A STUDY ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT CONCRETE BY PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF FINE AGGREGATES WITH BOTTOM ASH

Bottom Ash is a new waste material and abundantly available. It is a solid residue which falls into furnace bottom in modern large thermal power plants and constitutes about 20% of total ash content of the coal fed in the boilers. Direct use of this material with a large quantity, will provide a solution to dispose of this material, and the possibility as alternative materials in construction. The main objective of this research is to study the behavior of concrete mix which comprises of partial replacement of fine aggregates with bottom ash against plain concrete. The study was carried out using coal bottom ash as a partial replacement with fine aggregates in the concrete mix by 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% by weight. The various strength properties studied consist of compressive strength, flexural strength and splitting tensile strength. The results shows that the compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength decreased as the percentage of replacement of bottom ash increased as compared to plain concrete. It was observed that up to 20% replacement the results of compressive test, flexural test and split tensile test are approximately same as that of the controlled concrete

Preliminary Investigations for Policy Framework to Regulate the Utilisation of Residual Strength of Demolition Waste Aggregate in Cement Concrete Mix

Millions of tonnes of demolition waste of different types is generated from various sources in the construction industry. Improper disposal of such waste results in loss of valuable land in cities and also such deposits may breach into reservoirs, water bodies, canals, etc. leading to blocking the path for the free flow of rainwater. Dissolution of harmful compounds that may be present results in contamination of water bodies. Hence it is necessary to frame guidelines and rules for regulating the various Demolition activities. This facilitates the granting of permission, actual demolition, segregating different materials and making the best use of the derived aggregates for various activities. Using derived aggregates in partial /full replacement is possible in concrete mixes of different grades. An attempt is made to collect demolition waste from three different locations. Requisite tests were conducted. An attempt is made to design a pavement quality concrete (PQC) of M40 grade to satisfy compressive and flexural strength requirements. A policy framework is needed at the national level for utilizing demolition waste aggregate in civil engineering works of both structural and nonstructural applications. Proper regulation of CD waste management is essential to channelize the entire process to convert it into useful construction material

Book of Abstracts & Success Stories National Conference on Marine Debris COMAD 2018

Marine debris has become a global problem with considerable threats to the habitat and to the functions of marine ecosystem. One of the first reports of large areas of plastics in the ocean has been by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1988 about the Great Pacific Garbage patch or the Pacific trash vortex, where the density of litter is estimated as four numbers per cubic meter. Globally, this shocking information led to initiation of new research programs on marine litter and in India, the ICAR-CMFRI started an in house research program on this theme in 2007.Understanding the significance of this ecological problem which is purely a direct impact of anthropogenic activity, the Marine Biological Association of India decided to organise a National Conference on Marine Debris (COMAD 2018 ) with an aim to bring together researchers, planners, NGOs, entrepreneurs and local governing bodies working on this theme. Thus, this conference was planned with three main componentsunderstand the research outputs, get first- hand information on the various activities carried out by the public to reduce or recycle non degradable waste generated at various levels and also to have an exhibition of eco-friendly activities and products which would help to reduce marine debris in the long run. The response to all the three themes has been very encouraging. We have received about 50 research articles on themes ranging from micro-plastics to ghost nets and the same number of success stories which are actually details of the diverse activities carried out in different maritime states of the country to solve the issue of solid waste generated in the country. The section on success stories includes attempts by eco-clubs, individuals, schools, colleges, local governing bodies, district administrations, Institutions and NGOs. Activities by some Panchayats like banning plastics in public functions and mechanisms to collect sold waste from households are really commendable. Similarly, the efforts put in by various groups to remove marine debris from the coastal waters is something which should be appreciated. The message from these success stories is that, this problem of increasing marine debris can be resolved. We have got success stories from almost all states and these leaders of clean campaign will be presenting their work in the conference. It is well known that visuals such as photographs and videos are powerful tools of communication. In COMAD 2018, we have provided an opportunity for all across the nation to contribute to this theme through photographs and videos. Am very happy that we have received more than 300 photographs and nearly 25 videos. The MBAI will place these on the web site. It is really shocking to see the quantity of litter in the fishing ground and in the coastal ecosystem

