Statistical Analysis of Resilience Distribution and Application to Rural Electric Distribution System subjected to Hurricane Wind

Title from PDF of title page, viewed January 13, 2022Dissertation advisor: ZhiQiang ChenVitaIncludes bibliographical references (page 140-149)Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Computing and Engineering, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2021Several mathematical frameworks and models are proposed to quantify the resilience of power systems against hurricane events. However, these frameworks contribute to the urban area's large-scale transmission system or networked power delivery system. They are barely applicable to the rural power distribution system, whose intrinsic properties vary distinctively compared to an urban area. These inherent properties such as less robustness due to the high vulnerability of aged wooden poles, topology characterization as a set of linear subsystems that emanate from one power substation and individually feature zero redundancy and cascading effect, and slow recovery due to low socio-economic resources and geospatially sparse customers make it less resilient. This study thus proposes a fully probabilistic and analytical measurement framework for assessing the resilience of linear power distribution systems affected by hurricane wind. The proposed framework includes the mechanical analysis of coupled wooden-pole and feeder-line as a system unit, the definition of component restoration and system-level recovery functions, and a new resilience measure termed the total mean system-resilience (TMSR). Numerical experimentation is provided that validates the effectiveness and the analytical tractability of the framework. The insight that how physical aging, local resourcefulness, and spatial sparseness interplay and affect the system resilience is shed quantitatively. On the other hand, from a critical synthesis of the existing literature towards several quantitative resilience measures or ambiguously termed metrics frameworks for quantifying the resilience of civil infrastructure, the author found informational inadequacy on taking objective decisions such as resilience acceptance or parameter strengthening prioritization. Two ingrained drawbacks of such measurements are lack of theoretical basis in 1. Discriminating relatively how a parametric infrastructure system is more resilient than a different one or the same one subject to some changed conditions and, 2. answering which input parameter is most influential while assessing the resilience measure. This study thus explores and suggests several statistical tools such as 1. A nonparametric approach to perform sensitivity analysis of each input parameter to output resilience and check for the robustness of the proposed resilience assessment framework. 2. Copula-based dependence analysis to determine the most influential parameter and tail dependencies of the resilience measure with each input parameter. 3. Information-theoretic distance measures termed Resilience Distance (RD) measures to characterize how a system evolves as a function of system variables from the realm of materials, hazards, or socioeconomic resourcefulness. 4. Nonparametric two-sample test to check if the calculated resilience can be accepted when compared to targeted resilience of the same system. Numerical evaluation is conducted using these statistical tools on the proposed probabilistic resilience assessment framework of stochastically modeled rural electrical distribution system, and numerical measures show that the proposed statistical analysis of the resilience distribution can be a possible objective decision-making tool.Introduction -- State of Art -- Probabilistic Resilience Measurement for Rural Electric Distribution System Affected by Hurricane Events -- Global Sensitivity Analysis and Dependence Modeling -- Probabilistic Resilience Distance Measure and Hypothesis Testing -- Conclusions and Future Work -- Appendix A. 3.9 AND 3.11 Equations Formulations -- Appendix B. Main MATLAB Code

Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of Nepalese medicinal plants Swertia chirayita and Dendrobium amoenum

Research on medicinal plants are important to Nepal because most of its rural population relies on it as mode of medicine. Medicinal plants namely Swertia chirayita and Dendrobium amoenum were collected from mid hills of Nepal. The present study was undertaken to find the antimicrobial activity, phytochemical presence and their cytotoxicity in different extraction medium. The percentage yield from the plants were highest in warm methanol extraction with 12.6%, followed by ethyl acetate and lowest was for cold methanol. Plant extract showed the presence of antioxidants like alkaloid, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannin, glycosides. The Brine Shrimp Bioassay of methanol and ethyl acetate extract showed cytotoxicity. Chiraito extract showed LC50 of 199 ppm for Dhunche sample, 128.82 ppm for Daman sample and 131.82 ppm of Illam sample. The antibacterial activity of methanol extract of Chiraito and Dendrobium amoenum showed significant bioactivity by inhibiting growth of microbial species selected for the test. The zone of inhibition shown by the extracts was comparable to the standard antibiotics. Similarly, methanol extract of Chiraito also showed significant antifungal activity with the zone of inhibition comparable to amphotericin.Nepal Journal of Biotechnology. Dec. 2015 Vol. 3, No. 1: 48-5

