Static Analysis of Steel Fiber Concrete Beam With Heterosis Finite Elements

Steel fiber is considered as the most commonly used constructional fibers in concrete structures. The formulation of new nonlinearities to predict the static performance of steel fiber concrete  composite  structures  is  considered  essential.  Present study is devoted to investigate the efficiency of utilizing heterosis finite elements analysis in static analysis of steel fibrous beams. New and simple material nonlinearities are proposed and used in the formulation of these elements. A computer program coded in FORTRAN  was  developed  to  perform  current  finite  element static analysis with considering four cases of elements stiffness matrix determination. The results are compared with the experimental data available in literature in terms of central deflections, strains, and failure form, good agreement was found. Suitable outcomes have been observed in present static analysis with using of tangential stiffness matrix and stiffness matrix in second iteration of the load increment

The Effect of the FRESH Program on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in NYC

This study examines whether the NYCEDC\u27s FRESH Program has had an effect on the fruit and vegetable consumption of NYC residents. Using data collected by the NYC DOHMH, a difference-in-difference regression with fixed effects was run. Stratifications for race and sex were also performed

Detection of mecA Gene in the Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

No Abstrac

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete beams and slabs.

Penggunaan gentian keluli dalam konkrit telah menunjukkan beberapa faedah terhadap peningkatan kekuatan lenturan, kemuluran, kekukuhan, keupayaan kawalan keretakan dan penyerapan kapasiti tenaga terhadap beban dinamik yang dikenakan seperti hentaman dan letupan. The use of steel fibers in concrete has shown a number of advantages such as the improvement of the flexural strength, ductility, stiffness, cracking control and energy absorption capacity against the applied dynamic loadings such as impacts and blasts

Effect of high temperature on the mechanical properties of basalt fibre self-compacting concrete as an overlay material

Basalt fibres are modern inorganic concrete fibres, fabricated by melting the basalt rock. These fibres exhibited remarkable resistance to elevated temperatures in comparison with other manufactured fibres. Thus, when the impact of fire is the main consideration, basalt fibres are favoured in the construction of concrete buildings. In this study, the effects of basalt fibres on the workability of fresh self-compacting concrete (SCC) were measured using slump flow, J-ring flow, V-funnel flow and L-box height ratio. The properties of hardened concrete such as compressive strength, splitting strength, modulus of elasticity, flexural strength, and Poisson's ratio were examined at temperatures between 25 °C and 500 °C. Also, the bond strength between the basalt fibre SCC as an overlay material and a normal concrete substrate was analysed at elevated temperatures. The interfacial surface between the concrete parts of the hybrid samples was roughened in different ways to determine the best roughening mode, which induced high slant shear strength of concrete under fire. The experimental results revealed that increasing the temperature up to 500 °C reduced the tensile and compressive strengths of SCC by over 20%. The optimum slant shear strength of hybrid concrete under fire was achieved by roughening the interfacial surface through the sandblasting method. © 2020 Elsevier Lt

Do early father-infant interactions predict the onset of externalising behaviours in young children? Findings from a longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Factors related to parents and parenting capacities are important predictors of the development of behavioural problems in children. Recently, there has been an increasing research focus in this field on the earliest years of life, however, relatively few studies have addressed the role of fathers, despite this appearing to be particularly pertinent to child behavioural development. This study aimed to examine whether father-infant interactions at age 3 months independently predicted child behavioural problems at 1 year of age. METHOD: A sample of 192 families was recruited from two maternity units in the United Kingdom. Father-infant interactions were assessed in the family home and coded using the global rating scales. Child behaviour problems were assessed by maternal report. Hierarchical and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between father-infant interaction and the development of behavioural problems. RESULTS: Disengaged and remote interactions between fathers and their infants were found to predict externalising behavioural problems at the age of 1 year. The children of the most disengaged fathers had an increased risk of developing early externalising behavioural problems [disengaged (nonintrusive) interactions--adjusted odds ratio 5.33 (95% confidence interval; 1.39, 20.40): remote interactions adj. OR 3.32 (0.92, 12.05)]. CONCLUSIONS: Disengaged interactions of fathers with their infants, as early as the third month of life, predict early behavioural problems in children. These interactions may be critical factors to address, from a very early age in the child's life, and offer a potential opportunity for preventive intervention

Paternal depression: an examination of its links with father, child and family functioning in the postnatal period.

