Effect of Various Chemical Treatments on Physical, Mechanical, Thermal and Morphological Properties of Calotropis Gigantea Bast Fiber

This paper highlights the chemical surface modifications of Calotropis gigantea (CG) bast fiber for attaining suitable properties as reinforcements in polymeric composites. The effect of chemical modification on its various properties like physical, mechanical, thermal and morphological properties was also discussed in this research. For this purpose the extracted fibers were chemically treated with various chemicals such as sodium hydroxide, potassium permanganate, sodium chlorite and benzoyl chloride. After surface modifications, its density, mechanical property, thermal gravimetry analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and surface morphology were thoroughly investigated. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of alkali treated CG fiber was found to be 210.39 MPa and 1.77 GPa respectively. The crystallinity index was improved by 25.37% as compared with untreated CG fiber. Finally, it was observed that alkali treated fiber gives better performance and enhances various properties of Calotropis gigantea stem fibers for use as novel reinforcement in composite materials

Influence of Various Surface Treatments on Mechanical, Thermal, Morphological, and Water Absorption Properties of Rattan (Calamus beccarii) Fiber

The goal of this study is to thoroughly comprehend the advantages of rattan (Calamus beccarii) as potential reinforcement in polymeric composites. The influence of various chemical treatments on thermal, morphological, mechanical and water absorption characteristics of natural rattan (RA) stem fiber were investigated. In this research, RA fiber surface was modified through different chemical treatments such as alkalization, bleaching, and benzoylation. The presence of voids and rough surfaces was investigated on SEM micrographs which are due to removal of lignin, wax, and oils from the fiber surface to a large extent. The results obtained from Fourier transform infrared may indicate the presence of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin compounds in the case of untreated and treated RA fiber. The increase in tensile strength and Young’s modulus confirms improvement in the mechanical properties of the RA fiber after chemical treatment. It was observed that alkali-treated RA fibers exhibit highest mechanical properties (295.28 MPa tensile strength, 8.23 GPa Young’s modulus). Also, X-ray diffraction analysis gives a higher crystallinity index (62.50%) for treated RA fiber. Thermogravimetric analysis confirms that there was an increase in the thermal stability of the fiber after chemical treatment. Overall results confirm that the RA fiber is appropriate for use as a reinforcing phase in composite materials for prospective engineering semi-structural applications such as roofing sheets, bricks, door panels, furniture panels, interior paneling, storage tanks, and pipelines

Spectrum of population availing COVID-19 teleconsultation services during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in a tertiary care center of Eastern India

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a defining situation globally, and the outpatient services were also affected due to the closure of many healthcare facilities. The study was conducted to know the spectrum of the population availing teleconsultation and their needs for consultation. A cross-sectional study conducted in AIIMS Bhubaneswar, India, from May 2021 to June 2021in which the beneficiaries availing of the COVID-19 teleconsultation service were taken as study was participants and a total of 423 participants participated in the study. The proportion of participants who availed of the services in the age group 20–39 years was 67.8%. The participants from the urban area were 81%. Very few or almost nil participation were observed in the category of semiskilled, unskilled, and unemployed occupations. The reasons for availing of teleconsultation services were, for the treatment of COVID-19 disease (45%), distressed consultation for the medication (21%), and seeking advice for testing (13%), related to COVID-19 vaccination (6%) and 9% consulted to know the prognosis of the disease. Steps should be taken to expand the teleconsultation services to the underserved rural community and the people with lower educational status

Characterization of natural fiber extracted from Bauhinia vahlii bast subjected to different surface treatments: A potential reinforcement in polymer composite

Bauhinia vahlii (BV) is a great source of cellulosic biomass, and it is gaining popularity as a renewable resource. BV bast fiber is proposed to have the potential to replace synthetic fibers in biopolymer composites as a reinforcing material. This investigation deals with the extraction, surface modification and comprehensive characterization of BV bast fibers which could be used for the production of sustainable fiber-reinforced polymer composites. The extracted fibers were chemically treated with sodium hydroxide, sodium chlorite, and benzoyl chloride. Then, the chemical properties, mechanical properties, surface morphology and thermal properties were investigated. An improvement in chemical and mechanical properties was observed after surface modification of fibers. Benzoylation treated BV bast fibers revealed highest tensile strength of 128.56 MPa and Young’s modulus of 8.34 GPa. In addition, after treatment, the fibers had rougher surface as seen from SEM images. The surface treatments removed a specific quantity of hemicelluloses, lignin, and pectin from the natural fiber surface, according to FTIR analysis. The surface treatments had a good impact on the crystallinity index of the natural fibers, according to XRD analysis. The characterization results confirmed that BV bast fibers could be used for the production of sustainable fiber reinforced polymer composites

