Study on Rust Characterization and Prediction of Atmospheric Corrosion Rates for Structural Steels in Yangon (Myanmar)

According to Fontana, “Corrosion is defined as the deterioration of a material because of reaction with its environment”. The present study is performed to get the behaviour of rust characterization and to predict long term atmospheric corrosion rates of structural steels in Yangon, Myanmar. Three types of structural steel (Type A, Type B and Type C) samples which are commonly used in Myanmar are exposed outdoors according to BS EN ISO 8565. They are removed one month periods, and their mass losses are determined according to ISO 8407 in Yangon Technological University. At the same time, environmental parameters of the test site are monitored. Rust characterization of structural steels is determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) results in University Research Centre (Yangon University, Myanmar). From SEM results, Type A and Type B steels have nearly the same image controlled by β-FeOOH which can increase long term corrosion, whereas Type C steel has controlled by γ-FeOOH. A prediction model is developed using SPSS software to understand the main factors which cause the atmospheric corrosion, and it is found that the atmospheric corrosion in Yangon depends mainly on the time of wetness (TO

Comparative Study on Atmospheric Corrosivity of Under Shelter Exposure in Yangon and Mandalay (Myanmar)

Corrosion is a degrading process and it is the main degradation problem in building industry around the world. This study emphasises on the corrosivity classification of studied areas and discusses long term prediction for thickness loss of carbon steel and weathering steel under shelter condition. Two locations, Yangon and Mandalay, are selected as study areas in Myanmar. Corrosion rates are measured after one year exposure. The pollutant data of sulphur dioxide and chloride deposition rates are measured according to JIS Z 2382 and the meteorological data are collected by Easy USB data logger. The corrosion rate is classified based on ISO 9223 by evaluating the important atmospheric variables, such as time of wetness, CL- and SO2. The classes of sulphur dioxide and chloride deposition rate can be seen low level for both areas and Time of Wetness (TOW) can be seen τ4 for Yangon and τ3 for Mandalay.So, according to ISO 9223, the corrosivity category for Yangon area is C3 and that for Mandalay area is C2-C3. The actual mass loss for weathering steel is a little more than that of carbon steel in Yangon and adverse condition can be seen in Mandalay after one year period. Then the future corrosion rates of studied areas are discussed based on long time test results from JFE Steel Corporation, Japan. From this, weathering steel is suitable when chloride deposition rate is less than or equal to 0.05 mdd because of its protective properties

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Patients' access to and acceptance of community-based hepatitis C testing and treatment in Myanmar: A mixed-method study.

Hepatitis C (HCV) infection elimination in low- and middle-income countries requires decentralised HCV services to increase testing and linkage to care. The CT2 Study investigated patients' views of access to and acceptance of two community-based HCV care models in Myanmar using a mixed-methods approach. Point-of-care HCV testing and general practitioner-initiated HCV treatment were provided at two community clinics in Yangon, Myanmar-the Burnet Institute's (BI) clinic focused on people who inject drugs (PWID), and the Myanmar Liver Foundation's (MLF) clinic focused on people with liver-related diseases. Study staff administered quantitative questionnaires to 633 participants receiving anti-HCV antibody testing. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 29 participants receiving direct-acting antiviral treatment for qualitative interviews. Among participants completing quantitative questionnaires, almost all reported the clinic location was convenient (447/463, 97%), waiting time was acceptable (455/463, 98%), and HCV antibody and RNA testing methods were acceptable (617/632, 98% and 592/605, 97% respectively). Nearly all participants were satisfied with their clinic's services (444/463, 96%) and preferred same-day test results (589/632, 93%). BI clinic participants were more confident that they understood HCV antibody and RNA results; MLF clinic participants were more comfortable disclosing their risk behaviour to staff and had slightly higher satisfaction with the overall care, privacy and secure storage of their information. In qualitative interviews, participants reported that flexible appointment scheduling, short wait times and rapid return of results increased the clinic's accessibility. The simplified point-of-care testing and treatment procedures and supportive healthcare providers contributed to participants' acceptance of the HCV care model. This decentralised community-based HCV testing and treatment model was highly accessible and acceptable to CT2 participants. Prioritizing patient-centred care, rapid provision of results, flexible appointments and convenient clinic locations can promote accessible and acceptable services which may in turn help accelerate progress in reaching HCV elimination targets

Assessing depressive symptoms among people living with HIV in Yangon city, Myanmar: Does being a member of self-help group matter?

BackgroundWhile self-help groups have been formed among people living with HIV, few studies have been conducted to assess the role of self-help groups in mitigating depressive symptoms. This study investigated the association between self-help group membership and depressive symptoms among people living with HIV in Yangon, Myanmar.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, data were collected from people living with HIV at three antiretroviral therapy clinics in 2017. Multiple logistic regression analyses were carried out to examine the associations between having self-help group membership and depressive symptoms. Three ART clinics were purposively selected based on the recommendation from the National AIDS Program in Myanmar. At these clinics, people living with HIV were recruited by a convenience sampling method.ResultsAmong people living with HIV recruited in this study (n = 464), 201 (43.3%) were members of a self-help group. The membership was not associated with having depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98-2.59). Factors associated with having depressive symptoms were female (AOR 3.70, 95% CI 1.54-8.88) and lack of social support (AOR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96-0.98) among self-help group members, and female (AOR 3.47, 95% CI 1.70-7.09), lack of social support (AOR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97-0.99), and internalized stigma (AOR 1.28, 95% 1.08-1.53) among non-members.ConclusionsThis study did not find evidence on the association between membership in self-help groups and depressive symptoms among people living with HIV. Social support was a protective factor against depressive symptoms both self-help group members and non-members, although the level of social support was lower among members than non-members. The activities of self-help groups and care provided by the ART clinics should be strengthened to address mental health problems among people living with HIV in the study site