Seismic Behaviour of Multistorey RC Frames with vertical Mass Irregularities

The buildings with mass irregularity behave differently as compared to regular buildings. In the present study, a parameter called mass irregularity index has been proposed to quantify the mass irregularity. The proposed factor depends mainly upon magnitude and location of mass irregularity. Further the present study aims to modify the expression of time period proposed by IS 1893:2002 and relation between mass irregularity coefficient and time period has been evaluated. For present study a family of 108 frames with mass irregularity have been modelled and analyzed by time history analysis. The proposed expression for time period has been validated for buildings with mass irregularity

Effect of Flyash and Waste Rubber on Properties of Concrete composite

Increasing use of waste materials like flyash, scrap tyre rubber etc, in construction industry has reduced the handling and disposal problems of these wastes. Flyash and scrap tyre rubbers are generally, employed to develop light weight and low strength concrete composites. The present work discusses the influence of flyash and waste tyre rubber particles on the behaviour of concrete composite. The rubber content has been taken in the range of 0 to 40% as replacement of fine and coarse aggregates while the flyash has been varied from 0 to 30% for cement. Testing of the concrete specimen prepared under different percentage of flyash and rubber waste was performed at 28 days of age for workability, density, compressive and bond strength. Experimental results show that the density, compressive strength and bond strength decreases while workability increases with increasing rubber content. Addition of flyash also decreases the density and compressive strength

Fundamental time period of RC Setback Buildings

The buildings with the presence of setback irregularity are now being increasingly used in the urban areas. The present work proposes an irregularity index for quantifying the setback irregularity based on the dynamic characteristics of the buildings. This paper also proposes a modified equation for the fundamental period of vibration, for building frames with setback irregularity. Furthermore, the equations for estimating the maximum inter storey drift ratio (Ir) and maximum displacement ductility (μmax) are also proposed. These equations are proposed on basis of the regression analysis conducted on the seismic response databank of 305 building models with different types of setback irregularity for each height category. The proposed equations are represented as a function of the irregularity index, and are validated for 2D and 3D building models with setback irregularity

Monitoring the premalignant potential of Barrett's oesophagus'.

The landscape for patients with Barrett's oesophagus (BE) has changed significantly in the last decade. Research and new guidelines have helped gastroenterologists to better identify those patients with BE who are particularly at risk of developing oesophageal adenocarcinoma. In parallel, developments in endoscopic image enhancement technology and optical biopsy techniques have improved our ability to detect high-risk lesions. Once these lesions have been identified, the improvements in minimally invasive endoscopic therapies has meant that these patients can potentially be cured of early cancer and high-risk dysplastic lesions without the need for surgery, which still has a significant morbidity and mortality. The importance of reaching an accurate diagnosis of BE remains of paramount importance. More work is needed, however. The vast majority of those undergoing surveillance for their BE do not progress towards cancer and thus undergo a regular invasive procedure, which may impact on their psychological and physical well-being while incurring significant cost to the health service. New work that explores cheaper endoscopic or non-invasive ways to identify the at-risk individual provides exciting avenues for research. In future, the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with BE could move away from hospitals and into primary care

Identification of geospatial variability of fluoride contamination in ground water of Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh, India

Groundwater is one of the major sources of water in arid and semi-arid regions. Groundwater quality data and its spatial distribution are important for the purpose of planning and management. Geo-statistical methods are one of the most advanced techniques for interpolation of groundwater quality. In this study, kriging methods were used for predicting the spatial distribution of fluoride content in groundwater. Data were collected from 13 wells in Mathura district (Uttar Pradesh, India). After normalization of data, semivariogram was drawn, for selecting suitable model for fitness on experimental semivariogram, less residual sum of squares (RSS) value was used. Then fluoride endemic areas of the Mathura District (study area) were identified from developed semivariogram model and Geospatial variability (high and low fluoride containing areas) map was generated with the help of GeographicInformation System. In the analysis, spatial distribution characteristics and variation of fluoride concentration in shallow groundwater found to be 3.4 and 4.6 mg/l at Sahar, Shahpur were higher than the standard limits (1.5 mg/l) of drinking water and shows remarkable spatial variability

