Improvement of Geotechnical Properties of Cohesive Soil Using Crushed Concrete

Some natural resources such as gravel are not renewable, therefore, it is necessary to reduce the use of such resources and replace them with other recycled, economic, and environmentally friendly materials. Recycled crushed concrete aggregates demolished from old buildings and blocks of waste concrete can be used to replace the natural aggregates. The present study focused on using recycled crushed concrete in improvement the chemical and geotechnical properties of soft soil having undrained shear strength of 6.78 kPa. The soft soil samples were mixed with 5, 10, and 15% of crushed concrete. The blocks of waste concrete are grinded by mills to get crushed concrete which passing sieve no. 4. Such aggregates are lighter than natural aggregates and provide a good deformation modulus when mixed with soil. In Iraq, there are hundred thousand tons of concrete blocks used as fences and now considered wastes after removing these security fences, so it’s important to interest from recycling of such materials to be used in the improvement wide region of soft soils in Iraq. The results of tests showed increasing the undrained shear strength of soft soil by 175-193.5% and reduced the compressibility of soft by 25-31% measured in terms of compression index

Prevalence of Metallo-β-Lactamase producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in wound infections in Duhok city, Iraq

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is common pathogen causing nosocomial infection. Acquired drug resistance and Metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) production have recently emerged as one of the most worrisome resistance mechanism that hydrolyze all beta-lactam antibiotics including penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems, with the exception of aztreonam. The aim was to find out the prevalence of multi drug resistant (MDR) and Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) positive isolates of P. aeruginosa in wounds samples which are a serious concern.Methods: Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were obtained by standard isolation and identification techniques from 307 wound samples of hospital. Strains were then subjected to susceptibility testing for anti-pseudomonas drugs as per Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Carbapenems resistant strains were selected for the detection of MBL enzyme production by disc potentiation test. Production of MBL was confirmed by enhancement of inhibition zone around imipenem and meropenem discs impregnated with EDTA, as compared to discs without EDTA.Results: Amongst the 71 isolates of P. aeruginosa, 62(87.3%) isolate were imipenem-sensitive, while 9(12.7%) isolates were found to be imipenem resistant and MBL producers. Very high resistance to antibiotics was recorded amongst MBL producers’ P. aeruginosa compared with non-MBL imipenem-sensitive strains.Conclusion: Study indicates that, surveillance for the detection of MBL is necessary. The rapid dissemination of MBL producers is worrisome and necessitates the implementation of proper and judicious selection of antibiotics especially carbapenem.

Electron refraction at lateral atomic interfaces

We present theoretical simulations of electron refraction at the lateral atomic interface between a “homogeneous” Cu(111) surface and the “nanostructured” one-monolayer (ML) Ag/Cu(111) dislocation lattice. Calculations are performed for electron binding energies barely below the 1 ML Ag/ Cu(111) M-point gap (binding energy EB ¼53 meV, below the Fermi level) and slightly above its C -point energy (EB ¼160 meV), both characterized by isotropic/circular constant energy surfaces. Using plane-wave-expansion and boundary-element methods, we show that electron refraction occurs at the interface, the Snell law is obeyed, and a total internal reflection occurs beyond the critical angle. Additionally, a weak negative refraction is observed for EB ¼53 meV electron energy at beam incidence higher than the critical angle. Such an interesting observation stems from the interface phase-matching and momentum conservation with the umklapp bands at the second Brillouin zone of the dislocation lattice. The present analysis is not restricted to our Cu-Ag/Cu model system but can be readily extended to technologically relevant interfaces with spinpolarized, highly featured, and anisotropic constant energy contours, such as those characteristic for Rashba systems and topological insulators. Published by AIP Publishing.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Comparison of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug susceptibility using solid and liquid culture in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: This study compares Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture isolation and drug sensitivity testing (DST) using solid (LJ) and liquid (BACTEC-MGIT-960) media in Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross sectional survey of adults attending reference centres in Abuja, Ibadan and Nnewi with a new diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) or having failed the first-line TB treatment. Patients were requested to provide three sputum specimens for smear-microscopy and culture on LJ and BACTEC-MGIT-960. Positive cultures underwent DST for streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol. RESULTS: 527 specimens were cultured. 428 (81%) were positive with BACTEC-MGIT-960, 59 (11%) negative, 36 (7%) contaminated and 4 (1%) had non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM). 411 (78%) LJ cultures were positive, 89 (17%) negative, 22 (4%) contaminated and 5 (1%) had NTM. The mean (SD) detection time was 11 (6) and 30 (11) days for BACTEC-MGIT-960 and LJ. DST patterns were compared in the 389 concordant positive BACTEC-MGIT-960 and LJ cultures. Rifampicin and isoniazid DST patterns were similar. Streptomycin resistance was detected more frequently with LJ than BACTEC-MGIT-960 and ethambutol resistance was detected more frequently with BACTEC-MGIT-960 than LJ, but differences were not statistically significant. MDR-TB was detected in 27 cases by LJ and 25 by BACTEC-MGIT-960 and using both methods detected 29 cases. CONCLUSIONS: There was a substantial degree of agreement between the two methods. However using the two in tandem increased the number of culture-positive patients and those with MDR-TB. The choice of culture method should depend on local availability, cost and test performance characteristics

Pengembangan Sistem Penyediaan Air Bersih Untuk Zona Pelayanan IPA Pilolodaa Kota Gorontalo

