Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Concrete and Self-Healing Phenomena by adding Bacteria, Silica fume and Fibres

Concrete which is the most useable material in the world after the water has flaws, it is susceptible to cracking over time. These cracks occur in the form of shear cracks, flexural cracks, tension cracks, shrinkage cracks etc. With these cracks, some hair-like cracks also occur in concrete which are not visible during the visual inspection. The propagation of these cracks in concrete allows the water and many other chemicals to seep inside the concrete and leads to a decrease in its properties. Such properties include decreasing durability, erosion of rebars, and progressive failure in the concrete strength. Therefore, the repair of hair-like cracks is also essential for the long-term safety of structures. In the present study the Silica fume, and Polypropylene fibres are added to a rich concrete along with the bacteria named Bacillus Subtilis and Calcium Lactate for enhancement of its mechanical properties and self-healing phenomena. The effect of bacteria in the healing phenomenon and other properties is compared to normal concrete by casting the cylinders and beams. The slump, compressive strength, tensile strength, and self-healing phenomena are tested and found the increase in mechanical properties of concrete. The self-healing phenomena of cracks is observed by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

Clinical study on the use of nozovent in a tertiary care setting

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the Nozovent device in Pakistani subjects at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore from 15 January 2001 to 15 January 2002.Methods: Sixty males and 40 females were selected by non probability purposive sampling, from OPD of ENT Department, complaining of nasal obstruction due to various reasons, e.g. vasomotor rhinitis, allergic rhinitis, congestion during pregnancy and menstruation, common cold, traumatic nose and nasal valve problem.Results: All patients benefited subjectively but the degree of relief varied in individuals.CONCLUSION: The Nozovent provides a unique method to relieve nasal obstruction with no side effects

Analyzing Land Cover Change Using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Case Study of Gilgit River Basin, North Pakistan

Mountainous areas of northern Pakistan are rich in biodiversity, glaciers and key watershed of Indus Riversystem which provide ecosystem services for their inhabitants. These regions have experienced extensive deforestationand are presently vulnerable by rapid land cover changes, therefore an effective assessment and monitoring is essentialto capture such changes. The aim of this study is to analyze the observed changes in land cover over a period of thirtynine years, divided into three stages (1976-1999, 1999-2008 and 2008-2015). Four images from Landsat 2Multispectral Scanner System (MSS), Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper andLandsat 8 Operation Land Imager data were obtained to detect land cover change. This study used supervisedclassification-maximum likelihood algorithm in ERDAS imagine to identify land cover changes perceived in GilgitRiver Basin, Pakistan. The result showed that the range land, glaciers, water bodies, built-up/agricultural cover are themajor categories that have been altered by the natural and anthropogenic actions. In 1976, built up/agriculture, rangeland, water bodies and glacier cover was 1.13%, 45.3%, 0.66% and 13.2%, respectively. Whereas in 2015, builtup/agriculture, range land, water bodies and glacier cover was 3.25%, 12.7%, 0.91% and 8.2%, respectively. Thesesland cover shifts posed acute threat to watershed resources. Therefore, a comprehensive watershed resourcemanagement is essential or otherwise, these resources will deplete rapidly and no longer be capable of playing their rolein socioeconomic and sustainable environmental development of the are

Weight awareness among parents and health care providers in Sharjah, UAE

Background: This study looks at weight perception among parents and health care providers in Sharjah, UAE.Methods: This study was done through reviewing 1000 patients files who visited the paediatric OPD in university hospital Sharjah (UHS) during 2015. The files were reviewed for the cause of the visit, the diagnosis of weight status and weight counselling.Results: 18% of study patients were either overweight or obese. In children with abnormal weight status, the cause of the visits was weight related in 3.3% of patients, while it was due to weight unrelated causes in 96.7%. Weight counselling in obese individuals were reported in 35.5% of obese patients. While in overweight group, weight counselling was found in 5% of the patients and in patients with normal BMI, counselling was done in 0.2% of patients.Conclusions: This study shows clear defects in weight awareness and perception in parents and health care providers. Most parents are either not aware about the weight status of their kids or they don’t consider overweight or obesity as medical issues that require medical advice. The very low percentage of specific weight counselling shows weight counselling is not practiced if these patients are evaluated for other complaints. Weight misperception among parents and health care providers can be genuine barriers for prevention of childhood obesity

