Estimation of Lateral Load Capacity of Short Piles Under Earthquake Force

Lateral load induced in piles (both long and short) under earthquake is a problem of serious complexity that has been plaguing professional engineers and researchers alike for quite some time. The practice in vogue is to ensure that fixed base shear of the column does not exceed static shear load capacity of the piles. Inertial and stiffness effects of pile are usually ignored in dynamic earthquake analysis. The present paper proposes a method where, based on modal response or time history analysis, load on short piles may be estimated under earthquake considering its stiffness, inertia, effect of material and geometric damping properties. The results are compared with the conventional methods. Effect of partial embedment, a situation that may develop under soil liquefaction during earthquake has also been derived. Pile loads are estimated for two cases: a) When the structure is a lumped mass system having infinite stiffness: like a machine foundation or a heavy short vessel supported directly on the pile cap. b) Superstructure has finite stiffness and mass like a frame (building /pipe rack etc) The paper assumes that for all cases when slenderness ratio L/r is less than 20 the pile behaves as short pile when failure or yielding of soil precedes the structural failure of the pile. The major advantage with this method is that it does not warrant a sophisticated software to be developed for the analysis. A simple spread sheet is sufficient to produce an accurate result

Health and Hygiene Condition of Female Tea Workers: A Study in Three Tea Gardens of Sylhet District

Tea garden workers are the most deprived section in Bangladesh, especially female tea workers. The present study is an attempt to explore the health and hygiene condition of the female tea laborers, especially laborers of the Malnichara, Lakkatoorah and Tarapur tea estate in Sylhet district. The study was conducted through a personal interview with 80 purposively selected sample respondents. The study reveals that almost all are illiterate. Nearly 70% are living in an extended type of family, and their household’s monthly income is between 5000-6000 Taka, whereas their monthly family expenses are almost equal to their earnings. Therefore, it was observed that the female laborers are suffering from various disorders like fever, skin problems, diarrheal diseases, cough, hypertension, gastric problems, etc. Significant percentages (76%) of female laborers do not get an opportunity to take foods during working hour. Around 86% revealed that they do not reach proper nutritional facilities due to lack of knowledge and economic insolvency. The study showed that health services of tea estates are not satisfactory. Highest 65% disclosed that they are using water from river, canal, lake for cooking proposes. A noteworthy portion (78%) of female tea workers does not wash their hands before eating or after toilet. Majority of the respondents use ordinary shared latrine, and these are not sanitary as well as they throw their garbage’s in open places, which contaminated the estates environment. Finally, areas and context-specific data are essential to raise awareness among the tea gardeners about female workers rights and also for future policies and effective surveillance initiatives

Determining youths’ computational thinking skills using confirmatory factor analysis

As technological advancements shape the workforce, computational thinking skills (CTS) are becoming increasingly crucial. The objective of the study is to explore the potential mediating role of professional development and career planning in the association between robotic coding and software and computational thinking. The study selected 308 youths using simple random sampling and the collected data was subjected to structural equation modelling (SEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using SmartPLS. Additionally, demographic data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The results concluded that the instrument adopted fulfilled the requirements and was valid for measuring CTS. This indicates that the instrument effectively assessed the participants’ proficiency in CTS. The findings of this study have implications for addressing the skills gaps among youths. The outcomes of this research can aid in designing educational interventions and policies that focus on developing computational thinking skills among new graduates. By fostering these skills, youths can better adapt to the demands of the rapidly evolving technological landscape and contribute effectively to the industries and job market influenced by industry 4.0. Further research on longitudinal studies may be beneficial to assess the long-term impact of CTS development initiatives on reducing skills gaps and ensuring youths are equipped for future workforce requirements

Decision Making Capacity and Constraints Faced by Rural Women while Seeking Maternal and Child Health Care Services in Northeastern Bangladesh

