Investigation of electrical properties for cantilever-based piezoelectric energy harvester

In the present era, the renewable sources of energy, e.g., piezoelectric materials are in great demand. They play a vital role in the field of micro-electromechanical systems, e.g., sensors and actuators. The cantilever-based piezoelectric energy harvesters are very popular because of their high performance and utilization. In this research-work, an energy harvester model based on a cantilever beam with bimorph PZT-5A, having a substrate layer of structural steel, was presented. The proposed energy scavenging system, designed in COMSOL Multiphysics, was applied to analyze the electrical output as a function of excitation frequencies, load resistances and accelerations. Analytical modeling was employed to measure the output voltage and power under pre-defined conditions of acceleration and load resistance. Experimentation was also performed to determine the relationship between independent and output parameters. Energy harvester is capable of producing the maximum power of 1.16 mW at a resonant frequency of 71 Hz under 1g acceleration, having load resistance of 12 k Omega. It was observed that acceleration and output power are directly proportional to each other. Moreover, the investigation conveys that the experimental results are in good agreement with the numerical results. The maximum error obtained between the experimental and numerical investigation was found to equal 4.3%

Effect of alternative protein sources on growth performance, plasma mineral concentration, bone mineralisation and mineral digestibility in broiler chickens

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of rapeseed meal (RSM), sunflower meal (SFM), canola meal (CM) and guar meal (GM) respectively at 50, 60, 100 and 50g/kg in a maize soyabean based diet on growth performance, plasma mineral concentration, bone mineralisation and mineral digestibility in broiler chickens. The control diet had soya bean meal (SBM; 320g/kg). Day old Hubbard broilers were allocated to five treatments each with 4 replicates and 10 birds. Partial replacement of SBM with other protein sources resulted in heavier (P<0.05) birds compared to control. Bone mineralisation was not affected (P>0.05) by diets. Plasma Ca concentration was higher (P<0.05) in birds fed GM compared to all other treatments. Retention of P, Mg, Na, Cu was increased and Ca retention was decreased in birds fed control diet whereas, no differences (P>0.05) were observed between treatments in K, Fe and Mn retention values. In conclusion, alternative protein sources improved growth but had variable effects on mineral utilisation

Effect of alternative protein sources on growth performance, plasma mineral concentration, bone mineralisation and mineral digestibility in broiler chickens

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of rapeseed meal (RSM), sunflower meal (SFM), canola meal (CM) and guar meal (GM) respectively at 50, 60, 100 and 50g/kg in a maize soyabean based diet on growth performance, plasma mineral concentration, bone mineralisation and mineral digestibility in broiler chickens. The control diet had soya bean meal (SBM; 320g/kg). Day old Hubbard broilers were allocated to five treatments each with 4 replicates and 10 birds. Partial replacement of SBM with other protein sources resulted in heavier (P<0.05) birds compared to control. Bone mineralisation was not affected (P>0.05) by diets. Plasma Ca concentration was higher (P<0.05) in birds fed GM compared to all other treatments. Retention of P, Mg, Na, Cu was increased and Ca retention was decreased in birds fed control diet whereas, no differences (P>0.05) were observed between treatments in K, Fe and Mn retention values. In conclusion, alternative protein sources improved growth but had variable effects on mineral utilisation

Health promoting Behaviors Among Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Health maintenance and promotion are the fundamental prerequisites to community development. The best time for establishing healthy lifestyle habits is during adolescence. Objectives: Due to importance of health promotion behaviors in adolescents, this study was conducted to investigate health-promoting behaviors and its associated factors among high school students in Rasht, Iran. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 424 students during the first semester of the year 2012. We employed the multistage sampling design to recruit from private and public high schools in Rasht, Iran. The data collection instrument was a self-report questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part of instrument was consisted of demographic questionnaire and the second part was adolescent health promotion scale (AHPS) questionnaire. AHPS questionnaire was consisted of six dimensions (nutrition, social support, health responsibility, life appreciation, physical activity, and stress management) to measure health promoting lifestyles. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 16 software employing ANOVA (analysis of variance) test, t-test, Mann-Whitney, and the Kruskal-Wallis. Results: The score of total Adolescent Health Promotion Scale were 3.58 ± 0.52 (possible range was 1-5). The highest score was in life appreciation dimension (3.99 ± 0.068) and the lowest score was in health responsibility dimension. Moreover, Significant associations were found between the adolescent health promotion Scale with age (P < 0.001), gender (P < 0.003), school grade (P < 0.011), father’s educational level (P < 0.045), mother’s educational level (P < 0.021), and mother’s occupation (P < 0.008). Conclusions: Female and older students are at higher risk of developing unhealthy lifestyle. Consequently, healthcare providers, health instructors, schoolteachers, and families must pay more attention to these students. Moreover, as most of lifelong healthy and unhealthy lifestyle habits are established during adolescence, developing effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies for adolescents seems crucial

Exploring the Feasibility of Integrating Mental Health into a Family Planning Program in low-resource settings

