Dynamic Effects of Moving Loads on the Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement Responses

In this paper, to analyze the Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP), a 3-D dynamic model of the pavement was modeled using ABAQUS. Moving load with different speed and interaction between the Dowel bar and concrete has been considered in this research. The output for the strain in the joints has been validated with accurate experimental results. Research has shown that the finite element analysis, is an accurate and efficient method to model the interaction between the dowel bar and surrounding concrete. The results showed that with increasing the speed of moving load, the maximum strain in joints decreases. Such reduction is about 18% for the 20 ton axial load and the speed of 120 km/hr. relative to the speed of 32 km/hr. In addition, with increasing the axial load, the maximum strain in the joints increases. This increase is more for the lower speeds. In addition, it is found that decreasing the loading speed and increasing the axial load will result in increasing the maximum strain and maximum stress in the connected area of dowel bar and surrounding concrete. Thus it may become more than the ultimate tensile strength and result in initiate cracking in the tensile area of concrete slab, especially in the joints. Furthermore, the results showed that changing the mechanical specification of concrete would not significantly affect the maximum strain in the JPCP, which using C50 instead of C25, the maximum strain would increase about 10%. However, the mechanical specification of JPCP could affect the cracking propagation and concrete durability

Influence du pourcentage de substitution en sédiment traité sur l’ouvrabilité, la résistance et la porosité des BAP

Sediment dredging is often confronted with the problem of eliminating the quantities of extracted mud. This issue has given rise to valorization policy in order to provide an alternative to the storage and disposal of dredged sediments. This study concerns the developing of self-compacting concretes (SCC) by substituting partialy cement with sediment dredged from Chorfa dam (Algeria) after being calcined. The results showed that a substitution up to 30% of cement with calcined mud in SCC seems feasible according to the found mechanical performances which were close even better than those of the reference SCC. Moreover, the studied SCC showed very fine porosities which make of them potentially sustainable SCC’s.Le dragage des sédiments se retrouve souvent confronté au problème d’élimination des quantités de vase extraites. Ce même problème a donné naissance à la politique de valorisation afin de fournir une alternative au stockage et au rejet des sédiments dragués. Cette étude consiste à élaborer des bétons autoplaçants en substituant partiellement le ciment par de la vase issue du barrage Chorfa (Algérie) après calcination. Les résultats obtenus montrent qu’une substitution allant jusqu’à 30% du ciment par de la vase calcinée dans des BAP semble réalisable tout en ayant des performances mécaniques proches, voire meilleures que celles d’un BAP de référence. Outre les résistances mécaniques, les différents BAP de l’étude présentent des porosités très fines qui font d’eux des BAP potentiellement durable.Le dragage des sédiments se retrouve souvent confronté au problème d’élimination des quantités de vase extraites. Ce même problème a donné naissance à la politique de valorisation afin de fournir une alternative au stockage et au rejet des sédiments dragués. Cette étude consiste à élaborer des bétons autoplaçants en substituant partiellement le ciment par de la vase issue du barrage Chorfa (Algérie) après calcination. Les résultats obtenus montrent qu’une substitution allant jusqu’à 30% du ciment par de la vase calcinée dans des BAP semble réalisable tout en ayant des performances mécaniques proches, voire meilleures que celles d’un BAP de référence. Outre les résistances mécaniques, les différents BAP de l’étude présentent des porosités très fines qui font d’eux des BAP potentiellement durable

Evaluation of the Droplets and Aerosols, Posing Potential Risks of COVID-19 Disease Infection Transmission in Dentistry: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

Objective: To evaluate the droplets and aerosols, posing potential risks of infection transmission of COVID-19 disease in dentistry. Material and Methods: PubMed, Embase, ISI, Scopus, Medicine have been used to search for articles between September 2019 to December 2020. Data extracted from the studies were included, study, study design, sample size, Sample collection time, Hallway Air Samples (copies/L of air), Personal Air Samples (copies/L of air). Effect size with 95% confidence interval (CI), fixed effect model, Inverse-variance methods were calculated. The Meta-analysis was evaluated with Stata/MP v.16 statistical software (The fastest version of Stata). Results: According to the purpose of the study, 64 articles were found; studies that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from the study; the full text of 11 studies was reviewed. Finally, two studies were selected. The effect size of airborne COVID-19 concentrations of the hallway and personal air samples was 64% copies/L of air (ES, 0.64 95% CI=-1.45-2.73) and 100% copies/L air (ES, 1.00 95% CI=-1.77-3.76), respectively. Conclusion: Evidence of aerosol transmission of COVID-19 in observational studies of patients with COVID-19 was 64% copies/L of air and 100% copies/L of air in the hallway and personal air samples, respectively

Influence du pourcentage de substitution en sédiment traité sur l’ouvrabilité, la résistance et la porosité des BAP

