Properties of Hardened Concrete Containing CBA Ash and FCS as Partial Sand Replacement

A large amount of coal bottom ash (CBA) is being discharged from thermal power plants and has been making serious environmental pollution. Meanwhile, fine coconut shell (FCS) is an agricultural waste and is available in plentiful quantities throughout tropical countries worldwide. In many countries, coconut shell is subjected to open burning which contributes significantly to CO2 and methane emissions. Both of these materials are essential to utilize the CBA and FCS to reduce environmental pollution. Therefore, this study aims to determine the properties of combination of these materials as partial sand replacement. CBA is slow in pozzolanic activity of coal bottom ash which is suitable for partial replacement sand. Meanwhile, FCS is lightweight material with high density in porous filler.  Concrete designed for 30 MPa strength at 28 days curing age and 0.50 of water-cement ratio in this study. The percentage of CBA used is 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%, while the percentage of FCS is 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% where it has been replaced by volume replacement. The specimens were cured in water for 7, 28, 56 and 90 days curing ages before compressive and splitting tensile strength test are conducted. It can be concluded that the density of the concrete decreased, compressive and splitting tensile strength show the improvement with the utilization of CBA and FCS in concrete. In addition, the percentage of water absorption increased as both of CBA and FCS absorb the water. This study shows that an optimum percentage of CBA found is 10% and FCS is 6% for this study

Correlation of Atrial Fibrillation with Left Atrial Volume in Patients with Mitral Stenosis. a Single Centre Study From Pakistan

Background: Rheumatic heart disease has a strong association with mitral valve stenosis. Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common complications of this condition and is a poor prognostic factor. Early detection and prompt management of atrial fibrillation can help to improve the quality of life and increase the life expectancy of the patients. We carried out this study to investigate the significance of left atrial volumetric changes in mitral stenosis and its correlation with atrial fibrillation. Methodology: We audited the data of 60 patients of rheumatic heart disease who had mitral valve stenosis. The patients were randomized into atrial fibrillation (Group A) and normal sinus rhythm (Group B). We conducted this cross-sectional analytical study at Cardiology Department, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from 1st February 2017 to 31st January 2018. We only included those patients who consented to be a part of this study and fulfilled our predefined inclusion criteria. Left atrial volume was measured by prolate ellipse method and biplane methods on echocardiography. The Data was analyzed on SPSS v20. Results: Sixty patients were included in the study. Among the subjects, thirty-six (60%) were males, and twenty-four (40%) were females. Atrial fibrillation was noted in 43.33% of the patients of mitral valve stenosis. There was a marked difference in the mean volume of the left atrium among the two groups. We observed that the mean area of the mitral valve for Group A patients was larger than that of patients in Group B. Our study showed an inverse correlation between left atrial volume and mitral valve area among Group A patients. Conclusion: Patients of mitral stenosis are at an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation if the left atrial volume is increasing. All patients with mitral stenosis should have routine echocardiography & measurement of left atrial volumes, so that proper treatment can be started if the left atrial volume is increasing, to prevent atrial fibrillation

Effect of water to cement ratio and replacement percentage of recycled concrete aggregate on the concrete strength

Fine Recycled Concrete Aggregate (FRCA) is one of the construction waste can be recycled. It can be the aggregate to replace the natural aggregate in concrete since we know the physical properties of materials are hard and strong. Demand for sand in the concrete production has been increased which become the problems in the concrete industry. This work deals with the effect of concrete incorporating with FRCA as partial replacement of sand. The percentage of natural sand replaced by the FRCA was 0%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 45% and 60%. Other than that, water cement ratio was manipulated variable started form 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55 and 0.60. In short, 20% replacement was the most suitable interaction of FRCA in the concrete occur that contribute to increasing in compressive strength. The porosity properties of FRCA been neutralized on that replacement percentage by the present of optimum filler effect generated form the very fine FRCA particle during the mixing process. Meanwhile, 0.50 water cement ratio was optimum condition for cement hydration process using FRCA as partial sand replacement

Lessons learnt of the COVID-19 contact tracing strategy in Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan using systems thinking processes

The strategy of test, trace and isolate has been promoted and seen as a crucial tool in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As simple as the slogan sounds, effectively implementing it turns into a complex endeavor with multiple moving parts and the need for multisector collaboration. In this study, we apply a systems thinking lens to analyse the design and implementation of the contact tracing strategy for COVID-19 in the district of Islamabad, Pakistan. The data collection included participatory observation, reflective exercises, key informant interviews and participatory workshops with district health managers and health providers. The information gathered was structured using process and stakeholder mapping to identify the lessons learned of the COVID-19 contact tracing strategy. The results showed that the elements crucial for implementation were, good coordination during a crisis, available resources mobilized effectively and establishment of early active surveillance for contact tracing. Furthermore, the main aspects to be improved were lack of preparedness and existing surveillance systems and task shifting leading to impact on regular health services. The results of this study highlight the importance of developing information systems that are coherent with existing processes and resources, even in times of crisis

Validation of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation (CISS)

