Structural Behaviour of Twinwalls

The construction industry is relentlessly aiming to achieve inventive methods for more economic and sustainable construction. This quest has resulted in the development of hybrid concrete construction (HCC) which combines the benefits of in-situ and precast concrete. Twinwall panels are a relatively new form of HCC consisting of two reinforced precast concrete biscuits which are connected by shear connectors in the form of 3-dimensional triangular steel lattices, partially embedded in the inner faces of the biscuits. The void between the biscuits is then filled with in-situ concrete. Thus, the overall aim of this project was to develop a deeper understanding of the structural behaviour of twinwall panels. Push-out tests were performed on twin wall specimens to investigate the effect of (1) surface roughness (2) strength of concrete and (3) embedment depth of connectors on interface shear strength. It was found that the interface shear strength increases with increasing surface roughness and the strength of the concrete used in the outer biscuits but was unaffected by the strength of the concrete used in the core. Shear strength also initially increased with increasing embedment depth of connectors but then levelled off. The results further showed that the provisions of clause 6.2.5 of Eurocode 2 can be used to make conservative estimates of the interface shear strength of twin wall elements. The twinwall panels were also subjected to four point bending flexural tests. Results confirmed that using lattice shear connectors, increasing the depth of the lattice shear connector and introducing a concrete core increased the flexural failure load, stiffness and degree of composite action of the twinwall test specimens. All twinwall test specimens also behaved in a partially composite manner. A Finite Element (FE) model was also developed using the ABAQUS software. Comparison of the experimental and FE results confirmed the FE model developed can be used to simulate the behaviour of twinwall panels. As the diameter of the dowel bar increased, the failure load, stiffness and degree composite action increased. The FE results suggest that single trusses can be used instead of double trusses in twinwalls. The failure load and stiffness increases as the overall thickness of the specimens increase but the degree of composite action decreases with increasing thickness

Challenges and opportunities associated with waste management in India

India faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Current systems in India cannot cope with the volumes of waste generated by an increasing urban population, and this impacts on the environment and public health. The challenges and barriers are significant, but so are the opportunities. This paper reports on an international seminar on ‘Sustainable solid waste management for cities: opportunities in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries’ organized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and the Royal Society. A priority is to move from reliance on waste dumps that offer no environmental protection, to waste management systems that retain useful resources within the economy. Waste segregation at source and use of specialized waste processing facilities to separate recyclable materials has a key role. Disposal of residual waste after extraction of material resources needs engineered landfill sites and/or investment in waste-to-energy facilities. The potential for energy generation from landfill via methane extraction or thermal treatment is a major opportunity, but a key barrier is the shortage of qualified engineers and environmental professionals with the experience to deliver improved waste management systems in India

Agro-industrial byproducts as alternate cost-effective medium components for production of polyhydroxybutyrate

631-642Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHBs), biodegradable plastics, having properties similar to conventional plastics, exhibit a high potential for replacing petrochemical-based non-degradable plastics. But a major obstacle in their large-scale commercial production is high production cost, one of the key factors responsible for which is the expensive carbon sources that are currently being used in their manufacturing process. The present work was aimed to study PHB production using cost-effective substrates as carbon sources in the production medium. Inexpensive agro-industrial byproducts (molasses, cheese whey, wheat bran and banana peel, used in different concentrations) were explored for their potential to substitute the conventional costly substrates. Compared to glucose, all the four alternate carbon sources showed an enhancement in PHB production. The mean percent increase in PHB production was in the range of 3.81% to 7.23%. However, some of the bacterial isolates showed an enhancement as high as 23.32% and 19.65%. Highest mean PHB yield was observed in molasses (135.18 mg/mL), followed by cheese-whey (133.79 mg/mL), banana peel, and least in wheat bran based production medium. On dry weight basis, PHB accumulation in cells was observed to be 64.32% and 64.29% of the total dry cell weight with molasses and cheese whey, respectively, as carbon sources. FTIR spectra of extracted PHB were found to be comparable to the spectra of standard PHB, thus, confirming the chemical nature of the extracted polymer

