Classification of Electrospinning Methods

Electrospun nanofibers are being used in a variety of performance apparel applications where their unique properties add to their functionality. Those properties include, small fiber diameter, high surface area, potential to combine chemistry, layer thinness, high porosity, filtration properties, and low basis weight. Electrospinning has been considered as an efficient technique for nanofiber web formation. Polymers have been electrospun into nanofibers mostly after being dissolved in solvent and melted. This chapter presents a comprehensive summary of existing electrospinning methods. Electrospinning methods are classified into different categories depend upon jet formation

Hydrocracking of a plastic mixture over various micro-mesoporous composite zeolites

Conventional plastic waste management methods such as incineration and landfilling are not benign to the environment. Landfilling results in the accumulation of gigantic volume of plastic waste to occupy the land for a longer period of time and incineration emits poisonous gases. These methods are considered unacceptable from environmental point of view whereas chemical recycling methods such as cracking and hydrocracking are considered more environmentally friendly. Hydrocracking of a plastic material in which longer chain hydrocarbon molecules are broken down to shorter chain hydrocarbons is a promising method of converting waste plastic materials to high quality liquid transportation fuels. It is exothermic in nature, carried out at lower temperatures, and gives higher quality liquid products compared to catalytic and thermal cracking processes. In the present work, various micro-mesoporous zeolite catalysts are synthesized and well characterized using XRD, BET, SEM, EDX, and Py-FTIR techniques. The catalysts are tested in a high pressure autoclave reactor to study the hydrocracking of a model plastic mixture with initial H2 pressure of 20 bar, 400 °C, residence time of 50 min, and feed to catalyst ratio of 10:0.5 (by wt). The conversion of plastic material and yields of the products are obtained by solvent extraction using tetrahydrofuran (THF) and n-heptane and GC-MS and GC-FID are used for the analysis of gas and oil fractions. A few of the composite catalysts used in the study are found highly active and selective towards liquid yield and show the ability to be used on the commercial scale

Composite zeolite beta catalysts for catalytic hydrocracking of plastic waste to liquid fuels

Abstract The conversion of model waste plastic mixture into high-value liquid product was studied in the presence of hydrogen and composites of zeolite beta catalysts. For the sake of comparison, the conversion of actual waste plastic mixture and high-density polyethylene was also carried out. The composite zeolite beta catalysts were synthesized using a range of silica-to-alumina ratios, alkali concentrations, and hydrothermal treatment times. SEM, EDX, XRD, N2-BET, FTIR, and py-FTIR were used for the characterization of the catalysts. The catalytic experiments were conducted in a 500 ml stirred batch reactor at 20 bar initial cold H2 pressure and the temperature of the reaction was varied between 360 and 400 °C. The two composite catalysts, BC27 and BC48, prepared without alkali pretreatment were found to be the most suitable catalysts. With BC27 and BC48 at 400 °C, 93.0 wt% conversion was obtained with actual plastic mixture and the liquid yield exceeded 68.0 wt%. Experiments with the regenerated catalysts showed their performance comparable to the fresh catalysts

Influence of Career Satisfaction on Teachers’ Attrition and Retention in Public Secondary Schools of Dass Local Government Area in Bauchi State, North Eastern-Nigeria

The disregard of teachers' needs had an influence negatively on our educational system in Nigeria. This study was undertaken to explore the influence of career satisfaction on teachers' attrition and retention in public secondary schools of Dass Local Government Area of Bauchi state was also the objective. A survey design was adopted for the study; the study population constitutes 356 teachers in public secondary schools in Dass Local Government. A proportionate stratified sampling technique was employed in selecting 186 teachers as sample respondents in this study. An instrument was adopted from previous studies relevant to the current research and was used for data collection in this study. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions, while multiple regressions were used to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the study showed an influence of 26.226 as against P-value =.000) between career satisfaction and teachers and attrition and retention. Findings showed that career satisfaction positively influences teachers' attrition and retention in public secondary schools in Dass Local Government of Bauchi State. The study recommended that the school management and the government improve the working conditions of teachers by providing adequate teaching/learning resources

Median survival time of patients after transcatheter chemo-embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective: To determine the effect on survival after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Design: Longitudinal cohort study.PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi, from December 1997 to September 2005.PATIENTS AND Methods: Patients undergoing TACE procedure for HCC were prospectively followed. Fortythree patients were enrolled from December 1997 to March 2003 in the study and subjected to chemoembolization therapy. Eight out of 43 patients were excluded from the study, who lost to follow-up. All the patients were followed till their death. Median and mean survival were calculated.Results: The median survival of these 35 patients was 410 days (13.6 months), with 95% confidence interval (236 days lower bound and 536 days upper bound). Mean survival time was 603 days (20.1 months) with 95% confidence interval (394 days lower bound and 812 days upper bound). There was significant difference in mean survival time (in days) by Child s Pugh class (chi(2) = 12.384; df=2, p-value=0.002).CONCLUSION: The study showed that TACE is an effective palliative treatment. TACE increases the median survival time

