An Insight on Medical Insurance Malpractices Prevailing in the Healthcare Industry and its Impact on Socio Economic Background – Special Reference to UAE Private Healthcare Industry

Purpose: Examine medical insurance malpractices in the UAE's private healthcare industry and assess their impact on the socio-economic landscape, focusing on the context of a rapidly growing economy and a diverse healthcare system.   Theoretical framework: Situated within the dynamic framework of the UAE's expanding economy and healthcare sector, emphasizing the pivotal role of health insurance policies in providing medical coverage.   Design/Methodology/Approach: Employ a comprehensive research approach to uncover prevalent medical insurance malpractices within the private healthcare industry of the UAE. Analyze the effects of these practices on various socio-economic aspects.   Findings: In the backdrop of an evolving healthcare landscape, the study reveals instances of malpractices within medical insurance in the UAE's private healthcare sector. These practices have implications for access to quality healthcare and the broader socio-economic fabric.   Research, practical & social implications: The research outcomes hold significant implications for both policy makers and stakeholders within the healthcare industry. Addressing medical insurance malpractices is essential to ensure equitable access to healthcare services and to maintain a healthy socio-economic balance.   Originality/Value: This study contributes to the understanding of the interplay between medical insurance malpractices and the socio-economic backdrop of the UAE's private healthcare industry. By shedding light on exploitative practices, the research highlights the need for regulatory measures to safeguard the well-being of both individuals and the nation's socio-economic landscape

Capacity reduction and Fire Load Factors for LRFD of Steel Members Exposed to Fire

A general reliability-based methodology is proposed for developing capacity reduction and fire load factors for design of steel members exposed to fire. The effect of active fire protection systems (e.g., sprinklers, smoke and heat detectors, fire brigade, etc.) in reducing the probability of occurrence of a severe fire is included. The design parameters that significantly affect the fire design of steel members are chosen as random variables. Raw experimental data published in the literature was analyzed to obtain the statistics of parameters for which no statistical information was available in the literature. Model errors associated with the thermal analysis models are also characterized based on experimental data. It is found that uncertainty associated with the fire design parameters is significantly higher than that of room temperature design parameters. To illustrate the proposed methodology, capacity reduction and fire load factors are developed for simply supported steel beams in U.S. office buildings, and it is shown that for consistent reliability these factors should vary depending on the presence of active fire protection systems in a building

Sensors to Monitor CFRP/Concrete Bond in Beams Using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

The use of inexpensive electrochemical impedance spectroscopy based sensor technology for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of bond degradation between external carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) reinforcement and concrete is examined. Copper tape on the surface of the CFRP sheet, stainless steel wire embedded in the concrete, and reinforcing bars were used as the sensing elements. Laboratory experiments were designed to test the capability of the sensors to detect the debonding of the CFRP from the concrete and to study the effect of short-term (humidity and temperature fluctuations) and long-term (freeze-thaw and wet-dry exposure and rebar corrosion) environmental conditions on the measurements. The CFRP sheet was debonded from the concrete, and impedance measurements were taken between various pairs of electrodes at various interfacial crack lengths. The dependence of the impedance spectra, and of the parameters obtained from equivalent circuit analysis, on the interfacial crack length was studied. Capacitance parameters in the equivalent circuit correlated strongly with the interfacial crack length and can be used to assess the global state of the bond between CFRP sheets and concrete. Impedance measurements taken between embedded wire sensors can be used to detect the location of debonded regions

Electrochemical-Mechanistic Model for Concrete Cover Cracking Due to Corrosion Initiated by Chloride Diffusion

A holistic electrochemical-mechanistic model of the corrosion of steel reinforcing bars inside concrete that accounts for the diffusion of oxygen and moisture into the concrete and rust layers, the densification of rust due to confinement, the flow of rust into the concrete pores, the development of internal pressure due to rust buildup, and cracking of the concrete cover is presented. The relationship between the corrosion current and the pressure buildup due to the corrosion products for different concrete cover thicknesses and concrete quality was calibrated through experiments using an accelerated corrosion test with an applied current. Results from finite-element analysis with an inelastic smeared crack concrete model were used to calibrate a simple analytical model of the critical internal pressure required to cause cracking of the concrete cover. The various submodels are linked together to predict the time for cracking of the concrete cover from the time of corrosion initiation. Results of parametric studies using the model indicate that the main factors that control the corrosion current and the time to cracking are the boundary condition, water-cement ratio, and concrete cover