Flying ad-hoc network application scenarios and mobility models

[EN] Flying ad-hoc networks are becoming a promising solution for different application scenarios involving unmanned aerial vehicles, like urban surveillance or search and rescue missions. However, such networks present various and very specific communication issues. As a consequence, there are several research studies focused on analyzing their performance via simulation. Correctly modeling mobility is crucial in this context and although many mobility models are already available to reproduce the behavior of mobile nodes in an ad-hoc network, most of these models cannot be used to reliably simulate the motion of unmanned aerial vehicles. In this article, we list the existing mobility models and provide guidance to understand whether they could be actually adopted depending on the specific flying ad-hoc network application scenarios, while discussing their advantages and disadvantages.Bujari, A.; Tavares De Araujo Cesariny Calafate, CM.; Cano, J.; Manzoni, P.; Palazzi, CE.; Ronzani, D. (2017). Flying ad-hoc network application scenarios and mobility models. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. 13(10):1-17. doi:10.1177/1550147717738192S117131

Validation of the care transition measure in multi-ethnic South-East Asia in Singapore

10.1186/1472-6963-12-256BMC Health Services Research121

An improved model to study tumor cell autonomous metastasis programs using MTLn3 cells and the Rag2−/− γc−/− mouse

The occurrence of metastases is a critical determinant of the prognosis for breast cancer patients. Effective treatment of breast cancer metastases is hampered by a poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in the formation of these secondary tumor deposits. To study the processes of metastasis, valid in vivo tumor metastasis models are required. Here, we show that increased expression of the EGF receptor in the MTLn3 rat mammary tumor cell-line is essential for efficient lung metastasis formation in the Rag mouse model. EGFR expression resulted in delayed orthotopic tumor growth but at the same time strongly enhanced intravasation and lung metastasis. Previously, we demonstrated the critical role of NK cells in a lung metastasis model using MTLn3 cells in syngenic F344 rats. However, this model is incompatible with human EGFR. Using the highly metastatic EGFR-overexpressing MTLn3 cell-line, we report that only Rag2−/−γc−/− mice, which lack NK cells, allow efficient lung metastasis from primary tumors in the mammary gland. In contrast, in nude and SCID mice, the remaining innate immune cells reduce MTLn3 lung metastasis formation. Furthermore, we confirm this finding with the orthotopic transplantation of the 4T1 mouse mammary tumor cell-line. Thus, we have established an improved in vivo model using a Rag2−/− γc−/− mouse strain together with MTLn3 cells that have increased levels of the EGF receptor, which enables us to study EGFR-dependent tumor cell autonomous mechanisms underlying lung metastasis formation. This improved model can be used for drug target validation and development of new therapeutic strategies against breast cancer metastasis formation

Minimal residual disease in Myeloma: Application for clinical care and new drug registration

The development of novel agents has transformed the treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma, with minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity now achievable across the entire disease spectrum. Bone marrow–based technologies to assess MRD, including approaches using next-generation flow and next-generation sequencing, have provided real-time clinical tools for the sensitive detection and monitoring of MRD in patients with multiple myeloma. Complementary liquid biopsy–based assays are now quickly progressing with some, such as mass spectrometry methods, being very close to clinical use, while others utilizing nucleic acid–based technologies are still developing and will prove important to further our understanding of the biology of MRD. On the regulatory front, multiple retrospective individual patient and clinical trial level meta-analyses have already shown and will continue to assess the potential of MRD as a surrogate for patient outcome. Given all this progress, it is not surprising that a number of clinicians are now considering using MRD to inform real-world clinical care of patients across the spectrum from smoldering myeloma to relapsed refractory multiple myeloma, with each disease setting presenting key challenges and questions that will need to be addressed through clinical trials. The pace of advances in targeted and immune therapies in multiple myeloma is unprecedented, and novel MRD-driven biomarker strategies are essential to accelerate innovative clinical trials leading to regulatory approval of novel treatments and continued improvement in patient outcomes