Sistem jaringan air bersih adalah suatu sistem suplai air bersih yang meliputi sistem transmisi dan reservoar. Sistem distribusi atau perpipaan dioperasikan sedemikian rupa sehingga dapat memenuhi kebutuhan air bersih.Zona pelayanan IPA Pilolodaa terletak di Kota Barat, Kota Gorontalo. Saat ini sebagian wilayah pelayanan tersebut telah mendapat pelayanan air bersih dari PDAM, namun sebagian wilayah pelayanan tidak mendapatkan air bersih. Penyebabnya adalah wilayah tersebut berada pada dataran yang lebih tinggi dari PDAM, sehingga tekanan air untuk distribusinya terbatas.Dengan menggunakan analisa eksponensial, hasil proyeksi jumlah penduduk zona pelayanan IPA Pilolodaa pada tahun 2032 yakni berjumlah 18.537 jiwa dengan total kebutuhan air bersih mencapai 40,164 liter/detik. Agar kebutuhan air bersih terpenuhi maka dibangun 2 reservoir, masing-masing bertipe ground reservoir dengan ukuran 11m x 11m x 3m dan 15m x 15m x 3m. Sistem distribusi menggunakan sistem kombinasi antara sistem pompa dan gravitasi, dengan hasil perhitungan diameter pipa transmisi ke masing-masing reservoar adalah 175 mm dan 200 mm, untuk pipa distribusi bervariasi antara 50 mm - 200 mm. Untuk mendesain sistem penyediaan air bersih digunakan software EPANET 2.0

Yield of Smear Microscopy and Radiological Findings of Male and Female Patients with Tuberculosis in Abuja, Nigeria

Objective. To describe the yield of smear-microscopy and radiological findings by male and female patients with symptoms of tuberculosis in Abuja, Nigeria. Methods. Patients ≥15 years old with cough for >3 weeks submitted 3 sputum samples for smear microscopy. One specimen was cultured using MGIT-960. All patients had lung X-rays and screened for HIV. Results. were more likely to be smear-positive than females (262/774 [34%] and 137/547 [25%], P < .01), but similar proportions of males and females were culture-positive (437/691 [63%] and 294/495 [59%], P = .09). 317/626 (50.6%) males and 249/419 (59.4%) females were HIV-positive (P < .005). Among culture-positives patients, HIV-infected males were less likely to have positive smears than HIV-negative males (49.2% versus 66%, P = .001). Among females, smear positivity did not vary with HIV (46.4% for HIV-positive and 52.9% for HIV-negative, P = .38). Of 274 culture-confirmed TB cases, 226 (82.5%) had cavities, and 271 (99%) had ≥1 lung areas affected. HIV-positive males were more likely to have lung cavities than HIV-positive females (85% versus 69%, P < .04) and to have ≥3 lung areas affected (P = .03). Conclusion. Differences in the yield of smear-microscopy, culture and X-rays on presentation are due to several factors including HIV coinfection and gender

Lung abscess as a complication of COVID-19 infection, a case report

To our knowledge, no previous studies have reported lung abscess as a complication of COVID-19 infection. It is essential to follow-up with the patients after discharge for such complications, especially if they are symptomatic. © 2021 The Authors. Clinical Case Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Insulin autoantibodies as determined by competitive radiobinding assay are positively correlated with impaired beta-cell function — The Ulm-Frankfurt population study

Out of a random population of 4208 non-diabetic pupils without a family history of Type I diabetes 44 (1.05%) individuals had islet cell antibody (ICA) levels greater or equal to 5 Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) units. 39 of these ICA-positives could be repeatedly tested for circulating insulin autoantibodies (CIAA) using a competitive radiobinding assay. The results were compared with the insulin responses in the intravenous glucose tolerance tests (IVGTT) and with HLA types. Six pupils were positive for CIAA. All of them had complement-fixing ICA, and 5 of them were HLA-DR4 positive. Three of the 6 showed a first-phase insulin response below the first percentile of normal controls. Our data indicate that in population-based studies CIAA can be considered as a high risk marker for impaired beta-cell function in non-diabetic ICA-positive individuals

Tuning the Indirect Band Gap of Square Metallic Superlattices

Shockley surface states at noble metal surface are textbook examples o

Інноваційні технології в хірургічному лікуванні злукової непрохідності кишечника на тлі хвороби очеревини

The aim of the work: to improve the results of surgical treatment of patients with postoperative adhesive bowel obstruction on the background of adhesive disease of the peritoneum, using various methods of adhesiolysis. The analysis of surgical treatment of 314 patients with postoperative peritoneal commissures was performed in the Clinical Surgical Departments of the Department of Surgical Diseases No. 1 (Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 1).Цель работы: улучшить результаты хирургического лечения пациентов с послеоперационной спаечной непроходимостью кишечника на фоне спаечной болезни брюшины с помощью различных методов адгезиолизиса. В клинических хирургических отделениях кафедры хирургических болезней № 1 (КГКБ № 1) проведен анализ хирургического лечения 314 пациентов с послеоперационной спаечной болезнью.Мета роботи: покращити результати хірургічного лікування пацієнтів із післяопераційною злуковою непрохідністю кишечника на тлі спайкової хвороби&nbsp; очеревини за допомогою різних методів адгезеолізису. У клінічних хірургічних відділеннях кафедри хірургічних хвороб № 1 (КМКЛ №1) проведено аналіз хірургічного лікування 314 пацієнтів з післяопераційною злуковою хворобою