Seismic Behaviour of Bridges Considering Soil-Structure Interaction

The soil-structure interaction has significant effect on seismic response of bridges in many situations. The choice of soil springs for response determination is an important consideration. This paper presents a comparative assessment of the seismic response of bridge substructure by four different types of frequency independent soil springs namely, Beredugo-Novak, Wolf, Bycroft-Parmelee and Terzaghi. The variation of equivalent weighted damping and equivalent seismic coefficient is also studied. The Terzaghi\u27s soil springs obtained by modulus of subgrade reaction approach are most flexible as compared to others. The responses are seen to be comparable with springs other than Terzaghi. The equivalent damping in higher modes is increased due to energy dissipation in soil. The codal provisions of equivalent seismic coefficient variation below scour level are generally unconservative

On the origin of the artesian groundwater and escaping gas at Narveri after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake

At Narveri, north of Khavada in the Great Rann of Kachchh, an outflow of groundwater continued even more than four months after the Bhuj earthquake of 26 January 2001, although at a considerably reduced rate compared to that immediately following the earthquake. Air or gas bubbling through the freshly oozing water has also been observed. We had collected a large number of samples from different parts of Gujarat, where post-earthquake groundwater outpourings were reported. Narveri, however, was the only site where the samples showed dissolved helium concentrations, significantly above the air equilibration value. Based on measurements of helium, radon, chloride, sulphate and sodium concentrations and temperature, we suggest that the flowing water and escaping gases at Narveri have a deep confined source with a reservoir age in excess of ~ 104 years

Amlodipine drug therapeutic failure: a rare case report

Drug Therapeutic failure is a rare condition which is underreported in recent scenario. It is important for the chronic diseases like Hypertension where it could lead to fatal outcome. In our case report elderly male patient taking tablet Amlodipine once daily as antihypertensive medication and had 2 years without any events. Patient came to the emergency department with the complaint of altered sensorium and elevated blood pressure. The mechanism for sudden increase in blood pressure (Decreased Therapeutic Response) in patient with ongoing treatment with amlodipine could be due to sympathetic over activity (e.g. stress), pharmacokinetic variation or counterfeit drug

ESTIMATION OF LERCANIDIPINE BY FIRST DERIVATIVE UV SPECTROSCOPY

A simple, accurate, economical, fast and reliable method for the determination of lercanidipine (LR) is highly desirable to support formulation screening and quality control. The method was developed for determination of LR in pure drug and tablet dosage form. Best results were shown in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD and LOQ for pure drug as well as for tablets. UV absorbance was measured at 332 nm. Excellent linearity (correlation coefficient (r2) = 0.9970) found in the concentration range of 7.5-60 μg/ml. The LOD and LOQ were 1.0770 and 3.2638 μg/ml respectively and good recoveries were achieved (95.779%)

Foreign body ingestion during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective single centre review

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there were many changes in the provision of healthcare as well as home and educational environments for children. We noted an apparent increase in the number of children presenting with ingested foreign bodies and due to the potential impact of injury from this, further investigated this phenomenon. Method: Using a prospective electronic record, data were retrospectively collected for patients referred to our institution with foreign body ingestion from March 2020 to September 2020 and compared with the same period the year prior as a control. Results: During the 6-month pandemic period of review, it was observed that 2.5 times more children were referred with foreign body ingestion (n=25) in comparison to the control period (n=10). There was also a significant increase in the proportion of button battery and magnet ingestions during the COVID-19 pandemic (p 0.04). Conclusion: These findings raise concerns of both increased frequency of foreign body ingestion during the COVID-19 pandemic and the nature of ingested foreign bodies linked with significant morbidity. This may relate to the disruption of home and work environments and carries implications for ongoing restrictions. Further awareness of the danger of foreign body ingestion, especially batteries and magnets, is necessary (project ID: 2956)

Volumetric laser endomicroscopy and its application to Barrett's esophagus: results from a 1,000 patient registry.

