High temperature slagging gasification demonstration-scale trial of sewage sludge: Feasibility analysis towards mono treatment, operational challenges and life-cycle assessment.

The application of high temperature slagging gasification was investigated for treatment of sewage sludge aiming to reduce landfill dependency and create high quality by-product, slag, with excellent heavy metal encapsulation. A demonstration scale facility designed for treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW), with a capacity of 11.5 tonnes a day is applied to assess the operation of the first-of-its-kind mono sewage sludge gasification.

Bone-like structure by modified freeze casting.

Freeze casting has emerged as one of the most promising manufacturing methods to fabricate porous scaffolds in recent years. This is due to various reasons which include a wide range of materials which can be used in this process, easiness of the process, etc. One of the major objectives of this work was to fabricate bone-like structure by using a modified freeze casting process.

Effect of freezing conditions on β-Tricalcium Phosphate /Camphene scaffold with micro sized particles fabricated by freeze casting.

The long standing need of the implant manufacturing industries is to fabricate multi-matrix, customized porous scaffold as cost-effectively. In recent years, freeze casting has shown greater opportunity in the fabrication of porous scaffolds (tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, bioglass, alumina, etc.) such as at ease and good control over pore size, porosity, a range of materials and economic feasibility.

Neurological Complications in a Polynesian Traveler with Dengue.

In recent times, there has been an increased focus on mosquito-borne Flaviviruses, in particular dengue and Zika. With the reappearance of dengue in Hawai'i and the mainland United States (US), clinicians should be aware of both the common presentations of dengue, as well as other less common complications associated with the disease. Dengue can result in neurologic disorders such as encephalopathy, encephalitis, immune-mediated syndromes, neuromuscular dysfunction, and neuro-ophthalmologic disorders.

Synthesis of hybrid hydrophobic composite air filtration membranes for antibacterial activity and chemical detoxification with high particulate filtration efficiency (PFE).

Hybrid hydrophobic composite PVDF-Ag-AlO nanofibrous air filtration membranes are synthesized by the electrospinning method with different concentrations of AlO and fixed concentration of Ag to study their antibacterial, particulate filtration efficiencies, and their detoxification ability. All the membranes were characterized for their physical and chemical properties before being tested. It was also found that at AlO concentrations higher than 8%, nanofibers could not be formed by the pure blending and electrospinning technique.

"Chance favors only the prepared mind": preparing minds to systematically reduce hazards in the testing process in primary care.

Objectives: Testing plays a vital role in primary care. Failures in the process are common and can be harmful. As the great 19th century microbiologist Louis Pasteur put it "chance favors only the prepared mind.

Professional and geographical network effects on healthcare information exchange growth: does proximity really matter?

Background And Objective: We postulate that professional proximity due to common patients and geographical proximity among practice locations are significant factors influencing the adoption of health information exchange (HIE) services by healthcare providers. The objective of this study is to investigate the direct and indirect network effects of these drivers on HIE diffusion.

Design: Multi-dimensional scaling and clustering are first used to create different clusters of physicians based on their professional and geographical proximities.

Improvement of workflow and processes to ease and enrich meaningful use of health information technology.

The introduction of health information technology (HIT) can have unexpected and unintended patient safety and/or quality consequences. This highly desirable but complex intervention requires workflow changes in order to be effective. Workflow is often cited by providers as the number one 'pain point'.

Nutrient removal from membrane bioreactor permeate using microalgae and in a microalgae membrane photoreactor.

This paper explores the use of a novel microalgae membrane photoreactor (mMR) to polish the effluent from an aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) fed with domestic wastewater. Four microalgae species Chlorella (Chlorella sp.), Chlorella vulgaris (C.

Effects of self-empowered teams on rates of adverse drug events in primary care.

Background. Most safety issues in primary care arise from adverse drug events. Team Resource Management intervention was developed to identify systemic safety issues to design and implement interventions to address prioritized issues.

What happens to orders written for older primary care patients?

Background And Objectives: Data are limited on order completion errors in primary care. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and nature of order completion errors among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted at a suburban family medicine clinical teaching site.