Effectiveness of delivering integrated COPD care at public healthcare facilities: a cluster randomised trial in Pakistan

Background In Pakistan chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence is 2.1% in adults aged >40 years. Despite being a health policy focus, integrated COPD care has remained neglected, with wide variation in practice. Aim To assess whether enhanced care at public health facilities resulted in better control of COPD, treatment adherence, and smoking cessation. Design & setting A two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial was undertaken in 30 public health facilities (23 primary and 7 secondary), across three districts of Punjab, between October 2014–December 2016. Both arms had enhanced diagnosis and patient recording processes. Intervention facilities also had clinical care guides; drugs for COPD; patient education flipcharts; associated staff training; and mobile phone follow-up. Method Facilities were randomised in a 1:1 ratio (sealed envelope independent lottery method), and 159 intervention and 154 control patients were recruited. The eligibility criteria were as follows: diagnosed with COPD, aged ≥18 years, and living in the catchment area. The primary outcome was change in BODE (Body mass index, airway Obstruction, Dyspnoea, Exercise capacity) index score from baseline to final follow-up visit. Staff and patients were not blinded. Results Six-month primary outcomes were available for 147/159 (92.5%) intervention and 141/154 (91.6%) control participants (all clusters). The primary outcome results cluster-level analysis were as follows: mean intervention outcome = -1.67 (95% confidence intervals [CI] = -2.18 to -1.16); mean control outcome = -0.66 (95% CI = -1.09 to -0.22); and covariate-adjusted mean intervention–control difference = -0.96 (95% CI = -1.49 to -0.44; P = 0.001). Conclusion The findings of this trial and a separate process evaluation study support the scaling of this integrated COPD care package at primary and secondary level public health facilities in Pakistan and similar settings

Estimation of genetic effects controlling different plant traits in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under CLCuV epidemic condition

Nine cotton genotypes, comprised of four non Bt males (CIM-1100, CIM-506, FH-942 and FH-900), five Bt female genotypes (FH-113, FH-114, MNH- 886, AA-703 and IR-3701) and their 20 crosses were screened in order to evaluate their response to Cotton leaf curl virus symptoms through epidemiology in the field and greenhouse. The 20 crosses among their nine parents were sown in two replications under randomized complete block design, during 2013 and 2014. The mean squares were significant for all traits indicating that both additive and non-additive genes control the characters, but non-additive genes were more important because, variance of dominant genes were higher than additive genes. In our test, FH-900 showed the best performance against CLCuV, number of lobes per boll and seed yield. The CIM- 1100 genotype performed well in boll weight, fiber strength and fiber fineness, whereas CIM-506 was good for plant height, number of sympodial branches and ginning. Maximum boll number, seed index and fiber length were shown by FH-942. Among lines, MNH886, FH-113, IR-3701 and FH-114 exhibited the best general combination for many traits. Hence, parents were preferred for hybridization program to improve the majority of characters. Hybrids FH-113 × FH-942, MNH-886 × CIM-1100, MNH-886 × FH-942, IR-3701 × CIM-506, AA-703 × CIM-1100, FH-114 × FH-942, FH-114 × CIM-1100 and MNH-886 × FH- 900 was best in specific combinations for different traits, especially against CLCuV. The results indicated that to increase resistance against CLCuV, hybrids should be exploited to develop CLCuV resistance

Characterizations of novel pesticide-degrading bacterial strains from industrial wastes found in the industrial cities of Pakistan and their biodegradation potential