Volumetric laser endomicroscopy (VLE) uses optical coherence tomography (OCT) for real-time, microscopic cross-sectional imaging. A US-based multi-center registry was constructed to prospectively collect data on patients undergoing upper endoscopy during which a VLE scan was performed. The objective of this registry was to determine usage patterns of VLE in clinical practice and to estimate quantitative and qualitative performance metrics as they are applied to Barrett's esophagus (BE) management. All procedures utilized the NvisionVLE Imaging System (NinePoint Medical, Bedford, MA) which was used by investigators to identify the tissue types present, along with focal areas of concern. Following the VLE procedure, investigators were asked to answer six key questions regarding how VLE impacted each case. Statistical analyses including neoplasia diagnostic yield improvement using VLE was performed. One thousand patients were enrolled across 18 US trial sites from August 2014 through April 2016. In patients with previously diagnosed or suspected BE (894/1000), investigators used VLE and identified areas of concern not seen on white light endoscopy (WLE) in 59% of the procedures. VLE imaging also guided tissue acquisition and treatment in 71% and 54% of procedures, respectively. VLE as an adjunct modality improved the neoplasia diagnostic yield by 55% beyond the standard of care practice. In patients with no prior history of therapy, and without visual findings from other technologies, VLE-guided tissue acquisition increased neoplasia detection over random biopsies by 700%. Registry investigators reported that VLE improved the BE management process when used as an adjunct tissue acquisition and treatment guidance tool. The ability of VLE to image large segments of the esophagus with microscopic cross-sectional detail may provide additional benefits including higher yield biopsies and more efficient tissue acquisition. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02215291

Transcriptome analyses reveal genotype- and developmental stage-specific molecular responses to drought and salinity stresses in chickpea

Drought and salinity are the major factors that limit chickpea production worldwide. We performed whole transcriptome analyses of chickpea genotypes to investigate the molecular basis of drought and salinity stress response/adaptation. Phenotypic analyses confirmed the contrasting responses of the chickpea genotypes to drought or salinity stress. RNA-seq of the roots of drought and salinity related genotypes was carried out under control and stress conditions at vegetative and/or reproductive stages. Comparative analysis of the transcriptomes revealed divergent gene expression in the chickpea genotypes at different developmental stages. We identified a total of 4954 and 5545 genes exclusively regulated in drought-tolerant and salinity-tolerant genotypes, respectively. A significant fraction (~47%) of the transcription factor encoding genes showed differential expression under stress. The key enzymes involved in metabolic pathways, such as carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, lipid metabolism, generation of precursor metabolites/energy, protein modification, redox homeostasis and cell wall component biogenesis, were affected by drought and/or salinity stresses. Interestingly, transcript isoforms showed expression specificity across the chickpea genotypes and/or developmental stages as illustrated by the AP2-EREBP family members. Our findings provide insights into the transcriptome dynamics and components of regulatory network associated with drought and salinity stress responses in chickpea

TEXT messages to improve MEDication adherence and Secondary prevention (TEXTMEDS) after acute coronary syndrome: A randomised clinical trial protocol

Background: Identifying simple, low-cost and scalable means of supporting lifestyle change and medication adherence for patients following a cardiovascular (CV) event is important. Objective: The TEXTMEDS (TEXT messages to improve MEDication adherence and Secondary prevention) study aims to investigate whether a cardiac education and support programme sent via mobile phone text message improves medication adherence and risk factor levels in patients following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Study design: A single-blind, multicentre, randomised clinical trial of 1400 patients after an ACS with 12 months follow-up. The intervention group will receive multiple weekly text messages that provide information, motivation, support to adhere to medications, quit smoking (if relevant) and recommendations for healthy diet and exercise. The primary endpoint is the percentage of patients who are adherent to cardioprotective medications and the key secondary outcomes are mean systolic blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Secondary outcomes will also include total cholesterol, mean diastolic BP, the percentage of participants who are adherent to each cardioprotective medication class, the percentage of participants who achieve target levels of CV risk factors, major vascular events, hospital readmissions and all-cause mortality. The study will be augmented by formal economic and process evaluations to assess acceptability, utility and cost-effectiveness. Summary: The study will provide multicentre randomised trial evidence of the effects of a text message-based programme on cardioprotective medication adherence and levels of CV risk factors. Ethics and dissemination: Primary ethics approval was received from Western Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC2012/12/4.1 (3648) AU RED HREC/13/WMEAD/15). Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at international conferences. Trial registration number ACTRN12613000793718; Pre-results

An Introduction to Simulation-Based Techniques for Automated Service Composition

This work is an introduction to the author's contributions to the SOC area, resulting from his PhD research activity. It focuses on the problem of automatically composing a desired service, given a set of available ones and a target specification. As for description, services are represented as finite-state transition systems, so to provide an abstract account of their behavior, seen as the set of possible conversations with external clients. In addition, the presence of a finite shared memory is considered, that services can interact with and which provides a basic form of communication. Rather than describing technical details, we offer an informal overview of the whole work, and refer the reader to the original papers, referenced throughout this work, for all details