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Properties and Microstructure of Rubberised Silica Fume Concrete
Get PDFThis study investigated nine mixes containing 0 or 10% treated and untreated rubber as fine aggregate replacement and 0 or 15% silica fume as cement replacement. The fresh and mechanical properties were addressed, and these results were correlated using non-destructive testing, including rebound hammer and Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV). Two curing methods were used: normal and heating to a standardised 105°C. In addition, microstructure characterisation was carried out using X-ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The XRD showed that the rubber must be washed after the pre-treatment of NaOH to avoid ettringite formation in the concrete pores. The results revealed that combining the crumb rubber pre-treatment and silica fume inclusion enhanced the mechanical properties, especially the compressive strength. The flexural strength reduction was less than or equal to 25%. However, the heat curing for 24 hours exhibited a strength loss of less than 8%, comparable to the expected strength loss for the control mix. The rebound hammer numbers closely correlated linearly with the compressive strength of the mixes. Poor agreement in predicting elastic modulus, compressive, flexural, and tensile strengths utilising the adopted equations from codes and guidelines used for predicting the mechanical properties as functions in concrete strength and modifications
are recommended for practitioners
Association of frailty with functional difficulty in older Ghanaians: stability between women and men in two samples with different income levels
Get PDFAbstract
Background Research to date suggests that frailty is higher in women and is associated with functional difficulty.
This study builds on the evidence by examining the association between frailty and functional difficulty between lowand
higher-income groups and between older men and women in these income groups.
Methods This study adopted a cross-sectional design that complied with the STROBE checklist and included steps
against confounding and common methods bias. The population was community-dwelling older adults aged
50 years or older in two urban neighbourhoods in Accra, Ghana. Participants were either in the low-income group
in a low socioeconomic neighbourhood (n = 704) or the higher-income group in a high socioeconomic neighbourhood
(n = 510). The minimum sample necessary was calculated, and the hierarchical linear regression analysis was utilised
to analyse the data.
Results Frailty was positively associated with functional difficulty in the low- and higher-income samples, but this
associatio
Encoding Ethics to Compute Value-Aligned Norms.
Get PDFNorms have been widely enacted in human and agent societies to regulate individuals’ actions. However, although legislators may have ethics in mind when establishing norms, moral values are only sometimes explicitly considered. This paper advances the state of the art by providing a method for selecting the norms to enact within a society that best aligns with the moral values of such a society. Our approach to aligning norms and values is grounded in the ethics literature. Specifically, from the literature’s study of the relations between norms, actions, and values, we formally define how actions and values relate through the so-called value judgment function and how norms and values relate through the so-called norm promotion function. We show that both functions provide the means to compute value alignment for a set of norms. Moreover, we detail how to cast our decision-making problem as an optimisation problem: finding the norms that maximise value alignment. We also show how to solve our problem using off-the-shelf optimisation tools. Finally, we illustrate our approach with a specific case study on the European Value Study
Lysophosphatidylcholine induced by fat transplantation regulates hyperalgesia by affecting the dysfunction of ACC perineuronal nets.
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The pathogenesis of hyperalgesia is complex and can lead to poor clinical treatment.
Our study revealed that epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) from SNI mice is involved in the occurrence of hyperalgesia after adipose tissue transplantation.
We also showed that lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is enriched in the eWAT of SNI mice using non-targeted metabolomic analysis and verified that the levels of LPC
in plasma and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) region increased following eWAT transplantation.
Based on the immunohistochemistry results, we observed that LPC in the ACC region activated microglia via the TRPV1/CamkⅡ pathway.
In turn, the activated microglia triggered the degradation of perineuronal nets (PNNs) in the ACC region,
disrupted its barrier role and led to the destruction of parvalbumin-positive (PV+) neurons and inhibitory interneuron dysfunction.
These findings elucidate the mechanism underlying hyperalgesia from the perspective of lipid metabolite LPC and PNNs and provide potential new strategies for the treatment of hyperalgesia.
