Effects of Poly Vinyl Acetate on Characteristics of Expansive Soil

Soil stabilization using polymer materials has become of great potential in recent years. In this regard, an attempt is made to investigate and understand the influence of Poly Vinyl Acetate (PVA) on the engineering properties of expansive soil. A series of treated soil specimens were prepared and tested at four different percentages of PVA (0%, 1.5%, 3.75%, and 5% by weight of dry soil). These treated specimens were subjected to laboratory testing for measuring Atterberg's limits, free swell, compaction characteristics, and unconfined compression strength properties. It was found that PVA had significant influence on the properties of treated soil. An increase in PVA content resulted in an increment of unconfined compressive strength of the soil. Addition of 3.75% of PVA increased the unconfined compressive strength value almost 6 times the value of the virgin soil. On the other hand, an increase in PVA content led to a reduction of free swell and plasticity index. The soil plasticity and free swell indices values were reduced from 62% to 0% and from 190% to 50% respectively by addition of 5% PVA. It can be concluded that an increasing trend for soil strength and decreasing in swelling with addition of PVA, suggesting its potential applications in stabilization of expansive soils

Cress Seed (Lepidium sativum) Role in the healthy Processed Spread Cheese and Its Anti-Diabetic Activity

The present study dealt with utilization of cress seeds (Lepidium sativum) in the manufacture of processed spread cheese, instead of emulsifying salt. Cress seed have also health promoting properties especially lowering glucose ratios. Cress seeds powder were prepared and added with the ingredients during manufacture of processed spread cheese at levels of six ratios (0.05, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5%) compared with control (3% commercial emulsifying salt). The chemical, physical, microbiology and organoleptic properties of resultant samples were evaluated. Data revealed that processed spread cheese sample fortified with 3.5% cress seeds was the best either when fresh or during storage (8±2ºC for 3 months) and they had acceptable properties. Microstructure of processed cheese spread samples were also conducted. From nutritional view, processed cheese spread samples fortified with 3.5% cress seeds were used for feeding Adult male albino rats to study their effect on plasma glucose level. Obtained data indicated that the glucose level in plasma was significantly decreased (

Thermal comfort and occupant adaptive behaviour in university offices with cooling and free running modes

This paper presents results of a small-scale field survey of occupant thermal comfort and adaptive behaviour, conducted in university office buildings in Fukuoka, Japan (August 2014). A comparison was made between offices with cooling (AC) and free running (FR) modes. Indoor environmental conditions were measured, simultaneously with administration of a questionnaire survey. Most Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) values were higher than Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) values for both cases. This indicates that the PMV model over-predicted actual thermal response. The thermal response in FR offices was found to be more sensitive than in those with AC; additionally, respondents could tolerate a narrower range of variation in indoor operative temperature. Occupants’ adaptive behaviours in AC office were more limited compared to those of respondents with FR. This indicates amenable thermal conditions in A/C-controlled indoor environments, with occupants having no wish to make changes

Amyloid pathology fingerprint differentiates post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are risk factors for early onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may accelerate the progression rate of AD pathology. As amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques are a hallmark of AD pathology, we hypothesized that TBI and PTSD might increase Aβ accumulation in the brain. METHODS: We examined PET and neuropsychological data from Vietnam War veterans compiled by the US Department of Defense Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, to examine the spatial distribution of Aβ in male veterans' who had experienced a TBI and/or developed PTSD. Subjects were classified into controls, TBI only, PTSD only, and TBI with PTSD (TBI_PTSD) groups and data were analyzed using both voxel-based and ROI-based approaches. RESULTS: Compared to controls, all three clinical groups showed a pattern of mainly increased referenced standard uptake values (SUVR) for the amyloid tracer [18F]-AV45 PET, with rank order PTSD > TBI_PTSD > TBI > Control, and same rank order was seen in the deficits of cognitive functions. SUVR increase was observed in widespread cortical regions of the PTSD group; in white matter of the TBI_PTSD group; and cerebellum and precuneus area of the TBI group, in contrast with controls. The [18F]-AV45 SUVR correlated negatively with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid levels and positively with the CSF tau concentrations. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that both TBI and PTSD are substantial risk factors for cognition decline and increased Aβ deposition resembling that in AD. In addition, both PTSD and TBI_PTSD have a different pathways of Aβ accumulation

