Wild Edible Plants Used By the Tribes of Akole Tahasil of Ahmednagar District (Ms), India

The present communication deals with the ethnobotanical exploration,identification,concerns and future potentialities of the wild edible plant species consumed by the tribal communities inhabiting in the hilly areas of akole tahasil of Ahmednagar district fall in Maharashtra state-India. A total of 31 plant species belonging to 23 families were reported from the study area. Amaranthaceae was the dominant family with 4 taxa,while Papilionaceae followed with 3 taxa. Ascplepidaceae and Bignoniaceae represented by 2 taxa each. The four major life forms were climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees. Herb makes up the highest proportion of the edible species followed by trees, shrubs and climbers. The plant species are divided into two class-vegetables and raw. Also the present finding support further investigation into nutritional profits, pharmacological prospects and conservational studies

Real-time computing of power flows and node voltages in electrical energy network using decision trees

In sustainable operation of electrical energy network, it is necessary to compute in real-time power flows and voltages at nodes for prioritizing power injection from clean energy resources. Intermittent renewable energy sources are likely to create voltage and power balancing issues and to maintain the voltage security of electrical network, real-time information of network power flows and bus voltages are required accurately and instantaneously. This paper presents an approach based on decision trees (DT) for real-time estimation of power flows within the electrical energy network and node voltages. A single tree structure is built for estimation of discrete (or categorical) as well as continuous values of line flows and node voltages of each line and node separately. A simple binary decision tree (BDT) and regression tree (RT) are used for estimation of discrete values and continuous values respectively. The training and testing patterns are generated by performing power flow analysis on an electrical energy network. Once the DT is trained, it estimates the line power flows and bus voltages with desired accuracy. The accuracy of the DT model is tested on a typical IEEE 30-bus system, using test patterns. Result shows that mean absolute error in case of line flow estimation for line number 1 and 10 are found to be 0.0028 p. u. and 0.0017 p. u. Also mean absolute error in case of bus voltage estimation for bus number 3 and 10 are found to be 0.0019 p. u. and 0.0016 p. u. Above results are suggestive of instantaneous estimationwith desired accuracy of line flow and bus voltages, which is the need of the hour for sustainable electrical energy network with integration of cleaner energy resources.Since, DT gives instantaneous result therefore suitable for real-time applications in sustainable electrical energy management system.publishedVersio

Formulation and Development of Spirulina (Athrospira plantasis) Loaded Chocolatesas Immunity Boosters

Adults, as well as children, have a great need for nutrients such as Calcium, Iron, Zinc, Protein, and Vitamin B12. Spirulina is very rich in protein, omega 3 and omega 6 oils, vitamin, and mineral, and its incorporation into chocolates will enrich their nutritional values. Spirulina satisfies the nutritional needs by providing all these nutrients, as well as all the essential amino acids. Spirulina is unique and 100% safe. In fact, Spirulina is the only natural food that contains GLA (gamma linoleic acid) an essential fatty acid that is found only in mother’s milk. This GLA plays a very vital in balancing the hormonal system in the body. So it is actually very good to give Spirulina to the children.Our Spirulina Chocolates were prepared by simple incorporation method by addition of 1gm Spirulina by dissolving in 10 ml NaCl as a solubility enhancer as well as to mask the taste and smell. This chocolate form is easier for every individual to chew and absorb. The chocolates were assessed for organoleptic properties, pH, blooming test, and hardness. This significant study revealed the efficacy of Spirulina Chocolate Formulation and it would definitely have a wide scope in the future as an immunity booster and in treatments of malnutrition in children as well. Further study is required to reveal the quantification of constituents present in Spirulina Chocolate formulation by in vivo and invitro studies

Parked Electric Vehicle’s Cabin Temperature Management Using Photovoltaic Powered Ventilation

