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A Review on the Recycling of Spent Garnet as a Mixing Ingredient in Concrete
Get PDFConstruction industry has increased rapidly leading to increase in concrete usage. This contributes to its limitation of natural resources and issue of sand shortage in certain place. This problem primarily due to the uncontrolled river sand mining. The demand for eco-friendly construction methods has driven research into substitute materials for conventional sand, and aggregates. Thus, embracing industrial by-products known as spent garnet as alternative materials presents an appealing solution to mitigate reliance on sand resources, thereby contributing to the sustainability of river ecosystems. Spent garnet is a waste derived from the surface treatment process in the shipping industry and is usually dumped in landfills. This review critically examines the viability of integrating spent garnet into construction materials. Comprehensive assessments of the physical and mechanical properties of these composite materials shed light on the potential improvements and challenges associated with the use of spent garnet. Ultimately, the review synthesizes the current state of knowledge on spent garnet in construction, offering valuable insights for researchers and industry professionals seeking innovative, sustainable solutions in materials science and waste management.The authors extend their gratitude to the Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi Malaysia dan Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah for supporting them in conducting this research via FRGS/1/2023/STG05/UMP/02/4) and RDU230142 respectively
Understanding development of contractures in people with stroke: formulation of a logic-model to inform care and prevention
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Contracture is stiffness and reduction in how much a joint and muscle can move and may impact on self-care and functional ability. We outline the development of the first comprehensive Logic-Model of the problem for contracture development, to inform prevention and treatment.
Method:
The initial Logic-Model was developed based on the literature by the research team. The draft Logic-Model of the problem was presented to people with stroke and carers from our Public, Patient Involvement (PPI) group and clinicians. This process resulted in a comprehensive model to describe factors associated with contracture development.
Results:
Following construction of the initial logic-model, items were identified by the PPI group and clinicians as elements that might particularly influence contracture development, and categorised as follows: Personal Determinants: Person with stroke: perceived advantage and disadvantage (of knowledge of health condition), apathy, low self-efficacy, limited skills and knowledge Family carers and supporters: negative attitude and self-efficacy, lack of skills and knowledge,; Professionals and paid carers: low awareness of services and knowledge. For Environmental Factors: lack of support for management was identified as a priority.
Conclusion:
The resulting Logic-Model of the problem will enable development of evidence-based pathways to prevent and treat contracture.SA is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Senior Clinical Researcher Award
Exploring artificial intelligence applications in construction and demolition waste management: a review of existing literature
Get PDFVariant journal title: Tạp chí điện tử Khoa học và Công nghệ Giao thông.This study presents a comprehensive analysis of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in construction and demolition waste management (CDWM), examining current trends, limitations, and opportunities for enhanced sustainability. Through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis across multiple academic databases, the research identifies eight major subfields where AI significantly impacts CDWM processes, particularly in planning, design, forecasting, and monitoring activities. The findings reveal that while AI demonstrates considerable potential in various aspects of waste management, its application in waste collection remains constrained by dependence on physical machinery. The study highlights the versatility of machine learning and natural language processing technologies, while emphasising the need for expanded research into innovative recycling approaches to maximise material reuse. Despite limitations regarding literature selection bias and context-specific generalisability, this research provides valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers by illustrating how AI technologies can improve operational efficiency, minimise environmental impact, and enhance resource recovery in construction projects. The study's unique contribution lies in its comprehensive review of AI applications in CDWM, addressing research gaps while proposing new perspectives on optimising waste management practices through emerging technologies. This work serves as a foundation for future research, particularly in exploring AI applications for recycling processes and examining their implications for sustainable waste management practices across all operational stages
Multi-view affinity-based projection alignment for unsupervised domain adaptation via locality preserving optimization
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The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Office-Home repository, https://www.hemanthdv.org/officeHomeDataset.html, VisDA-2017 repository, https://ai.bu.edu/visda-2017/ and ImageCLEF repository, https://www.imageclef.org/datasets.Code availability:
The code will be made available after the manuscript is accepted.Unsupervised Domain Adaptation (UDA) aims to transfer knowledge from a labeled source domain to an unlabeled target domain with differing data distributions. However, it remains difficult due to noisy pseudo-labels in the target domain, inadequate modeling of local geometric structure, and reliance on a single input view that limits representational diversity in challenging tasks. We propose a framework named Multi-view Affinity-based Projection Alignment (MAPA) that uses a teacher–student network and multi-view augmentation to stabilize pseudo-labels and enhance feature diversity. MAPA transforms each sample into multiple augmented views, constructs a unified affinity matrix that combines semantic cues from pseudo-labels with feature-based distances, and then learns a locality-preserving projection to align source and target data in a shared low-dimensional space. An iterative strategy refines pseudo-labels by discarding low-confidence samples, thereby raising label quality and strengthening supervision for the target domain. MAPA also employs a consistency-weighted fusion mechanism to merge predictions from multiple views, improving stability under domain shift. Finally, MAPA leverages class-centric and cluster-level relationships in the projected space to further refine label assignments, enhancing the overall adaptation process. Experimental results on Office-Home, ImageCLEF, and VisDA-2017 show that MAPA surpasses recent state-of-the-art methods, and it maintains robust performance across backbones including ResNet-50, ResNet-101, and Vision Transformer (ViT).CNPC Innovation Fund (No.2024DQ02-0501), Royal Society (IEC_NSFC_233444), Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province (No. 22KJB520012) and Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Project of Jiangsu Province (No. KYCX24_3227)
