Reflective Crack Mitigation Using AST Interlayer over Soil-Cement Base for Flexible Pavements

Flexible pavement over soil-cement base deteriorates over time due to reflective cracking caused by the shrinkage of such base. The propagation of the reflective cracks in overlaying hot mix asphalt (HMA) could be mitigated by installing interlayer system. State of Louisiana, USA has been utilizing Asphaltic Surface Treatment (AST) as an interlayer between the soil-cement base and HMA to mitigate reflective cracking. To evaluate the field performance of AST interlayer, flexible pavement projects with and without AST interlayer over soil-cement bases were compared in this study. From the Pavement Management System (PMS) database of Louisiana, 27 AST interlayer projects (70 miles) and 46 No AST interlayer projects (175 miles) were selected for comparison. The service lives of these projects were assessed using the time series cracking, rutting, and international roughness index (IRI) data. It was found that the projects with AST interlayer produced on average 14.3 and 14.7 years of service lives for transverse and alligator cracking, respectively. On the other hand, the average service lives of No AST interlayer projects were 11.6 and 12.5 years for such cracks, respectively. Hence, the AST interlayer projects gained 2.7 and 2.2 years of service life for transverse and alligator cracking, respectively. However, the service life based on rut data showed a loss of 3.2 years for AST interlayer projects (16.2 years). Furthermore, the longitudinal cracking and IRI exhibited no improvements. In summary, AST interlayer can mitigate transverse and alligator cracking but slightly increase the rutting potential of the pavement

Presence of Informed Trading In Options Markets: An Experiment Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Using Monte Carlo Simulation we show that informed trading take place in the options market. Our results indicate that at-the-money option contracts are less likely to be information based trades. Using Black-Scholes model to evaluate call and put options, we find that with positive and negative information shocks, informed investors are better off trading out-of-the-money and/or in-the-money-options. This is clear evidence that investors with inside or superior information would take advantage of options\u27 leverage effect, Black (1975). Our analysis sheds light on the direction to revisit the models proposed by Easley et al (1998) and Chan et al (2002). We argue that, to examine the role of option volume, the out-of-the-money and/or in-the-money option volumes should be considered as well

Impact Of Microcredit Programs On Higher Income Borrowers: Evidence From Bangladesh

In this study, we investigate the impact of microcredit on economic indicators of borrowers in Bangladesh and compare if the impact is same across borrowers having different income levels. Our estimation results show that the microcredit programs are effective in generating higher income and assets for borrowers in general. However, the impact is not found to be uniform across income levels of borrowers. Higher income borrowers seem to be better off compared to the middle and lower income borrowers. It is also observed that the age and education of the household head and his/her partner in the family are significant and make a better impact of the household

Experimental Evaluation of Engineered Cementitious Composites as Reflective Crack Control Interlayer for Composite Pavements

Reflective cracking at transverse joints is considered as a predominant distress in composite pavements. Various interlayers have been used previously to prevent or retard reflective cracking. Engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is a special type of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious material that is expected to perform better as an interlayer due to its higher tensile strength and ductility. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ECC as an interlayer system experimentally. A laboratory test protocol was designed to simulate repeated traffic loads to measure the fatigue performance of ECC interlayer system using digital image correlation (DIC) technique. It was found that the composite pavement specimens with ECC interlayer provided significantly higher fatigue life as compared to the control specimens without interlayer. This result indicates that ECC could be used as a potential effective interlayer system to retard or mitigate reflective cracking

Water disinfection with geopolymer-bentonite composite foam containing silver nanoparticles

Geopolymers resemble conventional ceramics but can be manufactured at near-ambient temperatures. In this work, geopolymer-bentonite composite foam with silver nanoparticles was prepared and applied for water disinfection, inspired by point-of-use ceramic water filters. The inactivation efficiency against Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci bacteria was found to be promising (0.6-2.4 and 0.3-1.4 log(10) reductions, respectively) for similar to 1 d. However, the inactivation efficiency against somatic coliphage viruses was poor (Peer reviewe

Real-Time QoS Routing Protocols in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks: Study and Analysis

