Good Insight Research Articles

Pooled prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among under-five years children in East Africa: A multilevel logistic regression analysis.

Worldwide, diarrhea is the second most common cause of death and morbidity among under -five years' children. In sub-saran Africa, access to water, sanitation, and hygiene are very scanty and the burden of diarrhea diseases is countless relative to the rest of the world. Prior studies conducted in East Africa vary in design, sample size, and other data collection tools. Through those studies, it is hard to make regional comparisons. Combining datasets that are studied on similar people and having common variable identified enhances statistical power due to the large sample size, advance the ability to compare outcomes, and create the opportunity to develop new indicators. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of diarrhea among under five years' children using the most recent national representative Demographic and Health Surveys from 12 East African countries. The information generated from this pooled datasets will give good insight into the sub-regional prevalence of diarrhea. This study utilized secondary data from 12 East African countries' most recent demographic health survey. Variables were extracted and appended together to assess the pooled prevalence of diarrhea and associated factors. A total of 90,263 under-five years of age children were encompassed in this study. STATA version was used to cross-tabulate and fit the models. To account for the hierarchical nature of the demographic health survey, multilevel logistic regression was calibrated. BIC, AIC, deviance, and LLR were used as Model comparison parameters. Variables with a p-value of <0.2 were considered for multivariable analysis. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI and p-value <0.05 were used to declare statistical significances of factors. The pooled prevalence of diarrhea in under five years children was 14.28% [95%CI; 14.06%, 14.51%]. Being child whose mother age is 15-24 years [AOR = 1.41, 95% CI; 1.33, 1.49], 25-34 years[AOR = 1.17, 95%CI; 1.10, 1.23], being 7-12 months child [AOR = 3.10, 95%CI; 2.86, 3.35], being 12-24 months child [AOR = 2.56, 95%CI; 2.38, 3.75], being 25-59 months child [AOR = 0.88, 95%CI; 0.82, 0.95], being child from poor household [AOR = 1.16, 95%CI; 1.09, 1.23], delayed breast feeding initiation (initiated after an hour of birth) [AOR = 1.15, 95%CI; 1.10, 1.20], and being a child from community with low educational status [AOR = 1.10, 95%CI; 1.03, 1.18] were factors associated with diarrheal diseases. The pooled prevalence of diarrhea among under five years of children in East African countries is high. Maternal age, child's age, wealth status of the household, the timing of breast feeding initiation, sex of the child, community level of educational status, working status of the mother, and the number of under five children were factors that were associated with diarrheal diseases. Scaling up of maternal and child health services by government and other concerned bodies should consider those economically marginalized communities. Additionally, awareness should be created for those uneducated mothers concerning the nature of childhood diarrhea.

STRATEGI KOMUNIKASI INTERPERSONAL MEDIA INSTAGRAM @DINKESDKI DALAM MENINGKATKAN KESADARAN MASYARAKAT SELAMA PANDEMI COVID-19

In Indonesia, social media activities have emerged a long time ago, if people can benefit from social media then many benefits are obtained such as marketing, co-workers, work connections and expanding social relations. Instagram media is currently used as a means of viewing news or information available. People as instagram users must be good at utilizing it. For example, on the official account of the Dki Jakarta Health Office @dinkesdki which contains news about health issues, one of which is valid news related to Covid-19. The purpose of this research is to analyze the level of public awareness related to Covid-19. This research uses qualitative research method, the result of data from this research in the form of facts that have been found at the time of field by researchers. Health Minister Province Jakarta communication strategy is to promote health so that it can be understood and can be carried out by all people who become communion. Related to Covid-19, policies related to health regulations and how to practice in the field go back to the nature of society. followers of instagram @dinkesDKI themselves feel the direct benefits of the platform, because it provides valid information and updates related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instagram @dinkesDKI's strategy towards the level of public awareness related to Covid-19 can not be formulated in a valid calculation, but instagram @dinkesDKI has a good insight into people's insights related to Covid-19.