Lived experiences of patients using positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy: a nested phenomenological study within the 3DPiPPIn randomised controlled trial
Get PDFSTRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY:
⇒ Uses a phenomenological approach, which is well- suited for exploring the lived experiences of individuals, providing deep insights into the human aspects of positive airway pressure therapy. ⇒ The use of Heideggerian theory allows for a rich and nuanced analysis by acknowledging the influence of the researcher’s beliefs on the interpretation of data. ⇒ Uses Braun and Clarke’s six- phase reflexive thematic analysis, a robust and systematic method for analysing qualitative data, ensuring thorough and reflective data interpretation. ⇒ The quality of data is dependent on the participants’ willingness and ability to articulate their experiences, which can vary significantly and could affect the richness of the data. ⇒ The influence of the researcher’s beliefs, while acknowledged, may still introduce subjective bias into the interpretation of the qualitative data.Background: Sleep disordered breathing is a chronic condition often requiring patient commitment to positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. Understanding the lived experience of PAP therapy users is crucial for clinicians to support successful treatment and identify research priorities. There is a lack of evidence in this area, and published data predominantly explore the negative experiences of PAP. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of patients using PAP therapy.
Methods and analysis: This study employs a phenomenological approach, appropriate for researching human experiences where there is little existing research. Heideggerian theory underpins the research, recognising that the researcher’s beliefs influence meaning, allowing for rich analysis of the lived experience.
Participants will be recruited from a randomised controlled trial investigating the medium-term clinical impact of customised interfaces for patients requiring PAP therapy. Purposive sampling will be used to seek representation from various demographics, with a maximum of 30 participants.
Data collection will be via 1:1 semistructured interviews. Data will be analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase reflexive thematic analysis. Data will be analysed inductively through an interpretivism lens. Data will be managed with computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software.
Ethics and dissemination: This protocol has been approved by the Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee (REC reference: 22/SC/0405). Results will be disseminated to healthcare professionals and patients through conferences, open-access journals, newsletters, the study webpage, infographics, animations, social media and healthcare awards. Tracy’s eight ‘big tent’ criteria for excellent qualitative research are comprehensive and encompassing, and this protocol has aimed to meet the criteria. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research has also been used. The findings of this study will contribute to a more holistic understanding of the lived experience of PAP therapy users, informing clinical practice and future research.
Trial registration number ISRCTN74082423.This project is funded by the NIHR Doctoral Fellowship (NIHR award: 302337). The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Associate Principal Investigators via the NIHR Associate Principal Investigator Scheme: Lynne McDonnell, Nneoma Okoli and Lauren Geddes. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the clinical trials administrators (Sharon Augustt and Sint Sint) and Research Portfolio Manager (Tolu Williams) at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Search for dark matter produced in association with a pair of bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV
Get PDFA preprint version of the article is available at arXiv:2408.17336v2 [hep-ex], https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.17336 . Comments: Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. All the figures and tables can be found at https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/publications/SUS-23-008 (CMS Public Pages). Report number: CMS-SUS-23-008, CERN-EP-2024-206. Journal reference: JHEP 02 (2025) 050. Submission history: From: The CMS Collaboration: [v1] Fri, 30 Aug 2024 15:00:41 UTC (2,072 KB); [v2] Tue, 18 Feb 2025 17:21:01 UTC (2,091 KB).A search for dark matter (DM) particles produced in association with bottom quarks is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. The search is performed in a final state with large missing transverse momentum and a pair of jets originating from bottom quarks. No significant excess of data is observed with respect to the standard model expectation. Results are interpreted in the context of a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional light pseudoscalar (2HDM+a). An upper limit is set on the mass of the lighter pseudoscalar, probing masses up to 260 GeV at 95% confidence level. Sensitivity to the parameter space with the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the two Higgs doublets, tan β, greater than 15 is achieved, capitalizing on the enhancement of couplings between pseudoscalars and bottom quarks with high tan β.SCOAP3
Serious Games for Decision-Making and Team Tactics Training in Sports: A Conceptual Framework and Review of State-of-the-art
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The impact of polygenic risk for alzheimer’s disease on neurotransmitter-related grey matter atrophy in the alzheimer continuum
