| 1. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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In: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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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.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Mannan, Hafiz Abdul, et al.
(author)
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Interfacial Tailoring of Polyether Sulfone-Modified Silica Mixed Matrix Membranes for CO2 Separation
- 2022
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In: Membranes. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0375. ; 12:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, in situ polymerization of modified sol-gel silica in a polyether sulfone matrix is presented to control the interfacial defects in organic-inorganic composite membranes. Polyether sulfone polymer and modified silica are used as organic and inorganic components of mixed matrix membranes (MMM). The membranes were prepared with different loadings (2, 4, 6, and 8 wt.%) of modified and unmodified silica. The synthesized membranes were characterized using Field emission electron scanning microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer, and differential scanning calorimetry. The performance of the membranes was evaluated using a permeation cell set up at a relatively higher-pressure range (5-30 bar). The membranes appear to display ideal morphology with uniform distribution of particles, defect-free structure, and absence of interfacial defects such as voids and particle accumulations. Additionally, the CO2/CH4 selectivity of the membrane increased with the increase in the modified silica content. Further comparison of the performance indicates that PES/modified silica MMMs show a promising feature of commercially attractive membranes. Therefore, tailoring the interfacial morphology of the membrane results in enhanced properties and improved CO2 separation performance.
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| 4. |
- Ahmad, Sheikh Asrar, et al.
(author)
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Use of digital thruster to separate the cadmium and lead metals from mixture sample
- 2008
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In: Separation and Purification Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-3794 .- 1383-5866. ; 63:1, s. 101-106
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present work deals with the use of a digital thruster (DT) for the separation of cadmium and lead metals from mixture samples. Mixtures of lead and cadmium salts with varying concentrations were injected into a free electrolytic diffusion apparatus (FEDA). The microcathodes surrounding the central anode were programmed witha DT. The DT distributed the charge over the microcathodes at time intervals of 100-900 mu s or at the frequency of 625-70 Hz. The microcathodes become electrodeposited with lead and cadmium metals, showing both separation and co-deposition. The purity of deposited metals was analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) using PerkinElmer and Aldrich AAS standards. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 5. |
- Jamil, Asif, et al.
(author)
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Novel CO2 Separation Membranes
- 2022
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In: Sustainable Carbon Capture. - Boca Raton : CRC Press. - 9781003162780 ; , s. 185-208
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Using membranes for CO2 capture has gained recent prominence in the global scientific community due to its lower capital cost and a quicker separation performance than the conventional separation methods. The membrane process features desirable properties, like compactness, energy efficiency, and environmental friendliness. Various polymeric and inorganic materials have been tested both as unique ingredients and blends to form CO2 separation membranes with a focus on increasing the performance but have had varying rates of success. For commercial viability, the membrane sector requires new techniques and testing materials to lower the cost of CO2 capture. Recently, thermally rearranged polymers, intrinsic microporous polymers, ionic liquid inclusion as fillers, and binary fillers have all emerged as novel trends, focusing on enhancing the working efficiency and sustainability of the membranes. This chapter explores the most recent advances in membrane technology and its future prospects as a sustainable solu ion towards carbon dioxide capture.
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| 6. |
- Jonason, Peter K., et al.
(author)
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Country-level correlates of the Dark Triad traits in 49 countries
- 2020
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In: Journal of personality. - : Wiley. - 0022-3506 .- 1467-6494. ; 88:6, s. 1252-1267
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) capture individual differences in aversive personality to complement work on other taxonomies, such as the Big Five traits. However, the literature on the Dark Triad traits relies mostly on samples from English-speaking (i.e., Westernized) countries. We broadened the scope of this literature by sampling from a wider array of countries.Method: We drew on data from 49 countries (N = 11,723; 65.8% female;Age(Mean) = 21.53) to examine how an extensive net of country-level variables in economic status (e.g., Human Development Index), social relations (e.g., gender equality), political orientations (e.g., democracy), and cultural values (e.g., embeddedness) relate to country-level rates of the Dark Triad traits, as well as variance in the magnitude of sex differences in them.Results: Narcissism was especially sensitive to country-level variables. Countries with more embedded and hierarchical cultural systems weremorenarcissistic. Also, sex differences in narcissism werelargerinmoredeveloped societies: Women were less likely to be narcissistic in developed (vs. less developed) countries.Conclusions: We discuss the results based on evolutionary and social role models of personality and sex differences. That higher country-level narcissism was more common in less developed countries, whereas sex differences in narcissism were larger in more developed countries, is more consistent with evolutionary than social role models.
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| 7. |
- Kravtsov, Vadim, et al.
(author)
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Optical polarization signatures of black hole X-ray binaries
- 2022
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 514:2, s. 2479-2487
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polarimetry provides an avenue for probing the geometry and physical mechanisms producing optical radiation in many astrophysical objects, including stellar binary systems. We present the results of multiwavelength (BVR) polarimetric studies of a sample of historical black hole X-ray binaries, observed during their outbursts or in the quiescent (or near-quiescent) state. We surveyed both long- and short-period systems, located at different Galactic latitudes. We performed careful analysis of the interstellar polarization in the direction on the sources to reliably estimate the intrinsic source polarization. Intrinsic polarization was found to be small (<0.2 per cent) in sources observed in bright soft states (MAXI J0637−430 and 4U 1957+115). It was found to be significant in the rising hard state of MAXI J1820+070 at the level of ∼0.5 per cent and negligible in the decaying hard state and during its failed outbursts, while Swift J1357.2−0933 showed its absence in the rising hard state. Three (XTE J1118+480 , V4641 Sgr , V404 Cyg) sources observed during quiescence show no evidence of significant intrinsic polarization, while MAXI J1820+070 is the only black hole X-ray binary which showed substantial (>5 per cent) intrinsic quiescent-state polarization with a blue spectrum. The absence of intrinsic polarization at the optical wavelengths puts constraints on the potential contribution of non-stellar (jet, hot flow, accretion disc) components to the total spectra of black hole X-ray binaries.
