Waterpipe tobacco smoke toxicity: the impact of waterpipe size

IntroductionWaterpipe tobacco smoking continues to show increasing popularity, especially among individuals between 18 and 22 years old. Waterpipe tobacco smoke (WTS) is a mixture of particulates and gases formed from the combustion of the charcoal and volatilisation and humidification of the tobacco+humectant+flavouring substrate known as shisha or mu’assel. As such, variation in the configuration of the waterpipe may affect the particles produced. Our study focuses on the effects of waterpipe size on the physical properties and cytotoxicity of the smoke produced.MethodsShisha type and headspace volume were held constant and a modified Beirut puff protocol was followed while the size of the waterpipe was varied. Particle concentrations and size distributions were measured using a TSI Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer. Type II alveolar cells were exposed to smoke at the air-liquid interface and two metrics of cell health analysed.ResultsIn a 30 min session, we observed a decrease in total particle concentration (1014–1013) and mass (10 000–2800 mg/m3) and an increase in particle size (125–170 nm) as pipe height increases from 22 to 55 cm and bowl size from 300 to 1250 mL. Smoke from all pipe sizes caused decreases in lysosomal function (>40%) and membrane integrity (>60%) 24 hours post 57 min exposure, and meet the National Institutes of Health definition of a cytotoxic agent (≥30% decrease in cell viability).ConclusionSmoke from waterpipes of all sizes causes significant alveolar cellular harm, indicating that this device needs regulation as a hazard to human health.

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Diesoline, Diesohol, and Diesosene Fuelled HCCI Engine Development

Journal of Energy Resources Technology ◽

10.1115/1.4033571 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 138 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Akhilendra Pratap Singh ◽

Avinash Kumar Agarwal

Keyword(s):

Particle Number ◽

Compression Ignition ◽

Oxides Of Nitrogen ◽

Engine Exhaust ◽

Hcci Engine ◽

Hcci Combustion ◽

Total Particle ◽

Smoke Opacity ◽

Particle Sizer ◽

Ci Engines

Compression ignition (CI) engines are facing strong restrictive emission norms globally, which demand extremely low oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine is a very attractive solution to meet these stringent emission challenges due to its capability to simultaneously reduce NOx and PM. In this study, HCCI combustion was investigated using different test fuels such as diesoline (15% v/v gasoline with diesel), diesohol (15% v/v ethanol with diesel), and diesosene (15% v/v kerosene with diesel) vis-a-vis baseline mineral diesel. A dedicated fuel vaporizer was used for homogeneous fuel–air mixture preparation. The experiments were performed at constant intake charge temperature (180 °C), fixed exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) (15%) at different engine loads. Stable combustion characteristics were determined for diesosene at lower engine loads, however, diesoline and diesohol yielded improved emissions compared to baseline diesel HCCI combustion. At higher loads, diesoline and diesosene showed higher knocking tendency compared to baseline diesel and diesohol. Diesohol showed lower NOx and smoke opacity, however, diesoline and diesosene showed slightly lower hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions compared to baseline diesel HCCI combustion. Performance results of diesohol and diesosene were slightly inferior compared to diesel and diesoline HCCI combustion. Physical characterization of exhaust particulates was done for these test fuels using engine exhaust particle sizer (EEPS). Particle number-size distribution showed that most particles emitted from diesoline and diesohol were in ultrafine size range and baseline diesel and diesosene emitted relatively larger particles. Reduction in total particle number concentration with addition of volatile fuel components in mineral diesel was another important observation of this study.

