Estimation of Lateral Load Capacity of Short Piles Under Earthquake Force

Lateral load induced in piles (both long and short) under earthquake is a problem of serious complexity that has been plaguing professional engineers and researchers alike for quite some time. The practice in vogue is to ensure that fixed base shear of the column does not exceed static shear load capacity of the piles. Inertial and stiffness effects of pile are usually ignored in dynamic earthquake analysis. The present paper proposes a method where, based on modal response or time history analysis, load on short piles may be estimated under earthquake considering its stiffness, inertia, effect of material and geometric damping properties. The results are compared with the conventional methods. Effect of partial embedment, a situation that may develop under soil liquefaction during earthquake has also been derived. Pile loads are estimated for two cases: a) When the structure is a lumped mass system having infinite stiffness: like a machine foundation or a heavy short vessel supported directly on the pile cap. b) Superstructure has finite stiffness and mass like a frame (building /pipe rack etc) The paper assumes that for all cases when slenderness ratio L/r is less than 20 the pile behaves as short pile when failure or yielding of soil precedes the structural failure of the pile. The major advantage with this method is that it does not warrant a sophisticated software to be developed for the analysis. A simple spread sheet is sufficient to produce an accurate result

Elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent: a comparison of predictions from three transmission models.

We present three transmission models of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent (ISC) with structural differences regarding the disease stage that provides the main contribution to transmission, including models with a prominent role of asymptomatic infection, and fit them to recent case data from 8 endemic districts in Bihar, India. Following a geographical cross-validation of the models, we compare their predictions for achieving the WHO VL elimination targets with ongoing treatment and vector control strategies. All the transmission models suggest that the WHO elimination target (<1 new VL case per 10,000 capita per year at sub-district level) is likely to be met in Bihar, India, before or close to 2020 in sub-districts with a pre-control incidence of 10 VL cases per 10,000 people per year or less, when current intervention levels (60% coverage of indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticide and a delay of 40days from onset of symptoms to treatment (OT)) are maintained, given the accuracy and generalizability of the existing data regarding incidence and IRS coverage. In settings with a pre-control endemicity level of 5/10,000, increasing the effective IRS coverage from 60 to 80% is predicted to lead to elimination of VL 1-3 years earlier (depending on the particular model), and decreasing OT from 40 to 20days to bring elimination forward by approximately 1year. However, in all instances the models suggest that L. donovani transmission will continue after 2020 and thus that surveillance and control measures need to remain in place until the longer-term aim of breaking transmission is achieved

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Melatonin: Fifty Years of Scientific Journey from the Discovery in Bovine Pineal Gland to Delineation of Functions in Human

289-304Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) was first purified and characterized from the bovine pineal gland extract by Aron Lerner and co-workers in 1958. Since then, a plethora of information has piled up on its biosynthesis, metabolism, time-bound periodicity, physiological and patho-physiological functions, as well as its interactions with other endocrine or neuro-endocrine organs and tissues in the body. Melatonin has wide range of applications in physiology and biomedical fields. In recent years, a significant progress has been made in the understanding mechanism of its actions at the cellular and molecular levels. Consistent efforts have uncovered the mystery of this indoleamine, and demonstrated its role in regulation of a large as well as diverse body functions in different groups of animals in general, and in humans in particular. Current review, in commemoration of 50 years of discovery of melatonin, while revisiting the established dogmas, summarizes current information on biosynthesis, secretion, metabolism and molecular mechanism of action of melatonin at cellular level and highlights the recent research on its role in human physiology and clinical biology