Installation, Testing and Jointing of LT and HT Power Cables up to 33 KV

In the electrical power distribution and transmission system for urban and rural area, overhead lines are usually in major practice. Underground system was not favourable in developing and under developed countries. The main reason behind it was the much higher capital investment of underground cabling with respect to overhead bare conductors. But with the advancement in technology and market competition its cost is manageable for urban areas. This system requires more skills and planning for installation, jointing and termination rather than overhead lines. The presented paper is applied on power distribution system up to 33 KV. Keywords: LT/HT power cables, Installation, Jointing, Termination, Testing

Various Aspects and Analysis of Earthing/Grounding System for Protective and Functional Applications

Earthing or grounding means connection of neutral point or body / enclosure of a system with the ground mass to avoid any accident & smooth functioning of system whether it may be power system, fuel pipelines,  telecomm, lightning protection or data processing centres. It will transfer the undesired charge directly to the ground because impedance of such path will be very low. Earthing/Grounding is low impedance return path to fault currents. Earthing should provide at generating station/ESS (Electrical Sub Stations) & consumer’s premises as required. Presented paper is focussing on earthing essential, systems, design calculations, standard practices & applications. Keywords: Types of Systems/Electrodes, Installation, Fault/size calculations, Testing, Applications

Liposomski sustavi za isporuku lijekova Klinička primjena

Liposomes have been widely investigated since 1970 as drug carriers for improving the delivery of therapeutic agents to specific sites in the body. As a result, numerous improvements have been made, thus making this technology potentially useful for the treatment of certain diseases in the clinics. The success of liposomes as drug carriers has been reflected in a number of liposome-based formulations, which are commercially available or are currently undergoing clinical trials. The current pharmaceutical preparations of liposome-based therapeutic systems mainly result from our understanding of lipid-drug interactions and liposome disposition mechanisms. The insight gained from clinical use of liposome drug delivery systems can now be integrated to design liposomes that can be targeted on tissues, cells or intracellular compartments with or without expression of target recognition molecules on liposome membranes. This review is mainly focused on the diseases that have attracted most attention with respect to liposomal drug delivery and have therefore yielded most progress, namely cancer, antibacterial and antifungal disorders. In addition, increased gene transfer efficiencies could be obtained by appropriate selection of the gene transfer vector and mode of delivery.Od 1970. godine liposomi se intenzivno istražuju kao nosači ljekovitih tvari za isporuku u određene dijelova organizma. Unapređenje i razvoj liposoma omogućili su njihovu kliničku primjenu u terapiji određenih bolesti. Na tržištu je prisutan određen broj ljekovitih oblika na bazi liposoma, a dio je još u kliničkim pokusima. Svi su oni rezultat boljeg razumjevanja raspodjele liposoma i interakcija između lipida i ljekovite tvari. Moguće je pripremiti liposome koji se mogu usmjeriti u određena tkiva, stanice ili međustanične prostore, sa ili bez vezanih molekula za prepoznavanje na površini membrane. Ovaj revijalni članak uglavnom obuhvaća liposome za terapiju karcinoma, bakterijskih i gljivičnih infekcija jer je u tim područjima primjena liposoma najviše opravdana i stoga najviše istraživana. Osim toga, pravilnim izborom vektora za prijenos gena i načina isporuke može se povećati i učinkovitost prijenosa gena

Need for a gender-sensitive human security framework: results of a quantitative study of human security and sexual violence in Djohong District, Cameroon

Background: Human security shifts traditional concepts of security from interstate conflict and the absence of war to the security of the individual. Broad definitions of human security include livelihoods and food security, health, psychosocial well-being, enjoyment of civil and political rights and freedom from oppression, and personal safety, in addition to absence of conflict. Methods: In March 2010, we undertook a population-based health and livelihood study of female refugees from conflict-affected Central African Republic living in Djohong District, Cameroon and their female counterparts within the Cameroonian host community. Embedded within the survey instrument were indicators of human security derived from the Leaning-Arie model that defined three domains of psychosocial stability suggesting individuals and communities are most stable when their core attachments to home, community and the future are intact. Results: While the female refugee human security outcomes describe a population successfully assimilated and thriving in their new environments based on these three domains, the ability of human security indicators to predict the presence or absence of lifetime and six-month sexual violence was inadequate. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the study demonstrates that common human security indicators do not uncover either lifetime or recent prevalence of sexual violence. Conclusions: These data suggest that current gender-blind approaches of describing human security are missing serious threats to the safety of one half of the population and that efforts to develop robust human security indicators should include those that specifically measure violence against women

Thermal performance evaluation of cellulose fibre as building insulation material

