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Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from gas, oil, and coal power plants in Pakistan by carbon capture and storage (CCS): a review
No full textThe production of energy in Pakistan as a developing country mainly depends on consumption of fossil fuels, which are the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These emissions can be mitigated by implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) in running plants. An overview of the current and future potentials of Pakistan for CCS is provided, indicating a great potential for this technology to capture CO2 emissions. The amine CO2 capture process as the most mature procedure is currently applied in many oil and gas companies in Pakistan, which can be employed to capture CO2 from other industries as well. Pakistan has a great CO2 storage potential in oil, gas, and coal fields and in saline aquifer as well as significant resources of Mg and Ca silicates suitable as feedstock in the carbon mineralization process. For further development and implementation of CCS technologies in Pakistan, economic and policy barriers as the main obstacles should be alleviated
The association between smartphone use and breast cancer risk among Taiwanese women: a case-control study
No full textIntroduction: Breast cancer is a common malignancy worldwide. Smartphones have gradually become indispensable to our modern lives and have already changed lifestyles of human beings. To our best knowledge, no study has investigated the relationship between smartphone use and breast cancer. This case-control study purposely investigated the relationship between smartphone use and breast cancer risk. Materials and Methods: This was a case-control study comprising 894 healthy controls and 211 patients with breast cancer. All participants were asked to respond to standard questionnaires to collect information on sleep quality, smartphone addiction, and smartphone use. Results: Participants with smartphone addiction had a significantly higher 1.43-fold risk of breast cancer. Individuals with the habitual behavior of smartphone use > 4.5 minutes before bedtime had a significantly increased 5.27-fold risk of breast cancer compared to those who used a smartphone for ≤ 4.5 minutes before bedtime. Additionally, a closer distance between the smartphone and the breasts when using the smartphone exhibited a significantly increased 1.59-fold risk. Participants who carried their smartphone near their chest or waist-abdomen area had significantly increased 5.03-fold and 4.06-fold risks of breast cancer, respectively, compared to those who carried the smartphone below the waist. Moreover, there was a synergistic effect of smartphone addiction and smartphone use of > 4.5 minutes before bedtime which increased the breast cancer risk. Conclusion: Excessive smartphone use significantly increased the risk of breast cancer, particularly for participants with smartphone addiction, a close distance between the breasts and smartphone, and the habit of smartphone use before bedtime
A study on mn-fe catalysts supported on coal fly ash for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NOx in flue gas
No full textA series of Mn0.15Fe0.05/fly-ash catalysts have been synthesized by the co-precipitation method using coal fly ash (FA) as the catalyst carrier. The catalyst showed high catalytic activity for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (LTSCR) of NO with NH3. The catalytic reaction experiments were carried out using a lab-scale fixed-bed reactor. De-NOx experimental results showed the use of optimum weight ratio of Mn/FA and Fe/FA, resulted in high NH3-SCR (selective catalytic reduction) activity with a broad operating temperature range (130–300 °C) under 50000 h−1. Various characterization methods were used to understand the role of the physicochemical structure of the synthesized catalysts on their De-NOx capability. The scanning electron microscopy, physical adsorption-desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the interaction among the MnOx, FeOx, and the substrate increased the surface area, the amount of high valence metal state (Mn4+, Mn3+, and Fe3+), and the surface adsorbed oxygen. Hence, redox cycles (Fe3+ + Mn2+ ↔ Mn3+ + Fe2+; Fe2+ + Mn4+ ↔ Mn3+ + Fe3+) were co-promoted over the catalyst. The balance between the adsorption ability of the reactants and the redox ability can promote the excellent NOx conversion ability of the catalyst at low temperatures. Furthermore, NH3/NO temperature-programmed desorption, NH3/NO- thermo gravimetric-mass spectrometry (NH3/NO-TG-MS), and in-situ DRIFTs (Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy) results showed the Mn0.15Fe0.05/FA has relatively high adsorption capacity and activation capability of reactants (NO, O2, and NH3) at low temperatures. These results also showed that the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) reaction mechanism is the main reaction mechanism through which NH3-SCR reactions took place. This work is important for synthesizing an efficient and environmentally-friendly catalyst and demonstrates a promising waste-utilization strategy
Consent to data linkage in a large online epidemiological survey of 18-23 year old Australian women in 2012-13