Keywords: Fat transplantation; Hyperalgesia; Anterior cingulate cortex; Perineuronal nets; Lysophosphatidylcholin
Envisioning the Post-Work World. A Roundtable Conversation
No full textThis conversation among four leading theorists of post-work considers some of the main issues of a post-work agenda today: what the term “post-work” denotes; the values of a post-work agenda; whether such an agenda overturns gendered forms of work; the reasons for its wide appeal in a time of precarious and alienating work; the role of technology and automation in shaping the contours of a post-work future; alternative modes of compensation in post-work societies including basic income and other forms of a social minimum; and whether a post-work social order can help address the climate crisis
Medicine on film: a British case history
Get PDFThis article explores the historical and contemporary significance of medical film in Britain, particularly its role in education and practice for medical professionals. The key areas of inquiry are the emergence of medical filmmaking, focusing on the increasing research interest and visibility of non-theatrical film and to date the lack of British focus. While there is substantial literature on American and European medical films, British films have received less attention. Looking at the British Medical Association (BMA) Film Library, its establishment, purpose and then film competition which ran 1957-1997, two cohorts of films are analysed (fracture treatment from the 1930s and then anaesthesia from the 1940s) that were part of the collection and still available to medical professionals until the BMA ceased to manage the collection in 2005. These films form a case study of how film communicated discourses of care. Ethical and practical considerations have hindered the preservation of these films; they have been hidden, shelved or disposed of, leading to questions of what they can tell us today and whether these films had a central role in medical education in the British, in comparison to the American, context
The Moving Picture Company: innovators and early adopters of british video post-production
Get PDFThe UK’s postproduction industry is, according to professional trade association Screen Alliance (2019), lacking in research and suffers from being regarded as separate to VFX rather than the larger industry within which the VFX sector is rooted. This article examines the history of the British VFX industry through a case study analysis of the Moving Picture Company (MPC), founded in 1970, adding a video postproduction division in 1974. The analysis is conducted through an in-depth semi-structured analysis of MPC’s founder, Mike Luckwell. In 1983, Luckwell executed a reverse takeover of Carlton, retaining overall control of MPC and acting as the managing director of Carlton until 1986. The article demonstrates that MPC operated across the supply chains for advertising, film and television, initially drawing R&D funding from the advertising industry, and latterly features. The author suggests that historians have a role to play within contemporary policy-facing research by contributing detailed analysis of supply chains and hidden labour through qualitative interviews and archival analysis. Further research into the R&D role of screen advertising is recommended
Challenges and best practices in sustainable urban tourism development in Central and Eastern Europe
No full textUrban destinations worldwide face many challenges, including an increasing number of visitors, a growing number of people living in cities, and economic and environmental disruptions, to name but of few. Sustainable development of urban destinations is thus an important topic that researchers have started to examine over the past decade. Still, little has been written on sustainable tourism development and the challenges faced by city destinations from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), a region with a tumultuous history, many conquests, turmoil, and displacements. These events are reflected in the rich culture and diverse traditions that are maintained even today in some cities from the region. This chapter aims to contribute to filling this gap by discussing the challenges faced by CEE countries in their efforts to promote and implement sustainable tourism initiatives, with a focus on urban destinations. Additionally, it briefly explores the situation of sustainable urban tourism in post-communist Romania and presents examples of best practice in sustainable tourism implementation from several CEE cities
Minority ethnic older adults’ perception and behaviour towards COVID-19 public health campaigns in the UK
Get PDFIn the UK, minority ethnic groups were reported to face the greatest risk from COVID-19. Yet, little is known about their perception and behaviour towards COVID-19 campaigns. This study used 35 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with minority ethnic adults aged 60 or over in England and Wales to explore their motivations for complying with or disregarding official guidance and their evaluations of various campaign content and channels used early in the pandemic. Using Template Analysis, key themes in the interviewees’ discourse were identified, which were subsequently analysed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This study found that the predominant motivations for non-compliant behaviour included fatigue from information overload, government- and socially induced distrust, as well as self-reported personality traits. In contrast, compliant individuals emphasised community-based obligations and their trust in official communications. Although participants recognised the pandemic as a challenging time, they were generally unsatisfied with the credibility, consistency, and accessibility of public health messaging. This investigation contributes to health communications studies by adopting a qualitative approach and providing insights into an under-researched demographic