Development of Briquette From Coir Dust and Rice Husk Blend: an Alternative Energy Source

Biomass is one of the predominant renewable energy sources and the use of biomass for the energy generation has got much attention due to its environmental friendliness. Densification of coir dust into fuel briquette can solve waste disposal problem as well as can serve as an alternative energy source. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of producing briquette from coir dust and rice husk blend without binder. During this study, a briquetting experiment was conducted with different coir dust and rice husk blends (i.e. coir dust and rice husk ratio of 80:20, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100). Briquetting operation was performed using a die-screw press type briquetting machine. The briquettes were tested to evaluate their density, compressive strength, calorific value, burning rate and water vaporizing capacity and it was found that mixing ratio had a significant effect on the physical, mechanical and combustion properties of the coir dust-rice husk briquettes. Density, compressive strength and calorific value and water vaporizing capacity were increased with increasing mixing ratio while burning rate was decreased. Coir dust-rice husk briquettes with mixing ratio of 20:80 had higher density (1.413 g/cm3), compressive strength (218.4 N/cm2), calorific value (4879 kcal/kg), water vaporizing capacity (0.853 l/kg) and low burning rate (0.783 kg/hour) followed by the mixing ratio 40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 0:100. The results indicate that coir dust and rice husk blend briquettes were found to have better overall handling characteristics over rice husk briquette. However, production of briquettes from coir dust and rice husk at mixing ratio of 50:50 was found to be more suitable for commercial application in terms of cost effectiveness

The Undesirable Communication: A Case of Cerebral Air Emboli in the Setting of Atrio-Esophageal Fistula Following Atrial Fibrillation Catheter Ablation

Atrial-esophageal fistula is an extremely rare condition but is often a deleterious complication following catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. The associated iatrogenic communication acts as a conduit for air and bacterial translocation, which may lead to cerebral air embolism and polymicrobial sepsis, respectively. Coupled with a history of invasive procedures, the diagnosis is largely based on the accompanying neurological symptoms. In this report, we present the case of a 73-year-old female who presented with neurological deficits attributed to cerebral vascular emboli three weeks after catheter ablation for the treatment of chronic atrial fibrillation

Human Body Shape Variation of Bangladeshi Young Men Aged 20 -25 Years

Introduction: Describing the varieties of the human body shape is in a general sense essential to numerous applications going from liveliness to item plan. This research is aimed to develop the types of men’s human body shapes available in Bangladesh. Methods: Bangladesh has more than 5000 garment factories. To create a loyal customer and own brand in Bangladesh it is very much important to have a specific size chart for this country. To develop a specific size chart, the 1st attempts to detect the body shape variation. Results: In this research, the authors took 500 men’s human body from different regions of Bangladesh to detect the human shape. Most of the body age is limit to 20-25 years old. After putting all the summarized data in the X and Y graph the author tries to detect the body shape types available in Bangladesh. Conclusion: The final results of this research will help to develop the size chart individually for different types of men’s body.Introducción: Describir las variedades de la forma del cuerpo humano es, en un sentido general, esencial para numerosas aplicaciones que van desde la vitalidad hasta el diseño de elementos. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo desarrollar los tipos de formas del cuerpo humano de los hombres disponibles en Bangladesh. Métodos: Bangladesh tiene más de 5000 fábricas de ropa. Para crear un cliente fiel y una marca propia en Bangladesh, es muy importante tener una tabla de tallas específica para este país. Para desarrollar una tabla de tallas específica, el primero intenta detectar la variación de la forma del cuerpo. Resultados: En esta investigación, los autores tomaron el cuerpo humano de 500 hombres de diferentes regiones de Bangladesh para detectar la forma humana. La mayor parte de la edad del cuerpo está limitada a 20-25 años. Después de poner todos los datos resumidos en el gráfico X e Y, el autor trata de detectar los tipos de formas corporales disponibles en Bangladesh. Conclusiones: Los resultados finales de esta investigación ayudarán a desarrollar la tabla de tallas individualmente para diferentes tipos de cuerpo masculino

Understanding Communication of Sustainability Reporting: Application of Symbolic Convergence Theory (SCT)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies that are implicit in the standalone sustainability reporting of the top 24 companies of the Fortune 500 Global. We adopt Bormann’s (Q J Speech 58(4):396–407, 1972) SCT framework to study the rhetorical situation and how corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) messages can be communicated to the audience (public). The SCT concepts in the sustainability reporting’s communication are subject to different types of legitimacy strategies that are used by corporations as a validity and legitimacy claim in the reports. A content analysis has been conducted and structural coding schemes have been developed based on the literature. The schemes are applied to the SCT model which recognizes the symbolic convergent processes of fantasy among communicators in a Society. The study reveals that most of the sample companies communicate fantasy type and rhetorical vision in their corporate sustainability reporting. However, the disclosure or messages are different across locations and other taxonomies of the SCT framework. This study contributes to the current CSR literature about how symbolic or fantasy understandings can be interpreted by the users. It also discusses the persuasion styles that are adopted by the companies for communication purposes. This study is the theoretical extension of the SCT. Researchers may be interested in further investigating other online communication paths, such as human rights reports and director’s reports