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PERTANGGUNGJAWABAN KERUGIAN NEGARA DALAM PENGELOLAAN KEUANGAN DAERAH

EDUKASI ◽

10.33387/j.edu.v16i1.618 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hendra Karianga

Keyword(s):

Financial Management ◽

Criminal Liability ◽

The State ◽

Legal Proceedings ◽

Regional Finance ◽

Regional Budget ◽

State Finance ◽

Budget Policy ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

Sources of revenue and expenditure of APBD (regional budget) can be allocated to finance the compulsory affairs and optional affairs in the form of programs and activities related to the improvement of public services, job creation, poverty alleviation, improvement of environmental quality, and regional economic growth. The implications of these policies is the need for funds to finance the implementation of the functions, that have become regional authority, is also increasing. In practice, regional financial management still poses a complicated issue because the regional head are reluctant to release pro-people regional budget policy, even implication of regional autonomy is likely to give birth to little kings in region causing losses to state finance and most end up in legal proceedings. This paper discusses the loss of state finance and forms of liability for losses to the state finance. The result of the study can be concluded firstly, there are still many differences in giving meaning and definition of the loss of state finace and no standard definition of state losses, can cause difficulties. The difficulty there is in an effort to determine the amount of the state finance losses. The calculation of state/regions losses that occur today is simply assessing the suitability of the size of the budget and expenditure without considering profits earned by the community and the impact of the use of budget to the community. Secondly, the liability for losses to the state finance is the fulfillment of the consequences for a person to give or to do something in the regional financial management by giving birth to three forms of liability, namely the Criminal liability, Civil liability, and Administrative liability.Keywords: state finance losses, liability, regional finance.

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Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Microfinance - A Case of Rural Bangladesh

ADVANCES IN BUSINESS RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ◽

10.24191/abrij.v3i2.10092 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Saida Parvin

Keyword(s):

Women's Empowerment ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Theoretical Contribution ◽

Donor Agencies ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.

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The Impact of the Regulatory Environment on the Definition of the Best Interests of the Corporation

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2247434 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Isabelle Martin

Keyword(s):

Best Interests ◽

Regulatory Environment ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact

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ATP13A2 Regulates Cellular α-Synuclein Multimerization, Membrane Association, and Externalization

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22052689 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 2689

Author(s):

Jianmin Si ◽

Chris Van den Haute ◽

Evy Lobbestael ◽

Shaun Martin ◽

Sarah van Veen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Membrane Integrity ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome System ◽

Regulatory Function ◽

Membrane Association ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Atypical Form ◽

Polyamine Transport ◽

Independent Functions ◽

Ubiquitin Proteasome ◽

The Impact

ATP13A2, a late endo-/lysosomal polyamine transporter, is implicated in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Kufor–Rakeb syndrome, an early-onset atypical form of parkinsonism. Loss-of-function mutations in ATP13A2 result in lysosomal deficiency as a consequence of impaired lysosomal export of the polyamines spermine/spermidine. Furthermore, accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of ATP13A2 in regulating the fate of α-synuclein, such as cytoplasmic accumulation and external release. However, no consensus has yet been reached on the mechanisms underlying these effects. Here, we aimed to gain more insight into how ATP13A2 is linked to α-synuclein biology in cell models with modified ATP13A2 activity. We found that loss of ATP13A2 impairs lysosomal membrane integrity and induces α-synuclein multimerization at the membrane, which is enhanced in conditions of oxidative stress or exposure to spermine. In contrast, overexpression of ATP13A2 wildtype (WT) had a protective effect on α-synuclein multimerization, which corresponded with reduced αsyn membrane association and stimulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. We also found that ATP13A2 promoted the secretion of α-synuclein through nanovesicles. Interestingly, the catalytically inactive ATP13A2 D508N mutant also affected polyubiquitination and externalization of α-synuclein multimers, suggesting a regulatory function independent of the ATPase and transport activity. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the impact of ATP13A2 on α-synuclein multimerization via polyamine transport dependent and independent functions.

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Defining Preterm Birth and Stillbirth in the Western Pacific: A Systematic Review

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/10105395211026099 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101053952110260

Author(s):

Mairead Connolly ◽

Laura Phung ◽

Elise Farrington ◽

Michelle J. L. Scoullar ◽

Alyce N. Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

National Level ◽

Health Indicators ◽

Western Pacific ◽

World Health ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Definition Of ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Impact