Disentangling the Legal and Illegal Wildlife Trade-Insights from Indonesian Wildlife Market Surveys.

Simple SummaryThroughout the world, wild-caught animals are traded in wildlife markets, but it is not always easy to disentangle what part of the trade is legal and what part is not. This may diminish the value of conducting wildlife market surveys. Conservationists narrowly focus on whether a species is legally protected, whereas in most countries there are several laws and regulations in place that guide the trade in wild-caught animals. Here we present empirical data from various species of birds recorded during wildlife market surveys in Indonesia and assess whether violations take place in terms of (1) protected species, (2) harvest quota, (3) welfare, (4) transport restrictions, and (5) importation. Our five distinctly different case studies showed that while it is challenging to distinguish legal and illegal aspects, in all cases it was evident that at least some aspects of the trade were in violation of Indonesia’s domestic legislation. By focusing on a wider range of legal restrictions, it is possible to get a good insight into the legality of wildlife trade, what interventions can be made, and overall, our study underscores the value of conducting wildlife trade surveys. It is challenging to disentangle the legal and illegal aspects of wild-caught animals that are traded in wildlife markets or online, and this may diminish the value of conducting wildlife trade surveys. We present empirical studies on the trade in birds (ducks, owls, songbirds, non-passerines) in Indonesia (2005 to 2021). Based on visits to wildlife markets, wholesale traders, and monitoring of an Instagram account, we examine if five specific pieces of legislation (domestic and international) are adhered to: (1) protected species, (2) harvest quota, (3) welfare, (4) provincial transport restrictions, and (5) illegal import of CITES-listed species. Our five distinctly different case studies showed that in each case, certain rules and regulations were adhered to, whilst others were violated to varying degrees. When trade involved non-protected species, there was frequently a lack of harvest quotas or trade occurred above these allocated quotas. Basic welfare provisions were regularly and habitually violated. Visiting wildlife markets and recording first-hand what is openly offered for sale is a highly reliable, verifiable, and valuable method of data collection that can give insight in numerous aspects of the animal trade. Our research provides support for recognising the urgency for the government to take appropriate action to curb all the illegal aspects of the bird trade in Indonesia.

A review on using thermoelectric cooling, heating, and electricity generators in solar energy applications

Parallel with the rapid advances of solar technologies as the very crucial components of future energy systems, much interest has also been observed in scientists and commercial companies for the further development and use of thermoelectric systems during recent years. This has led to an interesting field of research combining solar systems/technologies and thermoelectric systems for a variety of purposes. Thermoelectric cooling, heating, and power generators are here proposed in different ways to enhance the performance of solar energy systems. In thermoelectric heating applications, the hot side of the thermoelectric module contributes to increasing the temperature of the solar working fluid in e.g. the desalination, water or air heater systems, etc. For the thermoelectric cooling case, the cold side of the module plays a supplementary or main role in reducing the temperature of e.g. PV panels, the condensation area of desalination units, etc. A thermoelectric power generator may be used to convert the waste thermal energy or the main heat flow output of a solar system to electricity. A combination of heating, cooling, and/or electricity generating thermoelectric units in solar systems could also be frequently seen in the literature. This article, presenting a summary and discussion of previous articles published recently in the literature, aims to make a review and assessment of the methods and impacts of thermoelectric devices on the performance of solar systems in various designs, and thereby, giving readers a good insight into the state-of-the-art and the gaps.