Prevalence of Malaria among Infants and Children with febrile illness: A Hospital Based Study

Background: About half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria and the burden is particularly high in low-income countries like Nepal. Infants and children are more vulnerable to malaria. Acute febrile illness is the commonest presentation of malaria. Since it is one of the major causes of persistent febrile illnesses in Nepal, empirical antimalarial therapy is usually practiced, especially the endemic areas. A better understanding of the prevalence and clinical profile of malaria helps to tailor the treatment accordingly in cases of undifferentiated febrile illnesses and make the sue of antimalarials more rational. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 200 infants and children presenting with acute febrile illness in the Departments of Pediatrics, Nepalgunj Medical College, from June 2018 to May 2019.Patients were divided in two groups based on the Malarial parasite antigen status. Clinical and laboratory profile of both the groups were compared using Chi square Test. Results: Maximum number of cases in the malaria positive group were of age group 12-15 years. Palor, icterus, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were significantly more in malaria positive cases (p-value <0.001in all cases) eosinophilia and leucopenia were common in malaria positive cases. Diagnostic accuracy of malaria was found to eb 82 % on combining serology with clinical findings. Conclusion: Prevalence of malaria was found to be more among children than the infants. Although symptoms of malaria are non-specific, clinical findings like palor, icterus, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were found to have a significant association with malaria. Combining serology with clinical profile in the prediction of malaria helps promote rational use of antimalarial drugs

Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning Methods among Married Women of Reproductive Age of Chepang Community in Benighat VDC of Dhading District

Background: Knowledge of family planning plays a significant role in public health to control birth and maintain the health of women. Chepang is a backward and deprived indigenous group of Nepal. Teenage pregnancies, high fertility and high mortality of infants as well as mothers are more prevalent in these communities because of lack of knowledge of family planning. The objective was to find out knowledge and practice regarding family planning among reproductive-age women. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among married women of Chepang community in Benighat of Dhadnig district, Nepal from September 2016 to November 2016. A simple random probability sampling technique was used to collect 80 respondents.  Results: The age of the respondents varied from 17 to 47 years having mean 30.7 ± 7 years and the modal age group was 25-29 years (30%). The average marital age and first pregnancy age were 16.7 ± 2years and 17.7 ± 2.33 years respectively. Ninety-two percent of women were aware of family planning. The major source of information were health workers (79.2%) and radio/television (57.1%). The best-known methods of contraception were depo- provera (87.3%) followed by pills (85.7%), and least known methods were copper T (31%) and Norplant (31%).  The contraceptive prevalence was 49.9% among which pills and Depo provera were used by 41.1% respondents respectively. One third (33.8%) of the respondents had adequate knowledge. Education, spousal communication, current users, married age, number of children and age at first pregnancy were the significant factors affecting the knowledge and practice of family planning (P < 0.05).   Conclusion: Literacy status, spousal communication, family planning users, marital age, size of children, and age at first pregnancy are the associated factors of knowledge and literacy status, spousal communication, cultural taboos, and self-decision are the factors of practicing of family planning

Groundwater implications on methane emission from non-sewered sanitation systems in Nepal

Non-sewered sanitation systems (NSSS) are identified as significant contributors of greenhouse gases (GHGs), primarily due to biological processes occurring within the containment systems. In unsealed or unlined containment systems like pit latrines, the emissions are influenced by moisture. This work quantified the GHG emission from unlined or unsealed containments prevalent in Nepal and compared it with sealed containment-like septic tanks, where the chances of groundwater (GW) inundation are low. The modeled GW data extracted from the secondary sources were validated with available national data. The emissions were quantified using the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) model for different ecological and provincial divisions of Nepal. Spatial representation for the results was done using the Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. The total methane (CH4) emission occurring from the various NSSS was determined to be 2618 Gg CO2 e per year which is almost twice the emission from the waste sector in 2011, as reported by the recent national communication submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Variation of the CH4 emission was found to be prominent in lowlands (Terai region) with total national emissions of 1329.37 Gg CO2e per year. The lowland has a shallow GW table that can easily inundate the unlined containments like pit latrines thus contributing to more anaerobic conditions which may lead to higher CH4 emissions compared to containments in mid and highlands. This study concludes that the GHG emissions occurring from NSSS are substantial and addressing these emissions can help fulfil the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the waste sector

