DURABILITY OF FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH ARTIFICIAL SAND

Concrete is the combination of cement, natural sand or artificial sand and aggregate which are used in civil engineering works such as township project and infrastructure work . The present research work shows the study of cement concrete with varying percentage of fibers which are namely 0.10%, 0.20%, 0.30% ,0.40% & 0.50%. M20 grade concrete was adopted. Sizes of cube (15*15*15 cm) were used for testing. Compressive test of cubes was carried out with different types of fibers namely AFRC and NFRC with natural sand and artificial sand. The aim of this research is to use of different fiber as reinforcement in concrete for a greater durability, workability and reduction in crack. The present work is concerned with the compressive strength of FRC specimens (132 cubes) with 90 days of normal water curing and 90 days curing in sulphate & chloride. The method of mixing play an important character in FRC in which stress is determined by the fiber orientation. FRC controls micro cracking and deformation under load much better than plain concrete. About 43.8 N/mm2 extreme compressive strength found with N.S at 0.4% fiber concentration when cubes samples were cured in plain water (AFRC) & about 44.1 N/mm2 extreme compressive strength found with natural sand at 0.4% fiber concentration when cube samples were cured in NaCl & MgSO4 mixed water (AFRC) and about 35.8 N/mm2 compressive strength found with artificial sand at 0.4% fiber concentration when cubes samples were cured in plain water (AFRC) & about 39.9 N/mm2 compressive strength found with artificial sand at 0.4% fiber concentration when cube samples were cured in NaCl & MgSO4 mixed water (AFRC)

Role of Portal Vein Embolization in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Management and Its Effect on Recurrence: A Case-control Study

Background Liver regeneration that occurs after portal vein embolization (PVE) may have adverse effects on the microscopic tumor foci in the residual liver mass in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Fifty-four HCC patients with inadequate functional residual liver volume were offered PVE during a seven-year period. Among them, 34 (63%) patients underwent curative resection. They were compared with a matched control group (n = 102) who underwent surgery without PVE. Postoperative complications, pattern of recurrence, and survival were compared between groups. Results In the PVE group, a pre-embolization functional residual liver volume of 23% (12-33.5%) improved to 34% (20-54%) (p = 0.005) at the time of surgery. When the two groups were compared, minor (PVE, 24%; control, 29%; p = 0.651) and major (PVE, 18%; control, 15%; p = 0.784) complications were similar. After a follow-up period of 35 months (standard deviation 25 months), extrahepatic recurrences were detected in 10 PVE patients (29%) and 41 control patients (40%) (p = 0.310). Intrahepatic recurrences were seen in 10 (29%) and 47 (46%) cases (p = 0.109) in the PVE and control groups, respectively. In the PVE group, 41% (n = 14) of the recurrences were detected before one year, compared with 42% (n = 43) in the control group (p = 1). Disease-free survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 57, 29, and 26% in the control group and 60, 42, and 42% in the PVE group (log-rank, p = 0.335). On multivariate analysis, PVE was not a factor affecting survival (p = 0.821). Conclusions Portal vein embolization increases the resectability of initially unresectable HCC due to inadequate functional residual liver volume, and it has no deleterious oncological effect after major resection of HCC. © The Author(s) 2012.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 28 May 201