Health system factors related to COVID-19 mortality in Eastern India: Hospital-based cross-sectional study

Introduction: Mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has left footprints across all ages and socio-economic strata. The deaths because of COVID-19 are usually multi-factorial. The study aimed to assess the health system factors related to COVID-19-related deaths. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of eastern India. A total of 272 COVID-19 deaths that occurred between April and November 2020 were investigated. Data were extracted from Medical Record Department, and telephonic interviews were conducted to assess the different delays related to death. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Travel time, travel distance, delay in testing, and delay in receiving quality care were presented as median with inter-quartile range. Results: Complete information could be collected from 243 COVID deaths of the 272 deaths (89.3%). The duration of hospital stay was 1–7 days for 42% of the deceased. The median travel time was 120 min, and the median distance travelled was 60 km. The median time to receive first attention of health care workers was 10 minutes. There was hardly any delay in reporting of test results, whereas the median time from symptoms to test and the median time from symptoms to admission were 4 days each. Conclusion: Health system factors related to death of COVID-19 need to be addressed to avoid the avoidable deaths during the pandemic situation. The resilience of the health system can be helpful in reducing death toll in a low-resource country like India

Hospital-Based Contact Tracing of Patients With COVID-19 and Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Eastern India: Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundThe contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of health care workers (HCWs) are essential to minimizing the further transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and mitigating the shortage of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the yield of contact tracing for COVID-19 cases and the risk stratification of HCWs who are exposed to these cases. MethodsThis was an analysis of routine data that were collected for the contact tracing of COVID-19 cases at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, in Odisha, India. Data from March 19 to August 31, 2020, were considered for this study. COVID-19 cases were admitted patients, outpatients, or HCWs in the hospital. HCWs who were exposed to COVID-19 cases were categorized, per the risk stratification guidelines, as high-risk contacts or low-risk contacts ResultsDuring contact tracing, 3411 HCWs were identified as those who were exposed to 360 COVID-19 cases. Of these 360 cases, 269 (74.7%) were either admitted patients or outpatients, and 91 (25.3%) were HCWs. After the risk stratification of the 3411 HCWs, 890 (26.1%) were categorized as high-risk contacts, and 2521 (73.9%) were categorized as low-risk contacts. The COVID-19 test positivity rates of high-risk contacts and low-risk contacts were 3.8% (34/890) and 1.9% (48/2521), respectively. The average number of high-risk contacts was significantly higher when the COVID-19 case was an admitted patient (number of contacts: mean 6.6) rather than when the COVID-19 case was an HCW (number of contacts: mean 4.0) or outpatient (number of contacts: mean 0.2; P=.009). Similarly, the average number of high-risk contacts was higher when the COVID-19 case was admitted in a non–COVID-19 area (number of contacts: mean 15.8) rather than when such cases were admitted in a COVID-19 area (number of contacts: mean 0.27; P<.001). There was a significant decline in the mean number of high-risk contacts over the study period (P=.003). ConclusionsContact tracing and risk stratification were effective and helped to reduce the number of HCWs requiring quarantine. There was also a decline in the number of high-risk contacts during the study period. This indicates the role of the implementation of hospital-based, COVID-19–related infection control strategies. The contact tracing and risk stratification approaches that were designed in this study can also be implemented in other health care settings

Abstracts of National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020

This book presents the abstracts of the papers presented to the Online National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020 (RDMPMC-2020) held on 26th and 27th August 2020 organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Science in Association with the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Conference Title: National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020Conference Acronym: RDMPMC-2020Conference Date: 26–27 August 2020Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology JamshedpurCo-organizer: Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, IndiaConference Sponsor: TEQIP-