Evaluation of the Influence of De-sanding (Recycling System) Process on the Pile Bearing Capacity Using Full Scale Models

The present study investigates the effect of the de-sanding (recycling system) on the bearing capacity of the bored piles. Full-scale models were conducted on two groups of piles, the first group was implemented without using this system, and the second group was implemented using the recycling system. All piles were tested by static load test, considering the time factor for which the piles were implemented. The test results indicated a significant and clear difference in the bearing capacity of the piles when using this system. The use of the recycling system led to a significant increase in the bearing capacity of the piles by 50% or more. Thus it was possible to reduce the pile length by (15 % or more) thus, and implementation costs were significantly reduced. Furthermore, casting time for the pile group in which the system is used is less than for the pile group that did not use it (approximately half an hour per pile), and the amount of concrete was greater by an average of 2 cubic meters for each pile

Learning Behavior of Memristor-Based Neuromorphic Circuits in the Presence of Radiation

In this paper, a feed-forward spiking neural network with memristive synapses is designed to learn a spatio-temporal pattern representing the 25-pixel character ‘B’ by separating correlated and uncorrelated afferents. The network uses spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) learning behavior, which is implemented using biphasic neuron spikes. A TiO2 memristor non-linear drift model is used to simulate synaptic behavior in the neuromorphic circuit. The network uses a many-to-one topology with 25 pre-synaptic neurons (afferent) each connected to a memristive synapse and one post-synaptic neuron. The memristor model is modified to include the experimentally observed effect of state-altering radiation. During the learning process, irradiation of the memristors alters their conductance state, and the effect on circuit learning behavior is determined. Radiation is observed to generally increase the synaptic weight of the memristive devices, making the network connections more conductive and less stable. However, the network appears to relearn the pattern when radiation ceases but does take longer to resolve the correlation and pattern. Network recovery time is proportional to flux, intensity, and duration of the radiation. Further, at lower but continuous radiation exposure, (flux 1x1010 cm−2 s−1 and below), the circuit resolves the pattern successfully for up to 100 s

Human effect on on-body selective combining at 2.4 GHz

Use of the body as a platform for wearable electronics is a topical subject. Omnidirectional antennas are thought to be useful for antennas in body area networks. However, the desirable properties of omnidirectional radiation patterns close to humans are severely diminished due to the lossy load nature of biological matter and high levels of scattering due to mismatch. To alleviate these problems two or more antennas can be used on the body. In this paper, two on body antennas are used with selective combining and then compared with their free space equivalents. The frequency of operation is 2.4GHz

Self-sustained activity of low firing rate in balanced networks

Self-sustained activity in the brain is observed in the absence of external stimuli and contributes to signal propagation, neural coding, and dynamic stability. It also plays an important role in cognitive processes. In this work, by means of studying intracellular recordings from CA1 neurons in rats and results from numerical simulations, we demonstrate that self-sustained activity presents high variability of patterns, such as low neural firing rates and activity in the form of small-bursts in distinct neurons. In our numerical simulations, we consider random networks composed of coupled, adaptive exponential integrate-and-fire neurons. The neural dynamics in the random networks simulates regular spiking (excitatory) and fast spiking (inhibitory) neurons. We show that both the connection probability and network size are fundamental properties that give rise to self-sustained activity in qualitative agreement with our experimental results. Finally, we provide a more detailed description of self-sustained activity in terms of lifetime distributions, synaptic conductances, and synaptic currents

Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems

BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a public health priority in Latin America. While the burden of HIV is historically concentrated in urban areas and high-risk groups, subnational estimates that cover multiple countries and years are missing. This paucity is partially due to incomplete vital registration (VR) systems and statistical challenges related to estimating mortality rates in areas with low numbers of HIV deaths. In this analysis, we address this gap and provide novel estimates of the HIV mortality rate and the number of HIV deaths by age group, sex, and municipality in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.MethodsWe performed an ecological study using VR data ranging from 2000 to 2017, dependent on individual country data availability. We modeled HIV mortality using a Bayesian spatially explicit mixed-effects regression model that incorporates prior information on VR completeness. We calibrated our results to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.ResultsAll countries displayed over a 40-fold difference in HIV mortality between municipalities with the highest and lowest age-standardized HIV mortality rate in the last year of study for men, and over a 20-fold difference for women. Despite decreases in national HIV mortality in all countries-apart from Ecuador-across the period of study, we found broad variation in relative changes in HIV mortality at the municipality level and increasing relative inequality over time in all countries. In all six countries included in this analysis, 50% or more HIV deaths were concentrated in fewer than 10% of municipalities in the latest year of study. In addition, national age patterns reflected shifts in mortality to older age groups-the median age group among decedents ranged from 30 to 45years of age at the municipality level in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in 2017.ConclusionsOur subnational estimates of HIV mortality revealed significant spatial variation and diverging local trends in HIV mortality over time and by age. This analysis provides a framework for incorporating data and uncertainty from incomplete VR systems and can help guide more geographically precise public health intervention to support HIV-related care and reduce HIV-related deaths.Peer reviewe

Global maps of soil temperature.

