Optimization of Fixed Bed Downdraft Reactor for Rice Husk Biomass Gasification using Secondary Air Intake Variation

Rice husk is one of the most abundant agricultural wastes in Indonesia, with an annual potency of 13,662 MWe. Using biomass gasification, it can be converted into producer gas, whose energy can be used for thermal and electrical power generation. In gasification terms, gas quality can be interpreted by tar content and gas energy. An experiment using an open top fixed bed downdraft gasifier (batch system) with double stage air supply was conducted by varying the secondary air injection position (Z) and the air ratio (AR). Tar content can be represented by flaming pyrolysis duration and gas quality by the combustion energy of the gas. Flaming pyrolysis is a phenomenon which occurs inside the reactor, where tar produced is re-cracked and dissolved into smaller compounds. This can be achieved if the pyrolysis zone temperature ranges between 500 and 800oC. With an AR of 80%, at Z = 38 cm, flaming pyrolysis with the longest duration of 400 seconds was created, which indicated that this condition had the lowest tar content; meanwhile, at Z = 50 cm, gas with the highest energy (734.64 kJ) was obtained

How accurate is patients' anatomical knowledge: a cross-sectional, questionnaire study of six patient groups and a general public sample

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Older studies have shown that patients often do not understand the terms used by doctors and many do not even have a rudimentary understanding of anatomy. The present study was designed to investigate the levels of anatomical knowledge of different patient groups and the general public in order to see whether this has improved over time and whether patients with a specific organ pathology (e.g. liver disease) have a relatively better understanding of the location of that organ.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Level of anatomical knowledge was assessed on a multiple-choice questionnaire, in a sample of 722 participants, comprising approximately 100 patients in each of 6 different diagnostic groups and 133 in the general population, using a between-groups, cross-sectional design. Comparisons of relative accuracy of anatomical knowledge between the present and earlier results, and across the clinical and general public groups were evaluated using Chi square tests. Associations with age and education were assessed with the Pearson correlation test and one-way analysis of variance, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Across groups knowledge of the location of body organs was poor and has not significantly improved since an earlier equivalent study over 30 years ago (χ²= 0.04, df = 1, ns). Diagnostic groups did not differ in their overall scores but those with liver disease and diabetes were more accurate regarding the location of their respective affected organs (χ²= 18.10, p < 0.001, df = 1; χ²= 10.75, p < 0.01, df = 1). Age was significantly negatively correlated (r = -0.084, p = 0.025) and education was positively correlated with anatomical knowledge (F = 12.94, p = 0.000). Although there was no overall gender difference, women were significantly better at identifying organs on female body outlines.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Many patients and general public do not know the location of key body organs, even those in which their medical problem is located, which could have important consequences for doctor-patient communication. These results indicate that healthcare professionals still need to take care in providing organ specific information to patients and should not assume that patients have this information, even for those organs in which their medical problem is located.</p

Global Testicular Infarction in the Presence of Epididymitis:Clinical Features, Appearances on Grayscale, Color Doppler, and Contrast-Enhanced Sonography, and Histologic Correlation

<p>Epididymitis is common, presenting indolently with unilateral scrotal pain and swelling. Diagnosis is based on clinical assessment and resolves with antibiotic therapy. Recognized complications are abscess formation and segmental infarction. Global testicular infarction is rare. Diagnosis is important and requires surgical management. On grayscale sonography, global infarction may be difficult to establish. The addition of color Doppler imaging is useful but is observer experience dependent with limitations in the presence of low flow. Contrast-enhanced sonography is useful for unequivocally establishing the diagnosis. We report global testicular infarction in 2 patients with epididymitis clearly depicted on contrast-enhanced sonography, allowing immediate surgical management.</p

The Use of Ultrasound Contrast in Interventional Radiology

Ultrasound contrast agents have gained increasing popularity due to the high level of safety, real-time improved visualization, and ability to detect vascularity. As a result, contrast-enhanced ultrasound lends itself well to interventional radiology including in preprocedure assessment, intraprocedural guidance, and postprocedure evaluation. The authors aim to demonstrate the wide utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in both vascular and nonvascular intervention

Using contrast-enhanced ultrasound to guide a successful biopsy of a splenic sarcomatoid carcinoma

Introduction: Splenic lesions are uncommon and frequently cause a diagnostic dilemma, often with non-specific findings on both ultrasound and cross-sectional imaging with histological confirmation necessary. To reduce patient morbidity, primarily from haemorrhage and to increase diagnostic yield, precise imaging and biopsy targeting are needed. Case: We present a case of an indeterminate complex splenic lesion, with areas of necrosis which required histological diagnosis. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy was undertaken to provide real-time imaging guidance, increasing viable lesion targeting and helping to avoid areas of necrosis. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound guidance of the percutaneous core needle biopsy allowed increased operator confidence in lesional targeting accuracy and reduced the number of passes required for biopsy, simultaneously maximising histological yield and minimising patient morbidity

Radiological, epidemiological and clinical patterns of pulmonary viral infections

Respiratory viruses are the most common causes of acute respiratory infections. However, identification of the underlying viral pathogen may not always be easy. Clinical presentations of respiratory viral infections usually overlap and may mimic those of diseases caused by bacteria. However, certain imaging morphologic patterns may suggest a particular viral pathogen as the cause of the infection. Although definitive diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of clinical or imaging features alone, the use of a combination of clinical and radiographic findings can substantially improve the accuracy of diagnosis. The purpose of this review is to present the clinical, epidemiological and radiological patterns of lower respiratory tract viral pathogens providing a comprehensive approach for their diagnosis and identification in hospitals and community outbreaks