Abstract Introduction: Quality assurance (QA) in healthcare is the degree to which healthcare services increase the likelihood of desired outcomes and are consistent with the current professional knowledge. It is a panacea to achieve higher levels of patient safety and satisfaction. This study aims to do a situational analysis of the current QA mechanism in naval hospitals through a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) analysis. Methods: The study is a qualitative study where data were collected by in-depth interviews and focused group discussions as well as by review of reports. The data were processed using transcription and anonymized to maintain the data security and integrity. Further, it was iterated and triangulated to establish credibility and reliability. Number and relevant events were analyzed to arrive at inferences. Based on these themes and inferences, a situational analysis of QA mechanisms in naval hospitals by SWOT method was done by the authors. Ethical consent was obtained from the institutional ethical committee. Results: National QA Standards (NQAS) developed by the National Health Systems Resource Centre, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is a comprehensive and objective QA tool. QA by modified NQAS tool has also been rolled out systematically in the naval hospitals over the past 1 year. The strengths identified with respect to the adoption of NQAS are improved patient safety and satisfaction, objective assessment to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance, ensure benchmarking against international standards, aid in comparison of hospitals, build accountability, and ensure trust among stakeholders. The weakness in the implementation of NQAS is the lengthy assessment process, implementation cost for training and infrastructure upgradation, biased internal audits, lack of felt need among users, and resistance to change. The strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. Conclusion: By leveraging the strengths, addressing existing weaknesses, capitalizing on opportunities, and mitigating threats, naval hospitals can significantly enhance their QA mechanisms. Thus, the adoption of a continuous improvement process by NQAS implementation is crucial in advancing healthcare quality. Spreading awareness to generate the felt need, emphasizing proactive training, focusing on patient satisfaction surveys, and incentivizing the process will ensure robust implementation. Through these measures, naval hospitals can maintain excellence in healthcare delivery and readiness to meet future challenges.

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• Pub. Date : 2025
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The study aims to investigate the dynamics of fluid flow and thermal energy exchange within a 2D differentially heated cavity using the low Mach number approximation. Specifically, it seeks to investigate the occurrences related to natural convection and thermal radiation in a medium that exhibits absorption, emission, and scattering properties and exposed to a significant temperature difference. This methodology is applied within the framework of the low Mach number model of the Navier-Stokes equation. The interaction of momentum, energy, and radiation transfer equations within the cavity is addressed through an iterative approach that combines discrete-ordinates and finite volume methods enhanced by the SIMPLER algorithm. The obtained findings show that the LMN model overestimates radiative transfer, with higher radiative power in the absorbing-emitting case. Transparent media (? = 5) result in the highest heat transfer, while lower opacity favors the absorbing-diffusing medium. Flow intensity increases with albedo, and isotherms deform due to strong fluid dynamics. At high opacity, heat transfer is greater in transparent media, with lower velocities in more diffusing media.

• Book : (00)
• Pub. Date : 2025
• Page : pp.15-15
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The quick evaluation for the higher heating value (HHV) is crucial for thermochemical conversion of solid fuels. In this work, machine learning method based on artificial neural networks (ANN) was used to predict the HHV of solid fuel. 205 groups of different kinds of solid fuels collected from publications were used. The proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and the combination of two were used as input parameters. The influence of activation function, neuron number and hidden layer number on the prediction performance was studied. Results show that single hidden layer with logsig function using 8 neurons was an optimized condition for HHV prediction. The combination of two composition analyses could achieve much higher accuracy, with the average relative error of 2.57%. Impact analysis indicated that the non-combustible components, namely ash content and oxygen content showed the largest influencing weight for HHV prediction, accounting for 21.73% and 22.91% respectively. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) were further used to optimize the artificial neural network model. Results show that PSO and GA both improved the prediction performance of ANN model by optimizing the initial weight and threshold values. The average relative errors for PSOANN and GA-ANN decreased to 1.15 % and 1.72 % respectively.

