Comparison of figure of eight and traditional simple wire closure method to prevent dehiscence after sternal closure

Objective: To investigate significant differences, if any, between figure of-eight method and simple wire closure technique in reducing the incidence of infectious and non-infectious sternal dehiscence in patients undergoing sternal closure.Methods: The systematic review was conducted in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department at Aga Khan University from 1st December 2015 to 13th December 2017. The review was registered with PROSPERO, the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Pubmed, Cochrane Library (Wiley) and Scopus databases were searched for articles published up to December 13, 2017. The search was limited to randomised control trials, clinical trials, retrospective cohort studies, journal analyses, systematic reviews and meta analyses. Cadaveric or animal studies and articles published in languages other than English were excluded.Results: Of the 286 articles retrieved, 265(92.6%) were excluded on the basis of study title and abstract. Another 15(5.2%) were excluded for being irrelevant to the topic n hand, and 6(2.1%) formed the final sample. Of them, 4(66.6%) studies showed no significant difference between the two techniques, while 2(33.3%) found figure-of-eight technique to be superior of the two.Conclusions: There was no significant difference between the figure-of eight method and the simple wire technique in reducing the risk of dehiscence in patients undergoing sternal closure

A study to determine the predictors of game addiction based on loneliness, motivation, and interpersonal competence

The objective of this study is to determine the predictor that will lead to Online Game Addiction. The dependent variable of this study is Online Game addiction and the independent variables are Loneliness, Inter-personal Competence, and Regulatory Focus (Promotion and Prevention Motivation). The data was collected through a convenience sampling technique from 500 respondents who are playing an online game on a daily basis in Karachi. SPSS software was used to test the hypothesis. The finding of the research is Regulatory Focus, Loneliness, and Inter-Personal Competence have a significant impact on Online Game Addiction. The recommendation for future researchers is to increase their sample size and variable in order to study this topic more deeply

A study to determine the predictors of game addiction based on loneliness, motivation, and interpersonal competence

The objective of this study is to determine the predictor that will lead to Online Game Addiction. The dependent variable of this study is Online Game addiction and the independent variables are Loneliness, Inter-personal Competence, and Regulatory Focus (Promotion and Prevention Motivation). The data was collected through a convenience sampling technique from 500 respondents who are playing an online game on a daily basis in Karachi. SPSS software was used to test the hypothesis. The finding of the research is Regulatory Focus, Loneliness, and Inter-Personal Competence have a significant impact on Online Game Addiction. The recommendation for future researchers is to increase their sample size and variable in order to study this topic more deeply

Exergoeconomic optimization of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger

The paper presents an economic optimization of a STHX with two commonly adopted (i.e., Kern and Bell-Delaware) and one rarely explored (i.e., Wills-Johnston) methods. A detailed numerical code concerning thermal, hydraulic, exergy, and economic analysis of STHX is developed for all three methods. Normalized sensitivity analysis, parametric study, and Genetic Algorithm are used to ascertain the most influential parameters and optimize the total cost. It is observed that the calculations made using the Wills-Johnston method were reasonably close to the Bell-Delaware method. While the Kern method showed a significant deviation in the shell side calculations because of the several assumptions in this method. The parametric analysis showed that increasing the mass flow rate and the number of baffles increased the operating cost because of an exponential increase in the pressure drops. Finally, the optimization reduced the heat transfer area by ~26.4%, capital cost by ~20%, operational cost by ~50%, total cost by ~22%, and the stream cost by ~21%

Toxicity and Repellency of Plant Extract and Termiticide against Fungus Growing Subterranean Termites (Blattodea: Termitidae)

Different methods such as physical, biological and chemical are used to manage soil fungus increasing termites. Synthetic insecticide plays a vital part in the management of termites. The pesticide used in big quantities causes phytotoxicity, mammalian toxicity and resistance to pesticides in target pests and insect outbreaks. Intensive pesticides exert chronic effects on living organisms with annoyance for beneficial insects. It also accompanied with environmental hazards and developed resistance. Plant leaves extracts provide a distinct variety of biochemical compounds with diverse prospective uses. Resistance development requires the discovery of fresh biological compounds with a wide spectrum of action. Plant leaves extract and Chlorfenapyr solution in methanol and water with various concentrations (15 %, 10 %, 5 % and 0 %) were applied to the soil against termites to determine mortality and repellency. Posttreatment data was obtained and evaluated through statistical analysis. The result revealed that the extract of Conocarpus lancifolius with the solution of methanol and solution of water exhibited higher mortality of subterranean termites, whereas the solution of methanol had higher repellency and mortality than water solution of botanical extract. Water and methanol solution of insecticide chlorfenapyr used against the subterranean termites, both are found to be efficacious against termites, while insecticide with the solution of methanol revealed 100% mortality. Nonetheless, plant extract of C. lancifolius with water and methanol solution and chlorfenapyr with methanol solution can be applied as new biological control tools against subterranean termites

A rare case of three years disease free survival in a locally advanced parathyroid carcinoma successfully excised by complete surgical resection

Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is one of the rarest malignancies making approximately 0.005% of all cancers. It may arise sporadically or less commonly, in conjunction with genetic endocrine syndromes. Due to the rarity of the disease, no general consensus or definitive guidelines exist for its pre-operative diagnosis, management, or follow up. Surgical tumor removal is the gold standard treatment to prevent its recurrence. Parathyroid carcinoma has a high recurrence rate ranging from 40 to 60% in recent literature. We report a case of a seventy-year-old elderly female with locally advanced parathyroid carcinoma successfully surgically excised completely with a 3 year disease free survival period without adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy

