MAVRICS: A Robust and Safe Magnetic Nanoparticle based RNA Extraction Method Compatible with Phenol-chloroform Inactivated Infectious Samples v2

Diagnosis and surveillance of emerging pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 depend on nucleic acid isolation from clinical and environmental samples. Under normal circumstances, samples would be processed using commercial proprietary reagents in Biosafety 2 (BSL-2) or higher facilities. A pandemic at the scale of COVID-19 has caused a global shortage of proprietary reagents and BSL-2 laboratories to safely perform testing. Therefore, alternative solutions are urgently needed to address these challenges. We developed an open-source method called Magneticnanoparticle-Aided Viral RNA Isolation of Contagious Samples (MAVRICS) that is built upon reagents that are either readily available or can be synthesized in any molecular biology laboratory with basic equipment. Unlike conventional methods, MAVRICS works directly in samples inactivated in acid guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform (e.g., TRIzol), thus allowing infectious samples to be handled safely without biocontainment facilities.

Portable Solar Photovoltaic Suitcase

This appliance is a micro-scale solar power plant intended for a temporary power source in areas affected by natural disasters in Indonesia that is portable, and is equipped with basic equipment such as a charger port and LED lights. The material used for the PV is aluminium with ceramic cooling which is designed in the form of a suitcase so that it is robust, water and fire resistant.

Analysis of efficiency of feed pump control by changing rotation of rotor for power plants of various types

The type of power plant feed pump drive is selected in the course of a feasibility study. Domestic experience is based on recommendations that have been obtained in the middle of the last century when fuel was relatively cheap. These recommendations are currently being revised. Manufacturers of technological tools of pumps frequency control offer to install fluid couplings, variable frequency electric drives or drive turbines for power plants of various types. At the same time, they declare the high efficiency of such solutions. But the effect is often calculated based on energy savings indicators for the pump drive without considering changes of the operating modes of other equipment of the power plant. An urgent task is a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the measures under consideration. This assessment should consider the objective parameters and modes of facilities operation, as well as interrelation of power electricity cost for own needs and loads of the basic equipment. To determine the technical effect of application of various methods of frequency control of feed pumps, models are used that are developed on the individual basis for each power plant based on the energy characteristics of the equipment. These models include algorithms for heat and electrical balances. Operational characteristics of the feed pumps and performance assessment are calculated according to the known techniques. Based on a unified methodological approach, the authors have developed mathematical models of condensing power supply units and combined heat and power plants for an initial pressure of 12,8 MPa. These models make it possible to determine the effect of frequency control of feed pumps based on data for real time in operation considering the interrelation of power electricity cost for own needs and loads of the basic equipment. Calculation of index of performance of application of various means of frequency control of feed pump performance have been carried out. It is revealed that to assess the efficiency of application of technological tools of frequency control of feed pumps, it is of decisive importance to consider the experience of equipment load, load schedules, the interrelation of power electricity cost for own needs and loads of the basic equipment. No general recommendations to use certain methods of feed pumps control are applicable, when conducting such an assessment.

Factors affecting Maternal-care during labour at maternity centres of Karachi, Pakistan: Exploratory study

Each year around 529,000 women die worldwide due to harmful consequences of childbirth in developing countries. Thus, this study aimed to explore barriers and facilitators that influence the provision of quality care during labor at maternity centers of Karachi, Pakistan. The qualitative exploratory study design was used to explore such factors from public and private maternity health facilities of Karachi, Pakistan. In-depth interviews were conducted through purposive sampling by using validated semi-structured interview guide. Data was analyzed using content analysis manually. Among major barriers; unhygenic environment, lack of basic equipment, supplies and medicine, unprofessional attitude of staff, physical infrastructre and shotrage of staff were explored. Among facilitators; Caring and supportive attitude of healthcare personnel during labor were identified. Continuous...

Cases of application of the installation for electromechanical processing in the hardening of machine parts

The paper presents the cases of using the UEMO-standard installation based on the 1M63F101 screw-cutting lathe for electromechanical hardening of the working surfaces of agricultural machinery and equipment parts. According to the results of hardening of the spider ends of the cardan joints crosses of the tractor Belarus 82.1/102.1, plunger of milk homogenizer A1-ОG2М and disc coulters of the seeder SZT-3,6A, operational properties of the working surfaces of the said parts increased 1,5…2,0 times. To ensure the processing of parts of various shapes, the tooling for installing, positioning and fixing parts on basic equipment has been developed. Technical solutions of the tooling are protected by patents.