The aim of the study was to determine the association between rural women’s decision-making power and the constraints faced by them while seeking Maternal and Child Health care services in northeastern Bangladesh. The study sample consisted of 150 mothers living in northeastern Bangladesh who had accessed institutional MCH care services during their pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using simple random sampling technique from January-April, 2018 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, decision making index and constraints facing indexing method through SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The study results showed that, decisions about treatment-seeking, consultation with the doctor during the prenatal and postnatal period, institutional birth preference and use/not use of contraceptives was always taken by the husband because the index was closer to the weighted value 200. But while making decisions about purchasing household daily needs, medicines, taking the first child or having more than two children, both husband and wife participated equally. On the other hands, constraint facing index showed that lack of medicine and vaccination, unhealthy environment and unprofessional behavior of the clinic’s people with CFI 651, 316 and 304 respectively, were the most commonly faced constraints by the rural women which discouraged them to seek institutional MCH care services. Though rural women were not completely suppressed in the northeastern region of Bangladesh, healthcare-seeking decisions were completely under the supervision of the men of families. Along with the socio-economic barriers, unprofessionalism, unavailability and mismanagement of the offered services also discouraged them to access institutional MCH care services. Awareness building among the rural people, especially in the recipients of this service along with Government and policy maker’s intervention to ensure a better quality of MCH care services can change the scenario of MCH care-seeking attitude of rural women in northeastern Bangladesh

Exploring Gender Issues and Challenges Faced by Women Bank Employees in Work and Family of Sylhet City, Bangladesh

The study was conducted to evaluate the gender related issues and challenges of women bank employees both in work and with family in Sylhet city in Bangladesh. Data were collected through structured questionnaire from 120 respondent’s sampled using simple random sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics through SPSS software and ranked the challenges using Garrett ranking method. In case of work, problems regarding management of overtime periods were ranked as first where average Garrett score was 64.87 and the majority (36.7%) of the respondents strongly agreed while (10.8%) strongly disagreed with this problem. The lowest average Garrett score was 77.88 for sexual harassment and majority (49.2%) strongly disagreed while (2.5%) strongly agreed with this problem. On contrary, the highest problem in family was long working hours which had an average Garrett score of 57.26 and majority (50.0%) strongly agreed along with (5.8%) of respondents disagreed with this problem. The lowest problem was pressure from family to leave the job which occupied 75.50 average Garrett score and (49.2%) of respondents strongly disagreed whereas (3.3%) strongly agreed with this problem. Besides, they faced other problems like lack of leave facilities, lack of hygienic toilet facilities, problems in balancing family and job and problems of child rearing. It can be concluded that the challenges they faced in working place were less than they encountered in family. It is recommended that several coping strategies must be implemented by authority and government such as developing day care facilities in every branch of banks which might ensure better childcare and reduce the tension of working mothers, adequate maternity leaves in different private banks, area based job posting and limit long working hours by enacting protective laws in order to ensure their proper development

Elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian subcontinent: a comparison of predictions from three transmission models.

We present three transmission models of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent (ISC) with structural differences regarding the disease stage that provides the main contribution to transmission, including models with a prominent role of asymptomatic infection, and fit them to recent case data from 8 endemic districts in Bihar, India. Following a geographical cross-validation of the models, we compare their predictions for achieving the WHO VL elimination targets with ongoing treatment and vector control strategies. All the transmission models suggest that the WHO elimination target (<1 new VL case per 10,000 capita per year at sub-district level) is likely to be met in Bihar, India, before or close to 2020 in sub-districts with a pre-control incidence of 10 VL cases per 10,000 people per year or less, when current intervention levels (60% coverage of indoor residual spraying (IRS) of insecticide and a delay of 40days from onset of symptoms to treatment (OT)) are maintained, given the accuracy and generalizability of the existing data regarding incidence and IRS coverage. In settings with a pre-control endemicity level of 5/10,000, increasing the effective IRS coverage from 60 to 80% is predicted to lead to elimination of VL 1-3 years earlier (depending on the particular model), and decreasing OT from 40 to 20days to bring elimination forward by approximately 1year. However, in all instances the models suggest that L. donovani transmission will continue after 2020 and thus that surveillance and control measures need to remain in place until the longer-term aim of breaking transmission is achieved

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND: Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021. METHODS: We estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined. FINDINGS: Globally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer. INTERPRETATION: As the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed