Effects of magnetic field on micro flames

The effect of a gradient magnetic field on a diffusion micro flame i.e. C3H8/air flame has been systematically studied to comprehend their interaction. A non-uniform magnetic field was produced in the air gap of an electromagnet and the C3H8/air flame corresponding to various flow velocities was subjected to the non-uniform field. The influence of the operating conditions on the fundamental characteristics of the diffusion flame, such as the flame structure, temperature distribution and the morphology of the soot produced in these flames have been thoroughly investigated. The flame structure and its luminosity were found to be influenced and the flame length decreased with the application of the vertically decreasing gradient magnetic field. Also, the temperatures within the flame increased for these conditions. Similarly, the effect on the soot morphology was studied by subjecting a sooting flame to a non-uniform field. The effect of the field was analyzed for the soot produced both within the flame and at the flame tip. The TEM images suggest that the agglomeration of the soot particles decreased on the application of the decreasing magnetic field around the flame. The application of the gradient magnetic field indicates a way to induce greater entrainment of oxidizer towards the flame and also provide a means to control combustion behavior. The results of this study are discussed and suggestions for future work are provided

Breastfeeding Practices and Dietary Diversity among Infants and Young Children in Rural and Urban-Slum Populations in India: An Observational Study

Background: Nutritional exposures and growth in early life are linked to immediate and also to long term health outcomes. Objective: To assess infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices using WHO-UNICEF defined indicators in rural and urban-slum populations in India. Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in mothers and infants up to age 24 months. Data on socio-demographics, birth history, feeding practices (WHO-UNICEF IYCF indicators), maternal weight, height, and infant’s weight, length, mid-arm, and head circumferences were collected. Results: Five hundred and two (252 rural and 250 urban-slum) mother-infant dyads were studied. Proportions of IYCF indicators in rural and urban-slum infants were: Early initiation of breastfeeding 71 and 64%; Exclusive breastfeeding under six months, 59 and 25%; Minimum acceptable diet 11 and 27% respectively. Consumption of animal-source food (other than dairy products) and vitamin-A rich fruits and vegetables was below 15%. Cesarean section [aOR, 95% CI: 2.94 (1.53, 5.65)], hospitalization of newborn [aOR, 95% CI: 6.21 (2.95, 13.16)], pre-lacteal feeding [aOR, 95% CI: 3.38 (1.77, 6.45)], needing help in breastfeeding [aOR, 95% CI: 2.15 (1.04, 4.17)], and male gender [aOR, 95% CI: 2.13 (1.15, 4.25); p<0.05 for all] were associated with delayed initiation of breastfeeding, whereas lower monthly household income [aOR, 95% CI: 2.62 (1.10, 6.25)], and younger age [aOR, 95% CI: 1.24 (1.11, 1.38); p<0.05 for both] were associated with poor dietary diversity. Conclusions: Education of optimum IYCF practices, targeting early initiation of breastfeeding, increasing meal frequency and intake of vitamin-A rich and animal-source foods need urgent attention

Purification of Reverse Osmosis Concentrate Using Chlorella Vulgaris

The current study focuses on the application of microalgae, specifically Chlorella vulgaris, for treating reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) from wastewater treatment plants. The study examines the effectiveness of C. vulgaris in removing nutrients, heavy metals, and other compounds from ROC. The ROC samples were collected from water purification plants and C. vulgaris was utilized in the treatment of ROC. The physicochemical properties of the wastewater, such as pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, total solids, and heavy metal concentrations, were analyzed before and after treatment with C. vulgaris. The results showed that C. vulgaris was able to remove significant amounts of nutrients, heavy metals, from the ROC. The study also conducted GC-MS and FTIR analyses to identify the compounds present in the ROC before and after treatment. Overall, the research demonstrates the potential of microalgae as an effective and sustainable solution for treating wastewater and recovering valuable resources

Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health (EPOCH): An Ecometric Assessment of Measures of the Community Environment Based on Individual Perception