Introduction: Mental health challenges remain a pressing issue, underscored by the glaring gap between the elevated demand and the scarce resources. Research has highlighted the effectiveness of integrating mental health services with primary care services, particularly in low-resource settings. Purpose: The objective of this research was to evaluate the perceived implications and feasibility of integrating basic mental health services into an existing community-based family planning initiative in Pakistan. By adopting a community-driven and co-produced methodology, our study not only ensured a deeper resonance with local needs but also paved the way for a sustainable and transformative uptake of mental health services in low-resource settings. This co-produced strategy, anchored in mutual collaboration and shared expertise with the community, promises a more holistic, enduring, and adaptive integration of essential health services within community frameworks.Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative research approach to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the program's feasibility and potential for expansion. Interview tools and guides, tailored to the regional language, were developed by the Research Associate to gather insights from the lady health workers involved in delivering the intervention, as well as from the clients. Overall, our team conducted 24 interviews, of which 9 were with the lady health workers and 15 with clients. The interviews were facilitated by the Research Associate and a Psychologist.Results: Utilizing the socio-ecological model, we thematically analyzed factors at individual, interpersonal, and community levels that support or hinder the integration of mental health services with existing community-based programmes. We also examined the intervention's impact on its users and the healthcare providers.Our analysis underscores the significant potential of integrating mental health services into existing community-based health programmes, such as family planning, in low-resource settings. Predominant themes highlighted women's willingness to use these services, influenced by strong relationships and trust in the lady health workers, ease of access to services, and community support. Identified barriers to integration included prevailing poverty, a preference for direct financial incentives in addition to counseling, confidentiality concerns in tight-knit communities, and the lingering stigma surrounding mental health.Conclusion: Our findings highlight the value of community collaboration in healthcare, particularly in low-resource settings. The co-production approach blends professional guidance with local insights, fostering community ownership and enhancing program sustainability. As the first to merge mental health with family planning in Pakistan, our research suggests that future health initiatives can greatly benefit from community-driven methods, leading to more sustainable and transformative health outcomes

Stumbling Blocks of Online Learning During COVID 19 Pandemic – Perspectives of Students of Selected Universities in London

COVID 19 Pandemic has led to mayhem across the Planet. Educational institutions are the worst affected arena. There is a paradigm shift from conventional classroom teaching to online methods. But it has its own obstructions. Thus, this research is undertaken to study the impediments of online learning faced by the students of selected universities of London. The questionnaire was administered among 200 students out of which 196 responded. The results of the Study reveal that the major obstructions which hindered online learning were lack of computer skills, internet connectivity issues, difficulty in operating the software, absence of social bonding between teachers and students, difficulty in recording lectures, difficulty in grasping practical courses such as mathematics, finance, accounting, engineering etc. To cope up with the Stumbling Blocks, the Study advocates some of the most innovative and creative ways such as application of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy, VARK Model, 5/5/5 rule etc

A Significant Addition of Left Ventricular Fractional Shortening to Ejection Fraction correlated with Global Longitudinal Strain Value in Predicting Major Acute Cardiovascular Event in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) was a proven predictor of systolic function improvement and myocardial remodeling after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) for a residual left ventricular function defined their prognosis. However, not all echocardiography devices are equipped by speckle tracking (STE) as compare to the availability of M-mode modality which capable on assessing fractional shortening (FS) instead. Methods: This study evaluated clinical and echocardiography parameters on myocardial infarction (MI) and non-MI ACS patients.&nbsp; Clinical outcome was defined as composite major acute cardiovascular event (MACE) on 6 months of follow up. Results: Over 145 patients, GLS&gt;-9.4% was found to be an independent predictor of MACE despite of troponin, age, ejection fraction (EF), prior reperfusion and infarct location [(HR 5.89 (1.82-16.51)]. There is negative correlation between FS and GLS (Spearman r -0,717; p&lt;0,01). By using logistic regression analyses, it was found that the addition of FS&lt;25% to biplane Simpson EF&lt;50% could be useful to rule in the presence of GLS&gt;-9.4% (AUC 0.831). Conclusion: GLS had a prognostic value in patients with ACS. Left ventricular conventional M-mode FS in addition to Simpson EF were well correlated with GLS as well they can be considered as an alternative in predicting the incident of MACE in patient with ACS. &nbsp; Keywords: global longitudinal strain, prognostic, fractional shortening, acute coronary syndromeLatar belakang: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) secara signifikan terbukti dapat digunakan sebagai prediktor perbaikan fungsi sistolik dan remodeling miokard pada pasien dengan sindroma koroner akut (SKA), dimana fungsi sistolik residual dari ventrikel kiri akan sangat mempengaruhi prognosis pasien. Namun, tidak semua alat ekokardiografi memiliki modalitas speckle tracking (STE) dibandingkan dengan ketersediaan modalitas M-mode yang dapat menghitung Fractional Shortening (FS). Metode: Penelitian ini mengevaluasi parameter klinis dan ekokardiografis ventrikel kiri pada pasien SKA dengan atau tanpa infark. Perjalanan klinis pasien akan dinilai ada tidaknya kejadian kardiovaskular mayor akut (KKVM) dalam waktu 6 bulan. Hasil: Dari 145 pasien, nilai GLS&gt;-9.4% didapatkan signifikan sebagai prediktor KKVM dan independen terhadap status troponin, umur, fraksi ejeksi, tindakan reperfusi, dan lokasi infark [(HR 5.89 (1.82-16.51)]. Terdapat korelasi negatif yang baik antara FS dan GLS (Spearman r -0,717; p&lt;0,01). Dengan menggunakan analisa regresi logistik, didapati bahwa penambahan parameter FS &lt;25% terhadap EF Simpson&lt;50% dapat digunakan untuk menginklusikan pasien dengan nilai GLS&gt;-9.4% (AUC 0.858). Kesimpulan: GLS memiliki nilai prognostik pada pasien SKA. Nilai FS ventrikel kiri konvensional yang didapatkan dari M-mode, jika ditambahkan pada EF Simpson, memiliki korelasi yang baik dengan GLS, sehingga dapat dipertimbangkan sebagai parameter alternatif yang dapat memprediksi KKVM pada pasien SKA Kata kunci: global longitudinal strain, prognosis, fractional shortening, sindroma koroner aku