Construction supply chain resilience in catastrophic events

In the wake of a number of catastrophic events, construction supply chain (CSC) vulnerability has become a major issue in the industry. Construction organisations today focus on strategies to minimise the impact of catastrophic events and manage risk by creating more resilient supply chains. However, there is lack of a mechanism to minimise the impact of catastrophic event on CSC. Therefore, this chapter focuses on the impact of catastrophic events on CSC and proposes a strategic framework to minimise their ultimate impact on the construction organisations. This aim is achieved through a comprehensive literature review, preliminary investigation and structured questionnaire survey. According to findings, most likely catastrophes that disrupt CSC are non-terrorist events and in fact are not always the most severe catastrophes. The aggregate effect of likelihood and severity revealed that disruption to transportation has the extreme risk level on CSC, while the most significant impact of catastrophic events is business failure and least significant impact is loss of focus to work. Thus, the catastrophic event risk minimisation strategic framework presented in this chapter will assist construction organisations to identify most suitable strategic actions to minimise the impact of catastrophic events on CSC in order to create resilient construction industry

Cement and Clay Bricks Reinforced with Coconut Fiber and Fiber Dust

For generations, Sri Lankans use cement bricks and clay bricks as common building materials in the construction field. This study investigates the feasibility of improving the strength while lowering the mass and thermal conductivity of bricks by adding coconut fiber or coconut fiber dust as a reinforcing material. Each reinforcing material is used in both clay and cement bricks. The mixtures are prepared according to varying volume ratios of the raw materials used. Coconut fibers are combed and cut into 4-5 cm pieces and dry coconut fiber dust is sieved using a 4 mm sieving mesh.  The mixture is prepared by hand mixing and the traditional processes are replicated in making the bricks. Tests are carried out to understand the variation of mass, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and water absorption of the reinforced bricks in comparison to bricks with no reinforced material. The cement brick reinforced with coconut fiber achieves the expected results in the compressive strength test and thermal conductivity test but underperformed when comparing masses and water absorption. Clay bricks reinforced with coconut fiber dust show impressive results in compressive tests and with the addition of dust, the appearance seems to have changed. It is observed that reinforcing cement bricks with coconut fiber could double the compressive strength along with a 5% reduction in mass. Reinforcing clay bricks with coconut fiber dust increases its compressive strength by over 70% while decreasing the mass by over 30 %. The study proves that it is feasible to use reinforced coconut fiber or coconut fiber dust to improve the properties of both clay and cement bricks, while clay bricks reinforced with coconut fiber are an exception

Toxoplasma, Toxocara and Tuberculosis co-infection in a four year old child

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tuberculosis. toxocariasis and toxoplasmosis are among the common infectious causes of lymphadenitis in children. Cases of <it>Toxoplasma gondii </it>and <it>Toxocara spp </it>co-infection have been reported.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>This case report describes a co-infection of <it>Toxoplasma gondii</it>, <it>Toxocara </it>spp and tuberculosis in a child with chronic lymphadenopathy and eosinophilia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The case report highlights two important points. First is the diagnostic challenges that are encountered by clinicians in tropical countries such as Sri Lanka, where lymphadenopathy and eosinophilia with a positive serology commonly point towards a parasitic infection. Secondly the importance of proper history taking and performing the Mantoux test as a first line investigation in a country where the incidence of tuberculosis is low, even in the absence of a positive contact history.</p

Is the rise in childhood obesity rates leading to an increase in hospitalizations due to dengue?

Background: Obesity and diabetes are known risk factors for severe dengue. Therefore, we sought to investigate the association of obesity with increased risk of hospitalization, as there is limited information. Methods and findings: Children aged 10 to 18 years (n = 4782), were recruited from 9 districts in Sri Lanka using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method. Details of previous admissions to hospital due to dengue and anthropometric measurements were recorded and seropositivity rates for dengue were assessed. The body mass index (BMI) centile in children aged 10 to 18, was derived by plotting the values on the WHO BMI-for-age growth charts, to acquire the percentile ranking. Results: Although the dengue seropositivity rates were similar in children of the different BMI centiles, 12/66 (18.2%) seropositive children with a BMI centile >97th, had been hospitalized for dengue, compared to 103/1086 (9.48%) of children with a BMI centile of 97th (OR 2.33, 95% CI, 1.47 to 3.67, p = 0.0003) was significantly associated with hospitalization when compared to children in other BMI categories. Conclusions: Obesity appears to be associated with an increased risk of hospitalization in dengue, which should be further investigated in longitudinal prospective studies. With the increase in obesity in many countries, it would be important to create awareness regarding obesity and risk of severe disease and hospitalization in dengue

Transport of monosaccharides contained in an ionic liquid/aqueous mixture via a supported liquid membrane

Lignocellulosic materials are renewable biomass that can be utilized in the development of biofuels such as ethanol. Hydrolysis of hemicellulose and cellulose, contained in pretreated biomass, produces monosaccharides that are fermented to produce ethanol. Since lignocellulosic materials possess resistance to hydrolysis, the methods currently involved are not cost-effective for large scale ethanol production. Ionic liquid pretreatment of biomass is a relatively new approach that has gained popularity due to its capability of decrystallizing cellulose effectively. The cellulose contained within an ionic liquid is more readily available for hydrolysis by acids or bases to their constituent monosaccharides. These monosaccharides need to be separated from the other constituents (lignin and other impurities), which may inhibit the downstream fermentation process. This technique can be implemented to produce high quality feed solutions for fermentation thus increasing the yield of ethanol produced. The work conducted aims to achieve this separation by transporting the monosaccharides (glucose and xylose) contained in an ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate)/aqueous mixture via a supported liquid membrane impregnated with phenylboronic acid and quaternary amine (Aliquat 336) extractants and the diluent, 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether. The monosaccharides are transported to an aqueous neutral receiving phase. Comparisons are made to similar trials where the departure phase is an aqueous pH 11 buffer

Opportunities and Challenges in Deep Mining:A Brief Review

Mineral consumption is increasing rapidly as more consumers enter the market for minerals and as the global standard of living increases. As a result, underground mining continues to progress to deeper levels in order to tackle the mineral supply crisis in the 21st century. However, deep mining occurs in a very technical and challenging environment, in which significant innovative solutions and best practice are required and additional safety standards must be implemented in order to overcome the challenges and reap huge economic gains. These challenges include the catastrophic events that are often met in deep mining engineering: rockbursts, gas outbursts, high in situ and redistributed stresses, large deformation, squeezing and creeping rocks, and high temperature. This review paper presents the current global status of deep mining and highlights some of the newest technological achievements and opportunities associated with rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering in deep mining. Of the various technical achievements, unmanned working-faces and unmanned mines based on fully automated mining and mineral extraction processes have become important fields in the 21st century