dc.contributor.author | Aiden, Aviva Presser | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2014-07-07T19:13:36Z | |
dash.embargo.terms | 2015-05-01 | en_US |
dc.date.created | 2014-05 | en_US |
dc.date.issued | 2014-07-07 | |
dc.date.submitted | 2014 | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Aiden, Aviva Presser. 2014. Clean Lighting Leads to Improved Health in Rural Africa: Field Study and Design of a Dirt-Powered Generator. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Medical School. | en_US |
dc.identifier.other | http://etds.lib.harvard.edu/hms/admin/view/41 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12407604 | |
dc.description.abstract | Two billion people world-wide use kerosene-burning lamps for household lighting. These lamps produce large quantities of soot. In Chapter 2, I describe our field study examining 230 people in rural Uganda. I show that kerosene lamps are a major source of smoke exposure in the developing world, and that replacing such lamps with solar-powered lights reduces indoor soot levels 17-fold, leading to significant improvements in health within months. This finding is particularly notable because respiratory disease is the #1 cause of death in children under 5 worldwide.
Because solar cells are a challenge to manufacture in the developing world, I next examined the potential of harvesting electrons from soil-based microbes as a source of clean energy. Such devices are known as microbial fuel cells (MFCs); because soil is available everywhere, MFCs can, in principle, be locally constructed all over the world. In Chapter 3, I describe our exploration of the biology of MFCs, using high-throughput DNA sequencing to demonstrate a role for genus Pseudomonas in energy production. I also examine numerous agricultural products available throughout the developing world to determine whether any could serve as a suitable ‘feed’ for MFC soil. I find that dried animal blood increases MFC energy production 10-fold. In Chapter 4, I describe our design of a modular, stackable MFC, demonstrate that it can be easily constructed in rural Africa, and use it to power lights and to charge a cell phone battery. | en_US |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dash.license | LAA | en_US |
dc.subject | Global health, clean energy, clean lighting, respiratory health, microbial fuel cells, | en_US |
dc.title | Clean Lighting Leads to Improved Health in Rural Africa: Field Study and Design of a Dirt-Powered Generator | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis or Dissertation | en_US |
dash.depositing.author | Aiden, Aviva Presser | en_US |
dc.date.available | 2015-05-01T07:31:05Z | |
thesis.degree.date | 2014 | en_US |
thesis.degree.grantor | Harvard Medical School | en_US |
thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | en_US |
thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Medicine | en_US |
dc.type.material | text | en_US |
dash.redaction.note | | en_US |
dash.identifier.drs | urn-3:HUL.DRS.OBJECT:25143499 | en_US |
dash.identifier.orcid | 0000-0002-5445-0969 | * |
dash.contributor.affiliated | Presser, Aviva | |
dc.identifier.orcid | 0000-0002-5445-0969 | |