No full textBackground: Consent to link survey data with health-related administrative datasets is increasingly being sought but little is known about the influence of recruiting via online technologies on participants' consents. The goal of this paper is to examine what factors (sociodemographic, recruitment, incentives, data linkage information, health) are associated with opt-in consent to link online survey data to administrative datasets (referred to as consent to data linkage). Methods: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health is a prospective study of factors affecting the health and well-being of women. We report on factors associated with opt-in consent to data linkage at the end of an online survey of a new cohort of 18-23 year old Australian women recruited in 2012-13. Classification and Regression Tree analysis with decision trees was used to predict consent. Results: In this study 69% consented to data linkage. The provision of residential address by the individual, or not (as a measure of attitudes towards privacy), was the most important factor in classifying the data into similar groups of consenters (76% consenters versus 47% respectively). Thereafter, for those who did not provide their residential address, the incentives and data linkage information that was offered was the next most important factor, with incentive 2: limited-edition designer leggings and additional information about confidentiality showing increases in consent rates over Incentive 1: AUD50 gift voucher: 60% versus 37%. Conclusions: In young Australian women, attitudes towards privacy was strongly associated with consenting to data linkage. Providing additional details about data confidentiality was successful in increasing consent and so was cohort appropriate incentives. Ensuring that prospective participants understand the consent and privacy protocols in place to protect their confidential information builds confidence in consenting to data linkage
San Gimignano Obscura
No full textThe ‘San Gimignano Obscura’ work was exhibited as part of the Gosford Art Prize
Unmet supportive care needs among people with cancer: a cross-cultural comparison between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians
No full textObjectives: This study describes and compares the unmet supportive care needs between Indigenous and Non‐Indigenous people with cancer. Methods: Data from two cross‐sectional supportive care needs studies were matched in a 1:1 ratio for Indigenous (n = 125) and Non‐Indigenous (n = 125) Australian adults diagnosed with cancer. Descriptive statistics were used to compare type and prevalence of 24 need items measured by the SCNS‐SF34 and SCNAT‐IP. Results: A higher proportion of Non‐Indigenous participants compared to Indigenous participants reported having any moderate‐to‐high level of unmet needs (70% vs. 54%, p = 0.013) and the difference was consistently observed across non‐matched characteristics. While concerns for caregivers, fear of recurrence and pain were central needs for both Indigenous participants and Non‐Indigenous participants, there were some key differences in the specific unmet needs between groups. Physical issues including doing usual daily activities and dealing with fatigue were the top priorities for Non‐Indigenous people, while money worries, dealing with psychological issues such as how to keep their spirit strong or hope about their future appeared to be priorities for Indigenous people. Conclusions: Variations in the unmet supportive care needs between Indigenous and Non‐Indigenous people with cancer may guide health professionals to target specific needs when preparing care plans
New adventures of Mark Twain: coalopolis to metropolis
No full textWorks exhibited: Excursion 1. Imposingly framed in woody hills. Excursion 2. With spacious views of stream and lake. Excursion 3. Every now and then the noblest groupings of mountains. Excursion 4. The most enchanting rearrangements of the effects. Excursion 5. Further along, green flats, thinly covered with gum forests
Improving the delivery of primary care for older people
No full textThe Australian Institute for Health and Welfare estimates that by 2057 there will be 8.8 million Australians aged 65 years and over, representing 22% of the population. This is an increase from 3.8 million (15% of the population) in 2017.1 The Institute also found that although around 70% self‐assess their health as being good, very good or excellent, around 20% overall experience severe or profound core activity limitation. This applies to around 50% by 85 years of age. In 2017, one‐fifth of all presentations to emergency departments was for people aged 65 years and over,1 but multiple inpatient and outpatient hospital attendances are clearly not an effective way to deal with this growing challenge. Primary care providers, with their potential to focus on primary and secondary prevention, their ability to identify disease at an early stage, their knowledge of the patient including their social context and their capacity for ongoing chronic disease management are vital for the health care of this group. Moreover, primary care has been shown to be cost‐effective,2 an important consideration in a society where taxpaying workers are a shrinking proportion of the population
The intron 3 16 bp duplication polymorphism of p53 (rs17878362) is not associated with increased risk of developing triple-negative breast cancer
No full textPurpose: Very little is known about the genetic risk factors associated with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive clinical subtype characterised by the absence of ER, PR and HER2. p53, the tumour suppressor gene, is essential for maintaining genomic stability in response to cellular stress. In breast cancer, the mutation rates of TP53 vary depending on the subtype, such that ER-negative tumours have a high rate, and in ER-positive tumours they are less common. Previous studies have implicated the intronic polymorphism in TP53 (rs17878362; or PIN3) with an increased risk of developing breast cancer, although little has been discerned on its prevalence in different subtypes. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of the PIN3 genotype in the blood of cohorts with ER-positive and the ER-negative subtype TNBC, and assessed its association with outcome. Methods: We genotyped 656 TNBC and 648 ER-positive breast cancer patients, along with 436 controls, and compared the prevalence of polymorphism rs17878362 in these cohorts. Results: We found there to be no differences in the prevalence of the PIN3 genotype between the ER-positive and TNBC cohorts. Furthermore, no statistically significant difference was observed in the outcome of patients in either cohort with respect to their PIN3 genotype. Conclusions: Taken together, our results do not support an association of the PIN3 genotype with increased breast cancer risk, either in ER-positive or ER-negative patients