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| 8. |
- Qadir, D., et al.
(author)
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Prediction of single salt rejection in PES/CMS based membranes
- 2023
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In: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 311
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study explains the modeling of synthesized membranes using the Donnan Steric Pore model (DSPM) based on the Extended Nernst Planck Equation (ENP). Conventionally, structural parameters required to predict the performance of the membranes were determined through tedious experimentation, which in this study are found using a new MATLAB technique. A MATLAB program is used to determine the unknown structural parameters such as effective charge density (Xd), effective pore radius (rp), and effective membrane thickness to porosity ratio (Δx/Ak) by using the single solute rejection and permeation data. It was found that the model predicted the rejection of studied membranes accurately, with the E5C1 membrane exceeding the others (E5, E5C5) for rejection of single and divalent salt's aqueous solutions. The rejection of 100 ppm aqueous solution of NaCl for E5C1 was around 60%, whereas, for an aqueous solution of 100 ppm, CaCl2 rejection reached up to 80% at 10 bar feed pressure. The trend of salt rejection for all three membranes was found to be in the following order: E5C1 > E5C5 > E5, confirming that their structural parameters-controlled ion transport in these membranes. The structural parameters, such as effective pore radius, effective membrane thickness to porosity ratio, and effective charge density for the best performing membrane, i.e., E5C1, were determined to be 0.5 nm, 16 μm, and −6.04 mol/m3,respectively. Finally, it can be asserted that this method can be used to predict the real performance of membranes by significantly reducing the number of experiments previously required for the predictive modeling of nanofiltration-type membranes.
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| 9. |
- Rogoza, Radoslaw, et al.
(author)
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Structure of Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Across Eight World Regions
- 2021
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In: Assessment (Odessa, Fla.). - : SAGE Publications. - 1073-1911 .- 1552-3489. ; 28:4, s. 1125-1135
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) has garnered intense attention over the past 15 years. We examined the structure of these traits' measure-the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD)-in a sample of 11,488 participants from three W.E.I.R.D. (i.e., North America, Oceania, Western Europe) and five non-W.E.I.R.D. (i.e., Asia, Middle East, non-Western Europe, South America, sub-Saharan Africa) world regions. The results confirmed the measurement invariance of the DTDD across participants' sex in all world regions, with men scoring higher than women on all traits (except for psychopathy in Asia, where the difference was not significant). We found evidence for metric (and partial scalar) measurement invariance within and between W.E.I.R.D. and non-W.E.I.R.D. world regions. The results generally support the structure of the DTDD.
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| 10. |
- Tahir, Madiha, et al.
(author)
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Enhancing the HEVC Video Analyzer for Medical Diagnostic Videos
- 2015
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In: 2015 12th International Conference on High-capacity Optical Networks and Enabling/Emerging Technologies (HONET). - [S.l.] : IEEE. - 9781467392686 - 9781467392679 ; , s. 65-69
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Video analyzers are employed to perform an in depth analysis of coding decisions undertaken during the execution of a video codec. Medical diagnostic videos, which are typically dealt with in telemedicine scenarios need careful examination to incorporate the most optimum coding decisions. This paper deals with the enhancement of an open-source video stream analyzer to facilitate codec development tailored for medical diagnostic videos. The proposed extensions include visual representation of quantitative information for the bit count used at CTU level, as well as displaying the different mode decisions adopted in the case of merge mode, prediction mode, and intra mode. We have incorporated the said extensions in HEVC analyzer and validated the approach by using test video sequences for Ultrasound, Eye, and Skin examination. © 2015 IEEE.
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| 11. |
- Ul-Abdin, Zain, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Evaluating Video Codecs for Telemedicine Under Very-Low Bitrates
- 2015
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In: 2015 8th International Congress on Image and Signal Processing (CISP). - Piscataway, NJ : IEEE. - 9781467390989 - 9781467390972 - 9781467390996 ; , s. 98-103
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Telemedicine is drawing greater attention to improve the health care delivery. Video coding being an integral part of any real-time telemedicine system is used to deliver diagnostic video stream to remote physician. Realizing a video coding system customized for telemedicine, using the available technologies poses several challenges. In this paper, we have analyzed state-of-the-art video codecs for adoption in telemedicine customized video conferencing system under low-bandwidth and low-computational scenarios. The experimental results for the selected video codec implementations for medical videos reveal that the HEVC encoder achieves equivalent objective video quality when using approx. 60% bit rate on average. However, the gain in coding efficiency is at the expense of increased computational complexity, which could be dealt with by incorporating adaptive interpolation and selective quality enhancement techniques to achieve real-time performance. © 2015 IEEE.
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