Settlement of a Building Founded on Difficult Soil

Many coastal areas in Benghazi have been reclaimed from lagoons. Quite often such areas are covered by debris, rubbish and other artificial fills over many years. The proximity of these deposits to the Mediterranean Sea coupled with the seasonal moisture variations has resulted in the formation of the so-called Sabkha soils having a high proportion of chemical content. Settlement records of a four storey building founded on sabkha soil are prescuted for seven years. The building underwent large settlement resulting in a tilt from the vertical. It is found that, for Sabkha soils, the measured settlement is larger than that predicted according to conventional theories. Based on this case study and constructions experience of many contractors in such areas, a number of useful suggestions are given for practicing engineers

Failure of Buildings Founded on Fills

A number of cases have come to light in Delhi recently where partial or total failure of buildings has occurred. Two cases of failures due to excessive settlement are discussed. The nature of distress and the geotechnical factors leading to failures were investigated. It was found that in both cases the foundations were resting on fills, resulting in excessive settlement. Remedial measures were considered and in one case, these have been successfully implemented. A large number of structures were thus rehabilitated

Rast, sastav mesa i krvni pokazatelji kod prve generacije novih hibrida pilića i njihovih križanih roditelja.

A total of 2000 un-sexed day-old chicks of FIRI (Fayoumi male x RIR female), RLH (White Leghorn male x F1 female (Fayoumi male x RIR female) and RLH-G1 (generation one of RLH) chickens were obtained from the hatchery of the Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi. The chickens of each crossbred were divided into 5 groups as replicates under a completely randomized design, so that there were 400 chickens in each replicate. The birds were maintained on a deep litter system for a period of 20 weeks. The results showed that the average day-old weight was highest in RLH, intermediate in RLH-G1and lowest in FIRI chickens. The RLH-G1chickens consumed less (P0.05) dressing %age was observed in FIRI (62.60) followed by RLH (62.10) and RLH-G1 (61.98) chickens. The breast and thigh meat composition had a non-significant (P>0.05) difference of all crossbred chickens. There was a non-significant (P>0.05) difference in haematological values between all crossbred chickens. The total erythrocyte number, Hb and packed cell volume (PCV) increased with the advancement of age. However, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that RLH and RLHG1crossbred chickens gained better body weight than FIRI chickens, with lower mortality. The first generation of RLH showed better FCR than RLH and FIRI crossbred chickens.U radu je korišteno ukupno 2000 jednodnevnih pilića, neodređenog spola, dobivenih iz valionice Instituta za istraživanje peradi u Ravalpindiju. S obzirom na roditelje, pilići su imali oznake FIRI (Fayoumi mužjaci x RIR ženke), RLH (mužjaci bijelog leghorna x F1 ženke (Fayoumi mužjaci x RIR ženke) i RLH-G1 (prva generacija RLH). Metodom slučajnog izbora pilići su podijeljeni u 5 skupina po 400 jedinki u svakoj skupini. Tijekom razdoblja od 20 tjedana, primijenjen je sustav držanja pilića na dubokoj prostirci. Rezultati su pokazali da je prosječna masa jednodnevnih pilića najveća u skupini RLH, zatim slijede pilići u RLH-G1, te pilići s najnižom prosječnom masom iz FIRI skupine. Pilići iz RLH-G1 skupine konzumirali su manje (P0,05) opažen je u skupini FIRI (62,60 %) pilića, slijedili su pilići RLH (62,10 %) i RLH-G1 (61,98 %) skupina. Sastav mesa prsa i bataka nije se signifikantno razlikovao (P>0,05) između pilića križanaca. Također, nesignifikantne (P>0,05) razlike između pilića utvrđene su i za sve krvne pokazatelje. Ukupni broj eritrocita, hemoglobin i hematokrit rasli su s porastom dobi pilića, dok su sedimentacija, prosječni volumen i prosječni hemoglobin eritrocita s porastom dobi postupno opadali. Može se zaključiti da su pilići križanci RLH i RLH-G1 skupina imali bolji prirast tjelesne mase u odnosu na piliće FIRI skupine koji su imali manju smrtnost. Prva generacija pilića iz RLH skupine pokazala je bolji FCR prirast nego pilići križanci RLH i FIRI skupina

Rast, sastav mesa i krvni pokazatelji kod prve generacije novih hibrida pilića i njihovih križanih roditelja.

