L’impact d’un campus clinique régional en milieu urbain : les perceptions des parties prenantes de la collectivité

Background: Regional medical campuses (RMC) have shown promise in addressing physician shortages. RMCs have been positively evaluated in rural/remote communities, however, it is unclear whether this model will be as beneficial in underserved urban areas. This study evaluated the impact of a RMC on a midsized urban city (Windsor, Ontario). We compare our results with a similar study conducted in a remote community in British Columbia (BC). Methods: A broad array of community stakeholders representing different sectors were consulted using a semi-structured interview format replicated from the BC Northern Medical Program (NMP) study. Thematic analysis based on the resulting rich data was conducted within a grounded theory context. Results: Twenty-three participants (52% male) representing healthcare, education, business, community and government/politico sectors were consulted. Their views regarding the Windsor Regional Medical Campus (WRMC) aligned around several themes: improved healthcare, enhanced community reputation, stimulated economic/community development, expanded training opportunities and an engaged community regarding the WRMC. These results were compared to the main findings of the NMP study with both similarities (e.g. increased community pride) and differences (e.g. resource concerns) discussed. Conclusion: Community stakeholders provided strong support for the WRMC through their perceptions of its positive impact on this urban region. These findings are consistent with similar RMC studies in rural/remote areas. Those interested in developing a RMC might benefit from considering these findings.Contexte : Les campus cliniques régionaux (CCR) se sont révélés prometteurs pour remédier à la pénurie de médecins. Les CCR ont été évalués positivement dans les collectivités rurales/éloignées, mais il n’est pas certain que ce modèle soit aussi bénéfique dans les zones urbaines mal desservies. La présente étude évalue l’impact d’un CCR dans une ville de taille moyenne (Windsor, Ontario). Nous comparons nos résultats avec ceux d’une étude similaire menée dans une collectivité éloignée en Colombie-Britannique (BC). Méthode : Un large éventail de parties prenantes de la collectivité représentant différents secteurs a été consulté par le biais d’entrevues semi-structurées calquées sur celles de l’étude du BC Northern Medical Program (NMP). L’analyse thématique des riches données obtenues a été faite selon l’approche de la Grounded Theory (théorie ancrée). Résultats : Vingt-trois participants (52 % d’hommes) des secteurs de la santé, de l’éducation, des affaires, de la vie communautaire, du gouvernement ou encore du monde politique ont été consultés. Leurs opinions concernant le campus clinique régional de Windsor (WRMC) s’articulaient autour de plusieurs thèmes : l’amélioration des soins de santé, le renforcement de la réputation de la collectivité, la stimulation du développement économique et communautaire, l’élargissement des possibilités de formation et l’engagement de la communauté envers le WRMC. Les résultats ont été comparés aux principales conclusions de l’étude du NMP, en analysant aussi bien les similitudes (par exemple, fierté accrue de la collectivité) que les différences (par exemple, les préoccupations en matière de ressources). Conclusion : Percevant l’impact positif qu’a eu le WRMC dans la région urbaine, les acteurs de la collectivité témoignent d’un ferme appui à son égard. Ces résultats sont conformes aux études similaires portant sur des CCR dans les zones rurales/éloignées. Les résultats de l’étude seraient utiles à tous ceux qui souhaitant mettre sur pied un CCR

Seashell porous asphalt – Sustainable road construction

High consumption of aggregate will cause an environmental problem due to the decreasing of natural earth resources. In Malaysia, cockle shell aquaculture areas extend about 10,383.09 ha which has contribute to a production of 78,024.70 tons

