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Water-in-diesel emulsion fuel has become a popular alternative fuel for diesel engines. The main limitation is related to its stability, whereby it relies heavily on surfactants to remain homogeneous, therefore causing production costs to rise. This paper highlights the application of real-time non-surfactant emulsion fuel supply system (RTES), a water/diesel emulsifying device without surfactants, to produce water-in-diesel emulsion fuel in a common rail direct injection diesel engine powered vehicle. In this study, RTES was installed near to the diesel fuel pump to ensure water-in-diesel emulsions were continuously fed to the engine. The test vehicle was set up on a roller dynamometer and operated following a modified West Virginia University (WVU) 5-Peak cycle. Fuel consumption and exhaust emissions were measured to determine the optimum water percentage of emulsion fuel and suitable timing for emulsion fuel to be introduced into the fuelling system based on the vehicle speed. The results revealed that the optimum water percentage of the emulsion fuel for the test vehicle is 10 wt%, as it was capable to reduce fuel consumption as well as nitrogen oxides and smoke emissions of a common rail direct injection diesel engine powered vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is well known for its varying presentations and poor outcomes, but little is evident about its distribution and characteristics among the Bangladeshi population. This study aimed to assess the pattern and prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in female systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients of Bangladesh. A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between January and December 2018. One hundred female SLE patients were included in the study purposively. Data were collected on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of diagnosed SLE cases visiting the SLE clinic and indoor medicine department. Neuropsychiatric (NP) syndromes were defined according to the widely accepted American College of Rheumatology (ACR) nomenclature and case definitions. Results: A total of 244 NP events were identified in fifty-five patients. Headache was the most frequent symptom (55%), followed by cognitive dysfunction (50%), anxiety (49%), psychosis (43%), seizure (23%), depression (17%), and cerebrovascular disease (ischemic type, 7%). The NP manifestations were more prevalent among urban residents (58.2%), younger patients (41.8%), and patients with graduate-level education (34.5%). Besides, young age at diagnosis (p = 0.038), Raynaud's phenomenon (p = 0.015), other organ involvement (p < 0.001), and time of NPSLE development (p < 0.001) were found to be significantly associated with the development of these manifestations. Conclusion: NP damage is prevalent among Bangladeshi female SLE patients (55%) with headache and cognitive dysfunction being the most common symptoms. Routine screening for neuropsychiatric symptoms among suspected SLE cases and further evaluation with a larger population are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that is a painful health crisis. This study aimed to assess the serum C-reactive protein (CRP), malondialdehyde (MDA), non-enzymatic antioxidant (vitamin C), and trace elements (Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe) in RA patients, and thereby correlate these parameters with the association of RA. This study included 20 Bangladeshi RA patients and 20 normal healthy volunteers as control subjects. CRP level was determined using a laboratory-based latex agglutination–enhanced immunoassay. The lipid peroxidation level was determined by measurement of the serum level of MDA. Non-enzymatic antioxidant vitamin C was assessed by UV spectrophotometric method. Trace elements were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Our study observed significantly higher concentrations of CRP (p < 0.001) and MDA (p < 0.001), and significantly lower concentrations of vitamin C (p < 0.001) in the RA patient. The mean values of Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe were 6.62 ± 0.34, 1.42 ± 0.17, 7.51 ± 0.23, and 29.25 ± 0.41 ppm for the RA patients respectively and 13.57 ± 9.13, 1.15 ± 0.17, 1.59 ± 0.18, and 62.47 ± 5.25 ppm for the control subjects, consequently. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the trace element levels between the RA patients and control subjects. Our study suggests that a higher concentration of CRP and MDA, lower levels of vitamin C, and altered trace elements may be linked to RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-in-diesel (W/D) emulsion is a promising alternative fuel candidate, as it can simultaneously reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) while improving engine performance. Wide scale adoption of this fuel is difficult due to high production and storage costs. Hence, Real-Time Non-Surfactant Emulsion Fuel Supply System (RTES) is a proposed technology to solve these issues by mixing diesel and water in-line directly to the engine. This study presents an updated RTES prototype which incorporated a modular design, with a feedback system to control water injection rate. In this paper, RTES was installed to a common rail injection diesel-powered vehicle and the biodiesel-diesel W/D produced by RTES was analyzed to determine the effect of common rail pressure toward water droplet size and distribution. The vehicle was then tested under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) to evaluate vehicle emissions, which will serve as the basis for evaluating the emissions profile of W/D produced by RTES under urban and extra-urban driving conditions. It was found that when subjected to high common rail pressures, W/D droplets produced by RTES reduced by 21.1% compared to freshly produced W/D. NEDC emissions data revealed that NOx emission was reduced to a maximum of 25.3% in urban driving conditions. Hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide increased marginally throughout urban driving phase; while, carbon dioxide emissions were comparable between biodiesel-diesel and W/D. However, extra-urban driving conditions were unfavorable for RTES activation, as substantial emission increases were observed during high-speed accelerations. Nonetheless, W/D reduced PM emissions by 51% throughout NEDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]