Space cooling has utilized lots of electricity in summers which has to be reduced by insulating inside of buildings. Thishas potential to reduce the environment pollution caused by higher expenditure of energy. The present work has the scope toevaluate thermal performance of a test model house providing cellulose fibre based cardboard insulation and compare theperformance with an uninsulated model. The addition of heat through roof, walls and net heat gain during the day hasremained lesser for insulated test model than uninsulated test model. The temperature of indoor air has stayed lesser in caseof insulated test model than the uninsulated test model during the day particularly in the interval from 12 hrs to 19 hrs Theindoor air temperature for the insulated test model has remained lesser by 7°C from 14 hrs till 16 hrs in comparison touninsulated test model. The energy and financial savings obtainable for summers has value of 144 kWh and Rs 864respectively for insulated test model. The carbon dioxide emitted has reduced for summers by 226 kg for insulated testmodel. Hence better thermal comfort conditions have existed in the insulated buildings

Access to Care and Prevalence of Hypertension and Diabetes Among Syrian Refugees in Northern Jordan.

Importance: The management of noncommunicable diseases in humanitarian crises has been slow to progress from episodic care. Understanding disease burden and access to care among crisis-affected populations can inform more comprehensive management. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes with biological measures and to evaluate access to care among Syrian refugees in northern Jordan. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study was undertaken from March 25 to April 26, 2019, in the districts of Ramtha and Mafraq, Jordan. Seventy clusters of 15 households were randomly sampled, and chain referral was used to sample Syrian households, representative of 59 617 Syrian refugees. Adults were screened and interviewed about their access to care. Data analysis was performed from May to September 2019. Exposures: Primary care delivered through a humanitarian organization since 2012. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcomes were self-reported prevalence of hypertension and diabetes among adults aged 18 years or older and biologically based prevalence among adults aged 30 years or older. The secondary outcome was access to care during the past month among adults aged 18 years or older with a diagnosis of hypertension or diabetes. Results: In 1022 randomly sampled households, 2798 adults aged 18 years or older, including 275 with self-reported diagnoses (mean [SD] age, 56.5 [13.2] years; 174 women [63.3%]), and 915 adults aged 30 years or older (608 women [66.5%]; mean [SD] age, 46.0 [12.8] years) were screened for diabetes and hypertension. Among adults aged 18 years or older, the self-reported prevalence was 17.2% (95% CI, 15.9%-18.6%) for hypertension, 9.8% (95% CI, 8.6%-11.1%) for diabetes, and 7.3% (95% CI, 6.3%-8.5%) for both conditions. Among adults aged 30 years or older, the biologically based prevalence was 39.5% (95% CI, 36.4%-42.6%) for hypertension, 19.3% (95% CI, 16.7%-22.1%) for diabetes, and 13.5% (95% CI, 11.4%-15.9%) for both conditions. Adjusted for age and sex, prevalence for all conditions increased with age, and women had a higher prevalence of diabetes than men (adjusted prevalence ratio, 1.3%; 95% CI, 1.0%-1.7%), although the difference was not significant. Complications (57.4%; 95% CI, 51.5%-63.1%) and obese or overweight status (82.8%; 95% CI, 79.7%-85.5%) were highly prevalent. Among adults aged 30 years or older with known diagnoses, 94.1% (95% CI, 90.9%-96.2%) currently took medication. Among adults aged 18 years or older with known diagnoses, 26.8% (95% CI, 21.3%-33.1%) missed a medication dose in the past week, and 49.1% (95% CI, 43.3%-54.9%) sought care in the last month. Conclusions and Relevance: During this protracted crisis, obtaining care for noncommunicable diseases was feasible, as demonstrated by biologically based prevalence that was only moderately higher than self-reported prevalence. The high prevalence of complications and obese or overweight status, however, suggest inadequate management. Programs should focus on reinforcing adherence and secondary prevention to minimize severe morbidity

Adaptation of a community health volunteer strategy for the management of hypertension and diabetes and detection of COVID-19 disease: a progamme for Syrian refugees in northern Jordan.

