Processing and marketing of rattan canes in Nepal

This study highlights the processing and marketing of rattan canes with reference to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study was designed based on the exploratory research, and was carried out in all the districts of Nepal with rattan enterprises. The main objective was to assess the processing status, supply, and demand including constraints and potentialities of rattan-canes as well as their marketing practices. Systematic random sampling method was followed to take the sampling of rattan processing enterprises of CFUGs. The questionnaire survey was conducted among35 rattan entrepreneurs cum rattan traders and ten executive committee members of CFUGs. The quantitative data was analyzed using Frequency. The study found that hanger, cradle, stools, chairs, and tables were largely manufactured items among all the rattan-cane products. The annual consumption of imported rattan from India and other countries ranged from 850 MT to 1094 MT. Nepalese rattan fulfills 30% of the total demand. The average marketing margin of rattan products was found to be 37-64%. Nepalese rattan is potential to fulfill 70-80% of the total domestic demand of smaller size strands of rattan.

European elk fodder base evaluation in forestry fund of Vologodskoe hunting establishment

Using the example of the hunting farm «Vologodskoye», an assessment of the stocks of the fodder base of the European elk population was carried out and the optimal number of individuals from the point of view of damage and restoration of feed stocks was determined. At winter stations, it was found that the most visited areas by elk are plantations with the presence of young trees and shrubs, mainly deciduous — aspen (up to 25 years old), willow (up to 10 years old), birch (up to 20 years old), gray alder (up to 12 years old). The potential supply of branch fodder at winter stations reaches 1,62 tons, the winter consumption period is 220–230 days. The daily requirement for twig feed for one elk is 7–20 kg (depending on the age of the individuals), the annual consumption of winter wood-twig feed by one moose is about 3 tons. It has been established that, taking into account the potential stock of used feed and the volume of annual feed consumption, it is possible to feed 0,5 elk in the surveyed area of winter habitats, and 418 individuals, calculated for the entire area of the farm suitable for the habitat of the species.

Purification of spent deicing fluid by membrane techniques

Membrane-based concept comprising microfiltration and nanofiltration pre-treatments, reverse osmosis pre-concentration, and membrane distillation used for final concentration was applied for producing purified and concentrated recycled deicing fluid. Additionally, a techno-economic assessment was conducted to determine the economic viability of the recycling concept. By a straightforward membrane-based concept, ∼95% of solid and colloidal impurities together with certain deicing fluid additives such as colorants and surfactants could be efficiently removed (removal efficiencies of ∼90% and ∼93%, respectively), and resulting purified deicing fluid could be concentrated to ∼60 wt% glycol solution, enabling its recycling in deicing operations. Preliminary techno-economic assessment indicated that a membrane-based concept can be used as an economically viable alternative for recycling the spent deicing fluid at airports. The techno-economic case study at an airport consuming 4,000 tonnes of deicing fluid during 6 months annually showed the concept to be economically feasible when the price of purchased propylene glycol is over 1,000 EUR/tonne. In addition to the purchase price of the propylene glycol, the most important cost factors were labor cost and the annual consumption of deicing fluid. Integrating the membrane concept with other operations at airport has potential to decrease the labor cost and further improve the economic feasibility of the concept.

Individualized prophylactic treatment of patients with hemophilia A to improve effectiveness and optimize product consumption on the example of octocog alpha and rurioctocog alpha pegol. A systematic literature review

Objective: to review the data on the efficacy and consumption of octocog alfa and rurioctoctog alfa pegol in standard prophylaxis and individualized prophylaxis in hemophilia A patients based on published international data. Material and methods: a systematic literature search and review were performed. Among 25 sources identified within the systematic search 7 relevant sources describing the comparison of treatment with octocog alfa and rurioctocog alfa pegol in adult and pediatric patients with severe and moderate hemophilia A based on personalized assessment of the pharmacokinetic curve using the interactive tool myPKFit versus the standard (non-personalized) dosage regimen were selected. Data on individual patients, as well as data from secondary subgroups defined by age, bleeding rate, risk of bleeding associated with the daily physical activity were combined and analyzed. Results. In observational studies, adjustments of the dose and administration of octocog alfa in patients with severe hemophilia based on personalized assessment of the pharmacokinetic curve using myPKFit resulted in the reduced consumption and/or increased efficacy of prophylaxis — a reduced annual bleeding rate. In an extended controlled study of rurioctocog alpha pegol a trend toward reduced bleeding rate and increased mean annual consumption of the drug was reported in patients who received myPKFit guided prophylaxis compared to a non-personalized treatment regimen. In the single-cut studies, myPKFiT use resulted in the regimen revisions in less than a quarter of patients. Summary. Personalized dosing for octocog alpha and rurioctocog alpha pegol based on pharmacokinetic curve built using pharmacokinetic population model enables reasonable dose adjustments and improves outcomes.

