Search

The building and construction sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), experiencing rapid growth, is in the early stages of embracing sustainability measures. In the years ahead, the booming building sector in business-as-usual scenarios may pose serious energy and environmental challenges for the Kingdom. This situation will require the Saudi building sector to adopt robust sustainability measures. Embedding life cycle assessment (LCA) as a standard practice can be a useful strategy for improving the energy and environmental footprint of buildings. This paper proposes a theoretical framework within which to promote LCA in the Saudi Arabian construction industry. This framework comprises three pillars: policy, social, and technical. The framework covers the role of the Saudi building sector's stakeholders such as policy makers, building industry professionals, representatives of relevant governmental bodies, and academics. Adaptation of this LCA framework can help substantially improve the energy and environmental performance of buildings. The proposed LCA framework is aligned with the international as well as the Saudi government's drive for sustainability in the building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Inequities in palliative and end-of-life care access exist, with evidence of lower uptake of these services among people from the British Muslim community. Little research exists exploring the experiences of British Muslims with palliative care needs and their families during the pandemic or before.Aim To coproduce peer research exploring the experiences of British Muslims with palliative care needs and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design A collaborative peer research interview study. Peer researchers were recruited and trained to undertake qualitative interviewing. Data were analysed using reflective thematic analysis.Setting/participants 3 peer researchers conducted 11 telephone interviews (10 in English and 1 in Urdu) between August and September 2021 with 12 participants (5 people with palliative care needs and 7 family carers).Results Four themes were identified: (1) issues in accessing healthcare exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the impact on family carers, (3) variation in support from community groups and (4) social and information exclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges to accessing healthcare services for British Muslims with palliative care needs. Family members experienced the cumulative impact of supporting people with palliative needs while also advocating for and supporting them to access the care they required. Language barriers, digital exclusion and uncertainly about how to access information, in addition to the apparent lack of consideration of important festivals in the Muslim calendar in the implementation of policies around lockdowns, culminated in a sense of exclusion from COVID-19-related policies and messaging for this population.Conclusions These findings support the need to involve people from diverse backgrounds in the design and delivery of healthcare services and policies. Learning from this unique time in our histories should be used to shape future delivery of culturally aware and inclusive care.

Accidental injuries in the pediatric population are common. The response to injury also differs owing to anatomical and physiological differences in children. While such injuries carry a risk of lifelong morbidity, some cases may follow a benign course despite their distressing appearance. We report two cases of accidentally incurred penetrating trauma in the pediatric population with unusual objects, including a pencil and a toy wheel. Despite their intracranial extension, neither of the patients exhibited any discernible neurological deficits. Penetrating brain injuries require early removal and meticulous perioperative care to minimize the risk of long-term adverse neurological events in children.

Enhanced heat transfer rates in microchannel flow remain challenging in terms of channel design, proper selection of carrier fluid, and setting the appropriate flow conditions. Introducing extended surfaces, such as ribs, in microchannel design, and the use of nanofluids enable to enhance the thermal performance of the flow system. In the present study, heat transfer characteristics in a microchannel flow incorporating the ribs arrangements on the channel wall are considered and the influence of the ribs location and carrier fluid on the thermal performance of the channel is examined. Temperature and velocity variations in the channel are predicted numerically and the findings of the Nusselt number are compared with that obtained from the experiments. The location of ribs along the channel wall is altered and the resulting variation of the Nusselt number and pressure drop along the microchannel is assessed. Al2O3 and TiO2 nanofluids are incorporated as a working fluid and water are also considered for the comparison. Temperature parameters are introduced to scale the rise of the maximum fluid temperature and temperature difference across the channel length. It is found that locating the ribs in the close region of the channel exit improves the Nusselt number by 25% and increases the pressure drop along the microchannel by 10% as compared to those corresponding to no-ribs arrangements. In addition, nanofluids improve the heat transfer rates and slightly alter the pressure drop across the microchannel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Penetrating trauma to the brain is a rare mode of self-harm in individuals with depressive psychosis. It may have variable presentations ranging from intact neurological status to non-survivable damage and the subjects may be surprisingly apathetic to pain. It is even unusual for such an injury to have an excellent prognosis despite coming late to clinical attention. Case presentations We report two cases of patients with psychotic depression who attempted suicide by hammering nails into their heads. On imaging, deep penetration within the brain parenchyma was noted; however, neither case had any neurological deficit or symptoms attributable to brain trauma. Conclusions Self-inflicted penetrating brain injuries with peculiar objects such as nails are rarely encountered in practice. They need prompt management for their removal and addressing the underlying mental health illnesses.