Positronium Decay : Gauge Invariance and Analyticity

The construction of positronium decay amplitudes is handled through the use of dispersion relations. In this way, emphasis is put on basic QED principles: gauge invariance and soft-photon limits (analyticity). A firm grounding is given to the factorization approaches, and some ambiguities in the spin and energy structures of the positronium wavefunction are removed. Non-factorizable amplitudes are naturally introduced. Their dynamics is described, especially regarding the enforcement of gauge invariance and analyticity through delicate interferences. The important question of the completeness of the present theoretical predictions for the decay rates is then addressed. Indeed, some of those non-factorizable contributions are unaccounted for by NRQED analyses. However, it is shown that such new contributions are highly suppressed, being of order alpha^3. Finally, a particular effective form factor formalism is constructed for parapositronium, allowing a thorough analysis of binding energy effects and analyticity implementation.Comment: 34 pages, 13 figure

Multifactorial control of gonadotropin release for induction of oocyte maturation: Influence of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, gonadotropin release-inhibiting factor and dopamine receptors in the catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis

Several external and internal factors contribute to the reproductive success of teleosts, which makes the reproductive process complex and unique. In the Indian freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, monsoon plays a crucial role as it fine tunes the neuroendocrine axis, culminating in oocyte maturation. Therefore, induction of oocyte maturation requires the coordinated interaction among hypothalamic, hypophyseal, and peripheral hormones.  In the present investigation, dual neuroendocrine control of oocyte maturation has been demonstrated in the catfish, H. fossilis. The maturational response in gravid catfish is inhibited in the presence of dopamine but GnRH evokes the oocyte maturation and ovulation. GnRH upregulates the expression of lhb gene as well as increases plasma levels of LH significantly within 30 minutes of its administration. Destruction of the preoptic region in gravid catfish by electrolytic or chemical lesions also causes oocyte maturation and ovulation. But this response is inhibited if dopamine is injected into the nucleus preopticus periventricularis-lesioned fishes. These observations support the role of dopamine as an inhibitory factor, therefore specific receptors of dopamine have been characterized in catfish and their expression in the brain has been quantified. Dopamine receptors are upregulated in dopamine-treated fishes and downregulated if a dopamine antagonist (pimozide) is injected. The present study suggests the presence of inhibitory mechanism for LH secretion in gravid catfish. Abolition of this inhibition is necessary to release LH surge, which in turn stimulates resumption of meiosis and ovulation. Thus peptidergic as well as aminergic systems regulate oocyte maturation in H. fossilis. Neuroendocrine regulation of oocyte maturation and ovulation has major implications for inducing spawning in aquaculture

Energy Spectra and Energy Correlations in the Decay H→ZZ→μ+μ−μ+μ−H\to ZZ\to \mu^+\mu^-\mu^+\mu^-

It is shown that in the sequential decay $H\to ZZ\to (f_1\bar{f_1})+ (f_2\bar{f_2})$, the energy distribution of the final state particles provides a simple and powerful test of the $HZZ$ vertex. For a standard Higgs boson, the energy spectrum of any final fermion, in the rest frame of $H$, is predicted to be $d\Gamma /dx\sim 1+\beta^4-2(x-1)^2$, with $\beta = \sqrt{1-4m^2_Z/m^2_H}$ and $1-\beta \le x=4E/m_H\le 1+\beta$. By contrast, the spectrum for a pseudoscalar Higgs is $d\Gamma /dx \sim \beta^2+(x-1)^2$. There are characteristic energy correlations between $f_1$ and $f_2$ and between $f_1$ and $\bar{f_2}$. These considerations are applied to the ``gold--plated'' reaction $H\to ZZ\to \mu^+\mu^-\mu^+\mu^-$, including possible effects of CP--violation in the $HZZ$ coupling. Our formalism also yields the energy spectra and correlations of leptons in the decay $H\to W^+W^-\to l^+\nu_ll^- \bar{\nu_l}$.Comment: 14 pages + 4 figure

BRINZOLAMIDE-INDUCED EYE DISCHARGE: A RARE ENTITY

ABSTRACTA 62-year-old lady diagnosed to have normal tension glaucoma was receiving triple therapy of topical brinzolamide, timolol, and careprost. Postapplication of brinzolamide eye drops patient experienced mucoid eye discharge starting 10 minutes after application of eye drops and persistingfor ½ hr. Slit lamp examination findings did not reveal any signs of infection. She gave a history of mucoid discharge since the day she was started onbrinzolamide eye drops. There are only two case reports describing mucoid discharge following brinzolamide eye drops. Thus, we report a similarscenario in our patient. We report this case so as to avoid unnecessary suspicion of infection in such cases.Keywords: Glaucoma, mucoid, infection