Does physical activity modify the risk of obesity for type 2 diabetes: a review of epidemiological data

Obesity and physical inactivity are both risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Since they are strongly associated, it has been suggested that they might interact. In this study, we summarized the evidence on this interaction by conducting a systematic review. Two types of interaction have been discerned, statistical and biological interaction, which could give different results. Therefore, we calculated both types of interaction for the studies in our review. Cohort studies, published between 1999 and 2008, that investigated the effects of obesity and physical activity on the risk of type 2 diabetes were included. We calculated both biological and statistical interaction in these studies. Eight studies were included of which five were suitable to calculate interaction. All studies showed positive biological interaction, meaning that the joint effect was more than the sum of the individual effects. However, there was inconsistent statistical interaction; in some studies the joint effect was more than the product of the individual effects, in other studies it was less. The results show that obesity and physical inactivity interact on an additive scale. This means that prevention of either obesity or physical inactivity, not only reduces the risk of diabetes by taking away the independent effect of this factor, but also by preventing the cases that were caused by the interaction between both factors. Furthermore, this review clearly showed that results can differ depending on what method is used to assess interaction

Secular evolution versus hierarchical merging: galaxy evolution along the Hubble sequence, in the field and rich environments

In the current galaxy formation scenarios, two physical phenomena are invoked to build disk galaxies: hierarchical mergers and more quiescent external gas accretion, coming from intergalactic filaments. Although both are thought to play a role, their relative importance is not known precisely. Here we consider the constraints on these scenarios brought by the observation-deduced star formation history on the one hand, and observed dynamics of galaxies on the other hand: the high frequency of bars and spirals, the high frequency of perturbations such as lopsidedness, warps, or polar rings. All these observations are not easily reproduced in simulations without important gas accretion. N-body simulations taking into account the mass exchange between stars and gas through star formation and feedback, can reproduce the data, only if galaxies double their mass in about 10 Gyr through gas accretion. Warped and polar ring systems are good tracers of this accretion, which occurs from cold gas which has not been virialised in the system's potential. The relative importance of these phenomena are compared between the field and rich clusters. The respective role of mergers and gas accretion vary considerably with environment.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, review paper to "Penetrating Bars through Masks of Cosmic Dust: the Hubble Tuning Fork Strikes a New Note", Pilanesberg, ed. D. Block et al., Kluwe

Impact of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system on the outcome of critically ill adult patients: a before-after study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems are recommended to improve patient safety and outcomes. However, their effectiveness has been questioned. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of CPOE implementation on the outcome of critically ill patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was an observational before-after study carried out in a 21-bed medical and surgical intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care center. It included all patients admitted to the ICU in the 24 months pre- and 12 months post-CPOE (Misys^®) implementation. Data were extracted from a prospectively collected ICU database and included: demographics, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, admission diagnosis and comorbid conditions. Outcomes compared in different pre- and post-CPOE periods included: ICU and hospital mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, and ICU and hospital length of stay. These outcomes were also compared in selected high risk subgroups of patients (age 12-17 years, traumatic brain injury, admission diagnosis of sepsis and admission APACHE II > 23). Multivariate analysis was used to adjust for imbalances in baseline characteristics and selected clinically relevant variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 1638 and 898 patients admitted to the ICU in the specified pre- and post-CPOE periods, respectively (age = 52 ± 22 vs. 52 ± 21 years, p = 0.74; APACHE II = 24 ± 9 vs. 24 ± 10, p = 0.83). During these periods, there were no differences in ICU (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7-1.3) and in hospital mortality (aOR 1.00, 95% CI 0.8-1.3). CPOE implementation was associated with similar duration of mechanical ventilation and of stay in the ICU and hospital. There was no increased mortality or stay in the high risk subgroups after CPOE implementation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The implementation of CPOE in an adult medical surgical ICU resulted in no improvement in patient outcomes in the immediate phase and up to 12 months after implementation.</p

Yolk utilization and growth during the early larval life of the Silver Perch, Bidyanus bidyanus (Mitchell, 1838)

