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Cryptosporidium is a water-borne zoonotic parasite worldwide, usually found in lakes and rivers contaminated with sewage and animal wastes, causing outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis. In this study, 300 water samples were collected from four designated places of flood-affected district Nowshera consist of different water sources to find out the prevalence of Cryptosporidium via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium was 30.33% (91/300) with more prevalent 44% in drain water and low 5% in bore/tube well water. The prevalence in open well and tap water was recorded 33% and 20%, respectively. The highest prevalence was recorded in summer (June–September). The result of this study ensures enormous contamination of drinking water that requires appropriate treatment, cleaning and filtration to provide safe drinking water. Preventing water-borne disease and proper treatment of water supplies is essential to public health.

One of the important safety aspects regarding electromagnetic fields is their coupling with medical implants in the human body. In this article, an adult model (Ella), with different medical implants, was exposed to a leaked magnetic field from a wireless power transfer (WPT) system in an electric vehicle, operating at a frequency of 85 kHz, with transferred powers of 3.7, 7.7, 11, and 22 kW. The induced electric field ( E -field) in the human model, standing close to the vehicle and sitting inside the vehicle, was evaluated with a prosthetic hip implant, an interlocking nail implant, an InterStim neurostimulator implant, a traditional pacemaker implant, and a leadless pacemaker implant. The results indicated that medical implants influenced the maximum magnitude of the induced E -field and its distribution inside the body. A notable enhancement in the E -field was observed around the implants. In worst-case scenarios, the effects of implant shape and size were investigated. The highest induced E -field (12.68 V/m) was observed with the interlocking nail of length 340 mm for standing posture, which exceeded the prescribed limit of 11.5 V/m in the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines. The presence of a medical implant in the body likely limits the transferred power of the WPT system, depending on the implant type, size, location, and the body posture.

Advancement in the technology of leadless cardiac pacemakers (LCPs) has led to ultracompact designs of implantable antennas. In this study, a small-sized antenna for integration with an LCP, which can be operated in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band of 2.4 GHz, is developed. The proposed antenna was constructed in a spiral shape to provide superior miniaturization, less sensitivity to body tissue variation, and low specific absorption rate (SAR) values, and avoid fabrication complexities due to its small size. The antenna with a footprint of $3 \times 4\,\,\times0.5$ mm3 was constructed on a high dielectric material, namely, Rogers RT/duroid 6010. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the smallest footprint with enhanced performance when compared to previous reports related to implantable antennas. In addition, the antenna was integrated with a 3-D printed LCP having dummy electronics and experimentally validated in saline solution and minced pork. The antenna sustained good impedance matching at the ISM band with a measured bandwidth of 21.88% and 15.46% with the device and without the device, respectively. Due to the smooth electric field (surface currents) over the patch, the antenna system had 270.28 and 31.04 W/kg peak SAR for 1 and 10 g of tissues, respectively, with a maximum peak gain of −25.95 dBi. We also discussed the effects of a coaxial cable and the antenna orientation on its performance. From the measured received signal strength, a stable biotelemetric link can be established between the implant and external controlling device up to a distance of 2 m.

The integration of sub-6-GHz and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) bands has become an important issue for future fifth generation (5G) wireless communications owing to their large frequency ratios. This paper proposes a compact-size dual-function antenna operating at 3.5 GHz and the mm-wave band (28 GHz) for 5G mobile applications using a frequency reconfigurability technique. The proposed antenna comprises a microstrip patch linked with a meandered radiating structure through a radio frequency PIN diode to achieve frequency reconfigurability between the two bands. A significant size reduction up to 15.3 $\text {mm} \times 7.2\,\,\text {mm} \times 0.508$ mm for the proposed antenna was achieved using a meandered line structure and truncated ground plane. To enhance the functionality, $8 \times 8$ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) with possible long- and short-edge antenna placement configurations were demonstrated. The system exhibited satisfactory MIMO characteristics with wide decoupling −10 dB bandwidths of 7.4% and 4.8% at the low- and high-frequency bands, respectively, without utilizing any external decoupling structure. The simulated results were validated using fabricated prototypes, and good agreement was observed. Additionally, a safety analysis based on the specific absorption rate and power density at the prescribed frequency bands was conducted using a realistic human model, and the results were found to be in accordance with the safety guidelines. Owing to the integration of sub-6-GHz and mm-wave bands in a single compact structure with a large frequency ratio and good MIMO performance, the proposed antenna system is suitable for future 5G mobile handheld devices.

Numerical dosimetry with regards to a resonance-based wireless power transfer (RBWPT) system for charging electric vehicles (EVs) has been conducted. The RBWPT system operating at 13.56 MHz frequency with a transferred power of 5.3 kW is placed below the center of the vehicle body. Specific absorption rate (SAR) in anatomically-based human models Duke and Ella with and without a medical implant is evaluated using four exposure scenarios (i.e., Duke and Ella models sitting in the EV without an implant, the Ella model: With an InterStim neurostimulator implant, having a prosthetic hip implant, or having a cardiac pacemaker implant). The results indicate that change in radio frequency (RF) energy absorption occurs when conductive implants are placed in the near field of an RF source. Enhancement of the SAR close to the implants is predicted. The peak averaged SAR over 10 g of tissues exceeds the standard limiting value posed by international guidelines except for the leadless pacemaker, which is in compliance with the prescribed limits. However, the temperature increase never exceeds the localized temperature rise limit of 2 °C. Compliance with the recommended limits of SAR in the worst-case exposure scenario is likely to limit the transferred power.

