Somali region, eastern Ethiopia, among 450 women in six kebeles from August to September 2016. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with antenatal care use and skilled delivery care use, controlling for confounders.; About 27% [95%CI 22.8-31.2%] of women used antenatal care, and 22.6% [95%CI 18.7-26.5%] received skilled delivery service. None of the respondents reported post-natal care. About 43% reported that they had no knowledge of antenatal care, and 46% did not perceive delivery at a health facility as important. Pastoral lifestyle, husband's educational status, women's attitude towards health care service and financial support from the husband were significantly associated with antenatal care utilisation. Health professionals' attitudes, perceptions of institutional delivery, antenatal care utilisation and information about exemptions from maternal health care fees were associated with skilled delivery service utilisation.; Improving community awareness of antenatal care, employing female health professionals and culturally adapted guidelines could improve skilled delivery utilisation. In a patriarchal society, involving male partners in all maternal health issues is essential to increase use of maternal health services and to decrease maternal mortality

Informed consent procedure in a double blind randomized anthelminthic trial on Pemba Island, Tanzania: do pamphlet and information session increase caregivers knowledge?

Background In clinical research, obtaining informed consent from participants is an ethical and legal requirement. Conveying the information concerning the study can be done using multiple methods yet this step commonly relies exclusively on the informed consent form alone. While this is legal, it does not ensure the participant’s true comprehension. New effective methods of conveying consent information should be tested. In this study we compared the effect of different methods on the knowledge of caregivers of participants of a clinical trial on Pemba Island, Tanzania. Methods A total of 254 caregivers were assigned to receive (i) a pamphlet (n = 63), (ii) an oral information session (n = 62) or (iii) a pamphlet and an oral information session (n = 64) about the clinical trial procedures, their rights, benefits and potential risks. Their post-intervention knowledge was assessed using a questionnaire. One group of caregivers had not received any information when they were interviewed (n = 65). Results In contrast to the pamphlet, attending an information session significantly increased caregivers’ knowledge for some of the questions. Most of these questions were either related to the parasite (hookworm) or to the trial design (study procedures). Conclusions In conclusion, within our trial on Pemba Island, a pamphlet was found to not be a good form of conveying clinical trial information while an oral information session improved knowledge. Not all caregivers attending an information session responded correctly to all questions; therefore, better forms of communicating information need to be found to achieve a truly informed consent

Development of novel multiplex microsatellite polymerase chain reactions to enable high-throughput population genetic studies of Schistosoma haematobium

© 2015 Webster et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Perinatal outcomes following Helping Babies Breathe training and regular peer-peer skills practice among village midwives in Sudan.

Over 80% of deliveries in Sudan occur in rural areas, attended by village midwives (VMWs). To determine the impact of Helping Babies Breathe training and regular peer-peer skills practice (HBBT(+RPPSP)) on VMW resuscitation practices and outcomes. In a prospective community-based intervention study, 71/82 VMWs, reporting to six East Nile rural medical centres, with previous experience in community health research, consented to HBBT(+RPPSP). Outcomes included changes in the resuscitation practices, fresh stillbirths (FSB) and early neonatal deaths <1 week (ENND). There were 1350 and 3040 deliveries before and after HBBT(+RPPSP), respectively, with no significant differences between the two cohorts regarding maternal age, education or area of birth. Drying of the newborn increased almost tenfold (8.4%, n=113 to 74.9%, n=1011) while suctioning of the mouth/nose decreased fivefold (80.3%, n=2442 to 14.4%, n=437) following HBBT(+RPPSP). Pre-HBBT(+RPPSP)9/18 (50%) newborns who had mouth-to-mouth ventilation died, compared with 13/119 (11%) who received bag-mask ventilation post-HBBT(+RPPSP). Excluding 11 macerated fetuses, there were 55 perinatal deaths: 14 FSB/18 ENND (6 months pre-HBBT(+RPPSP)) and 10 FSB/13 ENND (18 months post-HBBT(+RPPSP)). FSB rates decreased from 10.5 to 3.3 per 1000 births ((χ(2))=8.6209, p=0.003), while ENND rates decreased from 13.5 to 4.3 per 1000 live births ((χ(2))=10.9369, p=0.001) pre-HBBT(+RPPSP) and post-HBBT(+RPPSP), respectively. In a selected group of VMWs, HBBT(+RPPSP) was associated with improvements in newborn resuscitation and perinatal outcomes. HBBT(+RPPSP) could have immense benefits if propagated nationally to all 17 000 VMWs in Sudan.This study was funded by the Irish Aid Civil Society Grant scheme