PENGEMBANGAN WAWASAN WARGA SEKOLAH LABORATORIUM UNDIKSHA TENTANG SEKOLAH BERWAWASAN LINGKUNGAN DAN MITIGASI BENCANA (SWALIBA)

Environmental conservation in the context of global warming and Indonesia's geology located in the Pacific Ring of Fire area is the basis used to launch the Environmentally Insight School and Disaster Mitigation Program (SWALIBA) in Indonesia as a form of character education, especially in schools located in vulnerable areas. disaster. This program aims to create a young generation with character of love and care for the environment and understand how to respond to disasters. The Undiksha Laboratory School is geologically located in the Seririt Fault area which is very unstable so it is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. In this regard, Community Service (PkM) is carried out with one of the activities being to provide SWALIBA insight to the residents of the Undiksha Laboratory School (Managers, Directors, Teachers, and Employees). Providing insight using the Education method with three stages (providing material, discussion, and evaluation) which is carried out online through webinars. The results of the service carried out showed that the SWALIBA insight of the Undiksha Laboratory School residents was classified as 'good' (Mean = 74.73). As a first step to developing the SWALIBA Program at the Undiksha Laboratory School, this good insight is needed, because it will be able to contribute to the development of the program to be designed.

Efficient degradation of ciprofloxacin by Co3O4/Si nanoarrays heterojunction activated peroxymonosulfate under simulated sunlight: Performance and mechanism

The development of stable and efficient photocatalysts to activate peroxo monosulfate (PMS) is of great significance in water treatment, but it is still a major challenge. In this paper, Co3O4/Si nanoarrays (Co3O4/SiNWs) heterojunction is successfully synthesized through simple and effective approaches, and the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) assisted photocatalytic degradation system based on the Co3O4/SiNWs heterojunction under simulated sunlight is constructed for ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation. The Co3O4/SiNWs-30/PMS system exhibits a high CIP photocatalytic degradation rate of 93.51% and a kinetic constant of 0.0474 min−1 in 60 min accompanied with good degradation stability. The appropriate energy band structure of Co3O4/SiNWs heterojunction allow the formation of internal electric field, resulting in the establishment of a typical Z-scheme charge transfer system. On the one hand, the formed Co3O4/SiNWs Z-scheme heterojunction can synchronously inhibit the recombination of photo-generated electron-hole (e--h+), which promotes the transfer of photogenerated carriers and improve the photocatalytic activity. On the other hand, photogenerated e- contribute to produce active radicals by activating PMS, and photogenerated h+ can also be directly used as active radicals, thereby realizing high-efficiency photocatalytic degradation. This work gives a good insight into the photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics in water.

Increasing Medical Student Exposure to Neurosurgery: The Educational Value of Special Study Modules, Student Selected Components, and Other Undergraduate Student Projects.

ObjectivesNeurosurgery is a tertiary specialty, and exposure to medical students limited. One way to increase engagement and offer experience in neurosurgery is through Student Selected Components (SSC), Special Study Modules (SSM), or independent projects. Our aim was to assess the educational value of such projects and evaluate their effectiveness in exposing students to the field.MethodsA survey was designed and distributed to Edinburgh University medical students and alumni who completed a neurosurgical project within the last 5 years. The survey was anonymous and collected responses over a fortnight. The results were analyzed in Microsoft Excel 2020 Software.ResultsTwenty-four respondents completed the survey −42% were students and 58% junior doctors. Respondents overwhelmingly enjoyed their project (96%) and reported increased interest in neurosurgery (62%). The project helped improve their knowledge of neurosurgical procedures, pathologies, and/or clinical presentations and allowed connections with the local department. On a Likert scale, 37% felt they gained a good insight into the field. Only 33% felt the project was a good “taster” for the specialty. This is reasonable given that 92% of projects focused on data analysis, and none were designed as clinical attachments. A large number of students had their work published (50%) and presented at conferences (55%).ConclusionLack of exposure to neurosurgery at medical school is a known limitation within a busy curriculum. Selected Components/Special Study Modules/independent projects help students learn about certain aspects of neurosurgery and raise their level of interest. A majority of participants either achieved presentation at conferences or published their work. However, our results suggest neurosurgical projects complement but do not replace traditional clinical attachments in providing insight into the craft of this specialty.

