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The contribution of infill or reinforced masonry to overall response of reinforced concrete frames has been the interest of many researchers for the last five decades. Recently, more attention has been paid to structures made of reinforced masonry with high strength concrete frame. In this study, the effect of different reinforcement patterns aligned horizontally, vertically or in mesh within the masonry panel is investigated. The salient features of the behavior of the system under consideration were the modes of failure, deformational characteristics, strain development, and ultimate capacity. An experimental program was performed and then nonlinear finite element analysis was conducted. The computational model was verified and subsequently employed to provide more insight into the behavior and the transmission of internal forces for the composite system of reinforced masonry panels and reinforced concrete frame. The results indicated some important aspects regarding the reinforcement ratio, location, and the execution process to enhance the performance in cases of gravitational loading as well as push-over analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are daily occurrences in Malaysia but the extent to which victims are psychologically affected is not well known. The objective of this study is to determine the incidence and demographic characteristics of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to MVAs at a university hospital in Malaysia. Methods: Patients presenting to the emergency department from August to October 2014 due to MVA-related injuries were recruited. After a period of at least one month, they were followedup and screened using the validated Malay Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist Civilian version. A score of 30 was chosen as the cut-off point for PTSD. Results: In total, 112 patients presented to the emergency department following MVAs during the study period. Of these, 60.7% agreed for the follow-up. Among the respondents, the mean age was 26 years, 91.2% were males, 66.2% were married, 85.3% were Malays and 88.3% were Muslims. The calculated incidence of PTSD was 7.4%. There was no significant difference noted between the PTSD and non-PTSD groups. Conclusion: A considerable number of MVA victims in Malaysia may develop PTSD after the accident. Further research is needed to explore the factors that contribute or protect to develop the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present work, an inorganic dopant TiO2 nanoparticles are introduced into the PDPP3T polymer host material and deposited as thin films via spin coating. Different solvent are investigated to get efficient dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles as well as effective dissolution of PDPP3T material. The role of TiO2 particles towards optical absorption of PDPP3T material is studied by preparing different PDPP3T/TiO2 blend ratios and annealed at different temperatures. Toluene is found an efficient solvent for the dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles as well as dissolution of PDPP3T material. Significant increase in optical absorption in UV region 300-400nm is observed for the PDPP3T/TiO2 blend ratio 1:0.2 and the annealing temperature 310oC. The deposited thin film with four layers have demonstrated significant blue shift in peak wavelength and increase in the absorption in UV region (300-400nm). XRD analysis reveals amorphous nature of all deposited thin film. No significant variations in chemical structure are observed with increase in thickness of deposited layer. The addition of TiO2 particle in PDPP3T material significantly enhanced the optical absorption in UV region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of cadmium ion insertion on structural, optical and electrical properties of Zn0.3 Co0.7-xCdxFe2O4 ferrites ( 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7 with interval 0.14) have been characterized by XRD, EDX, FTIR, UV and I-V techniques. The material was synthesized using coprecipitation route. The growth of single phase cubic structure of samples was confirmed using XRD technique. The crystallite size was calculated from XRD spectra, which was found in the range of 27-39 nm. The FTIR spectra showed the two strong absorption bands at about 443 cm-1 and 547.08 cm-1 which confirmed their spinel cubic phase. The electrical resistivity of synthesized ferrites with the insertion of Cd2+ ion was found to be in the range of 4.14×108 - 9.67×108 Ω-cm. The electrical resistivity was found to be decreasing with increase of temperature. The activation energy also increased with the increase of Cd2+ and was found in the range of 0.02 - 0.05 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn-substituted Cu-Ni ferrite nanoparticles ZnxCu0.5-xNi0.5Fe2O4, (where 0 = x = 0.5 with interval 0.1) have been synthesized using co-precipitation method which have been sintered at 900°C for 3 h. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique has been employed to confirm the single phase formation of spinel ferrite structure. The average particle size has been found in the range of 14-28 nm which has been estimated using Scherer's formula. The morphology of synthesized particle size has been confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The size of particles has been found in close agreement with the XRD analysis. The optical band gap energy has been measured for x = 0.5 which have been found 2.3 eV. Moreover, the magnetic properties of sample x = 0.00 have also been observed. The saturation magnetization (Ms), remanance, Mr/Ms and coercive force have been observed. The obtained information of synthesized samples have super paramagnetic nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]