Assessment of the thermal decomposition kinetics of empty fruit bunch, kernel shell and their blend.

In this work, were studied the thermal and kinetic characteristics of the palm kernel shell (PKS) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) from the African oil palm. Experiments in the inert atmosphere were carried out in a thermogravimetric analyzer. In the kinetic analysis were applied the one-step reaction through iso-conversion methods, mechanism of independent parallel reactions (MIPR), and mechanism of consecutive reactions (MCR). The one-step reaction mechanism overestimated the thermal decomposition of all samples; however, the best was the EFB. The MIPR showed to be representative of the thermal decomposition of all samples, and the proposed correlations between the pre-exponential factor and the heating rate improved the accuracy of the model. The MCR analysis showed that using the same kinetic parameters applied in the MIPR does not affect reliability. Finally, as a conclusion, blending PKS with EFB increase 5% heating value and decrease 50% ash content.

Health-related quality of life and psychological well-being in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: An integrative review.

AIM: This integrative review aims to summarize the evidence regarding the health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, and the relevant influencing factors in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. METHODS: An integrative published work review was adopted. Articles published in English from 2002 to 2014 that addressed the variables of health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, or the relevant influencing factors in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia were included. RESULTS: Of the 4708 articles retrieved, 16 were deemed relevant. Analysis of the published work suggests that benign prostatic hyperplasia has a negative impact on health-related quality of life, citing two major predictive factors: lower urinary tract symptoms and medical management. The psychological well-being of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia remains inconclusive as very limited studies have been conducted to investigate this aspect in these men. Limited studies collectively investigate the relationship among concepts such as health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, and sociodemographic and clinical factors related to benign prostatic hyperplasia. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the need to conduct further study on health-related quality of life and the psychological well-being of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, especially in an Asian context. Such efforts promote patient-centric care and improve patient satisfaction through incorporating the concept of health-related quality of life into clinical practices.

Health-related quality of life and psychological well-being in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To examine the health-related quality of life and psychological well-being of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and identify the predictive factors of health-related quality of life. BACKGROUND: Benign prostatic hyperplasia is highly prevalent in ageing men and causes bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms, which has a negative impact on their health-related quality of life. The current practice of managing benign prostatic hyperplasia focuses on relieving physical symptoms. However, the impact of benign prostatic hyperplasia on the patients' health-related quality of life and psychological well-being remains understudied, especially in the Asian population. DESIGN: A descriptive correlational survey study. METHODS: A convenience sample of 97 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia was recruited at an outpatient urology clinic of a tertiary hospital in Singapore. The health-related quality of life, lower urinary tract symptoms and psychological well-being of the participants were assessed using the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, International Prostate Symptom Score and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, respectively. RESULTS: The health-related quality of life scores were low with physical and mental health component scores of 47·0 and 48·9, respectively, as assessed by the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey. There was a high prevalence of anxiety (10·3%) and depression (21·6%). Correlation analysis revealed significantly negative relationships between lower urinary tract symptoms, anxiety, depression and physical and mental health dimensions of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey. Multiple linear regression analysis further identified that postvoid residual urine and lower urinary tract symptoms were predictive factors of the physical health dimension, whereas anxiety and depression were predictive factors of the mental health dimension of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey. CONCLUSIONS: The health-related quality of life of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia was poor, and their psychological well-being was severely affected. Postvoid residual urine, lower urinary tract symptoms, anxiety and depression were identified to be significant predictive factors of the health-related quality of life of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Findings from this study provide useful evidence-based information for healthcare professionals in the development and implementation of effective and culturally sensitive interventions to improve the health-related quality of life and psychological well-being of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Development of a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis facility for 10B concentration measurements at RA-3: design stage.

A PGNAA facility is being developed for (10)B concentration measurements at RA-3 reactor. Its design targets detection limits better than tenths of a microgram and irradiation times on the order of minutes. Computational models were developed, which estimated thermal neutron fluxes in irradiation position to be larger than 10(9) n cm(-2) s(-1). Calculated amounts of photons and fast neutrons make necessary for filter/moderator arrangements. An irradiation device was designed and numerically tested, which is being built and is to be used for performing characterizing measurements.