Obesity is one of the most pressing healthcare concerns of the twenty-first century. Obesity prevalence has risen dramatically in recent decades, and in 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and 650 million were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). About 50% of the world’s population is anticipated to be obese/overweight within the next decade. Obesity is a major risk factor for a variety of non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and a variety of malignancies. Obesity has emerged as a substantial risk factor for hospitalization and death from viral respiratory infections such as influenza A and the ongoing pandemic SARS-CoV-2. Several independent studies have indicated that obese/overweight patients are at a higher risk of severe disease and death from these respiratory diseases. Excess fat, particularly visceral fat, contributes to the development of a variety of metabolic disorders, including persistent systemic inflammation and decreased immunological function. As a result, the immunological response to infectious pathogens is weakened, resulting in poorer outcomes post-infection. Additionally, the poor lung mechanics associated with obesity may increase the risk of more serious respiratory infections. In this review, we address the likely mechanism(s) that predispose obese people to severe diseases caused by viral respiratory infections.

Placenta-derived stem cells (PDSCs), due to unique traits such as mesenchymal and embryonic characteristics and the absence of ethical constraints, are in a clinically and therapeutically advantageous position. To aid in stemness maintenance, counter pathophysiological stresses, and withstand post-differentiation challenges, stem cells require elevated protein synthesis and consequently augmented proteostasis. Stem cells exhibit source-specific proteostasis traits, making it imperative to study them individually from different sources. These studies have implications for understanding stem cell biology and exploitation in the augmentation of therapeutic applications. Here, we aim to identify the primary determinants of proteotoxic stress response in PDSCs. We generated heat-induced dose-responsive proteotoxic stress models of three stem cell types: placental origin cells, the placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs), maternal origin cells, the decidua parietalis mesenchymal stem cells (DPMSCs), and the maternal–fetal interface cells, decidua basalis mesenchymal stem cells (DBMSCs), and measured stress induction through biochemical and cell proliferation assays. RT-PCR array analysis of 84 genes involved in protein folding and protein quality control led to the identification of Hsp70 members HSPA1A and HSPA1B as the prominent ones among 17 significantly expressed genes and with further analysis at the protein level through Western blotting. A kinetic analysis of HSPA1A and HSPA1B gene and protein expression allowed a time series evaluation of stress response. As identified by protein expression, an active stress response is in play even at 24 h. More prominent differences in expression between the two homologs are detected at the translational level, alluding to a potential higher requirement for HSPA1B during proteotoxic stress response in PDSCs.

Introduction Culturally appropriate interventions to promote COVID-19 health protective measures among Black and South Asian communities in the UK are needed. We aim to carry out a preliminary evaluation of an intervention to reduce risk of COVID-19 comprising a short film and electronic leaflet.Methods and analysis This mixed methods study comprises (1) a focus group to understand how people from the relevant communities interpret and understand the intervention’s messages, (2) a before-and-after questionnaire study examining the extent to which the intervention changes intentions and confidence to carry out COVID-19 protective behaviours and (3) a further qualitative study exploring the views of Black and South Asian people of the intervention and the experiences of health professionals offering the intervention. Participants will be recruited through general practices. Data collection will be carried out in the community.Ethics and dissemination The study received Health Research Authority approval in June 2021 (Research Ethics Committee Reference 21/LO/0452). All participants provided informed consent. As well as publishing the findings in peer-reviewed journals, we will disseminate the findings through the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and ensure culturally appropriate messaging for participants and other members of the target groups.