A comprehensive design and optimization of an offset strip-fin compact heat exchanger for energy recovery systems

Energy recovery in conventional thermal systems like power plants, refrigeration systems, and air conditioning systems has enhanced their thermodynamic and economic performance. In this regard, compact heat exchangers are the most employed for gas to gas energy recovery because of their better thermal performance. This paper presents an economic optimization of a crossflow plate-fin heat exchanger with offset strip fins. A detailed software-based numerical code for thermal, hydraulic, economic, and exergy analysis is developed for three fin geometries. Genetic Algorithm, parametric, and normalized sensitivity analyses are used to discover the most influential parameters to optimize the total cost. The parametric study showed that with the increase of mass flow rates and plate spacing, outlet stream cost and operating cost increased due to the rise in pressure drops. Finally, the optimization reduced the operational cost by ∼78.5%, stream cost by ∼64.5%, and total cost by ∼76.8%

Reduzindo o consumo de energia do compressor de refrigeradores usando nanopartículas de óxido de aAlumínio

Refrigeration has become an integral part of our daily lives and can be regarded as a process whose replacement is nearly impossible. Therefore, the only way of making this process efficient is by reducing the energy consumed by the components of refrigerators. One way of doing this is to reduce the power consumption of compressor by the addition of nanoparticles either in a refrigerant or in a lubricant. This study focusses on producing nanolubricant (Al2O3/Synthetic lubricant) and dispersing the nanolubricant into R-134a compressor. This study investigates that how much power can be reduced when Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles dispersed in SL-32 lubricant (base fluid). A comparison between SL-32 lubricant with and without the addition of Aluminum oxide nanoparticles was done and it showed a reduction of 0.913% in current consumption and 2.74% in power at the same initial temperature of 31°C in both cases. Hence it can be concluded that Alumina nanoparticles can be utilized to reduce the energy utilized by compressors by creating a nanolubricant with SL-32 lubricant.La refrigeración se ha convertido en una parte integral de nuestra vida diaria y puede considerarse como un proceso cuya sustitución es casi imposible. Por tanto, la única forma de hacer eficiente este proceso es reduciendo el consumo energético de los componentes de los frigoríficos. Una forma de hacerlo es reducir el consumo de energía del compresor mediante la adición de nanopartículas en un refrigerante o en un lubricante. Este estudio se centra en la producción de nanolubricante (Al2O3/lubricante sintético) y la dispersión del nanolubricante en el compresor R-134a. Este estudio investiga cuánta energía se puede reducir cuando las nanopartículas de óxido de aluminio (Al2O3) se dispersan en el lubricante SL-32 (líquido base). Se realizó una comparación entre el lubricante SL-32 con y sin la adición de nanopartículas de óxido de aluminio y mostró una reducción del 0,913% en el consumo de corriente y del 2,74% en la potencia a la misma temperatura inicial de 31°C en ambos casos. Por lo tanto, se puede concluir que las nanopartículas de alúmina se pueden utilizar para reducir la energía utilizada por los compresores mediante la creación de un nanolubricante con lubricante SL-32.A refrigeração tornou-se parte integrante do nosso dia a dia e pode ser considerada um processo quase impossível de substituir. Portanto, a única forma de tornar esse processo eficiente é reduzir o consumo de energia dos componentes do refrigerador. Uma maneira de fazer isso é reduzir o consumo de energia do compressor adicionando nanopartículas a um refrigerante ou lubrificante. Este estudo tem como foco a produção de nanolubrificante (Al2O3/lubrificante sintético) e a dispersão do nanolubrificante no compressor R-134a. Este estudo investiga quanta energia pode ser reduzida quando nanopartículas de óxido de alumínio (Al2O3) são dispersas em lubrificante SL-32 (líquido base). Foi feita uma comparação entre o lubrificante SL-32 com e sem adição de nanopartículas de óxido de alumínio e mostrou uma redução de 0,913% no consumo de corrente e 2,74% na potência na mesma temperatura inicial de 31° C em ambos os casos. Portanto, pode-se concluir que nanopartículas de alumina podem ser utilizadas para reduzir a energia utilizada pelos compressores, criando um nanolubrificante com lubrificante SL-32

Optimizing the Energy Recovery Section in Thermal Desalination Systems for Improved Thermodynamic, Economic, and Environmental Performance

Integration of energy recovery section with thermal desalination systems improves their performance from thermodynamics, economics, and environmental viewpoints. This is because it significantly reduces input energy, heat transfer area, and capital cost requirements. Above all, the system outlet streams can achieve thermal equilibrium with the environment by supplying heat for useful preheating purposes thus reducing the environmental impacts. The plate heat exchangers are generally employed for this purpose as preheaters. The current paper presents a comprehensive investigation and optimization of these heat exchangers for thermal desalination systems applications. An experimentally validated numerical model employing Normalized Sensitivity Analysis and Genetic Algorithm based cost optimization is developed to investigate their performance at assorted operating conditions. The analysis showed that the heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and outlet water cost were improved by an increase in feed flow rate. However, with an increased flow rate, the comprehensive output parameter (h/ΔP) decreased due to the high degree increase in pressure drop. Moreover, an increase in the chevron angle reduced the heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and water cost. Finally, the optimization lowered the heat transfer area by ~79.5%, capital investment by ~62%, and the outlet cost of the cold stream by ~15.7%. The operational cost is increased due to the increased pressure drop but the overall impact is beneficial as Ctotal of equipment is reduced by ~52.7%