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This work examines how ash and the mineral elements in four bamboo culm growth stages (shoot, juvenile, mature and dead) can affect fuel conversion technology plants through slagging, fouling, and corrosion. 48 samples consisting of the shoot; juvenile; mature and dead culms were tested for ash content and ash mineral elements. The mean values of ash contents of the bamboo culm growth stages across the three ecological zones were from 0.93% to 2.11%. The contents were within the threshold approved in the EN standards EN 14775 ≥3%. The mean values of carbon across the culm growth stages ranged from 48.46% to 53.31%. Hydrogen among the bamboo culms ranged from 5.60 to 7.04%. Higher carbon and hydrogen contents lead to higher heating values. Nitrogen among the culm growth stages ranged from 0.31 to 0.79%. The concentration levels of N in the culms were within the threshold prescribed in the EN standards EN 15104 ≥ 1%. The mean Cu concentration of mature culms ranged from 0.89-1.31 ppm; Zn ranged from 2.74-3.25 ppm; As varies from 0.055 to 0.078 ppm; Ni ranges from 0.43-0.85 ppm and Cd in the mature bamboo culm ranged from 0.81 to 3.66 ppm. Amount the minor ash elementals calcium in the mature culm ranged from 16.70 to 26.49 ppm; potassium (K) from 0.42-2.45 ppm and Mg from Ca and Mg contents increases the melting point of ash K content lowers the melting point of ash which can cause slagging. The concentrations of minor and heavy metals were below the standard set by EN 1496 1-2 and therefore may not cause problems to human health or slagging to combustion plants for the production of biofuels.

Background Double-chambered left ventricle is a congenital condition that rarely presents in adulthood. This case report illustrates the common cardiac imaging modalities and presents the diagnostic challenges. Material and method Clinical history and cardiac imaging was obtained using electronic systems and E-letters. Literature search was performed using PubMed with keywords including double-chambered ventricle and congenital heart disease. Discussion A 76-year-old female presented with breathlessness, her transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed severely impaired bi-ventricular function. An incidental echogenic structure was identified and treated initially as a left ventricular (LV) thrombus. Follow-up cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with perfusion confirmed the LV apical mass, but thought was more in keeping with a tumour. Further investigations with a gated cardiac Computerised Tomography (CT) and a review of the original CMR demonstrated appearances that were consistent with a developmental congenital double-chambered left ventricle rather than a false aneurysm or thrombus. This was confirmed on repeat CMR and with enhancement and transoesophageal echocardiogram (TOE) on 3D reconstruction. A discussion between Cardiologist and Cardiac Surgeons concluded that she is unlikely to benefit from any surgical intervention. The patient has since had significant improvement in LV function with medical therapy. Conclusions This report highlights an interesting case where congenital double-chambered left ventricle can act as a mimic for left ventricular thrombus or tumour. Current cardiac imaging modalities can be used in combination to achieve the diagnosis. It also demonstrates that pharmacological therapy alone is an adequate treatment to manage the symptoms of severely impaired bi-ventricular function in these patients.

A number of car following models have been developed and calibrated for the purpose of understanding and simulating the behaviour of driving under various traffic and transportation management systems. Such studies are useful for safety impact studies, network analysis and capacity analysis. However bus following is a special behaviour, which impacts on other traffic especially in the absence of dedicated bus lanes. This paper reports on a study in the City of Edinburgh which was undertaken to investigate and understand the behaviour of buses in the city. A commuter bus equipped with a data logging device was followed by an instrumented vehicle to collect data to study bus following behaviour. A model of distance difference as a function of the acceleration/deceleration, speed and speed difference has been developed for bus following behaviour. The GHR model was used to investigate and calibrate the parameters of the model of the car following a bus. The study findings show that the speed and acceleration of the following vehicle are influenced by the leading commuter bus in both acceleration and deceleration regimes. The results also show that a car following a bus behaves differently to a car following a car. This is because of the limited visibility, huge delays for buses on the corridor and the different driving characteristics of the bus with respect to the car.

Summary Background The deleterious effects of climate change mean that environmental sustainability is increasingly becoming a moral and economic necessity. Consequently, clinicians will increasingly be called upon to manage the effects of health care on climate change, and they must therefore do as much as is practically possible to limit the negative effects of their practice on the environment. As medical educators we have the opportunity not only to reduce the environmental impact of our own clinical practice, but also that of those who we teach, through innovation. Such novelty can be explored during student-selected components (SSCs). Clinicians will increasingly be called upon to manage effects of health care on climate change Context The project, entitled ‘Can we introduce sustainability to clinical skills teaching?’ was led by two third-year medical students during their SSC periods. New ways to make existing skills more sustainable were explored by surveying existing practice in the workplace, analysing selected skills in a lab-based setting and through discussions with sustainability champions. Innovation Cannulation and intravenous (IV) antibiotic preparation were chosen by the students as prototype skills. These skills were observed by the students in the workplace and adapted by them to appease the ‘triple bottom line’ of sustainability: environmental, social and economic factors were addressed. The revised skills were taught by the students to their peers in a sustainably conscious fashion. Implications Provided that such innovations in sustainable skills teaching are deemed appropriate by clinical skills directors, such methods could be adopted across medical schools and expanded to cover a wider range of skills.

The authors examine the direct and moderating effects of firm-specific managerial experience on the relationship between social capital and performance. Using data from Ghana, the findings show that social capital from bureaucratic officials and community leaders, as well as firm-specific managerial experience, have a positive influence on performance, while social capital from politicians has a negative influence on firm performance. Furthermore, firm-specific managerial experience positively moderates the relationship between (a) social capital from politicians and performance, and (b) social capital from community leaders and performance. Therefore, firm-specific managerial experience attenuates the detrimental effects of social capital from politicians on performance. The findings contribute to knowledge in the social capital and resource-based view literature.