Laser melting of steel based metal matrix composite composes of steel St 316 and St 4130 with 15% WC carbide particles is considered and the meltpool size, due to variation of laser pulse parameter and the number density of WC particles, is simulated. Laser pulse parameter is introduced to modify the laser pulse intensity distribution at the irradiated surface; in which case, increasing laser pulse parameter results in the laser peak intensity shift from the irradiated spot centre towards the irradiated spot edge. An experiment was carried out to validate the predictions of particle distribution in the irradiated region. It is found that predictions of the particle distribution in the resolidified meltpool agree well with the experimental data. Increasing laser pulse parameter lowers the maximum temperature significantly in the meltpool and modifies the meltpool geometry and reduces the meltpool size. Increasing the number density of WC particles lowers slightly the maximum temperature and the depth of the meltpool, which is attributed to the high melting temperature of WC particles as they remain in the solid phase in the meltpool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser consecutive pulse heating of a moving thin slab is considered and temperature field in the irradiated region is predicted. The influence of the duty cycle and the irradiated spot diameter on temperature rise is examined in details. A numerical model incorporating the final element method (FEM) model is introduced to predict temperature filed inside the irradiated substrate material. It is found that the effect of duty cycle on temperature rise is significant; in which case, increasing duty cycle results in attainment of high temperature at the irradiated surface. Increasing irradiated spot diameter enhances temperature rise at the irradiated spot centre. In this case, heat diffusion is suppressed by the attainment of low temperature gradient in the radial direction and the internal energy gain by the substrate material due to absorption of the incident radiation enhances temperature rise at the surface. Local melting occurs for low duty cycles, which in turn results in wavy appearance of the melted region along the laser scanning direction at the surface. Increasing duty cycle and irradiated spot diameter enhances the melt width size at the surface. The consecutive laser pulses gives rise to temperature rippling at the irradiated surface, which is more pronounced for low duty cycles and small irradiated spot diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The disease (COVID-19) novel coronavirus pandemic has so far infected millions resulting in the death of over a million people as of Oct 2020. More than 90% of those infected with COVID-19 show mild or no symptoms but the rest of the infected cases show severe symptoms resulting in significant mortality. Age has emerged as a major factor to predict the severity of the disease and mortality rates are significantly higher in elderly patients. Besides, patients with underlying conditions like Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and cancer have an increased risk of severe disease and death due to COVID-19 infection. Obesity has emerged as a novel risk factor for hospitalization and death due to COVID-19. Several independent studies have observed that people with obesity are at a greater risk of severe disease and death due to COVID-19. Here we review the published data related to obesity and overweight to assess the possible risk and outcome in Covid-19 patients based on their body weight. Besides, we explore how the obese host provides a unique microenvironment for disease pathogenesis, resulting in increased severity of the disease and poor outcome.

Background: Chronic viral hepatitis (CVH) is a leading contributor to the UK liver disease epidemic, with global migration from high prevalence areas (e.g., South Asia). Despite international guidance for testing high-risk groups in line with elimination targets, there is no consensus on how to achieve this. The objectives of this study were to assess the following: (1) the feasibility of recruiting South Asian migrants to view an educational film on CVH, (2) the effectiveness of the film in promoting testing and increasing knowledge of CVH, and (3) the methodological issues relevant to scale-up to a randomized controlled trial. Methods: South Asian migrants were recruited to view the film (intervention) in community venues (primary care, religious, community), with dried blood spot CVH testing offered immediately afterwards. Pre/post-film questionnaires assessed the effectiveness of the intervention. Results: Two hundred and nineteen first-generation migrants ≥18 years of age (53% female) were recruited to view the film at the following sites: religious, n = 112 (51%), community n = 98 (45%), and primary care, n = 9 (4%). One hundred and eighty-four (84%) underwent CVH testing; hepatitis B core antibody or hepatitis C antibody positivity demonstrated exposure in 8.5%. Pre-intervention (n = 173, 79%) and post-intervention (n = 154, 70%) questionnaires were completed. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of recruiting first-generation migrants to view a community-based educational film promoting CVH testing in this higher risk group, confirming the value of developing interventions to facilitate the global World Health Organization plan for targeted case finding and elimination, and a future randomized controlled trial. We highlight the importance of culturally relevant interventions including faith and culturally sensitive settings, which appear to minimize logistical issues and effectively engage minority groups, allowing ease of access to individuals ‘at risk’.

Heat stroke is among the most hazardous hyperthermia-related illnesses and an emerging threat to humans from climate change. Acute brain injury and long-lasting brain damage are the hallmarks of this condition. Hyperthermic neurological manifestations are remarkable for their damage correlation with stress amplitude and long-term persistence. Hyperthermia-induced protein unfolding, and nonspecific aggregation accumulation have neurotoxic effects and contribute to the pathogenesis of brain damage in heat stroke. Therefore, we generated heat-induced, dose-responsive extreme and mild proteotoxic stress models in medulloblastoma [Daoy] and neuroblastoma [SH-SY5Y] and differentiated SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. We show that heat-induced protein aggregation is associated with reduced cell proliferation and viability. Higher protein aggregation in differentiated neurons than in neuroblastoma precursors suggests a differential neuronal vulnerability to heat. We characterized the neuronal heat shock response through RT-PCR array analysis of eighty-four genes involved in protein folding and protein quality control (PQC). We identify seventeen significantly expressed genes, five of which are Hsp70 chaperones, and four of their known complementing function proteins. Protein expression analysis determined the individual differential contribution of the five Hsp70 chaperones to the proteotoxic stress response and the significance of only two members under mild conditions. The co-expression analysis reveals significantly high co-expression between the Hsp70 chaperones and their interacting partners. The findings of this study lend support to the hypothesis that hyperthermia-induced proteotoxicity may underlie the brain injury of heat stroke. Additionally, this study presents a comprehensive map of the Hsp70 network in these models with potential clinical and translational implications.

