Sheet Barrier and Intubating Stylet

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory syndrome caused by SARS-CoV-2, can be transmitted through respiratory droplets and aerosols of droplet nuclei. Aerosol-generating medical procedures (AGMP) are needed to take care of critically ill patients but place health care providers at risk of infection. With limited supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE), barrier systems were developed to help protect health care providers during tracheal intubation. The video intubating stylet shows promise to become the preferred intubation device in conjunction with plastic sheet barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design and Implementation of a Vacuum Forming Machine

The purpose of this work is to present the design of a laboratory scale vacuum forming machine, which can be used for the processing of thermoplastic sheets. The designed machine can process an A4 format plastic sheet. An important consideration in the design process was to follow a cost-effective approach. The vacuum forming instrument is made for educational purposes in the framework of a final project for the Polymer Technology Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Sapientia EMTE University in Târgu Mureș. The structure and the operation of the machine is similar to that found in the industry. However, the cost of production is significantly lower. The main components of the machine include the frame, heater, vacuum pump and the clamping device.

Impact of Curing Methods on the Porosity and Compressive Strength of Concrete

An experimental investigation was conducted to evaluate the impact of different curing practices on the porosity and compressive strength of concrete. The targeted compressive strength of the concrete at 28-day of curing was 20 N/mm2. Plain concrete cubes were prepared with a mix ratio 1:1.5:3 by weight and 0.6 water-cement ratio. A total of 120 concrete cubes were tested on 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th and 56th day curing periods for slump, porosity and compressive strength. The four curing methods used were immersion, jute sack, plastic sheet and sprinkling which were all carried out in the laboratory under the same average environmental conditions of 27 ± 20°C temperature and 75% relative humidity. The results from the study showed that slump values were within the range of 52mm to 58mm which is within the medium range of 25 to 100mm, hence a true slump was achieved. The porosity of all samples decreased with age (i.e. at the dried state, immersion recorded the lowest 4.35%, followed by jute sack with 5.25%, plastic sheet 5.29% and sprinkling 5.55%). Again, the pattern of increases in concrete density (immersion curing produced concrete with the highest mean densities of 2369 kg/m3, jute 2360 kg/m3 ,plastic sheet 2277 kg/m3, sprinkling 2229 kg/m3 all for 56 days) was similar to that of the compressive strength (i.e immersion curing method yielded the highest compressive strength of 25.43 N/mm2, jute method 23.90 N/mm2, plastic method 23.47 N/mm2 , sprinkling method 22.33 N/mm2 for 56 days curing ages respectively). Therefore, increases in both compressive strength and densities of concrete cube is a function of curing method. The study concludes that the immersion curing method has the greater effect on the properties of concrete since it yielded the highest strengths. The recommendation is made for further studies on the impact of curing methods on the porosity and compressive strength of concrete on the field since this study was done in the laboratory under control conditions.

Experimental investigation to verify if excessive plastic sheeting shielding produce micro clusters of SARS-CoV-2

We experimentally investigated indoor air ventilation using the CO2 tracer technique to verify the infection cluster of SARS-CoV-2 that erupted at an office space. Multi-placed observations revealed extremely low air change rates (0.1/h) at the site. The local infection clusters were observed several meters away from a door that is the only ventilation in the office, which suggests a negative effect of plastic sheeting shielding. The thermo-fluid simulation showed that the plastic sheet blocked the airflow and trapped the exhaled air in each partition cell. As risk suppression methods, improving air ventilation by opening windows and using fans were verified, and significant improvements (10-28/h) were observed for each partition cells.

Mapping marine debris encountered by albatrosses tracked over oceanic waters

Anthropogenic marine debris is a threat to marine organisms. Understanding how this debris spatially distributes at sea and may become associated with marine wildlife are key steps to tackle this current issue. Using bird-borne GPS- and video-loggers on 13 black-footed albatrosses Phoebastria nigripes breeding in Torishima, Japan, we examined the distribution of large floating debris in the Kuroshio Current area, western North Pacific. A total of 16 floating debris, including styrofoam (n = 4), plastic pieces (n = 3), plastic sheet (n = 1), fishery-related items (rope or netting, n = 4), and unidentified debris (n = 4), were recorded across the 9003 km covered by nine birds. The debris was concentrated in the southern area of the Kuroshio Current, where the surface current was weak, and the albatrosses were foraging. The albatrosses displayed changes in flight direction towards the debris when at a mean distance of 4.9 km, similarly to when approaching prey, and one bird was observed pecking at a plastic sheet; indicating that albatrosses actively interacted with the debris. This paper shows the usefulness of studying wide-ranging marine predators through the use of combined biologging tools, and highlights areas with increased risk of debris exposure and behavioral responses to debris items.

Design and simulation of components of vacuum forming machine using household vacuum cleaner

Plastic products ranging from toothbrushes to smartphones are an inseparable commodity in daily human life and their impact cannot be underestimated. This paper aims to design and simulate the vacuum forming process using readily available materials in context of Nepal. Vacuum forming process is a thermoforming process where the heated plastic sheet derives the shape of the mold through the application of vacuum and is used to make packaging products and other household products. Simulations were done to find out the optimum distance between the plastic sheet and the heater, arrangement of the wire in the heater, load bearing capacity of the design and the flow of vacuum in the arrangement. Nichrome wire coiled as heater coil is used as the heating material and laid in a spiral path with the plastic sheet 35mm below provided the best heating results and 1800W vacuum cleaner provided the necessary pressure of 85-90kPa and velocities of 100- 115m/s while the steel posts provided adequate strength.

MOISTURE AND ECONOMICS STUDY BY THE EFFECT OF MULCHING AND METHODS OF IRRIGATION ON OKRA (HIBISCUS ESCULENTUS L. MOENCH)

Okra (Hibiscus esculentus L. Moench) or Lady’s finger is one of the important vegetables grown throughout the tropics and subtropics. It is one of the most important vegetable grown commercially almost during the year in India. Irrigation scheduling is considered as a vital component of water management to produce higher irrigation efficiency under any irrigation system, as excessive or sub-optimum irrigation both have detrimental effects on productivity parameters of okra (Aiyelaagbe and Ogbonnaya, 1996). Mulching is effective in reducing evaporation, conserving soil moisture and has been known to modify the hydrothermal regime of soil. The result of method of irrigation is found to be non significant due to continuous rainfall. Hence, there are no differences among the methods of irrigation. Mulching with plastic sheet in okra var. VRO-6 proved the best mulch practice which produced superior growth and yield attributing characters