Bytewise Approximate Matching: The Good, The Bad, and The Unknown

Hash functions are established and well-known in digital forensics, where they are commonly used for proving integrity and file identification (i.e., hash all files on a seized device and compare the fingerprints against a reference database). However, with respect to the latter operation, an active adversary can easily overcome this approach because traditional hashes are designed to be sensitive to altering an input; output will significantly change if a single bit is flipped. Therefore, researchers developed approximate matching, which is a rather new, less prominent area but was conceived as a more robust counterpart to traditional hashing. Since the conception of approximate matching, the community has constructed numerous algorithms, extensions, and additional applications for this technology, and are still working on novel concepts to improve the status quo. In this survey article, we conduct a high-level review of the existing literature from a non-technical perspective and summarize the existing body of knowledge in approximate matching, with special focus on bytewise algorithms. Our contribution allows researchers and practitioners to receive an overview of the state of the art of approximate matching so that they may understand the capabilities and challenges of the field. Simply, we present the terminology, use cases, classification, requirements, testing methods, algorithms, applications, and a list of primary and secondary literature

Flexural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened with CFRP Sheets and Epoxy Mortar

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of using epoxy mortar patch end anchorages on the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. More specifically, the effect of the end anchorage on strength, deflection, flexural strain, and interfacial shear stress was examined. The test results show that premature debonding failure of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP sheet can be delayed or prevented by using epoxy mortar patch end anchorages. A modified analytical procedure for evaluating the flexural capacity of reinforced concrete beams strengthened with CFRP sheets and epoxy mortar end anchorage is developed and provides a good prediction of test results

Freeze-thaw Durability of Concrete Columns Wrapped with FRP and Subject to Corrosion-Like Expansion

Experiments were conducted to assess the effects of using fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) wraps, with fibers oriented in the hoop direction, for rehabilitating corrosion-damaged columns. This paper reports findings related to the freeze-thaw durability of concrete specimens with round and square cross sections, wrapped with glass and carbon FRP, after they are subjected to an internal expansive force similar to that generated by corroding steel. The results of the experiment indicate that freeze-thaw cycles have no statistically significant effect on the compressive strength of glass- and carbon-wrapped specimens. Freeze-thaw conditioning generally reduced the longitudinal failure strain of wrapped specimens. The square wrapped specimens had lower compressive strength compared to the round specimens, even though the cross-sectional area of the square prisms was higher than that of the round cylinders. This is because of the reduced confinement provided by the wraps for square cross sections and stress concentrations that develop at the corners. Wrapped square prisms always failed by rupture of the wrap at a corner. A reduction of approximately 30 to 40% in failure stress was noted between wrapped specimens with round and square cross sections, respectively

Response of an Arch Dam to Non-Uniform Excitation Generated by a Seismic Wave Scattering Model

Non-uniform ground motions are generated based on a single record available at a site and seismic wave scattering analysis. The Chino Hills 2008 earthquake records at the Pacoima Dam site are used to indicate the accuracy of the method. Dynamic analysis of the Pacoima dam-reservoir-foundation under uniform and non-uniform ground motions is carried out using the EACD-3D2008 software, and the results are compared to recorded responses at different locations on the dam. There is good agreement between computed and recorded displacements of the dam for non-uniform excitation. For uniform excitation, the displacements are underestimated in comparison with those obtained from recorded excitation. Significant intensification of stresses, especially near the foundation, and different patterns of stress distribution are observed for non-uniform excitation in comparison with uniform excitation. For uniform excitation maximum stresses occur in the crown cantilever near the crest, but for non-uniform excitation the maximum stresses occur along the sides and near the foundation

PATTERN OF SUSPECTED ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL – A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: The objective of the study was to study the pattern of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Pharmacology of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital, Kerala. As part of pharmacovigilance activities, the ADRs were collected in Central Drug Standard Control Organization Suspected ADR reporting form from various departments during a period of 3 months and recorded in Pharmacovigilance register maintained by the pharmacology department. As part of our study, we collected the details such as patient’s initials, age, gender, reporting department of hospital, description of the ADR, duration of the reaction, name of suspected ADRs, and outcome from the Pharmacovigilance register. Descriptive statistics will be used for data analysis by statistical package for the social science for windows 16. Results: Two hundred and twenty-two ADR from 141 patients obtained during a period of 3 months. The maximum ADR reports were in age group more than 50 years of age. The skin and appendages were most affected followed by gastrointestinal tract. Antineoplastic drugs accounted for 59.7% of drug class suspected for ADRs followed by use of more than one drug (14.1%). Among antineoplastic drugs, cyclophosphamide and carboplatin accounted for majority causes of ADR. The antibiotics accounted for 12.7% of all drugs. Among the antibiotics penicillin and cephalosporins caused most of the ADRs. Conclusion: The maximum number of ADR reported in our study was with the use of antineoplastic drugs and most common ADR reported was alopecia

Risperidone induced tardive dyskinesia

Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic drug which has been less likely to produce extrapyramidal symptoms. The aim of this case report is to illustrate that low dose risperidone may cause tardive dyskinesia. A 29 year old male patient with 9 year history of paranoid schizophrenia, developed tardive dyskinesia after receiving risperidone 2 mg for 7 years. He had received small dosages of Haloperidol before the therapy of risperidone for short periods