Stabilization of clayey soil using fibre reinforcement

The paper presents experimental and numerical investigations on crack evolution during desiccation, on unsaturated, compacted and reinforced clay using natural Alfa fibres. The effect of fibre content is investigated and a comparison between experimental and numerical simulations is made. A modified model for tensile strength is updated in the finite element program CODE_BRIGHT and used to predict tensile cracks induced by desiccation on reinforced soil. The results show that the soil desiccation cracking behaviour is significantly influenced by fibre inclusion and that experimental and numerical results are in good agreement.Postprint (published version

A prospective comparative study of mini-open versus arthroscopic repair of supraspinatus tear

Background: Supraspinatus tear is very common and more frequent among older individuals. Before the arthroscopy came into high demand, the open repair of supraspinatus tear was the preferred method of surgery. Recently, the mini-open technique of repair has also gained popularity because of certain factors like better repair strength, requires less expertise and facilitates early active mobilization. Still, the gold standard modality of repair is yet to be determined as both modalities are associated with good clinical outcomes and both have their pros and cons. We decided to compare functional and clinical outcomes of arthroscopic and mini-open repair.Methods: This was a randomised study with 32 patients in each group, aged between 18 and 60 years and all patients were cases of traumatic tear of Supraspinatus tendon. From January 2016 to March 2018, alternate patients were selected for mini-open and arthroscopic repair who fulfilled our criteria.Results: Follow up was done after 12 months postoperatively and the results were evaluated using University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder score. None left the study. In arthroscopic group, out of 32 patients, 28 got excellent or good result whereas in mini open out of 32 patients 27 achieved excellent or good outcome.Conclusions: Arthroscopic method provides better visualization of shoulder anatomy whereas Mini-open method has better repair strength and is affordable. The necessity of an arthroscopy set up might not be required for supraspinatus repair as both the modalities show similar functional and clinical outcomes, reducing the economic burden on the patients

Development of a method of robust rain gauge network optimization based on intensity-duration-frequency results

Based on rainfall intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves, fitted in several locations of a given area, a robust optimization approach is proposed to identify the best locations to install new rain gauges. The advantage of robust optimization is that the resulting design solutions yield networks which behave acceptably under hydrological variability. Robust optimization can overcome the problem of selecting representative rainfall events when building the optimization process. This paper reports an original approach based on Montana IDF model parameters. The latter are assumed to be geostatistical variables, and their spatial interdependence is taken into account through the adoption of cross-variograms in the kriging process. The problem of optimally locating a fixed number of new monitoring stations based on an existing rain gauge network is addressed. The objective function is based on the mean spatial kriging variance and rainfall variogram structure using a variance-reduction method. Hydrological variability was taken into account by considering and implementing several return periods to define the robust objective function. Variance minimization is performed using a simulated annealing algorithm. In addition, knowledge of the time horizon is needed for the computation of the robust objective function. A short- and a long-term horizon were studied, and optimal networks are identified for each. The method developed is applied to north Tunisia (area = 21 000 km2). Data inputs for the variogram analysis were IDF curves provided by the hydrological bureau and available for 14 tipping bucket type rain gauges. The recording period was from 1962 to 2001, depending on the station. The study concerns an imaginary network augmentation based on the network configuration in 1973, which is a very significant year in Tunisia because there was an exceptional regional flood event in March 1973. This network consisted of 13 stations and did not meet World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recommendations for the minimum spatial density. Therefore, it is proposed to augment it by 25, 50, 100 and 160% virtually, which is the rate that would meet WMO requirements. Results suggest that for a given augmentation robust networks remain stable overall for the two time horizons

A fixed point theorem without convexity

The purpose of this paper is to extend Himmelberg's fixed point theorem replacing the usual convexity in topological vector spaces by an abstract topological notion of convexity which generalizes classical convexity as well as several metric convexity structures found in the literature. We prove the existence, under weak hypotheses, of a fixed point for a compact approachable map and we provide sufficient conditions under which this result applies to maps whose values are convex in the abstract sense mentionned above

On the Effects of Rotation on the Passive Scalar and Kinematic Fields of Homogeneous Sheared Turbulence

In this work, the effect of rotation on the evolution of kinematic and passive scalar fields in two dimensional homogeneous sheared turbulence is studied using two different approaches. The first one is analytical and it consists on the resolution of differential linear equations governing the turbulence at high shear when the non linear effects are neglected. The second one is numerical and it consists on the modeling of governing equations using the most known second order models of turbulence and their numerical integration using the fourth order Runge-kutta method. In this second approach, the classic Launder Reece Rodi model, the Speziale Sarkar Gatski and the Shih Lumley models are retained for the pressure-strain correlation, pressure-scalar gradient correlation and for the time evolution equations of the kinematic and scalar dissipations. The evolution of turbulence is studied according to the dimensionless rotation number R which is varied from -0.75 to 0.5. The obtained results are compared to the recent results of the DNS of Brethouwer. Both methods have confirmed the existence of asymptotic equilibrium states for dimensionless kinematic and scalar parameters

Chloroformic and Methanolic Extracts of Olea europaea L. Leaves Present Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Activities

Olea europaea L. is used in traditional medicine in the Mediterranean areas. Its natural products are used in the treatment of different disorders, like fighting fever and some infectious diseases such as malaria, the treatment of arrhythmia, and relief of intestinal spasms. The aim of the current study is to investigate the possible anti-inflammatory and anatinociceptive effects of methanol and chloroformic extracts prepared from leaves of Olea europaea L. The anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of the different extracts of Olea europaea leaves were assessed after intraperitoneal administration into rats and mice, using the carrageenan-induced paw edema model in rats to test the anti-inflammatory effect and the acetic acid-induced writhing in mice to test the analgesic effect. The chloroformic and methanolic leaves extracts, studied at the doses of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg (Body Weight: BW), exhibited significant dose-dependent anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that Olea europaea leaves extracts have anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects

Assessment of Sodium Cyanide Toxicity on Freshwater Teleosts

Short term definitive tests by static renewal bioassay method were conducted to determine the toxicity of sodium cyanide on freshwater teleosts, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrhinus mrigala, Cyprinus carpio and Oreochromis mossambicus. Fishes were exposed to various concentrations of sodium cyanide for 96 h and the mortalities were recorded. The acute toxicity (LC50) of sodium cyanide calculated over 96 h period for C. catla, L. rohita, C. mrigala C. carpio and O.  mossambicus was found to be 0.11 mg/L, 0.19 mg/L, 0.33 mg/L, 1 mg/L and 0.420 mg/L, respectively. Behavioural patterns were observed in lethal (1, 2, 3 and 4 d) concentration. Some of the common behavioural changes exhibited by teleosts in toxic media include hyperexcitability, erratic and darting movements with imbalanced swimming activity, which might be due to inhibition of cytochrome c oxidase activity and decreased blood pH. The combination of cytotoxic hypoxia with lactate acidosis depresses the central nervous system and myocardium, which are the most sensitive critical sites for anoxia, resulting in respiratory arrest and death

Exceptional cause of bowel obstruction: rectal endometriosis mimicking carcinoma of Rectum - A case report

Endometriosis with intestinal serosal involvement is not uncommon in women of childbearing age. However, endometriosis presenting as colon obstruction is rare and occurs in less than 1% of cases. The Lack of pathognomonic signs makes the diagnosis difficult, mostly because the main differential diagnosis is with neoplasm, even during the intervention. Reported here is a case of a 35-year –old woman presenting with bowel obstruction due to rectal endometriosis. The patient presented signs and symptoms of bowel obstruction. Colonoscopy and radiological findings were suggestive of rectal carcinoma. Surgeons performed an anterior resection with right salpingectomy. Histopathology diagnosed bowel endometriosis. This case demonstrates the difficulty of establishing an accurate pre- and intra-operative diagnosis and the ability of intestinal endometriosis to mimic colon cancer

Les cellulites cervico-faciales d’origine dentaire: a propos de 150 cas

Les cellulites cervico-faciales d’origine dentaire sont des infections des tissus cellulo-adipeux, de la face et du cou, ayant des potentialités extensives pouvant parfois être graves et engager le pronostic vital. Le but de ce travail est d’étudier le profil épidémioclinique et paraclinique de nos patients, d’évaluer leur prise en charge thérapeutique et leur évolution. Notre étude est rétrospective et a porté sur 150 cas de cellulites cervico-faciales d’origine dentaire colligés sur 10 ans entre 1997 et 2006. La prise en charge thérapeutique était médico-hirurgicale. Les cellulites cervico-faciales d’origine dentaire sont une pathologie potentiellement grave dont la prise en charge est coûteuse et les répercussions socio-professionnelles et économiques sont lourdes d’où l’intérêt d’une politique de prévention efficace et ciblée visant à réduire la morbidité liée à ces infections.Mots clés : cellulites cervicale et faciale, infections dentaire, prévention