Herpes zoster vaccination and the risk of dementia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Introduction Previous studies have reported a decreased risk of dementia with herpes zoster vaccination. Given this background, this systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to investigate the association between herpes zoster vaccination and the risk of dementia. Methods We searched five databases until November 2023 for case–control, cross‐sectional, or cohort studies investigating the association of herpes zoster vaccination and dementia. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled in the meta‐analysis. Meta‐regression, subgroup, and sensitivity analysis were also conducted. Results We evaluated a total of five studies (one cross‐sectional, one case–control, and four cohort studies) that included a total number of 103,615 patients who were vaccinated with herpes zoster vaccine. All the studies were of high quality, ranging from 7 to 9. Due to the high heterogeneity (I2 = 100%, p < .00001) observed in our study, a random effect model was used for the analysis. The pooled odds ratio was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.50, 1.43), p (overall effect) = .53), indicating that herpes zoster vaccination reduces the risk of dementia. Conclusion Herpes zoster vaccination is associated with a reduction of the risk of dementia. More epidemiological studies are needed to confirm the association

Carbon Dots as Nanodispersants for Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes: Reduced Cytotoxicity and Metal Nanoparticle Functionalization

The colloidal stabilization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in an aqueous medium through noncovalent interactions has potential benefits toward the practical use of this one-dimensional carbonaceous material for biomedical applications. Here, we report that fluorescent carbon nanodots can efficiently function as dispersing agents in the preparation of stable aqueous suspensions of CNTs at significant concentrations (0.5 mg/mL). The amphiphilic nature of carbon dots with a hydrophobic graphitic core could effectively interact with the CNT surface, whereas hydrophilic oxygenated functionalization on the C-dot surface provided excellent water dispersibility. The resultant CNT-C-dot composite showed significantly reduced cytotoxicity compared to that of unmodified or protein-coated CNTs, as demonstrated by cell viability and proliferation assays. Furthermore, the reducing capability of C-dots could be envisaged toward the formation of a catalytically active metal nanoparticle-CNT-C-dot composite without the addition of any external reducing or stabilizing agents that showed excellent catalytic activity toward the reduction of <i>p</i>-nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH₄. Overall, the present work establishes C-dots as an efficient stabilizer for aqueous dispersions of CNTs, leading to an all-carbon nanocomposite that can be useful for different practical applications

Field-based Methods for Measuring Greenhouse Gases Emissions from On-Site Sanitation Systems: A Systematic Review of Published Literature

On-site sanitation systems (OSS) are a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although efforts have been made recently to measure and quantify emissions from septic tanks using various field-based methods, the vast majority of published literature reporting GHG emissions from OSS units (e.g., pits and tanks) is based on non-empirical evidence. This systematic review presents an overview and limitations of field-based methods used for the quantification of GHG emissions from OSS. Papers published in English were searched in three databases: Google Scholar, PubMed, and Directory of Articles and Journals. Peer-reviewed papers that reported field-based methods applied to containment units in OSS were included in this study. Only eight out of 2085 papers met the inclusion criteria with septic tanks as the sole technology reported and were thus, considered for the review. Most of the studies have been conducted in middle- and high-income countries. Field-based measurements of GHGs are conducted using a flux chamber (FC) and the most commonly used FC methods are (a) the modified simple static FC, (b) automated static FC, and (c) floating FC. Data reported in published studies do not provide sufficient information on the calibration and validation of the results from the FCs used. The complex FC designs, laborious fieldwork operations, and reliance on expensive, specialist equipment, suggest that such methods may not be suitable in Low and Middle-Income countries (LMICs), where resources and access to laboratory facilities are limited. Also, the complexity of pits and tank typology in LMICs (i.e., unstandardised designs and sizes) may be a challenge to the use of FCs with fixed dimensions and set operational conditions. The variation in the quantification methods and resulting emission rates among the studies indicates that gaps prevail in the use of existing methods. Therefore, there is still a need for a simple field-based, easily adaptable FC method with adequate calibration and validation that can help in reliably quantifying the emissions from different OSS in any LMICs