Seasonality of consumption of traditional products of reindeer husbandry and river fishing by indigenous people of the Arctic zone of Western Siberia in the context of climate change

Introduction. The nutrition of the Nenets in the Arctic zone of Western Siberia is mainly based on traditional products (raw (thermally unprocessed) local fish and venison), which is the most important factor of survival in the Arctic. Storing up food products for an extended period is not relevant for the Nenets. Climate change and industrial development in the Arctic primarily affect the seasonality of consumption. Changing the calendar of fish and venison harvesting leads to greater use of imported and canned local food, increasing the length of the periods when local food completely disappears from the diet of the Nenets. Material and methods. During the expeditions to the national villages of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, cross-sectional screening studies were performed, in which 985 Nenets people took part. Nutritional analysis was conducted using the questionnaire method based on an album of portions and dishes. Retrospective information was collected on the seasonality of consumption of reindeer products and local fisheries (the length of the period when unserved fish and venison are available). Results. The consumption of reindeer and river fishery products is seasonal. The duration of the season of venison consumption was from 150±14.0 to 180±21.0, and raw fish - from 120±14.0 to 200±21.0 days. Despite the high level of consuming reindeer products per season, the average annual consumption of venison by Nenets in the Arctic zone of Western Siberia was 240 g/day/person that is less than in the central regions of the Russian Federation and industrially developed countries. In the studied area, the average annual consumption of fish (171.5 g/day/person) is three times higher than the average consumption in the Russian Federation. However, increased consumption of traditional food is typically only during the season of fishing or slaughtering reindeer. The average annual consumption reduced; during the off-season, the share of easily digestible carbohydrates in the diet increased. Conclusion. The creation of fish and venison stocks in villages and their year-round sale to the population is a necessary step in ensuring the food security of the Nenets people.

Humidifier Disinfectant Consumption and Humidifier Disinfectant-Associated Lung Injury in South Korea: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Humidifier disinfectant (HD) is a household biocidal product used in humidifier water tanks to prevent the growth of microorganisms. In 2011, a series of lung injury cases of unknown causes emerged in children and pregnant women who had used HD in Korea. This study investigated changes in the nationwide number of cases of humidifier disinfectant-associated lung injury (HDLI) in concordance with nationwide HD consumption using data covering the entire Korean population. More than 25 kinds of HD products were sold between 1994 and 2011. The number of diagnosed HDLI, assessed by S27.3 (other injuries of lungs) of the Korea National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) data, sharply increased by 2005, subsequently decreased after 2005, and almost disappeared after 2011 in concordance with the annual number of HD sales. The number of self-reported HDLIs, assessed using data from all suspected HDLI cases registered in the Korea Ministry of Environment, changed with the annual number of HD sales, with a delay pattern, potentially induced by the late awareness of lung injury diseases. The present study suggests that changes in the nationwide annual consumption of HD products were consistent with changes in the annual number of HDLI cases in Korea.

Consumption situation of Chinese medicine in Shanghai: a cross-sectional study

Background This cross-sectional study aimed to construct a database of Chinese medicine consumption, including the annual intake, the number of days of intake, and the daily intake of Chinese medicine, which is helpful for risk assessment and understanding of consumer trends.Methods About 40 million rows of data used in this study were derived from the hospitals in Shanghai, which contains the prescription number, the name of consumers, the date of the dispensing, the name of Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs), dosage, and the number of days taken. All data were stored in a MySQL database. R language was used as the main tool for statistical analysis and graphical work.Results The result shows the annual consumption, annual consumption days, and average daily consumption of 20 types of common TCMs and all TCMs consumed. The result shows Astragali radix, Coicis semen, and Danshen are the top three of consumption among the selected Chinese medicines. An easy-to-use software called the Chinese medicine consumption database (CMCD) was designed to search and download consumption data. It is built using the Shiny package in the R, is free to access on any device with an internet browser, and requires no programming knowledge to be used.Conclusions A Chinese medicine consumption database was constructed, which included the consumption situation of 20 types of common TCMs and all TCMs consumed. This database plays a pivotal role in the risk assessment of the pollutants in TCMs and the prediction of the consumption trend of TCMs.