Influence of aggregates shape on porous asphalt mixture

Porous asphalt (PA) is a porous pavement layer made of an open graded aggregate that has a lot of linked air voids. The technical qualities and performance of PA are heavily influenced by the aggregate shape and surface roughness. Granite aggregate was use in this research to study the effect of aggregate shape on volumetric and mechanical properties of porous asphalt mixture and to evaluate the quality of aggregate shape of porous asphalt mixture (PAM) in relation to aggregate shape. To classify the aggregate size, Sieve Analysis Test was carried out and followed by Flakiness and Elongation Index Test. Marshall Stability Test and Resilient Modulus Test were conducted to study the behavior of PAM by replacing different shape of aggregate. Based on the result cubical shaped aggregates are more recommended to be use in PAM, due to the strength is higher than the conventional PA

Performance of permeable concrete pavement containing recycled aggregate

Permeable pavement is a form of concrete pavement with a high porosity that allows water from precipitation and other sources to pass through directly, decreasing runoff and permitting groundwater recharging. It is used for concrete flatwork applications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of permeable concrete containing Recycled Coarse Aggregate (RCA), determine the optimum replacement of RCA and study its image characteristic. RCA is the coarse aggregate obtained from the Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) that the bitumen content inside it has been extracted. The method used to evaluate the aggregate was bitumen extraction, aggregate crushing value (ACV) and aggregate impact value test (AIV). For pavement concrete mixture was evaluate through compressive strength, flexural strength, porosity, and skid resistance test where image analysis used to characteristic the specimen. Generally, permeable concrete sample containing RCA had the similar compressive strength and exceed the flexural strength when compared to the conventional porous concrete. However, the strengths have a decreasing value with the increase of RCA percentage. On the other hand, for porosity, the percentage increases when the RCA percentage was also increasing. Finally, the skid resistance value is higher than 35 in the dry and wet conditions

Influence of sawdust ash as filler in asphalt mixture

Using saw dust as a filler in asphalt mixture would go a long way toward alleviating the boycott of certain building enterprises' use of mineral filler in asphalt mixture, as well as decreasing the impact on littering and emissions in the environment. In this study, the performance of Sawdust Ash (SDA) as filler in asphalt mixture was investigated and mainly focused on the addition of sawdust ash in following the order of 0% as control, 3%, 6%, and 9% by bitumen weight. The bitumen used in this study was 60/70 penetration grade. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of sawdust ash on the engineering characteristics of concrete asphalt. Different percentages of sawdust ash were mixed into bitumen using a high shear mixer. The Marshall Stability test was carried out to determine the optimum bitumen content of the mixture. The performance was evaluated through stability and volumetric properties, modulus of resilience and indirect tensile strength. It can be seen that the different percentage of sawdust ash as filler in Hot Mix Asphalt had noticeably different effects on the performance of modified mixture. The added of sawdust ash as a filler in HMA was not enough improvement to the performance of asphalt pavement as the performance of conventional mixture is more stable than modified mixture

Performance of asphaltic concrete incorporating fly ash under low temperature

One of the most common asphalt concrete pavement distresses is low temperature cracking, also known as thermal cracking. Characterizations of low temperature cracking and formulation for pavement design have taken a lot of effort. Asphalt binder has viscoelastic behaviour, so asphalt mixture behaviour changes as the temperature changes. At high and low temperatures, the asphalt binder shows viscoelastic plastic behaviour and elastic behaviour. Low temperature cracks that grow day by day due to the movement of vehicles are the most significant pavement cracks caused by cold climates. It needs early and premature repairs to build and expand low temperature cracks. The aim of this research is to perform Low Temperature Cracking analysis of asphalt materials (laboratory and analytical assessment), in light of the latest update of binder cracking temperature. The role of basic material properties in low-temperature cracking was studied in this work. As a result, statistical analysis in the cohesive failure condition revealed that the asphalt mixture aggregate's free energy was ineffective in this cohesion failure. Fly ash had been used in the other type of asphalt mixture. It was proven that the addition of fly ash as an additive can improves the low temperature resistance of the asphalt mix. The binder with 60/70 penetration grade was used. The different amount of fly ash (0%, 1%, 3% and 5%) was added to the asphalt mixture. Marshall Stability and flow, resilient modulus and dynamic creep were carried out to investigate the mechanisms of cracking at low temperature. From the results obtained, there are significant effect comes from the addition of the fly ash. The result show that the addition of 5% fly ash produce the best outcomes for the density, stability, stiffness, resilient modulus and dynamic creep. Thus, it can conclude that the existence of fly ash in the mixture is able to enhance the mechanical performance of the AC14 dense-graded asphalt