District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease, prolonging the investment return period. The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665 buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors. The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications (the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered). The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations. Abstract This paper presents how the electric vehicle roof integrated photovoltaic (PV) powered ventilation can be used for controlling the climate of the car. In this work, a fully-functional Renault Zoe electric car has been used to conduct experiments for PV powered ventilation. These experiments have been part of a wider research project of testing electric vehicles of the Edinburgh Napier University's Transport Research Institute. The present work illustrates performance evaluation of electric car ventilation, when roof-mounted PV modules were used to operate DC powered fans for ventilation. It was found that the motor-fan selection for removing the warm air from cabin space is of important (i.e. motor-fan operating points have to be near to the maximum power points of PV modules under varying solar radiation). In this article, experimental results are presented and analysed

Parked electric car's cabin heat management using photovoltaic powered ventilation system

This paper explores the use of electric car roof mounted photovoltaic (PV) powered ventilation for cabin heat management/ventilation. A fully-functional Renault Zoe electric car has been used for performance evaluation of parked electric car ventilation directly powered by PV. This work has been part of a research project of testing electric cars in the urban environment and it has been conducted at the Edinburgh Napier University’s Transport Research Institute. In this work, parked electric car ventilation has been reported, when roof-mounted PV modules were used to operate DC powered fans for ventilation. It has been found that the DC motor-fan selection for removing the hot air from cabin space is of important (i.e. operating characteristics of motor-fan have been very close to the maximum power points locus of the PV modules at different solar insolation). The electric car cabin temperature models with reference to solar radiation have been presented and it will be useful for knowing the parked car cabin temperature variations and designing the car roof mounted PV powered ventilation system. In this paper, performance evaluation of parked electric car’s cabin heat management is presented and analysed. Results from this work will be helpful for designing electric car ventilation system (operating at parking time), when powered by vehicle roof integrated PV modules

Evaluating a process of academic detailing in primary care: an educational programme for acute kidney injury

BackgroundPrimary care has a significant role in AKI management: two-thirds of AKI originates in the community. Through academic detailing (an evidence-based educational approach) we aimed to implement and measure the effect of a primary care-based education programme based around academic detailing and peer-reviewed audit.MethodsThe education programme took place across a large clinical commissioning group (CCG) consisting of 55 primary care practices. All 55 practices participated in large group teaching sessions, 25 practices participated in academic detailing and 28 of the remaining 30 practices performed internal AKI audit. Over a 12 month period, an educational programme was delivered consisting of large group teaching sessions followed by either academic detailing sessions or self-directed AKI audit activity. Academic detailing sessions consisted of a short presentation by a consultant nephrologist followed by discussion of cases. Qualitative feedback was collected from all participants at peer review sessions. Web-based, CCG-wide questionnaires assessed baseline and post-intervention knowledge levels.ResultsNine hundred ninety-six individuals completed the questionnaires (556 at baseline, 440 at 1 yr., 288 participated in both). Exposure to AKI teaching, self-reported awareness and confidence levels were higher in the second questionnaire. There was a significant increase in the percentage of correct answers before and after the intervention (55.6 ± 21% versus 87.5 ± 20%,

Acute kidney injury associated with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study

