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This paper presents an overview of solar dryer technologies, highlighting current concerns, offering potential research directions, and gathering the most recent advancements. A sustainable and environmentally beneficial way to preserve food products, agricultural produce, and other commodities is solar drying. The review starts off by explaining the basic ideas behind solar drying procedures, including different design setups and operating parameters. The performance of various solar dryer types- direct, indirect, and hybrid systems- is methodically assessed in this paper, with a focus on each system’s benefits and drawbacks. Indirect natural convection solar drying technique was used to dry banana slices with drying efficiency of 22.38%. Also, v shape corrugations were used on absorber plate to further improve the drying efficiency. It also covers new developments in design elements and materials that improve the dependability and efficiency of solar dryers. Absorber plates were coated with black paint containing 1% graphene nanomaterial. Impact of thickness of glass cover on drying efficiency was studied. Parabolic concentrators are used to enhance the efficiency of solar dryers. The drying time was reduced by 21% compared with solar dryers without concentrator. Additionally, the review covers important factors like affordability, scalability, and adaptability to various applications and climates. Major Findings: The performance of various solar dryers has been studied in this paper. It has been found that drying efficiency can be improved by providing black paint coating containing 1% graphene nanomaterial. Parabolic concentrators have a significant impact on the performance of solar dryers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a case of an 83-year-old man who underwent thoracoplasty for tuberculous empyema 50 years ago. The patient presented with respiratory distress and required mechanical ventilation due to acute-on-chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. Thoracoplasty, a procedure involving resecting multiple ribs to collapse cavities, was performed in the prechemotherapeutic era for tuberculosis-related complications. Long-term complications of thoracoplasty include restrictive chest wall defects, ventilatory defects, and cardiopulmonary failure, highlighting the importance of recognizing and managing these issues in respiratory care. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The indications for pediatric airway endoscopy are expanding and a variety of therapeutic interventions are feasible for central airway obstruction (CAO) and other central airway pathologies, apart from foreign body removal., Methods: In this retrospective chart review from four centers, we describe the indications, procedures, outcomes, and complications of therapeutic bronchoscopic interventions in children for non foreign-body removal indications., Results: A total of 72 children (mean age:140 [60.4] months) underwent 143 therapeutic bronchoscopic airway interventions under general anesthesia, via a rigid or flexible bronchoscope or both, between January 2015 and November 2023. 67 (93%) had CAO. The most common diagnoses were posttubercular tracheobronchial stenosis (29%) followed by central airway tumor (26%) and postintubation/posttracheostomy tracheal stenosis (26%). Airway stenosis (subglottic/tracheal/bronchial) was the commonest bronchoscopic finding (43 [59.7%]) followed by endoluminal growth/mass (21 [29.2%]). The most frequently performed procedure was airway dilatation (38, 52.7%), using balloon dilators (89.5%) or rigid bronchoscope (10.5%). Endoluminal tumor debulking was performed in 21 (29%). Assistive modalities included electrocautery (44%), mechanical debulking (10%), cryotherapy (10%), or laser (4%). Airway stent insertion alone or in combination with airway dilatation or debulking was performed in 24 (33.3%) children. The airway conduit used was supraglottic airway in 19 (26%) and rigid bronchoscope in 53 (74%) children. Immediate procedural success was observed in 66 (92%) patients. Fourteen (19.4%) patients had minor procedural complications. Thirty-three (46%) children required a repeat bronchoscopic procedure., Conclusion: Like adults, multimodality therapeutic bronchoscopic airway interventions are feasible and safe in children for CAO and other central airway indications., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)