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Accurate measurement of vital signs are important at skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Recent technological advancements now enable automated vital sign measurements. This overcomes the limitations of traditional manual vital sign measurement, which is time-consuming and error-prone. We present a novel case where continuous vital sign measurement was used to detect meaningful vital sign changes that led to early detection of a COVID-19 outbreak at a SNF. Residents were continuously monitored for changes to baseline respiratory rate and heart rate and with a Probability of Change (POC). Variations in baseline respiratory rate and heart rate occurred in 66% and 42%, respectively, of COVID-19 positive individuals; 83% of participants had statistically significant variations in either vital sign. Clinical investigations are typically triggered by vital signs outside normal ranges. We present a novel methodology to detect subtle vital sign changes that can lead to earlier diagnosis, treatment, and recovery from infections, like COVID-19.

The apparel industry in Bangladesh produces rejected garments while manufacturing high-quality exportable garments. This industry faces challenges in managing rejected garments as they contribute to waste generation. The purpose of this study was to explore the current policy of managing rejected garments and look for a more sustainable business model or policy. This research collected opinions and information from 18 different garment manufacturing industries regarding rejected garments and buyers’ and manufacturers’ existing policies for managing the rejected garments. The results of the study show that there is no particular guideline from the buyers for managing rejected garments; consequently, the manufacturers handle these garments in their own way. A novel and more sustainable business model for the clothing business was proposed to align the business with the Sustainable Development Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production). This model urges collaborative efforts between buyers and manufacturers to capture more value from rejected garments and extend their lifecycle. The proposed framework will benefit relevant stakeholders, minimise waste generation and reduce the impact of fast fashion.

A need for a prosthetic hand device has arisen based on the fact that many people lose one of their upper limbs for various reasons. Many systems are available to control prosthetic hands, such as electromyography (EMG) and mechanomyography (MMG). These systems present many problems, including complexity, high cost, and other issues. Voice commands are among the solutions recommended to address these issues. The proliferation of the Internet, voice recognition technology built into mobile phones, and Internet of Things (IoT) technology has facilitated the use of voice commands to operate prosthetic devices. In this paper, robotic prosthetics were controlled using this technology in the context of five different movement classes. This study involved five participants and reports as accuracy rate of 97%.

Diseases caused by intestinal parasites impose a substantial burden on population of middle income countries including Pakistan. This research was aimed to assess the risk factors for intestinal parasites in school children of Malakand, Pakistan. Two hundred and eighty eight students were enrolled between February and June 2016. Out of the total enrolled 184 were agreed to collect stool specimens. A questionnaire was also used to collect the data on socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the participants. All the students were guided to collect at least 10gof their own stool specimens. Each of the stool specimens was diagnosed for the presence of any stage of helminth or protozoal parasites. Formal ether concentration method and wet mount techniques were applied. One way ANOVA was used for calculation of P value when it was less than 0.05 which was considered significant. Eighty two percent of the participants were found infected with one species of parasite while 69.9% of the participants were infected with more than one species of intestinal parasites. The most prevalent parasite was hook worm 33.4% (n = 99/296) followed by Taenia saginata 28.7% (n = 85/296), Ascaris lumbricoides 27.7% (n = 82/296), Hymenolepis nana 6.08% (n = 18/296), Entamoeba histolytica 3.37% (n = 10/296) and least for each Enterobius vermicularis and Fasciola hepatica 0.37% (n = 1/296). Previously used drugs, level in school, ages, weight and upper arm circumference were the most significantly (P

Electrocoagulation has demonstrated its efficacy in treating industrial effluents by effectively removing pollutants, particularly metallic contaminants. The electrochemical processes occurring at aluminum electrodes have shown excellent performance in this regard. In this study, electrocoagulation experiments were conducted on an industrial effluent originating from an electroplating bath situated in Casablanca, Morocco. The primary objective was to eliminate chromium in the effluent and reuse the processed water for other applications within our facility. To achieve this goal, we systematically optimized various operational parameters influencing the electrocoagulation efficiency, including electrical voltage, electrode material, stirring speed, and electrode spacing. Additionally, we assessed their impact on pH, conductivity, and chromium concentration. The experiments were conducted in a well-mixed reactor using an industrial solution containing a high concentration of chromium, specifically 1 g/l of Cr (VI). The chromium removal efficiency was evaluated under specific operational conditions, including the use of aluminum electrodes, regulated voltages of 6 volts and 12 volts, an optimal stirring speed of 600 rpm, and an electrode spacing of 2 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present study was conducted to get information on helminth parasites of zoonotic importance among the black rats of district Swat, Pakistan. Two hundred and sixty nine rats were captured from agricultural ecosystem of the district using live captured traps from 2011 to 2013. Captured rats were anesthetized and surveyed for the presence of ectoparasites, then were carefully dissected for investigation of endoparsites. Helminth parasites of 8 species were identified. Presence of parasite was noticed in 23.7% of sampled rats. The infection rates of sampled rats was given in order of their infectivity as Syphacia obvelata 13(4.83%), Aspiculuris tetraptera 13(4.83%), Heterakis spumosa 12 (4.46%), Hymenolepis spp. 9(3.34%), H.diminuta 8(2.97%), Hymenolepis fusa 4(1.48%), Lutziella microacetabularae 4(1.48%) and Lutziella spp. 1 (0.37%). No significant difference (P

Many resilience definitions and metrics have been presented across various disciplines in recent times. However, from a design and operations perspective, a limited effort is focused on quantifying the resilience of oil and gas support structures. This study proposes a methodology for structural resilience quantification of an offshore hydrocarbon pipeline. Resilience is modelled as a function of the structure’s time-dependent reliability, adaptability, and maintainability. The proposed model is demonstrated on an internally corroded offshore natural gas pipeline segment with multiple initial defects; and considers disruptive events arising from the leak, burst, and rupture failure modes. The resilience index and sensitivity analysis are evaluated for the offshore pipeline. The pipeline sensitivity analysis indicates the apparent effect of pipe wall thickness and defect depth growth rate on resilience over its design life. The outcome of this study provides an insight into the resilience quantification of structural systems considering multiple disruptive events. The proposed model is expected to serve as an essential tool for resilience evaluation during the design and operations of oil and gas structures.

Background: The high rates of infection and mortalities initially caused by COVID-19, made anxiety and fear very common. With the increase of vaccination coverage, it is expected to detect changes in risk perception and fear of COVID-19, especially with the emergence of what so called "Pandemic Fatigue". The aim of this study was to assess COVID 19 risk perception after the vaccination era. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analytical study, using an online questionnaire including socio-demographic questions and COVID-19 risk perception questions. Results: The questionnaire was filled by 509 participants. Sociodemographic characters of the participants didn't affect the COVID-19 risk perception. The mean and median perceived efficacy scores were significantly higher in participants with no prior history of COVID-19 infection. Participants with positive attitude towards COVID-19 vaccine had significantly higher risk perception. Conclusion: COVID-19 risk perception is still query and not fully understood. This necessitates more studies to be conducted to explore it among different groups which may relate it to different determinants. Social media is the main source of knowledge among participants and should be professionally used for enhancing positive attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid economic growth and rising Oman population, Oman's annual energy demand has increased by approximately 9%. This percentage signifies that there is a considerable expansion of industries and other manufacturing sectors as the population increases. A study of the energy audit of International Maritime College Oman (IMCO) was conducted to determine the opportunities to save energy efficiency costs, which will be reflected positively in reducing the operational costs of the buildings. In this study, the annual energy consumption of IMCO buildings was simulated using DesignBuilder software. The validation of the simulation results was performed using monthly electricity consumption billing records, with an average of 7.4% during all months. Two strategies were proposed to manage energy consumption: replacing the traditional fluorescent lamp with a LED lamp light control and installing window solar films that are able to control solar heat. The simulation results of the two strategies showed 16% and 7.6% reductions, respectively, in energy consumption. A cost analysis of the findings was performed and showed a payback period of less than 2.5 years for both proposals.

Abstract The development of new scaling criteria for steam flooding process is presented in this paper. The mathematical development is done by using modified Darcy’s law, constitutive relationships, constraints, and the initial and boundary conditions. Dimensional and inspectional analyses are used to develop sets of dimensionless groups by incorporating rock and fluid memory concept. The variety of scaling criteria and their comparative advantages and limitations are discussed. Currently available scaling criteria development for steam flooding processes used the same fluid, same porous media in model and prototype. However, it requires a high-pressure model with different porous media, which causes difficulties in scaling properties, and therefore, largely depends on pressure and the porous media itself. In this paper, different methods are presented which permit scaling of all properties dependent on pressure or temperature by relaxing the requirements of geometric similarity. A set of relaxed scaling criteria is determined to satisfy a major mechanism. A comparative study of different approaches and their relative merits and demerits are discussed. Approach 2 (same fluids, same pressure drop, same porous medium, and geometric similarity) seems to be the most appropriate for the steam flooding process; however, gravitational forces cannot be scaled properly with this approach. Approach 3 (same fluids, same pressure drop, same porous media, and relaxed geometric similarity) is suitable for this process if the effect of transverse dispersion is considered negligible. Finally, a table is developed which can act as a guideline to select an appropriate approach that best scales a major mechanism for a specific steam flooding recovery process.

Introduction: The management of lung masses depends upon the nature of the mass i.e., being benign or malignant. The use of contrast based Computed Tomography (CT) scan helps in ascertaining the malignant nature of the lesion. In previous studies, computed tomographic evaluations are done to evaluate pulmonary nodules, but only few studies characterised the lung masses into benign and malignant lesions. Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a non invasive modality (dynamic contrast enhanced perfusion CT), in the characterisation of lung masses by comparing with histopathology. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at a tertiary care centre, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India from January 2018 to November 2019 where 62 patients between age group 20-80 years of both sexes with lung masses and no contraindications to the administration of iodinated contrast material were enrolled in the study. Dynamic Contrast Enhanced CT (DCE-CT) perfusion was done which included parameters like Blood Flow (BF) in mL/100 g/min, Blood Volume (BV) in mL/100 g, Mean Transit Time (MTT) in seconds, and Flow Extraction Product (FEP) in mL/100 mL/min. The DCE-CT features were compared with histopathology to determine the sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), and Negative Predictive Value (NPV). Results: Among the 62 lung mass cases included in the study, 30 were histopathologically found to be benign lesions and 32 were malignant lesions. On contrast enhancement, the values of the CT perfusion parameters among the malignant masses were significantly higher as compared to benign (p