The aim of this research was to investigate the yolk sac and oil globule utilization by silver perch (Bidyanus bidyanus) larvae produced from domesticated broodfish. The larvae were kept unfed in the holding tank, sampled, and investigated by image analysis software to determine various characteristics, such as the diameters of ova, water-hardened eggs, yolk-sac, oil globules, and the total length of larvae. The research illustrated that, with the exception of oil globule diameter, all other morphometric parameters were significantly lower (P &lt; 0.05) when compared to the larvae from the wild broodfish. The yolk sac was completely absorbed at 96 h post-hatching (hph) and the oil globule was visible until 240 hph. The larvae exhibited predatory movements and tried to catch rotifer at 4 days post hatching (dph). However, the onset of feeding took place at 5 dph, while 100% of feeding occurred at 6 dph. During the first 96 h (h), larvae grew significantly faster than the next 144 h. Larvae encountered low mortalities (&lt;10%) during the first 96 hph, before increasing significantly in the next 24 h and no unfed larvae survived post 240 h. The results also suggested that the exogenous feed should be available at 96 hph, which is well after the yolk sac is completely depleted. In addition, although most of eggs and larval performance from domesticated broodfish were inferior compared to the wild one, it has larger oil globule that could make longer of its mixed feeding period and therefore could have better in viability

Caracterización Clínica e Histopatológica del Carcinoma Baso celular

Introduction: The basaloma also known as basal cell carcinoma is the most frequent case of skin cancer. It can be seen mostly in face, nose and forehead.Objective: To identify the clinical and histopathological characteristics of basal cell carcinoma in patients who underwent surgery at the Maxillo Facial Service of the Celia Sánchez Manduley University Hospital in Manzanillo, during the period from September to December 2016.Methodological Design: It was carried out a descriptive and observant study to identify the clinical and histopathological characteristics of the basal cell carcinoma in patients that were treated in the Maxillofacial Service of the Clinical-Surgical Hospital ´´ Celia Sánchez Manduley´´, between the months of September and December of 2016. The sample had 60 patients.Results: The basal cell carcinoma predominated in males (55%) mostly between the ages of 60 and 80 years (68,67%). This disease was most frequently presented in white people (75%); located mainly in the cheeks (43%), with a size between one and two centimeters. These lesions presented a low diagnosis error with only a two percentage.Conclusions: The research reveal a high frequency of this disease in elderly people mostly men, with a bigger tendency to be located in the facial regions sun exposed. It was also confirmed that these lesions were detected and treated in early stages. Their diagnosis and treatment are performed with a small margin of error.Introducción: el basaloma, también llamado carcinoma de células basales y carcinoma basocelular, es la forma más frecuente de cáncer de piel y se puede encontrar principalmente en cara, nariz y frente.Objetivo: identificar las características clínicas e histopatológicas del carcinoma basocelular en pacientes que fueron operados en el Servicio de Máxilo Facial del Hospital Universitario Celia Sánchez Manduley de Manzanillo, en el período comprendido entre los meses de septiembre a diciembre de 2016.Material y Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y de corte transversal para identificar las características clínicas e histopatológicas del carcinoma basocelular en pacientes que fueron operados en el Servicio de Máxilo Facial del Hospital Clínico-quirúrgico Celia Sánchez Manduley de Manzanillo, en el período comprendido entre los meses de septiembre a diciembre de 2016. La muestra estuvo constituida por 60 pacientes.Resultados:  el carcinoma basocelular predominó en el sexo masculino (55%) sobre todo en las edades de 60 a 80 años (68,67%). Esta lesión se presentó con mayor frecuencia en personas de piel blanca (75%); localizándose principalmente en las mejillas (43%) con un tamaño predominante de 1 a 2 cm. Esta lesión presentó bajo error diagnóstico con solo el 2%. Conclusiones: la investigación reveló una alta frecuencia de la enfermedad en personas de edad avanzada sobre todo en hombres, con mayor tendencia a presentarse en regiones faciales expuestas al sol. También se constató que las lesiones son detectadas y tratadas en un estado incipiente. Su diagnóstico y tratamiento se realzan con un margen de error muy pequeño