Development of CAVLAB—A Control-Oriented MATLAB Based Simulator for an Underground Coal Gasification Process

The Cavity Simulation Model (CAVSIM) is a 3D, parameterisable simulator of the Underground Coal Gasification Process (UCG) that serves as a benchmark for UCG prediction. Despite yielding accurate outputs, CAVSIM has some limitations, which chiefly include inadequate graphical capabilities to visualise cavity geometry and gas production, time-ineffectiveness in terms of parametrisation, i.e., it involves editing, compiling multiple files and checking for errors, and lack of tools to synthesise a controller. Therefore, to compensate for these shortcomings, the services of third-party software, such as MATLAB, must be procured. CAVSIM was integrated with MATLAB to utilise its functionalities and toolboxes such as System Identification, Neural Network, and Optimization Toolbox etc. The integration was accomplished by designing C-mex files, and furthermore, the simulation results in both environments exhibit the same behaviour, demonstrating successful integration. Consequently, CAVSIM has also acquired a controllable structure, wherein parametrisation is now a single-click process; this is demonstrated by a case study outlining the implementation of Model Predictive Control (MPC) on a UCG plant. Moreover, the performance metrics, i.e., Mean Average Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.13, 0.23 for syngas heating value, and 0.012, 0.02 for flowrate quantitatively establishes the efficacy of CAVLAB in designing MPC for the UCG system. The novelty of this work lies in making the software package open-source with the aim of streamlining the research of multiple aspects of the UCG process

Potential of Indigenous Plants for Skin Healing and Care

The outer protective layer of body is skin which not only guards it from external fluctuations and effects but also performs its thermoregulation. Its functioning may get affected due to several factors like dermal wounds, injuries, aging and many other disorders. These dermal ailments can be cured with the help of indigenous flora to get economical pharamcognosal benefits with no side effects which is a serious concern of synthetic drugs now days. Furthermore, research efforts are necessary for their proper dose optimization and administration to achieve low cost and side effects free pharamcognosal skin cure and care gains

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

A Study of a Generalized Photovoltaic System with MPPT Using Perturb and Observer Algorithms under Varying Conditions

In recent years, renewable energy (RE) has shown promise as a sustainable solution to the rising energy demand worldwide. Photovoltaic (PV) technology has emerged as a highly viable RE alternative. The majority of PV schemes use specific PV models with specified parameters. This study proposes a PV model with generic specifications, a PV array, a DC/DC converter, a DC/AC inverter, maximum power point tracking (MPPT), and grid synchronization using a feedback control system under the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Various MPPT techniques have been adapted to track the PV’s maximum power point (MPP); however, there are various uncertainties. To address these challenges, this paper presented a perturb and observe (P&O) strategy to track the MPP of PV systems reliably. The MPP of a PV system varies according to meteorological order, such as solar radiation and cell temperature. The MPPT primarily gathers the maximum current and voltage of the PV array and provides them to the load using a boost converter. The MPPT performance and PV array attributes are analyzed during abrupt weather changes. Finally, a feedback controller is configured to perform synchronization of the inverter with the grid. The validity and reliability of the PV module using P&O methods provide a higher efficacy of MPPT under MATLAB/simulation. Finally, the presented results endorse the strength of the proposed technique

Comparing the Pretreatment with Lignocaine 40 mg and Fentanyl 100 ug as an Adjuvant for Preclusion of Pain Associated with Intravenous Propofol Injection

Abstract Background: Propofol (2,6-di-isopropylphenol) is one of the most favored drugs used for induction of anesthesia. Pain on injection is a common problem. Various methods have been tried to alleviate this pain but with conflicting results. Objective: To compare effectiveness of lignocaine versus fentanyl in patients receiving propofol for general anesthesia in population of Pakistan who come to PIMS hospital in Islamabad. Materials and Methods: 120 participants of either sex, between 18 and 40 years of age, belonging to ASA physical status I and II, undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, were randomized into two equal groups of 60 participants. They received, intravenously, either lignocaine 2 ml (20 mg/ml )or fentanyl 2 ml (50 mcg/mL) as a pretreatment before propofol injection. Results: The efficacy of lignocaine as a pretreatment drug injection was higher (96.7%) compared to fentanyl (85.0%). In the lignocaine group, 2.3% of the participants experienced pain as compared with 15% in the fentanyl group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Compared with fentanyl, lignocaine pretreatment was more effective in preventing pain on propofol injection. KEY WORDS: Comparison, Fentanyl, LIgnocaine, Propofol, Pain

Elucidating the Surface Properties of Sr₃PbO Inverse-Perovskite Topological Insulator: A First-Principles Study

The emergence of robust surface electronic states in topological insulators such as bulk Sr3PbO inverse-perovskite makes them suitable candidates for spintronic devices and solid-state quantum computers. Herein, the atomic structure, surface energetics, and electronic properties of Sr3PbO inverse-perovskite Sr2O (SO)-terminated and SrPb-terminated (001) surfaces are examined using density functional theory. A comparison of the computed structural properties of SO-termianted and SrPb-terminated (001) surfaces reveals maximum surface rumpling and changes in interlayer distances for the SrPb-terminated surface of Sr3PbO. However, the calculated surface energies indicate that both SO-termianted and SrPb-terminated (001) surfaces of Sr3PbO are energetically feasible, indicating that these surfaces can coexist in a polycrystalline sample of this material. Due to the presence of Pb in Sr3PbO, a comprehensive examination of the electronic structure of bulk and supercell slab structures of Sr3PbO by taking spin–orbit coupling effects into consideration is conducted. Noninsulating nature of electronic structure for the two possible (001) terminations of Sr3PbO is found. The domination of Pb-6p states at the Fermi energy and the hole screening observed at the SrPb-terminated surface of Sr3PbO support the p-type nature observed in the experiment.</p

On the frontiers of Twitter data and sentiment analysis in election prediction: a review

Election prediction using sentiment analysis is a rapidly growing field that utilizes natural language processing and machine learning techniques to predict the outcome of political elections by analyzing the sentiment of online conversations and news articles. Sentiment analysis, or opinion mining, involves using text analysis to identify and extract subjective information from text data sources. In the context of election prediction, sentiment analysis can be used to gauge public opinion and predict the likely winner of an election. Significant progress has been made in election prediction in the last two decades. Yet, it becomes easier to have its comprehensive view if it has been appropriately classified approach-wise, citation-wise, and technology-wise. The main objective of this article is to examine and consolidate the progress made in research about election prediction using Twitter data. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art practices in this field while identifying potential avenues for further research and exploration