Geo-engineering properties of lime treated plastic soils

For a long time, we are facing problems like failures of small and big structures. The biggest problem behind this is swelling soils. This is very unstable soil. Its property varies from hard to soft and dry to wet. It exhibits swelling and shrinkage with different water content. As a result, many structures usually face excessive settlement and differential movements, which causes damage to foundation systems and other structural elements. We are aware about this situation for a long time, but unable to make improvements due to absence of technologies till now. Through physico-chemical modifications, lime can control the plasticity, swelling and shrinkage of soil effectively. Also, lime can stabilize soil through cementation which increases strength and stiffness remarkably. In this work the plasticity characteristics, swell shrinkage properties, compaction characteristics and strength properties of plastic soils with a wide plasticity range treated with lime has been evaluated experimentally. Based on the unconfined compressive strength the optimum lime content of soils has been found out. For this purpose, commercial high plastic clay (i.e. bentonite) having liquid limit of 340% is mixed with different proportions to a residual soil having liquid limit 34% and four different soils were synthesized over a wide range of plasticity. The physical properties of raw soils were found out. The four soils were amended with different lime content and the index properties as well as engineering properties have been studied by conducting relevant experiments conforming to Indian standard code of practice. Based on the experimental results it is observed that the liquid limit and plasticity reduces as lime content increases, swell and shrink characteristics decreases with lime content. Also, lime has a significant effect on strength

Utilization of Industrial Solid Wastes for Synthesis of Inorganic Polymer as a Soil Stabilizer

Soils need to be stabilized to improve its geo-engineering properties before any construction of infrastructures. Conventional soil stabilizers such as cement and lime have environmental issues and uneconomical. Geopolymers are the new generation binder that has attracted considerable interest in modern construction industries due to their high engineering performance, less environmental impacts and cost-effectiveness. An investigation is made to explore the efficacy of geopolymer prepared by sodium hydroxide activated fly ash-slag in stabilizing the granular soil through a set of experimental studies. The physical, mechanical and chemical properties of geopolymers are greatly influenced by the synthesis parameters. The fresh and hardened properties such as normal consistency, setting time, soundness, drying shrinkage, flow and compressive strength of the geopolymer paste and mortar are reported. The influence of synthesis parameters on the unconfined compressive strength of the geopolymer; synthesized under different processing conditions is investigated. The microstructural analysis is also made to correlate the reaction products with the observed strength. Statistical analyses are carried out to check the significance of the factors affecting the synthesis process. Also, mathematical relationships are established for factors influencing the mechanical behavior of the synthesized geopolymer. The compaction characteristics, unconfined compressive strength, bearing resistance, permeability characteristics, durability under wetting-drying, freezing thawing cycles and decay under chemical attacks of geopolymer modified granular soil are investigated experimentally in order to assess its suitability as a geotechnical construction material. Also, the effect of delayed compaction on density and strength has also been studied. Microstructural analysis has been carried out and correlated with the strength development. The test results reveal that the dissolution of alumino-silicates is highly influenced by the alkali content and the reactive component of the source material. The experimental results indicated that the physico-mechanical properties of geopolymer binders are similar to that of conventional cement and are greatly influenced by the composition of the source material, concentration of the activator and processing conditions. The major reaction products were the hydrates of calcium and/or sodium based alumino-silicates and those were intensified with curing temperature and duration. Raw materials are optimized by the design of experiment and the fitted model shows a good relation with the experimental data. Based on the test results of geopolymer stabilized soil, a maximum unconfined compressive strength of about 7 MPa is attained. California bearing ratio ranging from 52 to 416% are obtained at different geopolymer contents and curing conditions. The geopolymer stabilized granular soil showed excellent stability against repeated wetting-drying, freezing-thawing cycles, slaking fluid and aggressive chemical environment. The microstructural developments in geopolymer stabilized granular soil are greatly influenced by the geopolymer content and curing period signifying the formation of hydration and geopolymeric reaction products

Network-based drug repurposing for HPV-associated cervical cancer

In women, cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer around the world with average cases of 604,000 and 342,000 deaths per year. Approximately 50% of high-grade CC are attributed to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. Chances of CC in HPV-positive patients are 6 times more than HPV-negative patients which demands timely and effective treatment. Repurposing of drugs is considered a viable approach to drug discovery which makes use of existing drugs, thus potentially reducing the time and costs associated with de-novo drug discovery. In this study, we present an integrative drug repurposing framework based on a systems biology-enabled network medicine platform. First, we built an HPV-induced CC protein interaction network named HPV2C following the CC signatures defined by the omics dataset, obtained from GEO database. Second, the drug target interaction (DTI) data obtained from DrugBank, and related databases was used to model the DTI network followed by drug target network proximity analysis of HPV-host associated key targets and DTIs in the human protein interactome. This analysis identified 142 potential anti-HPV repurposable drugs to target HPV induced CC pathways. Third, as per the literature survey 51 of the predicted drugs are already used for CC and 33 of the remaining drugs have anti-viral activity. Gene set enrichment analysis of potential drugs in drug-gene signatures and in HPV-induced CC-specific transcriptomic data in human cell lines additionally validated the predictions. Finally, 13 drug combinations were found using a network based on overlapping exposure. To summarize, the study provides effective network-based technique to quickly identify suitable repurposable drugs and drug combinations that target HPV-associated CC

Silicone Elastomer Composites Fabricated with MgO and MgO-Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes with Improved Thermal Conductivity

The effect of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and magnesium oxide (MgO) on the thermal conductivity of MWCNTs and MgO-reinforced silicone rubber was studied. The increment of thermal conductivity was found to be linear with respect to increased loading of MgO. In order to improve the thermal transportation of phonons 0.3 wt % and 0.5 wt % of MWCNTs were added as filler to MgO-reinforced silicone rubber. The MWCNTs were functionalized by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to activate organic groups onto the surface of MWCNTs. These functional groups improved the compatibility and adhesion and act as bridging agents between MWCNTs and silicone elastomer, resulting in the formation of active conductive pathways between MgO and MWCNTs in the silicone elastomer. The surface functionalization was confirmed with XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy confirms the pristine structure of MWCNTs after oxidation with H2O2. The thermal conductivity is improved to 1 W/m·K with the addition of 20 vol% with 0.5 wt % of MWCNTs, which is an ~8-fold increment in comparison to neat elastomer. Improved thermal conductive properties of MgO-MWCNTs elastomer composite will be a potential replacement for conventional thermal interface materials

A comprehensive review of key factors affecting the efficacy of antibody drug conjugate

Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) is an emerging technology to overcome the limitations of chemotherapy by selectively targeting the cancer cells. ADC binds with an antigen, specifically over expressed on the surface of cancer cells, results decrease in bystander effect and increase in therapeutic index. The potency of an ideal ADC is entirely depending on several physicochemical factors such as site of conjugation, molecular weight, linker length, Steric hinderance, half-life, conjugation method, binding energy and so on. Inspite of the fact that there is more than 100 of ADCs are in clinical trial only 14 ADCs are approved by FDA for clinical use. However, to design an ideal ADC is still challenging and there is much more to be done. Here in this review, we have discussed the key components along with their significant role or contribution towards the efficacy of an ADC. Moreover, we also explained about the recent advancement in the conjugation method. Additionally, we spotlit the mode of action of an ADC, recent challenges, and future perspective regarding ADC. The profound knowledge regarding key components and their properties will help in the synthesis or production of different engineered ADCs. Therefore, contributes to develop an ADC with low safety concern and high therapeutic index. We hope this review will improve the understanding and encourage the practicing of research in anticancer ADCs development