Rationing of Electricity in Maputo City Residences through Education and Awareness Actions

The level of rational use of electricity consumption by households in Mozambique is very low. This paper assesses whether, with the implementation of education and awareness actions through the door-to-door method, is possible to change the consumption habits and rationalize residential electricity consumption in Maputo city, Mozambique. The data was collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews related to the habits of electricity consumption, the use of electrical equipment, and consumption of household appliances. This was followed by awareness creation on the use of electricity. The results show that after the campaign, the level of knowledge of the measures of rational use of electricity by consumers was increased by 55.3%, the level of adoption of the measures learned was increased by 30.5% and the monthly household consumption was decreased by 16.8%. Household consumption depends on the electrical equipment, and replacement of at least one 60W incandescent lamp in each residence with a 15W fluorescent lamp could bring a significant reduction in energy consumption. For example, the annual consumption of each family can be reduced by 94KWh and 23GWh in the entire City. The low level of rational use of electricity in Maputo city is due to lack of knowledge of the measures and little adoption of the known measures, use of inefficient equipment, low availability of the efficient equipment in the local markets, high cost of efficient technologies, and houses that offer few opportunities for rationing. Rationing; Electricity consumers; Habits; Awareness; Maputo; Mozambique.

Influence of the plastic law on the consumption of Biodegradable containers in the Peruvian Population [Educación Influencia de la ley de plásticos en el consumo de envases biodegradables en la población peruana]

The pollution is a phenomenon that occurs in every country on the planet, which leads to design strategies to mitigate it. Peru is no stranger to this and generates more than seven and a half million tons of solid waste per year, from which 64% comes from households and the average annual consumption per citizen is 30 kg of plastic. Worrying situation that led the government to approve Law N° 30884 called Law that Regulates Single-use Plastic and Disposable Containers or Containers. The problem was raised: How does the application of the Plastic Law influence the consumption of biodegradable packaging in the population? For this study, a survey was applied to a representative sample made up of randomly chosen consumers in various areas of the country. The results show that despite having carried out campaigns and strategies to stop using plastic bags and tecnopor containers, there are no relevant changes in consumer behavior.

Water Footprint, Blue Water Scarcity, and Economic Water Productivity of Irrigated Crops in Peshawar Basin, Pakistan

Pakistan possesses the fourth largest irrigation network in the world, serving 20.2 million hectares of cultivated land. With an increasing irrigated area, Pakistan is short of freshwater resources and faces severe water scarcity and food security challenges. This is the first comprehensive study on the water footprint (WF) of crop production in Peshawar Basin. WF is defined as the volume of freshwater required to produce goods and services. In this study, we assessed the blue and green water footprints (WFs) and annual blue and green water consumption of major crops (maize, rice, tobacco, wheat, barley, sugarcane, and sugar beet) in Peshawar Basin, Pakistan. The Global Water Footprint Assessment Standard (GWFAS) and AquaCrop model were used to model the daily WF of each crop from 1986 to 2015. In addition, the blue water scarcity, in the context of available surface water, and economic water productivity (EWP) of these crops were assessed. The 30 year average blue and green WFs of major crops revealed that maize had the highest blue and green WFs (7077 and 2744 m3/ton, respectively) and sugarcane had the lowest blue and green WFs (174 and 45 m3/ton, respectively). The average annual consumption of blue water by major crops in the basin was 1.9 billion m3, where 67% was used for sugarcane and maize, covering 48% of the cropland. The average annual consumption of green water was 1.0 billion m3, where 68% was used for wheat and sugarcane, covering 67% of the cropland. The WFs of all crops exceeded the global average. The results showed that annually the basin is supplied with 30 billion m3 of freshwater. Annually, 3 billion m3 of freshwater leaves the basin unutilized. The average annual blue water consumption by major crops is 31% of the total available surface water (6 billion m3) in the basin. Tobacco and sugar beet had the highest blue and green EWP while wheat and maize had the lowest. The findings of this study can help the water management authorities in formulating a comprehensive policy for efficient utilization of available water resources in Peshawar Basin.