Background Lack of infrastructure for disposal of effluents in industries leads to severe pollution of natural resources in developing countries. These pollutants accompanied by solid waste are equally hazardous to biological growth. Natural attenuation of these pollutants was evidenced that involved degradation by native microbial communities. The current study encompasses the isolation of pesticide-degrading bacteria from the vicinity of pesticide manufacturing industries. Methods The isolation and identification of biodegrading microbes was done. An enrichment culture technique was used to isolate the selected pesticide-degrading bacteria from industrial waste. Results Around 20 different strains were isolated, among which six isolates showed significant pesticide biodegrading activity. After 16S rRNA analysis, two isolated bacteria were identified as Acinetobacter baumannii (5B) and Acidothiobacillus ferroxidans, and the remaining four were identified as different strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1A, 2B, 3C, 4D). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed their evolution from a common ancestor. All strains showed distinctive degradation ability up to 36 hours. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains 1A and 4D showed highest degradation percentage of about 80% for DDT, and P. aeruginosa strain 3C showed highest degradation percentage, i.e., 78% for aldrin whilst in the case of malathion, A. baumannii and A. ferroxidans have shown considerable degradation percentages of 53% and 54%, respectively. Overall, the degradation trend showed that all the selected strains can utilize the given pesticides as sole carbon energy sources even at a concentration of 50 mg/mL. Conclusion This study provided strong evidence for utilizing these strains to remove persistent residual pesticide; thus, it gives potential for soil treatment and restoration

Thermoelectric Properties of Oxide Semiconductors

In this chapter, we have explored the potential of oxide semiconductors for thermoelectric power generation. Various oxides (Cu2InO4, CuAlO2, and Zn2GeO4) were grown on Si substrate by thermal evaporation method using tube furnace. After the growth, a representative sample of each oxide was cut into pieces and was annealed at various temperatures from 600 to 800°C in oxygen environment for 1 h using a programmable furnace. The structure of all annealed sample was verified by performing X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) measurements. XRD data suggested that all oxide materials show crystalline behavior at annealing temperature 800°C. XRD results further confirmed that crystal structure of investigated samples improved significantly with annealing because the intensity of oxygen-sensitive (0 0 6) plane was found to be increased with annealing temperature. To investigate the thermoelectric properties of annealed samples, Seebeck effect and Hall effect measurements were performed in the temperature range 25–100°C. It was found that the value of Seebeck coefficient and power factor increased as the annealing temperature increases. Zn2GeO4 was found to be a potential thermoelectric material because it has the highest value of Seebeck coefficient and power factor. This highest value is related to the presence of secondary phases in this oxide

Preliminary selection and evaluation of fungicides and natural compounds to control grey mold disease of rose caused by Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea es un hongo patógeno de las plantas que causa la enfermedad del moho gris del rosal (Rosa indica L.). La búsqueda de estrategias de control nuevas y alternativas respetuosas con el medio ambiente, en lugar de los productos químicos peligrosos, para diferentes enfermedades de los cultivos es un paso crucial y saludable para hacer frente a los retos actuales del cambio climático. Por lo tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar la eficacia de diferentes extractos botánicos y agentes de biocontrol (biopesticidas) junto con diferentes fungicidas contra B. cinerea en condiciones in vitro. Se utilizaron tres concentraciones diferentes, a saber, 100, 200 y 300 ppm de cinco fungicidas, a saber, Acrobate, Melody, Cabrio top, Antracol y oxicloruro de cobre, extractos botánicos de ocho plantas Dhatura, Jengibre, Aak, Neem y Cebolla, en tres dosis diferentes de 5, 10 y 15%, El estudio de la incidencia de la enfermedad% de moho gris en el cultivo de rosas en la región muestra que la región de Hyderabad tiene un máximo (60%) de incidencia de la enfermedad en comparación con la región de Tandojam (40%). Entre los fungicidas, el Cabrio top redujo significativamente el crecimiento lineal de colonias (31 mm) de B. cinerea a una concentración de 300 ppm. Entre los productos botánicos, el extracto de la planta de neem mostró significativamente el menor crecimiento de colonias (23,33 mm), seguido de la planta de jengibre (25 mm) y la planta de dhatura (26 mm). La mayor concentración de fungicidas y las dosis más altas (15%) de extractos botánicos resultaron significativamente eficaces para controlar el patógeno B. cinerea. Among biopesticides, Fusarium solani appeared prominent in reducing colony growth (25.16 mm) of the pathogen but the difference was not significant 300 with most of the tested biocontrol agents. La recomendación en este estudio es la alta capacidad de los extractos botánicos y agentes de biocontrol en la reducción del crecimiento de moho gris, considerando potencialmente su uso en lugar de fungicidas sintéticos y mayor seguridad para el ecosistema.Campus Ic