Introduction: There is an appealing need to have a validated Bahasa Malaysia (BM) questionnaire that is able to gauge stress coping styles among Malaysian population. A culturally accepted questionnaire will generate further research in the aspect of stress coping patterns in the Malaysia population. Objective: To translate the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) questionnaire into BM and to determine the construct validity, reliability and other psychometric properties of the translated BM version of the English CISS 48-item. Method: Two parallel forward and backward translations were done in BM in accordance to guideline and its validation was determined by using confirmatory factor analysis among 200 Malaysian subjects. Results: The BM CISS had very good Cronbach’s alpha values, 0.91, 0.89 and 0.85 respectively for Task-, Emotional- and Avoidance-oriented. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.91. It also had good factor loading for most of its items where 44 items out of 48 had Confirmatory Factor Analysis values of more than 4.0. Conclusions: BM CISS had been adequately and correctly translated into Bahasa Malaysia with high psychometric properties. Minimal readjustment may be required in a few of its items to obtain excellent results

A Survey of Classification Methods

Classification may refer to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood. There are many types of classification, researchers face a problem to choose a suitable method that give a good classification performance to solve their classification problems. In this paper, we present the basic classification techniques. Several major kinds of classification method including neural network, decision tree, Bayesian networks, support vector machine and k-nearest neighbor classifier. The goal of this survey is to provide a comprehensive review of the above different classification techniques

Serum leptin and its relation to anthropometric measures of obesity in pre-diabetic Saudis

Background: Little information is available on leptin concentrations in individuals with IGT. This study aims to determine and correlate leptin levels to anthropometric measures of obesity in prediabetic, (IFG and IGT), type 2 diabetic and normoglycaemic Saudis. Methods: 308 adult Saudis (healthy controls n = 80; pre-diabetes n = 86; Type 2 diabetes n = 142) participated. Anthropometric parameters were measured and fasting blood samples taken. Serum insulin was analysed, using a solid phase enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay and also leptin concentrations, using radio-immunoassay. The remaining blood parameters were determined using standard laboratory procedures. Results: Leptin levels of diabetic and pre-diabetic men were higher than in normoglycaemic men (12.4 [3.2–72] vs 3.9 [0.8–20.0] ng/mL, (median [interquartile range], p = 0.0001). In females, leptin levels were significantly higher in pre-diabetic subjects (14.09 [2.8–44.4] ng/mL) than in normoglycaemic subjects (10.2 [0.25–34.8] ng/mL) (p = 0.046). After adjustment for BMI and gender, hip circumference was associated with log leptin (p = 0.006 with R2 = 0.086) among all subjects. Conclusion: Leptin is associated with measures of adiposity, hip circumference in particular, in the non-diabetic state among Saudi subjects. The higher leptin level among diabetics and pre-diabetics is not related to differences in anthropometric measures of obesity

High Curie temperature and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in homoepitaxial InMnAs films

We have prepared the dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) InMnAs with different Mn concentrations by ion implantation and pulsed laser melting. The Curie temperature of the In1-xMnxAs epilayer depends on the Mn concentration x, reaching 82 K for x=0.105. The substitution of Mn ions at the Indium sites induces a compressive strain perpendicular to the InMnAs layer and a tensile strain along the in-plane direction. This gives rise to a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which is often needed for the demonstration of electrical control of magnetization and for spin-transfer-torque induced magnetization reversal.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Changes in endotoxin levels in T2DM subjects on anti-diabetic therapies

Introduction Chronic low-grade inflammation is a significant factor in the development of obesity associated diabetes. This is supported by recent studies suggesting endotoxin, derived from gut flora, may be key to the development of inflammation by stimulating the secretion of an adverse cytokine profile from adipose tissue. Aims The study investigated the relationship between endotoxin and various metabolic parameters of diabetic patients to determine if anti-diabetic therapies exerted a significant effect on endotoxin levels and adipocytokine profiles. Methods Fasting blood samples were collected from consenting Saudi Arabian patients (BMI: 30.2 ± (SD)5.6 kg/m2, n = 413), consisting of non-diabetics (ND: n = 67) and T2DM subjects (n = 346). The diabetics were divided into 5 subgroups based on their 1 year treatment regimes: diet-controlled (n = 36), metformin (n = 141), rosiglitazone (RSG: n = 22), a combined fixed dose of metformin/rosiglitazone (met/RSG n = 100) and insulin (n = 47). Lipid profiles, fasting plasma glucose, insulin, adiponectin, resistin, TNF-α, leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and endotoxin concentrations were determined. Results Regression analyses revealed significant correlations between endotoxin levels and triglycerides (R2 = 0.42; p < 0.0001); total cholesterol (R2 = 0.10; p < 0.001), glucose (R2 = 0.076; p < 0.001) and insulin (R2 = 0.032; p < 0.001) in T2DM subjects. Endotoxin showed a strong inverse correlation with HDL-cholesterol (R2 = 0.055; p < 0.001). Further, endotoxin levels were elevated in all of the treated diabetic subgroups compared with ND, with the RSG treated diabetics showing significantly lower endotoxin levels than all of the other treatment groups (ND: 4.2 ± 1.7 EU/ml, RSG: 5.6 ± 2.2 EU/ml). Both the met/RSG and RSG treated groups had significantly higher adiponectin levels than all the other groups, with the RSG group expressing the highest levels overall. Conclusion We conclude that sub-clinical inflammation in T2DM may, in part, be mediated by circulating endotoxin. Furthermore, that whilst the endotoxin and adipocytokine profiles of diabetic patients treated with different therapies were comparable, the RSG group demonstrated significant differences in both adiponectin and endotoxin levels. We confirm an association between endotoxin and serum insulin and triglycerides and an inverse relationship with HDL. Lower endotoxin and higher adiponectin in the groups treated with RSG may be related and indicate another mechanism for the effect of RSG on insulin sensitivity