BackgroundInitial reports indicate a high incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), but more data are required to clarify if COVID-19 is an independent risk factor for AKI and how COVID-19–associated AKI may differ from AKI due to other causes. We therefore sought to study the relationship between COVID-19, AKI, and outcomes in a retrospective cohort of patients admitted to 2 acute hospitals in Derby, United Kingdom.Methods and findingsWe extracted electronic data from 4,759 hospitalised patients who were tested for COVID-19 between 5 March 2020 and 12 May 2020. The data were linked to electronic patient records and laboratory information management systems. The primary outcome was AKI, and secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality, need for ventilatory support, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and length of stay. As compared to the COVID-19–negative group (n = 3,374), COVID-19 patients (n = 1,161) were older (72.1 ± 16.1 versus 65.3 ± 20.4 years, p [less than] 0.001), had a greater proportion of men (56.6% versus 44.9%, p [less than] 0.001), greater proportion of Asian ethnicity (8.3% versus 4.0%, p [less than] 0.001), and lower proportion of white ethnicity (75.5% versus 82.5%, p < 0.001). AKI developed in 304 (26.2%) COVID-19–positive patients (COVID-19 AKI) and 420 (12.4%) COVID-19–negative patients (AKI controls). COVID-19 patients aged 65 to 84 years (odds ratio [OR] 1.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11 to 2.50), needing mechanical ventilation (OR 8.74, 95% CI 5.27 to 14.77), having congestive cardiac failure (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.50), chronic liver disease (OR 3.43, 95% CI 1.17 to 10.00), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) (OR 2.81, 95% CI 1.97 to 4.01) had higher odds for developing AKI. Mortality was higher in COVID-19 AKI versus COVID-19 patients without AKI (60.5% versus 27.4%, p [less than] 0.001), and AKI was an independent predictor of mortality (OR 3.27, 95% CI 2.39 to 4.48). Compared with AKI controls, COVID-19 AKI was observed in a higher proportion of men (58.9% versus 51%, p = 0.04) and lower proportion with white ethnicity (74.7% versus 86.9%, p = 0.003); was more frequently associated with cerebrovascular disease (11.8% versus 6.0%, p = 0.006), chronic lung disease (28.0% versus 19.3%, p = 0.007), diabetes (24.7% versus 17.9%, p = 0.03), and CKD (34.2% versus 20.0%, p [less than] 0.001); and was more likely to be hospital acquired (61.2% versus 46.4%, p < 0.001). Mortality was higher in the COVID-19 AKI as compared to the control AKI group (60.5% versus 27.6%, p [less than] 0.001). In multivariable analysis, AKI patients aged 65 to 84 years, (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.77 to 5.35) and ≥85 years of age (OR 3.54, 95% CI 1.87 to 6.70), peak AKI stage 2 (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.90), AKI stage 3 (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.57), and COVID-19 (OR 3.80, 95% CI 2.62 to 5.51) had higher odds of death. Limitations of the study include retrospective design, lack of urinalysis data, and low ethnic diversity of the region.ConclusionsWe observed a high incidence of AKI in patients with COVID-19 that was associated with a 3-fold higher odds of death than COVID-19 without AKI and a 4-fold higher odds of death than AKI due to other causes. These data indicate that patients with COVID-19 should be monitored for the development of AKI and measures taken to prevent this

The Risk of West Nile Virus Infection Is Associated with Combined Sewer Overflow Streams in Urban Atlanta, Georgia, USA

BACKGROUND: At present, the factors favoring transmission and amplification of West Nile Virus (WNV) within urban environments are poorly understood. In urban Atlanta, Georgia, the highly polluted waters of streams affected by combined sewer overflow (CSO) represent significant habitats for the WNV mosquito vector Culex quinquefasciatus. However, their contribution to the risk of WNV infection in humans and birds remains unclear.\ud \ud OBJECTIVES: Our goals were to describe and quantify the spatial distribution of WNV infection in mosquitoes, humans, and corvids, such as blue jays and American crows that are particularly susceptible to WNV infection, and to assess the relationship between WNV infection and proximity to CSO-affected streams in the city of Atlanta, Georgia.\ud \ud MATERIALS AND METHODS: We applied spatial statistics to human, corvid, and mosquito WNV surveillance data from 2001 through 2007. Multimodel analysis was used to estimate associations of WNV infection in Cx. quinquefasciatus, humans, and dead corvids with selected risk factors including distance to CSO streams and catch basins, land cover, median household income, and housing characteristics.\ud \ud RESULTS: We found that WNV infection in mosquitoes, corvids, and humans was spatially clustered and statistically associated with CSO-affected streams. WNV infection in Cx. quinquefasciatus was significantly higher in CSO compared with non-CSO streams, and WNV infection rates among humans and corvids were significantly associated with proximity to CSO-affected streams, the extent of tree cover, and median household income.\ud \ud CONCLUSIONS: Our study strongly suggests that CSO-affected streams are significant sources of Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquitoes that may facilitate WNV transmission to humans within urban environments. Our findings may have direct implications for the surveillance and control of WNV in other urban centers that continue to use CSO systems as a waste management practice