Cleaning effect on clogged porous asphalt mixture

Porous asphalt pavements provide developers and planners with a new tool for stormwater management and noise reduction. However, the clogging of pores caused by sediment could significantly affect the permeability of porous asphalt. Thus, the objectives of this study are to determine the effect on the permeability of the clogged porous asphalt mixture, investigate the cleaning effect on the performance of porous asphalt mixture, and study the Image processing of clogged in the porous asphalt mixture. To assess the effect of clogging on permeability, Marshall Stability test and Binder Drawn test were performed. In addition, Image J software analysis was applied to show the sediment's particle size and the void of the mixture. From the Marshall Stability test, the amount of void mixture can be concluded that the void decreases with increasing clay content. From the Binder Drawn test, the retained binder increased as the percentage of bitumen increased. This indicates that the permeability of the mixture is lower in the presence of a blocking agent. The analytical of image study found that the images can be seen more clearly and can distinguish each mixture of materials used. In addition, the total percentage of voids can be identified from the analyzed images

Brexit’s Effect on Citizens, Human Rights & Immigration

This report records the roundtable on “Brexit’s Effect on Citizens, Human Rights and Immigration” organised by Dr Adrienne Yong on 11 June 2019 at City, University of London funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) 2018/19. Speakers included: • Hannah Wilkins (House of Commons Library) • Blanca Grey (Home Office)1 • Paul Erdunast (Immigration Law Practitioner’s Association - ILPA) • Christopher Desira (Seraphus Solicitors) • Nicole Masri (Rights of Women) • Ollie Persey (Public Law Project) • Katarzyna Zagrodniczek (East European Resource Centre) • Mihai Calin Bica (Roma Support Group) • Dr Adrienne Yong (City, University of London) • Dr Michaela Benson (Goldsmiths, University of London) • Madeleine Sumption (Migration Observatory) • Sheona York (Kent Law Clinic) A host of unique legal questions were raised in the aftermath of the UK’s referendum result where the electorate voted in favour of leaving the EU on the 23 June 2016. Opinion has been split as to whether the UK and EU have indeed struck a fair deal for citizens, with arguments that citizens have been used as bargaining chips throughout the process to achieve a deal. As negotiations progressed towards the original mandated date of withdrawal, 29 March 2019, various schemes emerged to handle post-Brexit immigration of EU citizens in the UK and reciprocal arrangements for British citizens in the EU. This is now reflected in the EU Settlement Scheme, the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination Bill, and the reciprocity agreed with EU Member States as to British citizens in the EU. These issues and more were discussed at the roundtable

Investigation of cavitation-induced damage on PDMS films

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are complex phenomena that create epidemic healthcare and financial concerns. Recent studies have theorized that cavitation exists during a TBI and has potential to induce significant damage to the surrounding anatomy. This study seeks to implement polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films as a placeholder of the brain to elucidate the damage that the surrounding brain tissue would experience from nearby cavitation. The apparatus includes an existing methodology that implements controlled cavitation. 3D confocal microscopy and interferometry techniques are used to characterize the surface damage to the PDMS films. Visual representation and roughness parameters on the nanoscale help elucidate a distinct difference between control and experimental samples. These results help legitimize the concern of cavitation in the skull and also help motivate future studies to analyze the cellular response to surrounding cavitation.This article is published as Wrede, Alex H., Faisal Al-Masri, Reza Montazami, and Nicole N. Hashemi. "Investigation of cavitation-induced damage on PDMS films." Analytical Methods 11, no. 39 (2019): 5038-5043. DOI: 10.1039/C9AY01576K. Posted with permission.</p