Plasma re-activation: a promising approach to enhance chemical activity for plasma activated water

Plasma activated water (PAW) is a green prospective solution for a wide range of biotechnology applications. However, the drawback for the transient chemical activity of PAW would make it lose versatility in possible applications. Herein, we propose a promising approach for plasma re-activation aimed at enhancing the chemical activity of PAW again before it entirely decays. Our results indicate that the PAW generated by re-activation displays superior physicochemical properties and higher production of RONS. Especially, the concentrations of ONOO−/O2 − and H2O2 by re-activation can remarkably increase by 17.88% and 34.83% compared to the initial activation, respectively. Furthermore, the low temperature storage shows excellent synergetic effects with re-activation, indicating that the re-activation actually enhances the chemical activity of PAW to a higher level. The possible reasons for high chemical activity of PAW by plasma re-activation may be affected by the synergistic effect of multi-factors including the residual RONS in stored PAW and the lower pH value, temperatures of electrode and liquid during re-activation. This study provides good insight into the nature of liquid chemistry for PAW prepered by plasma re-activation, and demonstrates a new alternative for improving the chemical activity of PAW.

Preface

It is a great privilege for us to present the proceedings of ICECon2021, The International Conference on Civil Engineering and Construction Technology 2021 held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, from the 14th to 15th of December 2021. The Civil Engineering in Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, organized this Conference; collaborated with the Institution of Engineers (IEM) Sabah, The Association of Consulting Engineers (ACEM) Sabah Chapter, and Green Materials and Advanced Construction Technology Research Unit (GMACT), Universiti Malaysia Sabah.With the theme “Emerging Technology and Sustainable Construction”, ICECon2021 has brought together experts from the industry and academia to disseminate new knowledge, share best practices, expand professional networks, and provide invaluable input for enriching civil engineering and construction technology for the benefit of humankind. Although at times of travel restriction due to the Covid-19 pandemic, over thirty-eight (38) distinguished researchers from three countries (Malaysia, China, and Australia) had virtually gathered and presented papers for this Conference. Two keynote speakers highlighted Renewable Energy and Sustainable Engineering. Their presentations provided a good insight into the latest developments in Green Liquid Biofuels and the Environmental Behaviour of Nanoparticles. Because of the enthusiastic response from the engineering community, the sizeable number of papers prompted the committee to organize parallel sessions during the Conference.Efforts taken by the peer reviewers contributed to improving the quality of papers provided constructive critics comments; thus, improvements and amendments by authors are greatly appreciated. The success of the ICECon2021 Conference was indeed a collective effort by the international/national advisory committee, session chairs, student volunteers and university financial and administrative staff assistance.The Civil Engineering Programme and Green Materials and Construction Technology (GMACT), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, has selflessly contributed to hosting the Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Without the team’s skills, the Conference could not have been a technical success and an enjoyable experience. I would also like to express my most tremendous appreciation to our co-organizers, the Keynote Speakers, the authors, distinguished reviewers, and participants that have supported the ICECon2021 Conference.Last but not least, we are thankful to the support of the IOP Conference for assisting us in this journey. ICECon2021 committees and editors Professor Ir. Dr. Abdul Karim Mirasa, Conference chair Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Nurmin Bolong, Vice chair Ts. Dr. Lillian Gungat, Vice chair Ir. Dr Habib Musa Mohammad, Technical Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abu Zahrim Yaser, Publication Dr. Sheikh Mohd Iqbal S. Zainal Abidin, Publication Ms. Janice Lynn Ayog, Publicity and IT Ir. Jess Vun Wey Tyng, Publicity and IT Sr. Ts. Dr. Asmawan Sarman, Local/Event manager Dr. Hidayati Asrah, Secretariat Mr. Lim Chung Han @ Andrew, Secretariat Ms. Adriana Erica Amaludin, Secretariat

Runoff changes in the major river basins of China and their responses to potential driving forces

