Population based prevalence of community acquired methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in community settings of Srinagar Garhwal, India.

The present study was done to determine the prevalence of community acquired MRSA in the healthy population of Srinagar Garhwal. Population dwelling 200m away from the tertiary healthcare centre was chosen as target group and 212 samples in all from different anatomical sites were obtained after informed consent. Multiplex PCR was done to study the SCCmec gene type to confirm MRSA of community origin and prevalence in percentage was deduced thereafter to get clear picture. 108(50.94%) individuals were reported to have s. aureus and nasal colonization was reported to be most prevalent. Of s. aureus isolates 19 (17.59%) were methicillin resistant. Nasal carriage was the most prevalent anatomical site with 12 (63.15%) colonization of CA MRSA followed by upper respiratory tract and skin 5 (26.31%) and 2 (10.52%). Overall prevalence of CA MRSA was 8.96%. Keeping in mind the geographically distinct hilly region, although not very high but alarming prevalence of CA MRSA was observed. Our findings thus have serious implications for the rationale and judicial use of antibiotics

Rock mass assessment along the right bank of river Sutlej, Luhri, Himachal Pradesh, India

The study involves the characterization of rock mass along the right bank of river Sutlej, Luhri, Himachal Pradesh. This road connects to several important locations and therefore blockage due to slope failure may cause several problems. Lack of proper geotechnical/geological investigations has led to cutting of the natural hill slopes with improper design. The subsequent road cut slope has made this zone highly vulnerable and a threat to local commuters. The concerned area has varying lithology which are highly jointed and exposed all along the road cuts. The unrestrained slope in this zone is prone to recurrent failures due to high precipitation and seismicity, eventually causing loss of life and property. Therefore, the study helps in understanding the behaviour and mode of failure of the cut slope through geometrical relationship between structural discontinuities and surface topography. Several important parameters were determined to quantify the region based on available and widely used rockmass characterization techniques to develop a proper understanding. This will ultimately help in designing appropriate remedial measures to such vulnerable zones that will prevent further slope failure and resulting damage

Estimation of elastic constant of rocks using an ANFIS approach

The engineering properties of the rocks have the most vital role in planning of rock excavation and construction for optimum utilization of earth resources with greater safety and least damage to surroundings. The design and construction of structure is influenced by physico-mechanical properties of rock mass. Young's modulus provides insight about the magnitude and characteristic of the rock mass deformation due to change in stress field. The determination of the Young's modulus in laboratory is very time consuming and costly. Therefore, basic rock properties like point load, density and water absorption have been used to predict the Young's modulus. Point load, density and water absorption can be easily determined in field as well as laboratory and are pertinent properties to characterize a rock mass. The artificial neural network (ANN), fuzzy inference system (FIS) and neuro fuzzy are promising techniques which have proven to be very reliable in recent years. In, present study, neuro fuzzy system is applied to predict the rock Young's modulus to overcome the limitation of ANN and fuzzy logic. Total 85 dataset were used for training the network and 10 dataset for testing and validation of network rules. The network performance indices correlation coefficient, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE), and variance account for (VAF) are found to be 0.6643, 7.583, 6.799, and 91.95 respectively, which endow with high performance of predictive neuro-fuzzy system to make use for prediction of complex rock parameter. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Rockfall analysis along transportation corridors in high hill slopes

The paper discusses the problems pertinent to rockfall activities in highly jointed rock cut slopes, excavated without detailed geotechnical and geological investigations along the right bank of river Sutlej, Luhri, Himachal Pradesh, India. The cut slopes are near vertical to sub-vertical and overhangs are ubiquitous at several locations. Initially, probable zones of slope failure were identified from field inspection and kinematic analysis. The study then uses 2D rockfall analysis for estimating loss of energy due to the impact of falling blocks on the slope face and subsequently on the road. Several parameters were also assessed from the study viz. bounce height, travel distance, kinetic energy and translational velocity. The result from rockfall analysis shows that the energy and velocity achieved by the falling blocks are considerably high, capable enough to cause severe damage. In relation to energy and velocity, bounce height achieved is not very large. Because of removal of trees from the slopes face and no measures to capture falling blocks, the problems have been aggravated and therefore, most of the rock covers very large distance to reach up to the valley crossing the roadways endangering travelers and infrastructures. Based on the results, preventive measures have been suggested to prevent future rockfall hazards

Stability analysis of an open cut slope in Wardha valley coal field

Open cast mines are the prime source of coal production in India. Due to an increase in coal demand, deeper surface mines are being planned to ensure better productivity with enhanced safety of these mines. The safe working environment and continuous production of the coal calls for the safe and stable design of cut slopes. The stability analysis of this slope requires in depth geotechnical investigation which are aided by result orientated stability assessment using empirical methods and numerical simulation. In the present study, a slope was examined to understand the mechanism and comparisons were made with field observations. The investigation has involved a 32m high cut slope from an open cast mine in Wardha valley coal field which has been analyzed using a two dimensional numerical simulation. The bench slope consisted of a low strength sandstones, shales and clay sequence. Hoek-Brown strength parameters established and used as input parameters in the model. The results indicate that the slope is critically stable and may lead to failure without warning and needs proper attention

Comparative study of the deformation modulus of rock masses-a reply to the comments received from Gokceoglu (2018)

Availability of information on the deformation modulus in the initial stages of civil engineering projects related to near-surface or underground excavation is very important for design purposes. However, direct determination of the deformation modulus is a challenging task and a potentially costly one; therefore, several researchers have frequently used indirect methods to assess the deformation modulus. Of the significant number of empirical equations that can be found in literature, most are non-linear, which makes the deformation modulus a parameter that is very sensitive to the quality and types of data used

The stability of road cut cliff face along SH-121: a case study

Rockfall is one of the major concerns along highways, settlements and forests around the globe. Amboli road cut hill is one such region which is highly vulnerable and suffers from recurrent rockfall mostly in the rainy season, which blocks the State Highway 121 for considerable period of time. The steep and highly jointed slope along the road makes the zone prone to failure due to rainwater action. This road experiences heavy traffic throughout the year as it is the only road connecting Goa to Satara and Kolhapur via Sawantwadi in Maharashtra State, India. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this study to understand the stability of the cliff face. A combination of field study and 2D computer simulation was performed to assess surface characteristics of the cliff face. Bounce height, translational kinetic energy, translational velocity and factor of safety for saturated condition have been estimated. The result of this study shows that the rock face is highly unstable taking into consideration the environmental condition and daily traffic. Proper preventive measures have also been suggested to arrest the movement of falling rocks before reaching the roads or valleys. It is a belief that if proper care is taken, then further uncertain rockfall hazards can be prevented