Many routing protocols have been proposed for wireless sensor networks. These routing protocols are almost always based on energy efficiency. However, recent advances in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) cameras and small microphones have led to the development of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN) as a class of wireless sensor networks which pose additional challenges. The transmission of imaging and video data needs routing protocols with both energy efficiency and Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics in order to guarantee the efficient use of the sensor nodes and effective access to the collected data. Also, with integration of real time applications in Wireless Senor Networks (WSNs), the use of QoS routing protocols is not only becoming a significant topic, but is also gaining the attention of researchers. In designing an efficient QoS routing protocol, the reliability and guarantee of end-to-end delay are critical events while conserving energy. Thus, considerable research has been focused on designing energy efficient and robust QoS routing protocols. In this paper, we present a state of the art research work based on real-time QoS routing protocols for WMSNs that have already been proposed. This paper categorizes the real-time QoS routing protocols into probabilistic and deterministic protocols. In addition, both categories are classified into soft and hard real time protocols by highlighting the QoS issues including the limitations and features of each protocol. Furthermore, we have compared the performance of mobility-aware query based real-time QoS routing protocols from each category using Network Simulator-2 (NS2). This paper also focuses on the design challenges and future research directions as well as highlights the characteristics of each QoS routing protocol.https://doi.org/10.3390/s15092220

The burden of antimicrobial resistance in the Americas in 2019: a cross-country systematic analysis

Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent global health challenge and a critical threat to modern health care. Quantifying its burden in the WHO Region of the Americas has been elusive—despite the region’s long history of resistance surveillance. This study provides comprehensive estimates of AMR burden in the Americas to assess this growing health threat. Methods We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to and associated with AMR for 23 bacterial pathogens and 88 pathogen–drug combinations for countries in the WHO Region of the Americas in 2019. We obtained data from mortality registries, surveillance systems, hospital systems, systematic literature reviews, and other sources, and applied predictive statistical modelling to produce estimates of AMR burden for all countries in the Americas. Five broad components were the backbone of our approach: the number of deaths where infection had a role, the proportion of infectious deaths attributable to a given infectious syndrome, the proportion of infectious syndrome deaths attributable to a given pathogen, the percentage of pathogens resistant to an antibiotic class, and the excess risk of mortality (or duration of an infection) associated with this resistance. We then used these components to estimate the disease burden by applying two counterfactual scenarios: deaths attributable to AMR (compared to an alternative scenario where resistant infections are replaced with susceptible ones), and deaths associated with AMR (compared to an alternative scenario where resistant infections would not occur at all). We generated 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for final estimates as the 25th and 975th ordered values across 1000 posterior draws, and models were cross-validated for out-of-sample predictive validity. Findings We estimated 569,000 deaths (95% UI 406,000–771,000) associated with bacterial AMR and 141,000 deaths (99,900–196,000) attributable to bacterial AMR among the 35 countries in the WHO Region of the Americas in 2019. Lower respiratory and thorax infections, as a syndrome, were responsible for the largest fatal burden of AMR in the region, with 189,000 deaths (149,000–241,000) associated with resistance, followed by bloodstream infections (169,000 deaths [94,200–278,000]) and peritoneal/intra-abdominal infections (118,000 deaths [78,600–168,000]). The six leading pathogens (by order of number of deaths associated with resistance) were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Together, these pathogens were responsible for 452,000 deaths (326,000–608,000) associated with AMR. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus predominated as the leading pathogen–drug combination in 34 countries for deaths attributable to AMR, while aminopenicillin-resistant E. coli was the leading pathogen–drug combination in 15 countries for deaths associated with AMR. Interpretation Given the burden across different countries, infectious syndromes, and pathogen–drug combinations, AMR represents a substantial health threat in the Americas. Countries with low access to antibiotics and basic health-care services often face the largest age-standardised mortality rates associated with and attributable to AMR in the region, implicating specific policy interventions. Evidence from this study can guide mitigation efforts that are tailored to the needs of each country in the region while informing decisions regarding funding and resource allocation. Multisectoral and joint cooperative efforts among countries will be a key to success in tackling AMR in the Americas.publishedVersio

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe