Damage identification in a concrete beam using curvature difference ratio

Previous studies utilising changes in mode shape or curvature to locate damage rely on the fact that the greatest change occurs around the defect. However, in concrete beams this fact is undermined due to the nature of the defect as distributed multi-site cracks. In addition, differences in mode shape and curvature as ways to locate the damage is unstable because of occurrence of modal nodes and inflection points. In this paper, one interesting solution to this problem is being tested by establishing a new non-dimensional expression designated the 'Curvature Difference Ratio (CDR)'. This parameter exploits the ratio of differences in curvature of a specific mode shape for a damaged stage and another reference stage. The expression CDR is reasonably used to locate the damage and estimate the dynamic bending stiffness in a successively loaded 6m concrete beam. Results obtained by the proposed technique are tested and validated with a case study results done by Ren and De Roeck [1] also by Maeck and De Roeck [2]. Another contribution of this work is that relating changes in vibration properties to the design bending moment at beam sections as defined in Eurocode 2 specifications [3]. Linking between a beam section condition and the change in vibration data will help to give a better comprehension on the beam condition than the applied load

Damage and repair classification in reinforced concrete beams using frequency domain data

This research aims at developing a new vibration-based damage classification technique that can efficiently be applied to a real-time large data. Statistical pattern recognition paradigm is relevant to perform a reliable site-location damage diagnosis system. By adopting such paradigm, the finite element and other inverse models with their intensive computations, corrections and inherent inaccuracies can be avoided. In this research, a two-stage combination between principal component analysis and Karhunen-Loéve transformation (also known as canonical correlation analysis) was proposed as a statistical-based damage classification technique. Vibration measurements from frequency domain were tested as possible damage-sensitive features. The performance of the proposed system was tested and verified on real vibration measurements collected from five laboratory-scale reinforced concrete beams modelled with various ranges of defects. The results of the system helped in distinguishing between normal and damaged patterns in structural vibration data. Most importantly, the system further dissected reasonably each main damage group into subgroups according to their severity of damage. Its efficiency was conclusively proved on data from both frequency response functions and response-only functions. The outcomes of this two-stage system showed a realistic detection and classification and outperform results from the principal component analysis-only. The success of this classification model is substantially tenable because the observed clusters come from well-controlled and known state conditions

Poverty and Wellbeing Impacts of Microfinance : What Do We Know?

Over the last 35 years, microfinance has been generally regarded as an effective policy tool in the fight against poverty. Yet, the question of whether access to credit leads to poverty reduction and improved wellbeing remains open. To address this question, we conduct a systematic review of the quantitative literature of microfinance’s impacts in the developing world, and develop a theory of change that links inputs to impacts on several welfare outcomes. Overall, we find that the limited comparability of outcomes and the heterogeneity of microfinance-lending technologies, together with a considerable variation in socio-economic conditions and contexts in which impact studies have been conducted, render the interpretation and generalization of findings intricate. Our results indicate that, at best, microfinance induces short-term dynamism in the financial life of the poor; however, we do not find compelling evidence that this dynamism leads to increases in income, consumption, human capital and assets, and, ultimately, a reduction in poverty

New suggested weighed score for evaluating impact of chronic liver diseases on health-related quality of life patients among a sample in Babylon Governorate in Iraq

Objectives: This study aimed monitoring and creating a new suggested weighted score for evaluating specific health related quality of life for patients with chronic liver diseases through extracted significant factors, in order to developing of the studied score that was prepared by Yonossi in 1999 to assess the quality of life of patients with liver diseases. Methodology: A cross sectional study design was conducted to evaluate specific health related quality of life in patients with chronic liver diseases. A convenient sample targeted 133 patients with chronic liver diseases who had been diagnosed and treated by Hepatologist in the "Martyr Dr. Majid Hassan Al-Jubouri center for Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases in Babylon Governorate". This study applied a suitable questionnaire. This instrument contents several domains, such that: "Abdominal Symptoms, Fatigue, Systemic Symptoms, Emotional Function, Activity and Worry ". Results: Studied patients have a differentiated assessments concerning specific health related quality of life on the level of studied domains, which showed a discrepancy in the levels of assess, requiring re-organization of its components to show the most important patterns from which these domains can be formed in the interpretation of the respondents’ attitudes towards the quality of their healthy life.&nbsp

A multinational cross-sectional study on the awareness and concerns of healthcare providers toward monkeypox and the promotion of the monkeypox vaccination

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to explore potential healthcare workers' (HCWs) concerns about the monkeypox virus in order to create practical solutions to manage this disease.MethodsOnline cross-sectional research was conducted in 11 Arabic countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, and Sudan) from 2 August 2022 to 28 December 2022.ResultsApproximately 82% of respondents felt the need to acquire further information. The acceptability of the vaccine against monkeypox has been indicated by more than half of the participants (54.5%). Furthermore, we state that 45% of the participants are knowledgeable about the monkeypox virus, and 53.1% of the participants have never been affected with COVID-19 before are more worried about COVID-19 than about monkeypox. Participants diagnosed with COVID-19 were 0.63 times less likely to worry about monkeypox than those who were not diagnosed with COVID-19. A greater willingness to get the monkeypox vaccination was seen among the age group 21–30 years (42.4%) compared to the other age groups.ConclusionMost healthcare professionals have a moderate knowledge of the monkeypox virus. Furthermore, they demonstrated a low willingness to get the vaccination against the monkeypox virus

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population