A Study of Affordable Roofing Systems with Composite Slab

Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing cost are deemed affordable to a group of people within a specified income range. Structural roofing system contribute substantially to cost of construction of housing unit in normal situation, hence any savings attained in roofing system will reduce the cost of construction of housing unit. In the study undertaken, the roofing system consists of primary beams and secondary beams perpendicular to each other. The infill proposed is a composite slab panel consisting of decking sheets, galvanized iron(G.I) sheets of trapezoidal and corrugated cross section at bottom with a layer of concrete above it. The rectangular composite panelsconsidered in the study have a least width of 0.5m and 0.75m with an aspect ratio varying from 1.00 to 2.00. The rectangular composite panels are designed using M20 grade concrete and reinforcing steel of yield strength 415 N/mm2. The cost analysis is made for the roofing system and the proposed roofing system indicates a cost reduction 40% when compared to a conventional reinforced concrete (RCC) slab of same size. The weight of the beam systems and the panels are found to be relatively less and can handled easily by two to five masons thus reducing the labour cost. The beam systems and panels are precasted and can be easily placed thus eliminating need of shuttering, leading to faster construction of slab. The proposed roofing system is cost effective with a greater speed of construction compared to conventional roofing system

Experimental Study on Fractional Replacement of Cement with Waste Paper Pulp in Concrete

This study is about waste paper pulp from paper industries to be employed as a fractional substitution of cement in concrete at varying percentages to access its properties and performance. To evaluate the fresh property of concrete, slump cone test was conducted. The concrete compressive strength test (CST) was evaluated by testing 36 cubes of side 150mm. Twelve concrete cylinder specimens of ‘diameter 150mm and height 300mm’ were cast to evaluate the split tensile strength (STS) and twelve specimens of size ‘150mm x 150mm x 700mm’ were cast to find out the modulus of rupture (MOR) of concrete. The slump value showed an indirect correlation with the increment in the percentage of waste paper pulp.  The 28th day strength tests revealed that the compressive strength was increased by 15.5% for a 10% substitution of cement. The compressive strength was nearly the same for 5% substitution and there was a fall in compressive strength by 16.67% for 15% substitution. The tensile strength was increased by a maximum of 7.5% for 5% substitution of cement and it decreased progressively after 10% substitution. Flexural strength was increased by about 10.89% for 5% substitution, 2.5% for 10% substitution and a decrease in flexural strength of about 13.9% for 15% substitution was observed. Thus, it was concluded that fractional substitution of cement by waste paper pulp can be achieved by 5% for optimum results. The 5% substitution of cement may yield an economic and environment-friendly concrete construction

Interleukin 6, interleukin 1&#946, estradiol and testosterone concentrations in serum and follicular fluid of females with stimulated and non-stimulated ovaries

The ovarian physiology is regulated by some complex factors such as hormones and growth factors. The hormones and growth factors are synthesized by follicular and ovarian cells during follicular maturation stage and cytokines are synthesized by the immune system. Interaction between immune and endocrine systems modulates ovarian function through the secretion of regulatory soluble factors, especially cytokines. There is a close contact between corona-cumulus-oocyte complex with follicular fluid which affects the quality and degree of oocyte maturation. The objectives of this study were to determine the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin 1β, estradiol and testosterone concentration in serum and follicular fluid of women with stimulated and non-stimulated ovaries. A total of 41 women, 27 in stimulated and 14 non-stimulated cycles, undergoing intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment were included in this study. Follicular fluid and serum samples from all cases were collected at the time of oocyte retrieval and concentration of testosterone, estradiol, interleukin 6 and interleukin 1β were measured. The results show that serum concentration of testosterone was significantly higher in non stimulated cases. Also, the serum and follicular fluid concentrations of interleukin 6 and interleukin 1β in stimulated cases were significantly higher than non stimulated group. There was an important negative correlation between the level of testosterone in patient's serum and IL-6 and IL-1β levels of follicular fluid. In conclusion, according to these results, it seems that the levels of testosterone and IL-6 and IL-1β in patient's serum and follicular fluid are a good factor for prediction of maturity of oocytes.Key words: Oocyte maturation, follicular fluid, interleukin 6, interleukin 1β, testosterone, estradiol

A robust sound perception model suitable for neuromorphic implementation

Coath M, Sheik S, Chicca E, Indiveri G, Denham S, Wennekers T. A robust sound perception model suitable for neuromorphic implementation. Neuromorphic Engineering. 2014;7(278):1-10.We have recently demonstrated the emergence of dynamic feature sensitivity through exposure to formative stimuli in a real-time neuromorphic system implementing a hybrid analog/digital network of spiking neurons. This network, inspired by models of auditory processing in mammals, includes several mutually connected layers with distance-dependent transmission delays and learning in the form of spike timing dependent plasticity, which effects stimulus-driven changes in the network connectivity. Here we present results that demonstrate that the network is robust to a range of variations in the stimulus pattern, such as are found in naturalistic stimuli and neural responses. This robustness is a property critical to the development of realistic, electronic neuromorphic systems. We analyze the variability of the response of the network to “noisy” stimuli which allows us to characterize the acuity in information-theoretic terms. This provides an objective basis for the quantitative comparison of networks, their connectivity patterns, and learning strategies, which can inform future design decisions. We also show, using stimuli derived from speech samples, that the principles are robust to other challenges, such as variable presentation rate, that would have to be met by systems deployed in the real world. Finally we demonstrate the potential applicability of the approach to real sounds

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTINOMYCETES FROM SOIL OF AD-DAWADMI, SAUDI ARABIA AND SCREENING THEIR ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES

Objective: To isolate and characterize novel actinomycetes and to evaluate their antibacterial activity against drug-resistant pathogenic bacteriaMethods: In the present study, 19 soil samples were collected from different localities of Ad-Dawadmi, Saudi Arabia. Actinomycetes were isolated from these samples using serial dilution and plating method on Actinomycetes isolation agar supplemented with nalidixic acid and actidione to inhibit bacteria and fungi. Crude extracts of potential actinomycetes were produced by submerged fermentation. The antimicrobial activity of crude extracts of actinomycetes was tested against different bacteria using the agar well diffusion method. Characterization of the isolates was done by morphological, physiological and biochemical methods.Results: A total of 9 (47%) isolates of actinomycetes were isolated from 19 different soil samples tested. Among them, 4 (44%) isolates confirmed as Streptomyces sp. showed potential antimicrobial activity against one or more test organisms. Crude extracts were made from these 4 actinomycetes isolates(DOM1, DOM3, DP3, DP4)and tested for their antibacterial activities against 4 different clinical bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus). Crude extract from DP3 isolate showed highest antibacterial activity against all the four test organisms (28 mm, 21 mm, 20 mm and 18 mm) respectively and DP4 showed lowest antibacterial activity against all the four test organisms (14 mm, 12 mm, 0 mm, 6 mm) respectively. The highest zone of inhibition was shown by DP3 against Staphylococcus aureus (28 mm) and Escherichia coli was resistant for DP4. Most of the Inhibition zones produced by crude extracts showed significant differences when compared with control, tested against test organisms (P<0.05). Inhibition zones produced by DP3 and DOM1 against Staphylococcus aureus were 28 mm and 23 mm, respectively which were strong active when compared with control Ciprofloxacin (18 mm).Conclusion: Further studies for purification of bioactive metabolites and molecular characterization analysis of isolated Streptomyces sp. are in progress which would be helpful in discovering novel compounds of commercial value

Sea cucumber conservation in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, India "An evaluation of the current conservation measures on sea cucumber stocks in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar of India"

Sea cucumber fishery and trade were one of the top non-finfish income streams for the coastal people of Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in the South East coast of India. As there was no regulation to control the fishery, there was a concern on decline in sea cucumber populations. In order to conserve the over-exploited stocks, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, Government of India banned the fishery and trade of sea cucumbers by including them under Wild Life Protection Act 1972 since 2001. The enforcement of a blanket ban of sea cucumber fishing over the last 14 years might have helped in reviving their populations; at the same time, the ban would possibly had a social and economic impact on scores of people, who were dependent on the sea cucumber fishery. To understand the situation, the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) project approved a short term project to Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (India). The project was intended to understand the sea cucumber stocks and implications of the ban on the livelihood of fishers in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar. The purpose of the project was also to suggest management options for conservation and sustainable use of sea cucumber resources

Status of sea cucumber resources and impact of fishing ban on the livelihood of fishers in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay

The sea cucumbers constitute an important part of non-fish income source for thousands of fishers along Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay of south east coast of India. The fishery which is more than thousand years old was introduced by the Chinese stationed at Ramanathapuram, for preparing a dried sea cucumber product Beche-de-mer. The sea cucumber fishery in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay was artisanal in nature and consisted of fishermen who were good divers, the processors who acted as middlemen and the exporters. The sea cucumbers were chiefly collected by skin diving to a depth of 1.5 to 6.0 m in the shallow seas using nonmechanised country crafts. They were also caught as by-catch in trawlers locally known as Thallu madi (an indigenous modified trawler operating on wind power in shallow waters), besides the Chanku madi and Attai madi which were operated in deeper coastal waters

Quantum Spacetimes in the Year 1

We review certain emergent notions on the nature of spacetime from noncommutative geometry and their radical implications. These ideas of spacetime are suggested from developments in fuzzy physics, string theory, and deformation quantisation. The review focuses on the ideas coming from fuzzy physics. We find models of quantum spacetime like fuzzy $S^4$ on which states cannot be localised, but which fluctuate into other manifolds like $CP^3$ . New uncertainty principles concerning such lack of localisability on quantum spacetimes are formulated.Such investigations show the possibility of formulating and answering questions like the probabilty of finding a point of a quantum manifold in a state localised on another one. Additional striking possibilities indicated by these developments is the (generic) failure of $CPT$ theorem and the conventional spin-statistics connection. They even suggest that Planck's `` constant '' may not be a constant, but an operator which does not commute with all observables. All these novel possibilities arise within the rules of conventional quantum physics,and with no serious input from gravity physics.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX; talks given at Utica and Kolkata .Minor corrections made and references adde

MARKETING OF GREEN PRODUCTS AND ITS UNDERLYING PRACTICES

According to the American marketing Association green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Every company has its own favorite marketing mix. Companies that develop new and improved products and services with environment inputs in mind give themselves access to new markets, increase their profit sustainability, and enjoy a competitive advantage over the companies which are not concerned for the environment. This study discusses the manufacturers green marketing practices and analyze the respondents’ views about Green Marketing Practices. The researcher has selected 149 units, as samples selected through Proportionate Stratified Random sampling method. The researcher uses the interview schedule instrument to collect the data from the respondents. The main objectives of the study is consists, to know the awareness level of respondents about green marketing practices and which factor more accounted to adopt green marketing practices into their business. Therefore, to know the perception level on the green marketing practices; There are 30 statements observed by the researcher which are relevant and accounted for green marketing practices. The factor analysis technique applied for the purpose of extracting the latent factors accounted for green marketing practices. From the results of factor analysis, “business ethics” factor is high loading factor to influence the sampled respondents to adopt green marketing practices. Another thing should be noted that most of the respondents in the study very aware of green marketing and its practices. Finally the researcher offers suggestion for improvement of green marketing practices