Microwave characterization of bio-composites materials based finite element and Nicholson-Ross-Weir methods

In this work, Bio-composite of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre (OPEFB)-filler and polycaprolactone (PCL)-polymer has been prepared and characterized. The functional groups and morphology of the prepared samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). By using the Nicholson- Ross-Weir (NRW) mode, both of real and imaginary relative permittivity values of the samples were obtained simultaneously from the reflection and transmission coefficient measurements of the materials. Whereas, the attenuation with the field distribution at the waveguide filled with a sample were considered by using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The magnitude of the reflection and transmission (R/T) coefficients of the composite with different filler percentages were measured using rectangular waveguide in conjunction with a microwave vector network analyzer (VNA) in X-band range of frequency. The computations of the S-parameters were achieved by using the FEM technique along with NRW mode. Then, the obtained results were compared with the measured R/T coefficients. Relative error results nominated the FEM mode due to its highly accurate results than the other method

Development of an affordable soil moisture sensor system with mini-VNA Tiny and smartphone

This study attempts to develop a soil moisture measurement system with a monopole antenna sensor, mini-VNA Tiny and a mobile phone respectively. The mini-VNA Tiny is a compact vector network analyzer (VNA) with a USB connection to a smartphone or a tablet. There are 17 sets of data which have been collected from 15 different spots with varying soil moisture content. The actual moisture content on site was collected from TRIME-PICO 64/32 sensor. Upon collection, it was necessary to calibrate the resistance obtained from the mini-VNA between 1 MHz and 3 GHz. The data obtained from the study shows that the resonances of the antenna resistance shift to the left on the frequency spectrum as moisture content increases. A linear model relating the resistance and actual moisture content was developed from this study with coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.723 at 13 MHz. This value is much less than the anticipated R2 = 0.95 for accurate measurement of soil moisture with monopole antenna at microwave frequency. This could be due to the 0.60 cm thickness of the monopole antenna which may not be suited for soil moisture measurement. Nonetheless, this study demonstrates the potential application of an inexpensive and portable mini-VNA Tiny and smartphone system for sensing applications

Livelihood challenges of single female household heads in the Rohingya and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Following the mass influx of Rohingya refugees into Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh in 2017, makeshift settlement camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf have been overburdened, leading to livelihood challenges for both Rohingya and host communities. The humanitarian crisis has had adverse effects on vulnerable populations, which include older people, persons with disabilities, adolescents, and single female household heads. Using a subset of a larger dataset on households with most vulnerable groups in both communities, we analysed the effect of the pandemic and lockdown on the livelihood of single female household (HH) heads. Methods: A cross-sectional household roster survey was designed to collect data from households with most vulnerable groups (MVGs) of host and Rohingya communities from December 2020 to March 2021; 11 host community villages and 10 Rohingya camps purposively selected as per the affiliated intervention of the project. The paper analysed quantitative and qualitative data from the sub-group of single female household heads without any income/low income. Participants were surveyed for their socio-demographic characteristics, COVID-19 experiences and knowledge, food security situation, social experiences and mental health using PHQ-2 test for depression. Results: We surveyed 432 single female HH heads. Support during the pandemic was reported to be low, with less than 50% of HHs reporting relief meeting their needs; only 36% and 15% of these HHs received rations in camps and host communities respectively. Loan facilities were mostly unavailable and there were reported insufficiencies in food consumption. Over 50% of respondents tested positive on the PHQ-2, a scale used to screen for depression. Further analyses indicates that having a chronic health issue (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.33–3.66) was positively associated with the PHQ-2 score for Rohingya single females. For host single females, having an ill member in the HH (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.02–2.08) and the inability to save before the pandemic (OR 1.57 95% CI 1.11–2.23) increased the odds of screening positive for depression. Conclusion: Our study findings revealed insufficiencies with economic opportunities and food security for single female-headed households, as well as a high rate of positive screening for depression amongst this population. These findings call for a more in-depth understanding of the needs of this group

Public understanding of rip current and beach safety at Teluk Cempedak Recreational Beach in Pahang, Malaysia