Identifying the effect of climate variability and human activities on runoff changes is scientifically essential for understanding hydrological processes and sustainable water resources management. This study selected 64 catchments located in the mainland of China to quantify the effects of different driving forces on runoff changes. Results showed that annual runoff in the Haihe river basin, Liaohe river basin, and Yellow river basin exhibited significantly decreasing trends from 1965 to 2018 (P < 0.05), whereas the Northwest river basin had positive trends in the annual runoff. Meanwhile, the Pettitt test method was applied to detect abrupt changes in annual runoff. Compared to the rivers in Southern China, the northern rivers had significant abrupt changes in annual runoff and mostly occurred in the 1990 s. The Choudhury-Yang equation based on the Budyko hypothesis was used to assess the sensitivity of runoff to precipitation (P), potential evapotranspiration (ET0), and the land surface (n) changes. The results showed that runoff was more sensitive to P and n, compared to ET0. Attribution analysis revealed that P was the dominant factor in the Northwest river basin, Southwest river basin, Yangtze river basin, Southeast river basin, and Pearl river basin, whereas the changes in n were responsible for runoff changes in the Liaohe river basin, Haihe river basin, Yellow river Basin, Songhuajiang river basin, and Huaihe river basin. The land surface changes (n) were resulted from vegetation restoration, urbanization expansion, construction of reservoirs/check dams, and surface water withdrawals, leading to significant changes in river runoff in recent years. The findings can provide good insight for water resources management across China.

"Eine Schreckliche Zeit ist eingebrochen"

"Eine Schreckliche Zeit ist eingebrochen"

Comparative study of energy management in parallel hybrid electric vehicles considering battery ageing

This article presents a thorough comparative study of energy management strategies (EMSs) for a parallel hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), while the battery ageing is considered. The principle of dynamic programming (DP), Pontryagin's minimum principle (PMP), and equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) considering battery ageing is elaborated. The gearshift map is obtained from the optimization results in DP to prevent frequent shifts by taking into account drivability and fuel economy, which is then applied in the PMP and ECMS. Comparison of different EMSs is conducted by means of fuel economy, battery state-of-charge charge-sustainability, and computational efficiency. Moreover, battery ageing is included in the optimization solution by utilizing a control-oriented model, aiming to fulfill one of the main cost-related design concerns in the development of HEVs. Through a unified framework, the torque split and battery degradation are simultaneously optimized in this study. Simulations are carried out for DP, PMP, and ECMS to analyze their features, wherein results indicate that DP obtains the best fuel economy compared with other methods. Additionally, the difference between DP and PMP is about 2% in terms of fuel economy. The observations from analysis results provide a good insight into the merits and demerits of each approach.

Photothermal AFM-IR spectroscopy and imaging: Status, challenges, and trends

This article focuses on the atomic force microscopy-infrared (AFM-IR) technique and its recent technological developments. Based on the detection of the photothermal sample expansion signal, AFM-IR combines the high spatial resolution of atomic force microscopy with the chemical identification capability of infrared spectroscopy to achieve submicrometric physico-chemical analyses. Since the first publication in 2005, technological improvements have dramatically advanced the capabilities of AFM-IR in terms of spatial and spectral resolution, sensitivity, and fields of applications. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of these developments and ongoing limitations. We summarize recent progress in AFM-IR implementations based on the major AFM contact, tapping, and peak force tapping modes. Additionally, three new trends are presented, namely, AFM-IR applied to mineral samples, in fluid and a novel, purely surface sensitive AFM-IR configuration, to probe top layers. These trends demonstrate the immense potential of the technique and offer a good insight into the scope of AFM-IR.

Optimizing the effect of charging electric vehicles on distribution transformer using demand side management

This paper mainly aims to present the demand side management (DSM) of electric vehicles (EVs) by considering distribution transformer capacity at a residential area. The objective functions are formulated to obtain charging schedule for individual owner by i) minimizing the load variance and ii) price indicated charging mechanism. Both the objective functions profit the owner in the following ways: i) fulfilling their needs, ii) minimizing overall charging cost, iii) lessening the peak load, and iv) avoiding the overloading of distribution transformer. The proposed objective functions were worked on a residential area with 8 houses each house with an EV connected to a 20 kVA distribution transformer. The formulations were tested in LINGO platform optimization modeling software for linear, nonlinear, and integer programming. The results obtained were compared which gives good insight of EV load scheduling without actual price prediction.