Muhammad Hamza Shuja, Syed Hasan Shuja Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Sindh, PakistanCorrespondence: Muhammad Hamza Shuja, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Karachi, 74200, Pakistan, Tel +923316079762, Email hamzashuja9825@gmail.com

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are expressed essentially on all cells, facilitating cellular responses to external stimuli, and are involved in nearly every biological process. Several members of this family play significant roles in the regulation of adipogenesis and adipose metabolism. However, the expression and functional significance of a vast number of GPCRs in adipose tissue are unknown. We used a high-throughput RT-PCR panel to determine the expression of the entire repertoire of non-sensory GPCRs in mouse white, and brown adipose tissue and assess changes in their expression during adipogenic differentiation of murine adipocyte cell line, 3T3-L1. In addition, the expression of GPCRs in subcutaneous adipose tissues from lean, obese, and diabetic human subjects and in adipocytes isolated from regular chow and high-fat fed mice were evaluated by re-analyzing RNA-sequencing data. We detected a total of 292 and 271 GPCRs in mouse white and brown adipose tissue, respectively. There is a significant overlap in the expression of GPCRs between the two adipose tissue depots, but several GPCRs are specifically expressed in one of the two tissue types. Adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells had a profound impact on the expression of several GPCRs. RNA sequencing of subcutaneous adipose from healthy human subjects detected 255 GPCRs and obesity significantly changed the expression of several GPCRs in adipose tissue. High-fat diet had a significant impact on adipocyte GPCR expression that was similar to human obesity. Finally, we report several highly expressed GPCRs with no known role in adipose biology whose expression was significantly altered during adipogenic differentiation, and/or in the diseased human subjects. These GPCRs could play an important role in adipose metabolism and serve as a valuable translational resource for obesity and metabolic research.