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km <sup>2</sup> resolution for 0-5 and 5-15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km <sup>2</sup> pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world's major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050

Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings In 2019, health spending globally reached$8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or $1132 (1119-1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total,$40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that $54.8 billion in development assistance for health was disbursed in 2020. Of this,$13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. $12.3 billion was newly committed and$1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. $3.1 billion (22.4$2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only $714.4 million (7.7$1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a public health priority in Latin America. While the burden of HIV is historically concentrated in urban areas and high-risk groups, subnational estimates that cover multiple countries and years are missing. This paucity is partially due to incomplete vital registration (VR) systems and statistical challenges related to estimating mortality rates in areas with low numbers of HIV deaths. In this analysis, we address this gap and provide novel estimates of the HIV mortality rate and the number of HIV deaths by age group, sex, and municipality in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Methods: We performed an ecological study using VR data ranging from 2000 to 2017, dependent on individual country data availability. We modeled HIV mortality using a Bayesian spatially explicit mixed-effects regression model that incorporates prior information on VR completeness. We calibrated our results to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Results: All countries displayed over a 40-fold difference in HIV mortality between municipalities with the highest and lowest age-standardized HIV mortality rate in the last year of study for men, and over a 20-fold difference for women. Despite decreases in national HIV mortality in all countries�apart from Ecuador�across the period of study, we found broad variation in relative changes in HIV mortality at the municipality level and increasing relative inequality over time in all countries. In all six countries included in this analysis, 50 or more HIV deaths were concentrated in fewer than 10 of municipalities in the latest year of study. In addition, national age patterns reflected shifts in mortality to older age groups�the median age group among decedents ranged from 30 to 45 years of age at the municipality level in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in 2017. Conclusions: Our subnational estimates of HIV mortality revealed significant spatial variation and diverging local trends in HIV mortality over time and by age. This analysis provides a framework for incorporating data and uncertainty from incomplete VR systems and can help guide more geographically precise public health intervention to support HIV-related care and reduce HIV-related deaths

Optimization of Radio Frequency Sputtering of Graphite on Nitinol

الاداء العالي الذي تظهره سبيكة النيكل-تيتانيوم لكونها سبيكة ذاكرة للشكل وامتلاكها لخاصية المرونة الفائقة والتوافية الحياتية ادى الى انتشار واسع لهذه السبيكة كمادة هندسية. تم ترسيب طبقة رقيقة على سبيكة نيكل-تيتانيوم باستخدام هدف من الكرافيت وعن طريق استخدام التشتيت بالاشعة الراديوية باعتبارها احدى طرق الترسيب الفيزيائي للبخار. قياس التحسن في الصلادة ومعدل البلى والخشونة ومعدل التاكل ومعدل التواجد الحيوي للخلايا قبل وبعد الترسيب. ثلاث قيم للطاقة تم استخدامها وهي (200واط ,400واط ,600واط). اعتبرت الطبقة المترسبة عبارة عن الماس المشابه للكاربون بالاعتماد على القيم الناتجة من مطياف رامان. يتميز الماس المشابه للكاربون بكونه مضاد للبكتيريا ويمتلك مقاومة عالية للتاكل ومقاومة جيدة للبلى ومعامل احتكاك منخفض وصلادة عالية. اعلى صلادة تم الحصول عليها عند استخدام طاقة الترسيب 600واط ومقدارها 657 مع معدل بلى منخفض ومقداره 7,34*10-8 غم/سم. اعلى مقاومة للتاكل تم الحصول عليها بعد استخدام 400واط وكانت 0,001ملم/سنة واعلى مقدار من الخلايا الحية وهو 93,11%. النتائج الامثل من خلال الخوارزمية الجينية مع نظام الاستدلال المضبب ب مقدار222واط مع صلادة فيكرز بمقدار 666 وكثافة تيار التاكل 0,138 ومقدار الخلايا الحية 88,8.The unique performance offerings of Ni-Ti alloys which involve the shape memory effect, super elasticity and biocompatibility have led to widespread acceptance of these alloys as valuable engineering materials. Deposition thin film from graphite target on nitinol  by using radio frequency sputtering as physical vapor deposition method . Determination  the improvement in hardness, wear rate, roughness, corrosion rate and cell viability before and after deposition. Three values of  radio frequency sputtering as (200W, 400W, 600W) are used. The deposited film is considered as diamond like carbon DLC depending on peaks of Raman spectroscopy. DLC had good characteristics as antibacterial property, low friction coefficient, high wear resistance and good corrosion resistance. High power led to high Vickers hardness as 657 with low specific wear rate as 7.34*10-8g/cm. High corrosion resistance achieved after 400W as 0.001mm/y and high cell viability as 93.11%. The optimized results from genetic algorithm with fuzzy inference system pointed as power 222W, Vickers hardness as 666,corrosion current density 0.138,and cell viability as 88.8

Study the Effect of Protexin® as a Probiotic and levamisole on The Immunity of Broilers

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Protexin® and levamisole  as an immune modulator. A total of 125 unsexed (Ross 308)  broiler chicks with an average initial body weight of 43g to all chicks at the age of one day were randomly divided into five equally treated  groups (25 chicks per pen ).Group 1 was considered as control group fed with commercial ration without  any additives, group 2 was fed with commercial  ration  with the addition (daily) of  1g protexin® /liter of drinking water 1- 10 days, 1g protexin /2 liters of drinking water 10-20 days and 1g protexin® /4 liters of drinking water 20 day- end of the study, group 3 was fed with commercial  ration  with the addition (each 3 days a week) of  1g protexin® /liter of drinking water 1- 10 days, 1g protexin® /2 liters of drinking water 10-20 days and 1g protexin® /4 liters of drinking water 20- end of the study, group 4 was fed with commercial  ration  with the addition of levamisole 10 µg/kg B.w. daily, group 5 was fed with commercial  ration  with the addition of levamisole 10 µg/kg b.w. 3 days a week. The experiment lasted for five weeks (35 days). Chicks were vaccinated against New castle disease (ND) on age ( 10,20,30) days , by drinking water method, also vaccinated against Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) on age (14) days by drinking water method. At days 1, 12, 22 and 35 blood samples were collected to estimate the immune response by ELISA test for ND and at 35 day for IBD. The titer of antibody (Ab) increased significantly (P ≤0.05) against NDV and IBD in G2 (Protexin® daily) as compared with G1(control group) at the age of 22 and 35days