BACKGROUND: Maternal depression is common and is known to affect both maternal and child health. One of the mechanisms by which maternal depression exerts its effects on child health is through an increased rate of parental disharmony. Fathers also experience depression, but the impact of this on family functioning has been less studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between paternal depressive disorder and family and child functioning, in the first 3 months of a child's life. METHODS: A controlled study comparing individual and familial outcomes in fathers with (n = 54) and without diagnosed depressive disorder (n = 99). Parental couple functioning and child temperament were assessed by both paternal and maternal report. RESULTS: Depression in fathers is associated with an increased risk of disharmony in partner relationships, reported by both fathers and their partners, controlling for maternal depression. Few differences in infant's reported temperament were found in the early postnatal period. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize the importance of considering the potential for men, as well as women, to experience depression in the postnatal period. Paternal symptoms hold the potential to impact upon fathers, their partners, and their children

The Effect of Corporate Governance in Islamic Banking on the Agility of Iraqi Banks

The primary purpose of the research is to investigate the impact of corporate governance in Islamic banking on the agility of Iraqi banks. In other words, the current study seeks to find an answer to the question of whether corporate governance in Islamic banking can affect the agility and speed of change of banks in the face of problems in Iraq or not. For this purpose, the research method is applied based on the goal and descriptive survey based on the method. The statistical population of this study is all managers, employees and customers of the public and private banks of Iraq, and a total of 70 questionnaires have been completed and analyzed. The sampling method of the research is non-random, and the available population has been selected as the sample size. In this research, PLS tests have been used to investigate the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. The research results indicate that corporate governance in Islamic banking has had a positive effect on the agility of Iraqi banks, meaning that with the increase of corporate governance mechanisms in Iraqi Islamic banking, the rate of change of banks (agility of banks) has been facing more problems

Early childhood aggressive behaviour: Negative interactions with paternal antisocial behaviour and maternal postpartum depressive symptoms across two international cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood aggressive behaviour is a predictor of future violence. Therefore, identifying risk factors for children's aggressive behaviour is important in understanding underlying mechanisms. Maternal postpartum depression is a known risk factor. However, little research has focused on the influence of paternal behaviour on early childhood aggression and its interaction with maternal postpartum depression. METHODS: This study was performed in two cohorts: the Fathers Project, in the United Kingdom (n = 143) and the Generation R Study, in The Netherlands (n = 549). In both cohorts, we related paternal antisocial personality (ASP) traits and maternal postpartum depressive (PPD) symptoms to childhood aggressive behaviour at age two (Fathers Project) and age three (Generation R Study). We additionally tested whether the presence of paternal ASP traits increased the association between maternal PPD-symptoms and early childhood aggression. RESULTS: The association between paternal ASP traits and early childhood aggressive behaviour, corrected for maternal PPD-symptoms, was similar in magnitude between the cohorts (Fathers Project: standardized β = 0.12, p = 0.146; Generation R: β = 0.14, p = 0.001), although the association was not statistically significant in the Fathers Project. Strikingly, and in contrast to our expectations, there was evidence of a negative interaction between paternal ASP traits and maternal PPD-symptoms on childhood aggressive behaviour (Fathers Project: β = -0.20, p = 0.020; Generation R: β = -0.09, p = 0.043) in both studies. This meant that with higher levels of paternal ASP traits the association between maternal PPD-symptoms and childhood aggressive behaviour was less and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings stress the importance of including both maternal and paternal psychopathology in future studies and interventions focusing on early childhood aggressive behaviour.Wellcome Trus

Serological Prevalence of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia in Niger in 2017

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a highly contagious disease of cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Biotype Small Colony (MmmSC). The disease currently occurs in most of sub-Saharan Africa and where it is endemic and a major constraint for improving pastoral productivity. Following the persistence of this scourge, and in order to control this disease, a serological survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of CBPP in Niger. In fact, 1,590 sera were collected following a stratified sampling plan based on the risk factor of dissemination of CBPP. The analysis were performed at the Central Livestock Laboratory using the c-Elisa test. The results obtained show a wide distribution of the disease with an overall prevalence of 4.15% at individual level. The highest prevalences were recorded in the South-East regions [Zinder (7.5%), Diffa (7.5%)] and the West part [Tahoua (6.9%)]. The prevalence at the commune level was about 36.55%, which was relatively high. The prevalence at strata level was 36.55% (95% PI 0.2428–0.4882). The expected prevalences did not match those found. The results of this serological survey are considered the reference situation (T0) of CBPP in Niger with the PRAPS project, and allowed to the country to redefine control policies for better control of the disease at national and sub-regional level