Solar thermal heating analysis of a tube in the presence of metallic meshes, resembling the mobile thermal battery, is carried out. The influence of metallic meshes on the heat-transfer rates inside the tube is examined in detail. Structured aluminum meshes are incorporated into the tube while stagnant water is assumed as the working fluid inside the tube. Numerical analysis using the control-volume approach is incorporated to solve the governing equations of heat transfer and fluid flow inside the tube. The dimensionless temperature parameter is introduced to quantify the excessive local heating inside the tube with and without meshes under the solar-concentrated irradiation. It is found that aluminum meshes act like a conduction tree and enhance the heat-transfer rates in water inside the tube. The local excessive heating and large temperature difference are avoided inside the tube when the aluminum meshes are used inside the tube. The influence of natural convection current on the heat-transfer rates is found to be insignificant when the aluminum mesh is present inside the tube. This behavior is associated with the small mesh volumes, which are occupied by water; in this case, small temperature difference in the cell causes small variation in water density while suppressing the natural convection current formed in the cell. Small oscillation in the temperature parameter is observed along the - and -axes inside the tube because of the high rates of heat transfer toward water in the region close to the aluminum x y meshes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal performance of a solar volumetric receiver incorporating the different cell geometric configurations is investigated. Triangular, hexagonal, and rectangular absorbing cells are incorporated in the analysis. The fluid volume fraction, which is the ratio of the volume of the working fluid over the total volume of solar volumetric receiver, is introduced to assess the effect of cell size on the heat transfer rates in the receiver. In this case, reducing the fluid volume fraction corresponds to increasing cell size in the receiver. SiC is considered as the cell material, and air is used as the working fluid in the receiver. The Lambert's Beer law is incorporated to account for the solar absorption in the receiver. A finite element method is used to solve the governing equation of flow and heat transfer. It is found that the fluid volume fraction has significant effect on the flow field in the solar volumetric receiver, which also modifies thermal field in the working fluid. The triangular absorbing cell gives rise to improved effectiveness of the receiver and then follows the hexagonal and rectangular cells. The second law efficiency of the receiver remains high when hexagonal cells are used. This occurs for the fluid volume fraction ratio of 0.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mobile thermal battery operating under concentrated solar heating is considered and the performance analysis for assessment of thermal storage characteristics is presented. Aluminum meshes are incorporated to enhance heat conduction in the working fluid, water. A rotation of the thermal battery along the solar concentrator centerline is introduced in the analysis to realize almost uniform heating at the outer surface of the thermal battery. Governing equations of heat transfer and fluid flow, due to density variation and centrifugal force, are solved numerically. The predictions of numerical code are validated through the previous experimental data. The findings revealed that temperature predictions agree well with the experimental data reported earlier. The use of metallic meshes in the working fluid increases heat transfer and reduces the time needed to reach the desired temperature in the working fluid. The rotation of the thermal battery resulted in almost uniform temperature rise in the working fluid and reduced the difference between maximum and minimum temperatures in the thermal energy-storage medium. This behavior is more pronounced for the case when the rotational speed of the thermal battery increases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The heat transfer characteristics of liquid droplets are influenced by the hydrophobicity of the surfaces. Fluid properties and surface energy play important roles in heat transfer assessment. In the present study, the influence of the contact angle on the flow field developed inside a nanofluid droplet consisting of a mixture of water and carbon nanotubes (CNT) is investigated. Flow field and heat transfer characteristics are simulated numerically in line with the experimental conditions. It is found that the flow velocity predicted numerically is in good agreement with the experimental data. Nusselt and Bond numbers increase at large contact angles and Marangoni force dominates over buoyancy force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser shock processing of 6061-T6 aluminium alloy is carried out. Temperature and stress fields are simulated in line with the experimental conditions. Metallurgical changes due to the laser shock and microhardness in the laser treated region are examined using analytical tools that include scanning and transmission electron microscopes and microhardness tester. The depth of shock affected region, plastic strain, and dislocation density are determined numerically and experimentally in the laser treated region. It is found that the temperature attains high values at the centre of the irradiated spot resulting in high rate of evaporation at the surface. The recoil pressure formed, due to high evaporation rate, at the laser treated surface results in plastic deformation of about 500 mm below the surface. A dislocation density of the order 2 × 1013 to 4 × 1013 cm-2 occurs in the surface region. Although high temperature gradients result in high stress levels in the region below the surface vicinity, high recoil pressure results in crack free surface with compressive stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal characteristics of the phase change process due to three different configurations of the solution domain are studied using n-octadecene as a phase change material (PCM). The configurations include the PCM only, aluminum foam filled with the PCM, and aluminum mesh in the presence of the PCM. The time taken for the complete melting of the PCM is predicted for each configuration. In the analysis, the amount of PCM is kept the same for all configurations, and the amount of aluminum material is kept constant in the aluminum foam and the aluminum mesh configurations. The performance characteristics are the dimensionless temperature ratio ((Tmax − Tb)/(Tmax − Tin), where Tmaxis the maximum temperature, Tbis the bulk temperature, and Tinis the initial temperature), the minimum liquid fraction, the ratio of the cumulative energy stored during phase change over the total energy input to the storage system, and the total molten mass over the total mass of the PCM in each configuration. An experiment is conducted to verify the predictions of the numerical simulations for the aluminum foam. It is found that the experimental findings of the molten states of the PCM in the aluminum foam agree well with their counterparts predicted from the simulations. Aluminum mesh in the presence of the PCM significantly shortens the time required for complete melting in the thermal storage system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser heating of AISI 304 steel surfaces is modelled and the temperature field in the irradiated region is predicted numerically. The steel surface is considered to be composed of uniformly distributed tungsten carbide particles of 2.5 mm diameter while resembling the laser sintering process. The effect of the laser beam radius on the temperature field is investigated for the same configuration of particle distribution in the irradiated region. The phase change process taking place during the heating process is modelled by using the enthalpy-porosity method and resulting melt fraction ratios are predicted in the irradiated region. Experiment were carried out using a CO2 laser to verify the predictions of the melt layer thickness for various laser beam radiuses. It is found that the melt depth predicted for various laser beam radiuses agree well with their counterparts obtained from the experiment. The maximum temperature in the melt pool is higher than the melting temperature of steel; however, it is lower than the melting temperature of the tungsten carbide particles. The melted region composes of the liquid and the mushy zones. The size of the liquid zone increases with increasing laser beam radius. The same argument is true for the mush zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser gas-assisted drilling of holes into alumina coated carbon steel is considered and heat transfer characteristics and the skin friction at the wall surface are investigated for various gases. The hole wall is considered to be at the melting temperature of the coating material and carbon steel to resemble the drilling process in the simulations. Laser drilling experiments are carried out to demonstrate the thermal erosion in the close region of the coating and the base material interface. It is found that the presence of coating at the hole inlet increases the assisting gas temperature significantly in the vicinity of the coating. This, in turn, results in heat transfer from assisting gas to the hole wall while causing thermal erosion at the interface region between the alumina coating and the carbon steel. The skin friction changes for different assisting gases and helium results in the highest skin friction at the hole wall surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]