Sediment dredging is often confronted with the problem of eliminating the quantities of extracted mud. This issue has given rise to valorization policy in order to provide an alternative to the storage and disposal of dredged sediments. This study concerns the developing of self-compacting concretes (SCC) by substituting partialy cement with sediment dredged from Chorfa dam (Algeria) after being calcined. The results showed that a substitution up to 30% of cement with calcined mud in SCC seems feasible according to the found mechanical performances which were close even better than those of the reference SCC. Moreover, the studied SCC showed very fine porosities which make of them potentially sustainable SCC’s.Le dragage des sédiments se retrouve souvent confronté au problème d’élimination des quantités de vase extraites. Ce même problème a donné naissance à la politique de valorisation afin de fournir une alternative au stockage et au rejet des sédiments dragués. Cette étude consiste à élaborer des bétons autoplaçants en substituant partiellement le ciment par de la vase issue du barrage Chorfa (Algérie) après calcination. Les résultats obtenus montrent qu’une substitution allant jusqu’à 30% du ciment par de la vase calcinée dans des BAP semble réalisable tout en ayant des performances mécaniques proches, voire meilleures que celles d’un BAP de référence. Outre les résistances mécaniques, les différents BAP de l’étude présentent des porosités très fines qui font d’eux des BAP potentiellement durable.Le dragage des sédiments se retrouve souvent confronté au problème d’élimination des quantités de vase extraites. Ce même problème a donné naissance à la politique de valorisation afin de fournir une alternative au stockage et au rejet des sédiments dragués. Cette étude consiste à élaborer des bétons autoplaçants en substituant partiellement le ciment par de la vase issue du barrage Chorfa (Algérie) après calcination. Les résultats obtenus montrent qu’une substitution allant jusqu’à 30% du ciment par de la vase calcinée dans des BAP semble réalisable tout en ayant des performances mécaniques proches, voire meilleures que celles d’un BAP de référence. Outre les résistances mécaniques, les différents BAP de l’étude présentent des porosités très fines qui font d’eux des BAP potentiellement durable

Burden of disease scenarios for 204 countries and territories, 2022–2050: a forecasting analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Future trends in disease burden and drivers of health are of great interest to policy makers and the public at large. This information can be used for policy and long-term health investment, planning, and prioritisation. We have expanded and improved upon previous forecasts produced as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) and provide a reference forecast (the most likely future), and alternative scenarios assessing disease burden trajectories if selected sets of risk factors were eliminated from current levels by 2050. Methods: Using forecasts of major drivers of health such as the Socio-demographic Index (SDI; a composite measure of lag-distributed income per capita, mean years of education, and total fertility under 25 years of age) and the full set of risk factor exposures captured by GBD, we provide cause-specific forecasts of mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age and sex from 2022 to 2050 for 204 countries and territories, 21 GBD regions, seven super-regions, and the world. All analyses were done at the cause-specific level so that only risk factors deemed causal by the GBD comparative risk assessment influenced future trajectories of mortality for each disease. Cause-specific mortality was modelled using mixed-effects models with SDI and time as the main covariates, and the combined impact of causal risk factors as an offset in the model. At the all-cause mortality level, we captured unexplained variation by modelling residuals with an autoregressive integrated moving average model with drift attenuation. These all-cause forecasts constrained the cause-specific forecasts at successively deeper levels of the GBD cause hierarchy using cascading mortality models, thus ensuring a robust estimate of cause-specific mortality. For non-fatal measures (eg, low back pain), incidence and prevalence were forecasted from mixed-effects models with SDI as the main covariate, and YLDs were computed from the resulting prevalence forecasts and average disability weights from GBD. Alternative future scenarios were constructed by replacing appropriate reference trajectories for risk factors with hypothetical trajectories of gradual elimination of risk factor exposure from current levels to 2050. The scenarios were constructed from various sets of risk factors: environmental risks (Safer Environment scenario), risks associated with communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs; Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination scenario), risks associated with major non-communicable diseases (NCDs; Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario), and the combined effects of these three scenarios. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways climate scenarios SSP2-4.5 as reference and SSP1-1.9 as an optimistic alternative in the Safer Environment scenario, we accounted for climate change impact on health by using the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change temperature forecasts and published trajectories of ambient air pollution for the same two scenarios. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy were computed using standard methods. The forecasting framework includes computing the age-sex-specific future population for each location and separately for each scenario. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for each individual future estimate were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of distributions generated from propagating 500 draws through the multistage computational pipeline. Findings: In the reference scenario forecast, global and super-regional life expectancy increased from 2022 to 2050, but improvement was at a slower pace than in the three decades preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (beginning in 2020). Gains in future life expectancy were forecasted to be greatest in super-regions with comparatively low life expectancies (such as sub-Saharan Africa) compared with super-regions with higher life expectancies (such as the high-income super-region), leading to a trend towards convergence in life expectancy across locations between now and 2050. At the super-region level, forecasted healthy life expectancy patterns were similar to those of life expectancies. Forecasts for the reference scenario found that health will improve in the coming decades, with all-cause age-standardised DALY rates decreasing in every GBD super-region. The total DALY burden measured in counts, however, will increase in every super-region, largely a function of population ageing and growth. We also forecasted that both DALY counts and age-standardised DALY rates will continue to shift from CMNNs to NCDs, with the most pronounced shifts occurring in sub-Saharan Africa (60·1% [95% UI 56·8–63·1] of DALYs were from CMNNs in 2022 compared with 35·8% [31·0–45·0] in 2050) and south Asia (31·7% [29·2–34·1] to 15·5% [13·7–17·5]). This shift is reflected in the leading global causes of DALYs, with the top four causes in 2050 being ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, compared with 2022, with ischaemic heart disease, neonatal disorders, stroke, and lower respiratory infections at the top. The global proportion of DALYs due to YLDs likewise increased from 33·8% (27·4–40·3) to 41·1% (33·9–48·1) from 2022 to 2050, demonstrating an important shift in overall disease burden towards morbidity and away from premature death. The largest shift of this kind was forecasted for sub-Saharan Africa, from 20·1% (15·6–25·3) of DALYs due to YLDs in 2022 to 35·6% (26·5–43·0) in 2050. In the assessment of alternative future scenarios, the combined effects of the scenarios (Safer Environment, Improved Childhood Nutrition and Vaccination, and Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenarios) demonstrated an important decrease in the global burden of DALYs in 2050 of 15·4% (13·5–17·5) compared with the reference scenario, with decreases across super-regions ranging from 10·4% (9·7–11·3) in the high-income super-region to 23·9% (20·7–27·3) in north Africa and the Middle East. The Safer Environment scenario had its largest decrease in sub-Saharan Africa (5·2% [3·5–6·8]), the Improved Behavioural and Metabolic Risks scenario in north Africa and the Middle East (23·2% [20·2–26·5]), and the Improved Nutrition and Vaccination scenario in sub-Saharan Africa (2·0% [–0·6 to 3·6]). Interpretation: Globally, life expectancy and age-standardised disease burden were forecasted to improve between 2022 and 2050, with the majority of the burden continuing to shift from CMNNs to NCDs. That said, continued progress on reducing the CMNN disease burden will be dependent on maintaining investment in and policy emphasis on CMNN disease prevention and treatment. Mostly due to growth and ageing of populations, the number of deaths and DALYs due to all causes combined will generally increase. By constructing alternative future scenarios wherein certain risk exposures are eliminated by 2050, we have shown that opportunities exist to substantially improve health outcomes in the future through concerted efforts to prevent exposure to well established risk factors and to expand access to key health interventions

