Towards zero solid waste: utilising tannery waste as a protein source for poultry feed

Zero waste is now a strongly emerging issue for sustainable industrial development where minimisation and utilisation of waste are a priority in the leather industry. In a tannery hides and skins converted in to leather through various processes. Approximately 20% (w/w) of the chrome containing tannery solid waste (TSW) is generated from one tonne of raw hides and skins. However, tannery solid waste may also be a resource if it is managed expertly as we move towards zero waste. This research illustrates the potential of tannery solid waste as a poultry feed additive. An oxidation method was used to achieve 95% of dechroming rate of chrome tanned waste followed with thermal and enzymatic treatment to produce gelatin solution and collagen concentrates. The thermal stability and fibre structure of samples were analysed by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Protein content and fourteen amino acid concentrations were determined using amino acid analysis. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to compare the amino acid composition with wheat and soya bean meal that is conventionally used in poultry feed. The nutrient requirements for poultry feed vary according to the purpose for which they have been developed. The high content of arginine, leucine, threonine, serine and methionine in the extract were of a sufficient level for poultry feed. Hexavalent chromium test was performed and showed that levels of the metal were low enough to be used in feed additives. In addition, the extracted product showed 75% digestibility (in vitro) and appears that treated TSW may be utilised in poultry feed, this demonstrates a clear example of waste utilisation. In Bangladesh plans are being formed to use the extract in poultry feed production

Evaluation of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire in diarrheal-predominant irritable bowel syndrome patients

Background Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-d) significantly diminishes the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients. Psychological and social impacts are common with many IBS-d patients reporting comorbid depression, anxiety, decreased intimacy, and lost working days. The Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) questionnaire is a 34-item instrument developed and validated for measurement of HRQOL in non-subtyped IBS patients. The current paper assesses this previously-validated instrument employing data collected from 754 patients who participated in a randomized clinical trial of a novel treatment, eluxadoline, for IBS-d. Methods Psychometric methods common to HRQOL research were employed to evaluate the IBS-QOL. Many of the historical analyses of the IBS-QOL validations were used. Other techniques that extended the original methods were applied where more appropriate for the current dataset. In IBS-d patients, we analyzed the items and substructure of the IBS-QOL via item reduction, factor structure, internal consistency, reproducibility, construct validity, and ability to detect change. Results This study supports the IBS-QOL as a psychometrically valid measure. Factor analyses suggested that IBS-specific QOL as measured by the IBS-QOL is a unidimensional construct. Construct validity was further buttressed by significant correlations between IBS-QOL total scores and related measures of IBS-d severity including the historically-relevant Irritable Bowel Syndrome Adequate Relief (IBS-AR) item and the FDA’s Clinical Responder definition. The IBS-QOL also showed a significant ability to detect change as evidenced by analysis of treatment effects. A minority of the items, unrelated to the IBS-d, performed less well by the standards set by the original authors. Conclusions We established that the IBS-QOL total score is a psychometrically valid measure of HRQOL in IBS-d patients enrolled in this study. Our analyses suggest that the IBS-QOL items demonstrate very good construct validity and ability to detect changes due to treatment effects. Furthermore, our analyses suggest that the IBS-QOL items measure a univariate construct and we believe further modeling of the IBS-QOL from an item response theory (IRT) approach under both non-treatment and treatment conditions would greatly further our understanding as item-based methods could be used to develop a short form

The design thinking approaches of three different groups of designers based on self-reports

This paper compares the design thinking approaches of three groups of student-designers: industrial design and architecture undergraduates, and design PhD candidates. Participants responded to an open-ended design brief, working individually. Upon submission of their designs they were debriefed about their design processes. We compare the groups based on their submissions and self-reported design activities, especially the sequence of their design activities and the time allotted to them. There were some commonalities and differences between the two undergraduate groups but the main differences were between the two undergraduates and the PhD students. On the basis of the findings we pose questions regarding design methods in the era of 'design thinking' wherein designers are required to adopt an entrepreneurial frame of mind

Characterizing the role of haloperidol for analgesia in the Emergency Department

The purpose of this study was to characterize emergency department (ED) physicians' beliefs and current practices regarding the use of haloperidol for the management of acute and acute on chronic pain. METHODS: A survey regarding haloperidol use was distributed by email to attending physicians, resident physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants at emergency medicine departments in the Indiana University Health System and at St Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor. RESULTS: Of the 129 responses received, the majority (89.1%) of providers had used haloperidol for control of pain in the ED. The most common reason that respondents used haloperidol to treat pain was that they did not want to use an opioid or other agent (91.3%). The majority of providers (73.9%) believed that haloperidol was effective because there is a psychiatric component to pain, while over half of respondents (58.3%) chose haloperidol as they believed it to have analgesic properties. When haloperidol was used as a first line medication, providers felt that it was effective in controlling pain about 69.0% of the time without the need for further medication. The most common presentations for use were for unspecified abdominal pain, headache, and gastroparesis. CONCLUSION: ED providers reported using haloperidol most often as a second line treatment to manage both acute and acute on chronic pain. When haloperidol was used as a first line agent, providers claimed that additional medicines were not usually required. Haloperidol may provide an effective alternative to opioids in treatment of acute pain and acute exacerbations of chronic pain in the ED

Exact microscopic analysis of a thermal Brownian motor

We study a genuine Brownian motor by hard disk molecular dynamics and calculate analytically its properties, including its drift speed and thermal conductivity, from microscopic theory.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Low-energy quasiparticle states near extended scatterers in d-wave superconductors and their connection with SUSY quantum mechanics

Low-energy quasiparticle states, arising from scattering by single-particle potentials in d-wave superconductors, are addressed. Via a natural extension of the Andreev approximation, the idea that sign-variations in the superconducting pair-potential lead to such states is extended beyond its original setting of boundary scattering to the broader context of scattering by general single-particle potentials, such as those due to impurities. The index-theoretic origin of these states is exhibited via a simple connection with Witten's supersymmetric quantum-mechanical model.Comment: 5 page

Assessing changes in canopy fuels and potential fire behavior following ponderosa pine restoration

In 1995, the Ecological Restoration Institute (ERI) at Northern Arizona University, the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGFD) began a collaborative effort to implement landscape-scale restoration treatments in a ponderosa pine ecosystem at Mt. Trumbull, located in northwestern Arizona. The primary goal of the project was to restore forest structure and ecosystem processes within the historical ranges of variability (Moore and others 1999) with an adaptive management approach. Other project objectives included reducing fuel loads, disrupting fuel continuity, and reducing the likelihood of stand-replacing crown fires by implementing mechanical thinning followed by prescribed fire (Moore and others 2003, Roccaforte and others 2008). The project also aimed at providing research opportunities in a southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystem

Effect of Structural Design of Silver/Silver Chloride Electrodes on Stability and Response Time and the Implications for Improved Accuracy in pH Measurement

The response time of thermal electrolytic Ag/AgCl reference electrodes is defined by the porous structure that limits the rate at which traces of any previous solution are diluted by any new solution environment. The electrode stabilisation time when transferred from one electrolyte to another has been shown to change when different structural designs to the conventional sphere of Ag/AgCl are used. Electrodes fabricated with cylindrical architectures of Ag/AgCl have shown improved stability and reach equilibrium faster than spherical electrodes. This work has positive implications for the accuracy and throughput of primary pH measurements made using the Harned cell