• Book : (00)
• Pub. Date : 2025
• Page : pp.12-12
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• Pub. Date : 2025
• Page : pp.100712-100712
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Abstract The High-Granularity Calorimeter (HGCAL) will replace the current CMS Endcap Calorimeter during Long-Shutdown 3. The Endcap Concentrator (ECON) ASICs represent key elements in the readout chain, processing trigger (ECON-T) and data (ECON-D) streams from the HGCROC to the lpGBT. The ECONs will operate in a radiation environment with a High-Energy Hadron (E≥20 MeV) flux up to 2·107 cm-2s-1. This contribution describes the Universal Verification Methodology (UVM)-based functional verification of the ECON ASICs focusing on the re-use of existing components to manage the complexity of the verification environment.

• Book : 20(02)
• Pub. Date : 2025
• Page : pp.C02004-C02004
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Nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group D member 1 (NR1D1 or REV-ERBα) is a crucial element of the circadian clock's transcriptional and translational feedback loop. Understanding its expression in humans is critical for elucidating its role in circadian rhythms and metabolic processes, and finding potential links to various pathologies. In a longitudinal survey we examined REV-ERBα expression at 08:00 using real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in blood mononuclear cells from Arctic native and non-native residents during equinoxes and solstices. REV-ERBα expression exhibited pronounced seasonality, peaking at the summer solstice and reaching a nadir at the winter solstice in both natives and non-natives with relatively higher summer peak in natives. After adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index, amount and timing of light exposure, amount of physical activity and indigeneity emerged as significant predictors of REV-ERBα expression.

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• Pub. Date : 2025
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Abstract Background: India is projected to be one of the largest consumers of electronics and producers of e-waste in the world. There is a dearth of literature regarding the knowledge and practices of the general Indian population regarding e-waste. The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practices of the general populace of Siliguri regarding electronic waste. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the households of Siliguri, West Bengal. Consenting adults were interviewed using the questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling strategy was employed for the study to obtain a sample of 375. A researcher-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: The mean age of the head of the household was 50.2 ± 13.6 years. Most of the households were nuclear families (56.5%), and 34.4% of them belonged to the upper middle socioeconomic class. The households possessed a median of five devices. It was seen that 93.4% knew that e-waste was harmful to their health. The commonest practice regarding the disposal of e-waste was selling these items to recyclers (47.5%). However, 29.3% of the households reported that due to them not knowing what to do with broken electronics, they stored them at home. A majority (84.8%) of the households reported that they did not use any personal protective equipment while handling e-waste. Conclusion: While the households assessed knew about the harm of e-waste, their knowledge about e-waste disposal was varied. Furthermore, there was a knowledge-practice gap, leading to them either storing e-waste at home or having other improper handling and disposal practices.

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• Pub. Date : 2025
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• Pub. Date : 2025
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ABSTRACTBackgroundPatients who have undergone double lung transplantation (DLTx) are at increased risk of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Although the presence of clinically overt PTE can adversely affect short‐term mortality, the prognostic impact of asymptomatic (silent) PTE detected by routine imaging after DLTx is unclear. This study aimed to determine whether PTE identified by routine ventilation‐perfusion single‐photon emission computed tomography (V̇‐Q̇ SPECT) 12 weeks post‐DLTx is associated with subsequent all‐cause and graft‐related mortality.MethodsSingle‐center retrospective cohort study evaluating 130 DLTx recipients who underwent routine V̇‐Q̇ SPECT imaging 12 weeks posttransplant between 2012 and 2017. V̇‐Q̇ SPECT scans were assessed for perfusion and ventilation defects indicative of PTE. The association between PTE and mortality outcomes was analyzed using multivariable Cox regression, Kaplan‐Meier survival curves, and cumulative incidence functions.ResultsPTE was identified in 24.6% (n = 32) of the patients 12 weeks post‐DLTx. After 3 months of follow‐up, there was no detectable difference in lung function between patients with and without PTE. Moreover, the presence of PTE was not associated with increased hazard ratios for all‐cause mortality (HR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.37–1.41; p = 0.34) or graft‐specific mortality (HR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.42–2.16; p = 0.91).ConclusionsPTE is a frequent finding on routine V̇‐Q̇ SPECT 12 weeks post‐DLTx that does not inform risk of all‐cause or graft‐related mortality. These findings suggest that an incidentally detected PTE in asymptomatic patients may not necessitate changes in clinical management for asymptomatic DLTx patients.

• Book : 39(2)
• Pub. Date : 2025
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• Book : 15(1)
• Pub. Date : 2025
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