A total of 2000 un-sexed day-old chicks of FIRI (Fayoumi male x RIR female), RLH (White Leghorn male x F1 female (Fayoumi male x RIR female) and RLH-G1 (generation one of RLH) chickens were obtained from the hatchery of the Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi. The chickens of each crossbred were divided into 5 groups as replicates under a completely randomized design, so that there were 400 chickens in each replicate. The birds were maintained on a deep litter system for a period of 20 weeks. The results showed that the average day-old weight was highest in RLH, intermediate in RLH-G1and lowest in FIRI chickens. The RLH-G1chickens consumed less (P0.05) dressing %age was observed in FIRI (62.60) followed by RLH (62.10) and RLH-G1 (61.98) chickens. The breast and thigh meat composition had a non-significant (P>0.05) difference of all crossbred chickens. There was a non-significant (P>0.05) difference in haematological values between all crossbred chickens. The total erythrocyte number, Hb and packed cell volume (PCV) increased with the advancement of age. However, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that RLH and RLHG1crossbred chickens gained better body weight than FIRI chickens, with lower mortality. The first generation of RLH showed better FCR than RLH and FIRI crossbred chickens.U radu je korišteno ukupno 2000 jednodnevnih pilića, neodređenog spola, dobivenih iz valionice Instituta za istraživanje peradi u Ravalpindiju. S obzirom na roditelje, pilići su imali oznake FIRI (Fayoumi mužjaci x RIR ženke), RLH (mužjaci bijelog leghorna x F1 ženke (Fayoumi mužjaci x RIR ženke) i RLH-G1 (prva generacija RLH). Metodom slučajnog izbora pilići su podijeljeni u 5 skupina po 400 jedinki u svakoj skupini. Tijekom razdoblja od 20 tjedana, primijenjen je sustav držanja pilića na dubokoj prostirci. Rezultati su pokazali da je prosječna masa jednodnevnih pilića najveća u skupini RLH, zatim slijede pilići u RLH-G1, te pilići s najnižom prosječnom masom iz FIRI skupine. Pilići iz RLH-G1 skupine konzumirali su manje (P0,05) opažen je u skupini FIRI (62,60 %) pilića, slijedili su pilići RLH (62,10 %) i RLH-G1 (61,98 %) skupina. Sastav mesa prsa i bataka nije se signifikantno razlikovao (P>0,05) između pilića križanaca. Također, nesignifikantne (P>0,05) razlike između pilića utvrđene su i za sve krvne pokazatelje. Ukupni broj eritrocita, hemoglobin i hematokrit rasli su s porastom dobi pilića, dok su sedimentacija, prosječni volumen i prosječni hemoglobin eritrocita s porastom dobi postupno opadali. Može se zaključiti da su pilići križanci RLH i RLH-G1 skupina imali bolji prirast tjelesne mase u odnosu na piliće FIRI skupine koji su imali manju smrtnost. Prva generacija pilića iz RLH skupine pokazala je bolji FCR prirast nego pilići križanci RLH i FIRI skupina

Folic acid and vitamin B6 deficiencies related hyperhomocysteinemia in apparently healthy Pakistani adults; is mass micronutrient supplementation indicated in this population

OBJECTIVE: To determine the plasma/serum levels of homocysteine, and vitamins folate, B6 and B12, in Pakistani healthy adults.STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University, from October 2006 to April 2008.METHODOLOGY: Fasting levels of plasma/serum folic acid, pyridoxal phosphate (PLP), vitamin B12 and homocysteine were determined in 290 apparently healthy hospital personnel from institutions in two cities of Pakistan. Spearman correlation test and linear regression analysis was conducted.RESULTS: There were 219 males and 71 females with mean age of 46+/-10.5 years and mean body mass index of 23.5 +/-3.8. Mean plasma homocysteine levels in Pakistani normal adults were found to be 17.95+/-8.4 micromol/l. Mean concentrations of plasma/serum folate, vitamin B12 and PLP were found to be 5+/-3.9 ng/ml, 522+/-296 pg/ml and 21.6+/-14 nmol/l, respectively. Serum/plasma levels of folate, vitamin B12 and PLP were negatively correlated with plasma homocysteine (rho coefficient=-0.367,

A unified SLAM solution using partial 3D structure

Good quality of environment mapping demands modelling the associated environment nearly to its 3D originality. This paper presents a unified Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping (SLAM) solution based on partial 3D structure. As compared to existing representations such as grid based mapping, the novelty of the proposed unified approach lies in estimation, representation and handling of compact partial 3D features-based map model for a team of robots that are working in an unknown environment with unknown poses. The approach replies on a camera to perceive the environment and a 2D laser sensor to generate a SLAM solution with partial 3D features based representation. Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) estimates the robot pose based on its motion model and map of the explored environment. The solution has been tested in an indoor environment on two identical custom-developed robots. Experimental results have demonstrated efficacy of the approach. The presented solution can be easily applied on a distributed/centralized robotic system with ease of data handling and reduced computational cost

A Novel Ideal Floating Inductor Using Translinear Conveyors

An ideal floating inductor circuit using translinear conveyors is introduced. The floating inductor simulator uses two translinear conveyors and a single capacitor in its realization. The circuit provides the current controlled ideal floating inductance without any component matching constraints. Simulation results on the floating inductor simulator verify the theor