Kinectrics (Canada)

Objectives: To determine the role of probiotics in prevention of recurrent upper respiratory tract infection in children. Methodology: This quasi-experimental study was conducted at Pediatrics department of Combined Military Hospital, Quetta, Pakistan from October 2024 to April 2025 after taking parental informed consent and ethical approval from institution. A total of 64 children with recurrent upper respiratory tract infection were included, selected through non-probability consecutive sampling technique, who were divided into Group-P (probiotic) and Group-S (no probiotics) containing 32 children each. Children were followed up after three months to assess for recurrence. Analysis of data was performed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 22. Results: Median age was 5.00 (3.00) years. There were 45 (70.30%) male and 19 (29.70%) female patients. Median number of episodes of URTI in three months at the end of study in Group-P was 1.00 (2.00) while in Group-S it was 2.00 (3.00), (p = 0.136). Frequency of recurrence of URTI in Group-P (n = 32) at three months follow up was 9 (28.13%) while in Group-S (n = 32), it was 17 (53.13%), (p = 0.042). Conclusion: Probiotics can effectively prevent recurrent upper respiratory tract infection in children.

In this study, lithium-based greases enhanced with varying concentrations of graphene (0.5 wt.%, 1 wt.%, and 2 wt.%) were evaluated for their tribological and thermal performance. The Four Ball Wear Test, thermal imaging and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to assess the impact of graphene on friction reduction, wear resistance and thermal stability. The 0.5 wt.% graphene-enhanced grease demonstrated the most favourable results, with superior friction reduction, wear resistance and consistent lubrication over time. This is attributed to the uniform dispersion of graphene, which promoted the formation of a stable tribo-film and enhanced thermal conductivity. At higher concentrations (1 wt.% and 2 wt.%), graphene agglomeration led to diminished tribological performance, with increased friction and faster thermal degradation. TGA results further confirmed the superior thermal stability of the 0.5 wt.% sample, with delayed onset of decomposition compared to the other formulations. These findings suggest that a graphene concentration of 0.5 wt.% is optimal for improving the overall performance of lithium-based greases, providing a balance between friction reduction, thermal stability and wear resistance.

Acoustic emission (AE) analysis was utilized to assess the cracking behavior of six lightweight self-consolidating concrete (LWSCC)–engineering cementitious composite (ECC) beams under flexural loading. Two control beams were fully cast with ECC containing either polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers or steel fibers (SF). The remaining four beams were ECC-LWSCC composite beams, with the ECC layer containing PVA fibers or SF placed on either the tension or compression side. The results showed that the control beams had the highest ultimate load capacity, followed by beams repaired in tension, and then beams repaired in compression. PVA fibers exhibited higher performance compared to steel fibers at the first crack load, while steel fibers enhanced the beam’s performance at the ultimate load stage. During the flexural testing, AE parameters such as the number of hits, signal amplitude, and cumulative signal strength (CSS) were collected until failure. The analysis of these AE parameters was effective in detecting the first crack and evaluating cracking propagation in all beams. Changing the type of fibers (PVA and SF) in the ECC layer showed a significant effect on AE parameters. Moreover, adding a new ECC layer to an existing LWSCC layer resulted in variations in the signal amplitude. Finally, the flexural failure mode was confirmed with the aid of the rise time/maximum amplitude vs. average frequency analysis.

Abstract The Canadian CANDU® Industry has developed and is implementing a composite analytical approach (CAA) to demonstrate, with high confidence, appropriate safety margins for deterministic nuclear safety analysis of large-break loss-of-coolant accident events in existing CANDU reactors. A key element of the CAA is the deterministic leak-before-break (CAA/DLBB) assessment for postulated through-wall cracks in all butt welds in the large-diameter primary heat transport system piping and reactor headers. The companion paper proposes an approach to integrate the uncertainties of the key leak-rate parameters into a single metric (a quantitative indicator of the uncertainty in the CAA/DLBB assessment, a.k.a., performance indicator). This approach ensures that the uncertainty in individual key parameters is not taken out of the context of the uncertainty of the other key parameters. This paper illustrates the application of this systematic approach for quantifying the uncertainty in the CAA/DLBB assessment to a specific postulated break location. The example application illustrates how the bounding values of the key leak-rate factors are quantified and how the uncertainties in the factors are integrated using the analytical and numerical approaches and discuss how the proposed approach provides an unbiased estimate of the leak-rate factor for the postulated break location that is assessed.

Abstract It is well known that direct application of fracture toughness values measured from standard laboratory specimens to structural components without matching constraint conditions may lead to over-conservative results for structural integrity assessment. In some cases, this may lead to unnecessary repairs or even to an early retirement of the structural component. This is particularly true for structural components operating at late life. For this reason, inclusion of constraint effects on fracture toughness in structural integrity assessment is of great importance. Research on the constraint effects has been very fruitful and is generating standardized methods and procedures that are suitable for engineering applications. This paper provides a review of constraint effects on fracture toughness for structural integrity assessment in fitness-for-service codes. Several fitness-for-service codes (API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, BS 7910, R6, SINTAP/FITNET) have code provisions for including the constraint effects on fracture in ductile-brittle transition region. This paper reviews the two fracture toughness adjustment methods as implemented in the 2019 Edition of BS 7910 and the 2021 Edition of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1. We present the results from a comparative study of the two adjustment methods using four sets of test data recently published in the literature.

This article presents an integrated framework for portfolio seismic risk assessment. The framework includes a systematic approach to the collection and categorization of exposed assets, and a robust method that combines vulnerabilities of different levels of resolution, including detailed vulnerabilities based on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) P-58 and REDi analyses, to produce efficient portfolio-level assessment. The vulnerability information encodes risk information that directly addresses the decision-support needs of stakeholders, including the benefits of seismic retrofit. The proposed framework is applied to a spatially distributed infrastructure portfolio composed of over 1000 public school buildings across Makati and Quezon City, in the Metro Manila region in Philippines, to demonstrate the value of portfolio-level seismic risk mitigation strategies. This study illustrates that the proposed regional seismic risk assessment approach can provide more reliable regional risk assessments in a computationally efficient manner and is able to quantify different risk contributors and identify cost-drivers that can be targeted for performance-based risk management of large portfolios.

Atmospheric icingAtmospheric icing and its accretion on powerPower transmission lines may cause considerable damage to power networksPower network in cold climate regions. In this chapter, some of the fundamental mechanical and thermodynamic properties of iceIce and snowSnow are presented, which will help understanding the process of anti-icingIcing (AI) and de-icingIcing (DI) methods.

This article presents a test facility for design validation of microgrids with high penetration of renewable energy, developed as a joint effort with industry, government, and academia. The Canadian Renewable Energy Laboratory (CANREL) described here is a physical simulation tool for the design, development, and performance testing of islanded and grid-connected microgrid projects. CANREL is equipped with a diesel generator, different renewable energy sources, various renewable energy generation simulators and physical systems, a bidirectional power-flow grid simulator, a battery- based energy-storage system, and controllable resistive?inductive?capacitive and electronic test loads for the design and testing of a variety of microgrid solutions. The test facility provides project performance demonstration and validation services at each stage of a microgrid project development to help utilities and project developers reduce risks. It is also a physical simulation tool for benchmarking microgrid equipment and controllers for research and development purposes. Some facility test results are presented in this article to demonstrate the capabilities of CANREL for simulating a wide range of scenarios.