Zoonotic and Reverse Zoonotic Events of SARS-CoV-2 and their Impact on Global Health

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped, positive sense, single-stranded RNA viruses. The viruses have adapted to infect a large number of animal species, ranging from bats to camels. At present, seven CoVs infect humans, of which Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for causing the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans. Since its emergence in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly across the globe. Healthcare systems around the globe have been stretched beyond their limits posing new challenges to emergency healthcare services and critical care. The outbreak continues to jeopardize human health, social life and economy. All known human CoVs have zoonotic origins. Recent detection of SARS-CoV-2 in pet, zoo and certain farm animals has highlighted its potential for reverse zoonosis. This scenario is particularly alarming, since these animals could be potential reservoirs for secondary zoonotic infections. In this article, we highlight interspecies SARS-CoV-2 infections and focus on the reverse zoonotic potential of this virus. We also emphasize the importance of potential secondary zoonotic events and the One-Health and One-World approach to tackle such future pandemics

Comparison of Outcomes of Topical Anesthesia with Peribulbar Anesthesia in Vitrectomy for Unresolving Vitreous Hemorrhage

OBJECTIVES: To compare the Surgeon's ease level and duration of surgery in topical anesthesia with peribulbar anesthesia for vitrectomy without sedation in patients with unresolving vitreous hemorrhage of duration greater than 3 months. METHODOLOGY: A randomized controlled trial was carried out at the Department of Ophthalmology, Lahore General Hospital, Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore from October 2017 to September 2018. A total of 110 patients were equally divided (n=55) in group A (topical anesthesia) and group B (peribulbar anesthesia) by lottery method. In group A, 0.5% proparacaine hydrochloride eye drops were instilled into the conjunctival sac every 3 minutes preoperatively 5 times before surgery. For group B patients, 5cc injection consisting of 2.5ml of 0.5% bupivacaine and 2.5ml of 1% lidocaine was injected thirty minutes before surgery. Surgical time was noted from first incision to enter the eye for vitrectomy till application of last closing suture. Surgeon ease was recorded with a 4 Grade scale. All data was recorded, entered, and analyzed by SPSS version 25.0. Continuous variables were presented as mean, standard deviation and independent t-test was applied. RESULTS:  The mean age of the patient was 43.83±9.76 years. Male cases were 78 (70.9%) and female cases were 32 (29.1%). Mean duration of surgery was 30.32±7.07 minutes and the surgeon’s ease was 2.30±0.98. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) with respect to mean duration of surgery and surgeon’s ease level in patients who were given topical anesthesia (28.12±6.57 minutes and 3.11±0.90) versus peribulbar anesthesia (32.52±6.92 minutes and 2.67±0.90). CONCLUSION: Topical anesthesia without sedation is better than peribulbar anesthesia for vitrectomy without sedation in patients with unresolving vitreous hemorrhage of duration greater than 3 months

Clinical Utility of N-Terminal Prohormone B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Levels in Patients of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Heart Failure

Objective: To evaluate the effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on plasma N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients with heart failure and correlate it with glycosylated haemoglobin levels. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology in collaboration with the Department of Cardiology,Combined Military Hospital, Multan Pakistan, from Feb to Sep 2021. Methodology: We assayed plasma NT-pro BNP levels in 194 individuals with established heart failure, (98 non-diabetics, and 96 patients with diabetes). Plasma NT-pro BNP levels were compared between groups in addition, the correlation of glycosylated haemoglobin with plasma NT-pro BNP levels was explored. Results: The mean plasma NT-pro BNP values were higher in patients with diabetes (15826.08 ±8143.434pg/mL) than in nondiabetics (12534.06±6323.92pg/mL) with a p-value 0.02. When NT-pro BNP was compared there was no significant found difference between the non-diabetic group and the Controlled Diabetes-Group (p-value 0 .882), but it was significantly higher in the Uncontrolled Diabetes-Group (p-value<0.001). A moderate positive association was found between NT-pro BNP and glycosylated haemoglobin (r=0.541, p-value<0.001). Conclusion: Although obesity has an inverse relation with plasma natriuretic peptides level and most patients with diabetes are overweight, the plasma NT-pro BNP is still a very informative tool and holds its significance as a diagnostic and prognosis marker in diabetic patients with heart failure

Heavy metals uptake pattern and accumulation in wheat

The study aimed to determine the pattern of heavy metals (HMs) uptake and accumulation in wheat and compare the concentrations of the studied HMs in the wheat grain produced under the Kano River Irrigation Project with the permissible limits recommended by FAO/WHO. Wheat samples were collected from 10 different locations within the irrigation scheme between February and March 2023. The samples were prepared using standard laboratory procedures and HMs were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The accumulation of HMs in wheat grains is in the order of Cu&gt;Zn&gt;Ni&gt;Cr&gt;Co&gt;Cd. Pb and Hg were not detected in wheat grains. The concentrations of Zn, Cd and Cr in the wheat grain samples exceeded the recommended permissible limits. Keywords: Food contamination, Heavy metals toxicity, Nigeria, wheat contaminatio