IT-enabled systems engineering approach to monitoring and reducing ADEs.

Objectives: To develop and pilot-test a Web-based implementation of a team resource management (TRM) intervention to improve medication safety in primary care.

Study Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Methods: Eight practices were randomized to either the Web-based TRM or usual practice (4 practices in each group).

Electrospun Poly(L-Lactic Acid)-co-Poly(ϵ-Caprolactone) Nanofibres Containing Silver Nanoparticles for Skin-Tissue Engineering.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver ions (Ag(+)) show growth-inhibitory activity against microorganisms and have been used for decades as antibacterial agents in various fields. To fabricate a nanofibrous scaffold which is antibacterial against bacteria and non-toxic to cells, we electrospun composite poly(L-lactic acid)-co-poly(ϵ-caprolactone) nanofibres containing silver nanoparticles (PLLCL-AgNPs) with different concentrations (0.25, 0.

Improving transitions in inpatient and outpatient care using a paper or web-based journal.

Objective: To develop a 'Transitions Journal' for inter-unit and inter-setting communication for improving quality and safety of care and patient satisfaction with timely, reliable and meaningful information for all stakeholders.

Design: Front-line staff were targeted in a series of four team meetings through which this 'Journal' was developed iteratively; initially as a paper-based and subsequently as an IT-based tool. Goals were to: (1) develop a standardized tool based on SBAR format (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation); (2) facilitate improved communication at the points of care; (3) use a bottom-up approach; (4) create situational awareness and facilitate team formation; and (5) create visual workflow models to help inculcate a culture of safety.

Improving quality of NSAID prescribing by internal medicine trainees with an educational intervention.

Background: Prescribing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for older adults is a safety concern. Education innovations in postgraduate training designed to improve patient safety should comply with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Purpose: The objective is to evaluate a seven-component education program for internal medicine trainees designed to change prescribing practices while addressing ACGME competencies.

A patient safety objective structured clinical examination.

Objectives: There are international calls for improving education for health care workers around certain core competencies, of which patient safety and quality are integral and transcendent parts. Although relevant teaching programs have been developed, little is known about how best to assess their effectiveness. The objective of this work was to develop and implement an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) to evaluate the impact of a patient safety curriculum.

A concept for a visual computer interface to make error taxonomies useful at the point of primary care.

Evidence suggests that the quality of care delivered by the healthcare industry currently falls far short of its capabilities. Whilst most patient safety and quality improvement work to date has focused on inpatient settings, some estimates suggest that outpatient settings are equally important, with up to 200,000 avoidable deaths annually in the United States of America (USA) alone. There is currently a need for improved error reporting and taxonomy systems that are useful at the point of care.

Plasma-induced graft copolymerization of poly(methacrylic acid) on electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofiber membrane.

Electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENM) which have a porous structure have a huge potential for various liquid filtration applications. In this paper, we explore the viability of using plasma-induced graft copolymerization to reduce the pore sizes of ENMs. Poly(vinylidene) fluoride (PVDF) was electrospun to produce a nonwoven membrane, comprised of nanofibers with diameters in the range of 200-600 nm.

Impact of feed water acidification with weak and strong acids on colloidal silica fouling in ultrafiltration membrane processes.

Although acidification of feed water is a common practice to prevent scaling of the sparingly soluble minerals in nanofiltration and reverse osmosis processes, the change of acidity may have a potentially adverse impact on colloidal fouling, which is another important type of fouling on the membranes. In this paper, commonly used strong and weak acids are quantitatively investigated for their effect on colloidal silica fouling with a lab-scale ultrafiltration (UF) membrane system. Experiments showed that addition of either strong or weak acids in feed water would intensify colloidal fouling.

Assessment of safety attitudes in a skilled nursing facility.

Safety has not been well studied in the long-term care setting. This pilot study assesses staff attitudes regarding safety culture at one 250-bed skilled nursing facility. A valid and reliable Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was administered once to a sample of 51 employees.