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All ADNI data are available at adni.loni.usc.edu.Supplementary Information is available online at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10072-025-08393-3#Sec15 .Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology has been recently shown to accumulate in multiple brainstem nuclei in pre-cortical disease stages. However, the impact of neurotransmission alterations on brain atrophy and their genetic correlates in AD remain unexplored. This study investigated (1) associations between grey matter (GM) loss and uptake values of PET/SPECT ligands tracing concentration of multiple neurotransmitter receptors/transporters and pathways; (2) the impact of AD polygenic risk scores (AD-PRSs) on such associations along the AD continuum. T1-weighted MRI scans, genetic and clinical data were selected for 800 ADNI participants: 203 cognitively unimpaired older adults (CU), 442 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 155 with AD. JuSpace was used to calculate correlations between GM volume (GMV) and the concentration of several neurotransmitters. Two PRSs, with (AD-PRS) and without APOE (AD-PRSnoAPOE), were investigated as predictors of the strength of correlation between GMV and neurotransmitters in general linear models. In both patient groups, atrophy was negatively associated with serotoninergic and dopaminergic receptors/transporters. In the whole sample, both PRSs were associated with the strength of correlation between GMV and different serotonin receptors and fluorodopa uptake. The pattern of associations was replicated in participants with evidence of amyloid pathology. GM loss in AD may be particularly affected by the alterations in serotoninergic and in presynaptic dopaminergic activity that are known to influence functioning of medio-temporal and frontal cortices. Such alterations appear to be driven by higher AD-PRS values. Investigating further neurotransmitter-related neural alterations may help clarifying neuropathological changes in pre-clinical AD and response to treatments.This research was supported by funding obtained under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3—Call for tender No. 341 of 15/03/2022 of the Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union-NextGenerationEU, Project code PE0000006, Concession Decree No. 1553 of 11/10/2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP D93C22000930002, “A multiscale integrated approach to the study of the nervous system in health and disease” (MNESYS)
Respiratory Muscle Strength in Healthy Children Aged 6 Years and Under: An Observational Study
No full textData Availability Statement:
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in FigShare at https://brunel.figshare.com/, reference number 10.17633/rd.brunel.29651501. Study data are available at https://doi.org/10.17633/rd.brunel.29651501.Study Question:
Measurement of respiratory muscle strength is important in the assessment and management of neuromuscular diseases. Reference data are essential for interpretation of clinical findings, but are lacking in infants and young children. This study aimed to provide reference data for maximum inspiratory (PImax) and maximum expiratory (PEmax) pressures in children aged 6 years and under.
Materials and Methods:
Healthy, term-born children were eligible for inclusion. Age, height, weight and BMI were recorded, and height/weight/BMI-for-age percentiles calculated. PImax and PEmax were measured using a tight-fitting face mask attached to a pressure transducer during maximal inspiratory and expiratory efforts respectively, induced via crying in younger participants and volitionally in older children. The greatest pressure was reported from three values within 20% of one another. Repeat measurements were obtained within a week where possible.
Results:
Sixty-nine children aged 0.08–6.85 years were recruited, from whom technically-acceptable PImax and PEmax data were obtained in 45 and 38 cases respectively. PImax was significantly and inversely related to age (Spearman's rho −0.339, p = 0.046); PEmax was not related to any anthropometric characteristics. Neither PImax or PEmax differed between male and female participants. Predicted PImax was 120 + (−3.89xage); mean (SD) PEmax was 80.3 (21.7) cmH2O. Repeatability coefficient was 17.2 cmH2O for PImax and 26.3 cmH2O for PEmax (based on eleven and nine children respectively).
Answer to the Study Question:
This study provides the first contiguous reference range from infancy through to school age. Reference data are provided for PImax and PEmax along with information on repeatability.This study was funded by Astellas Gene Therapies (previously Audentes Therapeutics Inc), including provision of study equipment
Acceptability and feasibility of online occupational performance coaching for parents of children with disabilities in the UK
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During the development, progress and reporting of the submitted research, Patient and Public Involvement in the research was included in planning and progress of the research.Introduction:
Occupational performance coaching is a collaborative, strengths-based approach used by occupational therapists working with children and families. This study evaluates the acceptability and feasibility of delivering an online occupational performance coaching programme for parents of children with disabilities in the United Kingdom.
Method:
Mixed-methods feasibility study. Eight UK-based families with children with disabilities participated in four to eight online coaching sessions. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was used to measure changes in occupational performance. The Parenting Stress Index Fourth Edition (short form) was used to measure changes in parental stress. Six parents were interviewed, and four therapists participated in a focus group to explore their experiences of the programme.
Results:
Parents and therapists reported a high level of acceptability for the telehealth coaching intervention. Parents reported positive changes in occupational performance (mean difference 3.29; p = 0.01) occupational satisfaction (mean difference 3.99; p = 0.01). Parents’ average total stress decreased by 12.5 points with greatest reductions in the parental distress subscale. Therapist fidelity to intervention was relatively low.
Conclusion:
The coaching programme was acceptable for parents who responded well to the intervention with noted gains in occupational performance and satisfaction. Programme delivery was feasible for therapists though further training in occupational performance coaching is recommended.This study was supported with a grant of £9943.86 by the Elizabeth Casson Trust
Data sources:
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