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

Influence of treated sediment substitution percentage on workability, strength and porosity of SCC

Sediment dredging is often confronted with the problem of eliminating the quantities of extracted mud. This issue has given rise to valorization policy in order to provide an alternative to the storage and disposal of dredged sediments. This study concerns the developing of self-compacting concretes (SCC) by substituting partialy cement with sediment dredged from Chorfa dam (Algeria) after being calcined. The results showed that a substitution up to 30% of cement with calcined mud in SCC seems feasible according to the found mechanical performances which were close even better than those of the reference SCC. Moreover, the studied SCC showed very fine porosities which make of them potentially sustainable SCC’s

Endotracheal intubation without muscle relaxants in children using remifentanil and propofol: Comparative study

Introduction: Endotracheal intubation is essential during general anesthesia and muscle relaxant drugs provide ideal conditions for this purpose. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intubating condition of remifentanil combined with propofol without muscle relaxant. Materials and Methods: In this prospective randomized study, 60 children aged 3-12 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I and II were included. All the children were premedicated with 0.05 mg/kg midazolam and 1.5 mg/kg lidocaine 5 min before the induction of anesthesia with 3 mg/kg propofol. Then, they were allocated randomly to receive either 2 μg/kg remifentanil (group R) or 1.5 mg/kg succinylcholine (group S). Tracheal intubation was attempted 90 s after the administration of propofol. The quality of intubation was assessed by using Copenhagen score based on jaw relaxation, ease of laryngoscopy, position of vocal cord, coughing and limb movement. Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded before and after induction, and 1, 3, 5 min after intubation. Results: There was no significant difference in intubating condition between the two groups (P = 0.11). Intubation condition was excellent in 26 of 30 (86.7%) patients in the group R compared with 30 (100%) patients in the group S. We observed significant difference in heart rate and systolic blood pressure over time between two groups (P = 0.02, P = 0.03 respectively). After intubation, we had higher heart rate and systolic blood pressure with a significant difference in group S compared with group R (P = 0.006, P = 0.018). None of the children had a chest rigidity, laryngospasm, and hypoxia. Conclusions: In premedicated children, propofol-remifentanil combination provides adequate conditions for tracheal intubation that is comparable with succinylcholine. Hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation was controlled better in group R

Raw data. 23 Urine Samples (OAB & Controls).rar

In the current study, we aimed to compare the urine microbiota of female patients with overactive bladder syndrome and healthy control by 16s rRNA metagenomic sequencing.</p