Rip currents are known to be a global public health issue and have been extensively contributed to the coastguard rescues and drowning cases at recreational beaches. Most studies in Malaysia have focused on the physical control of rip currents, with little emphasis on social factors. This study aims to assess the public knowledge of rip currents and beach safety at Teluk Cempedak Recreational Beach (TCRB) in Pahang, Malaysia. A convenience sampling technique was used to conduct a cross-sectional study among 300 beachgoers in TCRB. All data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Bivariable and multivariable logistic analyses were computed to identify factors associated with satisfactory knowledge of rip current and beach safety. More than half of the respondents were females (51%) and residents of Kuantan (62%). Out of 300 respondents, 160 (53.3%) had a satisfactory knowledge of rip currents, while a higher number of respondents (n = 221, 73.7%) had an unsatisfactory knowledge of beach safety. Those aged 35 and up, females, and those who had never had difficulty with water activities at the beach were more likely to have satisfactory knowledge of rip currents. The only factor found to be significantly related to satisfactory beach safety knowledge was age (35 years old). In conclusion, the respondents were concerned about rip currents, but they had inadequate knowledge of beach safety. Therefore, the development of effective beach safety education programmes is needed in Malaysia

Multiplex analysis of intratumoural immune infiltrate and prognosis in patients with stage II–III colorectal cancer from the SCOT and QUASAR 2 trials: A retrospective analysis

Background Tumour-infiltrating CD8+ cytotoxic T cells confer favourable prognosis in colorectal cancer. The added prognostic value of other infiltrating immune cells is unclear and so we sought to investigate their prognostic value in two large clinical trial cohorts. Methods We used multiplex immunofluorescent staining of tissue microarrays to assess the densities of CD8+, CD20+, FoxP3+, and CD68+ cells in the intraepithelial and intrastromal compartments from tumour samples of patients with stage II–III colorectal cancer from the SCOT trial (ISRCTN59757862), which examined 3 months versus 6 months of adjuvant oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy, and from the QUASAR 2 trial (ISRCTN45133151), which compared adjuvant capecitabine with or without bevacizumab. Both trials included patients aged 18 years or older with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–1. Immune marker predictors were analysed by multiple regression, and the prognostic and predictive values of markers for colorectal cancer recurrence-free interval by Cox regression were assessed using the SCOT cohort for discovery and QUASAR 2 cohort for validation. Findings After exclusion of cases without tissue microarrays and with technical failures, and following quality control, we included 2340 cases from the SCOT trial and 1069 from the QUASAR 2 trial in our analysis. Univariable analysis of associations with recurrence-free interval in cases from the SCOT trial showed a strong prognostic value of intraepithelial CD8 (CD8IE) as a continuous variable (hazard ratio [HR] for 75th vs 25th percentile [75vs25] 0·73 [95% CI 0·68–0·79], p=2·5 × 10−16), and of intrastromal FoxP3 (FoxP3IS; 0·71 [0·64–0·78], p=1·5 × 10−13) but not as strongly in the epithelium (FoxP3IE; 0·89 [0·84–0·96], p=1·5 × 10−4). Associations of other markers with recurrence-free interval were moderate. CD8IE and FoxP3IS retained independent prognostic value in bivariable and multivariable analysis, and, compared with either marker alone, a composite marker including both markers (CD8IE-FoxP3IS) was superior when assessed as a continuous variable (adjusted [a]HR75 vs 25 0·70 [95% CI 0·63–0·78], p=5·1 × 10−11) and when categorised into low, intermediate, and high density groups using previously published cutpoints (aHR for intermediate vs high 1·68 [95% CI 1·29–2·20], p=1·3 × 10−4; low vs high 2·58 [1·91–3·49], p=7·9 × 10−10), with performance similar to the gold-standard Immunoscore. The prognostic value of CD8IE-FoxP3IS was confirmed in cases from the QUASAR 2 trial, both as a continuous variable (aHR75 vs 25 0·84 [95% CI 0·73–0·96], p=0·012) and as a categorical variable for low versus high density (aHR 1·80 [95% CI 1·17–2·75], p=0·0071) but not for intermediate versus high (1·30 [0·89–1·88], p=0·17). Interpretation Combined evaluation of CD8IE and FoxP3IS could help to refine risk stratification in colorectal cancer. Investigation of FoxP3IS cells as an immunotherapy target in colorectal cancer might be merited

Deterministic Evolutionary Trajectories Influence Primary Tumor Growth: TRACERx Renal.

The evolutionary features of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have not been systematically studied to date. We analyzed 1,206 primary tumor regions from 101 patients recruited into the multi-center prospective study, TRACERx Renal. We observe up to 30 driver events per tumor and show that subclonal diversification is associated with known prognostic parameters. By resolving the patterns of driver event ordering, co-occurrence, and mutual exclusivity at clone level, we show the deterministic nature of clonal evolution. ccRCC can be grouped into seven evolutionary subtypes, ranging from tumors characterized by early fixation of multiple mutational and copy number drivers and rapid metastases to highly branched tumors with >10 subclonal drivers and extensive parallel evolution associated with attenuated progression. We identify genetic diversity and chromosomal complexity as determinants of patient outcome. Our insights reconcile the variable clinical behavior of ccRCC and suggest evolutionary potential as a biomarker for both intervention and surveillance

Tracking Cancer Evolution Reveals Constrained Routes to Metastases: TRACERx Renal.

Clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) exhibits a broad range of metastatic phenotypes that have not been systematically studied to date. Here, we analyzed 575 primary and 335 metastatic biopsies across 100 patients with metastatic ccRCC, including two cases sampledat post-mortem. Metastatic competence was afforded by chromosome complexity, and we identify 9p loss as a highly selected event driving metastasis and ccRCC-related mortality (p = 0.0014). Distinct patterns of metastatic dissemination were observed, including rapid progression to multiple tissue sites seeded by primary tumors of monoclonal structure. By contrast, we observed attenuated progression in cases characterized by high primary tumor heterogeneity, with metastatic competence acquired gradually and initial progression to solitary metastasis. Finally, we observed early divergence of primitive ancestral clones and protracted latency of up to two decades as a feature of pancreatic metastases

STUDY OF MECHANICALLY PRESSED COMPOSITE EARTH BLOCKS

This paper presents the use of mechanically pressed composite earth blocks for low cost housing. In developing countries there is a considerable need to develop materials, which may replace or minimize the use of costlyconstruction materials. The soil when combined with a small percentage of fly ash, rice husk, surkhi, volcanic ash,lime, sand or cement, in the presence of moisture, and then mechanically pressed, gives more strength and satisfactory moisture resistance as compared to the ordinary burnt bricks. For this purpose, the research work was carried out to improve the engineering properties of soil for more strength and better moisture resistance. The paper outlines the research being carried out by the authors (for M.Sc structural engineering at N.W.F.P, U.E.T, Peshawar, Pakistan) on the compressive strength and erosion of mechanically pressed earth blocks. Pressed earth blocks were made of earth/clay with around 5-10% pozzolanic materials like fly ash, rice husk, volcanic ash, surkhi, and bentonite etc in a special steel mould. The soil was brought from different quarries, and about 200 pressed earth blockswere prepared from thirteen combinations of composite earth blocks. The composite pressed earth blocks were kept for 5 days natural drying before they were subjected to compression test. All the thirteen combinations were thensubjected to abrasion test, both with & without surface treatment. The performance of pressed soil blocks was not satisfactory without surface treatment against water. In order to improve their abrasion strength against water, ten surface treatment materials were prepared; three bricks from each combination were subjected to surface treatment for each material and the bricks were cured for 5 days. The bricks were subjected to 20 minutes heavy spray of water and the materials giving satisfactory surface treatment were lime + surkhi (1:4) and cement + sand (1:6) by weight. The masonry strength of the mechanically pressed earth blocks was then determined by preparing twoprisms of 9 x 9 x 24 inch, using mortars as binding materials, one with lime:surkhi (1:4) and other with cement:sand (1:6) by weight. The seven days compressive strengths of these prisms were 375 psi and 337 psi forcement: sand and lime: surkhi mortars respectively, which were quite satisfactory

Public understanding of rip current and beach safety at Teluk Cempedak Recreational Beach in Pahang, Malaysia

Rip currents are known to be a global public health issue and have been extensively contributed to the coastguard rescues and drowning cases at recreational beaches. Most studies in Malaysia have focused on the physical control of rip currents, with little emphasis on social factors. This study aims to assess the public knowledge of rip currents and beach safety at Teluk Cempedak Recreational Beach (TRCB) in Pahang, Malaysia. A convenience sampling technique was used to conduct a cross-sectional study among 300 beachgoers in TCRB. All data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Bivariable and multivariable logistic analyses were computed to identify factors associated with satisfactory knowledge of rip current and beach safety. More than half of the respondents were females (51%) and residents of Kuantan (62%). Out of 300 respondents, 160 (53.3%) had a satisfactory knowledge of rip currents, while a higher number of respondents (n = 221, 73.7%) had an unsatisfactory knowledge of beach safety. Those aged 35 and up, females, and those who had never had difficulty with water activities at the beach were more likely to have satisfactory knowledge of rip currents. The only factor found to be significantly related to satisfactory beach safety knowledge was age (35 years old). In conclusion, the respondents were concerned about rip currents, but they had inadequate knowledge of beach safety. Therefore, the development of effective beach safety education programmes is needed in Malaysia