Atherosclerosis- Preventing CVD by Increasing Awareness Regarding Risk Factors

Atherosclerosis- Preventing CVD by Increasing Awareness Regarding Risk Factors

RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE WORKLOAD OF A FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER OVER TWO SEASONS - SINGE CASE STUDY

In recent years, the use of advanced wearable technologies in tennis has improved the ability to monitor workload and performance indicators. Using the device Armbeep Tennis, attached to the wrist of an entry level female tennis player, we recorded 97% of the tennis training and all official matches over two annual competitive seasons. The aim of the study was to determine the variation of different workload indicators during the preparation and competition phases in one annual season and to compare the workload indicators between the two seasons. We found no significant differences in the results of the training, tournament, and performance indicators between the two seasons. Our tennis player trained more on average in the second year (Y1 = 90.9 min, Y2 = 97.5 min) and the percentage of active time was also higher (Y1 = 30.6%, Y2 = 32.4%). A higher number of shots per week (Y1 = 3109.1, Y2 = 2869.4) was observed in the first year, while the number of shots per hour was higher in the second year (Y1 =420.6, Y2 = 430.1). The pace of the rally was higher in the first year (Y1 = 24.6, Y2 = 23.4). The differences between the other workload indicators were not significant in the two years. This single case study provides good insight into the overall progression of training and competition over two annual seasons and can serve as a basis for determining workload indicators for novice tennis players or those just embarking on this path.

Critical Review of Polymer Flooding in Daqing Field and Pelican Field: Case Studies of the World’s Largest Polymer Flooding in Light and Heavy Oil Reservoirs, Respectively

Aim: Polymer flooding is a promising chemical enhanced oil recovery. Originally it was thought that polymer flooding was not economical. The polymer flooding in Daqing field China has proved otherwise. After that, it was thought that polymer flooding could only be successful in light oil reservoirs, but then polymer flooding was implemented in Pelican field in Canada on a large scale and recorded success.&#x0D; Methodology: The methodology employed was to review polymer flooding from inception, beginning from the work of Kingsley Detling in 1944 who got a patent in the USA to late 1970’s, thus early history of polymer flooding was a good insight for this paper. The mechanism of polymer flooding was also captured; improving the mobility ratio of water with a water soluble polymer is what helps for better sweep efficiency. The successful polymer flooding in Daqing field China has made many companies to understand this technology and go for polymer flooding. Polymer flooding of Daqing field has helped China’s oil and gas industry. Polymer flooding is now used to recover heavy oil especially for deep reservoirs with thin pay zone. Pelican field in Canada has carried out the largest polymer flooding implementation in the world and has proven that polymer flooding can be used for heavy oil and given a new screening parameter for polymer flooding. &#x0D; Results: This review has captured the critical aspects of polymer flooding both in light oil reservoirs-Daqing field, China and heavy oil reservoirs-Pelican field, Canada.&#x0D; Conclusion: This review has proven that polymer flooding is a promising Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery technology in both light oil and heavy oil reservoirs and it is used to increase the ultimate recovery of some fields and could help any country to remain relevant in the oil and gas sector. Using polymer flooding to recover heavy oil proves more efficient and more economical. Because, polymer flooding does not require a lot of heat as in thermal flooding, there is reduction in global green house gas effect.&#x0D; Recommendation: It is recommended that companies use polymer flooding to recover their oil from light oil reservoirs and most importantly increase production and recovery in heavy oil fields.

A Cross-Sectional, Questionnaire-Based Study on Drug Treatment Awareness in Schizophrenia Patients and Caregivers: An Unexplored Avenue.