Global respiratory syncytial virus–related infant community deaths

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of pediatric death, with >99% of mortality occurring in low- and lower middle-income countries. At least half of RSV-related deaths are estimated to occur in the community, but clinical characteristics of this group of children remain poorly characterized. Methods The RSV Global Online Mortality Database (RSV GOLD), a global registry of under-5 children who have died with RSV-related illness, describes clinical characteristics of children dying of RSV through global data sharing. RSV GOLD acts as a collaborative platform for global deaths, including community mortality studies described in this supplement. We aimed to compare the age distribution of infant deaths <6 months occurring in the community with in-hospital. Results We studied 829 RSV-related deaths <1 year of age from 38 developing countries, including 166 community deaths from 12 countries. There were 629 deaths that occurred <6 months, of which 156 (25%) occurred in the community. Among infants who died before 6 months of age, median age at death in the community (1.5 months; IQR: 0.8−3.3) was lower than in-hospital (2.4 months; IQR: 1.5−4.0; P < .0001). The proportion of neonatal deaths was higher in the community (29%, 46/156) than in-hospital (12%, 57/473, P < 0.0001). Conclusions We observed that children in the community die at a younger age. We expect that maternal vaccination or immunoprophylaxis against RSV will have a larger impact on RSV-related mortality in the community than in-hospital. This case series of RSV-related community deaths, made possible through global data sharing, allowed us to assess the potential impact of future RSV vaccines

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Development of Briquette from Coir Dust and Rice Husk Blend: An Alternative Energy Source

Biomass is one of the predominant renewable energy sources and the use of biomass for the energy generation has got much attention due to its environmental friendliness. Densification of coir dust into fuel briquette can solve waste disposal problem as well as can serve as an alternative energy source. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of producing briquette from coir dust and rice husk blend without binder. During this study, a briquetting experiment was conducted with different coir dust and rice husk blends (i.e. coir dust and rice husk ratio of 80:20, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100). Briquetting operation was performed using a die-screw press type briquetting machine. The briquettes were tested to evaluate their density, compressive strength, calorific value, burning rate and water vaporizing capacity and it was found that mixing ratio had a significant effect on the physical, mechanical and combustion properties of the coir dust-rice husk briquettes. Density, compressive strength and calorific value and water vaporizing capacity were increased with increasing mixing ratio while burning rate was decreased. Coir dust-rice husk briquettes with mixing ratio of 20:80 had higher density (1.413 g/cm3), compressive strength (218.4 N/cm2), calorific value (4879 kcal/kg), water vaporizing capacity (0.853 l/kg) and low burning rate (0.783 kg/hour) followed by the mixing ratio 40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 0:100. The results indicate that coir dust and rice husk blend briquettes were found to have better overall handling characteristics over rice husk briquette. However, production of briquettes from coir dust and rice husk at mixing ratio of 50:50 was found to be more suitable for commercial application in terms of cost effectiveness.</p

Prevalence of hypertension and controlled hypertension among United States adults : Evidence from NHANES 2017-18 survey

Background This study aims to compare the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) and controlled hypertension (CHTN) in US adults and determine the absolute difference in the prevalence of HTN and CHTN between the JNC7 and ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines. Methods Data for this study were derived from the most recent cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018. After excluding participants with missing systolic blood pressure (BP) or diastolic BP and aged <18 years, 4730 participants were included in the final analyses. BP was defined as the average of the first three measurements. The prevalence of HTN and CHTN, including absolute differences of these prevalences, were estimated using both JNC7 and ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines. Results The overall weighted prevalence of HTN was 31.7% (95% CI: 28.7–34.8) based on JNC7, while the corresponding prevalence was 45.6% (95% CI: 43.0–48.3) when new guideline of ACC/AHA was used. Of the people who had HTN according to the JNC7 and ACC/AHA 2017 guidelines, 48.2% (95% CI: 44.4–52.0) and 21.0% (95% CI: 18.1–24.2) had a controlled blood pressure level, respectively. When blood pressure was assessed using both guidelines, the greatest absolute increase in rates of HTN and CHTN was 17.4% and 30.0% in people aged 40–59 years, respectively. Conclusion Given the high burden of disease due to complications arising from untreated HTN, as well as the higher costs of untreated disease, new guidelines have important public health implications to early detection of patients at risk and prevent complications across different populations

Effects of integration time on rain rate distribution for microwave link design

Rain fade is the main constraint for microwave propagation at higher frequencies. To design microwave link, it contributes significantly specially in tropical region. All rain attenuation prediction models require rain intensity data based on 1-min integration time. Rain intensity data was collected at International Islamic University Malaysia with 10-s integration time for one year period. The measured intensity was converted to 20-s, 30-s, 1-min and 2-min integration time to investigate the effects of integration time on rain rate distribution prediction as well as rain attenuation prediction models and the results are presented on this paper

Modelling of rain rate gain to mitigate rain fades for satellite links design

Rain attenuation is an important propagation impairments causes by troposphere which degrades the performance of Earth space communication links operating above 10 GHz frequencies. It will be the main challenge to design future Ka and V-bands satellite communication systems with high reliability. The time delay of transmission is considered as a potential technique to mitigate rain fades at these bands. To design and implement this technique requires measured real-time rain attenuation data for desired frequencies which are not obtainable at most of the places. This paper proposes a new concept of rain rate gain which can be defined as the difference of real-time rain rate with and without time delay. For the same period of time at same location, it is assumed that rain rate with time delay can represent rain attenuation with time delay by the proposed method. A model is developed to predict rain rate gain with different time delays from annual measured statistics without delay which is available at most of places. The rain rate with 1-minute integration time was measured at International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur campus for one year and is used to develop the model. The predicted rain rate gain was compared with rain attenuation gain using Ku-band measured data at two locations in Malaysia and found similar behavior. Hence it is recommended that rain rate with delay which is converted from annual statistics can be utilized to analyze time diversity technique at any desired frequency for rain fade mitigation