Preterm birth and stillbirth are important global perinatal health indicators. Definitions of these indicators can differ between countries, affecting comparability of preterm birth and stillbirth rates across countries. This study aimed to document national-level adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of preterm birth and stillbirth in the WHO Western Pacific region. A systematic search of government health websites and 4 electronic databases was conducted. Any official report or published study describing the national definition of preterm birth or stillbirth published between 2000 and 2020 was eligible for inclusion. A total of 58 data sources from 21 countries were identified. There was considerable variation in how preterm birth and stillbirth was defined across the region. The most frequently used lower gestational age threshold for viability of preterm birth was 28 weeks gestation (range 20-28 weeks), and stillbirth was most frequently classified from 20 weeks gestation (range 12-28 weeks). High-income countries more frequently used earlier gestational ages for preterm birth and stillbirth compared with low- to middle-income countries. The findings highlight the importance of clear, standardized, internationally comparable definitions for perinatal indicators. Further research is needed to determine the impact on regional preterm birth and stillbirth rates.

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Value assessment of antimicrobials and the implications for development, access, and funding of effective treatments: Australian stakeholder perspective

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462320000823 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Nadine T. Hillock ◽

Tracy L. Merlin ◽

Jonathan Karnon ◽

John Turnidge ◽

Jaklin Eliott

Keyword(s):

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Healthcare Resource ◽

Economic Evaluations ◽

Value Assessment ◽

Antimicrobial Drugs ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Stakeholder Perspective ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Potential Use

Abstract Background The frameworks used by Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies for value assessment of medicines aim to optimize healthcare resource allocation. However, they may not be effective at capturing the value of antimicrobial drugs. Objectives To analyze stakeholder perceptions regarding how antimicrobials are assessed for value for reimbursement purposes and how the Australian HTA framework accommodates the unique attributes of antimicrobials in cost-effectiveness evaluation. Methods Eighteen individuals representing the pharmaceutical industry or policy-makers were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and thematically analyzed. Results Key emergent themes were that reimbursement decision-making should consider the antibiotic spectrum when assessing value, risk of shortages, the impact of procurement processes on low-priced comparators, and the need for methodological transparency when antimicrobials are incorporated into the economic evaluation of other treatments. Conclusions Participants agreed that the current HTA framework for antimicrobial value assessment is inadequate to properly inform funding decisions, as the contemporary definition of cost-effectiveness fails to explicitly incorporate the risk of future resistance. Policy-makers were uncertain about how to incorporate future resistance into economic evaluations without a systematic method to capture costs avoided due to good stewardship. Lacking financial reward for the benefits of narrower-spectrum antimicrobials, companies will likely focus on developing broad-spectrum agents with wider potential use. The perceived risks of shortages have influenced the funding of generic antimicrobials in Australia, with policy-makers suggesting a willingness to pay more for assured supply. Although antibiotics often underpin the effectiveness of other medicines, it is unclear how this is incorporated into economic models.

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Fleet Resilience: Evaluating Maintenance Strategies in Critical Equipment

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11010038 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

Orlando Durán ◽

Javier Aguilar ◽

Andrea Capaldo ◽

Adolfo Arata

Keyword(s):

Application Study ◽

System Availability ◽

Maintenance Strategies ◽

Resilience Index ◽

Reliability Block Diagrams ◽

Maintenance Policies ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Important System ◽

Intrinsic Characteristic

Resilience is an intrinsic characteristic of systems. Through it, the capacity of a system to react to the existence of disruptive events is expressed. A series of metrics to represent systems’ resilience have been proposed, however, only one indicator relates the availability of the system to this characteristic. With such a metric, it is possible to relate the topological aspects of a system and the resources available in order to be able to promptly respond to the loss of performance as a result of unexpected events. This work proposes the adaptation and application of such a resilience index to assess the influence of different maintenance strategies and topologies in fleets’ resilience. In addition, an application study considering an actual mining fleet is provided. A set of critical assets was identified and represented using reliability block diagrams. Monte Carlo simulation experiments were conducted and the system availability data were extracted. Resilience indexes were obtained in order to carry out the definition of the best maintenance policies in critical equipment and the assessment of the impact of modifying system redundancies. The main results of this work lead to the overall conclusion that redundancy is an important system attribute in order to improve resiliency along time.

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