Background:Schizophrenia is associated with high relapse rates, and medication nonadherence is a major factor contributing toward relapse. Since medication adherence and treatment awareness are linked, an alarming need was felt to evaluate the level of drug treatment awareness in patients who have schizophrenia. Besides, patients who have schizophrenia are often dependent on their caregivers for medications. Hence, the current study was also designed to look into drug treatment awareness among caregivers.Methods:This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia as per The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition were included, provided they had good insight and had been prescribed medications at the study center for at least three months. Caregivers were included using the Pollak and Perlick criteria. The sociodemographic profile of the patients and caregivers was recorded, and further assessment for treatment awareness was done using the prevalidated Drug Treatment Awareness Questionnaire (DTAQ).Results:A total of 166 patients and 157 caregivers were enrolled. Mean drug awareness scores among patients and caregivers did not show statistically significant differences (P= 0.22). Mean ± SD DTAQ awareness scores in patients and caregivers were 12.57 ± 1.81 and 12.84 ± 1.91, respectively. The majority of patients and caregivers (> 90%) possessed awareness in domains related to past medication records and in that of re-visit/re-contact instructions. Awareness was least commonly seen in relation to side effects of medications and details of the prescribed medications, where only about 50% of patients and caregivers possessed awareness. No clinically significant correlation was found between sociodemographic factors and drug treatment awareness scores.Conclusion:Drug treatment awareness in patients and caregivers was comparable and was not reliant on the sociodemographic factors. Special interventions should be conducted to raise drug treatment awareness among patients having insight and their caregivers.

Performance of a capstone gas turbine based power plant working on high Butane LPG

This paper presents the operational performance results of a 30 kW microturbine generator (MTGs) fed with high butane content liquefied petroleum gas, while subjected to a test procedure involving steady and transient load conditions. To evaluate the performance, measurements of turbine and generator parameters were gathered from its original unit controller, as load changes were applied. For the stand-alone mode detailed graphs of the test results are presented, showing the transparency and robustness of the turbine-generator set to the used fuel, judging by the quality of the output electric parameters. The results from this performance testing provide good insight into the use of high-butane content liquefied petroleum gas as fuel for the tested microturbine. The continuous use of a fuel would need more tests to establish that the life of the critical components of the microturbine are not hampered from what they are on the baseline fuel.&#x0D; The course of selected performance parameters in the microturbine generator is described in this document. The analysis of test results of the microturbine under steady-state and transient operation have been made. Both in steady state and transient conditions, values of output power, speed fluctuation, emissions, noise levels, and exhaust gas temperatures remained under acceptable levels.

Stronger together: Analytical techniques for recombinant adeno associated virus

With recent FDA approval of two recombinant adeno‐associated virus (rAAV)‐based gene therapies, these vectors have proven that they are suitable to address monogenic diseases. However, rAAVs are relatively new modalities, and their production and therapy costs significantly exceed those of conventional biologics. Thus, significant efforts are made to improve the processes, methods, and techniques used in manufacturing and quality control (QC). Here, we evaluate transmission electron microscopy (TEM), analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), and two modes of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for their ability to analyze the DNA encapsidated by rAAVs. While TEM and AUC are well‐established methods for rAAV, capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) has been just recently proposed for viral genome sizing. The data presented reflect that samples are very complex, with various DNA species incorporated in the virus, including small fragments as well as DNA that is larger than the targeted transgene. CGE provides a good insight in the filling of rAAVs, but the workflow is tedious and the method is not applicable for the determination of DNA titer, since a procedure for the absolute quantification (e.g., calibration) is not yet established. For estimating the genome titer, we propose a simplified capillary zone electrophoresis approach with minimal sample preparation and short separation times (<5 min/run). Our data show the benefits of using the four techniques combined, since each of them alone is prone to delivering ambiguous results. For this reason, a clear view of the rAAV interior can only be provided by using several analytical methods simultaneously.