Understanding the Charge Carrier Conduction Mechanisms of Plasma-Polymerized 2-Furaldehyde Thin Films via DC Electrical Studies

Monomer 2-furaldehyde (FDH) was deposited onto the glass substrates in optimum conditions via a glow discharge using a capacitively coupled parallel plate reactor to obtain plasma polymerized 2-furaldehyde (PPFDH) thin films of different thicknesses. In order to realize the carrier conduction mechanisms, the direct current density against applied voltage (J-V) characteristics of these films with different thicknesses were investigated at different temperatures (T) in the voltage region from 0.5 to 49 V in Al/PPFDH/Al sandwich configuration. The J-V characteristics at various temperatures follow a power law of the form J ∞ Vn. In the low voltage region the values of n were recorded to be 0.80 ≤ n ≤ 1.12 and those in the high voltage region found to lie between 1.91 ≤ n ≤ 2.58, demonstrating the Ohmic conduction mechanism in the low voltage region and non-Ohmic conduction in the high voltage region. Theoretically calculated and experimental results of Schottky (βs) and Poole-Frenkel (βPF) coefficients display that the most probable conduction mechanism in PPFDH thin films is the Schottky type. Arrhenius plots of J vs. 1/T for an applied voltage of 5 V, the activation energies were 0.13 ± 0.02 and 0.50 ± 0.05 eV in the low and high temperature regions, respectively. However, for an applied voltage of 35 V, the activation energy values were found to be 0.11 ± 0.01 eV and 0.55 ± 0.02 eV, respectively in low and high temperature regions

Thermal performance of gasifier cooking stoves: A systematic literature review [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

A systematic literature review was conducted to summarize the overall thermal performance of different gasified cooking stoves from the available literature. For this purpose, available studies from the last 14 years (2008 to 2022) were searched using different search strings. After screening, a total of 28 articles were selected for this literature review. Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases were used as search strings by applying “Gasifier cooking stove” AND “producer gas cooking stove” AND “thermal performance” keywords. This review uncovers different gasified cooking stoves, cooking fuels, and fabrication materials besides overall thermal performances. The result shows that the overall thermal performance of different gasified cooking stoves was 5.88% to 91% depending on the design and burning fuels. The premixed producer gas burner with a swirl vane stove provided the highest overall thermal performance range, which was 84% to 91%, and the updraft gasified stove provided the lowest performance, which was 5.88% to 8.79%. The result also demonstrates that the wood pellets cooking fuel provided the highest thermal performance and corn straw briquette fuel provided the lowest for gasified cooking stoves. The overall thermal performance of wood pellets was 38.5% and corn straw briquette was 10.86%

Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background Up-to-date estimates of stroke burden and attributable risks and their trends at global, regional, and national levels are essential for evidence-based health care, prevention, and resource allocation planning. We aimed to provide such estimates for the period 1990–2021. Methods We estimated incidence, prevalence, death, and disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) counts and age-standardised rates per 100 000 people per year for overall stroke, ischaemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, and subarachnoid haemorrhage, for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021. We also calculated burden of stroke attributable to 23 risk factors and six risk clusters (air pollution, tobacco smoking, behavioural, dietary, environmental, and metabolic risks) at the global and regional levels (21 GBD regions and Socio-demographic Index [SDI] quintiles), using the standard GBD methodology. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings In 2021, stroke was the third most common GBD level 3 cause of death (7·3 million [95% UI 6·6–7·8] deaths; 10·7% [9·8–11·3] of all deaths) after ischaemic heart disease and COVID-19, and the fourth most common cause of DALYs (160·5 million [147·8–171·6] DALYs; 5·6% [5·0–6·1] of all DALYs). In 2021, there were 93·8 million (89·0–99·3) prevalent and 11·9 million (10·7–13·2) incident strokes. We found disparities in stroke burden and risk factors by GBD region, country or territory, and SDI, as well as a stagnation in the reduction of incidence from 2015 onwards, and even some increases in the stroke incidence, death, prevalence, and DALY rates in southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania, countries with lower SDI, and people younger than 70 years. Globally, ischaemic stroke constituted 65·3% (62·4–67·7), intracerebral haemorrhage constituted 28·8% (28·3–28·8), and subarachnoid haemorrhage constituted 5·8% (5·7–6·0) of incident strokes. There were substantial increases in DALYs attributable to high BMI (88·2% [53·4–117·7]), high ambient temperature (72·4% [51·1 to 179·5]), high fasting plasma glucose (32·1% [26·7–38·1]), diet high in sugar-sweetened beverages (23·4% [12·7–35·7]), low physical activity (11·3% [1·8–34·9]), high systolic blood pressure (6·7% [2·5–11·6]), lead exposure (6·5% [4·5–11·2]), and diet low in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (5·3% [0·5–10·5]). Interpretation Stroke burden has increased from 1990 to 2021, and the contribution of several risk factors has also increased. Effective, accessible, and affordable measures to improve stroke surveillance, prevention (with the emphasis on blood pressure, lifestyle, and environmental factors), acute care, and rehabilitation need to be urgently implemented across all countries to reduce stroke burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation