| 1. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(author)
-
Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
-
In: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
|
|
| 2. |
- Kumar, Rohan, et al.
(author)
-
Transforming the transportation sector : Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through electric vehicles (EVs) and exploring sustainable pathways
- 2024
-
In: AIP Advances. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 2158-3226. ; 14:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Transportation-related emissions in Pakistan have been rapidly increasing in recent years. This study aims to determine how important it is to electrify road transportation in Pakistan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector. Motivated by the need to tackle the growing environmental issues related to conventional fuel-powered automobiles, this research explores the application of electrification techniques in the context of Pakistan’s transportation system. During the 2019 fiscal year, the transportation industry in Pakistan consumed 23 × 106 tonnes of energy from the burning of fossil fuels and produced 52.9 × 106 metric tons of CO2, which made up 31% of the country’s total carbon emissions. In this research, different scenarios, such as business as usual, low carbon, strengthen low carbon, and Pakistan National Electric Vehicle Policy 2040, are evaluated for the transportation sector of the country. Using the LEAP model, this study projects the effects of electrification on Pakistan road transportation over 30 years. When estimating how electrification will affect road transportation in Pakistan over the next 30 years, several factors were taken into account, including policy frameworks, changing consumer behavior, technology advancements, and infrastructure improvements. The analysis covered the emission levels, adoption hurdles, and possible advantages of transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs). The outcomes illustrate that adopting EVs can produce substantial drops in fuel consumption and environmental emissions, providing a sustainable solution to mitigate global warming. This work is directly associated with various Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG3 (good health and well-being), SDG7 (affordable and clean energy), and SDG13 (climate action). The results of this study highlight the considerable potential for GHG reduction associated with the widespread adoption of EVs, offering crucial insights to stakeholders and policymakers.
|
|
| 3. |
- Al-Obaidi, Mudhar A., et al.
(author)
-
Optimizing Reverse Osmosis Feed Spacer Design for Enhanced Dimethylphenol Removal from Wastewater: A Study of Hydrodynamics and Performance Indicators
- 2024
-
In: Water. - : MDPI. - 2073-4441. ; 16:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Due to its high pollutant rejection and low energy usage, the spiral wound module of reverse osmosis (RO) process is the most commonly used technology utilised in wastewater treatment. For a spiral wound module, the presence of a feed spacer is important as a key solution to mitigate the concentration polarisation phenomenon, due to disorderly fluid flow, and to improve the mass transfer coefficient. Undoubtedly, improvements in the spiral wound module design, mainly in the symmetrical shape of the feed spacer, can have a significant impact on the cost and probable use of these modules. Despite the wide interest in appraising the impact of feed spacer geometry and orientation on the performance of a spiral wound module for RO process-based water desalination, the hydrodynamics of feed spacers (pressure drop and mass transfer coefficient) and the associated influences of feed spacer design (the height of the feed spacer, the angle of the filaments, and the porosity) on the removal of pollutants from wastewater have not yet been addressed. The current investigation aims to fill this gap by studying the hydrodynamics and design parameters of the selected parallelogram feed spacer type ultrafiltration (UF−3) for the removal of dimethylphenol from wastewater. Using model-based simulation, the impacts of UF−3 feed spacer design parameters, including the height, angle between the filaments (orientation), and porosity on the pressure drop, friction factor, axial flow fluid velocity, mass transfer coefficient, water flux, dimethylphenol rejection, recovery rate, and specific energy consumption are detailed in this study. The study intends to demonstrate the optimum design features of UF−3 feed spacer that should be considered to assure the highest elimination of dimethylphenol from wastewater in addition to the lowest specific energy consumption.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
- Han, Yuanyuan, et al.
(author)
-
Graphene Based Mechanical Biosensor by Employing Non-covalent Stacking Functionalization
- 2019
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Herein we demonstrate a novel methodology to achieve mechanical biosensor by employing the distinguished interaction forces between the atomic force microscope (AFM) probe and sensor surfaces as the response signal. This mechanical biosensor is fabricated by utilizing the non-covalent π-π stacking of pyrene-maltose onto graphene surfaces with Concanavalin A (Con A) as a target protein. The atomic resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images indicate the successful formation of the self-assembled and densely packed pyrene-maltose layer on the sensor surface, which gives distinct atomic lattice structure as compared to pristine graphene. This mechanical biosensor exhibits detection of Con A with the sensitivity down to nanomolar level. Therefore, this proposed mechanical biosensor has the potential to be employed in a variety of bio-sensing applications.
|
|
| 6. |
- Han, Yuanyuan, et al.
(author)
-
Optimization and analysis of pyrene-maltose functionalized graphene surfaces for Con A detection
- 2020
-
In: Applied Surface Science. - : ELSEVIER. - 0169-4332 .- 1873-5584. ; 510
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Utilizing the non-covalent pi-pi stacking of pyrene functionalized molecules onto graphene surfaces has achieved great success in the detection of various bio-objects, while the fundamental investigations on surface modifications stills remain rarely exploited. Here, we report the nano and atomic scale analysis of the pi-pi stacking functionalized graphene surface regarding to its surface topography, molecular self-assembly as well as process optimizations. The 'amphipathic' molecule, pyrene-maltose, is used for the non-covalent functionalization of graphene and systematical analysis is performed to understand the influence of different solvents on the molecular surface arrangement. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectroscopy analysis indicate the successful formation of pyrene-maltose layer on graphene surface and it is further confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy, depicting the self-assembled and densely packed pyrene-maltose layer that give distinguished and ordered diamond-shape lattice as compared to triangular lattice in pristine graphene. We also demonstrated that the interfacial adhesion forces between the AFM probe and the functionalized surfaces allow the detection of the lectin protein Concavalin A through selective absorption. This work provides essential evidence of the pi-pi interactions between pyrene molecules and graphene, and the AFM based adhesion measurement also has the potential to be employed in a variety of bio-detection applications.
|
|
| 7. |
- Jafri, Syed Hassan Mujtaba, et al.
(author)
-
Conductivity engineering of graphene by defect formation
- 2010
-
In: Journal of Physics D. - : IOP Publishing. - 0022-3727 .- 1361-6463. ; 43:4, s. 045404-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Transport measurements have revealed several exotic electronic properties of graphene. The possibility to influence the electronic structure and hence control the conductivity by adsorption or doping with adatoms is crucial in view of electronics applications. Here, we show that in contrast to expectation, the conductivity of graphene increases with increasing concentration of vacancy defects, by more than one order of magnitude. We obtain a pronounced enhancement of the conductivity after insertion of defects by both quantum mechanical transport calculations as well as experimental studies of carbon nano-sheets. Our finding is attributed to the defect induced mid-gap states, which create a region exhibiting metallic behaviour around the vacancy defects. The modification of the conductivity of graphene by the implementation of stable defects is crucial for the creation of electronic junctions in graphene-based electronics devices.
|
|
| 8. |
- Munir, M. Adeel, et al.
(author)
-
Blockchain Adoption for Sustainable Supply Chain Management : Economic, Environmental, and Social Perspectives
- 2022
-
In: Frontiers in Energy Research. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-598X. ; 10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Due to the rapid increase in environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, the focus of researchers is shifted from economic to socio-environmental problems. Blockchain is a disruptive technology that has the potential to restructure the entire supply chain for sustainable practices. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that provides a digital database for recording all the transactions of the supply chain. The main purpose of this research is to explore the literature relevant to blockchain for sustainable supply chain management. The focus of this review is on the sustainability of the blockchain-based supply chain concerning environmental conservation, social equality, and governance effectiveness. Using a systematic literature review, a total of 136 articles were evaluated and categorized according to the triple bottom-line aspects of sustainability. Challenges and barriers during blockchain adoption in different industrial sectors such as aviation, shipping, agriculture and food, manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, and textile industries were critically examined. This study has not only explored the economic, environmental, and social impacts of blockchain but also highlighted the emerging trends in a circular supply chain with current developments of advanced technologies along with their critical success factors. Furthermore, research areas and gaps in the existing research are discussed, and future research directions are suggested. The findings of this study show that blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the entire supply chain from a sustainability perspective. Blockchain will not only improve the economic sustainability of the supply chain through effective traceability, enhanced visibility through information sharing, transparency in processes, and decentralization of the entire structure but also will help in achieving environmental and social sustainability through resource efficiency, accountability, smart contracts, trust development, and fraud prevention. The study will be helpful for managers and practitioners to understand the procedure of blockchain adoption and to increase the probability of its successful implementation to develop a sustainable supply chain network.
|
|
| 9. |
- Wani, Ishtiaq Hassan, 1985-, et al.
(author)
-
A sub 20 nm metal-conjugated molecule junction acting as a nitrogen dioxide sensor
- 2019
-
In: Nanoscale. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2040-3364 .- 2040-3372. ; 11:14, s. 6571-6575
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The interaction of a gas molecule with a sensing material causes the highest change in the electronic structure of the latter, when this material consists of only a few atoms. If the sensing material consists of a short, conductive molecule, the sensing action can be furthermore probed by connecting such molecules to nanoelectrodes. Here, we report that NO2 molecules that adhere to 4,4'-biphenyldithiol (BPDT) bound to Au surfaces lead to a change of the electrical transmission of the BPDT. The related device shows reproducible, stable measurements and is so far the smallest (<20 nm) gas sensor. It demonstrates modulation of charge transport through molecules upon exposure to nitrogen dioxide down to concentrations of 55 ppb. We have evaluated several devices and exposure conditions and obtained a close to linear dependence of the sensor response on the gas concentration.
|
|