BACKGROUND: During humanitarian crises and severe epidemics, life-saving care for non-communicable disease must be sustained. Data from a 2019 household survey showed high rates of hypertension (39·5%), diabetes (19·3%), or both conditions (13·5%) in Syrian refugees aged 30 years and older in northern Jordan. Patients with comorbidities are known to be at risk of severe COVID-19 disease and, as refugees, Syrians might be under-detected by current COVID-19 surveillance programmes. Furthermore, refugee health clinics were temporarily closed in March, 2020 because of COVID-19 control measures. Here, we describe how an existing community health volunteer (CHV) strategy was modified during the COVID-19 pandemic to support non-communicable disease care in Syrian refugees with hypertension and diabetes living in northern Jordan. METHODS: In June, 2020, nurses enrolled a cohort of Syrian patients with hypertension, diabetes, or both conditions from clinics in Ramtha and Mafraq, Jordan, to establish their disease stability and medication needs. Jordanian and Syrian CHVs who were originally recruited for a study of non-communicable disease care followed up every patient with a monthly telephone call to provide education on self-management and psychosocial support, ensure sufficient medication, assess adherence to medication, and screen for complications that required urgent referral and COVID-19 symptoms. We undertook a cohort analysis of routine data to analyse monthly trends in adherence as well as incidence of critical incidents such as urgent complications, medication stockouts, and symptoms of COVID-19. FINDINGS: Between June 28 and Oct 1, 2020, we enrolled 1140 patients; 1119 patients (98%) with verified telephone numbers were contacted with at least one telephone call and 953 patients (85%) with three calls. Most patients were female (696 [62·5%]), mean age was 57·5 years (IQR 49·4—65·6); 601 patients (54%) had both hypertension and diabetes, 419 patients (37·7%) had hypertension, and 93 patients (8·4%) had diabetes. Self-reported monthly adherence to medications over the past 5 days and 30 days remained greater than 90% and did not differ between conditions. Of 3143 consults, 159 (5%) were escalated for urgent needs, and 69 (2%) indicated suspected COVID-19 symptoms with two cases meeting the criteria for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing. By month 3, the incidence of urgent complications, medication stockouts, and COVID-19 symptoms remained low (19·9, 68·2, and 12·6, respectively, per 1000 population) and could be responded to rapidly. INTERPRETATION: The CHV programme enabled continuous monitoring of refugees with hypertension and diabetes during severely disrupted clinical services as well as screening for COVID-19 symptoms. Community health volunteers can extend primary care for noncommunicable diseases to refugees and counter poor continuous access to care and service disruptions caused by protracted crises and severe epidemics. FUNDING: Enhanced Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance/Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises

Rapidly adapted community health strategies to prevent treatment interruption and improve COVID-19 detection for Syrian refugees and the host population with hypertension and diabetes in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated community health volunteer (CHV) strategies to prevent non-communicable disease (NCD) care disruption and promote coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) detection among Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians, as the pandemic started. METHODS: Alongside medication delivery, CHVs called patients monthly to assess stockouts and adherence, provide self-management and psychosocial support, and screen and refer for complications and COVID-19 testing. Cohort analysis was undertaken of stockouts, adherence, complications and suspected COVID-19. Multivariable models of disease control assessed predictors and non-inferiority of the strategy pre-/post-initiation. Cost-efficiency and patient/staff interviews assessed implementation. RESULTS: Overall, 1119 patients were monitored over 8 mo. The mean monthly proportion of stockouts was 4.9%. The monthly proportion non-adherent (past 5/30 d) remained below 5%; 204 (18.1%) patients had complications, with 63 requiring secondary care. Mean systolic blood pressure and random blood glucose remained stable. For hypertensive disease control, age 41-65 y (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.78) and with diabetes (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.98) had decreased odds, and with baseline control had increased odds (OR 3.08, 95% CI 2.31 to 4.13). Cumulative suspected COVID-19 incidence (2.3/1000 population) was suggestive of ongoing transmission. While cost-efficient (108 US${\$}$/patient/year), funding secondary care was challenging. CONCLUSIONS: During multiple crises, CHVs prevented care disruption and reinforced COVID-19 detection

Spatially-resolved soft materials for controlled release – hybrid hydrogels combining a robust photo-activated polymer gel with an interactive supramolecular gel

Hybrid hydrogels based on self-assembling low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) DBS-CONHNH2 (DBS = 1,3;2,4-dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol) and crosslinked polymer gelator (PG) PEGDM (poly(ethyleneglycol) dimethacrylate) are reported, and an active pharmaceutical ingredient (naproxen, NPX) is incorporated. The use of PEGDM as PG enhances the mechanical stiffness of the hybrid gel (G′ increases from 400 to 4500 Pa) – the LMWG enhances its stability to very high frequency. Use of DBS-CONHNH2 as LMWG enables interactions with NPX and hence allows pH-mediated NPX release – the PG network is largely orthogonal and only interferes to a limited extent. Use of photo-activated PEGDM as PG enables spatially-resolved photo-patterning of robust hybrid gel domains within a preformed LMWG network – the presence of the LMWG enhances the spatial resolution. The photo-patterned multi-domain gel retains pH-mediated NPX release properties and directionally releases NPX into a compartment of higher pH. The two components within these hybrid PG/LMWG hydrogels therefore act largely independently of one another, although they do modify each others properties in subtle ways. Hybrid hydrogels capable of spatially controlled unidirectional release have potential applications in tissue engineering and drug-delivery