This communication presents a metamaterial (MTM)-loaded compact dual-band circularly polarized antenna system suitable for multiple bio-telemetric applications. The proposed antenna system operates in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands with center frequencies: 915 MHz (902–928 MHz) and 2450 MHz (2400–2480 MHz). The integration of an MTM structure with epsilon-very-large property on the superstrate layer of the antenna produces significant gain enhancement and strong circular polarization (CP) behavior at both the operating frequencies. The key features of the proposed antenna system are its compact size (7 mm $\times 6$ mm $\times $ 0.254 mm), dual-band CP characteristics, significantly high gain values (−17.1 and −9.81 dBi in the lower and upper bands, respectively), and slot-less ground plane that reduces the complexity and backscatter radiation. The performance of the MTM-loaded antenna system is validated experimentally. The antenna is fabricated and integrated with dummy electronics and batteries and is enclosed in a 3-D printed device. The hermetically sealed device is tested in minced pork muscle to validate the simulation results. The measured impedance bandwidths of 35.8% and 17.8% are obtained in the lower and upper ISM bands, respectively. The specific absorption rate of the antenna system is evaluated at both frequencies in different tissues. Additionally, to determine the wireless communication range, the link margin is estimated at data rates of 100 kbps and 1 Mbps.

Vigorous knowledge on the occurrence and distribution of toxic metals (TMs) in theenvironment is needed to assess their toxicological impacts on human health especially in developing countries like...

For sustainable industrial business development and performance, the energy auditing and management with regards to baseline ISO 50001 is an excellent methodology for a company to run its business in order to maximize its operational efficiency with continuous improvement. In today's world with the increasing number of vehicles, production along with the quality of tyres is increasing day by day. Tire manufacturing is a stepwise systematic approach consisting of 10 different processes with high energy consumption. ➢common services & utilities, ➢process equipment, and will be illustrated on a Sankey diagram. The paper shows the components assembled to produce a tire (tire production process and equipment description), the various material used, the manufacturing process and machinery, production planning for 2019 and analyses electricity consumption of a tire manufacturing company. The electricity consumption during the tire manufacturing process will be analyzed in two groups: The paper describes the methodology of the production & energy planning based on the production plan (2018) and gives recommendations to save energy, as well.

A wide range of emerging contaminants (ECs), such as pharmaceutically active compounds, personal care products (PCPs), endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), and hormones are released into hospital wastewater (HWW). These contaminants can enter into natural environments, such as aquatic and terrestrial ones, thereby threatening human health and aquatic life. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are not designed to treat all types of chemical and biological contaminants, thereby allowing the release of these contaminants into water bodies, such as rivers, streams, and groundwater. Accordingly, adequate measures and advanced technologies should be implemented to prevent the discharge of ECs into aquatic environments. Reducing environmental health risks of HWW is particularly important amid the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the necessary guidelines and legislation for wastewater treatment are available, efficient removal of ECs from HWW requires the applications of advanced treatment technologies. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the existing healthcare structures, ECs pathways to the environment, management practices, and effective treatment options for removing ECs from HWW. A critical evaluation of the current research advances, knowledge gaps, and directions for future research is also presented.

This paper introduces a novel 9-shaped multiband frequency reconfigurable monopole antenna for wireless applications, using 1.6 mm thicker FR4 substrate and a truncated metallic ground surface. The designed antenna performs in single and dual frequency modes depending on switching states. The antenna works in a single band (WiMAX at 3.5 GHz) when the switch is in the OFF state. The dual band frequency mode (Wi-Fi at 2.45 GHz and WLAN at 5.2 GHz) is obtained when the switch is turned ON. The directivities are: 2.13 dBi, 2.77 dBi and 3.99 dBi and efficiencies: 86%, 93.5% and 84.4% are attained at frequencies 2.45 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.2 GHz respectively. The proposed antenna has VSWR< 1.5 for all the three frequencies. The scattering and far-field parameters of the designed antenna are analyzed using computer simulation technology CST 2014. The performance of the proposed antenna is analyzed on the basis of VSWR, efficiency, gain, radiation pattern and return loss.

This paper presents an effort pertaining to the simulation of the future production in Pakistan of different primary energy resources, i.e., coal, natural gas and crude oil, thereby constructing Hubbert peaks. In this context, the past 45 years’ production data of primary energy resources of Pakistan have been analyzed and simulated using a generic STELLA (Systems Thinking, Experimental Learning Laboratory with Animation) model. The results show that the Hubbert peak of Pakistan’s crude oil production has been somehow already achieved in 2013, with the highest production of 4.52 million toe, which is 1.51 times the production in 2000. Similarly, the natural gas peak production is expected in 2024 with a production of 32.70 million toe which shall be 1.96-fold the extraction of the resource in the year 2000. On the other hand, the coal production in the country has been historically very low and with a constant production rate that is gradually picking up, the peak production year for the coal is anticipated to be in the year 2080 with an estimated production of 134.06 million. Based on the results of this study, which provide a greater understanding of future energy patterns, it is recommended that an energy security policy be devised for the country to ensure sustained supplies in the future.