Background: Public health research has turned towards examining upstream, community-level determinants of cardiovascular disease risk factors. Objective measures of the environment, such as those derived from direct observation, and perception-based measures by residents have both been associated with health behaviours. However, current methods are generally limited to objective measures, often derived from administrative data, and few instruments have been evaluated for use in rural areas or in low-income countries. We evaluate the reliability of a quantitative tool designed to capture perceptions of community tobacco, nutrition, and social environments obtained from interviews with residents in communities in 5 countries. Methodology/Principal Findings: Thirteen measures of the community environment were developed from responses to questionnaire items from 2,360 individuals residing in 84 urban and rural communities in 5 countries (China, India, Brazil, Colombia, and Canada) in the Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health (EPOCH) study. Reliability and other properties of the community-level measures were assessed using multilevel models. High reliability (>0.80) was demonstrated for all community-level measures at the mean number of survey respondents per community (n = 28 respondents). Questionnaire items included in each scale were found to represent a common latent factor at the community level in multilevel factor analysis models. Conclusions/ Significance: Reliable measures which represent aspects of communities potentially related to cardiovascular disease (CVD)/risk factors can be obtained using feasible sample sizes. The EPOCH instrument is suitable for use in different settings to explore upstream determinants of CVD/risk factors

A novel method to evaluate the community built environment using photographs--Environmental Profile of a Community Health (EPOCH) photo neighbourhood evaluation tool.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that environments with features that encourage walking are associated with increased physical activity. Existing methods to assess the built environment using geographical information systems (GIS) data, direct audit or large surveys of the residents face constraints, such as data availability and comparability, when used to study communities in countries in diverse parts of the world. The aim of this study was to develop a method to evaluate features of the built environment of communities using a standard set of photos. In this report we describe the method of photo collection, photo analysis instrument development and inter-rater reliability of the instrument. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A minimum of 5 photos were taken per community in 86 communities in 5 countries according to a standard set of instructions from a designated central point of each community by researchers at each site. A standard pro forma derived from reviewing existing instruments to assess the built environment was developed and used to score the characteristics of each community. Photo sets from each community were assessed independently by three observers in the central research office according to the pro forma and the inter-rater reliability was compared by intra-class correlation (ICC). Overall 87% (53 of 60) items had an ICC of ≥ 0.70, 7% (4 of 60) had an ICC between 0.60 and 0.70 and 5% (3 of 60) items had an ICC ≤ 0.50. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Analysis of photos using a standardized protocol as described in this study offers a means to obtain reliable and reproducible information on the built environment in communities in very diverse locations around the world. The collection of the photographic data required minimal training and the analysis demonstrated high reliability for the majority of items of interest

Eff ects of bidi smoking on all-cause mortality and cardiorespiratory outcomes in men from south Asia: an observational community-based substudy of the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (PURE)

Background Bidis are minimally regulated, inexpensive, hand-rolled tobacco products smoked in south Asia. We examined the eff ects of bidi smoking on baseline respiratory impairment, and prospectively collected data for all-cause mortality and cardiorespiratory events in men from this region. Methods This substudy of the international, community-based Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study was done in seven centres in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Men aged 35–70 years completed spirometry testing and standardised questionnaires at baseline and were followed up yearly. We used multilevel regression to compare cross-sectional baseline cardiorespiratory symptoms, spirometry measurements, and follow-up events (all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events, respiratory events) adjusted for socioeconomic status and baseline risk factors between non-smokers, light smokers of bidis or cigarettes (≤10 pack-years), heavy smokers of cigarettes only (>10 packyears), and heavy smokers of bidis (>10 pack-years). Findings 14 919 men from 158 communities were included in this substudy (8438 non-smokers, 3321 light smokers, 959 heavy cigarette smokers, and 2201 heavy bidi smokers). Mean duration of follow-up was 5·6 years (range 1–13). The adjusted prevalence of self-reported chronic wheeze, cough or sputum, dyspnoea, and chest pain at baseline increased across the categories of non-smokers, light smokers, heavy cigarette smokers, and heavy bidi smokers (p<0·0001 for association). Adjusted cross-sectional age-related changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio were larger for heavy bidi smokers than for the other smoking categories. Hazard ratios (relative to non-smokers) showed increasing hazards for all-cause mortality (light smokers 1·28 [95% CI 1·02–1·62], heavy cigarette smokers 1·59 [1·13–2·24], heavy bidi smokers 1·56 [1·22–1·98]), cardiovascular events (1·45 [1·13–1·84], 1·47 [1·05–2·06], 1·55 [1·17–2·06], respectively) and respiratory events (1·30 [0·91–1·85], 1·21 [0·70–2·07], 1·73 [1·23–2·45], respectively) across the smoking categories. Interpretation Bidi smoking is associated with severe baseline respiratory impairment, all-cause mortality, and cardiorespiratory outcomes. Stricter controls and regulation of bidis are needed to reduce the tobacco-related disease burden in south Asia

Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study

Background The relationship between macronutrients and cardiovascular disease and mortality is controversial. Most available data are from European and North American populations where nutrition excess is more likely, so their applicability to other populations is unclear. Methods The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study is a large, epidemiological cohort study of individuals aged 35–70 years (enrolled between Jan 1, 2003, and March 31, 2013) in 18 countries with a median followup of 7·4 years (IQR 5·3–9·3). Dietary intake of 135 335 individuals was recorded using validated food frequency questionnaires. The primary outcomes were total mortality and major cardiovascular events (fatal cardiovascular disease, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure). Secondary outcomes were all myocardial infarctions, stroke, cardiovascular disease mortality, and non-cardiovascular disease mortality. Participants were categorised into quintiles of nutrient intake (carbohydrate, fats, and protein) based on percentage of energy provided by nutrients. We assessed the associations between consumption of carbohydrate, total fat, and each type of fat with cardiovascular disease and total mortality. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) using a multivariable Cox frailty model with random intercepts to account for centre clustering. Findings During follow-up, we documented 5796 deaths and 4784 major cardiovascular disease events. Higher carbohydrate intake was associated with an increased risk of total mortality (highest [quintile 5] vs lowest quintile [quintile 1] category, HR 1·28 [95% CI 1·12–1·46], ptrend=0·0001) but not with the risk of cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular disease mortality. Intake of total fat and each type of fat was associated with lower risk of total mortality (quintile 5 vs quintile 1, total fat: HR 0·77 [95% CI 0·67–0·87], ptrend<0·0001; saturated fat, HR 0·86 [0·76–0·99], ptrend=0·0088; monounsaturated fat: HR 0·81 [0·71–0·92], ptrend<0·0001; and polyunsaturated fat: HR 0·80 [0·71–0·89], ptrend<0·0001). Higher saturated fat intake was associated with lower risk of stroke (quintile 5 vs quintile 1, HR 0·79 [95% CI 0·64–0·98], ptrend=0·0498). Total fat and saturated and unsaturated fats were not significantly associated with risk of myocardial infarction or cardiovascular disease mortality. Interpretation High carbohydrate intake was associated with higher risk of total mortality, whereas total fat and individual types of fat were related to lower total mortality. Total fat and types of fat were not associated with cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, or cardiovascular disease mortality, whereas saturated fat had an inverse association with stroke. Global dietary guidelines should be reconsidered in light of these finding

Cardiovascular risk and events in 17 low-, middle-, and high-income countries

BACKGROUND: More than 80% of deaths from cardiovascular disease are estimated to occur in low-income and middle-income countries, but the reasons are unknown. METHODS: We enrolled 156,424 persons from 628 urban and rural communities in 17 countries (3 high-income, 10 middle-income, and 4 low-income countries) and assessed their cardiovascular risk using the INTERHEART Risk Score, a validated score for quantifying risk-factor burden without the use of laboratory testing (with higher scores indicating greater risk-factor burden). Participants were followed for incident cardiovascular disease and death for a mean of 4.1 years. RESULTS: The mean INTERHEART Risk Score was highest in high-income countries, intermediate in middle-income countries, and lowest in low-income countries (P<0.001). However, the rates of major cardiovascular events (death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure) were lower in high-income countries than in middle- and low-income countries (3.99 events per 1000 personyears vs. 5.38 and 6.43 events per 1000 person-years, respectively; P<0.001). Case fatality rates were also lowest in high-income countries (6.5%, 15.9%, and 17.3% in high-, middle-, and low-income countries, respectively; P = 0.01). Urban communities had a higher risk-factor burden than rural communities but lower rates of cardiovascular events (4.83 vs. 6.25 events per 1000 person-years, P<0.001) and case fatality rates (13.52% vs. 17.25%, P<0.001). The use of preventive medications and revascularization procedures was significantly more common in high-income countries than in middle- or low-income countries (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although the risk-factor burden was lowest in low-income countries, the rates of major cardiovascular disease and death were substantially higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. The high burden of risk factors in highincome countries may have been mitigated by better control of risk factors and more frequent use of proven pharmacologic therapies and revascularization. (Funded by the Population Health Research Institute and others.)IS