The Impact of firms\u27 compliance to shariah on stock price synchronicity

The continuous growth in Islamic finance over the past decades grabbed the interest of empirical researchers who investigated different aspects of Shariah compliant firms. In this thesis, we are interested to explore the impact of Shariah compliance on stock price synchronicity and informativeness. Our rational is that Shariah standard forced compliant firms to release more firm-specific information compared with conventional ones and given that Shariah compliant firms are more associated with information transparency taking into consideration the impact of the Shariah on the governance of the compliant firms. We claim that these features of Shariah compliant firms lead to less price synchronicity compared with conventional firms. We use data from 11 emerging and developed countries for the period of 2000 to 2018. Our findings suggest that firms\u27 compliance to Shariah has a significant negative impact on stock price synchronicity confirming that Shariah compliance decreases the co-movements of the stocks. The results are consistent with the unique characteristics and the financial ratio constrains of compliant firms increase the information transparency and accuracy

グローバル都市イメージの多面的解釈手法の開発 : 東京湾お台場地区における住民による認知イメージと公共メディアによって投影されたイメージの比較を通して

早大学位記番号:新8523早稲田大

Assessing Groundwater Availability and Land Subsidence Risk Associated with Anthropogenic Activities in a Complex Aquifer System

The Southern Hills aquifer system (SHAS) is the primary source of water in the Capital area of Louisiana. However, the overexploitation of freshwater-bearing aquifers and the presence of two active faults, the BR fault and the DSS fault, have resulted in groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion, and increased the risk of land surface subsidence. Such critical issues pose substantial threats to groundwater availability and exert detrimental effects on the environment and urban infrastructures. This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation of the SHAS for recognizing the consequences of groundwater depletion and its potential long-term impacts on groundwater availability and land stability. A mesh generation methodology based on 2.5D centroidal Voronoi tessellations and curve fitting is proposed to construct an unstructured grid that offers great flexibility in specifying grid connections in 3D, captures intricate geometries, and adds high levels of refinement in areas of interest. The proposed methodology is applied to develop a high-resolution groundwater model for the SHAS, serving as a pivotal tool for providing advanced insights into groundwater availability, aquifer sustainability, and spatial depletion across individual aquifers, with implications for current conditions and future projections under different withdrawal scenarios. A groundwater-subsidence model is developed to assess spatiotemporal variations in groundwater flow and subsurface compaction in the SHAS, as well as the associated vertical displacement induced by long-term groundwater pumping. This provides a substantial framework for understanding the key factors contributing to land subsidence. A transport model is developed to investigate salt migration pathways within the “2,000-foot” sand. This study not only significantly advances the understanding of groundwater availability in the SHAS but also forms the basis for robust groundwater management approaches, thereby preserving the sustainability and resilience of vulnerable areas and informing targeted mitigation strategies

Factors which influence student satisfaction among international postgraduate students in Universiti Utara Malaysia

In today’s competitive environment student satisfaction become a significant factor for higher education. This was because satisfied students could attract new students and help to retain existing students. Despite importance of student satisfaction in higher education institutions, limited studies have been done on student satisfaction in Malaysian higher education. The declining number of international postgraduate students in UUM had raised researcher interest to make the study. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of some factors like accommodation, cafeteria food service, transportation and teaching quality on student satisfaction among international postgraduate students in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). The survey method utilizes the questionnaire for data collection process. Pearson Correlation and Multiple Regression were used for data analysis through SPSS version The survey questionnaires were distributed to 291 respondents however only 192 questionnaires were received back or 65.9 percent. The main finding of study showed there were significant relationships between accommodation, cafeteria food service, teaching quality and student satisfaction. Transportation, however, did not show any significant relationship with student satisfactio