Effect of Combined Hydroxyurea and Chelation Therapy in Reducing Serum Ferritin Level, Liver and Spleen Size in Transfusion Dependent Thalassaemia Major Patients.

Background: To compare hydroxyurea plus iron chelation therapy with iron chelation therapy alone in controlling iron overload in children with beta thalassaemia major. Methods: In this comparative study forty thalassaemia major, cases undergoing routine blood transfusion, were observed in iron chelation plus hydroxyurea group (n=20) and iron chelation therapy alone (n=20). The study outcome was measured in terms of impact of continuous blood transfusions on the size of liver ,spleen and Serum. Ferritin levels when compared among those given iron chelation therapy with hydroxyurea and those given iron chelation alone. Results: Mean age of patients was comparable among the two groups. Overall, males were slightly greater in proportion than females (52.5% versus 47.5%). The mean liver size, spleen size and ferritin levels were significantly low in hydroxyurea group compared to no hydroxyurea group (p-value, <0.001). Conclusion: Hydroxyurea plus iron chelation therapy is better than iron chelation therapy alone in controlling iron overload in terms of enlargement of liver, and also limiting iron stores

Assessing the correlation between caffeine consumption and its effect on the academic performance of medical students of Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background:  To assess the correlation between caffeine consumption and its effect on the academic performance of medical students of Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan. Methods:  A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Shifa College of Medicine and its affiliated hospital for about three months from 10th June, 2019 till 15th August 2019. Second-year medical students actively took part in it. We used convenient sampling; a total of 101 students eagerly participated in it. We used a detailed self-administered questionnaire in which simplified questions with four to five options were given. Participants marked their responses to the provided options. A correlation was noticed between their Locomotive System and Gastrointestinal System modular exam scores with the questionnaire response. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 23.  Results:  Out of 101 participants, 51.5% were males, and 48.5% were females. About 77.2% of participants were consuming caffeine in any form, while 22.8% never consumed caffeine. Those who consumed moderate (200-400 mg) caffeine in any way performed better in the Locomotive System Module with a mean score of 71.88%. Simultaneously, those who consumed a lot more than 400 mg of caffeine scored better in the Gastrointestinal Tract Module with a mean score of 76.50%.  Conclusion:  By conducting this study, we identified that caffeine consumption is surprisingly high in medical students. The correlation between caffeine consumption and its effect on medical students’ performance is not significant.   Key Words: Academic performance, Caffeine consumption, Medical students. (Source: MeSH-NLM)

Is the European Union Evolving or Failing?

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has seen and grappled with a varied degree of crisis, which a few observers considered as proof of its vulnerability and at worst scenario - existential threat. As it is with every crisis, there are gainers and losers; there are those who benefit from the fallout and others who manage to turn vulnerability into opportunity and strength. The crisis surrounding the EU can be characterized along the latter context, particularly in the backdrop of rising European populism. The rise of contemporary European populism has raised many questions and generated debates. Based on its anti-EU rhetoric and growing public acceptability, populism is interpreted as EU's political nemesis. In the midst of rising European populism, the paper looks at the debates in which the EU is considered as a failing or failed project. It also explores the extent to which European populism impacts the European political landscape. The paper explores the notion of populism as an anti-EU movement, bent at dislodging and disintegrating the Union. It argues that the actions of the populist parties suggest otherwise; populist dramatization underscores EU's continuous evolution and transition instead of its disintegration

Seismic design of masonry-infilled frames: A review of codified approaches

This paper reviews the approach of eleven national codes on the analysis and design of masonry-infilled frames. It is shown that, in general, codes can be divided into two groups. The first group isolates the masonry and frame members by providing gaps to minimize the interaction between them. This method ensures that the complexities involved in analyzing the structure is avoided. However, the width of the gaps recommended is different for each of the codes. The second group takes advantage of the presence of high stiffness and strength masonry infill. In this technique, an equivalent-strut modeling strategy is mostly recommended. It is shown that the strut model suggested in each of the codes is different. An attempt to obtain a generic model for masonry-infilled frame failed largely due to the existence of many behavior-influencing parameters. Finally, it is suggested to have a paradigm shift in the modeling strategy where the masonry-infilled frames are classified into different categories and a model is suggested for each of them

Prospects of Developing Prefabricated Masonry Walling Systems in Australia

Prefabrication has been shown to be an effective way of construction in the modern-day context. Although much progress has been made in developing reinforced concrete (RC), timber and steel prefabricated elements/structures, prefabrication of masonry walling systems has received limited attention in the past. Conventional masonry construction is labour-intensive and time-consuming; therefore, prefabrication can be an effective solution to accelerate the masonry construction to make it more cost-effective. Therefore, in this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate the effectiveness of prefabricated masonry systems (PMS) in terms of their structural characteristics and sustainability perspectives in an Australian context. Subsequently, the available studies related to PMS and the prospects of developing prefabricated masonry walling systems were appraised and reported. In order to assess the applicability of PMS, a case study was carried out by designing four types of prospective prefabricated masonry walling systems for a typical housing unit in Australia. It was shown that the reinforced (RM), post-tensioned (PT) and thin layered mortared (TLM) masonry systems are better suited for prefabrication. Later, in order to assess the sustainability of the considered masonry walling systems, life cycle energy analyses were carried using the Environmental Performance in Construction (EPIC) database. It was found that there can be nearly 30 and 15 savings, respectively, in terms of energy saving and CO2 emissions in prefabricated construction than the conventional masonry construction. Finally, the prospects of developing PMS and the need for future research studies on these systems are highlighted

Lunapark deficiency leads to an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental phenotype with a degenerative course, epilepsy and distinct brain anomalies

LNPK encodes a conserved membrane protein that stabilizes the junctions of the tubular endoplasmic reticulum network playing crucial roles in diverse biological functions. Recently, homozygous variants in LNPK were shown to cause a neurodevelopmental disorder (OMIM#618090) in four patients displaying developmental delay, epilepsy and nonspecific brain malformations including corpus callosum hypoplasia and variable impairment of cerebellum. We sought to delineate the molecular and phenotypic spectrum of LNPK-related disorder. Exome or genome sequencing was carried out in 11 families. Thorough clinical and neuroradiological evaluation was performed for all the affected individuals, including review of previously reported patients. We identified 12 distinct homozygous loss-of-function variants in 16 individuals presenting with moderate to profound developmental delay, cognitive impairment, regression, refractory epilepsy and a recognizable neuroimaging pattern consisting of corpus callosum hypoplasia and signal alterations of the forceps minor ('ear-of-the-lynx' sign), variably associated with substantia nigra signal alterations, mild brain atrophy, short midbrain and cerebellar hypoplasia/atrophy. In summary, we define the core phenotype of LNPK-related disorder and expand the list of neurological disorders presenting with the 'ear-of-the-lynx' sign suggesting a possible common underlying mechanism related to endoplasmic reticulum-phagy dysfunction

Role of Auxetic Composites in Protection of Building Materials and Structures

Common building materials including concrete, masonry and mortar are brittle in nature and fractured due to dissipation of energy under extreme loads caused by impact, blast and seismic forces. The structures made of these materials are required to be protected against brittle collapse by maximising the energy absorption. The strengthening and protection to these structural materials can be realised using high energy absorbing materials that can reduce the damage and hence the loss of lives and repair costs. Auxetic composites by virtue of having negative Poisson’s ratio are unique and exhibit high energy absorption, high shear modulus and high bonding properties. This research aims to demonstrate the application of auxetic composites in building materials and construction industry as a protective render. For this purpose, mortar-auxetic foam and mortar-auxetic fabric prismatic samples were developed in the lab and were tested under compression and out-of-plane bending for variable strain rates ranging from 1mm/min to 150mm/min. Experimental program concluded that mortar-auxetic composites exhibited high energy absorption and high bonding strength with the mortar in comparison to the common fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites used for strengthening of the building materials. To study their effectiveness, brick masonry wall rendered with mortar-auxetic composites were analysed under lateral impact through finite element modelling method. The results confirmed that the rendered wall performed better in resisting the lateral impact in comparison to the un-rendered wall. The lateral displacement was reduced by around 22% and energy absorption was increased to 8 times

Behaviour of 3D Printed Re-entrant Chiral Auxetic (RCA) Geometries under In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Loadings

Three-dimensional printing of auxetic materials is an emerging research field due to their intriguing negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) behaviour which enables improved load resistance than conventional materials for various applications. In this research, re-entrant chiral auxetic (RCA) structures of three different geometries were printed using polylactic acid (PLA) filament. The PLA material was also characterised in compression and tension. In total, 27 RCA specimens of varied cell sizes were designed, printed and tested under in-plane tension and compression and out-of-plane bending loads. Digital image correlation method was employed to study the failure modes, displacement profiles, load-displacement curves and ductility characteristics. Results showed that the samples with the smallest cell sizes exhibited the highest resistance against compression, tension and out-of-plane loading. The elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio was also higher for these geometries with the maximum NPR of -9 in compression and -5 in tension. In comparison, the larger cell geometries due to wider gaps between the cells showed higher deformability which resulted in high energy absorption characteristics in compression and tension. Whereas in out-of-plane bending, all designed geometries, irrespective of cell sizes exhibited similar deformability with the maximum ductility obtained for the RCA structures made of smaller cells.</p

Strategies for improving the response of drystack masonry to compression

Drystack or mortarless walling can be constructed faster with less skilled labour compared to the traditional mortared masonry walls; however, the contact surface unevenness of the blocks affects the constructability of drystack system. This thesis is aimed at studying the contact surface properties of drystack masonry and to propose suitable mitigation through systematic experimental and numerical studies so that this masonry type could be constructed with ease and used as a structural system. New genre composite materials are proposed to improve the performance of drystack masonry by embedding between the blocks and by providing protective layering on the drystack walls