Assessment of the splitting-tensile strength of ZP-306 steel fiber reinforced concrete

El concreto reforzado con fibras de acero (CRFA) es un material con gran potencial de uso en viviendas de concreto de baja altura, ya que la capacidad de resistencia de los muros está controlada por la resistencia a tensión diagonal. El artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio experimental para caracterizar la resistencia a tensión por compresión diametral del CRFA que es elaborado con fibra ZP-306 y con concretos locales. El programa experimental incluyó el ensayo de 52 especímenes en forma de cilindros. En el estudio se discuten los modelos de predicción disponibles y se realiza un análisis estadístico para comparar los resultados calculados con los datos medidos. Con base en las tendencias de los resultados experimentales, se proponen ecuaciones para estimar los parámetros que describen la envolvente del comportamiento esfuerzo-deformación del CRFA sometido a esfuerzos de compresión diametral. Las ecuaciones se han desarrollado en un formato versátil para ser incluidas en un reglamento de diseño. Abstract Steel fibers reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a material with great potential to be used in low-rise concrete housing because the strength capacity of the walls is controlled by diagonal tension strength. The paper shows the results of an experimental study intended to characterize splitting-tensile strength of SFRC made of both ZP-306 fiber and local concrete. The experimental program included the tests of 52 cylindrical-shaped specimens. The study discusses the available predictive models and shows a statistical analysis to compare the predicted results with measured data. Based on trends of the experimental results, equations to estimate the parameters describing the backbone of the stress-strain behavior of SFRC under splitting-tensile strength are proposed. The equations have been developed in a versatile format to be included in a design code

Assessment of Serum Calcium, Serum Iron and Nutritional Status among Under-Five Children in Six Municipalities of Abidjan District, Côte d’Ivoire

Malnutrition occurs in various forms in the world, especially in African countries. It affects two-thirds of the children in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to the protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), micronutrient deficiencies also affect many children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status, serum iron and serum calcium among under-five children. This study was conducted on a cohort from 480 children in six municipalities of Abidjan: Abobo, Cocody, Koumassi, Marcory, Treichville and Yopougon. A blood sample and anthropometric measurements (weight, height) were performed to determine the hematological profile and nutritional status of children. The results showed that stunting was the most widespread form of malnutrition among children surveyed. Depending on age, children from 0 to 6 months have a low prevalence of PEM than those from 7 to 59 months: wasting (1.2% vs 3.5%), stunting (8.6% vs 25.2%) and underweight (3.4% vs 10.7%). Also, the results reveal a lowest serum iron (µmol/l) among children from low households income (9.77 ± 2.4), illiterate mothers (8.92 ± 1.3) compared to those from mothers with a high level of education (21.75 ± 4.1) and high living standard (21.28 ± 2.1). There was no notable difference (p>0.05) between serum calcium whatever socio-demographic parameters considered. The parameters under study such as nutritional status, serum calcium and serum iron have shown a variation of malnutrition in Abidjan