Public Sector Capacity to Prevent and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in Twelve Low- and Middle-Income Countries Based on WHO-PEN Standards: A Systematic Review

This review was conducted to assess the capacity of the public sector to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) based on WHO-PEN standards. A PRISMA systematic search appraisal of PubMed, Scopus, and Embase was conducted during May-2020 for original articles conducted in LMIC and reported the capacity of the public sector to prevent and control NCDs. The country readiness score was calculated as the mean score of items for each domain. The indices were compared to an agreed cutoff at 80% the WHO optimal target of availability of affordable essential medicines and basic technologies required to treat NCDs. The literature search yielded 5 original studies, conducted in twelve countries, and surveyed 304 public health facilities. All countries failed to reach the WHO optimal target of availability of affordable essential medicines and basic technologies. The readiness index score according to WHO-PEN standards among countries in terms of essential medicines, diagnostic investigations, and basic equipment were range from 13.5% to 51%, 0.0% to 59.4%, and 29.2% to 51.2% respectively. This review revealed critical gaps in the twelve LMIC public sector capacity to prevent and control of NCDs in terms of essential medicines, basic equipment, and diagnostic investigations.

Experimentation on the Electromechanical Behavior of Automation Safety Buttons Applied to an Industrial PLC

The growing automation demands of production make the automation systems more complex and vulnerable to failures. For this reason, some instructions have been created (CAT, SIL) that must be followed, in order to insure their safe operation in case of a failure of both the hardware and the software. For a credible operation of a Fail Safety system along with a system to work on SIL2 or SIL3, must have Safety Hardware and Software. This present paper analyses the response of the Hardware of a Basic PLC and the equipment of an automation system. It also presents a descriptive analysis of the experiment, which was conducted to record measurements in order to draw firm conclusions. In addition, the measurements are analysed and evaluated to verify if basic equipment could be used in these systems and insure the Safety function at the same time. The objective is to simply prove that if we manage an already existing Basic PLC equipment differently, it could upgrade the security of automation systems. Therefore, with a low cost in time and money, particularly in existing automation systems, there could be Fail Safety operations.

Prelude

Lesson One takes the form of a practical introduction, advising the reader on the basic equipment needed for the course of study. Although various compromises are possible, the advantages of studying on authentic historical instruments as opposed to modern ones are made clear. The objection that studying the Baroque violin or viola will somehow “damage” the player’s modern technique is laid to rest: on the contrary, such study will enhance both one’s technique and one’s understanding of how to make music. The options for acquiring a suitable violin include buying one in its original Baroque condition, reconverting an old one that has been modernized, and buying a modern copy. The choice of a suitable bow is also discussed. There follows a short history of gut strings, a section on how to choose them, and a practical guide to fitting them. The lesson ends with a brief survey of Baroque pitch.

Design and Kinematic Analysis of the Car Jack

Car jack is the basic equipment of every car. To replace the tires or to repair a specific defect on the car it is necessary to have a car jack. A modern way of creating the complex mechanical structures is described in this paper, which allows for rapid change of parameters and therefore of the whole design, i.e. the parameterized car jack model was developed. Also, the goal of this research is to carry out kinematic analysis of a car jack design. Parametric model is developed in such a way that all parameters of design are in correlations to one main parameter. The angle of thread spindle is chosen for main parameter. Usually, main parameter should be chosen as one of the parameters from power input elements. Car jack has a human hand power which is applied on car jack handle and because of that, the angle of rotation of thread spindle is the best for main parameter.

Feasibility and Acceptability of the Family Centered Model to Manage and Prevent Non Communicable Diseases in Selected Communities of Lusaka Province”

ObjectiveOur objective was to test the feasibility and acceptability of Family centered model in managing and preventing NCDs in the Zambian context. We used hypertension as our tracer NCD.ResultsFormative stage: Six major themes emerged during intervention design based on community conversation: (1) Willingness, (2) Importance of family support; (3) incentives for CHWs (4) trainings health workers (5) Basic Equipment (6) Medical supplies. Participants found FCM to be acceptable and needed in the community. They emphasized the need for training all people involved (HW, CHW and family members) and providing basic equipment to manage hypertension and other NCDs.Pilot Feasibility stage: We approached 9 families using an index patient identified at the clinic. One family declined to take part. So 8 families were screened with a total of 32 family members. Hypertension prevalence was 43.8% (14/32) among all those who were screened. During the pilot, four groups were formed based on the FCM, 3 out of the 4 groups managed to form household FCM. Each group had 4–6 members. CHW provided basic training to family members and followed up over a 3 months period, visiting weekly or when needed.